Hintertales: Stories from the Margins of History

03/08/2024

In case you missed it the first time, Once Upon a Fiddle is back - this time as the finale of Oceanside's Route 19A Music Festival. You can check out the whole lineup here: https://shop.mcmillanartscentre.com/collections/route-19a-music-festival

15/01/2022

The final episode of Season 2. The winds are temporarily taking me in a new direction. Stay tuned!

Matthew Henson was just 12 years old when he walked from Washington D.C. to Baltimore, and into a position as a cabin boy on a merchant ship. But his greatest trek would come three decades later and take him to the very top of the world. Some scho...

17/12/2021

More than 5,000 men - and a few brave women - applied to be part of Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic expedition in 1914. The 27 men chosen to accompany him on the Endurance would experience the adventure of a lifetime - and one of the greatest survival stories of all time.

This is the first of two Hintertales for December.

https://hintertales.buzzsprout.com/1550056/9737427-safe-return-doubtful-the-shackleton-expedition

More than 5,000 men - and a few brave women - applied to be part of Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic expedition in 1914. The 27 men chosen to accompany him on the Endurance would experience the adventure of a lifetime - and one of the greatest surviv...

17/12/2021

It's hard to imagine a bleaker place than Sarajevo during the first winter of the war in Bosnia. And yet even in Sarajevo, the Spirit of Christmas could not be extinguished.

https://hintertales.buzzsprout.com/1550056/9737482-christmas-in-sarajevo

On December 23 of the first year of the Siege of Sarajevo, an American war correspondent arranged a ride in an armoured Land Rover, bribed his way through a Serbian checkpoint, and entered the besieged city. He was caught off guard by what he found.

11/11/2021

November's Hintertale features my good friend and professional storyteller Margaret Murphy as the legendary Cougar Annie, one of Vancouver Island's most colourful characters.
https://hintertales.buzzsprout.com/1550056/9528399-cougar-annie

Ada Annie Rae-Arthur was a force to be reckoned with. Nothing could stand in the way of her dream for a garden on the west coast of Vancouver Island - not the dense rainforest, not the four husbands she outlived, and certainly not the cougars that...

15/10/2021

Felice Benuzzi had been behind barbed wire for a year when he caught his first glimpse of Mount Kenya - the second highest mountain in Africa. It was love at first sight.
https://hintertales.buzzsprout.com/1550056/9372174-the-prisoner-who-climbed-a-mountain

Felice Benuzzi caught his first glimpse of Mount Kenya from behind barbed wire at Camp 354, a British POW Camp near Nanyuki, Kenya. It was love at first sight. Over the course of eight months, Benuzzi convinced two other Italian POW’s to join him...

17/09/2021

Episode 1 of Season 2 is live!
If you enjoy Hintertales, please spread the word 😊
https://hintertales.buzzsprout.com/1550056/9208651-bessie-coleman-queen-of-the-skies

The daughter of illiterate sharecroppers, Bessie Coleman dreamed of a life above the clouds. Her ambition led her to an aviation school in France, where she became the first black woman in the world to earn an international pilot's license. Her co...

17/09/2021

In 1921, Bessie Coleman became the first black woman in the world to earn an international pilot's license. Her courage and determination in the face of racism, sexism and poverty remain a testament to anyone confronted with seemingly impossible obstacles.

28/05/2021

The last episode of Season 1 is particularly close to my heart. But don't worry - Season 2 begins in September.

https://hintertales.buzzsprout.com/1550056/8602556-blessed-are-the-peacemakers-the-story-of-gordon-wilson

Gordon Wilson had every right to hate the terrorists who killed his youngest daughter at a Remembrance Day ceremony in Northern Ireland. Instead he prayed for them and campaigned tirelessly for peace.

28/05/2021

Marie Wilson was one of more than 3,500 people killed during The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Her father Gordon had every reason to hate her killers; instead he prayed for them as he campaigned tirelessly for peace.

"Blessed are the Peacemakers" is the final episode of Season 1 of Hintertales. But never fear - I'll be back in September!

12/05/2021

At age 14, Anne Sullivan was the resident of a poorhouse and couldn't even read or write her own name. By the time she died, she was one of the most respected teachers in the world.

Coming Friday: the conclusion to Anne Sullivan's story!

30/04/2021

This episode is dedicated to the teachers and educators in my life.
You shape the world! Bern Muller, Rebecca Gourlay, Jeanene Williams , Gwen Jahelka Margaret Murphy,Maris Jacqueline Tanya Poole MB Crossley, Jane Saunders, Rich Mathewson, Richard Matthews, Michele Loeffler Debbie Cadwallader, Barbara Allisen
https://hintertales.buzzsprout.com/1550056/8423892-anne-sullivan-life-before-helen

Without the devotion and sacrifice of Anne Sullivan, there would be no Helen Keller as the world knew her. But though Anne chose to live in the shadow of her famous student, her own life story was as extraordinary as Helen's - at least that's what...

28/04/2021

The most famous 19th century resident of this state poorhouse was also the first woman to be interred in the Washington National Cathedral. Find out who that was on Friday!

16/04/2021

https://hintertales.buzzsprout.com/1550056/8341603-the-curious-case-of-sarah-emma-edmonds

Historians estimate that hundreds of women secretly enlisted on both sides of the American Civil War - most remaining undiscovered until they were wounded, captured, or killed. This Canadian woman had her own reasons for joining the Union Army.

13/04/2021

Scholars estimate that hundreds of women secretly enlisted on both sides of the American Civil War - most remaining undiscovered until they were wounded, captured, or killed.
This Friday, find out what motivated this Canadian woman to join the Union Army.

05/04/2021

A milestone! Thank you for listening :)

Author and storyteller Rachel Dunstan Muller combs the dusty corners of history in pursuit of some of the world's most fascinating true stories. A WWII POW crafts a violin out of bed slats. A single mother spends years in the Klondike searching for her missing son. A doctor on the edge of su***de fi...

01/04/2021

Beauty for Ashes is live.
https://hintertales.buzzsprout.com/1550056/8249614-beauty-for-ashes-the-musicians-of-sarajevo

During a season of violence and terror in Sarajevo, a handful of brave musicians responded to brutality with beauty, risking their lives to feed the spirits of their fellow citizens.

31/03/2021

The siege of Sarajevo was the longest in modern history, but a handful of brave musicians risked their lives to feed the spirits of their fellow citizens, replying to violence and brutality with beauty.
Coming tomorrow!

18/03/2021

THE CORRECTED LINK:
https://hintertales.buzzsprout.com/1550056/8171984-118-days

Maurice and Maralyn Bailey were an ordinary couple with a big dream: to sail from their home in England to a new life in New Zealand. Everything was going smoothly - until disaster struck 6 days out of Panama.

05/03/2021

This episode is dedicated to the lightkeepers past and present who have risked their lives to keep others safe.
https://hintertales.buzzsprout.com/1550056/8061146-trouble-on-triple-island

It would be difficult to imagine a bleaker place than Triple Island: three jagged rocks jutting up from the sea, 26 miles from Prince Rupert off the north coast of British Columbia. And yet that's where Tom Moran accepted a post as lightkeeper in ...

01/03/2021

A remote lightstation off the north coast of British Columbia in a November gale with no two-way radio. What could possibly go wrong?
Trouble on Triple Island - coming March 5th!

16/02/2021

He Was the Ears; She Was the Eyes was supposed to come out this Friday - but I accidentally released it on Valentine's Day. Very appropriate, I think.
https://hintertales.buzzsprout.com/1550056/7632766-he-was-the-ears-she-was-the-eyes

Robert and Lillian Booth had a special relationship - one that inspired an entire community. Robert was blind as the result of a childhood injury, and Lillian had impaired hearing as the result of whooping cough, but as a team they were able to k...

15/02/2021

The best love stories don't come from Hollywood.
Happy Valentine's Day. ❤️

11/02/2021

This feels good!

Author and storyteller Rachel Dunstan Muller combs the dusty corners of history in pursuit of some of the world's most fascinating true stories. A WWII POW crafts a violin out of bed slats. A single mother spends years in the Klondike searching for her missing son. A doctor on the edge of su***de fi...

05/02/2021

Dr. Fear is now live.
https://hintertales.buzzsprout.com/1550056/7519546-dr-fear

On paper Dr. Howard Liebgold had an exceptionally successful life, but secretly he struggled with fears that nearly cost him everything. He was on the brink of su***de, when a "chance" story on the 10 o'clock news gave him reason to hope there mig...