Joined by Courtney of The Cult of Domesticity podcast, we examine the exciting lives of three of history’s most awesome (but sadly not always recognized) adventuresses: Bessie Coleman, the first African American and American Indian aviatrix; Lady Hesther Stanhope, the first female archaeologist; and Nelly Bly, who tried to beat Jules Verne at his own game.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Content Warning: A short, non-descriptive mention of a sexual assault in a historical context.
Because of the efforts of scribes and scholars, we are still able to take a look into the past and know where we came from. But for all of the books that changed history, there are countless others that held knowledge now lost to the ages. Such tomes included: inventions that question what we thought we know of ancient civilization, the true story behind one of the most notorious poets who ever lived, and even a book that shaped the English langage…a book that may have never even existed in the first place! In this episode, Relic and the crew of the Frankenpod examine a few famous titles that you’ll never get to read.
Background music by Derek Fiechter
Listen to the Frankenpod here!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Due to some scheduling conflicts, we had to switch some things up a bit for this episode. But never fear! You (and by that I mean the audience) got to vote on a shorter episode for this week. And you all chose…the mysteries behind the dead bodies left behind on Mount Everest? Oh boy…
Since the 1920s, Mt. Everest has stood as a metaphor for surmounting all odds. But over the years, experienced adventurers have lost their lives on this formidable mountain. This “treasure-lite” episode explores a few mysteries, including the doomed Mallory/Irvine expedition, which may have pre-dated the famous Norgay/Hillary achievement by several decades.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Legend has it, that when the Jews of Prague were threatened by anti-Semitic violence, a great Rabbi, possessing the knowledge of alchemy and the Kabbalah, conjured up a golem to defend the city. For decades, most believed this was nothing more than a tall tale, until one night in 1938, when the Nazis marched into town…
Is there any truth to this fable? And if so, is the golem still sealed inside an attic somewhere, waiting for the right time to come alive?
Music by Kevin Macleod and MusOpen
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The ancient chronicles of Japan speak of a sword called Kusanagi, an enchanted blade wielded by the gods and handed down to their descendants. Allegedly hidden in a shrine and only called upon during the Emperor’s coronation, its authenticity remains a topic of debate. Joining it in legendary status is the Honjo Masamune, often called the finest samurai sword ever crafted; current whereabouts unknown. In this lost artifact double feature, I try to figure out where the truth lies in legend.
Music by: PeriTune, Kevin MacLeod
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Warning: This episodes does not contain actual werewolves.
A lake. A train. A tragedy at sea. A message in a music score. This episode examines four mysteries surrounding the Nazi’s final ploy: the secreting of billions of assets, mostly in gold bullion and ingots, to fund a Nazi insurgency long after the war had ended.
Classical music provided by MusOpen
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Relic will be back in February 2018 with the last half of season 1! Until then, here’s a quick dive into our first season and its thematic arc. This will also serve as a first look towards our final stretch: the lost artifacts of World War II, and Hitler’s schemes to hoard all of the world’s treasures under one roof.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The second holiday special! Saint Nicholas is one of Catholicism’s most honored Saints, a figure who would go on to inspire the folkloric character known as Santa Claus. But this Saint did not enjoy a peaceful rest in death. In 1087, an ambitious cabal of Italian sailors decided to rob his tomb in a get-rich-quick controversy that, 1,000 years later, remains unresolved. Merry Christmas!
Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The first of Relic’s two holiday specials! The menorah is a nine-pronged candle holder, ceremonially lit during the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah. It is modeled after a human-sized, gilded lamp that once sat in the sacred Temple of Jerusalem. Created after a brutal rebellion to take back the city, the original menorah remained in the temple for hundreds of years, until it was stolen by the Romans. Do their successors still have it?
Theme music by Devin. Music by Kevin MacLeod and Derek Fiechter.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
In this last episode of our mid-season “It Belongs in a Museum!” series, we are joined by Kate Shaw of Strange Animals Podcast. An animal species is considered extinct when it hasn’t been identified in the wild after 50 years. What happens when eyewitness testimony, and photographic evidence, challenges what we once thought about certain bygone species? Something is out there…
For this episode, Relic is calling attention to three important charities that are, quite literally, saving the Earth:
Hispanic Federation UNIDOS – for Hurricane Relief in Puerto Rico
National Resources Defense Council
Background music by Kevin MacLeod
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Welcome to the mid-season! In this installment of Relic’s “It Belongs in a Museum” series…we get weird. Comedian and anthropologist Jake Sully tells us all about the Peking Man– the fossilized remains of an ancient, common ancestor to homo sapiens. Who was the Peking Man and where did he end up? Also, Max looks into the strange tale of the San Pedro Mummy, and journeys further down the rabbit hole into the wild world of mummified discoveries believed (by some) to be alien in origin.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
It’s our Halloween special! Joined by special guests, Jerry and Tracy of Hillbilly Horror Podcast, we take Relic to a dark place…and try to get to the bottom of a few cursed artifacts. Are they real? Can they kill you? Maybe!
Music by Kevin MacLeod
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Since the Spanish age of conquest, the inhabitants near the Llanganates region of Ecuador have feared the stories surrounding a massive cache of priceless artifacts hidden somewhere in the mountains. The treasure of the last Incan King carries an especially deadly curse, and those who go looking for it end up vanishing into the jungle or dying…in eerily similar circumstances.
Music by Derek and Brandon Fiechter. Seriously, check their channels out.
And if the true events included in this episode’s final sequence intrigue you, I highly recommend the Thinking Sideways Podcast’s episode that covers this mystery in greater detail.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
There were several holy sites in ancient Greece where one could receive prophecies, the most famous of these oracles being the Pythia at Delphi. Not as widely known is the Oracle of Trophonius, a daemon or god said to dwell within a dark cavern. The rituals and encounters involving this oracle were said to be horrific, and the location was often referred to as the Cave of Nightmares. What was this frightening place, and is it still out there somewhere, waiting for someone courageous enough to uncover it?
Music by Derek Fiechter and Kevin MacLeod
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
For all of the lore surrounding history’s legendary pirates, not much is known about their lives on land. According to the same book that first introduced the world to pirate mythology, a chance encounter at sea led to the establishment of a democratic pirate republic in a hidden cove off the Madagascar coast. When a team of pirate captains pulled off the biggest heist in the golden age of piracy, it was said that they took refuge here. To this day, the treasure of the Gunsway Heist and the pirate hideaway of Libertalia has never been found.
Music by Derek Fiechter. Sample from Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy.”
Research shout-out to Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Full interview with Dom on the life and lies of King John.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
English history is full of notorious monarchs, but few are as hotly debated as King John, a man remembered as both the villain of Robin Hood and signer of Magna Carta. Lesser known is the treasure that King John lost at the end of his reign, a bounty that included the original crown jewels. With insight from our guest narrator, Dom from the U.K., we look into just what happened to King John’s treasure, and whether or not “Bad” King John deserved his epithet.
Music by Derek Fiechter and Kevin MacLeod
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Joined by special guest, Robert Jenner of The Fan Film Boyz podcast, this episode is something a little different. We take a look at the weird and wild history of lost film, covering everything from a movie so terrible that Jerry Lewis took it to his grave, to that time Batman fought Dracula, and maybe a movie that never even existed….at least, not in this parallel universe.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The Ghent Altarpiece, or the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, is one of the most important pieces of Renaissance art–which is probably why it’s also known as the most frequently stolen painting of all time. In 1931 the most beguiling portion of it went missing for good, and what followed was an eighty-year caper involving Nazis, psychics, and stolen cheese.
Music in this episode provided by Musopen, the open source, public domain, classical music databse.
Fantasie op. 16. Composed by César Franck Franck, Performed by Michael Schopen
Prelude, Choral et Fugue Composed by César Franck, Performed by Mehmet K. Okonsor
Sonata for Cello and Piano, Composed by César Franck, Performed by Paul Pitman, Bang-Eun Lee
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
India’s Padmanabhaswamy Temple is the wealthiest religious institution in the world, with chambers of riches worth trillions. The temple is also known for its secrecy, most of which surrounds the sealed vault in the inner sanctum. The means of opening the vault are lost, and any attempts to force entry are prophesied to bring cataclysm on a global scale. What’s beyond the forbidden door?
Music by Kevin Macleod and Derek Fiecther, with recordings of traditional Hindu mantras.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download