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On January 15, 1947, the bisected body of 22-year-old Elizabeth Short was discovered in a vacant lot along South Norton Avenue in Leimert Park. Within hours, tabloid circulation wars, contaminated crime scenes, and yellow journalism transformed a real young woman into the myth of the "Black Dahlia."
Joined by horror writer Tristan Zelden, we cut through decades of tabloid sensationalism, debunk the cottage industry of lucrative suspect myths like George Hodel, and isolate the two forensic theories that actually align with the evidence: Piu Eatwell’s investigation into Leslie Dillon and the Aster Motel, and Larry Harnisch’s surgical and geographic profile pointing to Dr. Walter Bayley.
****Listen to PART TWO right now on our Patreon or with your Spotify subscription!
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Links:
LaNae's Dark History Anthologies: lmriviere.com/anthologies
Email: [email protected]
Tristan Zelden: TikTok
Sources:
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Chapters
00:00 Old Habits, Dahlias & Dinosaur Watching
03:10 The Leimert Park Discovery & The Noir Myth
04:35 Special Guest: Horror Author Tristan Zelden
07:30 Elizabeth Short: The Life Behind the Moniker
12:50 The Biltmore Drop-Off & The Six Missing Days
14:35 The Crime Scene: Surgical Bisection & Press Trampling
17:55 Yellow Journalism & Hearst’s Circulation War
21:30 Pattern of Violence: Georgette Bauerdorf & The "Lipstick" Murders
24:30 The Fallacy of False Confessions
26:40 The George Hodel Cottage Industry & Steve Hodel's Claims
30:50 Dismantling the Myths: Bugsy Siegel, Torso Killers & Cold Cases
34:00 Aggie Underwood & The Media Machine
36:50 Theory 1: Piu Eatwell, Leslie Dillon & The Aster Motel
39:00 Theory 2: Larry Harnisch, Dr. Walter Bayley & Proximity
43:15 Why We Study True Crime: Seeking Justice for Elizabeth Short
48:10 Previewing Part Two: Motels, Notes & The Final Timeline
In August 1785, Cardinal Prince Louis de Rohan was arrested in full liturgical vestments inside Versailles’ Hall of Mirrors, accused of defrauding the crown for an astronomical diamond necklace worth 1.6 million livres. The scandal that followed pitted the court against the church, destroyed the public image of Queen Marie Antoinette, and exposed a brazen con orchestrated by an impoverished descendant of the Valois dynasty.
Tonight, we unpack the bizarre mechanics of the Affair of the Diamond Necklace: an absurdly expensive piece of jewelry that tipped an already bankrupt and simmering France toward revolution.
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Links:
LaNae's Dark history Anthologies: lmriviere.com/anthologies
Our Patreon (where all the goodies live): Patreon.com/timeandtalespodcast
Email: [email protected]
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Sources
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Chapters:
00:00 Dead Flowers & Dark History
01:45 The Arrest in the Hall of Mirrors
03:15 Housekeeping & Show Announcements
06:05 An Empire in Debt: The Cost of the American War
14:15 The 2,800-Carat White Elephant
20:30 Enter Jeanne: The Impoverished House of Valois
28:15 The Vain Cardinal & The Disgraced Ambassador
31:10 Forged Ink: Rétaux de Villette & Cagliostro
34:00 The Midnight Rendezvous in the Grove of Venus
37:25 The Con Closes: Signing Away 1.4 Million Livres
40:30 Dismantling the Gems & The July Deadline
42:45 The Scheme Unravels at Versailles
44:40 The Trial of the Century: Parliament of Paris
47:15 Branding, Escapes, and Cobblestones
50:10 The Aftermath: How a Lie Brought Down the Crown
In this episode, we cover the evolution of Halloween from ancient autumn fire rites to North American street riots and organized trick-or-treating. Starting with the Celtic festival of Samhain, the episode follows how carved turnips, spirit offerings, and disguised travelers evolved into mumming and souling before crossing the Atlantic into a much harsher climate.
We trace how rural pranks escalated during the Great Depression into Black Halloween street riots, looted freight trains,and the 1945 Kew Beach riot in Toronto. The narrative then follows the post-war suburban push to tame youth unrest with candy, Detroit's devastating Devil's Night arson crisis, the culture that inspired The Crow, and the neighborhood patrols of Angels' Night.
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Links:
Dark history & Folklore Anthologies: lmriviere.com/anthologies
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeandTalesPodcast
Email: [email protected]
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Sources:
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Episode Chapters:
In this episode, we cover the real history and dark folklore behind Castle Frankenstein and the 18th-century alchemist who inspired modern horror. Centered in Germany's Odenwald mountains, the story follows Johann Konrad Dippel—a rogue theologian, physician, and alchemist born within the fortress walls who spent his life chasing metallic transmutation, distilling foul animal bone oils, and attempting to brew an elixir of immortality.
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Links:
Dark history & Folklore Anthologies: lmriviere.com/anthologies
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeandTalesPodcast
Email: [email protected]
SOURCES:
Episode Chapters:
In part two of our deep dive into Purdue Pharma, we examine the legal and financial fallout of the opioid crisis. Despite a 2007 guilty plea for misbranding OxyContin, Purdue continued operations while the Sackler family transferred billions of dollars into private accounts.
We break down the 2024 Supreme Court ruling in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, the subsequent $7.4 billion national settlement, the restructuring of Purdue into Noah Pharma, and the activist campaigns that successfully scrubbed the Sackler name from global museums.
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Support Time & Tales: Our new dark history and folklore eBooks launch October 31st for $13. Grab them at lmriviere.com/anthologies,
Or join our Patreon for ad-free & bonus episodes, articles, and other goodies.
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Sources:
Barry, Meier. Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic. 2nd ed., Random House, 2018.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Understanding the Opioid Overdose Epidemic.” CDC, 2024.
General Accounting Office. Prescription Drugs: OxyContin Abuse and Diversion and Efforts to Address the Problem. GAO-04-110, U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2003.
Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P. 603 U.S. ___, Supreme Court of the United States, 2024.
Keefe, Patrick Radden. Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty. Doubleday, 2021.
Macy, Beth. Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America. Little, Brown and Company, 2018.
Meier, Barry. “Origins of an Epidemic: Purdue Pharma Knew Its Opioids Were Widely Abused.” The New York Times, 2018.
Purdue Frederick Company, Inc. “The Purdue Frederick Company, Inc. and Top Executives Plead Guilty to Misbranding OxyContin; Will Pay Over $600 Million.” U.S. Department of Justice, 10 May 2007.
United States v. Purdue Pharma L.P. U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, 2026.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Timeline of Selected FDA Activities and Significant Events Addressing Substance Use and Overdose Prevention.” FDA.
U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform. “The Role of Purdue Pharma and the Sackler Family in the Opioid Epidemic.” 2020.
UCSF-Johns Hopkins University. Opioid Industry Documents Archive. University of California, San Francisco, and Johns Hopkins University, 2021.
Chapter Timestamps:
In this episode, we cover the Sackler family, Purdue Pharma, OxyContin, and the start of America’s opioid crisis. The story begins with medical advertising, museum prestige, and the doctor-focused marketing that helped turn a Brooklyn family of physicians into one of the most powerful names in pharmaceuticals.
We trace OxyContin’s 1995 approval, Purdue’s push into chronic pain treatment, the misleading claim that addiction was rare, and the early warnings from Appalachia. The trail leads to the 2007 federal guilty plea for misbranding OxyContin and a drug campaign that turned pain into profit.
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Links:
Website: timeandtalespodcast.com
Email: [email protected]
Dark History Books: https://www.lmriviere.com/anthologies
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Sources:
In this episode, we cover the Erfurt Latrine Disaster of 1184, a medieval catastrophe that brought the politics of the Holy Roman Empire crashing into a literal cesspit. King Henry VI had gathered nobles, bishops, and rival factions in Erfurt to settle a feud between Louis III of Thuringia and Archbishop Conrad of Mainz, but the monastery hall beneath them was already under strain.
What followed was one of the most grotesque accidents in European history. Rotten beams, overloaded floors, heavy armor, and failing medieval sanitation sent dozens of powerful men into the latrine below, reshaping central German politics in the most humiliating way imaginable.
*Our apologies! We had a computer catastrophe at the pod lab, but we're back up and running! A day late, but hope you dig it anyway ;)
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Links:
Website: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Dark History Anthologies: lmriviere.com/anthologies
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Sources:
This Time and Tales episode explores the Alaska Triangle, the remote region between Anchorage, Juneau, and Utqiagvik where missing people, lost aircraft, glaciers, storms, forests, and empty miles of wilderness have fed one of Alaska’s strangest mysteries.
We look at real Alaska missing-person cases, including the high number of unresolved Indigenous disappearances and the search challenges created by weather, distance, jurisdiction, and terrain. Then we turn to Alaska folklore, from the Kushtaka and the Nantinaq of Portlock to the Iliamna Lake monster and the Japan Airlines Flight 1628 UFO encounter.
NOTE: We recorded this episode in August, but then got very sick, the pair of us. So, we apologize for the wait, and we'll drop episodes 1&2 together.
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Links:
Website: timeandtalespodcast.com
Email: [email protected]
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LMRiviere
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Sources:
Why do people, planes, and search teams keep disappearing in the Alaskan Triangle? We follow the lost C-54 military transport, the Hale Boggs and Nick Begich plane disappearance, Erin Marie Gilbert, Mount Marathon runner Michael LeMaitre, and George Smith Sr., whose remains were identified after 17 years.
We also break down the science behind the Alaska Triangle mystery, from sudden weather shifts and whiteouts to cold-water shock, glacier crevasses, failed emergency beacons, geomagnetic storms, and the long distances that can keep help out of reach.
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Links:
Dark History Anthologies: https://www.lmriviere.com/the-disenchanted-world
Email: [email protected]
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EMERGENCY CONTACTS FOR ALASKA
If you are facing an emergency or immediate danger in Alaska, dial 911. For non-emergency dispatch, the Alaska State Troopers can be reached at 907-451-5100 for the Interior and Western regions; 907-352-5401 for the Mat-Su and Copper Valley; and 907-262-4453 for the Kenai Peninsula and Southeast Alaska. In Anchorage, dial 311 for police dispatch, and in Juneau, call 907-586-0600. For a missing child, contact local authorities immediately, then call 1-800-THE-LOST.
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Sources:
This episode explores the legend of Ragnar Lothbrok, the famous Viking warrior whose story blends saga, folklore, and real ninth-century conquest. From dragon fights and magical wives to the snake pit death that supposedly brought his sons to England, Ragnar’s life is almost impossible to separate from myth.
We trace the history behind Ragnar Lothbrok, including the Paris raid of 845, Ivar the Boneless, Bjorn Ironside, the Great Heathen Army, and the fall of Northumbria. Along the way, we look at how Viking conquest created the Danelaw, changed the future of England, and turned one legendary name into a dynasty.
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Links:
Website: timeandtalespodcast.com
Email: [email protected]
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LMRiviere
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Sources:
From the publisher's feed
Time & Tales Podcast — Dark History. Strange Lore. One Tale at a Time.
Welcome to Time & Tales Podcast — Dark History. Strange Lore. One Tale at a…
Prepared and presented by LaNae and CJ. One an author of dark fairy tales, fantasy, and folk horror; the other a skeptical engineer who keeps the evidence front and center. Expect the occasional. lighthearted clash!
If you’re ready for your next late-night obsession, this belongs in your queue.
As always, sources and links can be found in the show notes.
PODCAST THEME by RANDY LEE RIVIERE (randyleeriviere.com)
#history #folklore #darkhistory #fables