- Season 1, We've Just Begun...
It's been a wild ride, but don't worry...it's not over yet!
We can't wait to see you for season 2 ;) In the meantime, check us out on our socials and keep up with all the other awesome HYPERFOCUS stuff: linktr.ee/hyperfocuspod
Until next time: stay chaotic, babes.
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy5m - Oct 4, 2021 - Episode 33: Monkey Poop and Unethical Experiments...The Rachel Extravaganza Q&A!
Why do monkeys throw their poop? What are the most interesting unethical experiments? What is the HYPERFOCUS origin story? How do I know what to do with my life? Join Rachel for a fun and chaotic (duh) Q&A to find out the answers to these questions and more!
if ur reading this i love you
<3 Rachel
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy36m - Sep 27, 2021 - Vacation Days? Never Heard of Them...
We don't know how to take time off, but we love learning, so we're giving it a shot. But make sure you listen to the whole "episode" for your chance to be featured on the pod!
We love you all and this wouldn't be possible without you. We're so thankful for your support and look forward to seeing you next week!
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy7m - Sep 20, 2021 - Episode 32: The Cock Lane Ghost
Everybody loves a good ghost story. But on today's episode, Maddie talks about a ghost story with a hauntingly surprising twist! Oh, and not to mention the absolutely hilarious names...
Sign the David Spade Bachelor Petition: https://chng.it/9vrwMrFR
Sources:
https://digpodcast.org/2017/11/05/cock-lane-ghost-london/
https://burialsandbeyond.com/2020/03/28/scratching-fanny-the-ghost-of-cock-lane/
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG144925
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy38m - Sep 13, 2021 - Episode 31: The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death
It's time for some mystery! Do you think you could solve a murder? What about a murder committed in a dollhouse? Today we're talking about Frances Glessner Lee and her incredibly creative--and groundbreaking--contributions to forensic investigation.
This story flips the good ole "whodunnit" on its head!
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/2017/11/18/564791775/the-tiny-murderous-world-of-frances-glessner-lee
http://deathindiorama.com/francesglessnerlee.html
https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/nutshells
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/10/arts/design/frances-glessner-lee-forensic-science-renwick-museum.html
https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2005/09/frances-glessner-lee-html
https://slate.com/technology/2014/06/nutshell-dioramas-of-death-frances-glessner-lee-forensic-science-and-training-crime-scene-investigators.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_J._Glessner_House#John_J._Glessner
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Glessner_Lee
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/home-where-corpse-frances-glessner-lees-miniature-dollhouse-crime-scenes-180965204/
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy34m - Sep 6, 2021 - Episode 30: Nor Loch - The Lost Lake of Edinburgh
Before there was the Princess Street Gardens gracing the city of Edinburgh, there was a much more disgusting and foul smelling lake - Nor Loch. Today's show tells the tale of Nor Loch and its haunting history which is still a deeply significant piece of Edinburgh's legacy and haunted reputation.
Sources:
https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/lost-edinburgh-nor-loch-1546742
http://www.royal-mile.com/history/nor-loch.html
https://mysteriesrunsolved.com/2020/06/the-nor-loch-edinburgh-castle.html
https://www.digitscotland.com/the-archaeology-of-edinburghs-nor-loch/
http://edinburghlore.co.uk/the-skeletons-of-princes-st-gardens/
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy26m - Aug 30, 2021 - Episode 29: The Mothman
Rachel is either crazy or in love...maybe both. Today, Rachel tells the story, origin, major sightings, and cultural relevance of her favorite cryptid: Mothman. From a massive wingspan tacked onto a man-like body to disappearing dogs and shining red eyes, this creepy boy lives rent free in our minds, and he is welcome to stay. We love him. Except for the fact that he tends to be a bad omen of tragedies to come...
Petitions:
Sources:
https://www.wired.com/2014/03/joshua-dudley-greer-tnt-storage/
https://themothman.fandom.com/wiki/Men_In_Black
https://themothman.fandom.com/wiki/The_Mothman_Museum#The_Men_In_Black_Exhibit
https://web.archive.org/web/20071011230219/http://www.westva.net/mothman/1966-11-16.htm
https://themothman.fandom.com/wiki/Eight_People_Say_They_Saw_%27Creature%27?file=Moth293.PNG
https://nerdist.com/article/mothman-why-we-are-so-obsessed/
https://www.mothmanfestival.com/events.html
https://www.history.com/news/men-in-black-real-origins
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Bridge
https://www.southernliving.com/culture/the-mothman-legend-west-virginia
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy35m - Aug 23, 2021 - Episode 28: Famous Feuds
Some of the greatest discoveries, inventions, and moments in history come from feuds. So today, Maddie is walking us through three famous feuds - one about a sports brand, another about Scottish clans, and a final one about fossils.
Sources:
- https://www.adidas-group.com/en/about/history/
- https://olympics.com/en/video/amsterdam-1928-radke-lina
- https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-jesse-owens
- https://www.thoughtco.com/quick-history-of-adidas-1444319
- https://www.businessinsider.com/how-puma-and-adidas-rivalry-divided-their-founding-town-for-70-years-2018-10#the-history-of-puma-and-adidas-began-in-this-house-1
- https://www.history.com/news/6-epic-family-feuds
- https://www.esquiremag.ph/style/fashion/puma-adidas-rivalry-a00293-20191030-lfrm
- https://www.ranker.com/list/bloody-historical-family-feuds/setareh-janda
- https://www.stewartsociety.org/history-of-the-stewarts.cfm?section=battles-and-historical-events&subcatid=2&histid=19
- https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/06/the-black-dinner-an-event-that-inspired-the-red-wedding-in-game-of-thrones/139523
- http://www.douglashistory.co.uk/history/Battles/arkinholm.htm
- https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/lifestyle/features/article/3105451/5-famous-feuds-are-so-petty-you-cant-help-read-more
- https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/dinosaur-rivalry/
- https://ansp.org/exhibits/online-exhibits/stories/bone-wars-the-cope-marsh-rivalry/
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy42m - Aug 16, 2021 - Episode 27: The Mary's Room Thought Experiment
What do color vision, philosophy, One Direction, artificial intelligence, and Howie Mandel have in common? Well...Rachel talks about them in this episode.
In all seriousness, join us this week on a deep dive into the human brain and the human condition as Rachel and Maddie discuss the Mary's Room thought experiment and the limits of science and intelligence.
Sources:
https://www.sfu.ca/~jillmc/JacksonfromJStore.pdf
https://medium.com/psy-lens/marys-room-thought-experiment-a01d8f4cadb3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_argument#Refutation_of_physicalism
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/qualia-knowledge/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGYmiQkah4o
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy42m - Aug 9, 2021 - Episode 26: The Not-So-Saintly St. Olga of Kiev
Today's heroine has a bit of a temper and is most likely a Scorpio for her revenge gene. St. Olga of Kiev is one of medieval history's craziest revenge stories, and to make things all the more ironic, she somehow makes her way to saint-dom in not one but two church traditions!
Maddie's in charge on today's episode, and she's taking us back to medieval Russia.
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Rus
https://www.history.com/news/vikings-in-russia-kiev-rus-varangians-prince-oleg
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2015/02/06/the-worst-leaders-in-history-igor-i-of-kiev/
https://www.worldhistory.org/Kievan_Rus/
https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/history-of-war/why-were-samurai-swords-so-strong/
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/igor-of-kiev.html
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy40m - Aug 2, 2021 - Episode 25: The Centralia Fire & Ghost Town
How long can a fire burn? How long can you live in a town built on top of an underground fire? Why would you want to stay in here? Well, I'm gonna be honest...we don't answer all of these questions, but we do ask them.
Today, Rachel takes us through the story and history of how Centralia, Pennsylvania became a real-life, modern ghost town.
Sources:
https://www.history.com/news/mine-fire-burning-more-50-years-ghost-town
https://www.britannica.com/video/187023/coal-mine-fire-Pennsylvania-Centralia
https://www.legendsofamerica.com/centralia-pennsylvania/
http://www.dark-tourism.com/index.php/india/15-countries/individual-chapters/738-centralia#s
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/centralia-graffiti-highway-buried
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy39m - Jul 26, 2021 - Episode 24: The Mysterious History of the Cecil Hotel
If you've seen American Horror Story: Hotel or watched the documentary on Elisa Lam, you know about how unsettling and creepy the Cecil Hotel is. On today's episode, Maddie is diving deep into the disturbing and cruel history of one of America's most infamous hotels.
TW: This episode contains descriptions of suicide, death, murder, hauntings and conspiracy theories that may be upsetting to the listener.
Sources:
https://allthatsinteresting.com/cecil-hotel-los-angeles
https://nypost.com/2020/02/18/the-moral-crisis-of-skid-row-las-most-notorious-neighborhood/
https://medium.com/crimebeat/the-dark-history-of-hotel-cecil-a778d6c3d9e7
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/a35458616/the-cecil-hotel-history-timeline-true-story/
https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/the-murderous-cecil-hotel-has-been-claiming-lives-since-the-1920s-677af33f17b7
https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS19621013.2.19&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1
https://medium.com/the-true-crime-edition/the-tragedy-of-pigeon-goldie-fdc2061c0960
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/572113/the-black-dahlia-murder-facts
https://medium.com/@jddean/the-serial-killers-who-haunted-the-cecil-hotel-5586e6f7d2d1
https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a35461475/elisa-lam-true-story-death-elevator-crime-scene-netflix/
Link to Elisa Lam Video: https://youtu.be/_rfLSVIA0L0
Link to Night Stalker Netflix Documentary: https://www.netflix.com/title/81025701
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy1h 8m - Jul 19, 2021 - Episode 23: The Chaotic and Scandalous Life of Mary Shelley
We all know that she wrote Frankenstein at a very young age, but what else do you know about the life of Mary Shelley? There's just. so. much. From death to affairs to weird things happening at graves (do we maybe see her inspiration for the story here?), Shelley's life was riddled with a difficult mix of trauma and success.
Sources:
https://www.biography.com/writer/mary-shelley
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley
https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/f/frankenstein/mary-shelley-biography-2
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/65624/mary-shelleys-favorite-keepsake-her-dead-husbands-heart
https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/letters-concerning-the-relationship-between-p-b-shelley-and-mary-godwin#
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy43m - Jul 12, 2021 - Episode 22: Mary Colter, Little-known Architect of the Grand Canyon National Park
I'm sure you've heard of the Grand Canyon... you know the canyon by which all other canyon must objectively be compared to? Well tune in to today's episode to hear more about the architect who built up the national park in the early 1900s - as a woman - in a male-dominated field - without even the right to vote.
Sources:
https://pioneeringwomen.bwaf.org/mary-elizabeth-jane-colter/
https://www.mygrandcanyonpark.com/park/history/history-of-the-grand-canyon/
https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/photosmultimedia/colter_hopih_photos.htm
https://www.nps.gov/articles/marycolter.htm
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy27m - Jul 5, 2021 - Episode 21: Aimo Koivunen's Meth-Fueled Frenzy
What do you do when you're sleep deprived and the Russian army is chasing you? You take a TON of drugs...or at least that's what Aimo Koivunen did.
This man has seen it ALL. Although, to be fair, not all of it was real. Join us on today's episode to go on Aimo's journey together!
SOURCES:
https://www.history.com/news/inside-the-drug-use-that-fueled-nazi-germany
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRHm26fKKb8
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/high-on-speed-and-delirious.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aimo_Koivunen
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy49m - Jun 29, 2021 - BONUS Minisode: Mistakes Were Made...Also Fun Facts!
We are very tired. And very giggly. And very tired. Did I mention that we're tired? We still have no idea what happened to the file but look out for the full episode tomorrow! Sorry for the delay! We are doing our very best!
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy16m - Jun 28, 2021 - Episode 20: The Life & Death of Rasputin
I'm sure you know the song and the TikTok trend... but do you know the man behind it? On today's deep-dive, Maddie takes the lead to share the mysterious stories about one of Russia's most legendary figures.
Sources:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/murder-rasputin-100-years-later-180961572/
https://www.history.co.uk/biographies/who-was-rasputin
Rasputin, Maria. My Father. New Hyde Park, New York: University Books, 1970.
Smith, Douglas. Rasputin: Faith, Power, and the Twilight of the Romanovs. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016.
Tosh, John. The Pursuit of History. Harlow, England: Pearson Education Limited, 2010.
Wilson, Colin. Rasputin and the Fall of the Romanovs. New York: Farrar, Straus and Company, 1964.
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy38m - Jun 21, 2021 - Episode 19b: The Stanford Prison Experiment Part 2
How and why did the Stanford Prison Experiment end? Does it need to be debunked? Why do we care about it so much? Listen to our first ever "part two" to find out! Fair warning: Rachel gets really into it and tells people why they're wrong. But what else is new...?
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy39m - Jun 16, 2021 - Episode 19: The Stanford Prison Experiment Part 1
It's our first two-parter! Rachel just can't keep it short, can she? Today we head down to the depths of a Stanford University basement where Dr. Zimbardo created a mock prison experiment that has lived on in infamy. Why? Listen to find out!
Sources:
https://www.prisonexp.org
https://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/the-real-lesson-of-the-stanford-prison-experiment
https://www.nytimes.com/1973/04/08/archives/a-pirandellian-prison-the-mind-is-a-formidable-jailer.html
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0146167206292689
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy40m - Jun 14, 2021 - Episode 18: Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (AIWS)
If you've heard of Alice in Wonderland, you're going to want to check this one out! Maddie deep-dives into Alice In Wonderland Syndrome (AIWS) and the fairy-tale-esque symptoms associated with this rare syndrome. Just like Alice found herself growing larger or smaller, seeing other things grow big or small, or even losing perception of time, those who suffer from AIWS can experience a wide variety of similar symptoms.
Sources:
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/65763/12-absurd-facts-about-alice-wonderland
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Alices-Adventures-in-Wonderland
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2019.00473/full
https://www.excedrin.com/migraines/causes/what-is-alice-in-wonderland-syndrome/
https://www.healthline.com/health/alice-in-wonderland-syndrome#causes
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1826192/pdf/canmedaj00720-0006.pdf
https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/23/alice-in-wonderland-syndrome/
https://n.neurology.org/content/80/13/1262.short
https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/aiws
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy32m - Jun 7, 2021