Episodi

  • The Ghost Army: Fooled the Germans with inflatable tanks!?! WWII's Fake Army
    Jan 22 2026

    In today's episode of History and Hearsay, we are discussing the Ghost Army of WWII and how they used INFLATABLE tanks, planes and even weapons to fool the Germany Army?!? This is a wild one, so buckle up! =)
    ~ Christina

    Timestamps:
    0:00 - Intro
    0:30 - Jasper Maskelyne & The British
    4:46 - The Ghost Army
    12:37 - Ghost Army Operations
    16:10 - Fooling the Allies
    18:22 - Bill Blass
    20:59 - Ralph Ingersoll & Hilton Railey
    23:42 - Finally Honored

    ►Sources:
    Book: The Ghost Army of World War II - Elizabeth Sayles and Rick Beyer
    https://www.nationalww2museum.org/visit/exhibits/traveling-exhibits/ghost-army-combat-con-artists-world-war-ii
    https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/jasper-maskelyne-the-magician.html
    https://taskandpurpose.com/culture/ghost-army-wwii/
    PBS Documentary can be watched here: https://www.pbs.org/video/the-ghost-army-t5k1jv/ with a subscription to KERA. It is also available to rent on Amazon Prime title “The Ghost Army”
    https://ghostarmy.org/
    For info on the Ghost Army book, documentary, or tour, or Rick Beyer's appearance schedule? Go to ghostarmy.com
    https://www.thirteen.org/blog-post/ghost-army-soldiers-wwii-art-schools/
    https://www.wwiimemorialfriends.org/blog/the-ghost-army-of-world-war-ii
    https://www.britannica.com/event/Operation-Fortitude
    Clip of the men being honored: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgRBpT2kDVI&t=30s
    Full Video - Ceremony Men being honored: https://www.youtube.com/live/QT8KqceRFG4?t=337s
    https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-ghost-army-of-wwii-used-art-to-deceive-the-nazis-180980336/
    https://nationalvmm.org/the-ghost-army-world-war-iis-secret-weapon/

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    28 min
  • Vanished Without A Trace The FLannel Isles Mystery
    Jan 17 2026

    In today's episode of History and Hearsay, we are discussing the mysterious disappearance of 3 lighthouse keepers in Scotland. A disappearance that is STILL unsolved decades later. Let me know what YOU think happened! ~ Christina

    Timestamps:
    0:0 - Intro
    1:05 - The Flannel Isles
    3:20 - Construction of the Lighthouse
    5:37 - Becoming a Lighthouse Keeper
    10:25 - Eilean Mòr Lighthouse
    11:52 - The Disappearance
    15:31 - The Investigation
    22:29 - Legends of the Island Theory
    23:48 - Honorable mention Theories
    27:49 - Lighthouse Keepers Gone Mad Theory
    30:35 - Logical Theory
    34:28 - Automation & Final thoughts

    ►Sources:
    Lightkeeping: https://www.nlb.org.uk/history/lighthouse-keeping/
    https://www.nlb.org.uk/history/flannan-isles/#:~:text=After a careful examination of,the West landing, to secure
    https://blog.nrscotland.gov.uk/2023/12/12/flannan-isles-lighthouse-keepers-the-disappearance/
    https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/western-isles-lewis-scotland-b2379063.html
    https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/historical-strangeness/eilean-mor-light-house-mystery
    https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/The-Eilean-Mor-Lighthouse-Mystery/
    https://allthatsinteresting.com/flannan-isle-mystery
    As mentioned some of what is said to have been found in lighthouse are now believed to be false - This article lists some of those things: https://www.historyhit.com/the-flannan-isle-mystery-when-three-lighthouse-keepers-vanished-overnight/
    https://www.history.co.uk/articles/the-flannan-isle-mystery-the-three-lighthouse-keepers-who-vanished
    https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/maritime-history/what-caused-disappearance-flannan-isle-lighthouse-keepers

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    36 min
  • The Orphans of Davenport - Eugenics and the War over Children's Intelligence
    Dec 18 2025

    In the 1930s, America believed that some children were born too stupid to ever learn. If your IQ was low, the science of the day said it was hopeless—your blood was “bad.”

    Thousands of orphans were locked away in institutions, labeled “feebleminded,” and forgotten. But two young researchers at an Iowa orphanage decided to test that idea… and what they discovered would tear down one of the darkest chapters in American science.

    This is the true story of the Orphans of Davenport.

    Sources:

    Iowa Childrens Home: https://web.archive.org/web/20101230011824/http://www.qcmemory.org/Default.aspx?PageId=243&nt=207&nt2=239

    Book: The Orphans of Davenport: Eugenics, the Great Depression, and the War over Children's Intelligence by Marilyn Brookwood- Buy Book: https://amzn.to/4oS9D2r

    https://www.byuradio.org/won-2021-10-14-the-davenport-orphans

    https://medium.com/leading-brains-review/two-hopeless-little-girls-abandoned-to-a-mental-institution-with-astounding-results-c9ac9a06ec28

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/the-iowa-orphans-who-helped-resolve-the-fight-over-childrens-intelligence/2021/08/11/51bde2d6-de75-11eb-b507-697762d090dd_story.html

    Interview with Researchers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0bQFsodlf4

    https://time.com/archive/6780590/education-nature-v-nurture/

    https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-11958-020

    Papers written by the doctors: https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Harold-M-Skeels-2047761714

    1939: https://time.com/archive/6760602/medicine-feeble-minded-love/

    https://origins.osu.edu/read/sterilization-carrie-buck

    https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/eugenics-finding-carrie-buck/

    https://libguides.davenportlibrary.com/c.php?g=757345&p=5430552

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    47 min
  • Victim of America's Dark Eugenics Era - The Tragic Life of Carrie Buck
    Dec 5 2025

    In 1927 one woman’s fate decided the future of thousands. She was labeled “feeble-minded”locked away and put on trial for her future. But recent research reveals that almost everything said about Carrie Buck was a lie—carefully crafted to push a sinister agenda.”

    0:00 - Intro

    0:29 - Chatty Cathy

    1:19 - Eugenics in the United States

    3:01 - Carrie’s Early Life

    7:26 - Forced Sterilization

    10:07 - Harry Laughlin

    11:34 - The Trial

    15:39 - Sterilization & Life going forward

    21:01 - Doris Buck

    23:07 - Three Generations, No Imbeciles

    24:11 - Lasting Effects

    Sources:

    1939: https://time.com/archive/6760602/medicine-feeble-minded-love/

    https://origins.osu.edu/read/sterilization-carrie-buck

    https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/eugenics-finding-carrie-buck/

    https://kera.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/amex32ec-soc-buckvbell/buck-v-bell-and-eugenics-american-experience/

    https://www.press.jhu.edu/newsroom/just-lucky?srsltid=AfmBOooFCdt5QfnmfixNPb1qfqHxInr7HV4kszJEf58cpC4ha6I98Usf

    Book (I have not read, but looks intriguing!): https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12262/three-generations-no-imbeciles

    https://www.translationalres.com/article/S0022-2143(01)24354-6/fulltext

    https://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/eugenics/3-buckvbell/index.html



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    26 min
  • Forgotten Hero of the Civil War –Sheltered Orphans & Reinvented Hospital Kitchens | Annie Wittenmyer
    Nov 19 2025

    In today's episode of History and Hearsay, we are discussing Annie Wittenmyer and all of the amazing work that she did! I hope you enjoy todays episode & maybe even learn something new!
    ~ Christina
    Timestamps:
    0:00 - Intro
    0:32 - 3 Part Series & my cold =)
    1:02 - Sarah Annie Turner
    3:04 - Move to Iowa
    6:23 - Annie’s life - The “Real” story
    11:34 - Keokuk Ladies’ Soldiers’ Aid Society
    17:02 - The Woman who fed an army
    19:37 - Iowa Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home
    22:04 - Orphan’s Home Evolves
    28:41 - Temperance Movement
    32:44 - Final Thoughts
    ►Sources:
    https://web.archive.org/web/20110525191459/http://www.qcmemory.org/Default.aspx?PageId=231&nt=207&nt2=229
    Annie’s Book: https://librivox.org/under-the-guns-by-annie-wittenmyer/
    https://uipress.lib.uiowa.edu/bdi/detailspage.aspx?id=415
    Was she a Widow or not? https://blogs.davenportlibrary.com/sc/2022/10/13/the-truth-will-out-annie-wittenmyer/
    Iowa Childrens Home: https://web.archive.org/web/20101230011824/http://www.qcmemory.org/Default.aspx?PageId=243&nt=207&nt2=239
    https://web.archive.org/web/20101230011824/http://www.qcmemory.org/Default.aspx?PageId=243&nt=207&nt2=239
    https://teachingiowahistory.org/virtual-exhibits/home-soldiers-orphans
    https://libguides.davenportlibrary.com/c.php?g=757345&p=5430552
    https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/grant-wittenmyer/
    Hymns she wrote: https://hymnary.org/person/Wittenmeyer_Annie#google_vignette
    https://history.iowa.gov/media/291/download?inline
    Iowa Childrens Home: https://web.archive.org/web/20101230011824/http://www.qcmemory.org/Default.aspx?PageId=243&nt=207&nt2=239
    Book: The Orphans of Davenport: Eugenics, the Great Depression, and the War over Children's Intelligence by Marilyn Brookwood- Buy Book: https://amzn.to/4oS9D2r

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    34 min
  • The MOST Prolific Mother EVER! 69 kids!?! Valentina Vassilyeva
    Nov 19 2025

    Valentina Vassilyeva was born in Russia in 1707 in the city of Shula, which is northeast of Moscow. She was a peasant and is said that between the years of 1725 and 1765 Valentina & her husband Feodor Vassilyeva had 69 children! There were 16 pairs of twins, 7 sets of triplets and 4 sets of quadruplets. That means she had 27 pregnancies and deliveries.
    Timestamps:
    0:00 - Intro
    0:13 - Valentina & Feodor Vassilyeva
    1:33 - The Guinness Book of World Records
    1:54 - Was this really possible?
    4:08 - How Long was she pregnant for? Multiples genetics
    5:42 - What Records do we have?
    7:00 - History or HEARSAY?!?

    SOURCES:

    https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/2023/07/01/64a02569ca4741a8518b459a.html

    https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20151020-did-one-woman-really-give-birth-to-69-children

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feodor_Vassilyev


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    7 min
  • The Man Who Killed Halloween - The Candy Man 1974
    Oct 31 2025


    TIMESTAMPS:
    0:00 - Intro
    0:54 - Trick -Or-Treat
    5:07 - The Investigation
    13:45 - The Trial and Appeals
    21:37 - Lasting Effects


    Sources:
    https://www.hcdistrictclerk.com/Common/HistoricalDocument/pdf/COTM_Oct_2021.pdf
    https://abc13.com/post/1974-candyman-turned-halloween-terrifying-pasadena-texas/375883/
    https://www.fwweekly.com/2024/10/23/the-man-who-killed-halloween/
    https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/court-of-criminal-appeals/1979/59731-3.html
    News clips from this case: https://texasarchive.org/2017_03761
    https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/article/Candy-Man-s-legacy-still-haunting-today-9774087.php
    https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Man-Who-Killed-Halloween-still-haunts-holiday-1971811.php
    https://www.vice.com/en/article/halloween-killer-ronald-clark-o-bryan-candy-man/

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    23 min
  • The Real Pirates of the Caribbean/ The Golden Age of Piracy
    Oct 24 2025

    Timestamps:
    0:00 - Intro
    0:23 - Pirate Myths
    3:28 - Pirates & Privateers
    7:24 - Pirate Punishments
    9:47 - Pirate Attack
    14:57 - The Golden Age of Piracy
    18:34 - Calico Jack - John Rackman
    25:31 - Anne Bonny & Mary Reed
    33:12 - Blackbeard - Savage or Soft?
    45:02 - Black Bart - Bartholomew Roberts
    51:15 - The Golden Age Comes to an End
    53:12 - Piracy & Modern Times

    ►Sources:
    https://www.worldhistory.org/Golden_Age_of_Piracy/
    https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1847/pirate-punishments-in-the-golden-age-of-piracy/
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jolly_Roger
    https://www.worldhistory.org/Calico_Jack/
    Scroll to References for 20 sources Calico Jack - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rackham
    https://www.worldhistory.org/Anne_Bonny/
    https://www.worldhistory.org/Mary_Read/
    https://www.nps.gov/people/blackbeard.htm
    Black Beard’s real identity? https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/three-centuries-after-his-beheading-kinder-gentler-blackbeard-emerges-180970782/
    BB’s Ship: https://ancientnc.web.unc.edu/exhibits/shipwrecks/queen-annes-revenge/#:~:text=While trying to enter the,portions of the shipwreck site.
    https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/maritime-history/pirates-history-golden-age-piracy
    https://benersonlittle.com/2021/06/18/the-fanciful-mythical-calico-jack-rackham-pirate-flag/
    https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/three-centuries-after-his-beheading-kinder-gentler-blackbeard-emerges-180970782/
    https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/maritime-history/pirates-bartholomew-roberts-chaloner-ogle-cup
    https://www.worldhistory.org/Bartholomew_Roberts/
    https://www.beaches.com/blog/real-life-pirates-caribbean/
    Modern day: https://desteia.com/blog/modern-pirates


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    54 min