Historically Bad

Historically Bad

Join us each as we unpack some seriously messed up history. Hosted by self-proclaimed comedians and real life scientists, Carly and Tab. New episodes when we make them.

  1. May 2

    27. Femme Fraud: Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos

    SURPRISE EPISODE!!! A special Saturday treat because you deserve it, baddies. Elizabeth Holmes was just 19 years old in 2003 when she founded what would become a multi-billion dollar health technology company. This company, called Theranos, acquired over 700 million dollars in investments from venture capitalists and private investors which was meant to be used towards the research and development of a diagnostic tool that would revolutionize the healthcare industry for the better. This tool – called “The Edison” was a portable analysis machine that could test blood for several different conditions, illnesses, and diseases with only a few drops of blood from a finger prick. The goal was to make blood tests more convenient, affordable, and accessible, relieving a significant burden off of the healthcare system and giving patients direct access to personalized healthcare. Great! What an excellent idea! It’s no wonder that so many people wanted to invest in Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos way back at it’s conception, but they could not have predicted that they were funding and enabling one of the most manipulative con-artists of all time – who would stop at nothing to be successful - even if that meant lying her way to the top and putting hundreds of patient lives in jeopardy. Keep up to date on all things Historically Bad: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@historicallybadpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website:⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.historicallybadpodcast.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon:⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/HistoricallyBadPatreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contact us: ⁠admin@historicallybadpodcast.ca⁠ Historically Bad is created and produced by Tabitha Festa and Carly Sullivan. Case Sources: HBO Documentary: The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley  Book: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou Hulu miniseries: The Dropout starring Amanda Seyfried https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/09/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-exclusive https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1969/05/12/78345169.html https://web.archive.org/web/20110618093924/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,732595-2,00.html https://www.vice.com/en/article/wjm3eb/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-comes-from-a-bakers-yeast-empire https://www.businessinsider.com/the-dropout-what-is-real-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-differences-show-reality#holmes-actually-bought-a-siberian-husky-as-theranos-collapsed-19 https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/15/blood-simpler https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/03/226452/phyllis-gardner-elizabeth-holmes-professor-interview-the-inventor https://www.inc.com/magazine/201510/kimberly-weisul/the-longest-game.html https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medical-devices/safeway-severs-ties-theranos-as-350m-deal-collapses https://www.engadget.com/2014-11-18-walgreens-blood-tests.html https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131113005513/en/Theranos-and-Walgreens-Expand-Diagnostic-Lab-Testing-to-the-Phoenix-Metropolitan-Area https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7Be_6NEPQE https://www.integrityline.com/expertise/blog/elizabeth-holmes-theranos/ https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58336998 https://www.wsj.com/articles/DJFVW00120151015ebafa9go1 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elizabeth-Holmes https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/03/technology/elizabeth-holmes-guilty.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/07/business/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-interview.html https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2022/01/04/timeline-the-rise-and-fall-of-theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes.html https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/07/tech/theranos-rise-and-fall/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/07/tech/elizabeth-holmes-prison-release-date/index.html https://www.npr.org/2023/05/30/1178728092/elizabeth-holmes-prison-sentence-theranos-fraud-silicon-valley https://apnews.com/article/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-prison-reporting-date-9fd718cd012d49f68c654bad89abb0ed https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/literary/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-john-carreyrou https://www.forbes.com/profile/elizabeth-holmes/?sh=739c019547a7

    2h 25m

  2. 11/27/2025

    26. The Bermuda Triangle: We Went Looking… and Got Lost Too

    We're back Baddies and this time, we are covering the famous Bermuda Triangle. Spoiler… It’s Literally Just Water (or is it?).The Bermuda Triangle refers to a region in the Western North Atlantic where several ships and aircrafts famously disappeared under puzzling circumstances. Among the most well-known cases are the USS Cyclops, a U.S. Navy ship that vanished without a trace in 1918, and Flight 19, a group of five U.S. Navy bombers that disappeared during a training mission in 1945. While theories range from navigational errors to unusual weather patterns, (and even aliens and other dimensions), the Triangle remains one of the most talked-about maritime mysteries in modern history. Dive in as we unpack one of the world’s most dramatic 2 million square miles of ocean. Yes, planes disappeared. Yes, ships vanished. No, it’s probably not a portal to another dimension (but we’re not ruling out the ocean being petty). We break down the science, roast the myths, and try very hard not to get lost ourselves. Keep up to date on all things Historically Bad: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@historicallybadpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.historicallybadpodcast.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/HistoricallyBadPatreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contact us: ⁠admin@historicallybadpodcast.ca⁠ STICKERS:⁠ ⁠https://historically-bad-podcast.square.site/⁠⁠ Historically Bad is created and produced by Tabitha Festa and Carly Sullivan. Case Sources:  Brittanica.com The Bermuda Triangle The US naval institute.com The mysterious disappearance of flight 19 Boaterexam.com: 6 prevailing theories on the Bermuda Triangle Art19.com “Did you know? The USS cyclops Disappearance(1918)” Marinalife.com: The mystery of the Bermuda Triangle Johnny Harris Youtube Channel: What's really happening in the Bermuda Triangle? Reddit and Wikipedia – step daddy resources https://www.britannica.com/place/Bermuda-Triangle https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2021/october/mysterious-disappearance-flight-19 https://www.boaterexam.com/blog/bermuda-triangle-theories/ https://art19.com/shows/did-you-know/episodes/ae9d691c-f9cb-4a3b-8ac9-72cca1e3d0d0 https://www.marinalife.com/articles/the-mystery-of-the-bermuda-triangle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=112H-vY4Wdo

    1h 20m

  3. 08/28/2025

    25. Hell’s Belle: America’s Most Notorious Female Serial Killer

    Surprriissee Baddies! We're back with a brand new episode! When a fire broke out at a farm in LaPorte, Indiana, in 1908. a disgruntled farmhand was immediately suspected of arson and the murders of Belle Gunness and her three children. But when investigators were forced to look deeper by a desperate man searching for his missing brother, they discovered a chilling web of disappearances and a trail of dead bodies leading to the identification of one of the most notorious female serial killers in American history. Join Carly and Tab as they unpack the dark secrets of the Black Widow of LaPorte/ the Mistress of Murder Farms and how she was able to operate undetected for years, hiding in plain sight.  This episode includes discussions of violence and murder, including violence against children. Please listen with care.  Keep up to date on all things Historically Bad: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@historicallybadpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.historicallybadpodcast.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/HistoricallyBadPatreon⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contact us: ⁠admin@historicallybadpodcast.ca⁠ STICKERS: ⁠https://historically-bad-podcast.square.site/⁠ Historically Bad is created and produced by Tabitha Festa and Carly Sullivan. Case Sources:  “Come prepared to stay forever”: The tale of a murderess in turn-of-the-century America - PhD Thesis by Paula Hinton from Miami University in Ohio  Hinton, Paula K. "Just Like One of the Family: An Immigrant Murderess in Turn-of-the-Century America." Ohio Valley History 6.4 (2006): 27-47. Anne H. Lorentzen (2010) On the Performativity of Murder: The Female Offender Revisited, NORA—Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 18:4, 246-265, DOI: 10.1080/08038740.2010.521133 https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-belle-gunness-murder-farm/selected-articles https://www.biography.com/crime/belle-gunness https://laportecountyhistory.org/exhibits/belle-gunness/ https://murderpedia.org/female.G/g/gunness-belle.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Gunness

    1h 11m

  4. 03/11/2025

    24. Fools Gold: The Bre-X Gold Fraud Scandal

    In 1996, Canadian businessman Adam Walsh was the owner of one of the highest valued junior mining companies in North America, which had several major mining companies bidding for shares and many mutual fund companies and independent investors piling money into stock. Bre-X was sitting on once of the greatest gold discoveries of the century, a deposit in Busang, Indonesia with an estimated 200 million oz of gold (worth roughly 300 billion dollars today) ready to be tapped into. But when one of the invested mining companies sent their own geologists to perform due diligence at the mining site, they didn’t find any gold. Instead, an investigation was launched into what is now known as the biggest mining and gold scandals of all time and one of the truest examples of fraud in history. Keep up to date on all things Historically Bad: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@historicallybadpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.historicallybadpodcast.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/HistoricallyBadPatreon⁠⁠⁠ Contact us: admin@historicallybadpodcast.ca STICKERS: https://historically-bad-podcast.square.site/ Historically Bad is created and produced by Tabitha Festa and Carly Sullivan. Case Sources: https://www.mbaknol.com/business-ethics/case-study-bre-x-scandal-the-6-billion-gold-fraud/ Building a province : 60 Alberta lives by Brian Brennan Bre-X: The lure of false gold. By: Henchek, Catherine F., Engineering & Mining Journal (00958948), 00958948, Jun98, Vol. 199, Issue 6 The Bre-X Scandal: A History Timeline by Jess Desjardins for the visual capitalist Christopher C. Nicholls, 'The Bre-X Hoax: A South East Asian Bubble' (1999) 32(2) Canadian Business Law Journal 173 Chicago 17th ed. Jeffrey G. MacIntosh, "Lessons of Bre-X (?) Some Comments," Canadian Business Law Journal 32, no. 2 (October, 1999): 223-240 Jeffrey Drozdiak, "Bre-X, NI 43-101 and the Effectiveness of Regulating Mineral Project Disclosure in Canada," Canadian Business Law Journal 60, no. 3 (June 2018): 343-384 https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bre-x-collapses https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.3952120 https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/felderhof-acquitted-on-bre-x-securities-charges-1.680227 https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/felderhof-braces-for-bre-x-verdict-1.677324 https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/bre-x-trial-finally-begins-felderhof-pleads-not-guilty-1.201705 https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/bre-x-lawsuits-dismissed-17-years-after-mining-scandal-1.2619478 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68987824 Book: Fever: The Dark Mystery of the Bre-X Gold Rush by Jennifer Wells https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bre-X https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bre-x.asp https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/story/2023/01/06/mining-history/the-biggest-canadian-gold-hoax-of-all-time/7698.html https://www.cba-alberta.org/Publications-Resources/Resources/Law-Matters/Law-Matters-Summer-2017/Bre-X-The-Calgary-based-Stock-Scandal-Still-Making https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-may-12-fi-36400-story.html https://financialpost.com/legal-post/bre-x-class-action-settlement-approved-investors-get-fraction-of-losses https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-bre-x-scandal-led-development-jorc-ni-43-101-ian-du-plessis- https://financialpost.com/commodities/mining/john-felderhof-geologist-who-played-central-role-in-bre-x-scandal-dead-at-79 https://globalnews.ca/news/6094293/bre-x-felderhof-philippines-death/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/the-law-page/the-bre-x-case-finally-closes/article18124172/ https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/story/2023/01/06/mining-history/the-biggest-canadian-gold-hoax-of-all-time/7698.html https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/bre-x-the-real-story-and-scandal-that-inspired-the-movie-gold BBC and CBC podcast: The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam (2024) hosted by Suzanne Wilton Personal communication: Dan the rock man

    1h 36m

  5. 02/25/2025

    23. Don’t drink the (Flavor)aid: Jim Jones and the Jonestown massacre

    Jonestown became internationally infamous when, on November 18, 1978, a total of 918 people died at the settlement in a mass poisoning and group suicide at the nearby airstrip in Port Kaituma; and at a Temple-run building close to Georgetown, Guyana's capital city. The name ofthe settlement became synonymous with the incidents at those locations. During this massacre, a significant number of people died of cyanide poisoning and were injected against their will. In fact, all but two people died via poisoning withapproximately one third of the victims being children. Jones and some Peoples Temple members’ referred to the act as a "revolutionary suicide". The poisonings in Jonestown followed the murder of five other individuals,including U. S Congressman Leo Ryan with the murder-suicide committed by Four other Temple members inGeorgetown at Jones' command. To this day, the Jonestown massacre is known as the largest group suicide mission to have ever taken place and prior to the terrorist attacks of 911, Jonestown marked the single greatest loss of Americanlives in one day due to a non-natural disaster. Keep up to date on all things Historically Bad: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠@historicallybadpodcast⁠⁠⁠Website: ⁠⁠⁠www.historicallybadpodcast.ca⁠⁠⁠ Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/HistoricallyBadPatreon⁠⁠ Contact us: admin@historicallybadpodcast.ca Historically Bad is created and produced by Tabitha Festa and Carly Sullivan. Case Sources: https://listverse.com/2024/03/10/top-10-most-heartbreaking-facts-about-jonestown/ https://www.nytimes.com/1979/03/15/archives/excerpts-from-transcript-of-tape-describing-the-final-moments-at.html https://time.com/6989360/cult-massacre-jonestown-hulu-doc/Bbc.co.uk“Jonestown: the world’s biggest mass suicide” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones The documentary Jonestown: Terror in the Jungle (2018). Right answers mostly “Jonestown… don’t drink thekool-aid” The docuseries “Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown”

    1h 43m

  6. 04/29/2024

    22. H. H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer and his Murder Castle (...?)

    H. H. Holmes was an American serial killer and con artist who operated in the early 1890’s and is most well known for luring victims to his “Murder Castle”, a hotel that he built to accommodate guests during the Chicago World’s Fair 1893. A published floor plan of the “Murder Castle” revealed secret torture chambers, trapdoors, gas chambers, and a crematorium in the basement. Though the “Beast of Chicago” only confessed to 27 murders, some reports attribute up to 200 deaths to him between 1886-1894. But how much of what we know about H. H. Holmes was true? Did this so called “Murder Castle” even exist? Today on historically bad we will deep dive into the story of America’s very first serial killer, and how his reign of terror was sensationalized by the media following a shoddy police investigation that left room for speculation by tabloids. Keep up to date on all things Historically Bad incuding details of our LIVE SHOW on June 1st! Instagram: ⁠⁠@historicallybadpodcast ⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠www.historicallybadpodcast.ca⁠⁠ Patreon: ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/HistoricallyBadPatreon⁠ Contact us: admin@historicallybadpodcast.ca Buy some stickers!: https://historically-bad-podcast.square.site/ Historically Bad is created and produced by Tabitha Festa and Carly Sullivan. Case Sources: https://www.biography.com/crime/hh-holmes https://www.britannica.com/biography/H-H-Holmes https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/serial-killers/hh-holmes/#google_vignette https://www.history.com/news/murder-castle-h-h-holmes-chicago https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/enduring-mystery-hh-holmes-americas-first-serial-killer-180977646/ https://thewestendmuseum.org/history/era/immigrant-neighborhood/h-h-holmes/ https://ew.com/tv/devil-in-the-white-city-is-officially-dead-at-hulu/ https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a26340920/leonardo-dicaprio-martin-scorsese-devil-in-the-white-city-series-hulu/ Crighton, J. D., & Mudgett, H. W. (2016). Holmes' Own Story: Confessed 27 Murders, Lied Then Died. Aerobear Classics. Avery, R. (1997). City of Brotherly Mayhem. DIANE Publishing Inc.. Larsen, E. (2003). The Devil in the White City. New York: Vintage. Selzer, A. (2017). HH Holmes: The True History of the White City Devil. Simon and Schuster. Generation Why Podcast episode 164: H. H. Holmes

    1h 7m

  7. 04/22/2024

    21. Auschwitz Angel of Death: Nazi Doctor Josef Mengele

    Josef Mengele is one of the most infamous figures of the Holocaust. Despite being trained as a doctor, Josef spent little time preserving life and instead brought a sadistic cruelty to experiments that ended the lives of many, mainly children. His service at Auschwitz and the medical experiments he conducted there have made him the most widely recognized perpetrator of the crimes committed during the reign of Nazi Germany with his postwar life in hiding represents the international failure to bring Nazi criminals to justice. Mengele has been the subject of numerous popular books, films, and television shows however, many of these portrayals distort the real facts of Mengele’s crimes and take him out of his historical context. Despite the portrayal of him as a mad scientist who conducted sadistic experiments with no scientific basis, the truth about Mengele is even more disturbing earning him the title the "angel of death". Join Carly and Tab this week as they discuss the depraved life of one of the most evil men in history; Josef Mengele. Content Warning: explicit discussions of human experimentation and casualties, violence, genocide and racism. Keep up to date on all things Historically Bad! Become a member of the OG baddy tier on Patreon to access bonus content, additional bloopers and early access to Part 2's! #baddiesonly Instagram: @historicallybadpodcast Website: www.historicallybadpodcast.ca Patreon: www.patreon.com/HistoricallyBadPatreon Contact us: admin@historicallybadpodcast.ca Historically Bad is created and produced by Tabitha Festa and Carly Sullivan Episode Sources: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Josef-Mengele https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7ssLE3FddY https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/josef-mengele https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/auschwitz-gets-a-new-doctor-the-angel-of-death https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/21/magazine/what-made-this-man-mengele.html https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jan/11/josef-mengele-bones-brazil-forensic-medicine#:~:text=Nazi%20doctor%20Josef%20Mengele's%20bones%20used%20in%20Brazil%20forensic%20medicine%20courses,-This%20article%20is&text=For%20more%20than%2030%20years,S%C3%A3o%20Paulo's%20Legal%20Medical%20Institute. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Mengele

    1h 10m

  8. 04/15/2024

    20. George Leonidas Leslie and the Manhattan Savings Institution Heist

    This weeks story takes us back to the late 1870’s in Manhattan, New York, where a seasoned criminal was planning his most daring heist yet – a robbery of The Manhattan Savings Institution on Broadway and Bleecker. Despite several hiccups in over three years of planning, including two actual murders, the team of crooks led by George Leonidas Leslie successfully pulled off what was at the time the highest value criminal heist in history. Join Carly and Tab as they unpack the first ever historically bad bank heist. Keep up to date on all things Historically Bad! Become a member of the OG baddy tier on Patreon to access bonus content, additional bloopers and early access to Part 2's! #baddiesonly Instagram: ⁠⁠@historicallybadpodcast ⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠www.historicallybadpodcast.ca⁠⁠ Patreon: ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/HistoricallyBadPatreon⁠ Contact us: admin@historicallybadpodcast.ca Historically Bad is created and produced by Tabitha Festa and Carly Sullivan Case Sources: https://www.sj-r.com/story/news/2009/10/07/fact-tops-fiction-in-story/47310025007/ Conway, J. North. (2009) King of Heists: The Sensational Bank Robbery of 1878 That Shocked America. ISBN 978-1-49-304053-7 Walling, George W. (1887) Recollections of a New York Chief of Police. Caxton book concern, limited. ISBN 978-0-60-835831-4 https://www.villagepreservation.org/2022/04/28/the-big-bank-heist-at-broadway-and-bleecker/ https://crimereads.com/the-heist-of-the-century-who-cracked-the-manhattan-savings-and-loan-safe/ https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-manhattan-savings-bank/27936506/ https://www.nytimes.com/1878/10/28/archives/a-great-bank-robbery-the-manhattan-savings-institution-robbed-three.html https://www.boweryboyshistory.com/2021/11/historic-heist-the-great-bank-robbery-of-1878.html The Bowery Boys: New York City History Podcast episode #375: The Great Bank Robbery of 1878 https://thehustle.co/the-architect-who-became-the-king-of-bank-robberies https://history.hsbc.com/collections/global-archives/manhattan-savings-institution https://history.hsbc.com/collections/global-archives/manhattan-savings-institution/records-relating-to-financial-crime/notice-issued-by-the-manhattan-savings-institution-to-alert-the-public-about-a-robbery-at-their-head-office-at-644-646-broadway-new-york-city-usa-0 https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/12/george-leslie-bank-robber-heist-history.html https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1927/12/31/when-new-york-was-really-wicked-king-of-the-bank-robbers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_Era https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilded_Age https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Savings_Institution_robbery#cite_note-33 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Leonidas_Leslie

    1h 15m
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About

Join us each as we unpack some seriously messed up history. Hosted by self-proclaimed comedians and real life scientists, Carly and Tab. New episodes when we make them.

Information

  • Creator
    Historically Bad
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    28
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Historically Bad
  • Show Website
    Historically Bad