Oh, Malort!

By Solid Listen

Alyssa Dyksterhouse, Chicago tour guide, history lover and research extraordinaire, walks her friends through her favorite well-known and lesser-known moments in Chicago’s quirky past while explo... more

4.6

2222 ratings

Download on the App Store

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play

FAQs about Oh, Malort!:

How many episodes does Oh, Malort! have?

The podcast currently has 151 episodes available.

Oh, Malort! episodes:

January 01, 2026 What is happening at The Kennedy Center?
To celebrate NYE, Alyssa and John combined their knowledge of performing arts venue management and recorded an impromptu episode to discuss the dumpster fire that is the Kennedy Center. These people are incompetent and seemingly hate the arts.
Grenell

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
1h
December 29, 2025Y2K: Fear and Grifting in Chicago
In this episode Alyssa tells Risen about Y2K Chicago Style. This episode takes some surprising twists and turns and 2025 makes more sense.
Support the show by subscribing, leaving a five-star review, telling all your friends and following on Twitter, BlueSky, Instagram.
Show Notes:
Chicago Tribune: PRACTICAL ADVICE ON Y2K PREPAREDNESS

CNN: Chicago, retailers pushing for Y2K readiness

NPR: Y2K seems like a joke now, but in 1999 people were really freaking out

AP: Nearly 20 years ago, doomsayers admitted they were wrong about Y2K

Chicago Tribune: Y2K EXPO PREPARED TO PROVIDE FOR WORST

WBEZ: The panic of New Year's Eve 1999

Chicago Tribune: CITY SAYS IT’S READY FOR A SMOOTH Y2K ROLLOVER

Chicago Tribune: A HAPPY DAY: NO ONE GETS Y2KO’D

Chicago Tribune: FOR MANY CHICAGOANS, COVERAGE OF Y2K IS A BIT TOO MUCH

Chicago Tribune: Y2K NO CAUSE FOR PANIC

Chicago Tribune: WITH Y2K, HOARDING LIKELY TO BE BIGGEST BUG

Twin Cities Pioneer Press: Stockpilers prepare quietly for Y2K arrival

Chicago Sun-Times: Year 2000 computer fears bring out survival instinct

Chicago Sun-Times: Worriers are wasting time, money, one researcher says

Chicago Sun-Times: Shortage of caviar threatens festivities

Chicago Sun-Times: Buddy, can you spare an Official Barter Unit?

Chicago Sun-Times: Bridges to next millennium will work here, city claims

Chicago Sun-Times: Y2K brings back '50s-like fearsChicago Sun-Times:

City defends Y2K progress - Report of delays `totally false,' computer chief says

Chicago Sun-Times: Mayor getting tough on Y2K con artists

Chicago Sun-Times: City may be first with Y2K con man law

Chicago Sun-Times: Lack of interest bugs Y2K expo - `Survivalist' supplies shunned

Chicago Sun-Times: Weaver says Ruby Ridge standoff could have continued

Chicago Sun-Times: City `confident' about Y2K - $55 million, 3-yr. preparation all but done

Chicago Sun-Times: Consumers say `ho-hum' to Y2K

Chicago Sun-Times: Police asked to monitor extremist groups - FBI warns of Y2K violence

Chicago Sun-Times: Grocers, retailers prepared for Y2K

Chicago Sun-Times: Daley tries to nip Y2K fears - CTA won't let trains run near midnight

Chicago Sun-Times: Daley rips Hillard's Y2K staff memo

Chicago Sun-Times: Fire, theft top Y2K fears - Public's reaction also a big worry

Chicago Sun-Times: Apocalypse delayed - Prophets retreat from predictions

Chicago Sun-Times: Oh no! What will we worry about in 2000?

Chicago Sun-Times: Survivalist's wallet ends up $15K lighter

Chicago Sun-Times: Returning items may not be easy

Chicago Sun-Times: Consumers likely are stuck with extra Y2K provisions

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
1h 9min
December 22, 2025Johann Hoch: Bigamist and Murderer
Alyssa and Molly McAleer from Mother May I Sleep with Podcast travel back to the late 1890's/ early 1900's to discuss Chicago's Bluebeard Johann Hoch, a bigamist and murder whose crimes would be too much for a Lifetime Movie plot.
Show Notes:
Second City Sinners

New York Times: JOHANN HOCH HANGED, PROTESTING INNOCENCE; Wife Murderer's Lawyers to Test Denial of Stay in Last Hour. PRISONER FORCED DELAY Refused to Leave Death Cell Until Full Time Allowed by Sentence Was Run.

Digital Library of Chicago History: John Schmidt, aka Johann Otto Hoch thought to have killed over 50 women.
American Heritage: The Lady-killer

CBS: Chicago Hauntings: The Sinister Men Who Were Executed At The Old Cook County Jail Gallows, And Sightings At The River North Firehouse Now In Its Place

Chicago Tribune: WIVES OF HOCK FOUND ALL OVER.: Four More Listed by the New York Police Make Total of 37 Deluded Widows. EAST ALSO HIS PARISH. Much Married Man May Be Put on Way to Chicago This Morning on Extradition. Several Months in Landing One. Gets Her $900 and Skips. Will Demand His Punishment. May Be Still Another. Hock Again Is Remanded. Hock Flirts in Courtroom.

Chicago Tribune: THIS HOCK WIFE OF HIS OWN KIND.: Mrs. Ranken, His Spouse in 1895, Said to Have Too Many Husbands. POLICE SEE THE RECORDS. Documents Indicate Bigamist Was Married Twice in Seven Months. Justice Shows Hock Marriages. Matrimonial Agent Is Accuser. O'Neill Informed of Warrant.

Chicago Tribune: HOCK GLORIES IN MARITAL RECORD.: Thinks It Is Great Joke to Be Suspected of Murder of Many Wives, and Has a Happy Time. "WIDOWS HARD TO KEEP." Man "Explains" Sudden Deaths, Says He Is "Affectionate," and Tells of His Career, Which Began Early. Mysterious Powder in His Room. "GOt to suffer for Deserters," Sweatbox to Calin Him Down. Connoisseur of German Widows. Married Only Twice, He Says. It Is a Great Joke with Him. Angered by Talk of Poison.. "Disappointed" in Last Widow. Widows Weak, Savs Hock. Sava Police Are "Away Off." Adventurer Since Immigration. Taking Way with Widows. Chicago Headquarters for Years. Marriage "Ads" His Bait. New Wives in Quick Succession. Hopes He Can Meet the Woman. Doen Not Deny This Wife. Likes to Marry Sisters. Another One He "Can't Place." Explains Death of One More. Admits the Last Wives. Woman Sees Hock Again. Tells of Hammond Marriage. Still Kind to Her Husband. Will Get Startling Evidence.

Chicago Tribune: ROMANCE IN HOCK CASE.: BLUEBEARD CAUSES JEALOUS RIVAL TO WARN WIDOW. Romance in Story. Rival Suitor Suspicious. Suspicions Result in Arrest.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
1h 54min
December 15, 2025Sixteen Inch Softball: The Malort of Sports
Alyssa and Matt Drufke from the comedy show Still Not Friday talk about 16 inch softball.

Show Notes:
ABC-7: 'Chicago's game': 16-inch softball, created on Near South Side, celebrates 135th anniversary

Encyclopedia of Chicago:Softball, 16-Inch

Loop North News: The Home Front

Chicago History Museum: Indoor Baseball in Chicago:

Block Club Chicago: The Mangled History Of 16-Inch Softball Hands: Mallets, Swan Necks And Jersey Fingers

Chicago Tribune: Five facts about 16-inch softball

Chicago Reader: Searching for lovable losers? Sixteen-inch softball is the answer

Chicago Reader: Sticks and stones will break your bones, and so will 16-inch softball

Chicago Reader: Here’s the Pitch

Block Club Chicago: After 10 Years On The Bench, Park District Revives Co-Ed 16-Inch Softball: ‘We Got To Bring The Game Back’

New York Times: Gloveless Players Hold on to Softball Dreams

Block Club Chicago: Alderpeople Vs. Chicago Cops In 16-Inch Softball: ‘This Is The Best We’ve Gotten Along All Year

Axios: Kegger softball is a real thing

WGN: Jammed, broken, bent: Chicago’s own 16-inch softball comes with its own badge of honor

Chicago Sun-Times: Elena Kagan played Chicago-style 16-inch softball at U of Chicago

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
1h 21min
December 08, 2025The First Street Race: NASCAR was the Sequel
I am joined by Vanessa from Reel Relationships to talk about the first Motocycle (automobile) race in America which took place in Chicago.
Show Notes:
Smithsonian: Six Cars Raced to the Finish Line of the U.S.’s First Automobile Race—at Speeds of Seven Miles Per Hour

SI: Days of Blunder: The First U.S. Car Race Was Won 125 Years Ago ... at 7 mph

WGN: Second City Firsts

NBC Chicago: From the first auto race to NASCAR street racing: Chicago's racing history

NBC: Chicago hosted America's first auto race more than 100 years ago

Library of Illinois: America's First Automobile Race Occured in Chicago, Illinois, in 1895.

Chicago History Museum:H. H. Kohlsaat and the First Automotive Race in the US

NASCAR: Before the Chicago Street Race, there was the race that started it all

ABC-7: Aldermen meet with NASCAR over future of Chicago Street Race

Chicago Tribune: Chicago made a bit of money on NASCAR race in 2024

New York Times: NASCAR’s weather-plagued Chicago debut: On the Xfinity decision and what to expect for Cup

Block Club Chicago: Rain-Delayed NASCAR Chicago Street Race Wraps After Weather Cancels Morning Race And Concerts

Fortune: ‘Life-threatening’ floods bring Nascar race through downtown Chicago to screeching halt

Road & Track: NASCAR Needed Its Chicago Street Race to be a Success. Then Came the Flood.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
1h 14min
December 01, 2025 REWIND - The Christmas Tree Ship: A Forest on the Water
Alyssa and Captain Scoot from the maritime podcast ⁠ShipWrekt⁠ go back to the early 1900’s when schooners lined the main branch of the Chicago River selling Christmas trees and boating fatalities were the norm.

Show Notes:
⁠National Archives: The Christmas Tree Ship⁠
⁠ABC 7: US Coast Guard 'Christmas Ship' makes annual tree delivery at Chicago's Navy Pier⁠
⁠Block Club Chicago: Chicago’s Christmas Ship Docks At Navy Pier With Over 1,200 Trees For Chicago Families⁠
⁠Christmas Tree Ship History⁠
⁠Wisconsin Shipwrecks: The Rouse Simmons⁠
⁠Trailer for The Christmas Schooner⁠
⁠National Marine Sanctuary“Captain Santa” and the story of the Christmas Tree Ship Foundation:⁠
⁠The Historic Christmas Tree Ship: A True Story of Faith, Hope And Lov⁠e
⁠PBS Wisconsin: The Christmas Tree Ship⁠
⁠Charles Hackley⁠

Episodes Mentioned:
⁠Oh Malort! Eastland Episode

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
1h 27min
November 24, 2025Brown's Chicken Massacre: DNA for the Win
I am joined by Steven Ray Morris to talk about the Brown's Chicken Massacre.
Show Notes:
Seattle Times: Browns Chicken Murders Changed Business Forever

Chicago Tribune: Judge tosses bid for new hearing in Brown’s Chicken massacre

Chicago Sun-Times: ‘Divine intervention’ helped solve Brown’s Chicken Massacre, investigator says

NBC Chicago: Former Girlfriend of Murder Suspect Testifies

New York Times: Illinois Mass Murderer Is Spared Execution

How to Catch a Criminal: Taking a Bite out of Crime

Something Big The True Story of the Brown's Chicken Massacre, A Decade-Long Manhunt, and the Trials That Followed

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
1h 20min
November 21, 2025Midway Blitz Updates: The Lie
A lot happened today including two important written findings.

Show Notes:
U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel A. Fuentes

Judge Sarah Ellis

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
25min
November 18, 2025An Update on Chicago Courts and Operation Midway Blitz
The title pretty much explains it all.
Show Notes:
Chicago Sun-Times: Judge says he’ll order release of hundreds of people arrested under feds’ deportation blitz

Chicago Tribune: Only 2.6% on list of 614 ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ arrestees had criminal histories, DOJ records show

Chicago Tribune: Immigration agents have reportedly left Naval Station Great Lakes: ‘A sigh of relief’

Cummings Order

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
20min
November 17, 2025Jenny Jones: She is Tenacious
⁠Alyssa⁠ tells her new friend ⁠Jess⁠ about 90's Daytime Talk Show Host Jenny Jones.
Subscribe, leave a five-star review, tell your friends and follow on ⁠Twitter⁠, ⁠BlueSky⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠
Show Notes:
⁠Newsweek: ‘Trial by Media’ on Netflix: Where Is Jenny Jones Now and What Has She Said About the Murder of Scott Amedure?⁠

⁠People: Body of Evidence⁠

⁠People: True Confession⁠

⁠Chicago Tribune: DAZE OF TALK⁠

⁠Washington Post: THE MILD-MANNERED TALK SHOW⁠

⁠Newsweek: Making A Killing On Talk Tv⁠

⁠Washington Post: JENNY, ON THE SPOT⁠

⁠Washington Post: 'Jenny Jones' Talk Show Expected to Be Canceled⁠

⁠Women's World: Jenny Jones Hasn’t Been on TV Since 2003, But She’s Still Kept Busy⁠

⁠CBS: Jenny Jones Back, As Cookbook Author⁠

⁠Chicago Tribune: VIEWER-FRIENDLY FLUFF ON `JENNY JONES`⁠

⁠New York Times: Confessions of a Daytime Television Addict⁠

⁠Chicago Tun-Times: Jones sued over failure to air Web site address⁠

⁠Vice Media: Dark Side of the 90s⁠

⁠IMDB: Trial by Media⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
1h 7min

FAQs about Oh, Malort!:

How many episodes does Oh, Malort! have?

The podcast currently has 151 episodes available.

More shows like Oh, Malort!

This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

90,952 Listeners

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,791 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,239 Listeners

How Did This Get Made? by Earwolf and Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, Jason Mantzoukas

How Did This Get Made?

23,123 Listeners

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark by Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

172,023 Listeners

Pivot by New York Magazine

Pivot

9,519 Listeners

48 Hours by CBS News

48 Hours

10,762 Listeners

Plz Advise by Solid Listen

Plz Advise

674 Listeners

Mother, May I Sleep With Podcast? by Solid Listen

Mother, May I Sleep With Podcast?

1,069 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

111,848 Listeners

Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel by Esther Perel Global Media

Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel

14,871 Listeners

Morbid by Ash Kelley & Alaina Urquhart

Morbid

99,378 Listeners

This Is TASTE by Aliza Abarbanel & Matt Rodbard

This Is TASTE

311 Listeners

Don't Be Ugly by Solid Listen

Don't Be Ugly

375 Listeners

Make It Cute by Solid Listen

Make It Cute

27 Listeners

Halfsies by Solid Listen

Halfsies

370 Listeners

Shhh! Don't Talk About It by Solid Listen

Shhh! Don't Talk About It

28 Listeners

Hardly Focused by Solid Listen

Hardly Focused

5 Listeners

The Downtown Writers Jam by Solid Listen

The Downtown Writers Jam

34 Listeners