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Over a cold December weekend in 1952, a thick, yellowish fog strangled London. One of the worst ecological disasters in the country’s history, it led to clean air reforms. Sources: American Experience. “When Smog Turned Deadly - History’s Most Dangerous Smog Events.” Pbs.Org, American Experience, 8 Aug. 2025, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/most-dangerous-smog-history/. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026. Kate Winkler Dawson. Death in the Air : The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City. Hachette Books, 2018.

The brutal murder of 8 people - 2 of them children - in Villisca, Iowa in 1912 was never solved. There has been no shortage of theories since then!

The dictator of Paraguay in the 1860’s was a man named Francisco Solano López, who decided to go to war with Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. It was disastrous for him and the people of Paraguay and still the bloodiest war ever fought in South American history - also known as the War of the Triple Alliance. Sources: Schofield Saeger, James. Francisco Solano López and the Ruination of Paraguay. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2007.

We continue the epic journey of Marco Polo with things both real and imagined, believed and disbelieved. All grand adventures and great odysseys must come to an end, but the question now was, were they to be believed? Sources: Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu by Laurence Bargreen The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo and Rustichello da Pisa Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford

Marco Polo dictated the greatest world travel adventure story in history while he was in prison. How did he get there? Well, he was only 17 when he joined his father and uncle in the family trade, and so begins the odyssey of Marco Polo… Sources: Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu by Laurence Bargreen The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo and Rustichello da Pisa Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford

The Silk Road was one of most influential network of trade routes to ever exist. This episode is related to our next series and a listener request! Sources: Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu by Laurence Bargreen The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo and Rustichello da Pisa Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford

You recognize the name Chevrolet from one of the world’s top car manufacturers in existence, but do you know the story of the man who gave it its name? Joining us is Tony from the How the West Was F#cked podcast! Sources: Barras, P. (2004). The Louis Chevrolet Adventure. K, C. E. (2025). Chevrolet’s. Independently Published. Louis Chevrolet | Automotive Hall of Fame. (2025). In Automotivehalloffame.org. https://automotivehalloffame.org/honoree/louis-chevrolet/ Louis Chevrolet | Biography & Facts. (2019). In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-Chevrolet

The Iran Contra Affair had other, far reaching, and devastating consequences. Because of close relationship between the CIA and the Contra rebels in Nicaragua, drug smuggling and the lucrative cocaine trade in disaffected communities in the United States became increasingly prevalent. As the CIA turned a blind eye to the crimes it was directly or indirectly condoning, the United States started the War on Drugs. Sources: Mayer, Jane, and Doyle McManus. Landslide. HarperCollins, 1 Jan. 1988. PBS. “The Iran-Contra Affair .” Pbs.org, PBS, 2019, www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/reagan-iran/. Webb, Gary. Dark Alliance : The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion. Tiverton, Devon, Old Street, 2015.

In part 2, we see the coverup unravel. Not only did the Reagan administration have to explain damning evidence of arms for hostages, but also the diversion of profits from those arms sales to the Contras, both of which are highly illegal, not to mention hypocritical. Sources: Mayer, Jane, and Doyle McManus. Landslide. HarperCollins, 1 Jan. 1988. PBS. “The Iran-Contra Affair .” Pbs.org, PBS, 2019, www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/reagan-iran/. Webb, Gary. Dark Alliance : The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion. Tiverton, Devon, Old Street, 2015.

The Iran Contra Affair was the biggest scandal of Ronald Reagan’s presidency. A group of rogue staffers from president’s own National Security Council were selling Iran - a so declared state sponsor of terrorism - despite a U.S. led embargo, in exchange for hostages. Then, giving the profits to the right wing Contra rebels in Nicaragua to hide their actions. Sources: Mayer, Jane, and Doyle McManus. Landslide. HarperCollins, 1 Jan. 1988. PBS. “The Iran-Contra Affair .” Pbs.org, PBS, 2019, www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/reagan-iran/. Webb, Gary. Dark Alliance : The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion. Tiverton, Devon, Old Street, 2015.

Frida Kahlo’s short life came to a tragic and painful end. She painted until her dying day and her legend has grown ever since. Joining us again for the conclusion of this series, our friend Amy! Sources: Herrera, Hayden, and Frida Kahlo. Frida Kahlo. New York, N.Y., Rizzoli, 1992. ‌ Kahlo, Frida. The Letters of Frida Kahlo. Chronicle Books (CA), 1995.

In part 2, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera begin their tempestuous relationship and Frida paints some of her most iconic works. Joining us again is our special guest, Amy! Sources: Herrera, Hayden, and Frida Kahlo. Frida Kahlo. New York, N.Y., Rizzoli, 1992. ‌ Kahlo, Frida. The Letters of Frida Kahlo. Chronicle Books (CA), 1995.

Frida Kahlo is now the most famous painter that Mexico has ever produced and has since become a legend in the art world for painting some of the most recognizable, beautiful, and often disturbing images in the art lexicon. This episode will examine her early life and the catastrophic event that would influence her entire life and art going forward. Special guest, artist Amy Ashton! Look for her work at @straycatseattle on instagram and on Etsy! Sources: Herrera, Hayden, and Frida Kahlo. Frida Kahlo. New York, N.Y., Rizzoli, 1992. ‌ Kahlo, Frida. The Letters of Frida Kahlo. Chronicle Books (CA), 1995. ‌

That time incompetent and bizarre leadership of one man led to a chain of chaotic events that culminated in civil war. It’s funnier than it sounds! Sources: Gibbon, Edward. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; Wentworth Press, 3 Apr. 2019. ‌Cassius Dio Cocceianus, et al. Dio’s Roman History. Books LXVIII-LXXVII. Cambridge, Mass. ; London, Harvard University Press, 1989. ‌

Grace O’Malley has become a legend as a swashbuckling Irish pirate that had terrorized, and then terrorized on behalf of, Queen Elizabeth I. The truth is much more complex. Join us for the Pirate Queen herself! Sources: Cook, Judith. PIRATE QUEEN : The Life of Grace O’malley. S.L., Birlinn Ltd, 2021. ‌ “Grace O’Malley.” Celtic Junction Arts Center, celticjunction.org/library/grace-omalley/. ‌