Bittersweet Infamy

Josie tells Taylor how the botanists at the U.S.S.R.'s Institute of Plant Industry kept the world's largest seed bank intact during the infamously brutal Siege of Leningrad (1941-44). Plus: we examine the ancient roots of the al-Badawi tree, the millennia-old olive tree that keeps vigil over the embattled village of al-Walaja, Palestine.

Taylor tells Josie about the cheating conspiracy behind Brazilian auto racer Nelson Piquet Jr.’s deliberate crash at the 2008 Formula One Singapore Grand Prix. Plus: a few notes on the reclusive Q Lazzarus, the mysterious voice behind the cult favourite song "Goodbye Horses."

Josie tells Taylor about Annie Palmer, the legendary murderous vodou matron whose ghost is said to haunt her Montego Bay plantation—and how her story wrestles with the true spectre of slavery in Jamaica. Plus: learn about Lapu-Lapu, the hero of Philippine resistance who crushed Ferdinand Magellan's dreams of circumnavigating the globe.

Guest host Kai Cheng Thom tells Josie and Taylor about the turbulent relationship between terminally online rich guy Elon Musk and his transgender daughter Vivian Wilson. Plus: look to the heavens as we memorialize the ill-fated Laika, the first dog in space.

In the finale of our Titanic April series, Taylor tells Josie about the discovery and exploration of the Titanic's wreck, and the deadly 2023 implosion of the OceanGate Titan submersible. Plus: learn about Charles Joughin, the infamous "drunken baker" who seemingly survived the sinking of the Titanic with a bit of liquid courage.

As part of our Titanic April series, Josie tells Taylor about the history of the disaster evacuation rule "women and children first," and how the gender roles of 1912 impacted the victims and survivors of the Titanic's sinking. Plus: history repeats itself as we check out the ambitious (or unrealistic?) plans for three modern Titanic replicas.

To launch our Titanic April series, Josie tells Taylor about the most infamous maritime disaster in history: the sinking of the largest ocean liner in the world, the RMS Titanic, after hitting an iceberg on her 1912 maiden voyage.

Taylor tells Josie about France's disastrous attempt to overthrow the Mexican government in the 1860s, and the unwise rise and catastrophic fall of the last emperor of Mexico, Maximilian I. Plus: Taylor unpacks his trip to Cuernavaca, Mexico, including a tour of Jardín Borda, Emperor Maximilian’s lavish personal garden.

Josie tells Taylor how our modern cultural image of the Wild West was constructed by one man: soldier and showman "Buffalo" Bill Cody. Plus: unravelling the mystery of the Persian Princess, the mummy whose royal trappings disguised a heartbreaking hoax.

Taylor tells Josie about the toxic, possessive, and deadly mother-daughter relationship between 1930s Spanish political activists Aurora and Hildegart Rodríguez Carballeira. Plus: unearthing the legend of the green children of Woolpit, the green-skinned changelings who’ve mystified the world since the 12th century CE.

Josie tells Taylor about the unconventional art project that saw American artist Jill Magid propose to Italian archivist Federica Zanco with a diamond made from the physical remains of prominent Mexican architect Luis Barragán. Plus: head up to Dawson City, Yukon, and join the Sourtoe Cocktail Club—by drinking a cocktail made with a severed human toe!

Taylor tells Josie the stories of transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, whose TikTok ad for Bud Light kicked off a right-wing beer boycott, and January Marie Lapuz, the beloved social butterfly whose 2012 killing shocked Vancouver's LGBTQ+ community.

Season five premiere! Josie tells Taylor about heiress turned abductee turned revolutionary Patricia Hearst, and her explosive odyssey with the militia that kidnapped her, the Symbionese Liberation Army. Plus: the tragic saga of the animal outlaws who became MAGA martyrs, Peanut the squirrel and Fred the raccoon.

Holiday special! Taylor tells Josie one infamous story for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas—from the drummer the Beatles drummed out of the band, to a Partridge naked on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.

Halloween special! Taylor tells Josie about the 1938 Orson Welles radio play about a Martian invasion that allegedly caused a mass hysteria, and the 1949 Ecuadorean remake that went even further. Plus: flesh out your fall reading list with the world's largest collection of books bound in human skin!

Guest host Peter Chiykowski tells Josie and Taylor about the pod of orcas who hunted in harmony with humans until a brutal betrayal ended it all. Plus: catch up with Darwin the Ikea Monkey, the stylish snow macaque whose fetching winter coat kept him warm through a chilly legal battle.

Josie tells Taylor about the Icelandic Phallological Museum, which contains the world's largest display of phalluses, and curator Sigurður Hjartarson's quest for the collection's crown jewel: a human penis. Plus: listen to "Amelia's Song," the mysterious melody that reunited a family across cultures, continents, and centuries.