Odd Anthropology

Ivy Boyd and Taisha Koster
  • 4.6 (7)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Taisha Koster (BA in anthropology) and Ivy Boyd (anthropology student) bring you fascinating stories of the stranger side of humanity. New episode every month.

  1. Curious Considerations Vol. II - One Year Anniversary! (Voting for Favorite Episode of 2025)

    FEB 1

    Curious Considerations Vol. II - One Year Anniversary! (Voting for Favorite Episode of 2025)

    This month, hosts Taisha and Ivy (future Vampire Hunters) round up last year’s subjects and let the listeners vote on their favorites! Who do you think would win in a fight between Tollund Man and Piltdown Man? Could Nessi beat them all? Join us and find out! We also chat some more about reoccurring enemy of the podcast IMPOSTER SYNDROME and discuss degree-seeking in anthropology. It's a great time, we promise! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oddanthropology/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oddanthropologySubstack: https://oddanthropology.substack.com Email: oddanthropology@gmail.com Music by Joel Fazhari from Pixabay

    27 min
  2. Ghosts!

    12/29/2025

    Ghosts!

    What is a ghost? How long have we believed in them? Have they changed over time? This month, host Ivy decides to wrap up 2025 with an episode on ghosts by sharing some history and notable examples through time.  We owe a HUGE thank you to everyone who has tuned in this year, and we cannot wait to be back again in 2026 with more stories of odd anthropology! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oddanthropology/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oddanthropology Substack: https://oddanthropology.substack.com Email: oddanthropology@gmail.com Music by Joel Fazhari from Pixabay Suggested reading/videos: Dr. Irving Finkel, “The First Ghosts”, Hodder, 2021 Dr. Justin Sledge, “The Evolution of Ghosts”, Esoterica (YouTube), 2025 JoAnn Scurlock, “Mortal and Immortal Souls, Ghosts and the (Restless) Dead in Ancient Mesopotamia”, Religion Compass, 2016 Project Gutenberg - Pliny the Younger Letters to Licinius Sura (LXXXIII)

    40 min
  3. Bipedalism and Sasquatch!

    11/12/2025

    Bipedalism and Sasquatch!

    This month, Taisha covers the basics of our bipedal (walking on two feet) evolution, using it to segway into the fascinating topic of SASQUATCH! Join us for casual conversations regarding our favorite Bigfoot theories, notable stories and encounters, and more on this illusive creature/spirit/alien... who knows! YouTube videos mentioned in this episode: Indigenous history and accounts - https://youtu.be/ApbXUAAeAWw?si=TilLw5aXXpt1l7zc Ape Canyon Attack - https://youtu.be/4tp0A2zg6fs?si=gtBzRA-33s7cVMF_ Capturing Bigfoot with Nutella (Haunted Objects Pod) - https://youtu.be/js7kMSV0NuE?si=V3rXf8HdFV0ABnQ6  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oddanthropology/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oddanthropology Substack: https://oddanthropology.substack.com Email: oddanthropology@gmail.com Music by Joel Fazhari from Pixabay

    47 min
  4. What Caused the Salem Witch Trials?

    10/06/2025

    What Caused the Salem Witch Trials?

    IT'S THE BEST MONTH OF THE YEEEAAR! Let's celebrate with a subject most befitting: The Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Specifically, host Ivy talks about what events actually led to this deadly event. Was it all a land grab? Misogyny? Ergot poisoning? Let's find out! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oddanthropology/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oddanthropology Substack: https://oddanthropology.substack.com Email: oddanthropology@gmail.com Music by Joel Fazhari from Pixabay Resources used for this episode: Bolitho, Riley. The New England Puritans: History, Social Order, and Gender, Perspektywy Kultury, 2021;34(3):59-72  Linder, Douglas O. The Witchcraft Trials in Salem: An Account, UMKC School of Law, famous-trials.com/salem/2078-sal-acct. Accessed 29 June 2025. Parker, Geoffrey. Global Crisis: War, Climate Change and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century, “The Little Ice Age”, 1st ed. 2013 Yale University Press Schiff, S. (2015) The Witches: Salem 1692, New York, Little, Brown and Company, 2015

    47 min
  5. Lilias Adie

    09/02/2025

    Lilias Adie

    Happy September! Or shall we say, “Cemtember”. This month, Taisha eases us further into spooky season with a story involving some of our favorite topics: Scotland, witches, archaeology, a grave, and a missing skull… Can we solve the mystery? Probably not. But Scotland, please hire us to at least give it a try! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oddanthropology/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oddanthropology Substack: https://oddanthropology.substack.com Email: oddanthropology@gmail.com Music by Joel Fazhari from Pixabay Resources used for this episode: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/41928/41928-h/41928-h.htm https://fifecoastandcountrysidetrust.co.uk/witches-trail/ https://www.differentia.co.uk/news/2020/10/2/fife-witches-trail https://engole.info/lilias-adie-witch/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/wanted-missing-bones-scottish-witch-180973033/ https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-41775398 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-29689688 https://witches.hca.ed.ac.uk/faq/ https://www.britannica.com/place/Fife-council-area-Scotland https://www.thenational.scot/news/17859215.bid-find-missing-bones-scottish-witch-feared-rise-dead/ https://museumblog.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/2020/09/15/witchcraft-and-mystery-or-the-object-that-never-was-in-our-collection/ https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/A0457F3E3512CC1B3B342D118B9CE53E/S0009640700109655a.pdf/the-scottish-witchcraft-act.pdf Witches of Scotland Podcast – Episodes 21,  22, & 23 Mill Dust and Dreaming Bread – Scott Richardson-Read

    44 min
  6. The Paris Catacombs Pt. 2 (The ghosts!)

    08/19/2025

    The Paris Catacombs Pt. 2 (The ghosts!)

    We are excited to announce our new collaboration with Bath & Body Works, featuring the highly anticipated Corpse Wax line! (Just kidding though, don't get mad Bath & Body Works!) Today, Ivy wraps up her two-part series on the Paris Catacombs with some of its most famous ghostly tales. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oddanthropology/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oddanthropologySubstack: https://oddanthropology.substack.comEmail: oddanthropology@gmail.comMusic by Joel Fazhari from PixabayResources used for this episode:The Unexplained The Haunted Catacombs of France for Mediumhttps://medium.com/@TheUnexplained/the-haunted-catacombs-of-france-2ca1c5228169 Leyla Alyanak 9 Eminently Haunted Places in Paris for Off Beat France https://www.offbeatfrance.com/most-haunted-places-in-paris.html

    29 min
  7. The Paris Catacombs Pt. 1

    08/01/2025

    The Paris Catacombs Pt. 1

    The Paris Catacombs (well, its actually an "ossuary") is one of the most famous tourist attractions in France. Floor to ceiling human bones, along with the dark, cave-like nature of the catacombs, gives this location a somber, macabre, yet intriguing appeal. For this episode, co-host Ivy shares the history of its creation and dives into the issue of ethics often brought up when discussing human remains which have been used in such a manor. (How does this tie in with anthropology, you might ask? Um…old bones…yeah, we can justify its discussion here on Odd Anthro!)   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oddanthropology/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oddanthropology Substack: https://oddanthropology.substack.com Email: oddanthropology@gmail.com Music by Joel Fazhari from Pixabay Resources used for this episode: Jessica Pearce Rotondi The Dark Origins of the Paris Catacombs (November 2023, updated May 2025) for HISTORY  https://www.history.com/articles/paris-catacombs-origins  Philibert Aspairt for Wikipedia  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philibert_Aspairt  Les Catacombes de Paris - History  https://www.catacombes.paris.fr/en/history

    36 min
  8. Homo Floresiensis

    07/01/2025

    Homo Floresiensis

    Also known as the "hobbits", this early human stood at around three feet tall and may be involved in local folklores...Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oddanthropology/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oddanthropologySubstack: https://oddanthropology.substack.comEmail: oddanthropology@gmail.comMusic by Joel Fazhari from PixabayResources used for this episode:https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-floresiensishttps://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/homo-floresiensis-hobbit.htmlhttps://australian.museum/learn/science/human-evolution/homo-floresiensis/https://aeon.co/ideas/investigating-homo-floresiensis-and-the-myth-of-the-ebu-gogohttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/aug/16/flores-hobbit-human-downs-syndrome-claim-homo-floresiensis

    37 min
See All (14)

Ratings & Reviews

4.6
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Taisha Koster (BA in anthropology) and Ivy Boyd (anthropology student) bring you fascinating stories of the stranger side of humanity. New episode every month.

Information

  • Creator
    Ivy Boyd and Taisha Koster
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    Odd Anthropology