Poisoned History

Suzanne

Poisoned History is about poisons and how they have been used for nefarious purposes throughout history. Listen to true crime with commentary from a chemist's perspective. Don't worry, we don't nerd out *all* the time... Cover art was generated using the Imagine.ai app

  1. Oct 1

    Agatha Christie's The Chocolate Box

    Today we are doing our annual Fake Crime show, this time it’s a short story by Agatha Christie called the Chocolate Box. We are switching roles for this episode; our resident Christie/Poirot expert Mary Ann is going to host. Sources and resources: Poirot, Season 5, Episode 6, The Chocolate Box. Episode aired Feb 21, 1993. Broadcast by PBS and A&E; Starring: David Suchet as Hercule Poirot; Producers: LWT and ITV Studios Agatha Christie, The Clue of the Chocolate Box; 1923 magazine story in The Sketch, UK. Agatha Christie, The Chocolate Box, published in 1925 in a book of short stories called Poirot Investigates, Dodd, Mead, and Company, United States. Wikipedia This podcast uses sound from Freesound.org: minor-key-music-box by user darkwaryurmc (http://freesound.org/s/318908/) licensed under CCBYNC 4.0 All statements in this podcast represent the opinions of the host and her guests. Cover art photos: public domain.

    Agatha Christie's The Chocolate Box

  2. Sep 1

    Mary Ann Geering, Strung Out and Strung Up

    Mary Ann Geering was a British woman who poisoned her husband and three of her adult children, seemingly out of nowhere. But as the case progressed, some details came out that made her reasons more clear.

    Mary Ann Geering, Strung Out and Strung Up

  3. Aug 1

    Mary Blandy, Philtre to Phantom

    Mary Blandy was a fine young lady who got involved with the wrong man, who despite his title was quite ignoble. Her attempt to convince her father he was a great guy ended in tragedy.

    Mary Blandy, Philtre to Phantom

  4. Jul 1

    Sarah Ann French, Arsenic Pie

    Sarah Ann French was a young wife with an older husband who took a fancy to a younger man, with disastrous results. Sources and resources: Teresa Geering, The Guestling Murderess, 8 February 2008, https://tgeering.blogspot.com/2008/02/guestling-murderess.html William French Family Tree: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/French-11772#:~:text=Biography,poisoned%20her%20husband%20and%20sons Walton, G., Onion pie murder in 1852 by Sarah Ann French, geriwalton.com, 29 August 2022, https://www.geriwalton.com/onion-pie-murder-in-1852-by-sarah-ann-french Hard to swallow – the story of the Sussex onion pie murder, The Argus, 17 May 2020, https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/18451730.hard-swallow---story-sussex-onion-pie-murder The Chiddingly murder, Sussex Express, 10 April 1852, https://www.sussex-opc.org/ParishDetails/EastSussex/Chiddingly/ChiddinglyMurder/ChiddinglyMurderG.htm Trial transcript: https://www.sussex-opc.org/ParishDetails/EastSussex/Chiddingly/ChiddinglyMurder/ChiddinglyMurderD.htm Wikipedia This podcast uses sound from Freesound.org: minor-key-music-box by user darkwaryurmc (http://freesound.org/s/318908/) licensed under CCBYNC 4.0 All statements in this podcast represent the opinions of the host and her guests. Cover art photos: public domain.

    Sarah Ann French, Arsenic Pie

  5. Jun 1

    Martha Place, Acid and Anarchy

    Martha Place was a middle-aged woman with a tragic life story and a fearful temper. One day her husband brought out the Jersey girl in her, leading to more tragedy. Sources and resources: National Center for Biotechnology Information (2026). PubChem Compound Summary for CID 176, Acetic Acid. Retrieved April 24, 2026 from https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Acetic-Acid. National Center for Biotechnology Information (2026). PubChem Compound Summary for CID 944, Nitric Acid. Retrieved April 24, 2026 from https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Nitric-Acid. Norquist, S., When photography required chemistry, Heroes, Heroines, and History, 9 March 2020, https://www.hhhistory.com/search?q=photography+chemistry Carlton, F., The gruesome crimes of Martha Place, the first woman to die in the electric chair, 8 May 2023, https://allthatsinteresting.com/martha-place Wikipedia This podcast uses sound from Freesound.org: minor-key-music-box by user darkwaryurmc (http://freesound.org/s/318908/) licensed under CCBYNC 4.0 All statements in this podcast represent the opinions of the host and her guests.

    Martha Place, Acid and Anarchy

  6. Apr 1

    Mary Alice Livingston, the Clam Chowder Killer?

    Mary Alice Livingston Fleming was a single mom from a wealthy family who allegedly killed her own mother in 1895 but denied having anything to do with it. Her family and this case were a large part of history and a huge story in the sensationalist press of the time. Sources and resources: Livingston, J; Arsenic and Clam Chowder: Murder in Gilded Age New York. The Gotham Center for New York City History, https://www.gothamcenter.org/blog/arsenic-and-clam-chowder-murder-in-gilded-age-new-york Wilhelm, R; Book Review: The fatal bowl of soup by James D. Livingston. Murder By Gaslight, 14Aug2010, http://www.murderbygaslight.com/2010/08/ Ephemeral New York: The sensational clam chowder murder of 1895, 8Jan2012, https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/tag/mary-alice-fleming-livingston/ Livingston, JD, Arsenic and clam chowder: murder in gilded age New York; Albany, NY, State University of New York Press, 2010, https://www.hudsonrivervalley.org/james_d_livingston1 Wikipedia This podcast uses sound from Freesound.org: minor-key-music-box by user darkwaryurmc (http://freesound.org/s/318908/) licensed under CCBYNC 4.0 All statements in this podcast represent the opinions of the host and her guests. Cover art photos: public domain.

    Mary Alice Livingston, the Clam Chowder Killer?

  7. Feb 1

    Adelaide Bartlett, Threesome or Love Triangle?

    Adelaide Bartlett was a young French woman living in England, who got into a love triangle with her husband and another man. When her husband turned up dead one day though, the whole arrangement fell apart and she suddenly became a murder suspect. Sources and Resources: “The impossible case of the Pimlico poisoning,” The CutPrice Guignol, https://thethreepennyguignol.com/2024/04/17/the-impossible-case-of-the-pimlico-poisoning/ Farrell, M. “Adelaide Bartlett and the Pimlico Mystery,” https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2542684/pdf/bmj00471-0054.pdf Wikipedia

    Adelaide Bartlett, Threesome or Love Triangle?

  8. Jan 1

    Edward Pritchard, the Human Crocodile

    Dr. Edward Pritchard was a doctor (of sorts), viewed as a quack by many of his contemporaries, who decided that killing would solve all his problems most efficiently. He was right, for a little while at least. Sources and resources: Loney, G; How the Huan Crocodile met the Glasgow hangman for the last public execution in Scotland; Glasgow Live, 18Nov2018, https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/human-crocodile-execution-glasgow-history-11676137 Our Legal Heritage: The last man publicly hanged in Glasgow; Scottish Legal News, 31Aug2018, https://www.scottishlegal.com/articles/our-legal-heritage-the-last-man-publicly-hanged-in-glasgow Grebar, Henry; What became of America’s water-cure towns? Bloomberg, 16Nov2015, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-16/the-legacy-of-america-s-water-cure-towns Discover Saratoga, visitor information, https://www.discoversaratoga.org/things-to-do/attractions/mineral-springs/#:~:text=State%20Seal:%20A%20popular%20choice,has%20water%20rich%20in%20magnesium Van Hoose, Anne; Edward William Pritchard: Gone? A killer in the Glasgow Photographic Society, https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/libraries/family-history/stories-and-blogs-from-the-mitchell/special-collections-blogs/edward-william-pritchard-gone Emsley, J., The Elements of Murder, Oxford University Press, 2006. The Anatomy Lab; Forensic Medicine, History of Medicine Museum; Forensic Medicine: The Case of Dr Pritchard, https://surgeonshallmuseums.wordpress.com/2020/05/22/forensic-medicine-the-case-of-dr-pritchard/ Our Records: the Glasgow Poisoner; Scotland’s People, https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/article/glasgow-poisoner Martin R, Lee VR. Antimony Toxicity. [Updated 2024 Sep 2]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK608003 Chan TY. Aconite poisoning. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2009 Apr;47(4):279-85. doi: 10.1080/15563650902904407. PMID: 19514874. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19514874/ Wikipedia This podcast uses sound from Freesound.org: minor-key-music-box by user darkwaryurmc (http://freesound.org/s/318908/) licensed under CCBYNC 4.0 All statements in this podcast represent the opinions of the host and her guests. Cover art photos: public domain.

    Edward Pritchard, the Human Crocodile
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About

Poisoned History is about poisons and how they have been used for nefarious purposes throughout history. Listen to true crime with commentary from a chemist's perspective. Don't worry, we don't nerd out *all* the time... Cover art was generated using the Imagine.ai app

Information

  • Creator
    Suzanne
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    34
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Suzanne
  • Show Website
    Poisoned History

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