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
77 - The Teleported Soldier and Urban Legends
August 04, 2020 04:00 - 42 minutes - 29.5 MBWe discuss the Legend of Gil Perez, a 16th Century Spanish Solider that found himself instantly transported from the Manila in the Philippines to Mexico City, Mexico. We also discuss Urban Legends in general, how they get started, why they stick in our heads, and the details of a few popular ones.
76 - Jinn
July 28, 2020 04:00 - 41 minutes - 28.3 MBJinn or Djinn are supernatual creatures from Arabian culture and are a concept that has spread around the world with Islam. Western culture mostly has used the term Genie to describe the concept with the most famous version being the wish giving Genie from 1001 Arabian Nights. We discuss the concept and history of Jinn which differs significantly from what is commonly seen in western culture.
75 - "I enjoy cooking with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food..."
July 21, 2020 04:00 - 30 minutes - 21.1 MBWe discuss Julia Child, renowned chef, American Cultural icon, deliverer of French cuisine to the common American household, and spy??
75 - "I enjoy cooking with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food..."
July 21, 2020 04:00 - 30 minutes - 21.1 MBWe discuss Julia Child, renowned chef, American Cultural icon, deliverer of French cuisine to the common American household, and spy??
74 - Tenochtitlan and Aztec Sacrifice
July 14, 2020 04:00 - 52 minutes - 35.8 MBWe discuss the city of Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire and forerunner to present megalopolis, Mexico City. Founded in the 1300s on an island in Lake Texcoco, the city saw the rise of the Aztecs, the practice of human sacrifice, and their eventual fall at the hands of Hernan Cortes.
73 - Ugandan Doomsday Cult
July 07, 2020 04:00 - 40 minutes - 27.8 MBWe discuss The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God cult, a Catholic splinter cult created formed Joseph Kibweteere, Joseph Kasapurari, John Kamagara, Dominic Kataribabo, and Credonia Mwerinde. The cult's doomsday predictions for the year 2000 and their subsequent failure to come to fruition led the leaders to murder close to 1000 of their followers.
72 - Robert Hooke and Scientific Rivalry
June 30, 2020 04:00 - 39 minutes - 27.5 MBWe discuss Robert Hooke, contemporary (and rival) Isaac Newton. Discoverer of the cell, the elastic constant, proponent of the wave nature of light, and architect of post Great Fire London.
72 - Robert Hooke and Scientific Rivalry
June 30, 2020 04:00 - 39 minutes - 27.5 MBWe discuss Robert Hooke, contemporary (and rival) Isaac Newton. Discoverer of the cell, the elastic constant, proponent of the wave nature of light, and architect of post Great Fire London.
71 - John McAfee
June 23, 2020 05:00 - 45 minutes - 31.4 MBThe story of John McAfee, from drug addict, to Antivirus Tycoon, to international fugitive, to Presidential Candidate. In America when you're rich you are allowed to make MANY mistakes.
70 - The Highway of Tears
June 16, 2020 05:00 - 34 minutes - 23.4 MBData shows that the United States and Canada both have an abnormally high rate of violent crime directed toward native women. This is embodied in the Highway of Tears, a stretch of Highway 16 in British Colombia that has seen a horrifying number of native women be murdered or go missing.
69 - The Central Park 5
June 09, 2020 04:00 - 37 minutes - 25.7 MBWe discuss the case of the Central Park jogger from 1989 and the subsequent railroading and false conviction of the Central Park 5. The five teens (four black, one latino) were eventually exonerated when DNA evidence proved that the culprit was a lone serial rapist who confessed to the crime.
68 - Found Treasure
June 08, 2020 03:00 - 8 minutes - 5.94 MBA brief mini-sode on the finding of the Fenn Treasure, a multi-million dollar treasure hidden in the Rocky Mountains by Forrest Fenn in 2010.
67 - Good Queen Bess
June 02, 2020 04:00 - 40 minutes - 27.6 MBThe history (and more importantly gossip) surrounding Queen Elizabeth the First, the last of the Tudors. Why was no one allowed to inspect her body upon death? Why did she wear a literal inch of makeup? Was she actually an impostor? Find out here!
66 - Time Travel
May 26, 2020 06:00 - 49 minutes - 34.1 MBIs it possible? We discuss the theory of time travel as well as its representation in popular media and viral hoaxes.
65 - The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping
May 19, 2020 04:00 - 45 minutes - 31.4 MBWe discuss the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh Jr., the son of Charles Lindbergh of aviation fame and one of the most talked about crimes of the 20th Century. It’s a maze of strangeness from top to bottom.
64 - The Bennington Triangle
May 12, 2020 04:00 - 43 minutes - 29.8 MBThere is an area is Southwest Vermont centered on Glastonbury Mountain that has become famous for the mysterious disappearances of hikers and a layered history of unease. The area has been dubbed the Bennington Triangle and we discuss it on this week's podcast.
63 - The History of Board Games
May 05, 2020 05:00 - 50 minutes - 35 MBWe discuss the history of board games from thousands of years BC to today.
62 - Spontaneous Human Combustion
April 28, 2020 04:00 - 45 minutes - 31 MBDo people sometimes mysteriously ignite without a known reason? We discuss SHC and the theories surrounding it.
61 - The Toxic Lady
April 21, 2020 04:00 - 49 minutes - 33.8 MBIn 1994 Gloria Ramirez was brought to Riverside Hospital in acute distress. While working on her in the ER, doctors and nurses were suddenly overcome something that acted like a nerve toxin after drawing her blood. The ER was evacuated and multiple medical professionals were hospitalized but no trace of a toxin could be found. We discuss the mysterious death of Gloria Ramirez.
60 - Easter Island
April 14, 2020 05:00 - 55 minutes - 38 MBWe discuss Easter Island, home of the famous Moai Statues and the mystery of the society that built them.
59 - New England Vampire Panic
April 07, 2020 05:00 - 37 minutes - 26.1 MBLearn all about the fairly common 18th and 19th century phenomena of Vampire Scares in New England and the rest of the US. Wasting diseases such as Tuberculosis were often blamed on undead relatives stalking their living kin, requiring the exhumation and desecration of said relatives to ensure that they remained in their graves. The most famous case, that of Mercy Brown, might have inspired Bram Stoker.
58 - The History of the Tarot
March 31, 2020 04:00 - 58 minutes - 40.4 MBWe discuss the history of Tarot cards from their beginnings as a card game in 1400s Italy to their re-purposing as a means of divination in Revolutionary France, to their status today.
57 - The Public Universal Friend and John Adams is No More
March 24, 2020 15:00 - 39 minutes - 27.5 MBA podcast two-fer, with our first attempt at Podcasting while Social Distancing. First up, we discuss the Public Universal Friend. The Friend was a religious leader that came from the Quaker tradition and eschewed all gender identity including gendered pronouns back in early days of the United States. Second, two boys playing on the railroad tracks find (not a body amazingly enough) but a priceless piece of american history.
56 - The Mysterious Murder of Mary Pinchot Meyer
March 17, 2020 04:00 - 36 minutes - 24.8 MBin 1964, Mary Pinchot Meyer left the house for a walk and was shot to death shortly after the publication of the Warren Report. Why does that matter? Because she was thought to be a mistress of JFK and was married to a CIA operative. Conspiracy theories about on this episode.
55 - Twisting Tornadoes
March 10, 2020 04:00 - 43 minutes - 29.8 MBThis episode is all about tornadoes. What are they, how do they form, where do they appear? We discuss some famous tornadoes from history and our own run ins with them.
54 - What the Dickens
March 03, 2020 05:00 - 33 minutes - 23.2 MBWe discuss Charles Dickens and the fight over his eventual place of rest in Poet's Corner.
53 - Burn Baby Burn - The Cuyahoga River and the EPA
February 25, 2020 05:00 - 36 minutes - 25.1 MBWe discuss the 1969 fire on the Cuyahoga river in Cleveland which many believe contributed directly to the eventual formation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
52 - Messy Nessie
February 18, 2020 05:00 - 41 minutes - 28.3 MBTime to discuss everyone's favorite lake monster, Nessie! Is there really a large creature living in Loch Ness? How many scholars have ruined their careers looking for her? Are the public bathrooms at Loch Ness locked year round? Learn these things and more while listening to our podcast.
51 - The Amber Room
February 11, 2020 05:00 - 32 minutes - 22.6 MBThe Amber room was a treasure of the Tsars, given to Peter the Great by King Frederick William I of Prussia. The room was looted by the Nazis during the invasion of the USSR and lost to history. Was it destroyed as most think, or is it still hidden away waiting to be found.
50 - The Hum
February 04, 2020 05:00 - 44 minutes - 30.4 MBMany people around the world report hearing a low frequency hum that they find unsettling and can slowly drive them crazy. These reports tend to cluster in certain areas at certain times, but no one has definitively determined what they are hearing or even if they are really hearing sound. We discuss the phenomenon, common theories, and give or own BS answers. Bonus... random discussion of weird pronunciations and accents ;)
49 - Olive Oatman and the Cullinan Diamond Twofer
January 28, 2020 05:00 - 29 minutes - 20.4 MBOlive Oatman was a young pioneer girl that was captured by the Yavapai in 1851 and went on to live with the Mohave for many years. The Cullinan Diamond is the largest gem quality diamond ever found and was cut into some of the prized pieces of the British Crown Jewels. What do they have in common? Nothing other than that both are interesting and are the two parts of this split podcast.
48 - The Anatomy of a Conspiracy Theory
January 21, 2020 04:00 - 33 minutes - 23 MBWhat is a conspiracy theory? Where do they come from? What do they share in common? Why do so many people believe them? We discuss these questions and more in our look at conspiracy theories and why they are a constant part of modern society.
47 - Scientology
January 14, 2020 05:00 - 38 minutes - 26.6 MBWe discuss the history and general tenets of Scientology and discuss the strange disappearance of Shelly Miscavige.
46 - The Mummy of John Wilkes Booth
January 07, 2020 05:00 - 37 minutes - 25.6 MBJohn Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln, was caught, and killed... or was he. This the the story of the mummy that toured the US for decades while being proclaimed as Booth's body. Was it John Wilkes Booth? How did this mummy end up on the carnival circuit? Where is it today? Take a listen and find out.
45 - Sadie Hawkins
December 31, 2019 05:00 - 25 minutes - 17.5 MBWe discuss the origin of the Sadie Hawkins tradition and the background of the Li'l Abner comic strip.
44 - Christmas Traditions
December 24, 2019 05:00 - 26 minutes - 18.6 MBWhere do all the Christmas traditions that are common across the United States come from? Have we really be doing them for hundreds of years are or they recent inventions? Come with us as we journey through Christmas Past and see what started many of the traditions we hold dear.
43 - The Hope Diamond
December 17, 2019 03:00 - 28 minutes - 19.6 MBWe discuss the history of the Hope Diamond and it's famous curse. From it's "acquisition" in India by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier to it's acquisition by the Smithsonian, the Hope Diamond has been famous for tragedies that have surrounded it. Are they part of a curse, or just a false pattern that people have latched on to?
42 - Don't Drink the Water - The Sordid History of the Hotel Cecil
December 10, 2019 05:00 - 24 minutes - 17.1 MBWe discuss the violent and sad history of the Hotel Cecil, a great old landmark of Downtown LA. From it's sad history during the Great Depression to it's most recent, horrifying episode, bad things seem to happen around the Cecil.
41 - A Disappearance in the Vatican
December 03, 2019 03:00 - 40 minutes - 27.7 MBWe discuss the 1983 disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi, a 15 year old girl who lived in the Vatican. Theories abound on what happened to her on her way to flute lessons in June 1983.
40 - The Ghost Dance
November 26, 2019 05:00 - 37 minutes - 25.6 MBThe history of the Ghost Dance movement. Listen along as we talk about a culture movement in the Paiute Native American tribe that spread quickly across America giving hope to the disenfranchised Native Americans, and troubling the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
39 - The Not-so-Golden Arches
November 19, 2019 05:00 - 36 minutes - 25 MBThe story of Uncle Jerry and the McDonald's Monopoly cheating scandal. Ever wonder why you never found Boardwalk while playing McDonald's Monopoly? It's probably due to Jerome Jacobson and his secret distribution of the major prizes for cash, soon to me a major movie near you.
38 - What's Up Witches?
November 12, 2019 06:00 - 37 minutes - 25.7 MBWe discuss the history of witchcraft, where the roots of the modern idea of a witch come from, and how technology becomes indistinguishable from witchcraft.
37 - Frankenstein and a Bummer of a Finale
November 05, 2019 04:00 - 25 minutes - 17.5 MBWe discuss Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the story, the background to it's conception, and general tidbits. We also end with a bummer :(
36 - Going on a Witch Hunt
October 29, 2019 23:00 - 31 minutes - 21.6 MBWe discuss the (so famous it's infamous) Salem Witch Trials. How did several local girls accusing local women of bewitching them turn into a crazed outbreak of mass hysteria? How does one become a #rampanthag? Come find out.
35 - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
October 22, 2019 03:00 - 38 minutes - 26.4 MBListen as we discuss America's first ghost story, Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. What facts are buried in the fiction? What does this story have to do with Will freaking out as a kid on the way to visit Jarbelo, KS? Join us and find out.
34 - The Devil Went Down to Georgia
October 15, 2019 03:00 - 34 minutes - 23.7 MBThe story of Corpsewood Manor. The home hand built in the remote Georgia woods by Dr. Charles Scudder and his lover Joe Odom and unfortunate site of a grizzly murder and reported supernatural events.
33 - The History of Halloween
October 07, 2019 04:00 - 34 minutes - 23.8 MBListen in on the history of Halloween from its ancient pagan roots to the modern traditions of Trick-or-Treating for candy and dressing up in costume.
32 - The Coral Castle
October 01, 2019 03:00 - 26 minutes - 18.3 MBWe discuss the Coral Castle, a strange home/monument constructed by hand without assistance by the diminutive Edward Leedskalnin. Why did he build it? How did he build it? We'll discuss the facts and fun theories.
31 - Mary Mary Quite Contrary
September 24, 2019 03:00 - 33 minutes - 22.9 MBEver wonder why there's a children's rhyme about a contrary gardener with a strange garden? We discuss the life and times of Mary the First, Queen of England and notorious elder half sister to Queen Elizabeth the First.
30 - The Lost City of Z
September 17, 2019 03:00 - 36 minutes - 25.2 MBWant a story that's full of jungles, adventure, archaeology, and people going missing without a trace? You'll love learning about the Lost City of Z, the famed city lost in the Amazon which inspired the tales of Indiana Jones.