History Buffs or Bluffs

History Buffs or Bluffs

A podcast where an author tells his wife a wild historical tale that’s either completely true or totally made up and she has to guess which! Kyle Kochenberger is an author who is also a history buff and his wife Sydney doesn’t know a whole lot about history. In this podcast, Kyle will be telling a story that he either thoroughly researched or completely made up from his writer’s mind and at the end Sydney (and our listeners) will get a chance to guess if it’s true or not. Come play along with us!

Episodes

May 10, 2026 56 mins

Happy Mother's Day! Welcome to a special holiday episode. Not only are we going to celebrate mothers of history, but we are also introducing a new type of episode! We are going to play two truths and a lie!

Listen as we discuss three historical mothers in history. We are going to go over Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, Wu Zetian, the only female empress in China's history, and the mother of one of our founding ...

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Spanning more than 12,000 square miles, the region of the Serengeti is a sprawling, diverse area of the wild kingdom. Hundreds of species of animals and birds, and many, many native tribes. But did you know, at one point in time, there was one major tribe that dominated the Serengeti?

The Datooga tribe inhabited the Serengeti for hundreds of years, ruling the area with their strength and knowledge of farming. The Maasai were a smal...

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April 26, 2026 43 mins

As the richest man on Earth, J. Paul Getty was known all around the globe. This brought fame and fortune to the Getty family, but also trouble. When his grandson, John Paul Getty III is taken off the streets in Italy, you'd assume J. Paul and everyone else in the family would rush to get him back. Let's talk a bit about J. Paul, then you might think differently.

Who is J. Paul Getty, and what made him the richest man in the...

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We're going to the late 1600's to discuss a tragic bit of Dutch history! With the start of the Dutch's 'Disaster Year' the Dutch Republic was invaded by not only England, but also France and Germany. With their sea-trading cut off and half of their land seized, the people of Holland started looking for someone to blame. And their eyes settled on the De Witt brothers.

What caused the angry people to go after Joha...

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April 12, 2026 50 mins

Did you know prohibition wasn't just in America? There was another country, one shaped like fashionable footwear, that also enacted it, and it caused criminal mafia families to grow more than they already were. And one specific crime family, the Dello Russo's, ran an unsanctioned fighting ring that became so violent the Italian government needed to take them down from the inside.

Was the undercover agent able to pull off hi...

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April 10, 2026 2 mins

Welcome to our podcast! We are a husband and wife, and a writer and lover of stories. Kyle is also a history buff and Sydney knows very little about history. Every episode, Kyle will tell Sydney an obscure, wild tale from history, and at the end of the episode she has to decide if it's true or not.

Listen along and see if you can be a history buff...or bluff!

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April 5, 2026 44 mins

Happy Easter! While this is not a holiday-themed episode, we hope everyone dives in with us as we go over the Khamar-Daban Incident.

When seven hikers go up into the titular mountain range, led by Lyudmila Korovina, they believed they would be spending three or four days basking in the beauty of the peaks and trees. Instead, what they got was a horrifying ordeal that none of them could have even imagined happening.

What took place ...

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March 29, 2026 39 mins

Political unrest and violence unraveled in 1850s Kansas, but a small, unknown event took place in Franklin County that involved no fists...or pants. A group of Free-Staters, determined to keep the evils of slavery from their soon-to-be state, would walk any distance to make their voices heard. Even if they arrived in the buff.

What caused them to cast their votes naked? Was it enough to keep their state free for all people? Or did ...

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March 22, 2026 52 mins

How far would you walk for peace? If you're like the humanitarian Irina Rupena, you'd walk much more than just 500 miles. As the Cold War was nearing its end, Irina and others with the Slovenian Red Cross launched a humanitarian mission to bring the world together, by walking the world's longest continuous route: The MEANA Trail.

As the team began their trek, many around the world cheered, and thousands in the 13 countr...

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March 15, 2026 34 mins

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Join us as we dive into an unknown Irish historical event. In 1875, a whiskey storehouse inexplicably went up in flames. As the firemen tried to put it out, the barrels of whiskey burst, leading to flaming, potent whiskey rushing through the streets. Was everyone able to escape the flames? Did the whiskey drown everyone and their sorrows away? Or was all of this made up? Tune in now to find out!


Intr...

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March 8, 2026 36 mins

The Great War has ended! While countries return to life at home, a horrible tragedy occurs that no one could've expected. At a shipping warehouse in Boston, Massachusetts, a loud groaning sound began to roar, causing everyone around to look up at one of the large storage tanks. As the tank burst outward, a large wave of a fast moving, sticky substance rushed those unfortunately in its way...molasses.

How devastating was the Mol...

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March 1, 2026 44 mins

Join us again as we dive into episode 5! As the first winter of World War 1 covered the land, men on both sides of the battlefields laid down their arms for a moment of peace and celebration. In 1914, the Christmas Truce spread across the battlefield, men from all nations agreeing to stop the fight seemingly all at once.


Who started the truce and what ended it? Could it have led to an end of the war? Or did Kyle make this all up...

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February 22, 2026 45 mins

At the height of their reign, the British Empire had controlling stakes all over the world. They seized power and resources, from the largest countries to the smallest islands. It was on one of these islands, that a small rebellion took place.

The people of Zanzibar, led by a man desperate for change, tried to take the throne from the British in an attempt for control. It was here, where the true might of the British Empire is show...

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February 15, 2026 44 mins

Join us as we dive into newly declassified CIA documents pertaining to an early operation of the Cold War. What is that war again? Well Kyle will tell you.

Hoping to destabilize the Red Army , the CIA worked alongside scientists to create one of the first insect bioweapons. Were the CIA successful in their operation? Did the KGB foil their plans? Or did Kyle make this whole thing up? Tune in now to find out!

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February 8, 2026 34 mins

We're back for episode two! Guess if this topic is a buff or bluff! Join Kyle & Sydney as they dive into the terrifying reign of the Gallant King Heinrich Beorn.

Born a bastard, looked over for the throne, Heinrich Beorn makes a claim for the kingdom that was never meant to be his. With his new power, a reign of terror, torture and despair fall on the Hungarian people. Until they cannot take it anymore. Will the commoners t...

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February 1, 2026 18 mins

Welcome to episode 1 of the History Buffs or Bluffs Podcast! In this episode, you will meet your hosts, Kyle and Sydney Kochenberger [coke-n-burger]. They will talk about their own history, what they plan on doing with this podcast and then Kyle will tell his first story about the Dancing Plague of 1518.


When civilians in Strasburg started randomly dancing for no reason, fear and confusion spread throughout the town. More and mo...

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