In December 2025, the U.S. government broke tradition by refusing to recognize World AIDS Day; echoing the deadly silence that fueled the early epidemic. This episode traces the history of AIDS stigma, activism, and policy failure, from Reagan to today, and honors the caretakers, communities, and cultural figures who fought to make survival possible. Take a human look at how prejudice reshapes public health and why remembering matters.

Mary Shelley did not crawl out of the fog one night holding Frankenstein; rather she was born into a political and philosophical pressure cooker. Her mother wanted to tear gender roles out by the roots, her father thought government was a rigged scam, and her childhood house was full of banned books, radical houseguests, and casual corpse reanimation talk over dinner. Out of bad husbands, laudanum summers, and a “waking dream” of a creator who refuses to love his creation, she built the monster that became the blueprint for modern sci fi. This episode walks into the real laboratory behind Frankenstein and asks who the true monsters are: the Creature, or the brilliant people who made him and walked away.

The Church calls it God’s punishment, the King swears it’s “just wolves,” and the people actually burying half-eaten children keep saying, "No. This is something else." In this episode, we dive into three years of throat-ripped corpses and a monster whose body conveniently rotted before anyone important could examine it. Was La Bête du Gévaudan a freak predator, an escaped exotic, or an early black-ops fear experiment?  Keep your back away from open doorways, eyes on the treeline, and come with us into the hills where the Beast may have died… but the project behind it never really did.

Before tarot became a tool for fortune-telling and self-reflection, it was a luxury pastime enjoyed by nobles in Renaissance Italy. In this episode, we trace tarot’s surprising journey from hand-painted trionfi decks in the courts of Milan and Ferrara, to its transformation during the French occult revival, and finally to its modern role as a guide for intuition, psychology, and personal growth. Along the way, we meet poets, mystics, rebels, and artists who reshaped the cards into a mirror for the human experience. This is the story of how a courtly card game became a global language of symbolism and self-discovery, and why The Fool’s journey still resonates with us today.

In 1630s France, a convent erupts in convulsions, visions, and blasphemous ecstasies, accusations that lead to one of history’s most infamous possession trials. This is the story of hysteria and desire colliding with politics and power, where faith becomes performance and a priest becomes a sacrifice.  Join us in the journey of how Mother Superior Jeanne des Anges, Cardinal Richelieu, and a town on edge turned a scandal into a saint-making machine.

Journey back to 1487, a Europe ravaged by plague, famine, and a desperate Catholic Church clinging to power. In this haunting episode, we expose how corruption, papal chaos, and mass paranoia collided to create the perfect storm for witch hunts. One book, the Malleus Maleficarum, turned fear into a weapon, unleashed brutal torture chambers, and set thousands of innocents ablaze. From secret sabbats to twisted trials and the lingering shadows of Satanic Panic today, this is the dark blueprint for how power turns fear into fire.

August 31, 1939: a voice crackles over the airwaves: “This is Gliwice. The station is in Polish hands.” By dawn, German tanks are rolling across the border. But the so-called attack was a performance, complete with props, corpses, and propaganda. Join us as we uncover the Gleiwitz Incident, the staged spark that set Europe on fire.

Step inside the 42-foot ring and trace the circus from Ancient Rome’s Circus Maximus to Barnum’s “Greatest Show on Earth.” Discover how equestrian tricks, freak shows, and animal acts built a global spectacle — and how cruelty, exploitation, and spectacle shaped its rise and fall. We uncover the stories of performers, animals, and women under the big top, and explore how modern circus art transformed from exploitation into artistry.

In this episode, we trace the gritty, budget-driven rise of reality TV from MTV’s The Real World to VH1’s chaotic “celebreality” era. You’ll hear how networks cut costs by ditching writers, actors, and sets—and how that led to megahits like Flavor of Love, Rock of Love, and Megan Wants a Millionaire. But behind the drama was a dangerous lack of oversight. We unpack the shocking true crime that brought VH1’s empire crashing down and forever changed how reality TV is made.

Join us as we expose the deadly truth behind the Followers of Christ—a secretive cult where medical care is forbidden, obedience is demanded, and preventable deaths are buried in plain sight. Survivors speak out, records vanish, and the body count keeps rising.

On the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting, we reflect on the legacy of queer resistance—from medical torture disguised as treatment to the state-sanctioned violence that sparked the Stonewall Uprising. This episode uncovers the sanitized history of Pride and centers the voices so often erased: trans women of color, sex workers, street kids, and the criminalized. Before Pride was a parade, it was a rebellion led by those with nothing left to lose. Their fight wasn't for acceptance—it was for survival.

Bananas: cheap, cheerful... and covered in blood. This week, we peel back the sickly sweet skin of the banana industry to uncover CIA coups, corporate death squads, and a century of colonial capitalism. From United Fruit to Chiquita, it’s not just fruit—it’s a crime scene in a peel. Thanks to Tony Guacamole for the tip.

Before “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and rainbow capitalism, there was the Lavender Scare—a government-backed witch hunt targeting LGBTQ+ federal employees as threats to national security. In this episode, we uncover how Cold War paranoia collided with homophobia, turning queerness into a crime of patriotism. From surveillance and mass firings to one man’s fight that helped spark a movement, we trace the eerie parallels between 1950s propaganda and today’s anti-trans legislation and drag bans. History doesn’t repeat—it legislates.

Before Pride, before Stonewall, before RuPaul’s Drag Race—there was William Dorsey Swann. Born into slavery in 1860, Swann became the first self-proclaimed drag queen in American history and led a radical movement of joy, defiance, and survival in the heart of post-Civil War Washington D.C. In this episode, we dive into the miraculous story of America’s first queer freedom fighter—a man who threw drag balls when the world threw chains. Inspired by Bob the Drag Queen’s Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert, this is a powerful exploration of identity, resistance, and the hidden legacies of Black queer liberation.

On a cold February night in 1978, five men left a basketball game in Chico, California, for what should have been a routine drive home. But instead of heading south, they veered east—deep into the remote and frigid Plumas National Forest—never to be seen alive again. Was it a wrong turn, a sinister encounter, or something far stranger?  This is the haunting mystery of the Yuba County Five.

Fred Hampton was 21 years old, electrifying, and uniting the people in a way that terrified the U.S. government. So, in the early hours of December 4, 1969, they did what governments do best: they murdered him in his sleep and called it a "shootout." But this isn’t just the story of an assassination—it’s the story of a movement, the truth behind the Black Panther Party, and how the FBI’s COINTELPRO program waged war against those who dared to demand justice. Grab a seat and maybe a stiff drink—this one's going to piss you off.Join the Discord here.

The CIA was officially created to protect American democracy, but its true purpose was shaping global events through covert operations and political manipulation. From overthrowing elected leaders to botched assassinations involving exploding cigars, the agency’s history is filled with deception, brutality, and unchecked power. This episode dives into the CIA’s greatest hits, from Operation Ajax to the blood-soaked horrors of Operation Condor. With a legacy built on coups, cover-ups, and cold-blooded assassinations, the agency has operated as America’s most dangerous weapon since day one.

Step back into 1700s America, where Owen and Ruth Brown’s staunch Calvinist beliefs laid the groundwork for their son, John Brown—a man who would become one of the most polarizing figures in U.S. history. From witnessing the horrors of slavery at a young age to organizing militant resistance, Brown’s mission for liberation fueled the nation’s march toward civil war. In this timely episode, we examine Brown’s transformation from a devout abolitionist to a revolutionary leader, explore his ties with figures like Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, and uncover the legacy of his infamous raid at Harpers Ferry. What can John Brown teach us about moral conviction in the face of systemic oppression today? Tune in for an unflinching look at a historical figure who refused to let freedom wait.

Discover the fascinating origins of psychological warfare and how it has evolved into the modern era. From the ancient battlefield tricks of Persian kings and Genghis Khan's fear tactics to Alexander the Great's unifying strategies and the propaganda leaflets of WWII, we trace the history of psyops and uncover when it all began. Learn how fear, deception, and cultural manipulation became powerful tools of war, influencing minds long before the digital age. Join us on Discord!

Stanley Kubrick's genius transformed cinema, but his final film, Eyes Wide Shut, remains shrouded in mystery and controversy. Was Kubrick exposing hidden power structures, secret societies, and elite corruption? Dive into his career, from self-taught photographer to groundbreaking filmmaker, and uncover the theories surrounding studio censorship, missing footage, and his untimely death that some say wasn’t an accident.