Don't Look Now
279 episodes - English - Latest episode: 6 days ago - ★★★★★ - 18 ratingsWhat could an Engineer and an Archaeologist have to talk about? Listen to us discuss history, mysteries, science, culture and art. The world is vast and episode by episode we learn about the way the world works.
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Episodes
224 - Into the Wild
May 30, 2023 04:00 - 47 minutes - 32.8 MBWe discuss the details of the case of Christopher McCandless who opted into living a nomadic lifestyle and ultimately starved to death in the Alaskan wilderness leading to a somewhat cult following. What led him to do what he did and why do people still risk their lives to emulate his ultimately fatal decision to live unprepared in the wilderness?
223 - Creepy Female Urban Legend Twofer
May 23, 2023 04:00 - 36 minutes - 25.4 MBWe discuss to urban legends that revolve around female monsters. The first is the Kuchisake-onna, or “slit faced woman”, of Japan. She confronts lone travelers at night and murders those that no longer find her beautiful after revealing her bloody slit open mouth. The second is Baba Yaga, the Slavic grandma living in the woods in her chicken-footed home, cooking and eating children.
222 - The Invention of Fire
May 16, 2023 12:00 - 43 minutes - 30.1 MBOne of the great revolutions in the history of the development of humankind is the controlled use of fire. When did we as a species learn to keep and make fire? What changes did it make to humans socially and physically. Jeni, our resident Anthropologist, has the answers.
221 - The Dirty 30s
May 09, 2023 05:00 - 42 minutes - 29.4 MBOur episode this week is on the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. A time when major drought, grasshopper plagued, swarms of jackrabbits, and massive migration shook the Great Plains of the United States. Take a listed and find out the multiple horrors of the Dirty Thirties.
220 - The Language of Flowers
May 02, 2023 05:00 - 26 minutes - 18.4 MBThis week we discuss Floriography better known as the Language of Flowers. Floriography is a long practiced means of coded communication through the arrangement and display of flowers. Want to tell someone that you enjoyed their party and want to be friends, there's an arrangement for that. Want to tell someone they disgust you and you think they are childish, there's an arrangement for that. Take a listen and learn about the secret language of flowers.
219 - The Pony Express
April 25, 2023 04:00 - 40 minutes - 28.2 MBThe Pony Express only functioned for about 18 months in 1860-61, but the mail delivery service has somehow managed to sink it's way into the zeitgeist of the America West due to the influence of the Buffalo Bill Cody Wild West Show. Take a listen and find out what the Pony Express was really like.
218 - The Holy Grail
April 18, 2023 04:00 - 42 minutes - 29 MBThe concept of the Holy Grail as ultimate quest item, the true goal of any quest has sunk into the fabric of our culture. When did the concept of the Grail and the Grail quest get started? What is the Grail: last supper cup? serving dish? magic rock? Is there any adaptation of the Grail Quest better than that of Monty Python? These questions and more are answered this week.
217 - Scooby-Doo
April 11, 2023 04:00 - 36 minutes - 25.3 MBTake a listen and learn about the history of the hit cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo. Created in the late sixties and still going strong today, it was originally made as part of an attempt to push back against violence in kid's cartoons. Want to know how the characters got their personalities, what Shaggy's real name is, and how Scooby got is strange name? We've got you covered.
216 - The Wild Hunt
April 04, 2023 05:00 - 35 minutes - 24.7 MBIn today's podcast we discuss the phenomenon of The Wild Hunt, a bit of folklore shared under various names and guises all over much of Europe. The core principle is a spectral hunt of spirits roaming the countryside lead by a shadowy figure rumored to be anything from death itself to King Arthur. Spirits condemned to join the hunt are forced to ride until they have absolved themselves, and anyone witnessing the hunt ride by is doomed to ill fate. Take a listen and learn more about the gh...
215 - Nellie Bly
March 28, 2023 04:00 - 28 minutes - 19.8 MBTake a listen and learn about Nellie Bly, or Elizabeth Cochran. She was a pioneer in the filed of investigative journalism, famous for going undercover as a patient to expose the horrible conditions in mental institutions and for traveling around the world in less than 80 days to break the record of the fictional Phileas Fogg. Her various turns in life lead her to running a steel company and being a war correspondent on the eastern front of WWI in addition to her more well know stint as wo...
214 - The Voynich Manuscript
March 21, 2023 05:00 - 40 minutes - 28 MBThe Voynich Manuscript is a roughly 240 page hand written and illustrated manuscript that appears to be from the early renaissance which appears to be filled with information about plants, biology, astronomy, and other subjects but has proven completely impossible to decipher. Originally purchased by Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II, it has been eluding the best cryptographers ever since. Will someone ever crack the code, or is the manuscript possibly just a giant nonsensical joke? Take a li...
213 - Aussie Folie a Deux
March 14, 2023 04:00 - 40 minutes - 28 MBIn 2016 the Tromp family living on a farm near Melbourne, Australia appeared to suffer a group delusion and went on an impromptu family road trip. The disappeared suddenly, leaving behind, money, vehicles with keys still in the ignition, and many other strange things. Within a few days all were located. Some had left the group and tried to make it home, others seemed to exhibit strange paranoid behavior and were hospitalized. None of them know why they left home or why they suddenly fear...
212 - Greek Philosophers
March 07, 2023 05:00 - 45 minutes - 31.2 MBWhen you think of Western philosophy, science, and thought, almost everything traces back to the philosophers of ancient Greece. Take a listen as we discuss Socrates and friends.
211 - Safety First (or not)
February 28, 2023 13:00 - 43 minutes - 29.8 MBToday's episode is about the history of automobile safety. From improvements in roads and signage, to improvements in driver training, to improvements in crash survivability, we recount the long (sadly slow) march of progress from the days of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride to the modern roadway.
210 - The Third Man Syndrome
February 21, 2023 05:00 - 45 minutes - 31 MBThe Third Man Syndrome or Third Man Factor is a phenomenon wherein a person in extreme duress will suddenly feel the presence of another that helps guide them through the ordeal. Is this an example of a common mental disassociation that occurs under extreme stress or some sort of guardian angel or other paranormal event? Take a listen and see what you think.
209 - The Isdal Woman
February 14, 2023 05:00 - 42 minutes - 29.5 MBIn 1970 a the remains of a woman were found in the Isdal valley near Bergen, Norway. She was burned over the front of her body and unrecognizable and strangely all of the tags on her clothing were removed as well as any other identifying marks on any personal items. Police have speculated about her identity for over 50 years, slowly piecing together strange facts that lead many to think she was a spy. The investigation into her identity has recently been reopened using modern technology t...
208 - Charles Babbage
February 07, 2023 05:00 - 32 minutes - 22.7 MBCharles Babbage was a 19th century inventor and polymath who is most famous for inventing the programmable digital computer in a purely mechanical as opposed to electrical form. He was joined by Ada Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron, who was an early visionary with ideas about the application of computers beyond mere calculation.
207 - The Black Death
January 31, 2023 05:00 - 48 minutes - 33.4 MBGather your pocket full of posies and plague doctor's mask, it's time to discuss the Black Death. The bubonic plague struck Europe in the 1340s and resulted in one of he most devastating pandemics in human history. We discuss a bit about the disease itself, the history of the pandemic, how it lead to the Renaissance and the fall of Feudalism, and how it is still with us today, virtually unchanged.
206 - King Tut
January 24, 2023 06:00 - 52 minutes - 35.9 MBKing Tutankhamun or King Tut is probably the most well known Egyptian pharaoh due to his unspoiled tomb being found and unsealed by Howard Carter in 1923. Learn a bit about his life, when he reigned, what ailments he suffered from (hint, Royal Incest was def. a thing), and how his tomb was discovered and opened over 3000 years after his death. Is there really anything to the supposed Curse of Tutankhamun?
205 - Go Ask Alice
January 17, 2023 05:00 - 36 minutes - 24.9 MBCharles Lutwidge Dodgson was an Oxford mathematician and photographer with a knack for telling stories and entertaining the children of his friends. At the request of Alice Liddell he wrote down the stories he told of her imaginary adventures underground, and the work became famous as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with Dodgson adopting the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. Come learn the history behind his adventures of Alice, his active hobby of photography, and how changing social norms result...
204 - Put a Fork in It
January 10, 2023 05:00 - 36 minutes - 25 MBEver wonder where your fork and spoon came from? This episode is all about the invention of eating utensils: Chop Sticks, Spoons, Forks, and the backwards cousin of the table setting, the Spork. Take a listen and learn of the great wickedness of the fork users and England's most celebrated spoon.
203 - The origins of the HIV/AIDS epidemic
January 03, 2023 05:00 - 46 minutes - 31.7 MBOur topic this week is the HIV virus and what science has uncovered about how and when it crossed over and mutated from the SIV virus that infects African primate populations. We also discuss when the virus is most likely to have first shown up in North America (hint: probably earlier than you think) resulting in the American AIDS epidemic.
202 - Happy New Year
December 27, 2022 05:00 - 42 minutes - 29.4 MBCome learn about the history of New Year's Day and New Year celebrations from around the world. Time to sit back, eat some Hoppin' John, much on some Niangao, and taste some Samanu as we tour some traditions.
201 - The Grinch
December 20, 2022 05:00 - 40 minutes - 27.7 MBIt's the Christmas season, and what better way to kick it off than to discuss Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Come learn a bit about what inspired Theodor Geisel to create the Grinch, how the subsequent TV shows and movies were made, and a bit about the in-world continuity of The Grinch. (apologies for the audio quality... had to record without the good microphone)
200 - Changelings
December 13, 2022 05:00 - 51 minutes - 35.6 MBMixing fantasy and true crime for our 200th episode. The idea of a Changeling, a replacement creature left in place of a child or other relative taken by the fairies, is a concept that permeates through most European cultures. Sometimes real life parallels folklore and we discuss three true crime stories that involve real life changelings.
199 - The International Space Station
December 06, 2022 05:00 - 55 minutes - 38 MBThe International Space Station (ISS) has been a model of international cooperation, being run by five cooperating space agencies (US, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada). It has been continuously manned since November 2000, having housed people for more than two decades. Listen in and learn about its history, purpose of operation, and uncertain future.
198 - The Statue of Liberty
November 29, 2022 06:00 - 40 minutes - 28.1 MBThe Statue of Liberty was dedicated in 1886 as a gift to the United States from the people of France. We discuss the history of the statue, so well known bits like the statement above, and others less well known, such as the Statue being damaged by an explosion in 1916 set by German agents. Take a listen and find out the hidden history of Lady Liberty.
197 - La Filles du Roi
November 22, 2022 05:00 - 37 minutes - 25.7 MBThe Filles du Roi or Daughters of the King, was a term used to describe roughly 800 young French women who's dowries and passage to the new world was paid for by King Louis the 14th in an attempt to correct the imbalance of men in New France and help encourage the creation of families and the agricultural settlement of the territory. Between 1663 and 1673 these women braved the trip across the ocean to an unknown future for the hope of new life and possibly new love in the new world.
196 - Let it Snow
November 15, 2022 05:00 - 35 minutes - 24.2 MBWe discuss the invention of manmade snow and how its usage at ski resorts around the world has increased economic activity but also resulted in many unintended impacts.
195 - The Birth of Birth Control
November 08, 2022 05:00 - 55 minutes - 38.2 MBWe discuss two topics tied to birth control: Margaret Sanger's fight to make birth control and information about it accessible to American women and George Rosenkranz and his work to synthesize human sex hormones which led to the creation of mass produced contraceptive pills.
194 - Ghost Stories
November 01, 2022 04:00 - 56 minutes - 38.9 MBThe concept of wandering spirits seems to be ubiquitous across cultures. While most will say they don't believe in ghosts by the light of day, this stand gets a bit less firm in the middle of the night when strange things happen. Why do we tell ghost stories? They are told all around the world and continue to be told over the years so there must be a reason for their existence. Do we all just like the thrill of a scary story, or are there larger societal reasons that we cling to our ghos...
193 - History of the Haunted House
October 25, 2022 04:00 - 52 minutes - 36.2 MBHaunted houses are a hallmark of the Halloween season in the United States. When did they become a thing and when did they morph into the modern high end professionally run houses of today. Buckle up and take a listen.
192 - Pepper's Ghost
October 18, 2022 04:00 - 40 minutes - 27.7 MBListen in and learn about Pepper's Ghost, an illumination technique developed in the the 1860s and still in use today to project ghostly images onto the stage where they can be seen to appear in apparent three dimensional reality. The technique has had a resurgence in recent decades allowing a deceased Tupac to perform at Coachella, and Michael Jackson to perform at the Billboard Music Awards.
191 - The Bootlegging Lawyer
October 11, 2022 06:00 - 50 minutes - 34.4 MBGeorge Remus went from celebrated defense attorney at the onset of Prohibition to one of the most notorious bootleggers in the country. After he eventually landed in jail, his wife Imogene ran off with an FBI agent and liquidated his multimillion dollar fortune. Remus subsequently shot and killed Imogene in a public rage and defended himself in court, managing to get himself considered temporarily insane. If you want drama, this story has it, so have a seat and take a listen.
190 - The Wailing of the Banshee
October 04, 2022 04:00 - 30 minutes - 21.1 MBNow that we have reached October, it's time for some spooky season stories. Today we discuss one of the scary creatures from Irish folklore, the banshee. Rumored to wail in signal of the impending death of those who hear it, the Banshee has roots that go back to the 8th century. Are there wailing female forms haunting the Irish countryside, or are there other creatures a bit more mundane in origin that might have given birth to the legend.
189 - Radium Girls: A Not So Healthy Glow
September 27, 2022 05:00 - 48 minutes - 33.5 MBWe discuss the horrific case of the Radium Girls, young women who worked for companies in the early 20th century painting watch dials with glowing radium based paint. They were told the product was harmless and were allowed to ingest it and use it as a fashion accessory. Almost all of the women came down with serious health effects and radiation poisoning while their employers did their best to cover the issue up. The case eventually became on of the driving forces that led to the foundin...
188 - I've Been Working on the Railroad
September 20, 2022 04:00 - 44 minutes - 31 MBNew historical anthropology has unearthed a treasure trove of artifacts relating to the many Chinese workers that worked for the Central Pacific Railroad constructing the Transcontinental Railroad across the United States. Information about he workers has been sparse due to the disinterest of racist railroad managers in keeping information about Chinese works at the time on this side of the Pacific, and the Cultural Revolution in China destroying primary sources of that side of the Pacific....
187 - Kiss Not
September 13, 2022 04:00 - 35 minutes - 24.4 MBImogene Rechtin started a campaign in 1910 to ban the pernicious scourge of kissing. It's probably not a great spoiler to say that she failed in her attempt, but take a listen an find out about her group, the World Health Organization (no, not that WHO), and it's attempt to rid the work of kissing.
186 - Colonel Parker
September 06, 2022 04:00 - 47 minutes - 32.5 MBThomas Andrew Parker, better known as Colonel Tom Parker, is famous for being Elvis Presley's controlling manager during is career. However, few knew that he was not from West Virginia as he claimed, but actually an undocumented Dutch immigrant named Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk who arrived in America under some highly sketchy circumstances. Take a listen and learn all about Colonel Tom.
185 - Courage the Cowardly Dog
August 31, 2022 03:00 - 28 minutes - 19.5 MBCourage the Cowardly Dog was a cartoon that ran for four seasons on Cartoon Network in the late 90s and early 2000s. While the show consisted of Courage subjected to all kinds of scary situations, few people know that much of the show had basis in reality. Courage's home is a real house in New Mexico where unspeakable things have happened, and a real life serial killer roamed.
184 - Heaven's Gate
August 23, 2022 05:00 - 48 minutes - 33.5 MBWe discuss the history of the Heaven's Gate cult that burst into the national consciousness in 1997 after a mass suicide of its members in the belief that they would spiritually join an alien spaceship they were sure was hidden in the tail of the Hale-Bopp comet.
183 - The Lost City/Island/Continent of Atlantis
August 16, 2022 04:00 - 40 minutes - 27.6 MBPlato famously mentions the lost civilization of Atlantis which was a naval power that was supposedly defeated by Athens, long before his day, which was eventually plunged into the sea by the gods as punishment for their hubris. The idea of Atlantis has stayed with popular culture for thousands of years, but is it just a made up nation for an allegory, or was it in any way based on fact? We discuss the possibilities in today's episode.
182 - Enter the Dragon
August 09, 2022 04:00 - 1 hour - 44.6 MBMyths of dragons and dragon-like creatures exist in cultures around the world. How do dragons differ around the world? How are they similar? What would lead just about all cultures to create myths with these creatures? Come listen and possibly find out.
181 - The Bell Witch
August 02, 2022 05:00 - 33 minutes - 22.9 MBThe Bell Witch is a long time legend of the American South. From 1817 to 1821 a supernatural entity is said to have hounded the family of John Bell, a local farmer, leading to his death. The tale became so famous that Andrew Jackson is said to have stayed in the Bell home for a night in order to investigate. Was the witch a supernatural phenomenon or the culmination of tensions and abuse in the family? Take a listen and see what you think.
180 - The Holy Grail
July 26, 2022 05:00 - 42 minutes - 29.3 MBThe Holy Grail is the name given to the cup from which Jesus drank at the last supper, mythically imbued with magical healing and restorative power. Where did this concept come from? Where does myth tell us the grail can be found? Take a listen and find out more lest you be taunted a second time.
179 - The Jersey Devil
July 19, 2022 07:00 - 48 minutes - 33.3 MBWe discuss one of the oldest cryptids in the United States, the Jersey Devil of the pine barrens of the Garden State. First discussed close to 300 years ago, join us for a discussion of the origins of the devil (spoiler: the most likely scenario involves a well known founding father), and sightings of it that lead up to the present day.
178 - King Arthur
July 12, 2022 04:00 - 51 minutes - 35.2 MBThe legend of King Arthur has been around for well over a thousand years. How did the stories first come to be and how did the modern version of Arthur, Camelot, and the quest for the Holy Grail grow out of them. Was there ever a real Arthur that the stories were based on? Take a listen and find out!
177 - The OG Florida Man
July 05, 2022 05:00 - 45 minutes - 31.1 MBWho stood 4'11", had two thumbs, and "discovered" Florida? Juan Ponce de Leon, that's who. We discuss the history of the world's most famous ponce and how he came to find Florida and if he really was searching for the fountain of youth at the time.
176 - The (not so)Ideal Maternity Home
June 28, 2022 05:00 - 42 minutes - 29.5 MBThe Ideal Maternity Home was operated in Nova Scotia from 1928-1947 by Lila and William Young. The home served as a place for unwed mothers to give birth to their children outside the view of a disapproving society. It also had a much darker side: illegal adoptions without material consent or knowledge, disposal of "non-perfect" babies, indentured servitude, and horrible treatment of both mothers and children.
175 - The First Great Revolution
June 21, 2022 06:00 - 52 minutes - 35.9 MBRoughly 11,000 years ago human beings began living in settlements and forming larger social groups due to the revolution that was the development of agriculture. Where did it all start? Did it spread from a single source or develop in parallel across the globe? What were the first foods that people intentionally grew? Come check in out in this week's episode.