Oh, Malort!

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Oh, Malort! episodes

October 06 Tylenol Murders, Mike Madigan, and Samuel Insull Oh My: A Potpouri
Alyssa updates John on the news about The Tylenol Murders and Mike Madigan then tells him about the time Samuel Insull took over The Studebaker Theatre to appease his wife.

Show Notes:
News Nation: Tylenol murders linked to newly solved Idaho cyanide death
ABC 7 Chicago: Cross-country cold case leads detectives to Chicago-area Tylenol murders
WGN: ‘Brilliant’ man ID’d in 1982 Idaho cold case had links to Chicago prior to Tylenol murdersWGN: ‘There’s no evidence’: Prosecutor doubts Idaho cold case link to Chicago Tylenol murders
Oxygen: Idaho’s “Unknown Wanderer” Identified After 44 Years: Could He Be Linked to the Tylenol Murders?
People: Mystery Man Died by Cyanide in 1982 and Went Unidentified for 40 Years. Was He Behind the Tylenol Murders?
New City: Fine Arts Building Interlude: Footnote in the Footlights, Samuel Insull and Gladys Wallis
WTTW: Who Committed the Tylenol Murders? After More Than 40 Years, the Case Remains Unsolved.
Chicago Sun-Times: Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan asks U.S. Supreme Court to hear his corruption case
New York Times: An Idaho Cold Case Revisits the Unsolved Tylenol Killings in 1982
New York Post: Metro Tylenol Murderer mystery gets bombshell new update as California wanderer ID’d as potential suspect: officials

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1 hr 4 min
September 28 The Front Page: A 1920's Broadway Genre
Alyssa is joined by David Baxter to discuss a play called "The Front Page" written by two reporters who covered Cook County Courts in the 1920's adding to the genre of crime reporter to Broadway Playwright. We discuss the real life inspirations.
Show Notes:New York Times: CHICAGO SHERIFF FREED.; Hoffman and Other Officials Acquitted of Favoring Beer-Runners.
Chicago Sun-Times: Review: 'The Front Page' centers two things Chicagoans really love — great ensembles and local history
Roger Ebert: Billy Wilder on “The Front Page”
Time: Hearst's Howey
Britannica: Yellow Journalism
New York Time: Hildy is Dead

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1 hr 3 min
September 21 "The Birth of the Pill" at Timeline Theatre
This episode is different. Alyssa is talks to Maren Robinson resident dramaturg at TimeLine Theatre Company about the Chicago connections to The Pill.
Show Notes:
TimeLine TheatreChicago Reader: The Birth of the Pill blends fact and fancyHistory Channel: FDA approves “the pill”
Chicago Tribune: How the Birth Control Pill Happened
Chicago Health Magazine: Chicago and The Pill
Chicago Public Library: 55th Anniversary of the Pill
National Geographic: Delivering "The Pill" Wasn't Easy
Jonathan Eig: The Birth of the Pill

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1 hr 9 min
September 14 Jesse White: An Illinois Institution
Alyssa tells Vanessa from Reel Relationships about Illinois Institution beloved former Secretary of State Jesse White.

Show Notes:
Chicago Tribune: IT WAS WRIGLEY, NOT SOME GOAT, WHO CURSED CUBS
Jesse White Tumbling Team
Chicago Tribune: Jesse White
New York Times: Once Told to Move to the Back of the Bus, Jesse White Became an Illinois Institution
WBEZ: Retiring Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White reveals the racism that shaped his legacyNBC: White Defends Pritzker After Ad Shows Gov. in 2008 Calling Him ‘Least-Offensive' Black Senate Candidate
ABC7: Sec. of State : I cannot co-sign Blago document

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1 hr 26 min
September 071910 Garment Strike: Girls get it Done
In honor of Labor Day, sitting in the epicenter of the labor movement Alyssa tells Pat Westmacott about the 1910 Garment Workers Strike and the long lasting implications it has in America.

Show Notes:
National Park Services: Women of the 1910 Chicago Garment Workers' Strike

History: Labor Day 2026

WTTW: Key Moments in Chicago Labor History

NYT: On Language; Greenhorn

Chicago Tribune: And the women shall lead: Female laborers at forefront of Chicago's massive garment workers strike of 1910

Oh Malort: Haymarket

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1 hr 6 min
August 31Hugh Hefner: Ethical Perv?
Alyssa and Molls discuss Chicago native Hugh Hefner:
Show Notes:
WTTW: The Making of Playboy

A&E: Making of Playboy

Roger Ebert: Hugh Hefner

CST: https://chicago.suntimes.com/2017/9/28/18395092/from-the-ebert-archive-hefner-returns-to-haunts-of-chicago-childhood

FBI: Hugh Hefner Part 01 (Final)

TIME: No, Hugh Hefner Did Not Love Women

NYT: HEFNER IS SILENT ONDRUGS INQUIRY

Chicago A longtime Playboy editor on working for Hugh Hefner Reader

DNAinfo: Hugh Hefner's Chicago: The Neighborhoods That Helped Make The Man

Chicago Reader: The Life and Death of Bobbie Arnstein

NYT: Hugh Hefner, Who Built the Playboy Empire and Embodied It, Dies at 91

WTTW: Hugh Hefner, Playboy Founder and Chicago Native, Dies at 91

Variety:Jesse Jackson: Hugh Hefner Was Ahead of His Time in Support of Racial Equality

Men's Journal: A Man Out of Time: On the Complicated Legacy of Hugh Hefner, Dead at 91

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2 hr 28 min
August 24 Felony Review: A Reading Session
Alyssa tells Morgan about a book with a major error. while playing Oh Malort! Bingo
Show Notes:
WTTW: Chicago Man Acquitted of Murder-for-Hire Charge in Plot Allegedly Targeting Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino
Felony Review: Tales of True Crime and Corruption in Chicago
WTTW: Eileen O’Neill Burke is ‘Not Related to THAT Burke’ — But He Backed Her Appellate Court Bid

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2 hr 41 min
August 17Rewind: The Band Chicago: Roller Rink Music
Alyssa tells ⁠Matt Drufke⁠ from ⁠Still Not Friday Comedy⁠ about the band Chicago. We both learned a lot. Come for the subject and stay for the digressions.
Support the show by subscribing, leaving a five-star review, telling all your friends and following on ⁠Twitter⁠, ⁠BlueSky⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠.
Show Notes:
⁠Rock & Roll Hall of Fame⁠

⁠Chicago The Band⁠

⁠DNA Info: Daughter's Film Tells Story of the 'Chicago' Guitarist You Don't Remember⁠

⁠CBS Chicago: Robert Lamm, Founding Member Of Chicago, Looks Back On Band's History Ahead Of Rock Hall Of Fame Induction⁠

⁠Washington Post: Why did CNN air a documentary about the band Chicago produced by band members?⁠

⁠Chicago Tribune: Chicago Gives Daley a Jersey⁠

⁠Idaho Free Press: Mayor Daley Praises Chicago⁠

⁠The Virginian Pilot: Original Chicago member, still rockin' after 50 years, doesn't mince words⁠

⁠Variety⁠

⁠History of Chicago (Band) Now More Than Ever Documentary⁠

⁠VH1 Behind the Music⁠

⁠Chicago: The Terry Kath Experience⁠

⁠Chicago: The Last Band on Stage

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1 hr 41 min
August 10Samuel Insull: Monopoly Man and Broadway Producer
Alyssa tells Vanessa from Reel Relationships about Samuel Insull. This episode ranges from monopolies to "Citizen Kane."
Show Notes:
Chicago Tribune: THE RISE AND FALL OF SAMUEL INSULL

New York Times: THE INSULL UTILITY EMPIRE: ITS AMAZING RISE AND FALL; The Steps by Which the Chicago Magnate Built Up His Great Holding Companies and the Shocks That Destroyed Them

American Heritage: The Fall of Samuel Insull

PBS: Samuel Insull

New York Times: SAMUEL INSULL

Time: POWER: Death of an Era

WBEZ: Guilty or innocent? The saga of Samuel Insull

New York Times: Before There Was Enron, There Was Insull

Time:Business: Mr. Insull Speaks

New City: Fine Arts Building Interlude: Footnote in the Footlights, Samuel Insull and Gladys Wallis

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1 hr
August 03 The Picasso: It Revolutionized Public Art
We talk about "The Picasso" and public art.

Show Notes:
The Art Newspaper: From the archive | the story behind the ‘controversial’ Picasso sculpture that became a symbol of Chicago
Chicago Public Library: 1967 August 15--Picasso Statue Unveiled In Civic Center Plaza
SOM
WTTW: A "Colossal Booboo": The Incredible Story of the Chicago PicassoArchitectural Digest: Pablo Picasso's Chicago Sculpture Celebrates 50th Anniversary
Chicago Sun-Times: Human Bean? Mysterious group says there's a grown man living inside Cloud Gate, aka 'the Bean'
Modern Dog Magazine: Picasso’s Dogs

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1 hr 1 min

About Oh, Malort!

From the publisher's feed

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…