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Our Fake History

234 episodes - English - Latest episode: 17 days ago - ★★★★★ - 3.2K ratings

A podcast about myths we think are history and history that might be hidden in myths! Awesome stories that really (maybe) happened!

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Episodes

OFH Throwback- Episode #4- Real Ninjas?

April 10, 2024 00:51 - 48 minutes

For this throwback Sebastian takes you all the way back to a first season favorite. Ninjas, Japan’s shadow warriors, have been a pop-culture staple for generations. The legend of the ninjas has become so overblown, that some have gone so far to suggest that they never truly existed. But that is just what the ninjas want us to believe! The ninjas were very real, and they played a pivotal role in Japan’s “warring states period”. Nevertheless, separating ninja-fact from ninja-fiction continues t...

Episode #200- Can I Ask Who's Calling?

April 02, 2024 04:00 - 1 hour

Our Fake History celebrates 200 episodes by opening up the phonelines and taking calls from listeners and past guests. Fans from all over the world pose questions and queries and Sebastian does his best to answer thoughtfully. How does Sebastian choose his sources? Which historical figure would he transport here "Bill and Ted" style? Did pirates really have treasure maps? Is there such a thing as objective truth? Tune-in and find out how Achilles numbers, time capsules, and a lot of "long tim...

OFH Throwback- Episode #128- Did St. Patrick Kill a Wizard?

March 27, 2024 01:17 - 1 hour

There are few Christian saints more misunderstood than St. Patrick. Ireland’s patron saint is best known for driving the snakes off the island, but that isn’t even close to the most interesting thing about him. Both the legend of St. Patrick and the details of his real life have been poorly remembered. Driving the snakes out of Ireland is nothing compared to the wizard duels described in the medieval sources. Have we completely missed the boat on what makes St. Patrick worth remembering? Tune...

Episode #199- Was the Spanish Armada a Big Deal? (Part Two)

March 19, 2024 23:54 - 1 hour

The attempted invasion of England in 1588 was doomed even before the first ship left harbor. The Spanish plan was fatally flawed and pretty much every commander knew it. The plan was audacious, but it was also weirdly vague. The Spanish also made a fateful choice when they entered the English channel that essential ensured that the English would have a tactical advantage during the entire encounter. King Phillip II may have constructed the largest fleet in Atlantic history, but was England ev...

Episode #199- Was the Spanish Armada a Big Deal? (Part II)

March 19, 2024 23:54 - 1 hour

The attempted invasion of England in 1588 was doomed even before the first ship left harbor. The Spanish plan was fatally flawed and pretty much every commander knew it. The plan was audacious, but it was also weirdly vague. The Spanish also made a fateful choice when they entered the English channel that essential ensured that the English would have a tactical advantage during the entire encounter. King Phillip II may have constructed the largest fleet in Atlantic history, but was England ev...

Episode #198- Was the Spanish Armada a Big Deal? (Part I)

March 06, 2024 02:45 - 1 hour

In 1588 King Phillip II of Spain constructed the largest fleet ever seen on the Atlantic in attempt to invade England. This attempt famously flopped. At the time this was celebrated as an English triumph in the face of impossible odds, and over the centuries English historians echoed this Elizabethan propaganda. This led to some in the Victorian era declaring that the defeat of the Armada had been one of the most pivotal moments in the history of the world. However, more recently the scholarl...

OFH Throwback- Episode #1- Was Queen Elizabeth Actually a Man?

February 28, 2024 02:23 - 35 minutes

In this throwback episode Sebastian takes you all the way back to the very first episode of OFH ever released. Queen Elizabeth I is easily one of England’s most celebrated monarchs. The so-called “virgin queen” has been credited with leading England through a golden age. However, she is also the subject of countless historical myths and conspiracy theories. This week we unpack the scandalous tale that Queen Elizabeth was actually an impostor in drag. Listen and find out how King Henry VIII, D...

Episode #197- How Bad Was Caligula? (Part III)

February 21, 2024 01:10 - 1 hour

The reign of the Emperor Caligula has been presented as a cavalcade of bizarre and violent behavior. From declaring war on the ocean to building a five kilometer floating bridge so he could ride his horse over the sea, many of the most infamous stories about the emperor emphasize his mania. However, many of the most upsetting tales about Caligula are likely not true. One of the only eye-witness accounts of the emperor in action present him as arrogant, but hardly insane. If the worst stories ...

Episode #196- How Bad Was Caligula? (Part II)

February 07, 2024 06:00 - 1 hour

When the Emperor Gaius, better known as Caligula, was first elevated to the role of Princeps things seemed promising. He sought to repair the relationship with the Senate damaged by his predecessor, Tiberius. He ended the former emperor's much abused treason trials. He invested in building projects, public infrastructure, and large entertaining spectacles. It seemed like he was trying to follow the model set by the first emperor Augustus. But, then at some point in his reign things changed. B...

Episode #195- How Bad Was Caligula? (Part I)

January 24, 2024 02:17 - 1 hour

The Roman Emperor Gaius, better known by his childhood nickname Caligula, is often counted among the worst rulers in the history of the world. According to some ancient sources his tumultuous four year reign was defined by wonton cruelty, sadistic sexual excess, and unchecked bloodlust. However, the ancient writers that tell us these tales are among the most untrustworthy sources from the Roman period. Was Caligula truly a monster, or has an unsuccessful emperor been transformed into an hist...

OFH Throwback- Episode #2- Did Nero Really Fiddle As Rome Burned?

January 17, 2024 01:32 - 39 minutes

Our Fake History is now releasing "throwback" episodes in the off-weeks between series. The regular show will still hit the feed every two weeks, but once a series has wrapped up listeners will get a little extra: a classic episode with a fresh introduction from Sebastian. This week you are getting thrown all the way back to Episode #2! The “Great Fire” of 64 AD was the 9/11 of the ancient world, complete with it’s own “truther” conspiracy. Could Emperor Nero actually have been behind the gre...

Episode #194- Who Killed Mozart? (Part III)

January 10, 2024 04:23 - 1 hour - 144 MB

In 1791 Wolfgang Mozart was one the verge of a comeback. After being the toast of Vienna for half a decade, his music was starting to be considered passé by the late 1780's. A turbulent war between Austria and Turkey and an economic depression only made matters worse. But in 1791 Mozart scored a huge hit with his opera The Magic Flute. Sadly the composer barely got a chance to savor his renewed acclaim, as only three months after the opera's premiere Mozart died in his Vienna apartment. Was ...

Episode #193- Who Killed Mozart? (Part II)

December 27, 2023 02:01 - 1 hour - 111 MB

Wolfgang Mozart made the transition from child prodigy to adult artist fairly seamlessly, but that does not mean there weren't road bumps. Many musicians were skeptical of the boy from Salzburg. Was he more than just a musical freak of nature? Did he really have something to say musically? Many modern Mozart fans tend to either remember Mozart's art as the universally beloved apotheosis of 18th century classical music, or as criminally misunderstood works of genius that only future generation...

Episode #192- Who Killed Mozart? (Part I)

December 13, 2023 01:47 - 1 hour - 104 MB

There are few artists who are praised with the same level of hyperbole as Wolfgang Mozart. The German poet Franz Alexander von Kleist once said “Mozart's music is so beautiful as to entice angels down to earth.” The famous Russian composer Tchaikovsky declared that Mozart was no less than a "musical Christ." With praise that grandiose it can be hard to believe that Mozart was a flesh and blood human being. The stories of Mozart's dazzling genius begin when he was only a small child. He was wr...

Episode #191- Who Was The Real Zorro? (Part II)

November 29, 2023 02:29 - 1 hour - 107 MB

The character of Zorro clearly had a number of inspirations, some literary and some historical. But the proto-Zorro with the deepest mythology is undoubtedly the Mexican bandit Joaquin Murrieta. The outlaw was allegedly a master of disguise who made a sport of taunting his would-be bounty hunters. He was said to have escaped death countless times, while robbing gold and horses from the Americans he had grown to despise. But, for many Joaquin's remarkable life seemed out of step with his uncer...

Episode #190- Who Was The Real Zorro? (Part I)

November 15, 2023 01:42 - 1 hour - 97.4 MB

The co-creator of Batman has admitted that there would be no caped crusader had it not been for the inspiration of masked-avenger Zorro. In turn, the character of Zorro could not have existed without the inspiration of real California outlaws. In 1848 the Mexican-American War came to a close and a year later gold was discovered in the newly American territory of California. Tens of thousands of former Mexican citizens suddenly became Americans and thousands more soon flooded across the border...

Episode #189- What Bewitched Salem? (Part III)

October 31, 2023 23:54 - 1 hour - 121 MB

The Salem witch panic of 1692 can sometimes feel more like a natural disaster than a human event. When the crisis reached its peak in the late summer of 1692 it had become as chaotic and destructive as any extreme storm. The return of Governor William Phips from England with a new colonial charter in May 1692 meant that the official proceedings of the witch trials could finally get underway. However, the prosecution and execution of the first batch of Salem witches didn't seem to slow the rat...

Episode #188- What Bewitched Salem? (Part II)

October 17, 2023 23:58 - 1 hour - 111 MB

Can a psychological illness become contagious? Many experts believe that in rare cases a phenomenon known as a "mass psychogenic illness" can break out in a population. Can this strange quirk of group psychology help us understand the Salem Witch Crisis of 1692? The community had been stressed by local factionalism, regional political turmoil, and a global climate crisis. The strange behavior of a few young girls quickly escalated into accusations of witchcraft against three local women. But ...

Episode #187- What Bewitched Salem? (Part I)

October 04, 2023 00:10 - 1 hour - 109 MB

In 1692 in the town of Salem Village, Massachusetts, two young girls started acting very strangely. The girls suffered from uncontrollable fits, bouts of incoherence, and odd outbursts including barking and choking sounds. A physician summoned to examine them concluded that the only explanation was that the girls were "under an evil hand." They were bewitched. This sparked a full fledged witchcraft panic that ended up claiming the lives of 25 people and destabilizing the entire Massachusetts...

Episode #186- Who Was Germany's Greatest Imposter?

September 20, 2023 00:13 - 1 hour - 120 MB

In 1906 an ex-convict named Wilhelm Voigt living pulled off one of the most audacious heists in European history. After cobbling together a realistic looking Captain's uniform, he convinced ten German soldiers to follow his commands and help him rob a townhall in the Berlin suburb of Köpenick. The heist played like a perfect piece of satirical theatre that revealed uncomfortable truths about Imperial German society.  After his arrest Wilhelm Voigt was celebrated as a folk hero all around the ...

OFH Throwback- Episode #43- What is Phantom Time?

September 06, 2023 00:02 - 1 hour - 89.9 MB

In the world of pseudo-historical theories there are few more radical than the Phantom Time Hypothesis and the New Chronology. These theories propose that hundreds of years of human history never actually occurred. Our current chronology has been inflated with fake events and “phantom time.” These theorists would have us believe that most of our history has been faked by chroniclers and unscrupulous historians. Could it be that most of human history is a fraud? Tune-in and find out how golf c...

OFH Throwback- Episode #113- Who is Kyiv's Most Vengeful Saint?

August 23, 2023 00:39 - 1 hour - 94.6 MB

There are few tales of revenge as epic as that of Olga of Kyiv. In 945 AD Olga set out on a campaign of vengeance that would make a lasting mark on the history of Eastern Europe. However, there is good reason to believe it never actually happened. The source that contains the tale of Olga’s vengeance is among the most unreliable chronicles of the medieval era. What should we believe about one of Eastern Europe’s most merciless female rulers? Tune-in and find out how arrogant boat faces, burni...

Episode #185- Was Wrestling Ever Real? ft. RJ City (Part III)

August 08, 2023 23:25 - 1 hour - 117 MB

Most professional wrestling fans have accepted the scripted nature of wrestling for decades, but are we truly living in a post-kayfabe world? This week's guest, RJ City, thinks that maybe kayfabe never died. RJ City is a comedian, wrestler, bon vivant, the host of AEW’s Hey!(EW). You may have seen him beating up David Arquette, winning Celebrity Family Feud, mocking children on Nickelodeon’s Splatalot, or making coffee in his underwear on YouTube. RJ shares the insights he has gained working ...

Episode #184- Was Wrestling Ever Real? (Part II)

July 25, 2023 23:32 - 1 hour - 109 MB

Professional Wrestling had a long history of manipulated matches, but it took time to evolve into the pure theatre we know today. Along the road Professional Wrestling passed through a strange intermediary period, where the matches were mostly scripted, but occasionally real wrestling unexpectedly intruded into the ring. Wrestlers could double-cross their promoters, turn fixed matches into legitimate contests, and "steal" titles from a pre-determined champion. In the 1920's "breaking the rule...

Episode #183- Was Wrestling Ever Real? (Part I)

July 12, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 99.7 MB

In 1957 the French philosopher Roland Barthes called professional wrestling a "spectacle of excess." That may be the most beautifully succinct description of sports entertainment ever written. For decades professional wrestling has existed as an athletic form of melodramatic theatre rather than an honest athletic competition. But has that always been the case? When and how did wrestling transform from a typical sport into a "spectacle of excess?" Tune-in and find out how weird carnival slang,...

Episode #182- What Were The Hell-Fire Clubs? (Part II)

June 27, 2023 23:46 - 1 hour - 91 MB

In 1721 the first Hell-Fire club caused a scandal in London and quickly disbanded, but the story did not end there. Soon new blasphemous rake's clubs were being founded all over England, Scotland and Ireland. Some of these second-generation clubs became even more infamous than the original. Did these new Hell-Fire clubs earn their reputation as satanic blights on society, or was this just more of the same aristocratic excess? Tune-in and find out how incorporeal party guests, demonic kitty-ca...

Episode #181- What Were The Hell-Fire Clubs? (Part I)

June 13, 2023 23:05 - 1 hour - 90.2 MB

In Britain in the early 18th century private social clubs were all the rage. These societies grew out of the emerging coffeehouse culture and soon became an integral part of the social life of the British upper crust. The most notorious of all these groups was the so-called Hell-Fire Club. In 1721 a near panic was fueled by the English press, who reported that this club hosted orgies, encouraged blasphemy, and held rude pantomimes of sacred religious rituals. Even King George I himself became...

Episode #180- Columbus? (Part III)

May 30, 2023 23:08 - 1 hour - 138 MB

There is a long tradition of writers comparing Christopher Columbus to mythical figures. 16th century historian Peter Martyr believed Columbus was like a later-day Aeneas, the Trojan hero who travelled west to found a society in Italy that would one day become Rome. Over the centuries many Americans gravitated to the idea of Columbus as Aeneas--- a man who brought civilization west and gave it a new headquarters in America. However, more recently one historian has argued that Columbus is mor...

Episode #179- Columbus? (Part II)

May 16, 2023 23:02 - 1 hour - 112 MB

A Columbus biographer once wrote that the famous navigator had an "an imperfect understanding of the line between truth and falsity." The Genoese mariner had a habit of lying, exaggerating, or revising history in service of what he believed were his "higher ends." The fact that Columbus is such an unreliable narrator makes retracing his voyages particularly challenging. The first voyage across the Atlantic would nearly disintegrate as Columbus lost control of his subordinates and lost his fla...

Episode #178- Columbus? (Part I)

May 03, 2023 00:29 - 1 hour - 101 MB

There are few historical figures whose reputation has swung in as many extreme directions as Christopher Columbus. The Genoese mariner once credited with "discovering America" has in recent years been called out as genocidal conqueror and slave trader. In 2020 many statues of Columbus across the United States were toppled by protestors, quite literally taking the man off of his pedestal. Why does the figure of Christopher Columbus continue to inspire so much passion from both his detractors a...

Episode #177- How Do Movies Make Myths? ft. Amy Nicholson

April 18, 2023 22:56 - 1 hour - 107 MB

On today's show Sebastian has the opportunity to talk to one of his favourite film critics, podcasters, and cultural observers, the great Amy Nicholson. Amy writes about film for the New York Times and is featured regularly in Variety, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and The Guardian. She is also the co-host of the wonderful movie podcast Unspooled, that she makes with actor and comedian Paul Sheer. Amy and Sebastian explore the importance of accuracy in historically themed movies, the mo...

Episode #176- Was Pythagoras Killed By Beans?

April 04, 2023 22:59 - 1 hour - 119 MB

If you managed to get through elementary school math then you have almost certainly heard the name Pythagoras. The ancient Greek thinker has been celebrated as the man who first discovered the mathematical relationship between the sides of a right triangle. This has been known for centuries as the Pythagorean Theorem. But, if you poke your nose a little deeper into his story you will discover that he was also worshipped by some as a nearly divine figure who could communicate with animals, rec...

Episode #175- Who Framed Mata Hari? (Part III)

March 21, 2023 23:30 - 1 hour - 108 MB

The myth of Mata Hari would have us believe that she was a turn-of-the-century super-spy. She has been celebrated as a master of the "honey trap" tactic, where a beautiful spy seduces her mark and extracts sensitive information over pillow talk. But, in reality Mata Hari was a remarkably ineffective spy. In short time dabbling in the world of espionage, she did very little that could be considered "spying." Her career as a "secret agent" lasted just over a year. There is very little evidence ...

Episode #174- Who Framed Mata Hari? (Part II)

March 08, 2023 01:02 - 1 hour - 95.1 MB

Between 1905 and 1908 the dancer professionally known as Mata Hari was one of the best known entertainers in Europe. Her nearly-nude dances were given an air of respectability thanks to her presentation as Javanese temple dancer performing sacred religious rites. But by the outbreak of WWI her star had started to fade. To maintain her lavish lifestyle she began to rely heavily on her wealthy lovers. These lovers were often military men who fought on opposing sides of the war. This made Mata H...

Episode #173- Who Framed Mata Hari? (Part I)

February 22, 2023 01:33 - 1 hour - 90.2 MB

In 1905 a woman claiming to be a Javanese temple dancer rocketed to fame in Europe. Her name was Mata Hari and her nearly-nude dances were presented as profound religious experiences. But, Mata Hari was selling a fantasy. She was actually a Dutch woman born Margaretha Zelle. Her real origins were considerably less glamorous than the fiction she presented on stage. If there is anything more surprising than Mata Hari's meteoric rise, it's her tragic fall. In 1917 Margaretha Zelle would be execu...

Episode #172- Who Was The African Samurai? (Part II)

February 08, 2023 01:35 - 1 hour - 118 MB

In the 1580's Japan was a on the precipice of a massive transformation. For over a century the country had been embroiled in war, but by 1581 the end seemed to be in sight. The powerful Lord Oda Nobunaga was on the path to unifying the fractured nation. It was at this time that a remarkable man from East Africa, known as Yasuke, came into his service. Nobunaga would take a shine to this foreigner and would eventually honour him with a ceremonial sword and a monthly stipend. For many historian...

Episode #171- Who Was The African Samurai? (Part I)

January 25, 2023 00:10 - 1 hour - 99.3 MB

Near the end of Japan's "Warring States" period a remarkable visitor arrived in the country with a group of European Jesuit missionaries. He was a soldier originally from East Africa acting as a bodyguard for the ranking Jesuit in Japan. The Japanese would come to know this man as Yasuke and through a surprising series of events he would go on to become the first non-Japanese person to be recognized as a Samurai. Unfortunately, sources concerning the life of Yasuke are few. With only a handfu...

Episode #170- Who Knows Houdini? (Part III)

January 11, 2023 01:57 - 1 hour - 122 MB

Houdini had a truly impressive run as an entertainer. In the decade between 1904 and 1913 he developed a number of escapes and illusions that are still considered the gold-standard for stage magicians. Houdini's "Milk Can" and "Chinese Water Torture" escapes are still inspiring magicians to this day. Houdini's stock and trade was deception and yet by the early 1920's he became tireless campaigner against people he considered frauds. He became convinced that "spiritualist mediums" were using m...

Episode #169- Who Knows Houdini? (Part II)

December 28, 2022 02:35 - 1 hour - 89.9 MB

Over the course of 1899 Harry Houdini went from being an obscure circus performer to being one of the best known entertainers in America. He became known as the "Handcuff King" and made headlines challenging police departments to lock him in a pair of cuffs that could hold him. His rise to fame was aided by his savvy understanding of the media and an ability manipulate the papers. These manipulations would overtime become part of the Houdini myth. Houdini lived a life filled with misdirection...

Episode #168- Who Knows Houdini? (Part I)

December 14, 2022 01:40 - 1 hour - 97.4 MB

The word "iconic" gets thrown around pretty loosely these days, but there are some figures who truly earn the descriptor. Micheal Jordan and Mohammed Ali are icons because they truly transcended their sport. In the same way Harry Houdini is bigger than magic. Houdini is easily the best remembered performer in the history of stage magic. Despite his enduring fame his life story remains clouded by myth. Houdini was a professional liar, but he also considered himself to be deeply moral. He took ...

Episode #167- Who Was The Fake Asian?

November 30, 2022 01:52 - 105 MB

In 1703 a curious character arrived in London claiming to be a native of the island of Formosa. These days Formosa is better known as Taiwan, but in early 18th century it was a place barely understood by most Europeans. The Formosan visitor, George Psalmanazar, was eager to teach his English hosts everything there was no to know about his home island. The only problem was that Psalmanazar was a fraud. He was a European who had never travelled east of Germany. He concocted elaborate tales abou...

Episode #166- Who Was Liver Eating Johnson? (ft. Daniele Bolelli)

November 16, 2022 01:07 - 107 MB

Some of the most legendary figures to emerge from the history of the American West were the rough-and-ready "mountain men". But, the most legendary mountain man of all had to be the cannibal, Liver Eating Johnson. Stories would have us believe that sometime in the mid-1800's Johnson waged a one-man war against the indigenous Crow tribe to avenge the killing of his pregnant wife. Along the way he developed a taste for human flesh and started eating the raw livers of those that he killed. It's ...

Episode #165- What Was The Galileo Affair? (Part III)

November 01, 2022 23:03 - 134 MB

There is a story that as Galileo stood in front of the Inquisition and listened as they declared that the Earth did not revolve around the Sun, he whispered under his breath "and yet, it moves". This moment of defiance has been celebrated as Galileo's true "martyr" moment. But, there is no way that Galileo ever said that. While the official records produced by the Inquisition might make it seem like the "Galileo Affair" had been about the question of the Earth's motion, a closer look at the a...

Episode #164- What Was The Galileo Affair? (Part II)

October 19, 2022 00:31 - 90.5 MB

Galileo is often credited with inventing the telescope, but he never made that claim. He simply whipped up his own take on the device and sold it to the Republic of Venice before his Dutch competitors could beat him to the punch. Galileo also gets credit for being the first person to point the telescope at the night sky. This is also untrue, but when he did start observing the moon, stars, and planets, his observations would turn astronomy on its head. In 1610 Galileo published Sidereus Nunci...

Episode #163- What Was The Galileo Affair? (Part I)

October 05, 2022 00:27 - 1 hour - 101 MB

The Pisan scientist Galileo Galilei has been remembered as the "father of modern science." The discoveries he made with his telescope led to a completely new understanding of Earth's place in the cosmos. The theory first put forward by the Polish mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus, that the Earth revolved around the Sun, was affirmed by Galileo. The works published by Galileo expounding on these findings eventually led to him accused of heresy by the Roman Catholic Church. Galileo has gone dow...

Episode #162- Real Amazons? (Part II)

September 21, 2022 01:19 - 1 hour - 96.7 MB

Did you know that the Amazons once waged war on Atlantis? According to the ancient historian Diodorus of Sicily, the Amazons conquered Atlantis while carving out an empire in Northern Africa. This may have all been pure legend, but Diodorus, like most ancient historians, believed that the Amazons had been an historical people. Other historians believed that the Amazons eventually interbred with the nomadic Scythians were slowly integrated into their society on the Eurasian steppe. In fact, on...

Episode #161- Real Amazons? (Part I)

September 07, 2022 01:37 - 1 hour - 86.1 MB

When the conquistador Francisco Orellana was attacked by a band of female warriors deep in the heart of South America, he thought immediately of the Amazons of Greek mythology. His encounter with this group would end up inspiring the name for the river he was navigating: the Amazon. The original Amazons were said to be society of ferocious female warriors who lived at the edge of the known world. In myth the Amazons tangled with many of greatest Greek heroes. Their all-female society stood i...

OFH Throwback- Episode #61 - What's the Problem with Socrates?

August 23, 2022 23:00 - 1 hour - 91 MB

In this OFH throwback episode Sebastian is throwing you back to Episode #61 - What's the Problem with Socrates? Socrates has been celebrated as the “father of western philosophy”. This is particularly remarkable when you consider the fact that we know almost nothing about him for sure. What we consider “Socratic Philosophy” is what has been reported to us by his students. Should we trust what they are telling us about him? Tune in and find out how ancient fart jokes, free lunch, and a wrestle...

OFH Throwback- Episode #96- What is America's Weirdest Secret Society?

August 10, 2022 01:29 - 1 hour - 97.8 MB

In this "throwback episode" we look back at episode #96. In the 1930’s a famous California history professor thought he had discovered a long lost historical treasure. It was a brass plate apparently inscribed by the famous English adventurer Sir. Francis Drake. The plate was heralded as an amazing discovery, but it was actually an elaborate hoax orchestrated by an irreverent secret society. The group behind the hoax is known as E Clampus Vitus and it may be America’s weirdest secret society....

Episode #160- Who Knows Toronto?

July 27, 2022 03:11 - 144 MB

In this SUPER SIZED season finale Sebastian explores the many myths and misconceptions about the city of Toronto. In his attempt to get a deeper understanding of the city he has called home, our host embarks on a series of probing conversations with a handful of Toronto storytellers. Author and feature writer Katie Daubs, Toronto educator Bryan Tran, Toronto Star investigative journalist Brendan Kennedy, local music legend Dave Bidini, and Governor General's Literary Award finalist Liselle Sa...