122. Phineas Gage

Phineas Gage and his constant companion.

Heads up! We’re diving back into medical history with the wonderful Josh Hollis, who joins us to talk about the strange case of Phineas Gage! Zach speaks to the true believers, Josh talks about the hole craze that swept the country, and Brian introduces a regrettable new segment.

Don’t forget! If you make a donation of $20 or more to the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, we’ll send you one of our awesome t-shirts! Just send a screenshot of your receipt along with your shipping and sizing info to revisionistspodcast@gmail.com.

You can also support the show by pledging as little as $1 a month on our Patreon page. Thanks for helping us do this!

121. H.H. Holmes

H.H. Holmes, who could wear a hat.

Happy Halloween! For the final episode of our annual Spooktacular, we welcome back the brilliant Kira MagCalen to discuss the life and crimes of H.H. Holmes! Zach celebrates a slice of Chicago history, Kira picks her favorite weapon, and Brian accidentally slanders Jon Favreau. BOO! SPOOKY!

CHARITY DRIVE ANNOUNCEMENT: We’ll send you one of our awesome, Geoff Tice-designed t-shirts if you help support the rights of trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people everywhere. Just make a donation of $20 or more to the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and send a screenshot of your receipt (along with your mailing address and preferred shirt size) to revisionistspodcast@gmail.com. See the shirt on our Instagram page!

120. Spring-Heeled Jack

Spring-Heeled Jack, terror of Victorian England.

Lock the door, it’s part 2 of 3 in our annual Halloween Spooktacular! We’re so excited to have the wonderful Gena Radcliffe (co-host of Kill by Kill and writer for The Spool) join us to talk about the bizarre story of Spring-Heeled Jack. Zach has The Boss on the brain, Brian dives into the robust Victorian justice system, and Gena tells us of brand-new invention, you know, for kids.

*NOTE* So, there is a slight audio problem with this episode. One of the tracks accidentally exported with a click track, and by the time we caught it, it was too late to get rid of completely. We did the best we could, but it is noticeable at times. BUT! This is episode was so much fun and we hope it doesn’t bother you.

119. The Highgate Vampire

Sean Manchester, self-proclaimed vampire hunter.

Children of the night, what sweet themed comedy podcasts they make! We kick off our three-episode Halloween Spooktacular with special guest and co-host of Movie Trap Russel Carlsen as we discuss the Highgate Vampire. Zach pulls us out of an N64 hole, Russel blows some fat clouds, and Brian breaks out his 2020 Dracula impression.

NEWS: If you head to our website, you can participate in a brief anonymous survey designed to help us better promote the show. It takes just a couple minutes and we would greatly appreciate it! You can also review us, write us a letter, or just interact with us on Twitter or Instagram.

118. National Hotel Disease

The National Hotel

Soup’s on! The wonderful Jen Kolic returns to help us talk about the mysterious National Hotel Disease! Zach remembers his first Toblerone, Jen spoils the surprise disease like, right up top, and Brian thinks he’s doing a cowboy character? It’s hard to tell.

Thanks for listening, and if you want to become part of our community, you can follow us on Twitter and Instagram, drop us a line on our website, or pledge your support on Patreon.

117. Ronald Ross

Ronald Ross, Nobel Prize winner for his Malaria research and the lyricist for My Chemical Romance.

It’s bloodsuckers and bad poetry this episode as we discuss Malaria researcher and semi-toolbag Ronald Ross with returning favorite Kate Strobel! Zach sings the pop-punk hits of 1888, Kate asks you to support public broadcasting, and Brian reads off his browser history.

Become part of our community by following us on social media and pledging your support on Patreon with just $1 a month!

Flashback! FWPH: We Watched a terrible Movie with bill murray that wasn’t garfield!

It’s bad.

Brian is tending to a sick cat, so no new episode this week. We’ll be back in two weeks with more timely medical history! In the meantime, enjoy this episode of the First World Privilege Hour, our late, lamented podcast with friend of the show Pat Medaugh. We watched the awful Bill Murray, Megan Fox, Mickey Rourke movie Passion Play.

We recorded this in 2011 when the world was better and we, as individuals, were worse. Enjoy!

116. Johann Conrad Dippel

Get your alchemy supplies ready, because we’re talking about the weird science of rumored real-life Frankenstein, Johann Conrad Dippel! It’s also a Movie Trap crossover with special guest Kris Boruff! Zach plays metaphysical drinking games, Kris puts some pepper in our butts (metaphorically), and Brian gets extorted by a cat.

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Snake oil salesman Johann Conrad Dippel.

115. John Snow

Only one of these guys fixed a cholera outbreak.

Get your cosplay ready, because we’re talking about John Snow! The epidemiologist, not the sword guy. Plus, Caitie Hannan is back! Zach founds a totally cool, low-presh religion, Caitie asks the question we’ve all been thinking, and Brian looks for some solid ethical footing.

Thanks for listening! You should consider becoming part of our community. Find us on social media, write us a letter, or pledge your support over at our Patreon page.

114. Dancing Sickness

Ahhhhh shit, that’s my song!

Get on the floor, because we’re talking about Dancing Sickness with friend of the show Steve Vanderploeg! What could cause entire towns to break out in multiple days of unstoppable dancing? We break down incidents, causes, and theories. Zach goes behind the music on our theme song, Steve channels Nicki Minaj (briefly), and Brian finally gives Luxembourg the attention they have been craving.

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113. Typhoid Mary

Typhoid Mary Mallon, looking pissed.

Wash up, because we’re kicking off our miniseries on medical history with the wonderful Shannon Campe who helps us discuss the life of Typhoid Mary (Mary Mallon, who would hate that nickname). Zach brings some distant dad energy, Shannon helps us take our minds off the pandemic, and Brian slowly overheats.

(Note: This was a last-minute reschedule, so I didn’t have time to do as much editing as usual. Sorry about all my “umm”s! -Brian)

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A Message from Zach and Brian

Hey everyone, as I write this, the cops who killed Breonna Taylor have not yet been charged. Have you signed the petition on her behalf yet?

We wanted to recommend some podcasts for you to listen to that are hosted or co-hosted by Black creators and (mostly) focus on history. Please give them a listen! They are Black History Buff, Garbled Twistory, Asterisk History, 1619, Point of Origin, and Bag Ladiez.

We’ll back with regular episodes next time. Black lives matter. Black trans lives matter.

112. Soyuz 11

The crew of Soyuz 11

It’s the last episode of our space race miniseries, and we’ve got the brilliant Nathan Lund on to help us tell the tragic story of Soyuz 11. But also jokes? Zach pulls out his rhyming dictionary, Nathan hits Brian’s sweet spot, and Brian does a first pass for Austin Powers. (On account of a rescheduled recording, this episode features almost no editing. Sorry about any diminished quality). Also, Content Warning: features a brief description of the deaths of three cosmonauts.

Minnesota Freedom Fund: https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/

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Give Blood if You Can

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111. Apollo 13

The damaged Apollo 13 service module.

Strap in, the delightful Derrick Stroup makes his debut on the show as we discuss both Tom Hanks and NASA’s finest hour, Apollo 13! Zach can’t wait to finish the Challenger Wikipedia article, Derrick tests Brian’s knowledge of boxing, and Brian squashes the beef with Mr. Rogers.

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110. The Moon Landing

It’s one small step for us as Bridget Callahan stops by to talk about the greatest remote work setup of all time, the moon landing! Zach speculates about bodily fluids on Apollo 11, Bridget dives into Stanley Kubrick’s oeuvre, and Brian dunks on some moon nerds.

As with our last few episodes, the audio here is taken from our Zoom call, so the quality is somewhat diminished. It’s still a fun episode!

Become part of our listener community! Support us on Patreon, visit our website, and find us on Instagram and Twitter.

Apollo 11, seen here (actual size).

109. Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Gagarin, space hottie.

Strap in, we’re talking about Yuri Gagarin, the first person in space (some say the first confirmed person in space, which is hella dumb). The delightful Matt Cobos return to help us talk about this certified short king. Zach takes on a tough PR job, Matt rounds up some very upsetting phrases, and Brian talks about some beloved Soviet games.

The audio for this podcast came directly from our Zoom call, so the quality is not up to usual standards. Apologies, but we’re making due under the circumstances!

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Check out all the great shows on the Denver Podcast Network.

108: Sputnik

Sputnik or a Daddy-Long-Legs, we can’t tell.

The wonderful Rachel Weeks returns to help us answer the question: why was Sputnik launched? (Hint: it wasn’t science). Meanwhile, Zach places himself on the Chalamet-Bale curve, Rachel gives romantic advice to space, and Brian spoils The Iron Giant.

(We had to use our backup recording for this one, so it’s just the audio from our Zoom call. The quality is a bit lower than normal, but we hope you enjoy. Sorry about that!)

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Check out all the great shows on the Denver Podcast Network!

107: Dorothy Vaughan

Dorothy Vaughan in her official NASA photo

We’re back with part three of our series of the Space Race: Dorothy Vaughan, human computer! The wonderful Gabby Gutierrez-Reed joins us for our first of many all-remote recordings. Meanwhile, Zach works on outreach to a virus, Gabby finds a gig for Bruce Hornsby, and Brian disrespects Gabby’s condo.

Since this is a remote recording, the audio is not up to our usual standard. We apologize, but also there’s not much we can do right now!

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Check out all the great shows on the Denver Podcast Network.

106: Wernher Von Braun

Part one of our 1600 part series on Nazi scientists working in America: this episode we discuss Wernher Von Braun and the early days of NASA! The hilarious Nate Earl returns and Clippy’s in there too. Meanwhile, Zach reveals what’s behind the kimono, Nate packs for his ocean voyage, and Brian finally uses his BA.

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Check out all the great shows on the Denver Podcast Network.

Wernher Von Braun for NASA in the 1960s.

105: Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

The Russian hermit who envisioned space travel and also ending poverty! One out of two so far!

Blast off! Rocket sounds! We kick off our discussion of the space race (and the return of Russian names) by talking about early astrophysicist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky with the wonderful Katie Bowman. Zach teases our main sponsor, Katie reviews some anime, and Brian dunks on a teenager’s spaceship design.

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Be sure to check out all the awesome shows on the Denver Podcast Network.