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We wanted to do an Easter-themed episode but have already covered Mary Toft, the woman who gave birth to rabbits. May we interest you in some Easter...floods? Grab your water wings and hope they'll keep you afload as Jess and Philippa dive into the very non-watery substances that have plagued humankind.  Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Awfulforeverpodcast)

Join Jess and Philippa as they set sail off the west coast of Ireland with Grace O'Malley, or Granuaile, a woman whose piratical journey would take her from the Irish seas to the throne of Queen Elizabeth Tudor. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Awfulforeverpodcast)

Why do so many monarchs get stuck with the nickname of "...the Mad"? It can't possible be because they're...oh...nevermind. Welcome to the return of the Mad Monarchs series. Join Jess and Philippa as they look into the lives of four teen rulers who should never have been allowed to rule.  Content warning for brief mentions of sexual assault in the episode.  Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Awfulforeverpodcast)

Let's talk about sects. Join Jess and Philippa for another episode on the Wickedest Man in the World, Aleister Crowley. Magical societies, demonic battles, and newspaper scandals: just another regular day in the life of Britain's most famous dark wizard. Sources:  Churton, T. (2011) Aleister Crowley: The Biography. London: Watkins.    Lachman, G. (2014) Aleister Crowley: Magick, Rock and Roll, and the Wickedest Man in the World. New York: Tarcher  Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Awfulforeverpodcast)

Known to history since for over 4000 years, and it's only recently that we've begun to understand it. In the meantime, people had to endure some "cures" that may have been worse than the disorder - especially since most of them did very little help in the first place. Join Jess and Philippa as they look into the confusion surrounding epileptic seizures, and how it was dealt with in the ancient world and medieval period.  Sources: Sugg, R. (2011) Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires: The History of Corpse Medicine from the Renaissance to the Victorians. London and New York: Routledge. Temkin, O. (1945) The Falling Sickness: A History of Epilepsy from the Greeks to the Beginnings of Modern Neurology. Baltimore and London: John Hopkins University Press. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Awfulforeverpodcast)

CW: Animal experimentation We know what you're thinking: when will Jess and Philippa release their next episode?! January 1st was more than three weeks ago! If you want to know how we read your minds, join us as we delve into the Russian search for the psi particle and the secrets of Project Stargate.  Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Awfulforeverpodcast)

Knock knock Who's there? Jess Jess who? Jester jokes are difficult to ad lib when you're Jess and Philippa. Join us as we prance along the bell-strewn history of jesters and joculators, and find out that the life of a joker wasn't all s***s and giggles. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Awfulforeverpodcast)

Join Jess and Philippa as they accompany Crowley up to the heights of his greatest accomplishments as well as down to the depths of failure and despair. Sources:  Churton, T. (2011) Aleister Crowley: The Biography. London: Watkins.    Crowley, A. (1909) The Book of the Law Originally published  as part of ΘΕΛΗΜΑ in London by the  A∴A∴ Lachman, G. (2014) Aleister Crowley: Magick, Rock and Roll, and the Wickedest Man in the World. New York: Tarcher  Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Awfulforeverpodcast)

As we approach Black Friday, join Jess and Philippa as we dive into one of the many ways in which labour has been exploited in the name of profit. It's time at last to work out what they really did in the Victorian workhouse. 38g0j45W0kVVNjrSbudl Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Awfulforeverpodcast)

CW: Violence against children, child death Good childcare is notoriously difficult to find - and expensive when you do come across it. And if children are really the future, the Victorians were having none of it. Join Jess and Philippa as they look into the grim options available to many a late-Victorian mother and the money-hungry killers that preyed on their children. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Awfulforeverpodcast)

They were your childhood friends. You played with them every day. You told them all your secrets. And while you grew up, they stayed the same. And when you left home, they...waited. This Halloween, join Jess and Philippa as they look into two of the most famous dolls to haunt your nightmares.  Sources: Brittle, G. (1981) The Demonologist: The Extraordinary Career of Ed + Lorraine Warren. New York: Maymalkin Media. Ocker, J. W. (2020) Cursed Objects: Strange but True Stories of the World's Most Infamous Items. Philadelphia: Quirk Books.     Robert the Doll Official Website: http://robertthedoll.org https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/story-behind-robert-the-doll https://allthatsinteresting.com/annabelle-doll Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Awfulforeverpodcast)

This week we look at the greatest mountaineer, poet, chessmaster, spy, and wizard of all time: Aleister Crowley. Join Jess and Philippa as they look into his humble beginnings from a cupboard under the stairs (sort of kind of not really), his initiation into the Golden Dawn, and his role in the most epic wizard battle to ever shake the streets of London. Sources:  Churton, T. (2011) Aleister Crowley: The Biography. London: Watkins.    Crowley, A. (2021) The Confessions of Aleister Crowley: An Autohagiography Part I-III. Houston Texas: The Winged Globe Libary. Originally published by Mandrake Press as The Spirit of Solitude in 1929. Lachman, G. (2014) Aleister Crowley: Magick, Rock and Roll, and the Wickedest Man in the World. New York: Tarcher Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Awfulforeverpodcast)