Oh, Malort!
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Oh, Malort! episodes

  • Chicago Nickames: The Second City and others

    We talk about Chicago Nicknames 
    Show Notes:
    `Reader's Digest: The Surprising Reason Why Chicago Is Called the “Windy City”
    Chicagology: Origin of the “Windy City”
    Pequods Pizza: Why Is Chicago Called the Windy City?
    WTTW: Revisiting the Biting Articles That Branded Chicago the "Second City"
    WTTW: WTTW News Explains: From Mud City to Second City, Where Did Chicago’s Nicknames Come From?
    Britannica: Why Is Chicago Called the “Second City”?
    Chicago Tribune: The Evolution of ‘Chiraq’
    Chicago Tribune: The Problem With ‘Chiraq’
    CBS: Meet The Man Who Coined The Word 'Chiberia'

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    1 hr 17 min
  • The Fugatives who Partied with Ken Paxton: The Chicago Connection

    Alyssa tels Vanessa all about these shady dudes who were recently shown in a videoringinf in the New Yea with Ken Paxton.


    Show Notes:

    Block Club Chicago: The Flashy Fugitives: Ex-Loretto Leader And Pal Accused Of Stealing Millions Are Living Large In DubaiChicago Sun-Times: Loretto Hospital's indicted former CFO back in Chicago, will remain in federal custody for now
    ABC-7: Loretto Hospital CEO under scrutiny for vaccinating 200 at Oak Forest church
    Block Club Chicago: Loretto Hospital Executive At Center Of COVID Scandal Charged With $15 Million In Fraud
    Block Club Chicago: Chicago Hospital Executive Bragged About Vaccinating Eric Trump On Day His Hospital Vaccinated Workers At Trump Tower
    ABC-7: Judge questions US Attorney's Office as charges are dropped in Loretto Hospital fraud case
    WTTW: The Loretto Hospital

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    1 hr 17 min
  • Leo Burnett: The Warm Sell

    Alyssa and Risen discuss her new kitty then Leo Burnett ad agency.
    Show Notes:LeoBurnett.Com
    Creative Hall of Fame: Leo Burnett
    WTTW: Ten Advertising Campaigns That Were Born in Chicago

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    54 min
  • 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
  • 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
  • "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
  • 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
  • 1910 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
    • Hugh 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
      • 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

      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…

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