Barely Historical

Barely Historical
  • 4.8 (5)
  • Comedy
  • Updated Weekly

Barely Historical is a comedy podcast where two lifelong friends pick a year, dive in, and immediately regret it. Amanda and JoLynne drag the past through the mud, from Salem to the Spice Girls, covering pop culture, scandals, disasters, and all the weird moments that never made it into your textbook. It’s history told by people who probably shouldn’t be trusted with it, but at least you’ll laugh while you learn. Expect games, chaotic commentary, and stories that prove the past was just as unhinged as the present.

  1. 5d ago

    Victorian Postmortem Photography | The Internet's Been Lying to Us

    Postmortem Photography | The Internet's Been Lying to Us In 1867, a photographer walked into a Philadelphia parlor, set up a tripod next to the sofa, and photographed a woman who had died the day before. Her husband had brushed her hair and put her wedding ring back on her finger. He paid three dollars, about a week's wages, and kept that photo on the mantle for the rest of his life. That is Victorian postmortem photography. And you have it completely wrong in your head, because the internet got there first. No corpse kickstands. No eyeballs painted on eyelids. No dead uncles propped up in the family portrait. Half the photos going viral as postmortem are not even dead people. What is actually left is quieter, sadder, and somehow funnier. This week we cover what 1868 actually smelled like, why a life expectancy of 32 does not mean what you think it means, and what really happened when someone died in your house. Amanda drags JoLynne through all five myths, including the metal stand that would have tipped over instantly under a body and the rule of thumb that ruins every viral TikTok: if the person looks alive, they are alive. Plus Queen Victoria laying out her dead husband's clothes every morning for forty years, sleeping next to a plaster cast of his hand, and getting buried with a photo of her Scottish attendant hidden under a bouquet so her son would not see. An entire department store dedicated to sadness, including mourning underwear. A Boston photographer selling ghost portraits with a complimentary Benjamin Franklin. And the deeply uncomfortable realization that we still do all of this. We just use Canva now. Two games this episode: Mourning Etiquette or Cult Onboarding, and Spirit Photography Scam or Modern Wellness Grift. Content note: this one deals with grief, infant loss, and death in the home. We handle it the way we handle everything, which is badly and with jokes, but the jokes

    Victorian Postmortem Photography | The Internet's Been Lying to Us

  2. Jul 15

    Lizzie Borden: America's First Influencer?

    Did Lizzie Borden really kill her father and stepmother, or did America turn an acquitted woman into its first true crime celebrity? In 1892, two brutal hatchet murders shocked Fall River, Massachusetts. But the real story isn't just about the crime. It's about how newspapers, public obsession, and nonstop speculation transformed Lizzie Borden into one of America's first viral figures, long before social media ever existed. This week, we're diving into: The infamous Lizzie Borden murdersWhy the evidence still divides historiansThe family drama, money, and motives behind the caseHow sensational headlines created America's first true crime obsessionThe nursery rhyme that outlived the trialWhether Lizzie Borden became America's first influencerAlong the way, we also discuss guilty-or-not murder cases, Victorian medicine, why everyone deserved indoor plumbing, and how we'd probably survive exactly zero days in 1892. Whether you think Lizzie was guilty or innocent, one thing is certain: America has been obsessed with her for more than 130 years. Follow Barely Historical for weekly episodes where we ruin the past one story at a time. Follow Barely Historical Hosts: JoLynne & Amanda Produced by Barely Historical Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/cw/BarelyHistorical⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contact: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠oops@barelyhistorical.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Tagline: Let’s ruin the past.

    Lizzie Borden: America's First Influencer?

  3. Jul 8

    The World Cup’s Wildest Stories | Stolen Trophies, Dictators & Pickles the Hero Dog

    The World Cup is supposed to bring the world together. Instead, its history includes dictators, corruption, stolen trophies, political propaganda, murder, and one very good dog named Pickles. In this episode of Barely Historical, Amanda and Jolynne dive into the unbelievable true stories behind the world’s biggest sporting event. From the first World Cup in Uruguay to Mussolini’s propaganda tournament, Argentina’s Dirty War, Diego Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God,” FIFA scandals, and the tragic murder of Andrés Escobar, this is the history they definitely didn’t teach in gym class. Along the way, the girls also prove they know almost nothing about soccer… and somehow that’s part of the fun. Show Notes In this episode we cover: The shocking murder of Colombian player Andrés Escobar after the 1994 World Cup.How the very first World Cup in 1930 almost started international chaos.Why dictators loved hosting the tournament.Mussolini’s influence over the 1934 World Cup.The incredible story of Pickles the dog finding the stolen World Cup trophy.Diego Maradona, the “Hand of God,” and the Goal of the Century.Argentina’s 1978 World Cup during the Dirty War.FIFA corruption, bribery, and the 2015 arrests.Qatar, migrant worker controversy, and the 2022 World Cup.Five unbelievable World Cup facts you probably haven’t heard.What You’ll Learn Why the World Cup has a surprisingly dark history.How politics and sports have been intertwined for nearly a century.Why the original World Cup trophy disappeared forever.How one soccer mistake became one of history’s greatest tragedies.Why millions still fall in love with the game despite everything surrounding it.Follow Barely Historical Instagram: @barelyhistoricalpod Email: oops@barelyhistorical.com If you enjoyed this episode, share it with your favorite history nerd, sports fan, or friend who thinks soccer is just “people running around for 90 minutes.”

    The World Cup’s Wildest Stories | Stolen Trophies, Dictators & Pickles the Hero Dog

  4. Jul 1

    Presidents Behaving Badly: Duels, Dirty Letters, and Stolen Corpses

    Forget the eagles and the Boston Tea Party. This 4th of July we're chasing the stories hiding next to the story. Amanda and JoLynne hand out America's most cursed historical awards, dig into the presidents who behaved badly, and cover the ones who literally would not stay in the ground. On the docket: Andrew Jackson killing a man after taking a bullet to the chest, William Henry Harrison drinking sewage water, Zachary Taylor possibly murdered by summer snacks, Jack Daniel dying because he stubbed his toe on a safe, Warren G. Harding's horrifyingly horny letters (yes, he named it Jerry), JFK's staffers Fiddle and Faddle, and the Chicago counterfeiting ring that tried to steal Abraham Lincoln's body and hold it for ransom. Plus games, gossip, and way too many exhumed presidents. Follow Barely Historical Hosts: JoLynne & Amanda Produced by Barely Historical Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/cw/BarelyHistorical⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contact: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠oops@barelyhistorical.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Tagline: Let’s ruin the past.

    Presidents Behaving Badly: Duels, Dirty Letters, and Stolen Corpses

  5. Jun 25

    The Whittakers of West Virginia | When the Family Tree Folded Back on Itself

    What happens when one family tree becomes less of a tree… and more of a wreath? This week on Barely Historical, we’re tackling one of the internet’s most infamous families: the Whittakers of West Virginia. But instead of treating them like a punchline, we wanted to understand how they got there. We dig into over a century of Appalachian history, coal country, geographic isolation, poverty, and the family relationships that turned an already-complicated genealogy into something that left even us completely confused. Along the way we cover:• Why identical twins made the genetics even more complicated• What “double first cousins” actually means• Coal camps, company stores, and why so many families never left the hollers• The Battle of Blair Mountain and the brutal realities of Appalachian mining life• Why this story is ultimately about isolation and lack of opportunity, not just genetics Plus, Amanda and Jo repeatedly lose track of the family tree, accidentally invent new family members, and discover that trying to explain this genealogy without a whiteboard is nearly impossible. If you’ve only ever seen viral clips of the Whittakers, this episode explores the history behind the headlines and the people behind the internet’s fascination. Sources referenced in this episode: Soft White Underbelly West Virginia Mine Wars Museum National Coal Heritage Area Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia If you enjoyed this episode, follow Barely Historical wherever you get your podcasts, leave us a review, and come hang out with us on social media for bonus content, behind-the-scenes fun, and even more bizarre stories from history.

    The Whittakers of West Virginia | When the Family Tree Folded Back on Itself

  6. Jun 17

    Juneteenth | Why Freedom Was Delayed in Texas

    Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865, the day Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that enslaved people there were free more than two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation. In this episode of Barely Historical, we explore the history of Juneteenth, why freedom was delayed in Texas, how General Order No. 3 finally reached a quarter million enslaved people, and why Juneteenth became one of the most important dates in American history. We discuss the myths surrounding Juneteenth, the reality of delayed enforcement, the search for separated families after emancipation, the origins of Juneteenth celebrations, Emancipation Park, and the people who carried this holiday forward for generations, including Felix Haywood, Jack Yates, Al Edwards, Lula Briggs Galloway, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Opal Lee. This is a heavier episode than our usual fare, and we want to acknowledge that this is not our story. We are two white women doing our best to learn, listen, and share what we learned with care and respect. We hope we did this history justice. If we inspire you to learn more, please do. The voices, books, historians, and communities who have preserved this history deserve to be your next stop. Recommended Reading & Resources 📚 On Juneteenth — Annette Gordon-Reed 📚 How the Word Is Passed — Clint Smith 📚 Help Me to Find My People — Heather Andrea Williams 📚 Juneteenth: A Children's Story — Opal Lee 🏛 National Museum of African American History and Culture 🏛 Emancipation Park Conservancy Follow Barely Historical Hosts: JoLynne & Amanda Produced by Barely Historical Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/cw/BarelyHistorical⁠⁠⁠ Contact: ⁠⁠⁠⁠oops@barelyhistorical.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ Tagline: Let’s ruin the past.

    Juneteenth | Why Freedom Was Delayed in Texas

  7. May 15

    Cleopatra | It's the Trojan Horse, but Horny

    Hot take to start the show: every man who has ever lost his entire mind over a woman has blamed her for it. Two thousand years ago that energy started a civil war, ended with Julius Caesar getting stabbed 23 times on the Senate floor, and somehow left us remembering the smartest woman in the Mediterranean for her eyeliner and a snake. This week Amanda and JoLynne take on Cleopatra VII, the last Pharaoh of Egypt, fluent in nine languages, queen at 18, mother to Caesar's only biological son, and the most successfully slandered woman in human history. Spoiler: according to the actual ancient source, she wasn't even that hot. She just out-talked every Roman in the room and they could not handle it. In this episode: Fact or Follicle, a beauty quiz where we figure out which ancient Egyptian skincare routines were real and which Amanda made up in the shower (pubic wigs glued on with tree resin: tragically real)The Ptolemaic family tree, which is technically just a circleHow a 21-year-old got herself smuggled into Julius Caesar's bedroom rolled up in a rug, which is either the most badass entrance in history or the most theater kid behavior of all timeRed Flag or Roman Emperor, the dating game where Caligula keeps showing upMark Antony, the original man who moved too fast, abandoned his Roman wife, and started minting coins with his side piece on themOctavian, a sickly little accountant who invented the political smear campaign and somehow still has us repeating his lies in 2026Why the snake story is biologically insane and what probably actually killed her (girl had a poison garden energy)A real ancient cocktail called The Cleopatra, which involved dissolving a pearl in vinegar to flex on a man at dinnerAlso covered: lice horror stories, why Korean skincare is superior, Brendan Fraser appreciation, and the eternal question of whether sleeping in socks is a war crime. Follow us on TikTok, Instagram, and Patreon at @BarelyHistorical for bonus episodes and our worst takes. Share this one with the guy who calls his situationship his queen, the friend doing a six-month Cleopatra skincare routine with nothing to show for it, and anyone currently losing it over a man who is, objectively, mid. Let's ruin the past.

    Cleopatra | It's the Trojan Horse, but Horny

  8. May 6

    De Clare: Too Much Power, Too Few Cousins

    This week, we’re diving into the chaotic world of the De Clare sisters, one of medieval England’s most powerful families. What starts as inheritance drama quickly turns into royal favoritism, political manipulation, tangled family trees, suspiciously close relationships, and enough rumors to make an entire kingdom uncomfortable. We talk about King Edward II, Hugh Despenser, Piers Gaveston, medieval marriage politics, power struggles, inheritance battles, and why keeping land and influence inside the same elite circles created absolute chaos. Along the way, we also discuss bizarre medieval behavior, weird historical jobs, and why history’s family trees sometimes look more like family wreaths. If you like messy royals, medieval history, scandal, dark humor, and uncomfortable historical rumors, this episode is for you. Credits Hosts: JoLynne & Amanda Produced by Barely Historical Contact: oops@barelyhistorical.com Let’s ruin the past.

    De Clare: Too Much Power, Too Few Cousins
See All (40)

Trailer

4.8
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Barely Historical is a comedy podcast where two lifelong friends pick a year, dive in, and immediately regret it. Amanda and JoLynne drag the past through the mud, from Salem to the Spice Girls, covering pop culture, scandals, disasters, and all the weird moments that never made it into your textbook. It’s history told by people who probably shouldn’t be trusted with it, but at least you’ll laugh while you learn. Expect games, chaotic commentary, and stories that prove the past was just as unhinged as the present.

Information

  • Creator
    Barely Historical
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    40
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Barely Historical
  • Show Website
    Barely Historical

You Might Also Like