SPILLED.

In this episode, we get into the Sacred Band of Thebes, an elite ancient Greek army made up of 150 pairs of male lovers who quite literally fought side by side. We talk about why the Thebans believed love made soldiers stronger, how this unit became one of the most feared forces in Greece, and how they went head to head with Sparta at the height of its power.

If you loved The Song of Achilles, this story has the same mix of battlefield devotion, loyalty, and heartbreak. It is part military strategy, part love story, and fully chaotic in the way only ancient history can be. We break down the rivalry, the battles, and the real history behind the idea that couples who fight together might actually win together.
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Watergate is one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history, but do you actually know what happened? This week we spill the story behind the Watergate break-in, the cover-up, and how it all led to the resignation of Richard Nixon. We also get into the wild side of the scandal, including the outspoken Martha Mitchell and the mysterious source known as Deep Throat. Lies, secret tapes, political drama, you're in for a wild ride.

SOURCES:
Colodny, Len, and Robert Gettlin. Silent Coup: The Removal of a President. St. Martin's Press, 1991.
Dwyre, Diana, and Robin Kolodny. "Corruption and Campaign Finance in the U.S." The Fundamentals of Campaign Finance in the U.S.: Why We Have the System We Have, University of Michigan Press, 2024, pp. 29–63. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3998/mpub.9813302.8.
Gormly, Kellie B. "Martha Mitchell Was the Brash 'Mouth of the South' That Roared." Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Apr. 2022, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/martha-mitchell-was-the-brash-mouth-of-the-south-that-roared-180979951/.
HISTORY.com Editors. "Identity of 'Deep Throat,' Source Who Helped Unravel the Watergate Scandal, Is Revealed." History.com, 13 Nov. 2009, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/may-31/deep-throat-is-revealed.
Lineberry, Cate. "Martha Mitchell: The Socialite Turned Watergate Whistleblower." History.com, 25 Apr. 2022, http://history.com/articles/martha-mitchell-watergate-kidnapping.
Morgan, Ruth P. "Nixon, Watergate, and the Study of the Presidency." Presidential Studies Quarterly, vol. 26, no. 1, 1996, pp. 217–238. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27551561.
National Security Archive. "Six Things You Didn't Know About Watergate." nsarchive.gwu.edu, 27 May 2021, https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/2021-05-27/six-things-you-didnt-know-about-watergate.
National Security Archive. "Haldeman Diary Transcript, April 29, 1973." nsarchive.gwu.edu, https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/21240-730429-haldeman-diary-transcript.
O'Connor, John D. "I'm the Guy They Called Deep Throat." Vanity Fair, July 2005, https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/2005/7/im-the-guy-they-called-deep-throat.
Richard Nixon Foundation. "Watergate Explained." Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, https://www.nixonfoundation.org/watergate-explained/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
Shepard, Alicia C. "Deep Throat's Legacy to Journalism." NPR, 19 Dec. 2008, https://www.npr.org/2008/12/19/98532461/deep-throats-legacy-to-journalism.
Smoller, Fred. "Watergate Revisited." PS: Political Science and Politics, vol. 25, no. 2, 1992, pp. 225–227. https://doi.org/10.2307/419713.
U.S. National Archives. "Nixon and the Environment." Prologue Magazine, Winter 2012, http://archives.gov/publications/prologue/2012/winter/nixon-homefront.

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Even if you haven't seen the show (Kendyl hasn't), you're going to want to tune in to this one. This week we’re getting into the real history behind Peaky Blinders. Inspired by the hit series Peaky Blinders, we break down who the Peaky Blinders actually were, the true gang wars of early 1900s Birmingham, and the core figures who built the gang’s reputation long before TV dramatized it.

We talk bad accents (ours included), the iconic outfits, what the show gets right (and wrong), and how much of the Shelby story is rooted in fact. If you’ve ever wondered about the real Peaky Blinders, their history, and the crime culture that inspired the series — this one’s for you.

SOURCES
Gooderson, Philip. The Gangs of Birmingham. Milo Books, 2010.
Our History. "The Shocking History Behind the Real Peaky Blinders." YouTube, 25 Oct. 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUJibuwsImI.
Sharpe, James. "Who Were the Real Peaky Blinders?" Smithsonian Magazine, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-were-real-peaky-blinders-180973328/.
"The Real Peaky Blinders." FindMyPast, www.findmypast.com/blog/discoveries/real-peaky-blinders.
West Midlands Police Museum. Criminal Records and Mugshots Collection. Birmingham, England.
Wu, Yang. "Coal Resources Distribution and Its Influence on Industrial Development and Underground Water in UK." Journal of Coastal Research, vol. 94, 2019, pp. 97–101. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26853258.
Primary Sources:
"Peaky Blinders Gang Activity." Birmingham Mail, 24 Mar. 1890.
"Thomas Walters Criminal Record." Cheltenham Chronicle, 12 Jan. 1901.
"Birmingham Gang." Warwick and Warwickshire Advertiser, 2 Nov. 1929.

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This week, we’re talking Giulia Tofana and the infamous Aqua Tofana — the legendary 17th-century poison rumored to be colorless, tasteless, and almost impossible to detect. We break down the history, the myths, and why this story still fascinates people today, especially its ties to women secretly poisoning abusive husbands in a time when divorce wasn’t an option.

Plus, because it’s us, we’re playing Fuck, Marry, Kill inspired by the episode.

If you love dark history, true crime legends, and chaotic commentary, this one’s for you.

SOURCES:

Griffiths, Arthur. “Female Criminals.” The North American Review 161, no. 465 (1895): 141–52. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25103561.

Review of Inorganic Poisons, by Paul Dittrich, Franz Erben, and R. v. Jaksch. The British Medical Journal 2, no. 2556 (1909): 1802–3. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25289004.

Johann Wilhelm Archenholz recounted the story of “Aqua Tofana” in his travel narrative England und Italien (1785)

https://www.folger.edu/blogs/shakespeare-and-beyond/women-and-early-modern-poison/

Dash, Mike. “Aqua Tofana,” n.d.
From the greater book “Toxicology in the Middle Ages and Renaissance”

Ferraro, Joanne M. “The Power to Decide: Battered Wives in Early Modern Venice.”
Renaissance Quarterly 48, no. 3 (1995): 492–512. https://doi.org/10.2307/2862872.
Monson, Craig A. The Black Widows of the Eternal City: The True Story of Rome’s Most
Infamous Poisoners. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2020.

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We're back with our MOST requested episode yet -- the Salem Witch Trials! Join us to hear us unpack the biggest misconceptions, implications, and causes of the witch hunts and trials that plagued Salem, Massachusetts between February 1692 – May 1693. We cover famous trials, shocking facts, and as always, one too many dirty jokes.

SOURCES:
Deodat Lawson, A Brief and True Narrative of Some Remarkable Passages Relating to Sundry Persons Afflicted by Witchcraft, at Salem Village Which happened from the Nineteenth of March to the Fifth of April 1692 (Boston: Benjamin Harris, 1692), p. 9.
Norton, Mary Beth. In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692. Alfred A. Knopf, 2002
Georgescu, Sedona. Fear Thy Neighbor: Spatial Relations in 17th Century New England Witch-Hunt Trials. Documents, 2017. https://jstor.org/stable/community.34031178.
https://doi.org/10.2307/362849.
(A. Scott, personal communication, 2025)

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