The Reference Desk

In this episode, we are bewitched by Dolly Patron (again!)

After leaving the Porter Wagoner Show and striking it big on her own as a solo country artist, Dolly turned to yet another industry: the movies. The commercial and critical success of 9 to 5 (and the award-winning single of the same name Dolly wrote for the film) propelled her to superstardom. Since then, Dolly has been featured in over a dozen films, including cla...

In this episode, we are bewitched by Dolly Parton. 

Dolly Parton came from very humble beginnings but turned herself into a star. In this first part of a two-part series, we cover Dolly's childhood, spent in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Though Dolly's family lived in poverty, they never lacked love, and her early life remains a source of inspiration for her music. After teaching herself how to play gui...

Sometimes, we all need a vacation! For us, that meant being together in person for the first time in two years and chatting about our favorite weird topics.

In this episode, Katie and Hailee are bewitched by the legend that is Reesa Teesa, the absurdity of medieval animals on trial, and the Dave Matthews Band tour bus incident.  Plus, we share some of our favorite feel-good books and media for self-care when our mental he...

Come on down! You’ve been accused of cheating on The Price is Right!

In this episode, Katie is bewitched by Terry Kneiss’ perfect showcase bid. 

In 2008, a man named Terry Kneiss had a perfect bid on his showcase. But he was robbed of his celebratory moment when new host Drew Carey and tPIR producers assumed the historical bid was the result of cheating. While Kneiss maintained that his perfect bid was a combination of care...

In this episode, Katie is bewitched by the favorite game show of sick children everywhere, The Price is Right.

For over 50 years, The Price is Right has ruled the early-afternoon TV lineup, with millions of viewers tuning in each day to see who will be the next to COME ON DOWN! What is it that makes the Price is Right so endearing? Maybe it’s the long, skinny microphone that looks so fun to hold. Or the games that reward ...

In this episode, Hailee explains the quirky and beloved tradition of Groundhog Day in America, from origins in ancient beliefs to a quaint local observance to a nationally recognized phenomenon. We will also explore a few other quirky American traditions, including the Presidential turkey pardon and a unique form of communication in the rural south. 

All books shared in this episode can be purchased at our Bookshop! 

Staff picks...

In this episode, Katie is bewitched by the lives and legacies of Annie Turnbo Malone and Madam CJ Walker. 

Many of us are familiar with the story of Madam CJ Walker, often cited as the first self-made Black millionaire, but fewer recognize the name Annie Turnbo Malone. Years before the formula for Walker’s hair treatment came to her in a dream, Malone was dominating the hair care market. It was her Poro Company system that brought S...

This week, we continue the harrowing experiences of the survivors from the Uruguayan Old Christians Rugby Team whose plane crashed in the Andes mountains. The survivors begin attempting expeditions to seek help, though efforts were put on hold after another tragedy: the plane was hit with an avalanche. Eventually, a few of the strongest were able to hike out of the Andes in a rescue expedition. Were they successful?

All books shared...

On October 13, 1972, a chartered Fairchild F-227 carrying 45 people, most rugby players from Uruguay, crashed in the Andes mountains. Of the 45 people on board, 16 survived. The survivors were stranded in the mountains for 72 days, during which time they faced freezing temperatures, life-threatening injuries, an avalanche, and imminent starvation. To save their own lives, the survivors had to make an impossible decision: Should the...

How much would you be willing to pay for a bag of dirt that could rid your body of toxins? How about a personalized vitamin regimen backed by Donald Trump? In this second part of our MLM series, Katie covers the viral sensation of Black Oxygen Organics, an MLM that sold literal dirt to thousands of crunchy moms who were convinced they were healing their families. We also dive into Donald Trump’s relationship with the MLM industry, ...

In this episode, Katie is bewitched (more like deeply bothered) by multi-level marketing.

MLMs are synonymous with #bossbabes, promises of easy money, and uncomfortable sales pitches that make it hard to say no. But below the pyramid, er, surface, MLMs are far more insidious. In this first episode of a two-part series, we cover the history of multi-level marketing from its connection to direct selling, the genius of Brown...

In this previously- Patreon-only episode, Katie is bewitched by the psychic megastar Sylvia Browne. 

What's worse than a bogus psychic hotline charging people hundreds of dollars for mediocre advice? How about a TV psychic that predicts the death of children?

In the early 2000s, Browne was a daytime TV darling and was charging up to $700 for a half-hour psychic reading. One of her signature moves was to predict the fat...

In this previously-Patreon-only episode, Katie shares the story behind the African Cemetery located at Higgs Beach in Key West. 

In 1860, three slave ships were intercepted en route to Cuba and diverted to Key West. While most of the African refugees onboard were eventually transported to Liberia, 295 died in Key West. Their graves now comprise the only known cemetery in the U.S. of African refugees during the international slave tr...

In this very special season 4 spooktacular,  we are bewitched by haunted houses and the Nazi-fighting New Forest Coven.

It took less than a hundred years for haunted houses to go from a vague spooky story concept to a half-billion-dollar yearly industry inextricably linked to the Halloween season. Katie explains the humble Great Depression-era origins of the haunted house, why they always seem to be Victorian-style mansio...

This week, Hailee continues to be bewitched by the strange case of Patricia Hearst! Patty has been held captive by a small radical political group called the Symbionese Liberation Army for over two months when she shocks the world with an announcement: she has changed her name to Tania and is joining her "brothers and sisters in the SLA.

This is our last episode of season three! Thank you so much for being a patron of our show!...

Patty Hearst - Early Access!

In this episode, Hailee is bewitched by Patty Hearst. The nineteen year old granddaughter of William Randolph Hearst, the powerful newspaper publisher who owned a media conglomerate, was living a mostly normal life, engaged to be married, attending classes at UC Berkley. But everything changed when she was kidnapped by a radical political group who called themselves the Symbionese Liberation Army. In thi...

This week, Katie concludes the unbelievable tale of James Strang, the Mormon king of Beaver Island.

After crowning himself as king, Strang lands himself a seat in the Michigan legislature, survives a public trial, and finds new messages from God inscribed on brass plates buried on Beaver Island. But his Strangite followers question his new decree that polygamy is just and faithful and grow weary of his ever-tightening control over a...

Did you know there was once an American monarch who ruled over an island in Lake Michigan? 

This week, Katie is bewitched by the story of James Strang, the Mormon King of Beaver Island. In the first episode of this two-part series, we meet a confidence man who leaves a trail of fraud in his wake before claiming to be the next prophet and church leader following Joseph Smith’s death. While Brigham Young convinced most Mormons in the ...