In Episode 75 (!), we finally discuss the folklore of the city of New Orleans. We explore the legend of the Casket Girls and the Old Ursuline Convent (were they vampires / were they vampire smugglers / would you rather fight one normal-sized vampire or 500 mini vampires). Then, we discuss the origins and practices of Voodoo and, of course, Marie Laveau.
As we mention in the intro, Saints & Witches is taking some time off! We’ve loved making these past 75 episodes, but we need a break (just thinking about the idea of 75 episodes is making us tired). We’ll post a listening guide here soon for those new to the podcast who don’t know where to start, or for those who haven’t listened to the earlier episodes since they came out.
To all our listeners, especially those who have been here from the very beginning, when we were just two pre-pandemic grad students eating too much Mexican food in a studio apartment, thank you, thank you, thank you!!! <3
Enjoying the podcast? Please take a moment to rate/review/subscribe! We'd love to hear from you. Here's how to get in touch with us:
Email: saintsandwitchespodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @saintsandwitchespodcast
This month, we discuss the Trier witch trials, one of the four largest witch trials in Germany–specifically, the appeals against the hysteria by priest Cornelius Loos. We also explore the medieval convent of Helfta, which in the 13th century was simultaneously home to some very important female scholars and mystics, including Saints Mechtild of Hackeborn and Gertrude the Great, besties for the resties.
Enjoying the podcast? Please take a moment to rate/review/subscribe! We'd love to hear from you. Here's how to get in touch with us:
Email: saintsandwitchespodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @saintsandwitchespodcast
This month, we’re back in France and Belgium to discuss St. Hubert of Liege and the Beast of Gévaudan!
Enjoying the podcast? Please take a moment to rate/review/subscribe! We'd love to hear from you. Here's how to get in touch with us:
Email: saintsandwitchespodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @saintsandwitchespodcast
Korea! Hurrah! We’re excited to be here for the first time. First, we explore the early days of the Joseon Dynasty, including that one tumblr meme with the guy falling off his horse and the witchcraft of Deposed Crown Princess Kim (Gim), wife of Munjong of Joseon. Then we take a quick 500ish-year leap forward to catch the end of the Joseon Dynasty and talk about the patron saint of Korea, Andrew Kim Taegon, and An Jung-geun, a Korean Catholic national hero.
Enjoying the podcast? Please take a moment to rate/review/subscribe! We'd love to hear from you. Here's how to get in touch with us:
Email: saintsandwitchespodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @saintsandwitchespodcast
Twitter: @saintsnwitches
Episode 69 calls for a good time, so we decided to explore two chapters of the epic Medici saga. First, we follow Giovanni and Giulio de’ Medici as they infiltrate the church to eventually become Pope Leo X and Pope Clement VII (just two guys swingin' their dicks around!). Then, we explore the insane life and controversy of their descendant, the “Black Queen” Catherine de’ Medici. From the Renaissance to the Reformation to the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, it's clear that God rewards the schemer.
Enjoying the podcast? Please take a moment to rate/review/subscribe! We'd love to hear from you. Here's how to get in touch with us:
Email: saintsandwitchespodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @saintsandwitchespodcast
Twitter: @saintsnwitches
This month, we dive into two stories of colonization and betrayal in America that are generally Not a Good Look™. First, we discuss the witchcraft beliefs and practices of the Zuni tribe of New Mexico, including the controversial ethnographic studies of Frank Hamilton Cushing. Then, we follow the life of St. Junípero Serra from Mallorca to the Spanish California missions all the way to controversy and iconoclasm. Maybe the real magic was the infected mosquito bite we got along the way!
Enjoying the podcast? Please take a moment to rate/review/subscribe! We'd love to hear from you. Here's how to get in touch with us:
Email: saintsandwitchespodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @saintsandwitchespodcast
Twitter: @saintsnwitches
Hello, casual heretics! Today we discuss two heavy-hitters: philosopher-theologian and Doctor of the Church St. Thomas Aquinas; and physician-theologian and occultist Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa. Along the way, we also bare our souls a bit and learn how to cast a spell with Sleepytime™ tea. Everyone’s invited!
Enjoying the podcast? Please take a moment to rate/review/subscribe! We'd love to hear from you. Here's how to get in touch with us:
Email: saintsandwitchespodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @saintsandwitchespodcast
Twitter: @saintsnwitches
Our first visit to Austria and we’re already threatening arson! Today we discuss the gruesome and bizarre 17th century Salzburg witch trials, also known as the Magician Jackls process. Then, we hear about the Enlightenment-era Apostle of Vienna, St. Clement Mary Hofbauer.
Enjoying the podcast? Please take a moment to rate/review/subscribe! We'd love to hear from you. Here's how to get in touch with us:
Email: saintsandwitchespodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @saintsandwitchespodcast
Twitter: @saintsnwitches
Happy February! Love is in the air, so today we learn about St. Valentine and how coincidence, Geoffrey Chaucer, and some birds shaped the medieval and modern traditions of Valentine’s Day. Then, we remain in England to discuss the Witches of Belvoir, a mother and her two daughters accused of performing witchcraft on their employers’ children. Also, we learn that King James was actually a 90’s Disney villain. A blessed Imbolc and happy St. Brigid’s Day to all who celebrate!
English Broadside Ballad Archive recording of the ballad “Damnable Practises / Of three Lincolne-shire Witches…”: https://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/ballad/20058/recording
Enjoying the podcast? Please take a moment to rate/review/subscribe! We'd love to hear from you. Here's how to get in touch with us:
Email: saintsandwitchespodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @saintsandwitchespodcast
Twitter: @saintsnwitches
Today we make our first trip to Iceland! We take a look at a story from the Eyrbyggja saga that features witchcraft, good old-fashioned jealousy, and some crazy Boy Mom energy. Then, we discuss the patron saint of Iceland, Thorlak Thorhallsson, and the holiday he inspired. It's a good time and you should probably listen, like, now.
Enjoying the podcast? Please take a moment to rate/review/subscribe! We'd love to hear from you. Here's how to get in touch with us:
Email: saintsandwitchespodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @saintsandwitchespodcast
Twitter: @saintsnwitches
Welcome back to Italy for another episode of Saints & Witches! Today we finally tackle the legendary St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan Order and one of the patron saints of Italy. Then, we discuss the findings of the 16th- and 17th-century Roman Inquisition, including the astral-projecting benandanti and the Fisherwife of Palermo.
Enjoying the podcast? Please take a moment to rate/review/subscribe! We'd love to hear from you. Here's how to get in touch with us:
Email: saintsandwitchespodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @saintsandwitchespodcast
Twitter: @saintsnwitches
Happy November! Today we return to Sweden and the Katarina witch trials, part of the 17th-century Great Noise (for more on these trials, check out Episode 28). Then, we discuss St. Ansgar (Anskar? Anschar? Oscar Mayer Weiner?), the first missionary to Sweden.
Enjoying the podcast? Please take a moment to rate/review/subscribe! We'd love to hear from you. Here's how to get in touch with us:
Email: saintsandwitchespodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @saintsandwitchespodcast
Twitter: @saintsnwitches
Welcome to Part II of the Saga of the Nerds Who Fuck and Kill Each Other: AKA, the Frankish Merovingian Dynasty. If you loved Episode 21 (XOXO, Caesar), you're in the right place! If you haven't listened, never fear: we'll give a quick recap and jump right into two stories of seduction, murder, and betrayal in 6th century Gaul. First, we focus on St. Radegund, daughter-in-law of St. Clotilde and one of King Clothar's many wives. Then, we hop forward a few years and explore the legendary, witchcraft-adjacent feud of Fredegunda and Brunhilda, the two ladies who inspired today's title.
Enjoying the podcast? Please take a moment to rate/review/subscribe! We'd love to hear from you. Here's how to get in touch with us:
Email: saintsandwitchespodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @saintsandwitchespodcast
Twitter: @saintsnwitches
Family tree of the Merovingian dynasty: https://www.familyecho.com/?p=START&c=txeij47s6l&f=552641287256699663
Ireland, you are always a joy! Today we have two 19th-century Irish tales of mayhem and misconduct. First, the stories of Moll Anthony and Bridget “Biddy” Early, two Irish cunning women who (surprise, surprise) perplexed and enraged the Church. Then, we take a hard left turn into Downerville with a discussion of the Great Famine and how it changed Catholicism in Ireland forever.
Enjoying the podcast? Please take a moment to rate/review/subscribe! We'd love to hear from you. Here's how to get in touch with us:
Email: saintsandwitchespodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @saintsandwitchespodcast
Twitter: @saintsnwitches
Scotland, we’ve been asking for years now if you’re okay, and we still haven’t received confirmation. Today’s episode is, in fact, further proof that you’re NOT okay. Today, we discuss St. Margaret of Scotland / Wessex, the Norman-Conquest-era queen who married a Scottish warlord and *attempted* to teach him how to read. Then, we finally hop forward in time for the North Berwick Trials II: Electric Boogaloo. A special splinter, a psychotic earl, and several Macbeth references await.
Enjoying the podcast? Please take a moment to rate/review/subscribe! We'd love to hear from you. Here's how to get in touch with us:
Email: saintsandwitchespodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @saintsandwitchespodcast
Twitter: @saintsnwitches
Today we revisit Germany/Holy Roman Empire in the midst of the Thirty Years’ War. First, we learn about the Würzburg witch trials, one of Europe’s largest mass executions, and the Jesuit Friedrich Spee who spoke out against it. Then, we discuss the life of Athanasius Kircher, the Jesuit priest and inventor who wrote about everything, but got it all wrong.
Enjoying the podcast? Please take a moment to rate/review/subscribe! We'd love to hear from you. Here's how to get in touch with us:
Email: saintsandwitchespodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @saintsandwitchespodcast
Twitter: @saintsnwitches
Sarah went on a pilgrimage and now she’s making it everyone’s problem! Today, in celebration of the U.S. relics tour of St. Bernadette, we discuss the saint and the famous Marian apparitions at Lourdes. Then, we explore the crazy life and lasting legacy of author, occultist, and almost-priest Eliphas Levi.
**As we announce at the end of this episode, Saints & Witches is moving to a monthly schedule. New episodes will be released on the first Thursday of every month. We love this podcast and would love to stick to our bi-monthly schedule, but right now it’s unsustainable for us. We’re so grateful to all of you for sticking around!
Itinerary of St. Bernadette's relics tour: https://www.stbernadetteusa.org/ip.php?pg=The+2022+USA+itinerary+of+the+relics
Enjoying the podcast? Please take a moment to rate/review/subscribe! We'd love to hear from you. Here's how to get in touch with us:
Email: saintsandwitchespodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @saintsandwitchespodcast
Twitter: @saintsnwitches
Today we’re back in 17th-century England discussing two pairs of con men and all-around douchebags. First, we discuss Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne, witch-hunters during the English Civil War who amassed hundreds of victims. Then, we explore the fabricated Popish Plot of 1678-1681.
Enjoying the podcast? Please take a moment to rate/review/subscribe! We'd love to hear from you. Here's how to get in touch with us:
Email: saintsandwitchespodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @saintsandwitchespodcast
Twitter: @saintsnwitches