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. 140: Quacks
America's "doctors" don't seem to be dispensing the best advice during the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Oz says opening up schools is appetizing. Dr. Phil says…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep.139: Circleville Letters
In 1977, Mary Gillespie received an anonymous letter that would throw her life into a tailspin. She wasn't the only Circleville, OH resident to get one. For…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 138: Ted Williams
It's true baseball and pandemics do not mix well. But that doesn't mean we can't talk about strange baseball stories- like that of the Kid, Mr. Wonderful, Ted…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 137: Leper Colony
While in quarantine, enjoy another story about a forced quarantine, this time on the island of Molokai in Hawaii. In 1866, leprosy was labeled a crime and…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 136: Christian Longo
To get our minds off the mass murder some Republicans are willing to commit to boost the stock market, Strange Country will focus on another mass murderer who…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 135: COVID-19
If there's anything that makes this a strange country, it's a pandemic. Strange Country co-hosts discuss the one topic that is affecting all of us--improper…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep.134: Brittany Smith
Yes it ain't. That is Kelly and Beth's stance on womanhood fun these days. Listen in as we discuss the sad but true tale of Brittany Smith of Alabama. We read…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 133: Sarah Bennett, redux
Well Dear Readers, if you don't need another refill of Beth's Nexium prescription, stick with us this week for a new topic. Sarah Bennett was one of our early…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 132: NXIVM, Part IV
We have reached the zenith or the nadir of our look into NXIVM, the self-help sex slave cult in Albany. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly slog through to…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep.131: NXIVM, Part III
Welcome back, cultees! We can call you that, right? Well if it feels wrong then it must be right according to NXIVM. We're now in Part III and things are…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 130: NXIVM, Part II
Greetings Espians! Welcome to Part II of NXIVM, the Albany-based self-help program, that will improve your life through indebtedness and slavery. Strange…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 129: NXIVM, Part 1
In a three-episode arc, Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly delve into NXIVM, a self-help seminar/cult set in Albany NY. Part I explores the history of…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 128: Refrigerator Moms
It's fun to be a woman, y'all. Strange Country features a brand-new installment: the mini-episode about one particular joy of womanhood. It features a new song…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 127: John du Pont
The fine line between eccentric and mentally ill is actually a gigantic pile of money. John du Pont used his piles of money to buy Olympic glory and in his…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 126: Pamela Smart
Strange Country tackles another trial of the century. This time it's the trial of Pamela Smart, a woman accused of bewitching a teen and his friends into…
Strange CountryStrange Country Episode 125: Louisa May Alcott
Let's face it, it just ain't easy being a woman. Wait, who wrote that? A man or a woman? What is the narrative of our fragile little lives in the books we grew…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 124: The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
It's the start of a new decade and impeachment is in the air. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly talk about the very first time the Congress tried to get…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 123: Tennessee Children's Home Society
Strange Country is ringing out the old year with a story to remind all of its readers that people are just really awful. Georgia Tann popularized adoption in…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep.122: Rhoda Eats Bark
Winter is upon us in Strange Country. How will you get through? Listen as Beth and Kelly discuss the brief and questionable tale of Rhoda Beebe of upstate New…
Strange CountryStrange Country Epi. 121: Human Radiation Experiments
Over a 30 year period, from 1944 - 1974, the U.S. government deliberately and purposefully conducted radioactive tests on its citizens and released radioactive…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 120: Jackie Mitchell
We are changing things up here at Strange Country starting with our newest intro song. Keep listening as Strange Country podcasters Kelly and Beth discuss our…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 119: Nancy Clem
Strange Country Episode 119 has it all--greed, betrayal, murder, the hazards of women's fashion, and even patent medicine. Nancy Clem, a 19th century grifter…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 118: The Hum
Huuuummmm. If you went in the direction of anything related to a phallus- go turn on another podcast. This one is all about the hum that is heard round the…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 117: Ed and Lorraine Warren
Velcome Dashounds, to Strange Country: The Halloween Edition. In ep. 117, co-hosts Beth and Kelly talk about the paranormal investigators who started it all…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 116: Prudence Crandall
Welcome Dear Dash Hounds to another weekly tale of strange behavior from Merkins. Back in the day when slavery was legal and it was illegal to teach slaves to…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 115: The Lonely Doll
On the surface, The Lonely Doll depicts the glamour of city life. But when you dig deeper, you realize it's a disturbing portrait of deep loneliness, which is…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 114: Carry A. Nation
Readers, we welcome you to this millionth episode of Strange Country. As much as Kelly and Beth want you to drink and be merry whilst listening to this tale of…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 113: Mary Surratt
We like to recognize our firsts, like the first American woman doctor. But sometimes being the first ain't so great especially if you're the first woman…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 112: Diabetes
Readers of Strange Country- we have made a milestone- episode 1000! That is a terrible lie, but maybe it will help us in our efforts to become world famous…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 111: Raffi Kodikian
If your best friend asked you to kill him, would you do it? That's what Raffi Kodikian told the park rangers when they found him in Rattlesnake Canyon, four…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 110: Zantop Murders
Robert Tulloch and Jim Parker were like a modern day Leopold and Loeb. The two teenagers believed they were higher beings who could commit murder with…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep.109: Evelyn Nesbit
If only Evelyn Nesbit were alive today, she may have really appreciated the Me Too movement, good therapy, and the songs of Aimee Mann. But her life happened…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 108: Hossack Murder
Around midnight on Dec. 6, someone took an ax to John Hossack's head twice. Ten hours later the farmer and father of nine was dead. His wife Margaret claimed…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 107: Papa Pilgrim
Papa Pilgrim brought his giant family to McCarthy, AK to live a simple life, love the lord and escape vice and sin. Or that's what he told the residents who…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 106: Jemima Wilkinson
When Jemima Wilkinson woke up from a fever in October 1776, she was no longer Jemima, she was a Christ vessel sent by God to warn humanity that the end is…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 105: Operation Paperclip
After WW2, Americans were not fans of Nazis. It was a time that if someone were to remark there were fine Nazis, that person would get a fist in the face…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 104: Milli Vanilli
Readers, you know it's true. We love you. In case you are wondering how we came up with that amazing poem, just ask some German man who really is in charge of…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 103: Hex Hollow Murder
Make sure to grab some five-finger grass (whatever that might be) for this episode because you are in for a primer on powwow healing. Strange Country co-hosts…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 102: Paula and Elyse
Dearest Readers: Imagine you are having a typical day in your life when the phone rings (right there, we know, we just dated ourselves) and you pick it up…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 101: Harry Anslinger
Harry Anslinger wanted to save his bureaucratic machine and he needed an enemy fast--enter marijuana. Thanks to policies he put into place, we've been fighting…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 100: D.B. Cooper
Well, well, well, readers Strange Country is now Centenarians in the podcast world! We have made it to our 100th episode. Beth and Kelly pull out all the stops…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 99: Parrot Fever
You know what they say, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. In this case it's probably best to keep those birds in the bushes and wash your hands…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 98: Child's Play
Hey Dash Hounds- You're still here? That means you managed to listen to Strange Country's longest podcast ever, and still come back for more. Or you skipped…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 97: The Mueller Report Part 2
Whew! Mueller Report Part 2 is here and, readers, this is the longest one and the most obstructy. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly nearly didn't make…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 96: The Mueller Report Part 1
It's Mueller Time, readers. Beth spent the last week reading the entire Mueller Report so you didn't have to. But you should. Really. Go read it. Now. I'll…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 95: Theodosia Burr Alston
Dear Theodosia, what to say to you? Plenty--on today's Strange Country. Co-hosts Beth and Kelly discuss Theodosia Burr Alston, the daughter of Alexander…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 94: SS Eastland Disaster
Today on Strange Country we dive into the terrible tale of the SS Eastland Disaster. Have you ever heard if it? If you aren't from Chicago ( Yes we will…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 93: Chang and Eng
Chang and Eng, conjoined twins from Siam, arrived in America in 1829 to tour as curiosities. Why are we compelled to gawk at those who appear "abnormal"? Is it…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 92: Abortion
Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly want to keep things light and frothy with this week's episode so that's why they're talking about. . . abortion. They…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 91: The Pitch That Killed
Hey Dash Hounds! (Why do we call you that anyway? Listen to today's episode and you'll find out) It's baseball season and high time Kelly and Beth took a swing…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 90: Love Canal
What if your home sat on 22,000 tons of buried chemical waste? That was the reality of the roughly 1,000 residents of the Love Canal neighborhood in Niagara…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 89: Beauty Tips
In Strange Country Ep. 89, co-hosts Beth and Kelly share their beauty secrets before candida auris takes over the planet and destroys us all. Might as well…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 88: Road Trip
Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly hit the road and travel to the place that started this whole venture--the Fox sisters home in Hydesville, NY. They are…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 87: Satanic Panic
"We believe the children" became the rallying cry of the Satanic Panic even as stories tottered on the ridiculous. Bones being replaced by Satan's bones; kids…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 86: Richard Jewell
Richard Jewell was called a hero, credited for saving lives when a bomb ripped through the Olympics park in Atlanta, Ga. in 1993. Then the security guard was…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 85: Clearly Clelia
Well if you are sick of hearing friends, librarians and uber-researchers Beth and Kelly talk about our periods, then just stop listening. This one is period…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 84: Witchy Tales
You know what cures a depressing winter? A baker's dozen of cookies, that's what. Have you ever heard that expression or been the recipient of such dozen?…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 83: Amy Bishop
America, the land of truck nutz and morbid obesity, is also the land of guns. In episode 83, Beth and Kelly explore our obsession while telling the story of…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 82: Stephen Glass
Journalist Stephen Glass just seemed to have a knack for being in the craziest scenarios surrounded by the most quote-worthy subjects. He wrote about working…
Strange CountryStrange Country Ep. 81: Hit Me Baby One More Time
Hit Me Baby One More Time: Rule Following with Beth and Kelly Hey Readers, are you rule followers? Really what we are asking here is, are you a potential Nazi?…