She was eleven years old when the English arrived. Disney made her twenty-something with a love story. History gave her a name that wasn't hers. This week we're spilling the real story of Pocahontas — or Amonute, as she was actually named — and it's nothing like what you were taught.

We're breaking down the Powhatan Confederacy (one of the most powerful empires on the eastern seaboard), what John Smith actually wrote versus what he claimed seventeen years later, and the kidnapping, forced conversion, and suspected poisoning that the Disney movie conveniently left out.

Spoiler: she didn't save him. She was sent there. And the love story was invented by men who needed a myth more than they needed the truth.

If you've ever wanted to understand Native American history, Indigenous women, or colonization in the Americas beyond what you learned in school — this one's for you.

Want more? Check our our book reccomendations: https://bookshop.org/shop/SPILLED

Sources:

• Aron, Paul. "Pocahontas & John Smith: The Love Story Was Fiction...But Loved." Trend & Tradition Magazine (Colonial Williamsburg), July 2, 2025. https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/discover/resource-hub/trend-tradition-magazine/trend-tradition-summer-2025/pocahontas-and-john-smith/
• Historic Jamestowne. "Meeting the English." Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation. https://historicjamestowne.org/history/pocahontas/meeting-the-english/
• Mansky, Jackie. "The True Story of Pocahontas Is More Complicated Than You Might Think." Smithsonian Magazine, updated February 20, 2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-pocahontas-more-complicated-than-you-might-think-180962649/
• National Park Service. "Pocahontas: Her Life and Legend." Jamestown National Historic Site, last updated September 4, 2022. https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/pocahontas-her-life-and-legend.htm
• Paul, Heike. "Pocahontas and the Myth of Transatlantic Love." In The Myths That Made America. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1wxsdq.6
• Silverman, David. "John Smith’s Bold Endeavor." Interview by Lisa Q. Wolfinger. NOVA: Pocahontas Revealed, PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pocahontas/silverman.html
• Smith, John. Excerpts from The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles (1624). Encyclopedia Virginia. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/primary-documents/john-smith-and-pocahontas-in-england-an-excerpt-from-the-generall-historie-of-virginia-new-england-and-the-summer-isles-by-john-smith-1624
• Wood, Karenne. "Prisoners of History: Pocahontas, Mary Jemison, and the Poetics of an American Myth." Studies in American Indian Literatures 28, no. 1 (2016): 73–82. https://doi.org/10.5250/studamerindilite.28.1.0073
• van der Straet, Jan (Stradanus). Allegory of America, ca. 1587–89. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/343845

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You loved our first WWII episode, so we're back with MORE! This week we're covering stories that your history teacher definitely skipped: women in codebreaking, queer resistance, and psychological warfare. Think cracking Nazi spy rings from behind a desk, two lesbian stepsister artists using "paper bullets" to take down an occupying army, and a 21-year-old Jewish refugee who had German soldiers writing her love letters.

No dry lectures. Just the drama, the gossip, and the stories that actually deserved the spotlight.

Haven't listened to Part 1 yet? Start there — that's where we lay the context on the origin of and players in WWII.

Obsessed? Want more? Check our fiction & nonfiction book recommendations here: https://bookshop.org/shop/SPILLED

Research Documents:

• BBC Future. “The Female Code Breakers Who Were Left Out of History Books.” bbc.com/future, October 9, 2017. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20171009-the-female-code-breakers-who-were-left-out-of-history-books
• BBC. “The Bletchley Girls: Cracking Women.” bbc.co.uk. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/Q3lFn2vTv9JMgxX98bRhL/the-bletchley-girls-cracking-women
• The Art Newspaper. “How Artist Couple Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore Resisted the Nazis with Their Paper Bullets.” November 4, 2020. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2020/11/04/extract-or-how-artist-couple-claude-cahun-and-marcel-moore-resisted-the-nazis-with-their-paper-bullets
• History Extra. “On the Same Side: Homosexuals During the Second World War.” https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/on-the-same-side-homosexuals-during-the-second-world-war/
• Putnam, Jennifer, PhD. “V for Victory: A Sign of Resistance.” The National WWII Museum, February 1, 2024. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/v-victory-sign-resistance
• White, April. “One of the Allies’ Secret Weapons Against the Nazis Was a 21-Year-Old Woman Armed With a Microphone and a Script of Lies.” Smithsonian Magazine, March 2026. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/allies-secret-weapons-against-nazis-woman-armed-microphone-script-lies-180988094/

Context Sources:

• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Introduction to the Holocaust.” https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/introduction-to-the-holocaust
• National WWII Museum. “WWII by the Numbers.” https://www.nationalww2museum.org/students-teachers/student-resources/research-starters/research-starters-worldwide-deaths-world-war
• History.com Editors. “World War II.” https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history

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She had a married sugar daddy funding her LA apartment. Then she dumped him and became the first — and only — woman to lead the Black Panther Party. This week we're spilling everything on Elaine Brown: her rise through the Black Panther Party, what black feminism actually looked like in the 1960s, and why history class completely left her out. If you've ever wanted to understand the civil rights movement, intersectionality, or just want to feel smarter at your next dinner party — this one's for you.

Sources:

• Brown, Elaine. "A Woman Black Panther." PBS American Experience: Eyes on the Prize. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/eyesontheprize-woman-black-panther/
• Fremon, Celeste. "41st and Central, 1969 – The Black Panther Shootout & the Birth of SWAT." WitnessLA, April 6, 2011. https://witnessla.com/41st-and-central-1969-the-black-panther-shootout-the-birth-of-swat/
• Henry, Carmel. "A Brief History of Civil Rights: The Black Panther Party." Howard University School of Law. http://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/bpp
• Jernigan, Cameron. "A Taste of Power: The Rhetorical Potency of Elaine Brown." UNC JOURney, Spring 2017. https://uncjourney.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/13377/2017/05/JOURneySpring2017vol1Digital-1.pdf
• Maynard, Alicia. "The Assassination." The Assassination of Fred Hampton. Digital Chicago, 2019. https://digitalchicagohistory.org/exhibits/show/fred-hampton-50th/the-assassination
• National Archives. "Elaine Brown (March 2, 1943)." https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/individuals/elaine-brown
• NBCUniversal. "Elaine Brown: A Black Panther’s Journey in Breaking New Ground." Voices of the Civil Rights Movement, 2021. https://voicesofthecivilrightsmovement.com/articles/elaine-brown
• Seither, Robert James. "Women in the Black Panther Party." TCNJ Journal of Student Scholarship 17 (April 2015). https://mapped.tcnj.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/176/2015/04/2015-Seither.pdf
• Verge, Shane Trudell. "Revolutionary Vision." Meridians 2, no. 2 (2002): 101–25. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40338509
• The Guardian. "Activist Elaine Brown: You Must Be Willing to Die for What You Believe In." March 27, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/27/activist-elaine-brown-you-must-be-willing-to-die-for-what-you-believe-in

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Henry VIII's six wives — Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Katherine Parr — were more powerful, more capable, and more fascinating than Tudor history ever gave them credit for. Let's fix that.

SOURCES

Catherine of Aragon:

• Bergenroth, G. A., ed. "Introduction." Calendar of State Papers, Spain. London, 1868. British History Online. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/spain/supp/vols1-2/vii-lxxx
• Bridge, Mark. "Katherine of Aragon’s Military Nous Helped Defeat Scots Invasion." The Times, May 27, 2020.
• Britannica Editors. "Catherine of Aragon." Encyclopedia Britannica, January 3, 2026. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Catherine-of-Aragon
• Brown, Rebecca Starr. "The Upbringing of Katherine of Aragon & Her Siblings." RebeccaStarrBrown.com, March 5, 2018. https://rebeccastarrbrown.com/2018/03/05/the-childhood-of-katherine-of-aragon/
• Glasgow Museums Collections Online. "Catherine Aragon." https://collections.glasgowmuseums.com/mwebcgi/mweb?request=record;id=82029;type=701
• Prendergast, Maria Teresa. "King, Confessor, and Princess: Contesting Catherine of Aragon’s Dowry and Soul in Her 1507 Letters."
• Solly, Meilan. "When Catherine of Aragon Led England’s Armies to Victory Over Scotland." Smithsonian Magazine, October 14, 2020. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-catherine-aragon-led-englands-armies-victory-over-scotland-180975982/
• Zarevich, Emily. "Catherine of Aragon: Europe’s First Female Ambassador." Daily JSTOR, January 2, 2023. https://daily.jstor.org/catherine-of-aragon-europes-first-female-ambassador/

Anne Boleyn:

• "Anne Boleyn." Historic Royal Palaces. https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/anne-boleyn/
• "Anne Boleyn Timeline." Hever Castle. https://www.hevercastle.co.uk/visit/hever-castle/timelines/anne-boleyn-timeline/
• Percy, Henry. "Henry Percy." Spartacus Educational. https://spartacus-educational.com/Henry_Percy.htm
• Toscani, Melissa. "Anne Boleyn." Prof. Pavlac’s Women’s History Resource Site. http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/anneboleyn.html

Jane Seymour:

• Britannica Editors. "Jane Seymour." Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jane-Seymour
• EBSCO Research. "Jane Seymour." History Research Starters, 2022. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/jane-seymour
• "Jane Seymour: Henry VIII’s Favourite Queen?" Historic Royal Palaces. https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/history-and-stories/jane-seymour/
• Walsh, Alexandra. "The Scandalous Seymours." Historia Magazine, July 26, 2022. https://historiamag.com/the-scandalous-seymours/

Anne of Cleves:

• "Anne of Cleves." Historic Royal Palaces. https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/history-and-stories/anne-of-cleves/
• "Anna of Cleves: Early Life and Court Culture." Maidens and Manuscripts, September 22, 2021. https://maidensandmanuscripts.com/2021/09/22/anna-of-cleves-early-life-and-court-culture/
• Nunn, Hillary. "‘It Lak’th but Life’: Redford’s Wit and Science, Anne of Cleves, and the Politics of Interpretation." Comparative Drama, vol. 33, no. 2, 1999. JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41153970

Catherine Howard:

• "Catherine Howard." Historic Royal Palaces. https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/history-and-stories/catherine-howard/
• Britannica Editors. "Catherine Howard." Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Catherine-Howard
• "Catherine Howard: Facts About Her Life, Death and Marriage to Henry VIII." History Extra. https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/catherine-howard-facts-life-death-marriage-henry-viii-execution-ghost/
• "Catherine Howard: Why Was She Executed?" Thirteen/WNET. https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/sixwives/meet/ch_handbook_why.html

Katherine Parr:

• "Katherine Parr." Historic Royal Palaces. https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/history-and-stories/katherine-parr/
• Kulik, R. M. "Lady-in-waiting." Encyclopedia Britannica, July 13, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/lady-in-waiting

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CORRECTION: In this episode we reference Audie Murphy as the "most decorated American soldier in WWII." His kill count was 240, not 33 -- we misspoke, he had 33 awards.

In this episode, we get into what to say when a man starts mansplaining WWII… and the stories he’s probably leaving out. We talk about Lyudmila Pavlichenko, known as Lady Death, and how she became one of the deadliest snipers of the war, the Soviet Night Witches who flew nighttime bombing missions in near-silent planes, double agent Juan Pujol García (Garbo) who helped mislead the Nazis, and Wojtek the bear, a literal bear enlisted by Polish troops who carried ammunition during battle.

If you’re into World War II history, this episode has a mix of overlooked figures, spy chaos, and stories that sound fake but are very real. It’s part history lesson, part unhinged commentary, and fully the kind of context you’ll wish you had the next time this topic comes up.

Sources:

• National WWII Museum. “Night Witches: The Soviet Women Pilots Who Terrified Nazi Soldiers.” October 2025. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/night-witches-soviet-women-pilots-who-terrified-nazi-soldiers
• National WWII Museum. “Lady Death of the Red Army: Lyudmila Pavlichenko.” March 2021. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/lady-death-red-army-lyudmila-pavlichenko
• MI5. “Agent GARBO.” mi5.gov.uk. https://www.mi5.gov.uk/history/world-war-ii/agent-garbo
• BBC News. “Wojtek the Bear.” https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy4nd3n33yeo
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Introduction to the Holocaust.” https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/introduction-to-the-holocaust
• National WWII Museum. “WWII by the Numbers.” https://www.nationalww2museum.org/students-teachers/student-resources/research-starters/research-starters-worldwide-deaths-world-war
• History.com Editors. “World War II.” https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history

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In this episode, we get into the Sacred Band of Thebes, an elite ancient Greek army made up of 150 pairs of male lovers who quite literally fought side by side. We talk about why the Thebans believed love made soldiers stronger, how this unit became one of the most feared forces in Greece, and how they went head to head with Sparta at the height of its power.

If you loved The Song of Achilles, this story has the same mix of battlefield devotion, loyalty, and heartbreak. It is part military strategy, part love story, and fully chaotic in the way only ancient history can be. We break down the rivalry, the battles, and the real history behind the idea that couples who fight together might actually win together.

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Watergate is one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history, but do you actually know what happened? This week we spill the story behind the Watergate break-in, the cover-up, and how it all led to the resignation of Richard Nixon. We also get into the wild side of the scandal, including the outspoken Martha Mitchell and the mysterious source known as Deep Throat. Lies, secret tapes, political drama, you're in for a wild ride.

SOURCES: 

Colodny, Len, and Robert Gettlin. Silent Coup: The Removal of a President. St. Martin's Press, 1991.

Dwyre, Diana, and Robin Kolodny. "Corruption and Campaign Finance in the U.S." The Fundamentals of Campaign Finance in the U.S.: Why We Have the System We Have, University of Michigan Press, 2024, pp. 29–63. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3998/mpub.9813302.8.

Gormly, Kellie B. "Martha Mitchell Was the Brash 'Mouth of the South' That Roared." Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Apr. 2022, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/martha-mitchell-was-the-brash-mouth-of-the-south-that-roared-180979951/.

HISTORY.com Editors. "Identity of 'Deep Throat,' Source Who Helped Unravel the Watergate Scandal, Is Revealed." History.com, 13 Nov. 2009, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/may-31/deep-throat-is-revealed.

Lineberry, Cate. "Martha Mitchell: The Socialite Turned Watergate Whistleblower." History.com, 25 Apr. 2022, http://history.com/articles/martha-mitchell-watergate-kidnapping.

Morgan, Ruth P. "Nixon, Watergate, and the Study of the Presidency." Presidential Studies Quarterly, vol. 26, no. 1, 1996, pp. 217–238. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27551561.

National Security Archive. "Six Things You Didn't Know About Watergate." nsarchive.gwu.edu, 27 May 2021, https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/2021-05-27/six-things-you-didnt-know-about-watergate.

National Security Archive. "Haldeman Diary Transcript, April 29, 1973." nsarchive.gwu.edu, https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/21240-730429-haldeman-diary-transcript.

O'Connor, John D. "I'm the Guy They Called Deep Throat." Vanity Fair, July 2005, https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/2005/7/im-the-guy-they-called-deep-throat.

Richard Nixon Foundation. "Watergate Explained." Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, https://www.nixonfoundation.org/watergate-explained/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.

Shepard, Alicia C. "Deep Throat's Legacy to Journalism." NPR, 19 Dec. 2008, https://www.npr.org/2008/12/19/98532461/deep-throats-legacy-to-journalism.

Smoller, Fred. "Watergate Revisited." PS: Political Science and Politics, vol. 25, no. 2, 1992, pp. 225–227. https://doi.org/10.2307/419713.

U.S. National Archives. "Nixon and the Environment." Prologue Magazine, Winter 2012, http://archives.gov/publications/prologue/2012/winter/nixon-homefront.

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Even if you haven't seen the show (Kendyl hasn't), you're going to want to tune in to this one. This week we’re getting into the real history behind Peaky Blinders. Inspired by the hit series Peaky Blinders, we break down who the Peaky Blinders actually were, the true gang wars of early 1900s Birmingham, and the core figures who built the gang’s reputation long before TV dramatized it.

We talk bad accents (ours included), the iconic outfits, what the show gets right (and wrong), and how much of the Shelby story is rooted in fact. If you’ve ever wondered about the real Peaky Blinders, their history, and the crime culture that inspired the series — this one’s for you.

SOURCES

Gooderson, Philip. The Gangs of Birmingham. Milo Books, 2010.

Our History. "The Shocking History Behind the Real Peaky Blinders." YouTube, 25 Oct. 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUJibuwsImI.

Sharpe, James. "Who Were the Real Peaky Blinders?" Smithsonian Magazine, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-were-real-peaky-blinders-180973328/.

"The Real Peaky Blinders." FindMyPast, www.findmypast.com/blog/discoveries/real-peaky-blinders.

West Midlands Police Museum. Criminal Records and Mugshots Collection. Birmingham, England.

Wu, Yang. "Coal Resources Distribution and Its Influence on Industrial Development and Underground Water in UK." Journal of Coastal Research, vol. 94, 2019, pp. 97–101. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26853258.

Primary Sources:

"Peaky Blinders Gang Activity." Birmingham Mail, 24 Mar. 1890.

"Thomas Walters Criminal Record." Cheltenham Chronicle, 12 Jan. 1901.

"Birmingham Gang." Warwick and Warwickshire Advertiser, 2 Nov. 1929.

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This week, we’re talking Giulia Tofana and the infamous Aqua Tofana — the legendary 17th-century poison rumored to be colorless, tasteless, and almost impossible to detect. We break down the history, the myths, and why this story still fascinates people today, especially its ties to women secretly poisoning abusive husbands in a time when divorce wasn’t an option.

Plus, because it’s us, we’re playing Fuck, Marry, Kill inspired by the episode.

If you love dark history, true crime legends, and chaotic commentary, this one’s for you.

SOURCES: 

Griffiths, Arthur. “Female Criminals.” The North American Review 161, no. 465 (1895): 141–52. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25103561.

Review of Inorganic Poisons, by Paul Dittrich, Franz Erben, and R. v. Jaksch. The British Medical Journal 2, no. 2556 (1909): 1802–3. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25289004.

Johann Wilhelm Archenholz recounted the story of “Aqua Tofana” in his travel narrative England und Italien (1785)

https://www.folger.edu/blogs/shakespeare-and-beyond/women-and-early-modern-poison/

Dash, Mike. “Aqua Tofana,” n.d.

From the greater book “Toxicology in the Middle Ages and Renaissance”

Ferraro, Joanne M. “The Power to Decide: Battered Wives in Early Modern Venice.” 

Renaissance Quarterly 48, no. 3 (1995): 492–512. https://doi.org/10.2307/2862872.

Monson, Craig A. The Black Widows of the Eternal City: The True Story of Rome’s Most 

Infamous Poisoners. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2020.

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We're back with our MOST requested episode yet -- the Salem Witch Trials! Join us to hear us unpack the biggest misconceptions, implications, and causes of the witch hunts and trials that plagued Salem, Massachusetts between February 1692 – May 1693. We cover famous trials, shocking facts, and as always, one too many dirty jokes.

SOURCES:

•  Deodat Lawson, A Brief and True Narrative of Some Remarkable Passages Relating to Sundry Persons Afflicted by Witchcraft, at Salem Village Which happened from the Nineteenth of March to the Fifth of April 1692 (Boston: Benjamin Harris, 1692), p. 9.
• Norton, Mary Beth. In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692. Alfred A. Knopf, 2002
• Georgescu, Sedona. Fear Thy Neighbor: Spatial Relations in 17th Century New England Witch-Hunt Trials. Documents, 2017. https://jstor.org/stable/community.34031178.
•  https://doi.org/10.2307/362849.
• (A. Scott, personal communication, 2025)

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