Doomed to Fail

Today Taylor tells the story of "The Professor and the Madman" - how the Oxford English Dictionary was created in the late 1800s. Professor James Murray took up the almost impossible task of catalogi…

Let's talk fast cars and family rivalries! Today, we talk through the Ferrari and Lamborghini families, and how their patriarchs worked to have the fastest engine available, and not necessarily the c…

Join us for the sad tale of Air New Zealand's flight 901 that crashed in Antarctica in 1979. But first we need a little bit of context and we revisit several Doomed to Fail Episodes:

The Franklin Exp…

This is the incredible story of the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II! We'll talk a little about the history of the Navajo and how the United States really wanted them to forget their heritage, and…

At this point, maybe if we talk about plane crashes enough, the irony would be TOO intense if we actually died in one! Let's go back 10 years to March 2015, when Germanwings pilot Andreas Lubitz was …

Farz started this episode with, "I don't know if people are going to be interested in this!" and then proceeded to tell the most hilarious and interesting story! In loving memory of Val Kilmer, Farz …

Today, Taylor talks us through the story of Grafton, NH, and the "Free Town Project." Grafton, like much of New England, has been home to Black Bears for thousands of years (maybe longer? We're not B…

In our latest episode, we dissect the failures of the mental health system in America. With insights from experts and historical context, we explore how we got here and what can be done to make a cha…

Today, we close out Women's History month with the story of Sarla Thakral - who received her pilot's license in 1936 and was one of the first women pilots in India. Today, the average number of women…

We love science projects & women in STEM! Today, we're talking about a winner, Dr. Valerie L. Thomas and her contributions to science while working at NASA. Dr. Thomas broke all the barriers to lead …

We've all heard how Adolf Hitler was rejected from art school... today we'll dive into the details, how being a poor non-student in Vienna led him to the back rooms of rebellion - and eventually to t…

In the heart of New Orleans' French Quarter, a mansion stood as a symbol of wealth and prestige—until its horrifying secrets were exposed. Madame Delphine LaLaurie was a socialite, a woman of influen…

Now, let's talk about a hero of WWII! Virginia Hall was an American woman who wanted to work in Europe, specifically France, to help the French Resistance stop the Nazis from taking over. Unfortunate…

We mentioned Leni in Episode 117 when we discussed the Berlin Olympics in 1936. She is the director who created the 'Olympia' film, breaking barriers as a woman and adding invaluable skills to the cr…

History, as we know, is filled with uplifting stories - it's also full of awful stories that are sometimes difficult even to imagine, like his one.

Today, Farz tells us about one of the worst concent…

Today, we learn the adorable story of the Huskie Hachikō, who waited at the train station for his owner for years after his death. Hachikō isn't the only dog who remained loyal to his owner until his…

Today starts our Women's History Month coverage! We remind you that nobody is perfect, women, like all genders, contain mulititudes.

Taylor starts off with the story of Helen Keller - from the diseas…

Let's travel a century or so in the future from Britain's Peasant Revolt to what happened in Germany after they had their own. It's fully the Renaissance now, but don't tell that to Anabaptist Jan Ma…

Let's get creepy for Women's History! Farz walks us through the tale of Elizabeth Bathory, who murdered countless peasants in her Transylvanian castle. Did she bathe in their blood to stay young?? Di…