Gems of History

The finale is here! To wrap up the show, and our series on Lizzie Borden, we discuss the lead up to the official trial as well as the nitty gritty details of both legal teams' arguments over the guilt and innocence of Lizzie. In the end, she is ultimately acquitted due to crafty legal maneuvering and a lack of evidence tying her to the crime, but that didn't, and still doesn't, stop people from believing wholeheartedly that she did it. Thank you all once again for listening to the show for the past few years, we truly couldn't have done it without you.

To wrap up the podcast, we are going back to a topic we covered way back at the beginning of the show and giving it another look - specifically, the Lizzie Borden murder case. On this episode, we discuss the timeline of events and give some background on who the family was and the setting in which they lived. The police eventually land on no other option but to arrest Lizzie Borden for the murder of her parents and take her to a proper trial. What are your initial thoughts?

We are taking a week off from research to prep for our final series, so this week we found some wild news stories to talk about! A Colorado funeral home with a stack of nearly 200 unburied bodies starts off the episode, then we get into brain chopsticks, violent incel murders, and butt-based chess cheats! This one truly goes all over the map.

One of the most devastating health crises of the past half century has been the onset of HIV. After first infecting a human victim in Africa in the early to mid 1900s, it spread across the world and has infected and killed millions. There is no cure at this point, but modern vaccine testing is starting to show some promise in a future preventative.

Following some of the most tumultuous times in modern American history, Richard Nixon stepped into the White House. He shot up through political ranks quickly, despite his lack of social prestige. At first, his tenure as President was promising. He reorganized social infrastructure and made pushes for civil rights. But behind everything,  the pressure of war, foreign ideals, and domestic unrest created a sense of paranoia within Nixon. This paranoia pushed him to make unethical decisions, leading to the most important event of his political career, the Watergate scandal.

Continuing with their coverage of Lewis and Clark, the boys this week discuss some of the more controversial takes from the expedition. Behind the mask of exploration, the Corps of Discovery more or less exploited the Native American hospitality and used their knowledge to complete a mission of expansion for the United States government. They paved the way for later western migration for Americans and the eventual crippling of the Native American culture through minimization of their numbers and placing them on reservations.

This week the boys dive into the well-trod story of Lewis & Clark and the Corps of Discovery. The group was one of the first expedition of white settlers to travel west across the United States and explore the country all the way to the Pacific coast. Along the way, they met with numerous Native American tribes and established friendly relations with them as well as cataloged hundreds of plants and animals that they found along the way.

Not many people celebrate death, but in Mexico they decided to change that. What started as an Aztec tradition is now one of the biggest holidays in the country, with families and friends gathering together to eat, drink, and honor their dead loved ones. El dia de Los Muertos is a time to once again commune with the deceased, portraying death as a part of the natural cycle of life and not something to be feared.

It's time to read some spooky tales from the internet once again! This installment includes evil magic, ghostly forest creatures, and creepy landlords! Happy Halloween everyone!

World War II heightened every emotion. Not only did anxiety and uncertainty reach new levels, but so did promiscuity and disregard for societal norms. In the darkness of the Blitz, the UK saw a spike in crime that strained the thin police force. Looting and assaults became more commonplace as the bombing runs disguised misdeeds. But one man was more interested in a darker type of criminal activity. He used the blackouts as a way to hide a spree of murders that would be likened to one of the most famous serial killers ever. He’s known as the Blackout Ripper.

What happens when you die? That question might be one of the oldest thoughts to plague humankind. Since ancient times, people have come up with theories based around that question. For early peoples, it was easy enough to use nature as their lens. After Death, we return to that natural cycle. Or perhaps we send our spirits out to appease whatever entity runs the forces of nature that keep us alive. Eventually that lens shifted towards organized religion, with dedicated arenas for every soul depending on the choices they made during their lifetime. But that's looking at the question from a grand viewpoint. What about looking at the question from a physical and literal standpoint? What happens to our bodies when the transaction that gave us life is finally voided? For most, it's not as frightening to think about the physical implications when compared to the existential ones. But that wasn't always the case. For centuries, there have been people who are wracked with anxiety and fear over that question.  Want to support us? You can! Go to Patreon.com/GemsofHistoryPodcast or download the Patreon app and search for the show to sign up! Music in the episode credit to Myuu. Link to their YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Myuu

It's officially October, which means it is time to begin our coverage of all things spooky and haunted! To start off, we discuss the history of werewolf legends and how they have transformed and changed over time. From beginning as mythological kings who were punished by gods to the modern icons from Twilight and other media, the man-wolf image has taken on a life of it's own. In a sense, werewolves are more real now than ever. But did they really exist? Want to support us? You can! Just go to Patreon.com/GemsofHistoryPodcast or download the Patreon app and search for the show.

Lee Miller is now recognized as an accomplished photographer and artist who covered some of the most intense scenes of World War II. But for a while, she served mostly as a muse for other people's art. After a tumultuous childhood, Lee reinvented herself in multiple different ways and eventually found herself working with, and making friend with, some of the biggest names in the art world like Pablo Picasso and Man Ray. Despite her success later in life as a war correspondent, Lee died before her art was truly recognized. But after she passed, her son Antony discovered her works and made sure to get them to people who would truly appreciate them. Want to support us? You can! Just go to Patreon.com/GemsofHistoryPodcast or download the Patreon app and search for the show!

We are taking a little time off of researching to bring you some of the wackiest news from the past week or so! Let us know what you think about the stories we covered. Are aliens real? Should a man be arrested for trying to cross the ocean in a giant hamster wheel? Want to support us? You can! Go to Patreon.com/GemsofHistoryPodcast or download the Patreon app and search for the show!

In the finale of our series on the shipwreck of the Grafton, and now the Invercauld as well, we focus on the dichotomy between the response of the two shipwrecked crews. The Invercauld survivors barely avoid eating each other alive with nobody stepping into the leadership role to organize the men. Meanwhile, the crew of the Grafton continue to work together to build a ship that will get them to the mainland. Trust me when we say, this episode has a lot more depression and awful people than the first. Want to support us? You can! Just go to Patreon.com/GemsofHistoryPodcast or download the Patreon app and search for the show to sign up!

This week we begin our journey with the crew of the small schooner known as the Grafton. After leaving port in Sydney, Australia in the waning months of 1863, the ship went off in search of riches in the sub Antarctic islands hundreds of miles south of New Zealand. Unfortunately for those five men on board, not only were they not going to find their fortunes, but they would end up wrecked on one of those islands and forced to survive there for over a year. A true showing of comradery allowed the men to build a comfortable shelter and survive together, all doing their part to keep the group alive and kicking. But unbeknownst to them, another crew was about to join them on the island. Want to support us? You can! Just go to Patreon.com/GemsofHistoryPodcast or download the Patreon app and sign up today!

In the early months of 1993, the United States was put on notice. In a country that hadn’t faced much in the way of homeland terror, an explosion in the heart of one of the nation’s most populous cities instilled foreign fear in the hearts of Americans. A near one ton bomb obliterated multiple floors of a parking garage beneath two of the biggest symbols of American economic might - the World Trade Centers. Eight years before the Twin Towers would be reduced to rubble, this blast was the biggest terroristic threat on American soil, and today, on the Gems of History, we will explain how it all happened. Want to support us? You can! Just go to Patreon.com/GemsofHistoryPodcast or download the Patreon app and search for the show!

From it's humble beginnings as a rugby/soccer doppelganger to now a multi-billion dollar industry, the National Football League has cemented itself in the culture of America as a sporting juggernaut. Fall is dominated by American football now, with the Superbowl becoming one of the biggest televised events in the world. But it also has its share of controversies, from domestic abuse scandals to fixing games. Join us as we take a trip through over a century of sporting history! Want to support us? You can! Go to Patreon.com/GemsofHistoryPodcast or download the Patreon app and search for the show!

Since the beginning of organized societies, there have been laws. And since there have been laws, humans have broken them. In order to maintain order, we developed courts and hold trials to enforce those laws. This week, we examine the beginning of laws and some of the earliest court setups. Additionally, we examine one of the biggest trials of the 20th century in America, known as the Scopes Monkey Trial, which pit two of the biggest celebrities in the country against one another in a battle of religion vs science. Want to support us? You can! Go to Patreon.com/GemsofHistoryPodcast or download the Patreon app and search for the show!

Before Julius Caesar was the name in Rome, he needed help getting there. And who better to help than one of the richest men in the history of the Roman Republic - a man named Marcus Licinius Crassus. Caesar and Crassus, alongside another man named Pompey, would be three of the last men in charge of Rome before its change from Republic to Empire. Caesar and Pompey would be assassinated, but Crassus, if the stories are to be believed, may have had the worst end of all. Want to support us? You can! Just go to Patreon.com/GemsofHistoryPodcast or download the Patreon app to sign up!