Altar Ego

Altar Ego

Hosted by two close friends, one a therapist raised Southern Baptist, now agnostic; the other a spiritually curious ex-Catholic who believes in ghosts and is terrified of demons... we dive into dark tales and crimes committed in the name of God (or the devil). Through ethical retellings of possessions, prophecies, cults, and beliefs, we investigate spirituality, belief systems, and the ambiguous psychological spaces in between.

  1. 4 DAYS AGO

    Episode 16: Postpartum Psychosis + Andrea Yates

    CW: This episode includes discussion of postpartum psychosis, suicidality, psychiatric hospitalization, and child death. No graphic details are included. Listener discretion is advised. This episode examines the case of Andrea Yates, a mother whose dismissed postpartum psychosis led to the deaths of her five children in 2001. Jeri guides Heather and listeners through how severe mental illness, ignored medical warnings, lack of community, rigid gender roles, and fear-based religious pressure converged into a catastrophic systemic failure. Through a trauma-informed lens, this episode unpacks what postpartum psychosis is and why protecting maternal mental health, as a society, is critical. Sources + Resources: Andrea Yates – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_YatesTexas v. Yates (2002; 2006 retrial) – Court records summarized in major reporting and academic reviews.National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Postpartum Psychosis: A Review.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.govPsychiatry Online (American Psychiatric Association) https://psychiatryonline.orghttps://www.uptodate.comPubMed Central (PMC) –https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmcMichael Woroniecki – Wikipedia.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_WoronieckiPostpartum Support International (PSI) https://www.postpartum.netNational Maternal Mental Health Hotline (U.S.) 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262)https://mchb.hrsa.govAmerican Psychiatric Association (APA) Guidelines on psychosis, mood disorders, and forensic evaluations. https://www.psychiatry.org

    1h 48m

  2. 24/12/2025

    Episode 15: The Axeman of New Orleans

    CW: Discussion of historical violence and murder (without graphic detail), fear and moral panic, and the impact of violence on communities. It also references religious and spiritual beliefs and historical racial tension. Listener discretion is advised. In the early hours of New Orleans’ Jazz Age, a killer stalked the city with no clear motive, no consistent victims, and no face anyone could agree on. Known only as the Axeman, he terrorized immigrant neighborhoods between 1918 and 1919, slipping into homes, attacking families with their own tools, and disappearing back into the night. But this story is about more than an unsolved true crime case. In this episode, we dig into the cultural and spiritual landscape of New Orleans at the time. Catholicism and voodoo existed side by side. Spiritual Churches were on the rise. Racial tension, moral panic, and fear of social change were everywhere. At the same time, jazz was exploding onto the scene, celebrated by some and blamed by others for everything that felt out of control. We take a closer look at the infamous letter attributed to the Axeman, where he claimed allegiance to a demon and warned that anyone not playing jazz would be spared. Whether the letter was real or not, it worked. The city listened. Fear shaped behavior. Was the Axeman a single killer, a copycat, or something larger that the city created during a moment of collective anxiety? And why did jazz, joyful and defiant, become tangled up in violence and blame? This episode isn’t about glorifying a killer. It’s about how belief, fear, and cultural upheaval can turn uncertainty into something monstrous, and how sometimes the story we tell becomes more powerful than the truth itself. Sources: “Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_New_Orleans. Accessed December 23, 2025. “Spiritual Church Movement.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_Church_Movement. Accessed December 23, 2025. “Louisiana Voodoo.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Voodoo. Accessed December 23, 2025. “Religion in New Orleans.” Encyclopedia of Louisiana (KnowLA). https://64parishes.org/entry/religion-in-new-orleans. Accessed December 23, 2025. “Axeman of New Orleans.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axeman_of_New_Orleans. Accessed December 23, 2025. Davis, Miriam C. Axeman of New Orleans: The True Story. Chicago Review Press, 2017. “The Axeman’s Jazz: The Axeman of New Orleans.” Historic Mysteries. https://www.historicmysteries.com. Accessed December 23, 2025. “The Axeman of New Orleans.” FBI Records: The Vault. Archival references and contemporary reporting context. Accessed December 23, 2025. O’Neill, Lex. “Axeman: The Jazz-Loving Killer.” Crime Capsule, Arcadia Publishing, 2019. “Axeman of New Orleans Letter (March 1919).” Wikipedia. Full text of letter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axeman_of_New_Orleans#Letter. Accessed December 23, 2025. “Who Was the Axeman of New Orleans?” Smithsonian Magazine. Accessed December 23, 2025. “Franz Joseph I of Austria.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Joseph_I_of_Austria. Accessed December 23, 2025. “Jazz Age.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_Age. Accessed December 23, 2025. “Moral Panic and Jazz Music.” Smithsonian Jazz / National Museum of American History. https://americanhistory.si.edu/smithsonian-jazz. Accessed December 23, 2025. Peretti, Burton W. The Creation of Jazz: Music, Race, and Culture in Urban America. University of Illinois Press, 1992. Ward, Geoffrey C., and Ken Burns. Jazz: A History of America’s Music. Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. Kenney, William Howland. Chicago Jazz: A Cultural History, 1904–1930. Oxford University Press, 1993. “Billy Sunday.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Sunday. Accessed December 23, 2025. “Ladies’ Home Journal Jazz Article (1921).” Library of Congress Archives. Accessed December 23, 2025.

    1h 25m

  3. 17/12/2025

    Episode 14 Part I: Harriette + Harry T. Moore

    CW: This episode discusses racism, white-supremacist violence, and systemic oppression, including the assassination of civil-rights organizers . There are no graphic descriptions, but the themes may be heavy, especially for Black listeners, Indigenous listeners, and other people of color who live with the ongoing impacts of this history. Listener discretion is encouraged. In this first episode of a two-part series, Jeri tells the story of Harry and Harriette Moore... two educators and early civil-rights organizers whose shared commitment to justice helped shape voting rights and equality in Florida and beyond. Through their work with the NAACP, teacher pay equity lawsuits, and voter registration efforts, the Moores believed freedom was built through community, education, and care. Their marriage was a partnership rooted in love and shared purpose, and their home became a consistent center of resistance. On Christmas night in 1951, they were targets of white-supremacist violence. This episode centers on who they were before their murder and the impact of their life's work. Resources Reading recommendations: My Grandmother's Hands, Before His Time: The Untold Story of Harry T. Moore — Ben GreenEqual Justice Initiative (EJI)- https://eji.orgMovement for Black Lives (M4BL)- https://m4bl.orgFacing History & Ourselves - https://www.facinghistory.orgDocuseries: Watch Part I Here , Watch Part II Here

    1h 3m
  4. Episode 14 Part II: The Ku Klux Klan

    17/12/2025

    Episode 14 Part II: The Ku Klux Klan

    CW: Discussion of racism, white supremacy, organized hate groups, and historical violence. There are no graphic descriptions, but the themes may be heavy, especially for Black listeners, Indigenous listeners, and other people of color who live with the ongoing impacts of this history. Listener discretion is encouraged. In part two of this series, we explore the history of the Ku Klux Klan and the cultural conditions that allowed it to take root and return again and again. Tracing its evolution from Reconstruction through modern-day iterations, this episode looks at how fear, belief, and myth, shaped by propaganda, religion, and popular culture, turned violence into something framed as moral and patriotic. This episode asks what the Klan’s history reveals about how hate organizes itself, and how unexamined belief can harden into systems. Resources: Reading recommendations: My Grandmother's Hands, Before His Time: The Untold Story of Harry T. Moore — Ben GreenEqual Justice Initiative (EJI)⁠- https://eji.org⁠Movement for Black Lives (M4BL)⁠- https://m4bl.org⁠Facing History & Ourselves - ⁠https://www.facinghistory.org⁠Docuseries: ⁠Watch Part I Here⁠ , ⁠Watch Part II Here ⁠

    1h 30m

  5. 10/12/2025

    Episode 13: Houdini + Sarah Winchester

    CW: References to invasive medical exams (not graphic), alcohol use and alcoholism, death and child loss (not detailed), spiritualism and séance practices, accusations of fraud and public humiliation, and gender-based scrutiny and mistreatment. In this episode, Heather explores the surprising overlap between Harry Houdini’s mission to expose fraudulent séances and the legends surrounding Sarah Winchester’s sprawling home. The episode follows Houdini’s rise as a sceptic determined to protect grieving people from exploitation. It also unpacks how Winchester’s real life became buried under ghost stories and mythmaking. Together, their histories reveal a moment when spiritualism, grief, and spectacle shaped American culture. Sources: “Margery (Mina Stinson Crandon).” Psi Encyclopedia. Society for Psychical Research.⁠ https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/margery-mina-stinson-crandon⁠“Houdini and Margery: The Medium and the Magician.” American Experience. PBS.⁠ https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/houdini-margery-pamphlet/⁠Troy Taylor. “Margery the Medium: Houdini’s Greatest Trick.” American Hauntings Ink.⁠ https://www.americanhauntingsink.com/margery⁠Cara Giaimo. “Houdini’s Greatest Trick: Debunking Mina Crandon.” Mental Floss.⁠ https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/53424/houdinis-greatest-trick-debunking-medium-mina-crandon⁠Ruth Brandon. The Spiritualists: The Passion for the Occult in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983.Robert A. W. Lowndes. The Mediums and the Detectives. New York: Bell Publishing Company, 1967.“Mina Crandon.” RationalWiki.⁠ https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Mina_Crandon⁠“Sarah Winchester.” Encyclopaedia Britannica.⁠ https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sarah-Winchester⁠“Winchester Mystery House.” National Register of Historic Places.⁠ https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP⁠Mary Jo Ignoffo. Captive of the Labyrinth: Sarah L. Winchester, Heiress to the Rifle Fortune. University of Missouri Press, 2010.“The Spiritualism Craze.” Smithsonian Magazine.⁠ https://www.smithsonianmag.com⁠“Houdini and the Spiritualists.” PBS: American Experience. PBS.⁠ https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/houdini-spiritualists/⁠“Haunted by Spirits or Guilt? The Legend of Sarah Winchester.” History.com.⁠ https://www.history.com⁠

    1h 19m
  6. Episode 12: Bodies on Display

    03/12/2025

    Episode 12: Bodies on Display

    Body Worlds promised education through wonder, but the story behind it reveals a tangle of science, profit, and unanswered questions about consent. This episode looks at Dr. Gunther von Hagens, the man who turned anatomy into art, and the moral fault lines that form when human bodies become a business. A “formal donor program” was created in Germany by Institute of Plastination (IfP) where people voluntarily consent to have their bodies plastinated after death. The paperwork exists include a signed donor will, a medical questionnaire, and internal registration files… but none of it is publicly verifiable. The Institute claims more than 20,000 donors, yet no independent audit has ever confirmed that the bodies in exhibitions match those donors. The program provides an ethical framework on paper, but its transparency ends at the Institute’s door.

    1h 30m
  7. Episode 11: The Fox Sisters + The Rise of Spiritualism in America

    26/11/2025

    Episode 11: The Fox Sisters + The Rise of Spiritualism in America

    Before Ouija boards and séance tables, there were three young sisters in Hydesville, New York-- Maggie, Kate, and Leah Fox. In 1848, the mysterious “rappings” in their farmhouse would ignite something far bigger than superstition. The Fox sisters became the spark that set the Spiritualism movement ablaze, blurring the line between belief, deception, and a desperate longing to hear from the beyond. In this episode, we unravel how their fame spread like wildfire across America, how skeptics and believers clashed, and how their story still rings true in the intersection of faith, fraud, and the human need to believe. Sources: Fox Sisters.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_sisters“Spiritualism (Movement).” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritualism_(movement)Fox Sisters, Kate [Catharine] (1836–1892) and Margaretta (1833–1893).” Encyclopedia.com. https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/fox-sisters-kate-catharine-1836-1892-and-margaretta-1833-1893 Substance abuse resources: https://www.samhsa.gov/

    1h 20m
  8. Episode 10: A Healer's Betrayal

    19/11/2025

    Episode 10: A Healer's Betrayal

    CW: Coercive spiritual practices and abuse of religious authority, misuse of cultural healing traditions, non-graphic violence, psychological manipulation, death, and burial practices. In this episode, we examine the life and actions of Ahmad Suradji, a North Sumatran dukun whose misuse of a traditionally respected role resulted in profound harm. We explore what a dukun is, the cultural and spiritual context that shaped community trust, and the ways gender, belief, and authority intersected to create space for exploitation. Instead of relying on sensational narratives, we look closely at how sacred practices can be distorted and what unfolds when ritual power is weaponized over time. Sources: Inside Indonesia. (2007, July 27). Time-honoured remedies for uncertain times. https://www.insideindonesia.org/time-honoured-remedies-for-uncertain-timesMurderpedia. (n.d.). Ahmad Suradji. https://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/suradji-ahmad.htmPepa, C. O. (2023). Implementation of criminal law provisions against serious killers in Indonesia. Universitas Hasanuddin. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/82b6/3913b4fa2755e4adba3827baf2951361a6c7.pdfThe Daily Telegraph. (2008, July 11). Black magic killer executed for 42 murders. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/indonesia/2286216/Black-Magic-Killer-executed-for-42-murders.htmlThe Diplomat. (2023, April 14). https://thediplomat.com/2023/04/indonesia-has-another-shaman-serial-killer-and-the-phenomenon-is-more-common-than-you-think/Wikipedia. (n.d.). Ahmad Suradji. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_SuradjiWikipedia. (n.d.). Dukun. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DukunIndoMetaphysics. (2022). The history and role of dukun in Javanese culture. https://indometaphysics.com/the-history-and-role-of-dukun-in-javanese-culture/

    1h 22m
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About

Hosted by two close friends, one a therapist raised Southern Baptist, now agnostic; the other a spiritually curious ex-Catholic who believes in ghosts and is terrified of demons... we dive into dark tales and crimes committed in the name of God (or the devil). Through ethical retellings of possessions, prophecies, cults, and beliefs, we investigate spirituality, belief systems, and the ambiguous psychological spaces in between.

Information

  • Creator
    Altar Ego
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    19
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Altar Ego
  • Show Website
    Altar Ego