Unhinged History

History is jam-packed with stories you've never heard, and today's episode brings together two such tales. Angie starts with sharing Josef Mencik – the last knight, or the Knight of Strakonice. This Czech man of noble standing starts to enter the historical narrative by buying a castle, a suit of armour, and then stands up to a Nazi tank division.

Theresa takes the rest of the episode in a wildly different direction when she shar...

Do you remember how in the past, Theresa and Angie explained the start of WWI as that time a Serbian shot an Austrian, so Britain declared war on Germany?

Well today, Theresa does a deep dive and explains how a secretive organization within the Serbian government referred to as The Black Hand is the group that trained the assassins who killed Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie.

This episode pairs well with:

The SAS raid...

It isn't every week Angie brings the pain, yet here we are. This week Angie shares the Lebensborn program. During this 9-year program, the Third Reich attempted to breed more soldiers. It starts with unwed Aryan mothers going to country estates to give birth and ends with the SS kidnapping children who looked the part.

Theresa offers a palate cleanser by sharing Harvard's Bad Butter Rebellion. Listen to the pre-Revolutionary War...

Angie and Theresa bring you another set of bizarrely wonderful stories to prove that yet again, people are unpredictable.

Angie shares the wildly unhinged tale of the Emu War, or that time Australian farmers waged war against birds, and lost so so badly. It's hard to imagine pitting a machine gun against a flock of birds and losing, but here we are.

Refusing to leave well enough alone, Theresa shares the story of Willaim Rike...

We're back to exploring the gritty unhinged history of WWII spies this week as Theresa shares the story of the war's most decorated spy, Odette Samson. This French-born woman left her three young girls in Britain and joined the war effort, as a courier (the fatality rate of couriers was over 40%). During this mission, she fell in love, got tortured, sent to Ravensbruck, and survived without giving the Axis powers any intel.

This a...

This episode has it all. Today, Angie takes center stage when she shares the correlation between sliced bread, the Normandy, and WWII. 

Come for Theresa losing her mind at how sliced bread relates to anything. Stay for a thorough retelling of Operation Underworld, or how the Italian mafia helped protect Americans, as the first line of defense from Axis U-boats.  

This episode pairs well with:  Collin Gubbins – creator of the SOE

There are certain things you can expect from this podcast and today's episode is no deviation.

Theresa shares the story of Toto Koopman, the first famous biracial model and WWII spy. Her list of lovers runs from Tallulah Bankhead to Winston Churchill's son. Because she was a hell of a lot more than her black book, she served the Italian resistance faithfully and survived the Ravensbrück concentration camp.

Angie refuses to be outd...

Happy Pride Month! We're kicking off June with stories that are meant to be told. Angie starts with Lucicus Beebe. This dandy of a gentleman did everything with the utmost panache. He toured the US and Europe in his own decked-out train car and remained fashionable, even when reporting on fires that broke out.

Theresa brings in the tragic story of the pink triangle, which started in concentration camps and is a potent symbol of ...

This episode is yet another shiny example of something you never expected. Theresa starts off sharing the story of Wong Kim Ark, the US citizen you likely never heard of. He is the man who challenged the government, had his case heard by the Supreme Court, and established himself as the first person named as a recipient of birthright citizenship. Oh, this was back in 1898.

Angie, as flabbergasted as she is, somehow figures out a...

Grab your weighted blanket and settle in with a mug of calming tea. You'll need it. Angie kicks things into high gear when she shares the story of the legendary female samurai, Tomoe Gozen. Listen along to Theresa thinking she knows more of the story than she actually does.

Theresa takes a sharp left turn by sharing the story of the Lone Fir Cemetery and the Chinese Immigrants who built Portland, Oregon. In true Theresa fashion,...

Since Angie took the entire episode last week, Theresa brought a hell of a story this week. Grab your popcorn and hunker down because she's sharing the story of the 442nd. This heroic group of Japanese-American soldiers in WWII bravely fought for five days and nights through freezing rain and dense fog to rescue 211 Texans pinned down by German troops.

This episode pairs well with:

The Joshigun (women's army) fighting during th...

Woowwee. This week is a crazy mashup of stories.

First off, Angie shares a Japanese festival called Nakizumo, where sumo wrestlers attempt to make babies cry, on purpose.

Theresa overcomes her feelings about this to share the story of Richard Sakakida, a nisei (a first-generation Japanese American) sent to spy on the Japanese in Manilla before the US's entrance to WWII. She shares his capture, torture, and survival. It's a lot...

Join your favorite unhinged historians as they bring you some crazy stories. Today Theresa shares the tale of Molly Williams, the first female firefighter, who was also the first Black woman firefighter. Oh, and she did it at the age of 71.

Not to be outdone, Angie regales us with Lilian Wyles, the first female inspector of Scotland Yard. This barrier-breaking woman paved the way for women in the police force in the UK, and you ...

At Unhinged History, we are nothing if not consistent. To prove that, Angie shares a solid resistance story from WWII. In this unbelievable tale, Major Cary Elwes, not that Cary Elwes, along with fellow SAS sneak behind enemy lines, steal a train, and rescue POWs.

Theresa presses all the buttons triggering outrage as she shares the Mexican Repatriation Act, that time the United States deported up to 1.8 million people, with up to ...