Ill-Equipped History

139: The History of Christmas Movies

Emileigh and Morgan go through the eras of Christmas movies and discuss how they reflect the mindset and environment of their times. Plus some healthy discussion on ehat is and isn't a Christmas movie. It's a hill we will Die Hard on, if you will. 
 
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Sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc3ei1tseeM
 
https://www.rent-a-christmas.com/blog/article/santa-claus-1898-first-christmas-movie
 
https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2022/12/the-saturday-evening-post-history-minute-the-first-christmas-movies/
 
https://clioandthecontemporary.com/2021/12/21/christmas-films-parti/
 
https://clioandthecontemporary.com/2021/12/23/christmas-films-partii/
 
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidalm/2018/12/07/how-scrooged-epitomized-the-80s-for-better-and-for-worse/
 
https://clioandthecontemporary.com/2021/12/24/christmas-films-part-iii/
 

138: The Santa Claus Bank Robbery

It was a peaceful day for the citizens of Cisco, Texas, a few days before Christmas in 1927. Suddenly, four men, one dressed as Santa Claus, draw their weapons in the First National Bank of Cisco and demand money. What follows is a series of hijinks and tragedies that will forever mark this small town. 
 
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Sources
Santa Claus Bank Robbery: A True Crime Saga in Texas by Tui Snider (2019)
 
“The Cisco Santa Robbery” 
https://member.texasbankers.com/Magazine/magazine/Vault/22-01-The-Cisco-Santa-Robbery.aspx
 
“The Infamous Santa Claus Bank Robbery of 1927” by Walter F. Pilcher 
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/santa-claus-bank-robbery
 
Sound Credits
 
Music by music_for_video from Pixabay 
https://pixabay.com/music/christmas-deck-the-halls-christmas-piano-background-music-12202/ 
 
Music by Luis Humanoide from Pixabay
https://pixabay.com/music/modern-country-western-theme-162884/
 
woman screaming of fear .wav by The_Sound_Side -- https://freesound.org/s/319258/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
 
market people bells NL 01 160319_00.wav by klankbeeld -- https://freesound.org/s/537846/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
 
Gunshot_01.sse.wav by snapssound -- https://freesound.org/s/536630/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
 
Layered Gunshot 9.wav by Xenonn -- https://freesound.org/s/128301/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
 
R22-10-Constant Explosions Battle Scene.wav by craigsmith -- https://freesound.org/s/479570/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
 
G29-54-Men Yell  Riot.wav by craigsmith -- https://freesound.org/s/438414/  -- License: Creative Commons 0
Sota, rintama, tulitaistelu / War, gunfight, shooting at a front, various guns, handguns, weapons banging, mix by YleArkisto -- https://freesound.org/s/320133/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

136: Tycho Brahe: The Last Great Astronomer Before the Telecope

Emileigh and Morgan discover the life of the last great astronomer before the invention of the telescope. And the planets might be the most boring thing about his life! 
 
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Sources: 
https://www.space.com/19623-tycho-brahe-biography.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paa5GLCR280
Tycho Brahe Youtube 
https://smarthistory.org/written-in-the-stars-astronomy-and-astrology-in-medieval-manuscripts/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tycho_Brahe
 
 

136: The Lufthansa Heist

In 1978, the headlines were filled with the news about the Lufthansa cargo bay robbery at JFK International Airport. The culprits? A group of guys tied to the New York mafia families. Join Morgan and Emileigh as they talk about the execution of the biggest airport robbery in US soil, and some unfortunate folks afterwards. 
 
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Sources
 
“James Burke” 
https://www.alcatrazeast.com/crime-library/organized-crime/james-burke/
 
“Henry Hill” (updated Jun 24 2020)
https://www.biography.com/crime/henry-hill
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodfellas
 
“Lufthansa heist” by Pat Bauer (Oct 18 2025)
https://www.britannica.com/event/Lufthansa-heist 
 
“The Lufthansa Heist” episode, History’s Greatest Heists with Pierce Brosnan. Aired Feb 28 2023 on The History Channel
 
“How the 1978 Lufthansa Heist Let to a Trail of Dead Bodies” by Iván Román (Jan 20 2023, updated May 28 2025)
https://www.history.com/articles/1978-lufthansa-heist-jfk-henry-hill-goodfellas
 
“Lufthansa Heist Murders: How Paranoia and Greed Led to the Deaths of 6 Mobsters and Associates” by Adam Janos (Dec 10 2018; updated Aug 21 2025)
https://www.aetv.com/articles/lufthansa-heist-murders-mafia-mobsters
 
“The Lufthansa Heist: The Mafia’s Greatest Robbery” by Lawrence Lease (Mar 9 2023)
https://discover.hubpages.com/politics/The-Lufthansa-Heist-The-American-Mafias-Greatest-Heist
 
“The Massive Real-Life Heist that Inspired ‘Goodfellas’” by Sammy Tran (May 5
https://www.factinate.com/things/biggest-cash-heist-history
 
“The Lufthansa Mafia Heist Trial”
https://archives.law.virginia.edu/dengrove/writeup/lufthansa-mafia-heist-trial
Sound Credits: 
 
Shaken, Not Stirred - GLBML: Music by Geoffrey Burch from Pixabay
https://pixabay.com/music/sneaky-shaken-not-stirred-glbml-22220/

135: The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Emileigh and Morgan look into how one of the most famous shipwrecks on Lake Superior went down. 
 
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Sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2f0tZBSByI
https://ssedmundfitzgerald.org/fitz-timeline
https://upsupply.co/journal/the-wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald
 

134: Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette married into the French royal family when she was 15 years old. Unfortunately, from the beginning she faced prejudice from the royal court and distrust from the common people. Marie would eventually become the scapegoat for the worsening economy in France, even after she and her family met their tragic end during the French Revolution. Join Morgan and Emileigh as they discuss the truth behind her life, both the good and the bad, and how this queen of France would live on in infamy. 
 
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Sources“Marie Antoinette” https://guides.loc.gov/women-in-the-french-revolution/marie-antoinette 
“Marie Antoinette” by biography.com editors & Barbara Maranzani (Jul 11 2023)https://www.biography.com/royalty/marie-antoinette 
“Marie Antoinette”, published by the Château de Versailles https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/great-characters/marie-antoinette#a-queen-at-the-court 
“Marie Antoinette: From Queen to Guillotine” by the Real Royalty channel on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C1pnLRAe0E  
“Marie-Antoinette” by history.com editors (Nov 9 2009, updated May 28 2025)https://www.history.com/articles/marie-antoinette 
 
Sound Credits:[Re-Creation] Hells Bells, Tolling, 12 O Clock, Processed by NoahBangs -- https://freesound.org/s/706896/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
To_Be_Booed2_ses1.wav by freesound -- https://freesound.org/s/25270/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
G52-05-Ox Cart.wav by craigsmith -- https://freesound.org/s/437078/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
fly 4 horse steps_03.wav by gastonsaenz -- https://freesound.org/s/362958/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

133: Julia Child: From GI to Celebrity Chef

Few people are as memorable as the amazing Julia Child. She started her life with no real plan and in her 50s became the first Television Chef. Emileigh and Morgan explore how her life and shows continue to inspire our country to make good food and have fun doing it. 
 
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Sources:
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/julia-child
 
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0B7DHD2MB/ref=atv_sr_fle_c_srfd6f9a_5_1_3?sr=1-3&pageTypeIdSource=ASIN&pageTypeId=B0B7DF8GGW&qid=1762873149762
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Cushing_Child

132: The Cuban Missile Crisis

For 13 terrifying days in 1962, the world was on the precipice of nuclear war. The United States, Cuba, and the Soviet Union were in a standoff regarding missiles stationed on the island, only 90 miles from US soil. Listen to find out how President Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev negotiated for the continuance of humanity. 
 
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Sources
“Cold War” (Oct 27 2025)https://www.britannica.com/event/Cold-War
“Nikita Khrushchev” (Jun 11 2020)https://www.biography.com/political-figures/nikita-khrushchev
“The Bay of Pigs Invasion” (Apr 18 2016)https://www.cia.gov/stories/story/the-bay-of-pigs-invasion/
“Cuban Missile Crisis” by History.com editors (updated May 28 2025)https://www.history.com/articles/cuban-missile-crisis
“Cuban Missile Crisis” https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/cuban-missile-crisis
“The Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962”, U.S. Office of the Historian https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/cuban-missile-crisis
“The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962”https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zyt42p3/revision/5
“Cuban missile crisis: 13 stormy days in Oct 1962 when US, USSR came to brink of nuclear conflict” by Ankita Thakur (Oct 18 2025)https://theprint.in/world/cuban-missile-crisis-13-stormy-days-in-oct-1962-when-us-ussr-came-to-brink-of-nuclear-conflict/2766198/
Sound Credits:
John F. Kennedy Speech, October 22, 1962, published on 1962-10-22 00:00:00. Uploaded on 2004-05-19 17:12:28 by mdghttps://archive.org/details/jfks19621022 
Breaking news intro music by humanoide9000 -- https://freesound.org/s/760770/  -- License: Attribution 4.0
Laugh Group of Children.wav by FunWithSound -- https://freesound.org/s/416703/ -- License: Creative Commons 0 
 

131: The Greenbrier Ghost: How Zona Heaster Shue Helped Solved Her Own Murder

When Zona Heaster eloped with Erasmus Shue, she had hoped it would be the start of a
long wonderful life. Those dreams were dashed when, in the following January, she was found unresponsive in her home. Emileigh and Morgan find out how her own ghostly testimony was used in a court of law to convict the person behind her death.
 
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Sources:
https://greenbrierwv.com/editorials/the-greenbrier-ghost
 
https://wvexplorer.com/2024/01/20/greenbrier-ghost-zona-heaster-shue-west-virginia-wv/
 
https://dannyechase.com/blog/greenbrier/
 
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40813714/erasmus_stribbling-shue
 

130: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Today's episode is about Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, one of the most prolific authors of all time. She is considered the mother of science fiction and wrote Frankenstein, which would go on to inspire the movie monster imbedded into pop culture today. From the beginning, her life was steeped in tragedy, betrayal, and loss, which would influence her writings and give us what we have today. 
 
TRIGGER WARNINGS: SUICIDE, INFANT/CHILD MORTALITY/DEATH, MISCARRIAGE, ADULTERY
 
If you or someone you love is struggling with thoughts of suicide, please call or text the Suicide Hotline at 988. 
 
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Sources
"Mary Shelley" (May 6 2021)
https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/mary-shelley 
 
"10 Facts About Mary Shelley" by Michele Debczak (Aug 26 2022) 
www.mentalfloss.com/posts/mary-shelley-author-facts 
 
“Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley” by Kathleen Kuiper (Oct 14 2025)
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Wollstonecraft-Shelley
 
“Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley” 
https://knarf.english.upenn.edu/MShelley/bio.html
 
“A Biographical Sketch of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851)” by Charlotte Pabst-Kastner (Dec 30 2015)
https://victorianweb.org/previctorian/mshelley/bio.html
Sound Credits:
 
rain_medium_thunders.aif by loopbasedmusic -- https://freesound.org/s/157485/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
 
Heavy_Rain_UK_Cambridge_2.wav by alexkandrell -- https://freesound.org/s/316893/ -- License: Attribution 3.0
 
NYC Rain 4 G- lightening crack.wav by bmlake -- https://freesound.org/s/251635/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
 
Birds_Tweeting.wav by ken788 -- https://freesound.org/s/386732/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
 
Music by Liam Brooks from Pixabay
https://pixabay.com/music/mystery-tense-horror-background-4235