Strange Country

In the 1980s, whilst the media stirred up frenzies over Satanists in our midst or a nuclear bomb landing in Washington, a reporter made a documentary adding vaccines to the growing list of dangers. Vaccine Roulette claimed the pertussis vaccine caused brain damage in kids, which led to a drop in immunizations, a rise in whooping cough, and a near-end to the production of vaccines. On Strange Country, cohosts Beth and Kelly talk about this antivax movement spawned during the time of leg warmers and Alf, and continues to impact the current vaccine hesitancy we see today.

Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands

Cite your sources:

Spurious Correlations, https://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations. Accessed 24 August 2023. Astor, Maggie. "How These Vocal Anti Covid Vaccine Chiropractors Have Split the Profession." The New York Times, 14 July 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/14/health/anti-covid-vaxxers.html. Accessed 1 September 2023. Bond, Shannon. "Just 12 People Are Behind Most Vaccine Hoaxes On Social Media, Research Shows." NPR, 13 May 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/05/13/996570855/disinformation-dozen-test-facebooks-twitters-ability-to-curb-vaccine-hoaxes. Accessed 24 August 2023. Edwards, Erika. "Childhood vaccinations in the U.S. fall again, leaving kids at risk for preventable disease." NBC News, 12 January 2023, http://nbcnews.com/health/health-news/childhood-vaccinations-us-fall-leaving-kids-risk-preventable-disease-rcna65493. Accessed 24 August 2023. Haelle, Tara. "How vaccine hesitancy has dealt damage over centuries." Science News, 11 May 2021, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/vaccine-hesitancy-history-damage-anti-vaccination. Accessed 2 September 2023. Offit, Paul A. Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All. Basic Books, 2011. Sun, Lena H. "Growing vaccine hesitancy fuels measles, chickenpox resurgence in U.S." Washington Post, 26 December 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/12/26/vaccine-hesitancy-measles-chickenpox-polio-flu/. Accessed 24 August 2023. "Vaccines - Research and data from Pew Research Center." Pew Research Center, https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/science/science-issues/medicine-health/vaccines/. Accessed 2 September 2023.

Mabel Norris Reese shone a light on racism and injustice in Lake County Fla. in the 1950s and 60s before the racist element drove the newspaper editor out of town. Strange Country cohosts and former reporters Beth and Kelly talk about this intrepid journalist and wish that Bugs Bunny gif of him sawing off Florida could somehow come true.

Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands

Cite your sources:

Explore Florida's Civil Rights History – US Civil Rights Trail." Civil Rights Trail, https://civilrightstrail.com/state/florida/. Accessed 21 August 2023. Florida Frontiers: Journalist Mabel Norris Reese. Performance by Ben Brotmarkle, Florida Frontiers, 2022. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcVisOvMAFw. Fortin, Jacey. "Florida Apologizes for 'Gross Injustices' to Groveland Four, Decades Later (Published 2017)." The New York Times, 27 April 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/27/us/groveland-four-apology-florida.html?searchResultPosition=1. Accessed 21 August 2023. "Freedom Never Dies: The Story of Harry T. Moore - Florida Terror - Groveland - Introduction." PBS, https://www.pbs.org/harrymoore/terror/groveland.html. Accessed 21 August 2023. Holpuch, Amanda. "Groveland Four Are Exonerated More Than 70 Years Later." The New York Times, 22 November 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/22/us/groveland-four-exonerated-florida.html. Accessed 16 August 2023. King, Gilbert. Beneath a Ruthless Sun: A True Story of Violence, Race, and Justice Lost and Found. Riverhead Books, 2018. Mettler, Katie, and Aaron Wiener. "'Groveland Four' exonerated 72 years after false rape allegation - The Washington Post." Washington Post, 23 November 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/11/23/groveland-four-florida-exonerated-rape/. Accessed 21 August 2023. Ortiz, Erik. "Groveland Four, the Black men accused in a 1949 rape, get case dismissed." NBC News, 22 November 2021, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/groveland-four-black-men-accused-1949-rape-get-case-dismissed-rcna6016. Accessed 16 August 2023.

We are requiring all readers of Strange Country and their partners, families and friends and everyone else to watch the Barbie movie. That way you can fully enjoy Kelly and Beth's homage to Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie. Learn details about the woman who, really, all of us should have studied in school as an example of an entrepreneur. Women have it tough, people. That's it. Listen with love and let's keep holding each other and get through these BS challenges. And no, Greta Gerwig did not pay us for our endorsement. She is welcome to though! PS—Kelly finally got a mattress.

Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands

Cite your sources, dude:

Gerber, Robin. Barbie and Ruth. Harper Collins ebooks, 2009.

Latson, Jennifer. "The Barbie Doll's Not-For-Kids Origins." Time, no. March 9, 2015, https://time.com/3731483/barbie-history/. Accessed 8 August 2023.

"Who Made America? | Innovators | Ruth Handler." PBS, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/handler_hi.html. Accessed 8 August 2023.

"Why Barbie Inventor Ruth Handler Got in Trouble With the IRS, SEC." Business Insider, 31 July 2023, https://www.businessinsider.com/barbie-inventor-ruth-handler-mattel-irs-sec-false-financial-statements-2023-7. Accessed 9 August 2023.

If your site is like a video game health regenerator for the Ku Klux Klan, that might be a sign your site needs a facelift. Yet Stone Mountain, Ga., continues to exist as the the largest Confederate monument in the world. Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly discuss this paean to traitors and how the United Daughters of the Confederacy united to f*** up history so that we're still discussing whether we should keep up Confederate monuments.

Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands

Cite your sources:

Galloway, Jim. "The Georgia law that protects Stone Mountain, other Confederate monuments." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 17 August 2017, https://www.ajc.com/blog/politics/the-georgia-law-that-protects-stone-mountain-other-confederate-monuments/IIyMj6919d5JFo40QMS4RJ/. Accessed 20 July 2023.

Moffatt, Emil, and Abraham Mosley. "Confederate Imagery On Stone Mountain Is Changing, But Not Fast Enough For Some." NPR, 21 June 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/06/21/1007924006/confederate-imagery-on-stone-mountain-is-changing-but-not-fast-enough-for-some. Accessed 19 July 2023.

"Monument: The Untold Story of Stone Mountain." Atlanta History Center, https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/monument/. Accessed 19 July 2023.

"Native Americans and Mount Rushmore | American Experience." PBS, 2023, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/rushmore-sioux/. Accessed 19 July 2023.

Rozsa, Lori. "Florida approves Black history standards decried as 'step backward.'" Washington Post, 19 July 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/07/19/florida-black-history-standards/. Accessed 20 July 2023.

Stephens, Alexander H. "Cornerstone Speech." American Battlefield Trust, https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/cornerstone-speech. Accessed 19 July 2023.

SUPERVILLE, DARLENE. "Trump says 'learn from history' instead of removing statues." AP News, 23 June 2020, https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-race-and-ethnicity-ap-top-news-politics-fa842fd5bcf509bdc6d199c31e134f53. Accessed 19 July 2023.

Thompson, Erin L. Smashing Statues: The Rise and Fall of America's Public Monuments. WW Norton, 2022.

Treisman, Rachel. "Nearly 100 Confederate Monuments Removed In 2020, Report Says; More Than 700 Remain." NPR, 23 February 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/02/23/970610428/nearly-100-confederate-monuments-removed-in-2020-report-says-more-than-700-remai. Accessed 19 July 2023.

Maybe this got lost in the shuffle for you, dear readers, like it did for Beth who completely spaced about this, but in the weeks after 9/11, opening the mail was a terrifying act. That's because someone was sending anthrax letters to the media and politicians. Five people died and another 17 were sickened in these attacks. It took eight years for the FBI to find their suspect, and even now some questioned whether or not they got the right man. Join Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly as they dissect this story that never made it into their memory banks.

Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands

Cite your sources:

"Anthrax Facts - MN Dept. of Health." Minnesota Department of Health, 5 October 2022, https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/anthrax/anthrax.html. Accessed 9 July 2023.

"Anthrax | National Postal Museum." National Postal Museum |, https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/behind-the-badge-case-histories-dangerous-mail/anthrax. Accessed 8 July 2023.

Diamond, Dan. "Trump's election challenges distracted from covid response, White House adviser told colleagues." The Washington Post, 23 September 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/09/23/trump-election-challenge-covid-response/. Accessed 9 July 2023.

Engelberg, Stephen. "New Evidence Adds Doubt to FBI's Case Against Anthrax Suspect." ProPublica, 10 October 2011, https://www.propublica.org/article/new-evidence-disputes-case-against-bruce-e-ivins. Accessed 8 July 2023.

Freed, David. "The Wrong Man." The Atlantic, 15 May 2010, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/05/the-wrong-man/308019/. Accessed 8 July 2023.

Lancaster, John. "When anthrax-laced letters terrorized Washington and New York." The Washington Post, 24 October 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/10/24/when-anthrax-laced-letters-terrorized-washington-new-york/. Accessed 5 July 2023.

Palca, Joe. "FBI Faulted For Overstating Science In Anthrax Case." NPR, 15 February 2011, https://www.npr.org/2011/02/15/133775495/fbi-faulted-for-overstating-science-in-anthrax-case. Accessed 8 July 2023.

Shane, Scott. "Portrait Emerges of Anthrax Suspect's Troubled Life." The New York Times, 3 January 2009, https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/us/04anthrax.html?searchResultPosition=1. Accessed 7 July 2023.

"Spotlight falls on anthrax case

Stoogenke, Jason. "Did you get a paper called a 'prayer rug' in the mail?" WSOC TV, 14 February 2022, https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/did-you-got-paper-called-prayer-rug-mail/TT3NX4AHXBGOBFYVBQPWC5IQGQ/. Accessed 5 July 2023.

Tarm, Michael. "Ex-House Speaker settles child sexual abuse payments suit." AP News, 15 September 2021, https://apnews.com/article/lawsuits-sexual-abuse-illinois-dennis-hastert-99160a4428db66e86da8e275e57c8ec7. Accessed 5 July 2023.

Temple-Raston, Dina. "David Willman's "The Mirage Man: Bruce Ivins, the Anthrax Attacks, and America's Rush to War."" The Washington Post, 11 August 2011, https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/david-willmans-the-mirage-man-bruce-ivins-the-anthrax-attacks-and-americas-rush-to-war/2011/07/25/gIQAyrZM9I_story.html. Accessed 9 July 2023.

Wiser, Mike. "New Report Casts Doubt on FBI Anthrax Investigation." PBS, 19 December 2014, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/new-report-casts-doubt-on-fbi-anthrax-investigation/. Accessed 8 July 2023.

Join us this week on Strange Country as we go way back in time to the 1600s when life was grand, and if you lived to be a 50-year-old woman, you should just STFU. Because if you did decide to speak truth of any sort you would likely be accused of witchcraft. That's what happened to Goody Garlick of Easthampton (originally one word), NY. Enjoy Goody Kelly and Goody Beth as we sweat like they did in the 17th century, and conjure up ways to make more money, and deal with this heat. Thanks always for listening; it is an act of love.

Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands

Cite your sources:

"Before Salem, There Was the Not-So-Wicked Witch of the Hamptons." Smithsonian Magazine, 25 October 2012, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/before-salem-there-was-the-not-so-wicked-witch-of-the-hamptons-95603019/. Accessed 25 June 2023.

Dewan, George. "In the Matter of Goody Garlick." nysarchives.com, https://www.nysarchivestrust.org/application/files/7915/6520/4235/archivesmag_fall2005.pdf.

"Elizabeth Garlick - Notable Women Ancestors." RootsWeb, https://sites.rootsweb.com/~nwa/garlick.html. Accessed 26 June 2023.

"goody | Etymology, origin and meaning of goody by etymonline." Online Etymology Dictionary, 3 April 2015, https://www.etymonline.com/word/goody. Accessed 26 June 2023.

What is the youngest age a child can live on her own? In this episode, Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly discuss the absolutely bonkers documentary "The Curious Case of Natalia Grace" that premiered this year on Investigation Discovery. An Indiana couple petitioned a court to have their adopted child re-aged from 9 to 22 so she could be removed from their home and placed in an apartment.

Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands

Cite your sources:

The Curious Case of Natalia Grace. Investigation Discovery, 2023. Investigation Discovery, https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/show/the-curious-case-of-natalia-grace-investigation-discovery-atve-us.

Farzan, Antonia Noori. "Kristine and Michael Barnett charged with abandoning adopted daughter in Indiana." The Washington Post, 17 September 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/09/17/police-say-she-abandoned-her-adopted-daughter-she-says-girl-was-actually-scamming-adult-sociopath/. Accessed 19 June 2023.

Flynn, Sheila "A six-year-old Ukrainian girl saved by adoption or a murderous adult imposter: Who really is Natalia Grace?" Independent [Online], 1 June 2023, p. NA. Gale OneFile: News, link-gale-cay.orc.scoolaid.net/apps/doc/A751445561/STND?u=nysl_sc_ahs&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=9aa09674. Accessed 19 June 2023.

Leishman, Rachel. "Max's 'The Curious Case of Natalia Grace' Is the Most Off-the-Wall Docuseries." The Mary Sue, 5 June 2023, https://www.themarysue.com/max-curious-case-of-natalia-grace-docuseries-must-watch/. Accessed 19 June 2023.

Minutaglio, Rose. "Inside the Real-Life 'Orphan' Case: Parenting Author Kristine Barnett Claims Her Adopted Teen Is Actually a Disturbed Adult." ELLE, 9 October 2019, https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a29205646/kristine-barnett-natalia-grace-adoption/. Accessed 19 June 2023.

Vargas, Ramon Antonio. "Six-year-old orphan or 'con artist' adult? Revisiting the strange story of Natalia Grace." The Guardian, 4 June 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/04/natalia-grace-docuseries-hbo-discovery-ukrainian-orphan-con-artist. Accessed 19 June 2023.

Twenty years before the Stonewall Uprising, another group fought for rights for LGBTQ Americans. Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly discuss The Mattachine Society, a group that sought dignity and respect for LGBTQ during a time when being gay was criminalized. Luckily things are chill now. Oh wait.

Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands

Cite your sources:

Chew, Rebecca, and Brian Nimens. "Opinion | States Are Stifling the Voices of Cities and Their Voters." The New York Times, 3 June 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/03/opinion/texas-preemption-bill.html. Accessed 4 June 2023.

Gaines, James R. The Fifties: An Underground History. Simon & Schuster, 2023.

Garcia, Arturo. "Were Gay Concentration Camp Prisoners 'Put Back in Prison' After World War II?" Snopes.com, 11 October 2018, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/gay-prisoners-germany-wwii/. Accessed 4 June 2023.

HANNA, JOHN, and ANDREW DeMILLO. "Kansas passes trans bathroom bill; Arkansas OKs own version." AP News, 4 April 2023, https://apnews.com/article/transgender-rights-bathroom-bill-kansas-cbdc14be5bf1fb6e1a0749cad52e8ebc. Accessed 4 June 2023.

Katz, Jonathan Ned. "Henry Hay: Founding The Mattachine Society, "A call to me . . . more important than life" · Harry Hay: Founding the Mattachine Society, 1948-1953, by Jonathan Ned Katz." OutHistory, 1976, https://outhistory.org/exhibits/show/hay-mattachine/hh. Accessed 4 June 2023.

"Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures." American Civil Liberties Union, https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights. Accessed 4 June 2023.

"State Legislative Attacks." Human Rights Campaign, 5 May 2023, https://www.hrc.org/campaigns/the-state-legislative-attack-on-lgbtq-people. Accessed 4 June 2023.

Valelly, Rick. "The Conflicted Gay Pioneer." The American Prospect, 8 October 2013, https://prospect.org/power/conflicted-gay-pioneer/. Accessed 7 June 2023.

You know how every little girl dreams of the day her dad signs a pledge promising to keep her vagina penis-free until she marries. Wait, you don't? Well, sit back, slap on your purity ring, superglue your legs together and get ready for a Strange Country episode on purity culture.

Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands

Beaty, Katelyn. "Opinion | In wake of Atlanta shooting, Christian communities need to rethink purity culture." The Washington Post, 18 March 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2021/03/18/purity-culture-atlanta-shooter-women-sexuality/. Accessed 7 May 2023.

Filipovic, Jill. "'Purity' culture: bad for women, worse for survivors of sexual assault | Jill Filipovic." The Guardian, 9 May 2013, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/may/09/elizabeth-smart-purity-culture-shames-survivors-sexual-assault. Accessed 15 April 2023.

Haberman, Clyde. "How an Abstinence Pledge in the '90s Shamed a Generation of Evangelicals (Published 2021)." The New York Times, 12 April 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/us/abstinence-pledge-evangelicals.html. Accessed 9 April 2023.

Klein, Linda Kay. Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free. Atria Books, 2018.

McEwan, Melissa. "George Bush's sex education failure | Melissa McEwan." The Guardian, 20 July 2009, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/jul/20/george-bush-teen-pregnancy-abstinence. Accessed 29 April 2023.

"Teen Pregnancy Rates by State 2023." World Population Review, https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/teen-pregnancy-rates-by-state. Accessed 29 April 2023.

Roach, David. "True Love Waits pioneer defends sexual purity movement." Baptist Standard, 8 January 2019, https://www.baptiststandard.com/news/baptists/true-love-waits-pioneer-defends-sexual-purity-movement-2/. Accessed 30 April 2023.

Valenti, Jessica. The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women. Basic Books, 2009.

Hey Readers! You know, you look a little tired. Maybe you should. . . smile? While you're at it, take a listen to Beth and Kelly as we learn the history of the smile. You will learn that Kodak had more to do with why we smile for the camera and don't look as miserable as we are. Smiles are a funny thing or are they? Are they really a creepy thing? A submissive thing? Find out on today's episode and thanks for listening; it's an act of love.

Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands

Cite your sources:

A Brief History of the Smile. NPR interview of Angus Trumble. https://www.npr.org/2004/01/20/1607671/a-brief-history-of-the-smile.

Fabry, Merrill. "Now You Know:Why Do People Always Look So Serious in Old Photos." Time Magazine, 2016, https://www.npr.org/2004/01/20/1607671/a-brief-history-of-the-smile. Accessed 03 May 2023.

Jarrett, Christian. "Why do we smile?" BBC Science Focus, https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/why-do-we-smile/. Accessed 9 May 2023

Christina Kotchemidova (2005) Why We Say "Cheese": Producing the Smile in Snapshot Photography, Critical Studies in Media Communication, 22:1, 2-25, DOI: 10.1080/0739318042000331853