The Rest Is History
A history podcast with the accuracy of an unedited Wikipedia page
Episodes
Jen outlines some Christmas traditions from around the world that I’ll bet you’ve never heard of. Kate breaks down the impeachment of Andrew Johnson in 1868, America’s first impeachment. Jen’s oshituary explains what the game “hangman” is based on, and Kate talks about the perplexing story of Rodney Marks, an Australian scientist who was maybe murdered (?) in Antarctica.
For their 34th episode, Kate and Jen join forces for another slightly dark episode. Kate explains the interesting origins of a few English words and Jen tells the horrifying story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571. For her oshituary, Kate delves into the fascinating story of Heather Saul versus Neil Falls.
For their pre-Halloween episode, Jen talks about the spooky scary story of the Bell Witch, while Kate tells her longest and most haunting tale yet — that of the Donner Party. In case you haven’t heard of it, it’s the most famous tale of cannibalism in the United States. Yikes. Moral of the story: don’t be late, especially for cross-country trips. Needless to say, Kate counts the Donner Party as her oshituary. Jen’s covers the death...
This week, Kate talks about the most exciting ways the U.S. tried to kill Fidel Castro. Boy did we try a ton and wow did we fail. First Kate goes over how Castro came to power and we all learn a little bit about how not to many pronounce Spanish words (thanks for the assists Jen). Jen discusses Peter Freuchen, a Danish (like Kate!) explorer who trekked all over the place, helped fight the Nazis, wrote a lot of important books, and ...
Hey y’all! Buckle in for a great episode, in which Jen tells the incredible story of the Lykov family who lived in such seclusion in Sibera that they lived through, but never knew about, World War II. Kate phones it in a bit and covers fad diets from history. Jen’s oshituary covers playwright Tennessee Williams’ unfortunate end — death by bottle cap! Kate talks about her two favorite epitaphs, those of Mary Dolencie and Leonard Mat...
For their 30th official episode together, Kate and Jen wind up reporting on the same subject to commemorate it. And it’s not the only anniversary this August - it’s also the 50th anniversary of the Tate-LaBianca slaying by the Manson Family, led by the deeply creepy and incredibly manipulative Charles Manson. We walk you through his early life to the post-murder trials. Fun fact — did you know Manson went through Scientology auditi...
Hey we did good at Jeopardy! Jen talks British serial killer Mary Ann Cotton while Kate does a “sit down dance.” Kate talks about the Declaration of Independence and how a “Committee of Five” turned into Thomas Jefferson doing everyone’s homework. For her Oshituary, Jen covers the deadliest U.S. train disaster ever, the Great Train Wreck of 1918, which doubles as Kate’s worst math nightmare. Kate tells the spooky tale of Japan’s su...
This one’s a morbid one my dudes — you’ve been warned. First, Kate reviews five facts about King Tut, who we learn is basically famous not because he did anything significant but because we found so much of his stuff. Jen gives an overview of H.H. Holmes and the infamous Chicago “Murder Castle.” For their Oshituaries, Kate discusses the completely preventable death of Queen Sunanda of Siam, while Jen tells the horrifying tale of ne...
Jen discusses Ignaz Semmelweis’s contribution to science: hand-washing because doctors were historically nasty, apparently. In honor of Pride Month, Kate talks about the life and legacy of Queen Christina of Sweden. Jen attempts to pronounce the titles of Dan Andersson’s works in her Oshituary. Kate, meanwhile, tells the spooky story of Henry Rathbone and Clara Harris, arguably two more of John Wilkes Booth’s victims.
For her Selective Memory, Jen covers the Superman Curse — it’s a thing! Kate talks about when Elvis met Nixon, and oh man, Elvis wanted to be a narc reallyyyyy badly. Oh, the irony. For their Oshituaries, Jen discusses the death of James Otis, Jr. and Kate tries to pronounce Hungarian names while recalling the death of György Dózsa.
First off, pardon Kate’s cold. She sniffs a lot in this episode, and she’s gross and knows it. Anywho, in Episode 25, Jen discusses the horrifying Tylenol murders of 1982, the reason why we have those annoying (but apparently necessary) tamper-proof seals that are a pain to rip off of pill bottles. Kate goes through five not-so-fun facts about the Salem Witch Trials. Here’s one — no one was burned at the stake! Seriously. For her o...
In a very special episode, Kate interviews American history expert Tim Lengel about the wild, adventurous life of President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. Why more movies about America’s 26th president haven’t been made is beyond both of them. Tune in to hear Tim’s insight into this fascinating character’s life.
This week, Kate tells the story behind the World War II spy, Betty Pack, who lived a heck of a wild life. Jen reviews how Alphonse Bertillon developed a new type of identification system for law enforcement. Let’s just say it wasn’t perfect, and led to the adoption of fingerprinting in America. Kate’s oshituary is about a massacre. A bird massacre to be exact. Speaking of things that can’t fly anymore, Jen explains how inventor Fra...
Jen talks about the origins of the Pony Express, while Kate discusses three of history’s greatest hoaxes. For their oshituaries, Jen covers the first casualty of the Civil War, Daniel Hough, and Kate reveals the true cause of William Henry Harrison’s untimely death.
This week, Jen covers the mystery of Oak Island, which is basically the tale of a bunch of white guys digging in a hole over several centuries. Kate tells Jen about three cases in which identical twins have been insanely spooky. Kate’s oshituary then covers the nightmarish death of Fagilyu Mukhametzyanov, who literally died at her own funeral.
It’s Mardi Gras, Kate’s on steroids, Jen’s blindsided by how much Kate wants to rant, and wine is flowing. Kate talks about a few famous compromises from history, but mostly uses historical facts as an excuse to rant about three things up for debate in politics: the size of the Supreme Court, DC statehood, and the Electoral College. For their oshituaries, Jen talks about how William Hardacre accidentally killed a bunch of people an...
We’re baaccckkkk. And boy did we have fun. Jen goes over the unsolved mystery of the 1920 Wall Street bombing. Kate talks about three awesome — well okay one boring and two awesome — ghost towns in America. Want to go to hell on earth? Go to Centralia, PA! Want to watch a shoot out? Travel back in time and go to Palisade, NV! For their oshituaries, Jen covers the death of Raymond Johnson Chapman during a Cleveland Indians-New York ...
Kate recounts her favorite facts about Benjamin Franklin, who totally should have been president, but wasn’t. Jen tells the incredible story of Leo Major, a French Canadian soldier who fought in the Netherlands in World War II and single-handedly showed the Nazis what was what. In Kate’s oshituary, karma gets revenge on Mel Ignatow. Jen explain how explorer John Horrocks met his end…via camel.
Jen tells the adorable story of Wojtek, a bear who fought with the Allies in World War II. He drank beer, took baths by himself, and caught a spy! Good boy. Kate - through lots of yawning, please forgive her - recounts the sad, short story of the real Pocahontas. It’s kind of a bummer. Jen’s oshituary features Aeschylus, while Kate’s covers the Collyer brothers.
Kate’s Selective Memory features the inimitable Wu Zetian, the one and only female Emperor of China. Hey, try not to be related to her because she is ruthless as hell and WILL kill her family members if necessary. Jen talks about the Great Molasses Flood of 1919 in Boston, which sounds like the slowest and most terrifying way to go. Your hosts then go on a bit of a tangent discussing which Hollywood actors should be in a movie abou...
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