Shows / Strange Country
Strange Country
Welcome to Strange Country, a podcast devoted to bizarre, surreal and extraordinary stories that make America the weird place it is. Co-hosts Kelly and Beth are former newspaper reporters turned school librarians who have always had a soft spot for a good story--the stranger the better. Discover the first woman to survive a barrel ride over Niagara Falls and the man who invented "complex marriage" in one of the most successful utopian experiments. Things get weird pretty quickly around here.
Episodes
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 320: American Poltergeists
Are poltergeists the result of repressed emotion or is it all a bunch of hooey? Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly discuss two such alleged poltergeist…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 319: Lizzie Borden Monster Meh
We know dramatic license is a thing, but sometimes it can be taken way too far and become the projectile vomit that is Ryan Murphy's Monster: The Lizzie Borden…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 318: Piss Christ
Beth and Kelly are hoping the title alone will launch Strange Country into a culture war or at least get you to listen. In today's episode, Beth and Kelly are…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 317: Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar
It's time to pump up that flabby womb, everyone. Grab a bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar, make sure your feet are elevated a good 10 inches while sitting on a…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 316: The Barbizon
Originally titled "Women, Ammiright? The Barbizon, Sylvia and the Rosenbergs in the summer of 1953 'merca," this episodes dives into some of the famous…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 315: JZ Knight
Put on your blindfolds, fill a wine glass to the brim and get ready to listen to the blather of a 35,000-year-old Lemurian god/warrior named Ramtha. It is only…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 314: Jennicam
Long before influencers were telling us to shove garlic in all orifices to cure hot-dog fingers, a college student thought it would be interesting to write a…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 313: America's Most Hated Woman
How do you become the Most Hated Woman in America? Kelly and Beth have been trying for nine years, but we still have no trophy with those words. And maybe…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 312: Bath School Massacre
America is known for multiple things: apple pie, Mr. T, and school massacres. But the worst massacre of all time is likely one you've never heard of before…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 311: Tylenol Poisonings
In 1982, seven people died after taking doses of Extra Strength Tylenol, leading to a full-blown and safety standards for over-the-counter meds. To this day…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 310: Inez Nathaniel-Walker
Hey dear Dash Hounds, we are back this week in a regular kind of way talking about a woman you probably have never heard of—unless you are a folk art phenom…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 309: Viola Liuzzo
It may seem the government's technique of denigrating the people they kill to make it appear that the killing was justified is a new fun thing in 2026, but…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 308: Psychic Readers Network
"Ask again later" would have been a common response if you had asked your magic eight ball when Strange Country would have a new episode over the last weeks…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 307: Huey Long
While he may have been called a demagogue and a counterfeit Mussolini, Huey Long had some darn tootin' good ideas—mainly taxing the rich into oblivion. Strange…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 306: ELIZA
In 1964, MIT researcher Joseph Weizenbaum created the first therapy chatbot ELIZA and realized soon after that it sucked and humanity was worse for it. Sixty…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 305: The Page Act
Hey Dash Hounds! Remember when that famous person said the thing that the other famous person put on a coffee mug? "The only thing we learn from history is…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 304: Villisca Axe Murders
Tis Pumpkin Spice time and Strange Country has a spooky story to listen to as you drink a pumpkin spice-flavored whatever gets you through this America 2025…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 303: It's Britney, Bitch
It's Strange Country, bitch. Yes, we're back. Has anything happened? Likely no. In today's episode cohosts Beth and Kelly tackle the conservatorship saga of…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 302: Candy Darling
We all know that women and men are monoliths, right? Women like shoes and the government controlling their bodies; men like muscled-up NFTs of Donald Trump and…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 301: Dr. Feelgood
What do you do when you need a little pick-me-up? Exercise? Drink some coffee? Laugh uproariously at Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly? For some, like…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 300: Streaking
Dear Dashhounds, have you lost the ability to handle all the things? Enough that you are thinking about bringing back the streaking fad of the 70s? Before you…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 299: Charlotte Osgood Mason
Charlotte Osborne Mason was one of the biggest benefactors of the Harlem Renaissance but her patronage came with a cost. While she gave noted luminaries…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 298: Rhinelander v. Rhinelander
We love our trials of the century here at Strange Country and this one is a doozy. It's likely one you've never heard of: Rhinelander v Rhinelander. See a…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 297: Elizabeth Dilling
Does it make you feel better to know that America has always been populated by horrible people determined to ostracize others and destroy our democratic…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 296: The Apprentice
With the on-again, off-again tariffs and total economic sh*tstorm, one wonders why anyone ever thought Donald Trump had any economic sense. That's because Mark…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 295: Alice Duer Miller
Hey Readers! Alice Duer Miller was a women of her time and ours! Who was she? Why don't you know? Because she is a woman, and that's a dangerous word these…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 294: The Real World
This is a true story. Of two strange podcasters picked to podcast in an attic about a strange country. Find out what happens when Beth and Kelly stop being…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 293: Candid Camera
Smile, you're listening to a podcast about Candid Camera. Created by Allen Funt, Candid Camera was America's first prank reality show. A case could be made…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 292: Plants Know What You Think About This Podcast
Well Dash Hounds, if you are still out there listening and tuning in, we are thankful. Listening is an act of love. Love brings joy, and joy is a form of…
- Strange Country
Strange Country Ep. 291: David Starr Jordan
Since we heard America was "being made great again" or something, we decided it was time for Strange Country to return. This time, cohosts Beth and Kelly…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 290: Ed Gein
It's the spooky season, and this episode is a doozy and an oozy, as in the oozing of decomposing bodies. Ed Gein, the inspiration behind characters Norman…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 289: Night of Terror
Hey Dashhounds, it's our favorite month for creepy tales at Strange Country! October brings warmish temperatures at night, hot sunny days, hurricanes with…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 288: Talking Dolphins
The mid-20th century was heady times full of LSD, and a NASA flush with cash, which is how we get to today's story about a scientist trying to get dolphins to…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 287: Free Town Project
New Hampshire seemed like the perfect state to start a libertarian utopia. No sales or income tax, aversion to governmental interference and the motto "Live…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 286: Hidden History of White Southern Women and Those They Enslaved
Things are changing in 'Merica, we can feel it. Join Beth and Kelly today as we tell the tale of white women in the south who played a very major role in the…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 285: Project 2025, Part 2
In today's episode Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly slog through the remaining 4,567,324 pages of Project 2025, a manifesto to turn America into Dante's…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 284: Project 2025, Part 1
Project 2025 is a 920-page bloated opus about taking our fragile democracy and turning into Christian Nationalist nightmare if Trump gets back into the oval…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 283: Play Time
Hey Dash Hounds, you clever playful listeners. Why do we play? Are we even allowed to play as adults without judgment. Not if Beth is around. In this episode…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 282: John Leonard Orr
What should you not do if you commit crimes? Write a book where the main character is someone just like you doing the very crimes you are doing. John Leonard…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 281: Quest for Immortality
Charles Lindbergh wasn't only known for that flight, his weird reverence for Nazis and being the public face of America First, he was also interested in…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 280: Gimme Some Credit
Dear Dash Hounds, join Beth and Kelly as we try to pull the curtain open on the Wonderful Wizard of credit scores. Do you know your credit score? Do you care?…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 279: Robbers Cave Experiment
The mid-20th century was the heyday of figuring out why humans were the worst through the use of social psychological experiments. Strange Country cohosts Beth…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 278: Emma Goldman
Hey Dash Hounds, are you still there? Beth and Kelly are. Or are we? Has ChatGPT taken over? Can it? We are just women after all. What is our worth? In this…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 277: The Sullivan Institute
Happy 2024! And Beth and Kelly are back with another tale of another cult on another year of Strange Country. What's to say? It starts off with plans for…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 276: OneTaste
You've heard of six-minute abs, but how about the 15-minute orgasm? That's what Nicole Daedone of OneTaste was touting; female empowerment through clitoris…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 275: Henry Darger
Henry Darger is one of the most profitable outsider artists out there. Unfortunately he didn't reap the benefit of that while he was alive, spending much of it…
Strange CountryENCORE: Strange Country Ep. 274: Bohemian Grove
Welcome dash hounds to an old episode from the pre-covid days when men could be rich men and spend the weekend urinating on trees and ruminating on how they…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 273: Kary Mullis
We're sure you've heard of the Nobel Prize although it's hard to make the case Beth has since she mispronounces it quite a bit in this episode. But have you…
Strange CountryENCORE: Strange Country Ep. 272: Killers of the Flower Moon
Welcome to a blast from the past. This is a re-release of ep. 59 The Osage Murders, repackaged as Killers of the Flower Moon to coincide with the new film by…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 271: Candyman
Hey DashHounds, if you were listening last episode, we mentioned the true story of Candyman. This may be the very first time Beth and Kelly said "we should…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 270: The Man Who Killed Halloween
Halloween is the time of year of ghouls, goblins and moral panic about candy. Could some neighbor be handing out candy full of pins? Or even worse, plain boxes…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 269: Vaccine Roulette
In the 1980s, whilst the media stirred up frenzies over Satanists in our midst or a nuclear bomb landing in Washington, a reporter made a documentary adding…
Strange CountryStrange Country ep. 268: Mabel Norris Reese
Mabel Norris Reese shone a light on racism and injustice in Lake County Fla. in the 1950s and 60s before the racist element drove the newspaper editor out of…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 267: Ruth Handler
We are requiring all readers of Strange Country and their partners, families and friends and everyone else to watch the Barbie movie. That way you can fully…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 266: Stone Mountain
If your site is like a video game health regenerator for the Ku Klux Klan, that might be a sign your site needs a facelift. Yet Stone Mountain, Ga., continues…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 265: Anthrax Attacks of 2001
Maybe this got lost in the shuffle for you, dear readers, like it did for Beth who completely spaced about this, but in the weeks after 9/11, opening the mail…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 264: Goody Garlick
Join us this week on Strange Country as we go way back in time to the 1600s when life was grand, and if you lived to be a 50-year-old woman, you should just…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 263: The Curious Case of Natalia Grace
What is the youngest age a child can live on her own? In this episode, Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly discuss the absolutely bonkers documentary "The…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 262: The Mattachine Society
Twenty years before the Stonewall Uprising, another group fought for rights for LGBTQ Americans. Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly discuss The Mattachine…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 261: Purity Culture
You know how every little girl dreams of the day her dad signs a pledge promising to keep her vagina penis-free until she marries. Wait, you don't? Well, sit…