In this episode, first aired in 2014, we examine three very different kinds of black boxes—spaces where we know what’s going in, we know what’s coming out, but can’t see what happens in-between. From the darkest parts of metamorphosis to a sixty-year-old secret among magicians, a ...Show more
Gray's Donation
Before he was even born, Sarah and Ross Gray knew that their son Thomas wouldn’t live long. But as they let go of him, they made a decision that reverberated through a world that they never bothered to think about. Years later, after a couple of awkward phone calls, they go on a ...Show more
Annie Christmas (c. 1900s) was a fantastical figure based on a real person, but stories about her were passed down through oral tradition, old timey radio shows, collections of folklore and children’s tales. This brawny and brave keelboat captain has been hailed as the queen of t ...Show more
Eliza Donnithorne (1821-1886) was an infamous recluse. Legend has it she was abandoned on her wedding day, and she never recovered. Her story may have inspired one of literature’s most famous scorned brides: Miss Havisham of Dickens' Great Expectations. This month, we're talking ...Show more
Catherine Monvoisin (1640-1680) was a French fortune teller, midwife, and professional poisoner who found herself at the center of a witch hunt when her attempt to poison King Louis XIV went awry. This month, we're talking about Folk Heroes. People whose lives and stories took on ...Show more
Margaret Brown (1867-1932), now known as "the Unsinkable Molly Brown," was a socialite who survived the sinking of the Titanic and desperately tried to convince her fellow lifeboat passengers to return to the debris and search for survivors. This month, we're talking about Folk H ...Show more