The Odd Salon Podcast

In this episode, Odd Salon Fellow Amy Widdowson looks at the lasting legacy of the Smithsonian dinosaur collection, and the rival Victorian paleontologists who spared no efforts in undoing the other. 

What happens when you combine the mid-1800s rush to excavate fossils during the Bone Wars, the inherently human desire to discover, name, categorize and display anything and everything, the Edwardian age of optimism, the attempt to assemble skeletons of nightmare lizard creatures that hadn’t walked the earth in millions of years, and the creation of a national Museum of Natural History? Well, you get the Hall of Extinct Monsters at the Smithsonian Institution, of course!

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In this episode, Odd Salon Fellow Sahil M Bansal explores a story on the line between historical fact and folklore, and the exceptional 16th century relationship between India’s Mughal Emperor Akbar, and his witty advisor, Birbal.

Emperor Akbar ascended the throne at the young age of 14, after the tragic loss of his father. Ruling over a vast territory, Akbar’s policies of religious and cultural tolerance led to him being known as “Akbar the Great” - but in popular culture, it is his relationship with his intelligent, witty, and loyal courtier Raja Birbal that is most famous, and has come down through the centuries in the form of stories and lessons.

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In this episode, opera singer Marisa Lenhardt looks into the history and legacy of one of opera’s most audacious singers, who counterbalanced her stage time with sword fighting.

A sword-fighting bisexual opera singer who set fire to a convent to get her lover out? [yawn] But she could SING. King Louis XIV and Paris Opera thought so, and the first non-Soprano role in French opera was written for her. Her about her exploits, her sword fights, her royal pardons and, far more interestingly, her vocal journey.

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In this episode, Odd Salon Fellow Barbara North looks at the colorful world of competitive and performative swimming ladies in the Victorian era.

When we think about 1800s London, "ladies swimwear" is not typically the first thing that comes to mind. What if we told you it was such a hot topic it was brought up for discussion in the House of Lords? Call them naiads, mermaids, teachers, or scandals - the lady swimmers of Victorian England were in the water.

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In this episode, Odd Salon Fellow Stuart Gripman shares the true story of the scientifically undignified pranks of one of America’s greatest ornithologists, driven to his wits’ end by an unruly rival. 

In 1818, a not-yet famous John James Audubon was visited by a brilliant yet egotistical and sometimes churlish naturalist named Constantine Rafinesque. What started with an amiable conversation devolved into an ordeal as Rafinesque turned out to be a persistent, even destructive, house guest. The motivations for what Audubon did next are up for debate, but there's no question that he illustrated an array of fanciful creatures and presented them to Rafinesque as genuine. Even though his victim seemed to fall for the prank, Audubon's folly came at a price.

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In this episode, Odd Salon Fellow Kelly Jensen takes us on an ill-fated sea voyage that would go on to inspire one of literature’s greatest works.

In 1820, two thousand miles into the Pacific Ocean, the whaleship Essex was attacked and sunk by an angry whale. Twenty survivors packed into three tiny boats and headed for land. Their horrifying, ill-starred journey would inspire Herman Melville to write Moby Dick (though he left out the cannibalism).

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In this episode, Odd Salon Fellow Beth Abdallah sorts fact from fiction in the mysterious tale of two green skinned children who appeared  one day on the outskirts of a small village in England.

This remarkable story of two mysterious children has captivated people across the world for a thousand years. With roots in history and a tradition in folklore and fairy tale, it's the tale of two unusual children who were discovered in the English countryside near the village of Woolpit. They wore strange clothes and spoke in a strange tongue, but oddest of all: they were green. 

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In this episode, Odd Salon Fellow Eva Galperin brings us a love story with code breaking, featuring Shakespeare, espionage, eccentric millionaires, and the greatest cryptographer you’ve never heard of.

Elizebeth Friedman began her career as we all wish we could: by accepting the somewhat dubious invitation of an eccentric millionaire. She went on to lead an extraordinary life filled with code breaking in two world wars, busting smugglers, and debunking false codes. Along the way she found her soulmate. 

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In this episode, Odd Salon Fellow and resident geologist Miles Traer tells a story of extraordinary persistence and scientific dedication and groundbreaking research into the composition of our very planet. 

Before the turn of the 20th century, Earth’s interior belonged to the poets. Questions of how planets form, how they evolve, and even where life came from remained out of touch for scientific researchers. Then came a group of geologists using homemade machines to probe Earth’s interior to determine what’s down there… and they were still wrong. Inge Lehmann, a woman of 40, working by herself and storing her notes in used oatmeal boxes, entered the field quietly in the 1920s. With unassuming precision she slowly set to work rethinking what we know, working tirelessly to combat misogyny common in mathematics and science, and eventually discovered the truth, changing the world.

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We are excited to introduce the Odd Salon podcast: Stories from the odd corners of history, science, art, and adventure.

After nearly a decade on the live stage, we've invited our cadre of speakers to join us for a season's worth of new and updated stories for your listening pleasure, starting this November.

Subscribe to find all our episodes, and be sure to share with your curious minded friends.

To find out more about Odd Salon, watch videos from past live performances, or to join us at an upcoming show, visit us at oddsalon.com

Want more? Members get extras! For access to behind the scenes interviews, plus all of our speaker's recommended reading and resources, join us as a Member at oddsalon.com/membership, or join us on Patreon.

You can also follow us at all the usual places: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube, and join the ongoing conversation with our speakers and members in our Facebook group, Something Weird. 

For more about Odd Salon visit oddsalon.com

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