Shows / Family Plot
Family Plot
An odd dad a loving mom and their 17 year old son exploring the history in a peculiar world. Discussions will be kept PG-13. Hosted by Dean Boese, Lauura Williams and Arthur Williams. Become a supporter of this podcast: patreon.com/FamilyPlotPodcast .
Episodes
Family PlotEpisode 324 - Ghost in the Mill - Watson's Mill, Manotick, Ontario, Canad with Brenda of Horrifying History
Our final episode of spooky season is full of weirdness. We travel to Manotick, Ontario Canada and learn the history of Watson's Mill, the Rideau Canal, how it…
Family PlotBonus Episode: Darkcast Network Halloween Special - Stories Mummy Never Told You
Happy Halloween Fam! In this special episode, we discuss the house that screamed in Union Missouri while Laura recounts a tale from her past about a haunted…
Family PlotEpisode 323 The Unsolved Murder of Mary Rogers, The Haunting of Sybil's Cave and Edgar Allen Poe
What can I say about our show this week, we go back to the early days of the 1800's and meet a woman who became known as "The Beautiful Cigar Girl" and her…
Family PlotEpisode 0 For our new listeners
A brief message for our new listenewrs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Family PlotEpisode 322 - Gone in the Dark - The Disappearance of Brandon Swanson with Hopper of the the Final Trace Podcast
This week we are joined by Hopper of the Brilliant Final Trace Podcast to discuss the mysterious disappearance of Brandon Swanson on May 14th 2008. We cover…
Family PlotEpisode 321 - A Wicked History of Scandal and Magick - Revisiting Aleister Crowley
In this episode, we dive deep on the man who would become The Great Beast, the self proclaimed 'wickedest man in the world' and the founder of his own…
Family PlotEpisode 320 - The Day the Laughter Stopped - The Strange Death of Thelma Todd
This week, we dig into a mystery from the early days of Hollywood. This Wholly Odd case (what we did there, did you see it) looks into the death of film legend…
Family PlotEpisode 319 - Hazardous to Your Health - Snake Oil Salesmen, Quacks and Other Horrible Health Innovations
What an episode do we have for you! This episode we drift over the 19th and 20th century to pick out the worst medical products, quacks and crazy health trends…
Family PlotEpisode 318 - The Konitz Affair - Murder and Antisemitism in 1900 Germany
Laura, Arthur and Dean gather round the mic to discuss the 1900 Unsolved Murder and Dismembertment of Ernst Winter in 1900 in the Prussian City of Konitz…
Family PlotEpisode 317 - Fear the Dead - The New England Vampire Panic with Courtney from Book of the Dead
Our latest episode and we are joined by Courtney from the Book of the Dead Podcast to discuss the New England Vampire Panic. We discuss the discovery of a body…
Family PlotEpisode 316 The Definition of a First Lady - The Complicated History of Dolley Madison
What an episode. This week we ride the Elevator of History TM (patent pending) down to the 1700's to discuss the birth of Dolley Madison. We discuss her…
Family PlotEpisode 315 - Say it Ain't So Joe - The 1919 Chicago Black Sox Baseball Scandal
There is so much in this episode. We are not a family of sports fans but we do go back to 1919 in the Elevator of History to discuss the 1919 World Series…
Family PlotEpisode 314 - The Mythology of the Batman - His Origins, History and World
This is our longest episode yet. Today we dig into the origins of the Batman. Gotham's darkest Caped Crusader, the man who puts fear into the criminal…
Family PlotEpisode 313 An Inconvenient People - The Removal of Indigenous People in America - The Trail of Tears
What an episode. This time we go back to the 1830's when America had lied to the Indigenous People of America, forced them to sign removal treaties, even…
Family PlotEpisode 312 Deals at the Crossroads - Robert Johnson, Paganini and Petey Wheatstraw
Here we are with another 'Summerween' episode. this time we are digging into musicians who supposedly made deals with the devil for their skill and fame. We…
Family PlotEpisode 311 Exiled and Executed - The Forgotten Witch Trials of Connecticutt
Well, this week we head to what would eventually become the state of Connecticut in the 1600's where we discover that the people of Hartford and multiple other…
Family PlotEpisode 310 - Lie, Cheat and Kill - The Life and Crimes of HH Holmes with Brenda from Horrifying History
Man, what an episode! We are joined by our spooky Friend Brenda from Horrifying History to dig into the life of liar, cheater and serial killer (meaning he…
Family PlotEpisode 309 The Breaking of Kentucky - The Assassination of Kentucky Governor William Goebel
Man kids, this was an episode, and definitely our longest! Have you ever heard about the Democratic Governor of Kentucky was assassinated in 1900, leaving the…
Family PlotEpisode 308 - Tune In, Turn On, Drop Out - The Amazing Life of Doctor Timothy Leary
TW: Suicide and Drug Use - What an episode! This episode we flashback to the 20's to attend the birth of Timothy Leary, a man who would get a doctorate in…
Family PlotEpisode 307 - Charity Adams Earley and the Legacy of the 6888
Another fun episode filled with learning and family banter. Today we examine the life of Charity Adams Earley. One of four children, she was raised by parents…
Family PlotEpisode 306 - Barbara Gittings - The Librarian Who Shelved Shame
So, as June 2026 draws to a close, we present the life and times of Barbara Gittings, a woman who refused to let the world define her as insane or a degenerate…
Family PlotEpisode 305 The History of Juneteenth - Let's Celebrate
There is a lot in this show. Arthur discusses some of Dad's health problems in his corner leading to discussions about movies he's been watching with Dad…
Family PlotEpisode 304 Pride Month 2026 - The Curious Case of the Gay Ghost Hunters
In this episode, we celebrate the diversity and inclusion of pride month with an examination of the world of the paranormal, the world of spiritualism and even…
Family PlotEpisode 303 Pride Month 2026 - The Lavender Scare
Have you heard of 'Tail-Gunner Joe' McCarthy and the Red Scare? What about Roy Cohn? These two not only kicked off the Red Scare where they pursued supposed…
Family PlotEpisode 302 It's Mostly Fiction - The Mythology of the Odyssey
We have a heck of an episode for you. Arthur is turning 17 and our episode is inspired by the right wing pushback against Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey'. We…
Family PlotEpisode 301 Jane Stanford - Polished, Poised and Poisoned - The Death of a Child and the Birth of a University
Such An Episode! On Deck we have Jane Stanford, born Jane Lathrop out of Albany New York, she married her lawyer husband who lost everything in a fire, went…
Family PlotEpisode 300 - Audie Murphy - An American Tale
This episode, we go deep into the life, heroism and spectacle that was Audie Murphy. Audie Murphy was a sharecropper's son from Hunt County Texas, small…
Family PlotEpisode 299 Bird Lives - The Musical Life of Charlie 'Bird' Parker
Well, in this episode we dig into our Kansas City Roots. We go to Kansas City in the 1920's where under 'Boss' Pendergast the city was a machine that kept…
Family PlotEpisode 298 - The Jewel Box Revue and Club 82 - Drag takes Center Stage
This episode has so much. We cover the Jewel Box Revue, the drag show that originated in the thirties and toured through the seventies creating a space for…
Family PlotEpisode 297 Executive Order 9066 - Creating American Internment Camps
Here we go! Another little bit of history that really matters. In 1942, following Pearl Harbor, Franklin Roosevelt signed executive order 9066 which allowed…
Family PlotEpisode 296 - The Lead Masks Case with Brenda of Horrifying History
We do a deep dive into the Brazilian Lead Masks Case, a Case that takes us back to 1966 where two dead men are found laying down wearing suits on a hill in…
Family PlotEpisode 295 Anne Frank, Her Life, Her Times and Her Words
We have quite the episode for you here. This time we head back to 1942 to meet a small Jewish family, the Frank family. They are a mom a dad and two daughters…
Family PlotEpisode 294 - The Great Moon Hoax of 1835 - How the New York Sun Flummoxed the Public
In this episode we set the Elevator of History back to 1835 where we witness the ;'penny paperss' papers sold for one cent instead of six that featured stories…
Family PlotEpisode 293 The Great Stork Derby - Charles Vance Millar's Most Outrageous Practical Joke
This episode is so full of weird tasty historical goodness you'll want a second course. Arthur talks an afternoon with Dean and a vist from his girlfriend and…
Family PlotEpisode 292 Women's History Month - The Life of Shirley Temple Black
What a show! WWe dive deep into the life of Shirley Temple Black, from her young life as a precocious little girl with a smile, to her mother's enrolling her…
Family PlotEpisode 291 Women's History Month - Walking the Walk - Emma Gatewood's Appalachian Treks
In this episode , we look into the life of Emma aka Grandma Gatewood. Born in rural Ohio at the tail end of the 19th Century, she was the 7th of 15 children…
Family PlotEpisode 290 - Womens History Month - The Packhorse Librarians of Appalachia
In this episode, we set the Elevator of History to the Kentucky portion of the Appalachians where we check out the Packhorse Librarians. Women, funded by the…
Family PlotEpisode 289 - Black History Month - The Harlem Hellfighters of World War I
Jump on the Elevator of History with us and ride it back to America's involvement in World War I. When the US brought over a segregated unit of Black Men that…
Family PlotEpisode 288 - Black History Month - Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre with Carmita from Missing in the PNW
TW - This episode we drop a few 'f' bombs, and a few other words we would not normally use. But we are dealing with an act of domestic terrorism that has been…
Family PlotEpisode 287 - The Valentine Phantom of Montpelier, Vermont - Happy Valentines Day
This week, we step away from doom, gloom and reminders of the fact that we are currently under an authoritarian administration thaat does not value human life…
Family PlotEpisode 286 - The Life of Frederick Douglass - Black History Month
Such an episode. One of three episodes for Black History Month this Month, we cover the amazing life of Frederick Douglass, born a slave, he managed to sneak…
Family PlotEpisode 285 Rowing for Daylight - Grace Darling and The Rowboat Rescue
Man this week is a powerful episode. Arthur talks dating, mental health, and art and we share our reasons for supporting the families of Renee Good and Alex…
Family PlotEpisode 284 The Pruitt-Igoe Housing Project - A Saint Louis tale of Greed and Absurdity
2026 has been an interesting year for us and so far, all the episodes, we've done have had a real world echo to something happening in our world right now…
Family PlotEpisode 283 - The Yuba County 5 with Courtney from Book of the Dead Podcast
Wow do we have an episode for you! First we are joined by Courtney from Book of the Dead Podcast who is an amazing podcaster with an amazing show! We also take…
Family PlotEpisode 282 - Ida B. Wells - Her Power, Pen and Protests
Our latest episode goes hog wild as we talk about the heroic Ida B. Wells. From taking care of her brothers and sisters at the age of 16 after her parents and…
Family PlotEpisode 281 New Year New Weird 2026
Our annual year-in-review show where we cover things past, things present and things future. We discuss the year as a whole, what we've learned and how we…
Family PlotEpisode 280 - Is That Really You Santa Claus?
A bit shorter episode this week, the perfect size for that jaunt over the river and through the woods to see grandma...or to run to the store and fight Tobey…
Family PlotEpisode 279 The Beer that Flooded London and the Scalding Whiskey that drowned Glasgow!
We are joined this episode by Kansas City Comedian Dale Hilton to discuss the London Beer Flood of 1814 and the Gorbals Hot Whiskey Disaster of 1906. We do…
Family PlotEpisode 278 Beatrice 'Tillie' Shilling - Engineer, Motorcycle Maven and Saviour of the Spitfire
A shorter episode this week but that makes it the perfect length to listen to on your way to Holiday Shopping. This week we go uplifting as we dig into the…
Family PlotEpisode 277 Hot Stuff - The History of Spontaneous Human Combustion with Author Dan B. Fierce
We begin with a trigger warning, this week we talk about the results of people apparently catching fire spontaneously and the gruesome remains that sometimes…
Family PlotEpisode 276 The Mysterious Death of Mitchell Siegel and the Secret Origin of Superman
Boy, do we have a show for you. It's Thanksgiving and Arthur is feeling rowdy and wants to fist fight at the back of a Denny's. plus he's hyper fixating on the…
Family PlotEpisode 275 Storme DeLarverie - Queer Icon and American Hero
We have so much to tell you about! In this episode, we dig into the life of Storme DeLarverie, a man who was born to a black mother and white father. Mom was a…
Family PlotEpisode 274 The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake or How the City by the Bay learned to Shake Rattle and Roll.
So many things in this episode. Arthur discusses his new mask, Poppi Playtime, and hanging out with his brother who visited from college in this corner and…
Family PlotEpisode 273 The Curious Life and Strange Death of Netta Fornario
This week we look into the life of Norah Emily Editha Fornario, better known as Netta. Her body was discovered wearing no more than a black cloak and a…
Family PlotEpisode 272 - The Folklore of the Cthulhu Mythos
In this, the last spooky season episode for the year, we go into the mind of HP Lovecraft and the shared universe he created. A man touched by his family's…
Family PlotEpisode 271 Herb Baumeister - The Killings and the Hauntings of FoxHollow Farm featuring CJ from Rainbow Crimes
Man this was a fun and intense spooky season episode. First, we are joined by CJ from the Rainbow Crimes podcast and then Arthur covers a few things ranging…
Family PlotEpisode 270 The Whaley House Haunted Museum
Well, this episode is a doozy, we cover the history of the Whaley House Haunted Museum, covering it's time as a public gallows for San Diego, to it's purchase…
Family PlotEpisode 269 Burke and Hare - Resurrectionists and Murderers
This episode is a doozy. For spooky season we dig into the life and crimes of the infamous duo, William Burke and William Hare. During a time when…
Family PlotEpisode 268 American Catacombs - The Basilica of Saint Patrick's Old Cathedral and the Old North Church
Well, we cram a whole lotta information into not so much time this epsiode. This episode takes us to New York City to visit The Basilica of St. Patrick's Old…
Family PlotEpisode 267 The Devil's Promenade and The Hornet Spooklight - Welcome to Spooky Season
TW: We do at one point briefly discuss suicide, so if this is a problem for you, feel free to skip the part about the spooklight's origins, which is where the…