Scrapped Lessons Podcast (2024)

12/10/2022

She tramples your chest and haunts your dreaming - she’s the pisadeira! Listen to episode 56 of scrappedlessons to hear about this Brazilian nightmare and learn about other folklore associated with the sleep paralysis phenomenon.

Please subscribe to our podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, like us on our page “Scrapped Lessons Podcast” and follow us on Instagram and TikTok at scrappedlessons, or send us an email at [email protected].

Image 1: A Pisadeira on a sleeping woman, Gugaantony
Image 2: “A Pisadeira,” digital painting by Pamela Souza
Image 3: “The Nightmare,” by Henry Fuseli

29/09/2022

We all know the legendary story of Sargon the Great being placed in a basket by his mother and sent down the Euphrates River. Oh, you don’t? You better listen in to the latest episode of Scrapped Lessons to learn about this eerily familiar story of a basket-bobbing baby turned leader of many!

Image 1: Mask of Sargon of Akkad (Source: Hans Ollermann)
Image 2: Clay tablet with the inscription of the Legend of Sargon (Source: The British Museum)
Image 3: Map of Akkadian Empire (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

21/09/2022

Do you want to visit one of the Gates of Hades IRL? What if I told you that the Gate at Hierapolis causes living things to die in its vapors? Listen in to the next episode of Scrapped Lesson to learn about the Ploutonion and portals to the Underworld around the Mediterranean.

Image 1: Pluto’s Gate at the Ploutonion in Hierapolis, Modern-day Turkey (Source: Carole Raddato)
Image 2: Illustrated recreation of Ploutonion in Hierapolis (Source: Italian Archaeological Mission in Hierapolis Archive)
Image 3: Inscription at Hierapolis reading “PLOUT” for Pluto (Source: Francesco D'Andria)
Image 4: Caves of Ploutonion at Eleusis (Source: Sp!ros)
Image 5: Cave of Cumaean Sibyl in Italy (Source: Imma Gambardella)

14/09/2022

You’ve heard of mummies, right? Well have you ever heard of self-made mummies? As in, MAKING YOUR SELF INTO A MUMMY?! No? Check out episode 52 of scrappedlessons where we discuss sokushinbutsu, otherwise known as Buddhist mummies.

Please subscribe to our podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, like us on our page “Scrapped Lessons Podcast” and follow us on Instagram and TikTok at scrappedlessons, or send us an email at [email protected].

Image 1: Sangha Tenzin, discovered in the Himalayas
Image 2: Luiquan, housed in a Buddha statue
Image 3: Honmyokai, a Japanese sokushinbutsu

07/09/2022

Most saints are known for doing... saintly things? Watch out for Saint Olga breaking the mold. Apparently the patron saint of widows and converts, this 10th century woman-about-town wrecked some sh*t up. You just don’t murder people’s husbands and not expect your town to be burnt down with your own pigeons, friends!

Image 1: Saint Olga (source: M. Nesterov via ncregister.com)
Image 2: Depiction of Saint Olga’s deeds pt 1
Image 3: Depiction of Saint Olga’s deeds pt 2
Image 4: Depiction of Saint Olga’s deeds pt 3 (source: Bob Venables via Medium.com)
Image 5: Statue of Saint Olga in Kiev, Ukraine (source: Marek Slusarczyk via Britannica)
Most saints are known for doing... saintly things? Watch out for Saint Olga breaking the mold. Apparently the patron saint of widows and converts, this 10th-century woman-about-town wrecked some sh*t up. You just don’t murder people’s husbands and not expect your town to be burnt down with your own pigeons, friends!

25/08/2022

Ever tried to cheer someone up by regaling them with your cast-away style adventures with a 45 ft long serpent lord? Well, this Egyptian sailor did! Listen in to hear about the Ancient Egyptian “Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor.” It’s got boats, sailors, and hypothetical fowl strangling.

Image 1: Illustration of sailor prostrating before the giant serpent lord. (Credit: Project Gutenberg)
Image 2: Relief from Deir El-Bahri depicting the return from an expedition to the Land of Punt. (Credit: Σταύρος)

10/08/2022

Do you watch the Tour de France? Well, I do! If you are with me in this, you will likely (or at least hopefully have noticed) how glaringly white it is. In this episode we take the plunge into what diversity looks like in the teams of the Tour de France as well as its history and ways that cycling is hopefully changing its tune for the better.

Image 1: Kisso Kawamuro, the first non-European to take part in the Tour de France in 1927. (Biblioteque nationale de France)
Image 2: Yohann Gene from Guadaloupe, the first POC to take part in the Tour de France (www.instants-cyclistes.fr)
Image 3: Kévin Reza at Tour de France wearing a mask in 2020. (skysports.com)
Image 4: Nairo Quintana, one of Anna Leah’s favorite cyclists. (cyclingmagazine.ca)

Image 5: Harvey’s understanding of bikes. (Douglas Miller/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

27/07/2022

We’ve talked about the Church of Satan and the Satanic Panic, but today we talk about the freshest face of modern Satanism: The Satanic Temple. Their Judeo-Christian rivals may try to call them a hoax, but the Satanic Temple gets sh*t done. Using the symbols of Satan and Baphomet, the Satanic Temple arduously works to repair and restore the religious pluralism that the U.S. was actually founded upon - they may just do it unconventionally.

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Image 1: Logo of the Satanic Temple (The Satanic Temple)
Image 2: One of the founders of the Satanic Temple, Lucien Greaves (The Washington Post)
Image 3: Rick Scott rally, first public appearance of the Satanic Temple in 2013 (The Satanic Temple)
Image 4: Baphomet statue of the Satanic Temple temporarily erected outside of the Arkansas Capitol building (Hannah Grabenstein/AP)
Image 5: Arizona chapter cleaning their section of an adopt-a-highway (Satanic Temple Arizona Chapter)

20/07/2022

What happens when you combine misinformation, social hysteria, and the rise of fundamentalism? You guessed it: The Satanic Panic! Listen in as we talk about the unfortunate rise of the Satanic Panic and some of the true victims of this devastating phenomenon. While Stranger Things may have brought it back to the forefront, remember, the Satanic Panic didn’t really go away.

Please subscribe to our podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, like us on our page “Scrapped Lessons Podcast” and follow us on Instagram at TikTok at scrappedlessons, or send us an email at [email protected].

Image 1: Knock off David Bowie training people how to recognize Satanic symbols (Vox).
Image 2: Michelle Smith’s 1980 discredited memoir Michelle Remembers (Goodreads).
Image 3: McMartin Preschool, one of many day cares falsely accused of ritual abuse in the 1980s (Los Angeles Times).
Image 4: The West Memphis Three were released in 2012 after taking an Alford Plea (AP).
Image 5: Pizzagate, one of many modern iterations of the conspiracy theories associated with the Satanic Panic.

29/06/2022

Known as the catalyst of the gay rights movement, the 6-day Stonewall Riots demonstrated to the nation, and even the world, the discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community by the police and US government. Listen to Scrapped Lessons to hear how this event became a turning point in the fight for gay rights in the US.

Image 1: Crowds interfering with the arrests by police outside of Stonewall Inn (from New York Daily News)
Image 2: Marsha P Johnson & Sylvia Rivera, prominent Trans rights activists and founders of STAR - Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (from the LGBT Community Center Archive)
Image 3: Dick Leitsch, president of the Mattachine Society, and Craig Rodwell, founder of Mattachine Young Adults and HYMN, taking part in a Slip In to challenge New York liquor laws (from the Estate of Fred W. McDarrah)
Image 4: The Christopher Street Liberation Day March in 1970, celebrating the anniversary of Stonewall (from the Estate of Fred W. McDarrah)

25/06/2022

How is drag culture portrayed in popular media? How has drag evolved and found new platforms for expression and acceptance through events such as DragCon, Wigstock, and Drag Queen Story Hour? Check out this episode of Scrapped Lessons to hear how drag is performed flawlessly today.

Image 1: Drag queen in wig and stage costume
Image 2: Tim Curry dressed in drag in Rocky Horror Picture Show
Image 3: Wesley Snipes, John Leguizamo, and Patrick Swayze dressed in drag in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
Image 4: RuPaul dressed in drag taken by David Shankbone

21/06/2022

Today we’re thinking about drag! What do you know about drag shows, drag queens and kings, and drag culture? Would it surprise you to hear that drag has been around a long time? Listen to episode 40 of Scrapped Lessons to hear about the fascinating history of drag. Drag is a gender-bending art form where drag queens and drag kings intentionally perform various aspects of gender, usually in clothing considered opposite of their s*x or gender identity, in glamorous and fabulous fashions.

Image 1: Gladys Bentley pictured in her tuxedo
Image 2: Betty Bronson dressed in costume as Peter Pan
Image 3: 1956 Marilyn Monroe impersonator
Image 4: Two black actors, one in men’s clothes and the other in drag, pictured performing a cake walk
Image 5: Charlie Chaplin dressed in drag for the comedy short, A Woman
Image 6: 5 soldiers dressed as women in preparation for a military drag show
Image 7: Marsha P. Johnson

19/06/2022

Juneteenth is both an old and new holiday - old because it’s been celebrated since 1866 and new because, just last year, it was finally recognized as a federal holiday. Juneteenth celebrates and commemorates the emancipation of African Americans and Black folk from enslavement in the United States. Celebrate this important holiday by learning and reflecting on not only the past, but also the steps and actions needed to create a truly anti-racist society. Listen to episode 39 of the Scrapped Lessons podcast to get started!

17/06/2022

The Pride Flag has changed quite a few times over the years to be more inclusive of different identities. So too has the language and terms that represent our various individual identities. LGBTQ? Homos*xuality? Transgender? Genderfluid? QUILTBAG? What do these terms really mean? Language that we use to represent our various individual identities has changed over time, mostly evolving to be more inclusive of society’s ever-broadening understanding of s*x, s*xuality, and gender expression. In this episode of Scrapped Lessons, we dive in to take a look at some of the many terms used by LGBTQ communities to describe who they are and what they want. Happy Pride Month!

Image 1: The traditional rainbow flag representing the LGBT community overlaid with 6 arrows representing additional LGBTQ+ identities. Black represents POC communities and those who have died by and living with HIV/AIDS; brown also represents intersectionality with POC; blue, pink, and white represent the trans flag; and yellow with the purple ring represents inters*x. The arrows on this flag represent progress for inclusivity.

14/06/2022

Wang Zhenyi, astronomer, poet, mathematician – basically a self-made wonder! During the 1700s in China, Zhenyi wore many hats and pulled them off flawlessly. Listen in to learn more about this awesome badass female who needs more attention for her countless contributions!

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Image 1: Painting of Wang Zhenyi
Image 2: Wang Zhenyi quote
Image 3: Painting of examination hall for the imperial government examinations, 18th century, Xu Yang.

10/06/2022

More or less, homos*xuality in Ancient Greece was a well-known thing. But you might not know the complicated webs that same-s*x relations weaved and the negative implications this has had for perceptions of homos*xuality in many western societies. Listen to today’s episode to learn about the misconceptions surrounding what homos*xuality was and was not in Ancient Greece.

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Image 1: Achilles and Patroclus, one of most famous (and disputed) lovers from Ancient Greek legend by potter Sosias
Image 2: Painting of Sappho and Erinne, poets from Ancient Greece in “Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene” by Simeon Solomon, 1864.
Image 3: Depiction of a lover and his beloved on a kylix drinking cup by Brygos-Painter, 480–470 BC

*xuality

07/06/2022

How far have we come from Trial of Ordeals and dry rice chewing as methods of lie detection? Further, I grant you, but not far. With the invention of the polygraph, identifying a liar can still be elusive, if not impossible still.

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Image 1: A 1911 illustration of Lombrosso’s Glove
Image 2: A 1922 newspaper image of William Marston (right) testing a lie detector.
Image 3: Leonarde Keeler (left) using his lie detector for a trial in 1937
Image 4: Woman undergoing lie detector test for security screening for a job in 1945

03/06/2022

Our final episode of the Nihon san dai kaidan, Japan’s 3 Great Ghost Stories! Today’s podling is about the Ghost Story of Yotsuya aka Yotsuya Kaidan. It is a story of betrayal, murder, and vengeance. Check out these images of woodblock (ukiyo-e) prints illustrating the sad, creepy story of Oiwa.

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Image 1: Iemon whirls his sword toward the apparition of Oiwa’s face upon a broken lantern (ukiyo-e, 1832).
Image 2: The ghost of Oiwa coming from a burned paper lantern, still holding her child (ukiyo-e, 1836).
Image 3: Oiwa discovering her face and bloody scalp in the mirror
Image 4: A living Oiwa resting with her son (1892)
Image 5: The ghost of a disfigured Oiwa (1832)

31/05/2022

How do we know if someone is lying? This has been a concern… forever. Starting all the way back in China in the first millennium BCE, there has been evidence of people’s attempts to detect deceit through physiological tells. Listen in to hear more!

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Image 1: Antiochus Yearning for Stratonice, 1740 CE.
Image 2: Sita enduring agnipariksha. Mughal depiction 1600 CE.
Image 3: Phrenology chart from ‘The Phrenological Journal.'
Image 4: La Bocca della Verità in Rome.

27/05/2022

Do you feel like you got enough of Attis and Cybele? Me neither. We’re diving in with another story about the death of Attis and the role that Agdistis might have (definitely did) play in it.

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Image 1: Phrygian statue of Agdistis from 6th cent BCE in Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, Turkey
Image 2: 18th century hypothetical map of ruins of Pessinus in Ballıhisar, Turkey.
Image 3 & 4: Pictures of the excavation of the temple complex at Pessinus. (image credit to Argun Konuk)

24/05/2022

It’s another ghost story episode! We head back to Japan to hear a tale called Bancho Sarayashiki, or the Dish Mansion at Bancho. One of the Nihon san dai kaidan, Japan’s Big 3 Ghost Stories!

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Image 1: Hokusai ukiyo-e print of Okiku as a slithering spirit
Image 2: Woodblock print depicting the murder of Okiku by her master before being thrown down a well.
Image 3: Okiku as a peaceful ghost above the well where she was murdered.
Image 4: Okiku appearing as a ghostly caterpillar demon.
Image 5: Okiku Ido, Okiku’s Well at Himeji Castle.
Image 6: Himeji Castle, the site of Okiku’s death.

20/05/2022

Do you think you have what it takes to be an Ancient Roman? Would you eat fish sauce that is made of fish guts fermenting in the blistering Italian sun for at least two months? No? Then get out of here, you imposter! Listen in to learn about the interesting condiment known as the ketchup of Ancient Rome, garum.

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Image 1: Mosaic of garum amphora, advertising garum manufacturer, Aulus Umbricius Scaurus
Image 2: Dolia in the Garum Shop found in archaeological dig at Pompeii, Italy
Image 3: Powdered garum paste used by archaeobotanists to learn about the composition of garum

17/05/2022

Björn Petursson, or Axlar-Björn, was Iceland’s first (and only) serial killer. Come back in time with us to the last half of the 1500s to hear about Björn’s story of death, blood-guzzling, and horse stealing.

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The following images are from our own trip to Iceland in 2021!
Image 1: Plaque in Iceland of story of Axlar-Björn
Image 2: View of Axlarhyrna, maybe? IDK
Image 3: Búðakirkja at Buðir
Image 4: Snæfellsnesjökull warning

13/05/2022

We won’t go back. Listen in to the second part of our Roe v. Wade podling mini series. We talk about the decision itself as well as the challenges to this landmark decision. You will also get a lovely impromptu reading of Margaret Atwood’s article expert from the Guardian titled “Enforced Childbirth Is Slavery.”

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Image 1: Jane McCorvey (aka Jane Roe) and her lawyer Gloria Allred in 1989 in front of the Supreme Court
Image 2: Pro-choice activists demonstrating in 1992 in favor of Roe and Planned Parenthood
Image 3: Demonstrators opposing the leaked Supreme Court decision of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization threatening Roe v. Wade in 2022

10/05/2022

What were abortion and general reproductive rights like before the 1973 decision of Roe v. Wade? In this episode we explore some of the statistics, policies, and emergence of pro-choice activists and organizations in the United States from the 1800s to the early 1970s.

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Image 1: Activist protesting for reproductive rights.
Image 2: Sir James Clarke’s Pills For Periodical Irregularities from 1850s.
Image 3: American Medical Association's first Code of Medical Ethics from 1847.

06/05/2022

Scrapped Lessons - STORY TIME! In this episode we’re trying something new - instead of focusing on the history and circumstances of the Japanese ghost story Botan Doro, “The Peony Lantern”, (which we did last episode!), this time Anna Leah and Harvey are performing a reading of the 1899 version of this story called A Passional Karma. If you want to read along with us, go to the Project Gutenberg website and search A Passion Karma or The Peony Lantern. Sit back, pull your covers over your head, and enjoy this spooky Japanese folktale.

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Image 1: O-Yone peering into Shinzaburo’s windows.
Image 2: Lafcadio Hearn, Greek-Japanese writer, translator, and teacher, pictured in traditional Japanese clothing.
Image 3: Picture of Lafcadio Hearn
Image 4: O-Tsuyu and O-Yone traveling to Shinzaburo’s home for nighttime delights.

02/05/2022

It’s a ghost story episode! Join us as we head to Japan to hear a tale called Botan Dōrō, or the Peony Lantern, one of the Nihon san dai kaidan, Japan’s Big 3 Ghost Stories!

Please subscribe to our podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, like us on our page “Scrapped Lessons Podcast” and follow us on Instagram and TikTok at scrappedlessons, or send us an email at [email protected].

Image 1: Left side of woodblock print: Otsuyu and her peony lantern.
Image 2: Center of woodblock print: Otsuyu’s unnamed servant.
Image 3: Right side of woodblock print: Ogiwara.
Image 4: Otsuyu and her unnamed servant.
Image 5: Woodblock print of Ogiwara and “Otsuyu” in a…. romantic embrace.

29/04/2022

Anyone else play Worms: Armageddon or any other Worms franchise game? No, just me? Well that’s fine. It's only tangentially related. In this episode we explore the *relatively* recent history of PIGEONS OF WARRRR! Used to carry messages through WWII and even in some small flocks (fleets?) today, this nobile breed of carrier pigeon has saved numerous lives. Heck! Some even earned medals of honor for their heroic, and often fatal, deeds.

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Images from Imperial War Museums

Image 1: Pigeon sent out tank porthole
Image 2: Mobile pigeon loft
Image 3: Pigeon outfitted with its cute little satchel
Image 4: Message from pigeon’s satchel

26/04/2022

GEESE! Majestic creatures guarding us since at least 390 BCE. Listen in to hear about the numerous instances of geese saving lives, protecting whiskey, and doing general sentry duty.

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Image 1: Relief of geese from Temple of Juno Moneto on Capitoline Hill, Rome
Image 2: Depiction of Juno’s geese sounding the alarm at sack of Rome 390 BCE
Image 3: Ballantine’s whiskey patrol in Dumbuck, Scotland
Image 4: Geese guarding the police station in Xinjiang Province, China

22/04/2022

In this episode, we tackle the wild and disturbing story of Heaven’s Gate. A cult that is a strange blend of extraterrestrials, Christianity, and comets, led by Ti and Do, or was it Bo and Peep? Listen in to learn more about the horrific history of this cult.

TW: mass su***de

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Image 1: Marshall Applegate, aka Do (left) and Bonnie Nettles, aka Ti (right) founders of Heaven’s Gate cult
Image 2: Pamphlet made by Heaven’s gate
Image 3: Hale-Bopp, comet that neared Earth in 1997

19/04/2022

So possibly Herodotus influenced Tolkien, even more likely Plato did! Listen in to hear about Gyges, the once King of Lydia, who was corrupted by a ring of power. Also, what does Lady MacBeth have to do with all of this?!

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Image 1: Plato’s commentary on Gyges: One ring to make a just man unjust
Image 2: Charles Désiré Hue’s “The myth of King Candaules” AKA Gyges, the Reluctant Peeping Tom
Image 3: Gyges finding the ring of power from a bronze horse….
Image 4: Gyges, King of Lydia

Scrapped Lessons Podcast