Jeffrey MacDonald was convicted in 1979 of killing his pregnant wife Colette and two young daughters Kimberly and Kristen. These murders have been the subject of documentaries, books, tv series, and most importantly, Strange Country Podcast. In today’s topic, cohosts Beth and Kelly’s discuss the book that set the narrative, Joe McGinness’s Fatal Vision. Theme music: Big White Lie byA Cast of Thousands Cite Your Sources: Anson, Robert Sam. “The Devil and Jeffrey MacDonald.” Vanity Fair, https://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/1998/07/macdonald199807. Accessed 13 July 2022. Beyerstein, Lindsay, and James Harkin. “Wilderness of Errol.” Columbia Journalism Review, 8 January 2013, https://archives.cjr.org/critical_eye/wilderness_of_errol.php. Accessed 13 July 2022. Malcolm, Janet. The journalist and the murderer. Edited by Victoria Wilson, Knopf, 1990. McGinniss, Joe. Fatal Vision. Putnam, 1983. Morris, Errol. A Wilderness of Error: The Trials of Jeffrey MacDonald. Penguin Press, 2012. Taylor, Paul. “The Return of Jeffrey MacDonald.” The Washington Post, 16 January 1985, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/01/16/the-return-of-jeffrey-macdonald/7fe1287e-2bc1-4f2d-bc5c-f41a84f30a2d/. Accessed 13 July 2022.
The mystery surrounding Natalie Wood’s death continues to captivate 40 years after the fact. The answer to the question, why was Natalie Wood in the Pacific Ocean on a late, cold drizzly night, has never been sufficiently answered. Theories abound though, and Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly discuss these theories while performing possibly the best Christopher Walken impression in history. Theme music: Big White Lie byA Cast of Thousands Cite your sources: Jorge Xavier Camacho, opinion contributor. (2022, June 18). Expected reversal of Miranda requires states to step up on policing. The Hill. Retrieved June 22, 2022, from https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/3517724-expected-reversal-of-miranda-requires-states-to-step-up-on-policing/ Mac, R., & Yaffe-bellany, D. (2022, June 15). Inside a corporate culture war stoked by a crypto C.E.O. The New York Times. Retrieved June 22, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/15/technology/kraken-crypto-culture.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=Business Margaritoff, M. (2022, April 26). Natalie Wood's death was ruled an accidental drowning - but that didn't explain the bruises. All That's Interesting. Retrieved June 22, 2022, from https://allthatsinteresting.com/natalie-wood-death McClure, K. (2022, May 28). Will we ever know what really happened to Natalie Wood? Salon. Retrieved June 22, 2022, from https://www.salon.com/2022/05/28/robert-wagner-officially-cleared-as-suspect-in-mysterious-of-natalie-wood/ Perroni, S. A. (2022). Brainstorm: An investigation of the mysterious death of film star Natalie Wood. Post Hill Press. Schulman, M. (2020, May 5). HBO's new Natalie Wood documentary doesn't have the answers. The New Yorker. Retrieved June 22, 2022, from https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-new-natalie-wood-documentary-doesnt-have-the-answers T., N. T., & DiMona, J. (2014). Natalie Wood. In Coroner, book 1. essay, Open Road Media. Wagner, N. G. (2020). Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind. HBO Max. Walsh, S. (2021, November 4). Natalie Wood was raped by Kirk Douglas, her sister alleges in a new book. Vanity Fair. Retrieved June 22, 2022, from https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/11/natalie-wood-was-raped-by-kirk-douglas-her-sister-alleges-in-a-new-book Wood, L. (2021). Little sister: My investigation into the mysterious death of Natalie Wood. HarperCollins. Yahr, Emily. "Five takeaways from HBO's Natalie Wood film, which slams rumors that Robert Wagner was involved in her death." Washington Post, 6 May 2020. Gale OneFile: News, link-gale-cay.orc.scoolaid.net/apps/doc/A622822055/STND?u=nysl_sc_ahs&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=2114f29f. Accessed 14 June 2022.
Could we actually replicate the biomes of Earth on other planets? In September 1991, eight intrepid explorers entered Biosphere 2 in the Arizona desert to spend two years seeing if humans could sustain life in the same way biosphere 1, the Earth, does. And it wasn’t so great, unless you’re heavily into mites, cockroaches, Steve Bannon and pot-bellied pigs. Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly discuss this failed experiment and why it might more sense to fix this planet than try to ruin other ones. Theme music: Big White Lie byA Cast of Thousands Cite your sources: Bruck, C. (2017, May 1). How Hollywood remembers Steve Bannon. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/01/how-hollywood-remembers-steve-bannon Cooper, M. (1991, April 2). Take this terrarium and shove it. Village Voice. http://www.science-bbs.com/184-skeptic/fde8be2039817870.htm Dewdney, A. Kee. Yes, We Have No Neutrons: An Eye-opening Tour through the Twists and Turns of Bad Science. New York City, Wiley, 1997. Reider, Rebecca. Dreaming the Biosphere: The Theater of All Possibilities, Albuquerque, U of New Mexico P, 2010 Report Urges Biosphere 2 to Spend More Time on Science to Succeed. (1992, July 26). New York Times. https://link-gale-cay.orc.scoolaid.net/apps/doc/A174904647/STND?u=nysl_sc_ahs&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=f39c5a28. Rose, Steve. "Eight go mad in Arizona: How a lockdown experiment went horribly wrong." Guardian. The Guardian, www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jul/13/spaceship-earth-arizona-biosphere-2-lockdown. Accessed 13 June 2022. Science beyond reproach. (2001, September 26). Arizona Daily Star [Tucson, AZ], B1. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A80229662/STND?u=nysl_sc_flls&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=276e0926 Spaceship Earth, directed by Matt Wolf, Neon, 2020. Stern, E. (1996, May 30) Project had a ‘secret’ cult. Tucson Citizen. http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue2/1996/05/30/113-project-had-secret-cult/ Wylie, I. (2001, May 5). Play your part in the Big Brother house: Win four months at the Biosphere 2 project. Guardian [London, England], 8. https://link-gale-cay.orc.scoolaid.net/apps/doc/A74296697/AONE?u=nysl_sc_ahs&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=453bcf7a Zimmer, Carl. "The Lost History of One of the World's Strangest Science Experiment." The New York Times, 29 Mar. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/sunday-review/biosphere-2-climate-change.html. Accessed 13 June 2022.
Where do you fall on the abortion debate? Some people like to believe that if you are pro choice, you must idolize Margaret Sanger. But wait. . . do you even know who that is? Listen today, dear Dash Hounds, as we hear who this outspoken woman was. A thumbs up or a thumbs down? Is Margaret worthy of her name being on the building or her name being taken down? Your call. We do our best to give you some info. As we seem to keep learning on Strange Country, people are complicated, the world is complex, and hang on, we are about to experience everything all over again. $10 please for your fortune. Much love and thanks always for listening, it is an act of love. Theme music: Big White Lie byA Cast of Thousands Works Cited: https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/what-every-girl-should-know-1916-margaret-sanger https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/11/13/502461042.html?pageNumber=101 https://proquest.libguides.com/historyvault/sanger https://proquest.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=46289460 https://www.archives.gov/nhprc/projects/catalog/margaret-sanger https://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/1514/3518/7100/Pill_History_FactSheet.pdf https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/03/24/sex-and-the-constitution-margaret-sanger-and-the-birth-of-the-birth-control-movement/ https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/nyregion/planned-parenthood-margaret-sanger-eugenics.html https://www.biography.com/activist/margaret-sanger https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/margaret-sanger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Sanger https://www.britannica.com/biography/Margaret-Sanger https://sangerpapers.wordpress.com/2013/11/06/the-joy-in-the-fullness-of-life-peggy-sanger/
Nothing is certain but death and Strange Country’s guarantee of exquisitely-designed mousepads. Oh, and taxes. But some people really don’t like paying taxes and take their ire too far. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly discuss Gordon Kahl, an avid anti-government pro-Posse Comitatus fan who took his anger to the extreme when he killed two US Marshalls in 1983. Luckily, we’ve seemed to address domestic terrorism now…oh wait. And sorry about the little audio glitch midstream. Theme music: Big White Lie byA Cast of Thousands Cite your sources: Cameron, L. (2019, May 28). During the 1980s farm crisis, Minnesota lost more than 10,000 farms. MinnPost. https://www.minnpost.com/mnopedia/2019/05/during-the-1980s-farm-crisis-minnesota-lost-more-than-10000-farms/ Corcoran, J. (1990). Bitter Harvest: Gordon Kahl and the Rise of the Posse Comitatus in the Heartland. Penguin Publishing Group. Dyer, J. (1997). Harvest of rage: Why Oklahoma City is only the beginning. Basic Books. King W. (1990, Aug. 21). Books of the Times; A farmer’s fatal obsession with Jews and taxes. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/21/books/books-of-the-times-a-farmer-s-fatal-obsession-with-jews-and-taxes.html Levitas, D. (2002). The terrorist next door: The Militia Movement and the radical right. St. Martin’s Press
Our memories are fallible and malleable. In the 1980s and 1990s, recovered memory therapists convinced patients they had been sexually abused in some cases by satanic cults and repressed all memory of it. Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly discuss the trial of George Franklin who was convicted of murder based solely on the testimony of his daughter who “recovered” memories of witnessing him kill her childhood friend. Theme music: Big White Lie byA Cast of Thousands Cite your sources: Carpentier, M. (2021, Oct. 8) Where Is Eileen Franklin, Whose Recovered Memories Convicted Her Father, Now? https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/where-is-elaine-franklin-lipsker-from-showtime-docuseries-buried-now Guendelman, Y. and Pines, A. (2021). Buried. Showtime. Ofshe, R. and Watters, E. (1994) Making Monsters: False Memories, Psychotherapy and Sexual Hysteria. Diane Pub. Co. Romanova, N. (2021, Oct. 21) Eileen Franklin-Lipsker Now: what is she doing today? Blurred Reality. https://blurred-reality.com/eileen-franklin-lipsker-now-today/#:~:text=All%20we%20know%20about%20her,as%20long%20as%20she%20could.
On this episode of Strange Country, Ofterry and Ofbryan talk about the U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion dismantling women’s reproductive freedoms. Forced birth advocates are rejoicing. The rest of us, not so much. Theme music: Big White Lie byA Cast of Thousands Cite your sources: Campoamoar, D. (2022, March 18). New tennessee bill would allow rapists' families, friends to sue if victims have an abortion. Today. Retrieved May 3, 2022, from https://www.today.com/parents/pregnancy/Tennessee-bill-rapists-sue-abortion-rcna20581 Chamie, J. (2021, March 3). America's single-parent families. The Hill. https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/543941-americas-single-parent-families/ Columbus Daily Enquirer, 13 Jan. 1956, p. 13. NewsBank: America's Historical Newspapers, infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=EANX-K12&docref=image/v2%3A1126A744DB722B38%40EANX-K12-16A327FFA6234DD0%402435486-16A30E62DDBE96DF%4012-16A30E62DDBE96DF%40. Accessed 3 May 2022. Frank, G. (2015, December 22). The death of Jacqueline Smith. Slate. from https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/12/Jacqueline-smiths-1955-death-and-the-lessons-we-havent-yet-learned-from-it.html Hartig, H. (2021, May 6). About six-in-ten americans say abortion should belegal in all or most cases. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/05/06/about-six-in-ten-americans-say-abortion-should-be-legal-in-all-or-most-cases/ Kitchener, C. (2022, May 2). The next frontier for the antiabortion movement: A nationwide ban. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/05/02/abortion-ban-roe-supreme-court-mississippi/ Levin, B. (2022, March 3). GOP senator Mike Braun claims he didn't mean to say states should be able to ban interracial marriage, despite saying it multiple times. Vanity Fair. Retrieved May 3, 2022, fromhttps://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/03/mike-braun-supreme-court-interracial-marriage Plain Dealer, 22 May 1956, p. 5. NewsBank: America's Historical Newspapers, infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=EANX-K12&docref=image/v2%3A122AFBBA107AC9E4%40EANX-K12-12AC90D16DF657D6%402435616-12AC5404A0306B0C%404-12AC5404A0306B0C%40. Accessed 3 May 2022. Plain Dealer, 24 May 1956, p. 6. NewsBank: America's Historical Newspapers, infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=EANX-K12&docref=image/v2%3A122AFBBA107AC9E4%40EANX-K12-12AC90D42B600569%402435618-1278F359D4F878E9%405-1278F359D4F878E9%40. Accessed 3 May 2022. Stracqualursi, V. (2021, November 16). Majority of Americans support Roe v. Wade being upheld, new poll shows. CNN.https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/16/politics/americans-abortion-roe-v-wade-poll/index.html Supreme Court Live Updates: Calls For an Investigation and Possible Charges After Supreme Court Draft Leaked. (2022, May 3). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/05/03/us/roe-wade-abortion-supreme-court
In a time when democracy ruled, women had all the freedoms, people went to college and news sources were plentiful and trustworthy Wisconsin native Mildred Fish Harnack and her husband, Arvid, chose to begin their newlywed lives in the fun city of Berlin. Have you heard of it? Beth may have mentioned she has been there. That was Berlin in the 1920’s. Things were about to change. Laws were passed to keep certain people down, the rich and poor gap was widening, Mildred got let go from her professorship, and two men, Hitler and Goebbels, were really making a name for themselves talking about the ills of democracy. And Mildred from Wisconsin saw the whole city and country unravel. But instead of hightailing it back to the midwest, Mildred and her sweetheart stayed in Berlin and headed the resistance efforts. Listen as Beth and Kelly discuss the similarities of Hitler’s efforts and those of the current opposition parties trying to undermine America today. Fun times on Strange Country. Theme music: Big White Lie byA Cast of Thousands Cite your sources: Commonwealth Club of California. Mildred Harnack/American Grad Student/Berlin Resistance Leader. Sept. 17, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRGtZb7N6bg Donner, Rebecca. All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days. Little Brown and Company, New York. 2021. Wisconsin Women Making History. Mildred Fish-Harnack. https://womeninwisconsin.org/profile/mildred-fish-harnack/
Do you believe psychics can predict the future? in the later half of the 20th century, Jeane Dixon was one of the best known psychics. Her astrological star rose when she “predicted” the assassination of JFK. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly, in what is predicted to be the greatest podcast episode according to a Snapple bottle cap Beth found on the sidewalk, talk about Dixon and the Jeane Dixon Effect. Also includes a recipe! Theme music: Big White Lie byA Cast of Thousands Cite your sources: Christy, M. (1970, March 11). Greensboro Daily News , p. 5. Available from NewsBank: America's Historical Newspapers: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=EANX-K12&docref=image/v2%3A11EA68DA9EC1533C%40EANX-K12-1446EE6624E4B6E2%402440657-1446B2E11BB77DA7%404-1446B2E11BB77DA7%40. Dixon, J. (1976). Jeane Dixon’s Astrololgical Cookbook. Morrow Dixon, J. (1998). Do Cats Have ESP? Courage Books. Horowitz, M. (2015, November 21). The last JFK assassination myth: Debunking the eerie prediction that won't go away. Salon. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://www.salon.com/2015/11/21/the_last_jfk_assassination_myth_debunking_the_eerie_prediction_that_wont_go_away/ Jeane Dixon & the Jeane Dixon effect. Jeane Dixon and the Jeane Dixon effect - The Skeptic's Dictionary - Skepdic.com. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2022, from http://www.skepdic.com/dixon.html Jeane Dixon releases her predictions for 1984. (1984, January 9). Dallas Morning News, p. 5C. Available from NewsBank: America's Historical Newspapers: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=EANX-K12&docref=image/v2%3A0F99DDB671832188%40EANX-K12-134DCB8A4D3C0501%402445709-134DCA6E1ED84AB2%4036-13E4C2411E7CD09F%40Jeane%2BDixon%2Breleases%2Bher%2Bpredictions%2Bfor%2B1984. Katz, H. (1971, July 25). Washington Magazine, p. 240. Available from NewsBank: America's Historical Newspapers: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=EANX-K12&docref=image/v2%3A114CF48AE24B9638%40EANX-K12-160B36A15F554C0A%402441158-16097388B95B5246%40239. Kay Crosby Ellis, B. (1972, November 3). Jeane Dixon Predicts Future. Dallas Morning News, p. 5. Available from NewsBank: America's Historical Newspapers: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=EANX-K12&docref=image/v2%3A0F99DDB671832188%40EANX-K12-0FD144D417FC2F49%402441625-0FD144D4D30EB77C%4046-0FD144D882A65F43%40Jeane%2BDixon%2BPredicts%2BFuture. Martinez-Conde, S. and Macknik, S.L. (2018, September 20). Two neuroscientists walk into a psychic fair... Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/illusion-chasers/two-neuroscientists-walk-into-a-psychic-fair/ Montgomery, R. (1965). A Gift of Prophecy: the phenomenal Jeane Dixon. Morrow. Ruby Clayton McKee, B. (1966, April 12). Jeane Dixon Predicts Flying Objects Not from Outer Space. Dallas Morning News, p. 4. Available from NewsBank: America's Historical Newspapers: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=EANX-K12&docref=image/v2%3A0F99DDB671832188%40EANX-K12-0FEAAF14EB2E4ECE%402439228-0FEAAF155E1AD62B%4031-0FEAAF17A71C614E%40Jeane%2BDixon%2BPredicts%2BFlying%2BObjects%2BNot%2Bfrom%2BOuter%2BSpace.\ San Antonio Express. (1976, March 7). San Antonio Express, p. 153. Available from NewsBank: America's Historical Newspapers: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=EANX-K12&docref=image/v2%3A10EEA20F1A545758%40EANX-K12-16222F942DFA9726%402442845-16222D7E4E571ACA%40152-16222D7E4E571ACA%40. San Antonio Express. (1976, March 28). San Antonio Express, p. 150. Available from NewsBank: America's Historical Newspapers: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=EANX-K12&docref=image/v2%3A10EEA20F1A545758%40EANX-K12-16286F10D9D76A85%402442866-1626D7D2C7E6D108%40149-1626D7D2C7E6D108%40. Tampa Bay Times. (2019, December 15). Museum provides a vision of astrologer Jeane ...
One hundred years ago, there were fewer left handed Americans than there are now. Why the change? Obviously the indoctrination of public schools…or maybe it became more accepting to be left handed and so more people feel comfortable using their dominant hand. Weird how that works. Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly talk about the stigma once attached to left-handedness and relate it to today’s anti-trans legislation being pushed by trash people. Theme music: Big White Lie byA Cast of Thousands Cite your sources: Adeleke, Y. (2021, September 20). Left-handers once experienced severe stigmatization and discrimination. Medium. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://historyofyesterday.com/left-handers-once-experienced-severe-stigmatization-and-discrimination-f172c2fde6ef Eveleth R. (2013, May 17). Two-thirds of the world still hates lefties. Smithsonian.com. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/two-thirds-of-the-world-still-hates-lefties-64727388/#:~:text=In%20many%20Muslim%20parts%20of,including%20those%20of%20the%20West . Gallagher, J. (2019, September 5). Left-handed DNA found - and it changes brain structure. BBC News. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/health-49579810 Gannon, M. (2019, November 10). Why are people left- (or right-) handed? LiveScience. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://www.livescience.com/what-causes-left-handedness.html Gould, M. (2021, February 12). GOP rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene 'cheated on husband with men at gym'. Daily Mail Online. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9246917/Marjorie-Taylor-Green-openly-cheated-husband-men-gym.html Katz, B. (2017, May 31). A lonely snail with an unusual shell strikes out in Love. Smithsonian.com. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/jeremy-lonely-snail-unusual-shell-strikes-out-love-180963429/ Lutz, E., & Ecarma, C. (2022, April 8). "Children as collateral damage": GOP's latest culture war targets Trans Kids. Vanity Fair. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/alabama-anti-trans-bill Pinsker, J. (2014, December 11). Why lefties make less. The Atlantic. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/12/why-lefties-make-less/383635/ Praderio, C., & Lakritz, T. (2021, August 13). 17 little ways that the world is designed for right-handed people. Insider. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://www.insider.com/things-that-are-hard-for-left-handed-people-2016-11 Restak, R. M. (1988, December 11). Do we want a left-handed president? The Washington Post. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1988/12/11/do-we-want-a-left-handed-president/1a6c49dc-0e40-4ea3-ab4b-e3956dc04208/ Roth, M. (2005). The Left Stuff: How the Left Handed Have Survived and Thrived in a Right-Handed World. M. Evans & Company. Rothman, L. (2015, August 13). Left-handed history: When lefties were first accepted. Time. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://time.com/3978951/lefties-history/ Valdez, A. (2021, April 15). Alabama ranks second in the nation for Worst Places to Live. WDHN. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://www.wdhn.com/news/alabama-ranks-second-in-the-nation-for-worst-places-to-live/ Valentin, N. (2020, May 29). The long history of left-handed persecution. Medium. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/the-long-history-of-left-handed-persecution-7e1f493266f2 Sound Clips: Marjorie Taylor Greene Spews Hateful Garbage: https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1511504578423963655 The Backward Snail Just Wants to Find Love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX2YQDPRZyM