Family Plot

This is such an episode, so full of information that you will not believe it!  This week, our second of 2 PRIDE episodes this month, we discuss the life and times of Harvey Milk.  We will look into the history of this young gay man who will grow up in the fifties and sixties before becoming a popular merchant and politician in the Castro Street area of San Francisco.  We cover his political career and his murder in this special, let this bullet destroy every closet door episode of the Family Plot Podcast!!!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

Arthur couldn't be with us as we recorded the episode, so he recorded his parts early and danged if it don't sound like he was there with us!  Arthur was starting on his first shift at McDonald's and was happy with his first day of work.  He mentions it in his corner.  Meanwhile Dad, Mom and Brenda discuss Delphine LaLaurie, her life and strangeness and how cruel she was to her slaves.  We also discuss the wider specter of slavery, suggest perhaps some reasons for her crueltties (not that she deserves our kindness) and try to sift out the truth from what has been so buried in folklore and tales for tourists when we get down to the nitty gritty in this tales for tourists be damned episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

It's time to watch To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar! and get ready for PRIDE!  Put on your most rainbow-y outfit and catch this, the first of two special PRIDE episodes this month!  Today's episode we introduce Alice B. Toklas.  Lover, confidant and essentially spouse to writer Gertrude Stein, she also was a writer in her own right and one of her books The Alice B. Toklas contained a recipe for Haschich Fudge that made her a counterculture icon.  (we will of course share the recipe here in the show notes, we are nothing if not full service.)  She also wrote, had her ups and downs and saw Gertrude through her final days, staying on alone afterwards.  So join us in this special PRIDE episode (the first of two this month) and enjoy!Haschich Fudge (which anyone could whip up on a rainy day)This is the food of Paradise—of Baudelaire's Artificial Paradises: it might provide an entertaining refreshment for a Ladies' Bridge Club or a chapter meeting of the DAR. In Morocco it is thought to be good for warding off the common cold in damp winter weather and is, indeed, more effective if taken with large quantities of hot mint tea. Euphoria and brilliant storms of laughter; ecstatic reveries and extension of one's personality on several simultaneous planes are to be complacently expected. Almost anything Saint Theresa did, you can do better if you can bear to be ravished by “un évanouissement reveillé.”Take 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, 1 whole nutmeg, 4 average sticks of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon coriander. These should all be pulverised in a mortar. About a handful each of stoned dates, dried figs, shelled almonds and peanuts: chop these and mix them together. A bunch of cannabis sativa can be pulverised. This along with the spices should be dusted over the mixed fruit and nuts, kneaded together. About a cup of sugar dissolved in a big pat of butter. Rolled into a cake and cut into pieces or made into balls about the size of a walnut, it should be eaten with care. Two pieces are quite sufficient.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

Like a good candy bar, this episode is chock full of nutty goodness!  In Arthur's corner he discusses (among other things) a concert he recently attended featuring Staind and Breaking Benjamin, among others.  Dean suggests that it was a butt rock concert, promptimg stares from Laura and Arthur.  Plus we go back to episode 18 to discuss famed Independence fugitive Sharon Kinne, discussing her life and crimes and her capture in Mexico.  We talk her trials and her escape from a Mexican prison and the last time we told this tale , that is all we knew.  Now, however, we have been able to find out where she went after she escaped Mexico, and the men she married.  Plus Arthur gets unleashed.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

Our very special 250th Episode begins with a word of congratulations from the one and only Ed October from OctoberpodAM.  The show itself is full of goodness about the life of Eliza, not Alexander Hamilton.  We cover this sutprising and interesting woman in our special episode of the Family Plot Podcast.  This week's subject was chosen by Laura so we lead off with her and learn so much about this beautiful, supporting loving woman who may just be the reason her husband is so well known todaay.  So join us as we talk Eliza Hamilton in this very special 250th episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

This episode comes with a Trigger Warning as we discuss potential victims of suicide as well as infant mortality in the section After Arthur's Corner and again in our final thoughts.  If these things are too much for you, feel free to skip, you matter.That being said, this episode gets weird as we discuss the strange life of Phil Schneider, the myster of Valiant Thor and the interesting events captured on the Guardian UFO Tape.  Are these incredible hoaxes or is there some truth to be had here.  So join us as we dig deep into these conspiracy laden tales surrounding some famous folks who are said to encounter alients, spacecraft and the Great Beyond in this weirdly fun episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

Well, we have a gem of an episode here, where we look into the life of James MacLaine and William Plunkett.  We follow what we can of their births and young lives as we discuss how the pair came to be the Gentleman Bandits that they were, what famous people they robbed, how they got caught and their final, if quite different, fates.  We also discuss what a blunderbuss is and why it would make a good brand name for underwear, whether James is related to John of the Die Hard Franchise, and so much more in this 1700's historical episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

What an episode!!! In Arthur's Corner, he discusses fudge, chocolate chip cookies and 12 Angry Men.  We also discuss the neurodivergent line that seems to run through our family.  Then we settle down and begin to discuss this week's subject, Victoria California Woodhull.  This woman, born to a devout spiritualist and a con man that got them ran out of their Homer Ohio home.  She's married to a 'doctor' at 15 and works travelling medicine shows and spiritualist spectacles which eventually leads her to meet Cornelius Vanderbilt.  She becomes a powerful figure, who believes in women's suffrage, the Free Love Movement (which in the 1860's is very different from the similarly named movement of the 1960's).  She starts a newspaper and so much more in this about to be a movie starring Brie Larson episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

Well this episode is a ton of fun.  We are joined by longtime friend of the Fam, Stand Up Comic and Dutch Uncle Dale Hilton.  He requested we cover a topic called the Whisky Wars and it is a doozy.  In 1973 Canada and Denmark were unable to agree as to which country owned the kidney-shaped nothing of an island called Hans Island.  With neither side willing to set aside their claim to the island, this led to an interesting 'conflict' of a sort.  Over the next several years, the countries would take turns visiting the island leaving their flag, a bottle of liquor and a sign.  They went back and forth leaving liquor and flags in a passive agressive conflict that only ended when the nations divided the island down the middle.  We also talk about times we (the adults, Arthur listens patiently) got drunk and what we used to get drunk on in the days before the interwebs.  So join us for this ever so slightly not quite PG-13  episode of fun and frolic from the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

This episode has so much going on, we don't know where to begin.  Arthur discusses a recent family visit to Kansas City's Case Park and some rather naughty grafitti he discovered.  The family discusses their favorite Kansas City Barbecue joint and Arthur discusses making Spanish Tortillas.  All that plus we cover the strange case of the Greenbrier Ghost, the only ghost in American history to implicate her killer in this amazing story about the early days of West Virginia.  You can't make this stuff up in this amazingly historic and hysterical episode of the Family Plot Podcast.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

We cover soooo very much in this episode.  The Seven Layer Dip of Hell.  Author S. J. Tilly. Stuffed Austrian Shepherds.  Sponsor Girls.  And so very much more as we head, in spirit, to Milwaukee Wisconsin to talk about the life, trial, and conviction of Lawrencia 'Laurie' Bembenek.  We cover her life's story and how she was brutally railroaded into a murder conviction for a murder that it is impossible for her to have committed.  We cover her appeals, and finally her desperate escape which made her a folk hero.  We cover all this and her brutal bad luck in the rest of her life in this did this REALLY happen episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

This episode we have so much to talk about, that we barely have time to talk about the episode.  We discuss Mrs. O'Leary's cow, the movie 'Near Dark', the Independence Center Mall, more stuff in Arthur's Corner, what it must have been like to be an inmate freed because of the fire and so, so much more.  We examine the histroy of the city around the time of the fire and whether or not the fire played into the rise of the Chicago Mafia in this deeply historical 'Now that's a fire!' episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

We are joined in this episode by member of the Fam, longtime friend and writer extraordinaire Dan B. Fierce as well as Lexi Boese as we discuss the origins of four more fairy tales.  We divide & conquer as Dean takes Rip Van Winmkle, Arthur covers Jack & the Beanstalk, Dan covers the tale of Bluebeard and Laura tells us the story of Rapunzel.  Afterwards, we talk about the tales origin,what it;s based on and so, so much more in this highly cool episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

What can I say about this episode?  It runs the gamut.  The main topic is the Triangle Shirtwaiste Fire and how two businessmen who were in the habit of locking doors while employees worked doomed 147 mostly immigrants and women to their deaths.  We talk the history of the company, the state of the US for workers in 1911 and the fire itself.  We also cover the trial and the legacy of the fire.  Arthur reminisces about his trip to Planet Comicon, and talks the Roblox sensation Dandy's World as we discuss why it's so important why there needs to be laws in place to protect workers in this whole lotta historical, little bit silly but a lotta bit sad episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

We have so MUCH rich muchness in this episode.  A veritable souffle of things to learn and family banter!  Lexi stops by to tell us she feeels sponsored.  Gotta love our 7 year old.  Arthur lets us know about his upcoming trip to Planet Comicon in his corner and we talk about being without water as the trailer court we live in ;upgrades' their pipes.  And none of that is even the show topic!!!  Ever heard of Starlite?  Not Starlink, Starlite?  (Pay attention bunkie).  It's an incredible compound that if it was put on an egg, and an acetylene torch was then used on the egg, it would remain cool to the touch, completely uncooked.  It could be spread over a human hand and if exposed to flame or heat, the hand remained unharmed!  Or what about a grenade used in the days of the Babylonian empire that would burn on top of water and even couldn't be put out with water?  This was Greek Fire!  We discuss Sylphium, Mithridatium, Nepenthe, flexible glass, the Lycurgus Cup, Damascus Steel, Stradivarius Violins and Roman Cement, all amazing inventions, or plants that were in common usage in their time that have become simply lost to history.  So come on in, sit down a spell and learn about some cool inventions with us!!!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

So in the 17th Century, in Rome, Giulia Tofana led a group of women who made devotional oils, cosmetic liquids and of course, poison.  This poison was a famed untraceable and undetectable poison for it's time and it was dubbed Aqua Tofana.  4 doses they said, could put any man in his grave.  It was a way for women, who could not get a divorce to get out of some very bad situations and over 20 years, these women claimed to have killed over 600 men,  We discuss the poison, the time, the place and famous folks who felt they were victims of this strange brew.  We also talk bodily autonomy, the trend 'Make Aqua Tofana Great Again', Dandy's World, The Princess Bride, (Princess Buttercup has entered the chat), iocaine powder and just plain being decent to one another in this, wait, they REALLY did that episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

In this episode we cover the life of actress, comedienne and producer, Lucille Ball.  We talk about her life, her time with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, her time as the queen of Television and the legacy she left behind.  We talk her marriage to Desi and her second husband Gary Morton.  We talk her time as the head of Desilu studios, shows she discovered and her legacy today.  Plus in Arthur's corner we talk more Dandy's World, and we talk about Arthur's latest foray into voice acting thanks to Edward October and so much more including the family banter you all love!  So stop procrastinating and start listening to your new favorite episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

What an episode!  This week we go back to 1839 to attend the birth of a young Black man named Robert Smalls.  We watch him grow and learn how he loved the sea, how he came to work on a Coinfederate Navy Ship called the Planter and how, in the dead of night, he stole that ship, picked up his family and the families of his crewmates and guided the ship to the Union Blockade and in doing so became a hero.  He later bought his former 'master's' home and became a member of Congress in this man we love learning, never judge a book by it's cover or a man by his skin color episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

There is so much to this episode!  First, Cam Sully of the Jacked Up Review Show joins us as we talk ancient Gods and Goddesses from different cultures around the world.  Is Ishtar the goddess of the worst movie ever?  Maybe.  We also discuss gods of homosexuality and 'filthy' sex.  We also talk some of the Gods holidays.  Plus, Valentines at Cirilla's with cats.  It'll mean more when you listen to the episode.  Plus we talk Josh Gates, computer connection issues (thanks Comcast) and so much more in this giant burrito of love episode, so good you just have to shove it in your ears...or something like that!  Enjoy!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

Whole lotta love going on in this episode!  Arthur talks being trans in these interesting times in his corner as well as Invader Zim, the Moomans and snow days.  Dad gets so excited he bleeps himself, and he is the only one who knows what a rimshot (hint it's NOT dirty), Laura talks reading smut, we celebrate being a family AND discuss the life of British mystery writer Agatha Christie and her strange 10 day disappearance in this little bit historical and whole lotta family episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

Another episode that is just so full of goodness, you'll wonder how we were able to pack it all into one episode!  We go to Salem for this one, specifically the Gardner-Pingree House, which was once owned by Captain Joseph White.  White was a a fair bit unsavory due to some of his business practices as a captain, but once he retired, he was murdered by four men who frankly, were not criminal masterminds by any stretch of the imagination.  We talk his life, his murder, his murderers and their trial.  They even had a special prosecutor, a celebrity lawyer of his time, Daniel Webster.  We also talk how the former Captain became a ghost haunting his former home in this little bit spooky, whole lotta true crime historical episode of the Family Plot Podcast!  Plus we crammed in a whole lot of love.  Trigger Warnings for Suicide and mentions of slavery.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

We have an episode so chockful of goodness you won't believe it.  We are joined by Brenda from the Horrifying History Podcast as we discuss the life of Ernest Hemingway.  We meet his parents, his family, his children and his many wives.  We look into his fascinating life, the things he did as a soldier and a sportsman, his life as both a journalist and a writer.  We also talk about his many injuries, how they impacted his life and writing and so much more in this heavy on discussion episode of Ernest Hemingway.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

In this episode, we are joined by Edward October of Octoberpod AM, a retro horror podcast for bold individualists!  He voices the elevator of history for us as we get down to discussing the treasure of Tolosa.  We talk about it's origins, where it might have come from, how much it would be worth and the sad fate of any who seemed to possess the treasure for any length of time.  We meet some interesting historical personages and ask the all important question...is it still out there?  Check it out!  Let's Learn something?Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

In this episode, we look back at the life and times of John F. Kennedy.  We talk about what life was like for the Kennedy's, how he grew up, how he injured his back and dealt with the pain of that the rest of his life.  We discuss his travels and how a strap in his teeth and a carved coconut made him a hero.  We are joined in this episode by the amazing and funny Keb Pound of the Stupid History Minute and we of course discuss Kennedy's presidency, the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis and briefly discuss Kennedy's assassination in this biography of an American President and an American Icon.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

In this episode, we revisit the subject of our second episode, the Catacombs.  The empire of the dead lying beneath the streets of Paris.  We discuss their odd and unique history, the stories of those who have become lost there, crimes that occured within, we talk cataphiles and cataflics and so much more as we go down in the Underground and find out just how interesting this place really is.  Also, while Dean is talking about ugly Americans he quotes an old Howie Mandel bit.  Credit where credit is due and all that.  So come along on this magical and occasionally smelly trip beneath the streets of Paris to find out what, if anything, lurks in the dark in the Empire of the Dead!https://family-plot-podcast.creator-spring.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

Our first episode of 2025 where we do a review of our year in 2024 including topics, guests and surprises and we look ahead to 2025 and what we have planned for the coming year.  We also take time to share our love for each other and our listenership as a whole.  Long live the Fam!  So come ride along with us on this memorable and lovable review of the year that was and the year that will be!https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10161888972758614&set=gm.2011260299347366&idorvanity=934906080316132Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

This episode we celebrate Christmas!  Our special guest is Lexi, the youngest member of our Family making her podcast debut at 7!  We each take turns picking a favorite movie and a favorite Christmas song (well two songs and a spoken word piece.  We discuss their history and what they mean to us.  We also discuss whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie?  All this and some special greetings from special friends (including our good friends at Witches Talking Tarot who not only give us a swell Christmas message but they DO NOT behave, which is, admittedly, part of why we love them) in this very special Christmas episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

In this episode, we dig into the end of World War II to discuss Operation Paperclip, what began by the German government as an attempt to overturn their fortunes as they were losing the war, eventually became a brain drain as America (among others) tried to hire brilliant scientific minds like Wernher Von Braun away form the Nazi regime.  We also discuss Bob Berdella, pangolins, Bob Newhart and why Operation Paperclip was so very controversial in this man, we did WHAT? episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Note from Dean:  At some point, during the episode, I say something about Hitler not playing Risk when he was a kid.  It was a phrase from a MUCH longer bit by British comedian Suzy Izzard and I do not believe I properly credited him within the show itself, so I DEFINITELY want to credit him here.  Credit where credit is due and all that.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

In this episode, we talk about some of the email weve been getting at familyplotpodcast@gmail.com and some of the messages on our socials.  Arthur and Laura promise to talk more as we slide into Arthur's Corner to discuss his day.  Then we tear into  the story of Katherine Johnson, how she was such a math whiz that one of her professors had to make courses just for her.  She entered high school at just 10 years old!  We cover her life, how she came to work at NACA which later became NASA, how she got her name on a report, how she enjoyed playing bridge at lunch, We also discuss what Dean made for dinner (meatballs in brown gravy, mashed potatoes made with French Onion Dip instead of milk and green beans) and more in this Laura-chosen, man-we-like-smart-women episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

In this episode we go way back to the early 1900's to meet a California beauty named Emma LeDoux, recount the shocking murder and 'scandals' she became famous for, and in his corner Arthur explains how he knew he was trans and we give some love and shoutouts to members of the Fam who have either helped us or are having a rough go of it.  So join us as we go VERY old school true crime as we discuss Emma LeDoux!  Let's Learn Something!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

In this episode we return to Dean's senior year and find him sitting in science class watching the shuttle take off just before it exploded 73 seconds later.  We discuss the Challenger itself, the crew, NASA at that time and the launch and what happened.  Arthur also talks Genshin Impact, and we talk about Settlers of Catan in this nerdy yet tragic episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

In this episode we go back to the 1800;s to meet two Missouri witches.  First we meet the Witch of Taskee who lived in Taskee Station Missouri and astounded those who saw her with her clairvoyance, that came when she was possessed by a spirit that called itself Little Joe.  Josie Forbes was reported far and wide for her abilities, even using them to solve crimes!  Then we head back to the turn of the 19th Century and meet the Wild Witch of Victoria Missouri in one Prudence Bevins, a part Cherokee woman who seemed to be able to curse the locals and when confronted about being a witch would merely laugh.  She was called Queen Bevers and her power was legendary, only occasionally thwarted by the country magic of a local witch charmer.  We cover their histories and the folk tales that inevitably rose up surrounding these two strange figures from Missouri history in this special episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

TRIGGER WARNING:  There is a brief mention of suicide during our discussion of the hospital's history.  If this is too much for you, feel free to skip this episode.  As Kate from Ignorance Was Bliss used to say, You Matter!  And if you need mental health resources, 988 will connect you with so much.  Thank youThis week we discuss the Indiana State Sanitorium.  In an episode chosen by our very own Arthur, we look into the history of tuberculosis in America, the history of the hospital itself, it's time as a mental health institute as well as the Lee Allen Bryant Psychiatric Center.  We cover it's fall into disrepair and it's many, many hauntings and odd occurences in this spooky fun episode of the Family Plot Podcast!!!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

So in this episode, we once more return to Victorian London where we meet Mary Ann Cotton (nee Robson) a lovely wife and mother with the unfortunate curse of having her husbands and children die around her.  Digging deeper,  we begin to discover she is a poisoner with a body count somewhere in the range of 15 to 20, mostly her children, husbands and lovers,  We discuss her life, her history, how easilty arsenic was available to people at that time.  We give our thoughts and along the way even manage to touch on a few other things in this Victorian true crime episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

This week our final proper week of spooky season, we release a tale of a violent maniac with a literal lust for blood.  We discuss Peter Kurten, psychopath, serial murderer and all around bad guy.  A man whose life was almost a blueprint for creating a serial murderer he committed his first killings at the age of 9.  We cover his life, his crimes and his death in this very dark and bloody episode of the Family Plot Podcast!TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains brief mentions of sexual assault and incest.  If these are deal breakers for you, please feel free to skip this episode.  As always we keep our descriptions of the violence of these assaults to a minimum.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

Welcome to yet another spooky season episode of the Family Plot Podcast!  This week we go to the McPike Mansion in Alton, Illinois.  We talk about the history of this beautiful showplace, how it was built by Henry Guest McPike a Civil War soldier, a man who owned a box making company, produced his own grape that became popular in wine making, was an executive for an Insurance company and even sold real estate.  We cover McPike's history and the home's and then settle down to talk about the spooks that still haunt the place.  Arthur has a lot in his corner after managing to break one foot and sprain the other while dancing in a clean room.  How?  He's Arthur.  And he has more cool tidbits to tell you in his corner (including how he plays the role of Satan in Octoberpod's 'The Satanic Rites of Doctor Frankenstein'!  Then we talk about the ghosts who make McPike Mansion their home in this spooky season episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

TRIGGER WARNING:  This episode mentions both sexual assault and incest.  If these subjects are triggering for you, please feel free to skip the episode.  As our friend Kate used to say:  You Matter.This week we go full spooky True Crime as we visit a German farmstead called Hinterkaifeck where we discover a particularly spooky and gruesome series of murders.  Murders that were likely committed by someone hiding within the home.  We discuss the area, events that happened around the time of the murders (committed March 31st 1922.  We discuss the fact that the killer or killers hid on the farm after killing the family, feeding their animals and eating their food.  We discuss possible suspects, theories of the crime and so much more in this weird and spooky historical true crime episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

We are back with another spooky season episode, this time, we go to nearby (to us) Weston, Missouri where we learn about the charming little town's history, we discuss a few haunted locations as well as a few of the more famous 'residents' of the town's Laurel Hill Cemetery.  We discuss the town's beginnings and it;s modern spookiness, the most delightful place to have a cup of hot cocoa or hot apple cider while discussing things that go bump in the night with friends.  We visit a rustic home and the spirits the family has encountered, a local business that is still frequented by a few long dead spirits and a local hotel that houses a few spooky spirits as well as some guests in this second spooky season 2024 episode of the Family Plot Podcast.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

So this episode is the first of our 2024 Spooky Season and we begin with a few haunting tales of phantom trains.  We begin in Washington DC for a story about Lincoln's Funeral train and how it would reappear at night years afterwards chugging it's way down the tracks attended by skeletons and sepulcheral figures.  Then we go to Maco Station in North Carolina to meet a signalman killed during a crash whose signal light would appear again and again forcing the company to put a signalman with two lanterns at Maco Station to stop trains from stopping for the phantom signalman.  Then we go back to North Carolina and examine the Bostian Bridge train wreck, and it's phantom that still appears crossing the old bridge.  Finally we go to Frenchtown Road in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and see a ghost train that is still seen to this day.  Arthur talks Detroit: Become Human in her corner and packed full of the usual banter and insanity.  Enjoy!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

Well this week we go back and meet a woman who revolted against the Romans around the time of Jesus.  Boudicca has become a legendary figure but we do our level best to track down what she was really like.  We dig into this enduring historical figure who has become an enduring figure of empowerment as well,  We discuss what we could discover of her early life, how she rose to power among the Iceni people and how she led a revolt that came darn close to pushing the Romans out of Britain entirely.  Plus Arthur introduces us to Thunderstorm, her new cat in her corner as we go all girl power in this historic episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

We go full Mod in this historic true crime episode set in 60's London.  We discuss the Krays a pair of twins who came up in London's East End and eventually made names for themselves as they built a criminal empire that is probably the most famous one in London. Arthur talks photography in his corner which winds up tying into the main narrative. We discuss their young life, how they became criminals and crimelords, how they ruled London and how they were eventually brought down in this man these guys were kinda cray cray episode of the Family Plot Podcast.  Let's learn something!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

8his week is a flash to the past, like our very first episode, the past!  In this episode, we revisit Rasputin, now that Dean has learned how to do better research, Arthur is four years older and now we have Laura on the show.  We examine his life, what we know, what scholars believe and the legacy of the Mad Monk, including a daughter who emigrated to America and was a dancer and then became a lion tamer!  Arthur in his corner introduces us to the leafy seadragon a fascinating relative of the seahorse and the pipefish that lives in Western Australia  Plus we discuss our appearance on 89.7 WKMU Paranormal Pursuit, a combination Paranormal Podcast and Game Show that had us on!  What a great week in the world of the Fam!  Enjoy!https://open.spotify.com/episode/0HTli7xw5zgvccyvPm28Gg?si=d52d3d534fb6433cBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

Well this episode is loaded up with so much history and excitement, we just can't wait to share it!  We discuss the life of Marie Slobodowska Curie aka Marie Curie or Madame Curie.  But we also stop off in Arthur's corner to discuss differences between moths and butterflies (for example did you know butterflies rest with their wings closed while moths rest with them open) and then goes on to discuss the Rosy Maple Moth, which apparently is not as delicious as it sounds.  However it is impressive and beautiful  We cover Curie's family life, her husband, her 'scandal' and her strength.  Listen to how this woman that Albert Einstein once described as the only person he ever met to be immune to the effects of fame, made her way in the xenophobic France of the 1900's and be surprised at how she spent World War I in another girl power history episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

Man, we just got so much to say in this episode!  Arthur, who has returned to school, takes us through his class schedule in a short but entertaining Arthur's corner and then we dig down into Doctor Thomas Neill Cream...who did not invent Cream Soda, sadly, but instead was a doctor trained in Canada and England who poisoned several women, mostly sex workers and women who wanted abortions.  He was married briefly but his wife died of consumption...or perhaps poison.  We cover his arrest, his incarceration, his parole and his arrival in England where he continued his poisoning ways in this guy really CAN'T be Jack the Ripper episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

In this episode, we discuss the murder of child actress Judith Eva Barsi and her mother, by of all people, her father.  It's a rough episode as we discuss this family annihalator Joe Barsi and his slide into madness and stalking all brought on by the fact that he was not out earning nor could he control his wife and daughter.  Arthur gives us a brief corner and catches us up before he returns to school next week.  Join us to learn about this little girl who was able to bury her pain and fear to work on roles both onscreen and providing voices for cartooon characters.  We bring you this sad tale in this true crime can be painful episode of the Family Plot Podcast. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

So there is so, so much good in this episode.  First, we discuss the Beast of Gevaudan, a crazy cryptid/ wolf that terrorized the countryside in Gevaudan, an area where the French believed the dark enchantments of the forest still held sway.  The beast seemed to terrorize the French countryside in the area known as Gevaudan, striking from out of nowhere and disappearing just as quickly.  Many tried to catch the beast, and many claimed they had but the attacks only stopped after a local man shot a large wolf on the slopes of a nearby mountain.  We discuss what kind of animaal the beast might have been, look into the history surrounding the beast and even give our own thoughts on what we think it might have been in this fantastically wolfy episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

This episode is full of goodness, badness and old timey sirens!  Arthur discusses Therianthropes in the modern world and her relationship to them while Dean creates the pun-ishing term 'Therial Killer'.  We are joined by Debbie Baker from ShopJobie and a long time member of our extended family to discuss the story of Bonnie and Clyde.  Their births, their meeting, their relationship and their long fight with the law.  We also discuss their family, and so much more.  We discuss how they had the makings of what could have been a popular couple of entertainers.  We also discuss the lawman that brought them down in this True Crime and Love are weird historical episode of the Family Plot Podcast!ShopJobe Link:  www.shopjobie.comDiscount Code - PODCASTBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

In this episode, we make our first foray into outer space as we cover the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, what led to it, and how there are now people who doubt that we ever made the trip.  We discuss the astronauts on the flight, their histories and how they combined to make the Moon Landing the success that it was.  In his corner, Arthur discusses Aardwolves and a whole host of colorful fancy people get discussed on this week's episode of the Family Plot Podcast!  You should listen, it's outta this world!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

In this episode we sail round the Horn and back again as we look into the lives, trial and mysteries of the Naussau Pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read.  Part of Calico Jack Rackham's crew, these two dressed as men, cursed, drank, fought and killed with their pirate brethren and for two months lived completely free, a rare thing for women in the Early 1700's.  We dig into what little is known about their early lives, what led them to become pirates and how their two months as lawless pirates made them so famous they are still talked about to this day.  Laura has Covid AND the Flu, she never does anything by halves.  Arthur discusses people mocking the trans movement by identifying as helicopters and toasters and in the end, we are forced to admit that Anne Bonny disappeared sometime after she had been imprisoned on the Bahamas and we do not know how or where her life ended.  So join us for this special episode all about these two pirates and so much more in this Jolly Roger Episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

So much good stuff in this episode!  First, we are joined by Chris Page, the man who produces Travis Orndorff's podcast and has multiple wrestling podcasts and twitch streams.  Chris and Dean discuss their history and their friendship and Arthur has a new sting to introduce her corner.  (Courtesy of our new sound engineer, Blue Boese)  We also focus this week on Doctor Sam Sheppard, a doctor from Ohio who was accused of murdering his pregnant wife.  However, the carnival-like atmosphere of his trial and even the judge publicly saying he was guilty eventually earn him a new trial and his freedom.  After ten years in prison, wrongfully convicted of his wife's murder, he tried to make a new life for himself even wrestling and inventing the 'Mandibular Nerve Pinch' a move Mankind repackaged into 1996 into the Mandible Claw.  Still, he eventually passed away from the effects of alcoholism in this special, man I wonder where they got the idea for the Fugitive movie and TV show episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Links to find CCP online:Twitch - www.Twitch.TV/CCPEPodcastingYouTube - @ccppodcastingproductions5890Instagram - ccp_podcastingTwitter/X - @FiresidePageBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

This powerful episode of the Family Plot Podcast is so full of stuff, we should wrap it in a bow!  Krys announces this week that she prefers to go by Arthur with male pronouns.  She also talks about dingoes, which Dean claims are his baby, or maybe just Merryl Streep's.  Then we focus on the life of Rosa Parks.  Her childhood, her first experiences with racism, her education and how she became a lifelong activist.  And while she was not the first to get arrested for refusing to give up her seat for a white passenger, doing so made her the face of the Freedom Movement.  We discuss her struggles and her continued activism later in life and so much more in this episode examining one of the people integral to the Freedom movement in the United States on this powerful episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.