Is this the norm?

Rebecca, Heather and Lora

5.0 (4)
Leisure

Is this the norm?

2d ago

The Adventure of Nera

In this episode of Is This The Norm podcast hosted by three sisters, Rebecca, Heather, and Lora — Rebecca leads a deep dive into the ancient Irish myth "The Adventure of Nera" (Echtra Neraí) from the Ulster Cycle, connecting it to the origins of Halloween through the Celtic festival of Samhain. The tale follows Nera, a warrior of Connacht who, on a Halloween dare, ends up carrying a dead man on his back to find him a drink. They pass three houses — each protected (or not) by household practices tied to fire-tending and water cleanliness — before the corpse kills the inhabitants of the unprotected house by spitting cursed water in their faces. Nera then follows a fairy host into a sidhe (fairy mound), where he sees a vision of his people's destruction on the next Samhain, takes a fairy wife, and ultimately chooses to remain in the fairy realm forever after warning his people. The sisters unpack the folk customs embedded in the story — keeping a clean house on Samhain, never traveling alone after dark, wearing disguises to fool spirits, and leaving food for the dead — and connect them to modern Halloween traditions like costumes, trick-or-treating, and cautionary tales, all woven together with their signature sisterly banter about mustaches, family dynamics, and childhood memories. References The adventures of nera. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://www.ucc.ie/en/media/academic/seanmeanghaeilge/cdi/texts/Meyer-Echtra-Nerai.pdf The adventures of nera. (2026). Maryjones.Us. https://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/nera.html
Oct 21

Scheming Through History: From Charles Ponzi to Your DMs

Three sisters — Lora, Rebecca, and Heather unpack the dark side of MLM companies. Lora opens by tracing the history of financial scams from Charles Ponzi's 1920 Ponzi scheme, to illegal pyramid schemes, to the legally gray world of multi-level marketing. References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme Chrome AI copilot https://www.youtube.com/c/HannahAlonzo
Oct 14

Dracula

In this episode of "Is This The Norm?", hosts Heather, Rebecca, and Lora explore the real history behind the world's most famous vampire. Heather traces the story of Vlad III of Wallachia — better known as Vlad the Impaler — from his childhood as a political hostage in the Ottoman court to his brutal reign of terror, including the mass impalements that earned him his infamy. The discussion covers how Bram Stoker borrowed Vlad's name and aura of darkness for his 1897 Gothic novel, the evolution of Dracula on screen from monstrous creature to romantic heartthrob, and how Gothic literature — from Frankenstein to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — shaped our fascination with the macabre. The episode wraps with a lively debate about why vampires became romanticized while the real history remains far more horrifying than any fiction. References: Vlad the Impaler: The medieval Prince who inspired Dracula https://www.livescience.com/40843-real-dracula-vlad-the-impaler.html Vlad the Impaler https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vlad-the-Impaler The Impalings of Vlad the Impaler https://www.medievalists.net/2025/12/impalings-vlad-the-impaler/
Oct 7

The 25th Hour: We Have Questions

Sisters Rebecca, Lora (lead host), and Heather explain and explore experiences during the "witching hour" between 3 and 4 AM historically associated with paranormal activity, ghosts, and demons.
Sep 30

Book of Thoth

This episode of the podcast "Is This the Norm?" — hosted by sisters Heather, Rebecca, and Lora — explores the history and mythology surrounding the Book of Thoth across three distinct incarnations. Rebecca leads the discussion by first recounting the original ancient Egyptian legend (from the Papyrus Cairo CG 30646) about Prince Setne Khamwas, who discovers the magical book written by the god Thoth in the tomb of Naneferkaptah, only to learn — through a cautionary tale of betrayal, death, and a hallucinatory seduction by the beautiful Tabubu — that the book brings ruin to all who possess it. The hosts then trace how European scholars in the Greco-Roman period reinterpreted a collection of Egyptian texts as a second "Book of Thoth" (the Corpus Hermeticum), fueling Renaissance-era fascination with Egyptian mysticism. Finally, Rebecca connects this lineage to the invention of a common divination tool used today. References: Aleister Crowley | biography, teachings, reputation, & facts. (n.d.-a). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved August 28, 2026, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aleister-Crowley Antoine Court de Gébelin | French scholar and writer | Britannica. (n.d.-a). Www.Britannica.Com. Retrieved August 28, 2026, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antoine-Court-de-Gebelin Egyptian texts : Setne Khamwas and Naneferkaptah. (n.d.). Www.Attalus.Org. Retrieved August 28, 2026, from https://www.attalus.org/egypt/setne.html Rosetta Stone decree. (2022, February 10). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_Stone_decree The Ancient Egyptian book of thoth. (n.d.-b). Near Eastern Studies. Retrieved August 28, 2026, from https://neareast.jhu.edu/faculty-books/the-ancient-egyptian-book-of-thoth/
Sep 23

William the Conqueror

This is an episode of the podcast "Is This the Norm?", hosted by three sisters (Lora, Rebecca, and Heather), in which Heather presents a deep-dive on William the Conqueror — covering his illegitimate birth and precarious youth as Duke of Normandy, his 1066 conquest of England after defeating King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, his brutal "Harrying of the North" campaign that devastated the population, his legacy of castle-building across England, and his eventual death and division of his territories among his sons. The episode also touches on related topics like Queen Elizabeth II's descent from William, Alfred the Great, and the Norman/Viking history of the era, interspersed with casual, tangential banter among the hosts about reality TV, movies, and names. References: William the Conqueror’s Childhood https://thefreelancehistorywriter.com/2013/08/27/william-the-conquerors-childhood/ William I ‘The Conqueror’ (r.1066-1087) https://www.royal.uk/william-the-conqueror
Sep 16

Calamity Jane: Legend, Liar... or Total Hell-Raiser?

Rebecca, Heather, and Lora share a legendary story with you today, where Lora leads the episode, telling the story of Calamity Jane a Wild West frontierswoman. The hosts also go off-topic discussing ticks, chiggers, tumbleweeds, essential oil bug spray, and their grandfather's deathbed comment about Native Americans enduring pain without modern medicine.
Sep 9

The Battle of Megiddo

This episode of "Is This the Norm?" has hosts Heather, Lora, and Rebecca covering the Battle of Megiddo, the earliest recorded battle in history, fought around 1457 BC between Egypt and a rebel alliance of Levantine city-states led by the Princes of Kadesh and Megiddo; Rebecca walks through the Thutmose dynasty's rise, Thutmose III's bold gamble to attack via the risky Aruna Pass, Egypt's decisive victory (documented in detail on the walls of Karnak), and the battle's lasting legacy as the namesake for "Armageddon," before the conversation drifts into related tangents on Tel Megiddo's ancient ruins, comparisons to Game of Thrones, and a broader discussion about underreported historical atrocities like the Rwandan genocide and apartheid. References Battle of Megiddo Facts | Battle of Megiddo Infomation | Battle of Megiddo History. (2018, July 2). Egypt Tours Portal US. https://www.egypttoursportal.com/en-us/the-battle-of-megiddo/ Mark, J. J. (2017, September 25). Egyptian empire. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/Egyptian_Empire/ MilitaryHistoryOnline.Com - the battle of Megiddor. (n.d.-a). Www.Militaryhistoryonline.Com. Retrieved August 25, 2026, from https://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/Ancient/BattleOfMegiddo Popular pharaohs of Egypt timeline - google search. (2022). Google.Com. https://www.google.com/search?q=popular+pharaohs+of+egypt+timeline&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS1110US1110&oq=popular+pharaohs+of+egypt+timeline&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIICAEQABgWGB4yCAgCEAAYFhgeMg0IAxAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMgcIBBAAGO8FMgoIBRAAGIAEGKIEMgcIBhAAGO8F0gEIODQxOWowajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&source=chrome.ob&ie=UTF-8 Search Media - Wikimedia Commons. (2026). Wikimedia.Org. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Battle+of+Megiddo+BC&title=Special%3AMediaSearch&type=image The battle of Megiddo - Ancient Egyptian culture. (n.d.-b). Www.Donsmaps.Com. Retrieved August 25, 2026, from https://www.donsmaps.com/egypt2cb.html Wikipedia. (2020, October 24). Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Megiddo_(15th_century_BC) Wikipedia Contributors. (2019, June 11). Hatshepsut. Wikimedia Foundation. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatshepsut

5

out of 5

4 Ratings

Is this the norm?

Creator

Rebecca, Heather and Lora
Years Active

2026
Episodes

42
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Copyright 2026 Is this the norm?
Show Website

Is this the norm?