Our Fake History
A podcast about myths we think are history and history that might be hidden in myths! Awesome stories that really (maybe) happened!
Episode #257 - Was There a Children's Crusade?
In the year 1212 something strange happened in Western Europe, but none of the contemporary historic sources can agree on exactly what it was. Later historians would claim that a religious movement made up of children under twelve sprang up in rural France. After gathering together thousands of pre-teen followers this crusade set out to liberate the holy land. However, we're told that this so-called Children's Crusade ended in disaster. According to some sources, the children were attacked, starved, murdered, or sold en-masse into slavery. But is any of that true? Was there really a Children's Crusade? If there was, should we believe the horror stories about this unusual movement? Tune-in and find out how "mythistory," a Woodstock Nation, and The Old Man of the Mountain all play a role in the story.Hear more Staring Contest HereBuy OFH Merch Here
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Podcast Episodes
Episode #245 - How Far Did the Vikings Voyage? (Part II)
The only literary sources we have about the Viking settlements west of Greenland come from the Icelandic Sagas. The only problem is that the Sagas can be totally off-the-wall. Corpses reanimate and speak prophecies, gian…
Episode #244 - How Far Did the Vikings Voyage? (Part I)
Between the 9th and 11th centuries Norse explorers undertook a series of remarkable journeys through the North Atlantic. Iceland and Greenland were settled by medieval farmers eager to find new uninhabited lands. But jus…
Bonus Episode - Ponzi Empires, Thieving Saints, and Skin Grafts
In this Bonus Episode Sebastian takes questions from listeners about the series on the original Ponzi Scheme. The host investigates the history of the expression "robbing Peter to pay Paul", locates early usages of the p…
Episode #243 - What Was Ponzi's Scheme? (Part II)
Charles Ponzi's remarkable rise and fall played out over the course of a wild eight month period. He went from being a failed importer-exporter mired in debt to Boston's most talked about self-made millionaire in a matte…
Episode #242 - What Was Ponzi's Scheme? (Part I)
The name Charles Ponzi has become synonymous with financial frauds. In 1920 the formerly obscure Italian immigrant suddenly became one of the most famous men in Boston when his Securities Exchange Company started offerin…
Bonus Episode - Grisly Trophies, Evil Cowboys, and Questionable Mascots
In this Bonus Episode Sebastian takes questions about the recent series on Buffalo Bill and the Wild West Show. He unpacks Bill's influence on the cowboy hero archetype, dives into the contentious history of scalping, an…
Episode #241 - Who Invented the Wild West? (Part II)
Buffalo Bill's Wild West first started touring outdoor arenas in 1883. What started as a western themed circus soon grew in ambition. In the quest to appeal to respectable middle-class family audiences Buffalo Bill was s…
Episode #240 - Who Invented the Wild West? (Part I)
Buffalo Bill would eventually develop his frontiersman act into the Wild West Show, an outdoor exposition that was part circus, part rodeo, and part historical reenactment.
Bonus Episode - Messy Duels, Welsh Pride, and Famous Firsts
In this bonus episode Sebastian takes questions about the recent episodes on Thailand's legendary elephant duels and the seafaring Welsh Prince Madoc. The host does his best to pinpoint the "real" last elephant duel and…
Episode #239 - Did a Welsh Prince Beat Columbus to the New World?
There's a story that in the year 1170 a Prince from Wales, named Madoc, led a group of Welsh colonists over the Atlantic to North America. This group allegedly mingled with the local indigenous people and eventually assi…
