SYMHC Classics: Walter Potter's Wild and Wond...

This 2021 episode covers smallpox, a viral disease that has existed for millennia. But it’s now one of only two diseases that’s been eradicated through human activity, and a global plan was enacted to do it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Holly talks about the lack information about Pinel’s family, and how much she’d like to see Oscar Wilde use social media. Tracy discusses the way the Cooley episode narrowed down the scope of her originally planned topic.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Writer John Van Wyhe takes Helen and Matt around the world to catch a glimpse of the now obsolete Victorian Specimen collector, He also shares the story of his favorite collector of all, Ida Pfeiffer. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omn ...  Show more

A down and out young man looking for work gets a job as custodian at a wax works museum and finds himself captivated by a woman's wax likeness in the section reserved for murderers. This story was inspired by the author's attempt to sneak into the famous Madame Tussaud's London w ...  Show more

Where do museums come from? Explore their history in this episode... Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

History is filled with people who gathered unusual collections, often following a curiosity or passion to the extreme. But among those collectors, there have been those who have taken things too far. And the objects of their obsession have become the stuff of nightmares.