HILF: History I'd Like to F**k

In Part One of the Manson Family Murders, you went through the law-and-order portion of the history. Now settle in for some of Dawn's favorite mysteries, conspiracies and so much more.

🔔 This is the last episode before HILF Summer Break! Watch social media for updates and events throughout June/July and look forward to the next NEW EPISODE to come out August 6th.         

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Dawn is joined by her sister, Lisa; and niece, Ellie for the HILF-ing of Los Angeles’s most famous true-crime tragedy. Hear about Charles Manson and how the world learned about his sinister cult.

As Dawn is a resident of LA, you'll ride shot-gun briefly as they leave the studio and visit a crime scene in order to better understand this dark page from LA’s past.   Buckle up!

SILF's (Sources I'd Like to F*ck)

Hear the story of Rosemary Kennedy, sister to John F Kennedy, who goes from being the media-darling of a royal ball, to the the victim of a botched lobotomy at the age of 23. 

To thank for this sad and fascinating HILF is Molly McAleer who is a comedy writer, and behind the mic of a few hit podcasts including Trend Lightly, and Mother May I Sleep With - which is devoted to Lifetime movies!

Catch Molly's LIVE SHOW Friends Only Live! (June 25th, 2025 - BOSTON) 

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Welcome back! When last we met Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and their Corps of Discovery, our heroes had navigated over 2,000 miles. Up and down rivers, across the Continental Divide, and all way to the Northern Pacific Coast. They saw a dead whale, it was nuts. 

In the conclusion, learn why those who first saw present-day Yellowstone Park thought it was literal hell on earth; hear how Sacegewea’s son finds himself in the royal court of Germany; and so much more!

Along with Dawn on this historic journey, is comedian Alex Malt, whose first comedy alb...

Lewis & Clark were more than just two white guys in buckskins! Join Dawn and the “Corps of Discovery” as they venture into the wildest of the wild West. Meet Sacegawea, fight a grizzly, and find out what it takes to cross the Rocky Mountains in 1805.
 

Along with Dawn on this historic journey, is comedian Alex Malt, whose first comedy album debuts this summer!

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It’s the wild, true story of Donald Nichols, a seventh-grade drop-out who rises from Army Mechanic to Black Ops Phenomenon during the Korean War. Hear the whole twisted tale - from his unlikely rise, to his fall, to the weeks of electroshock therapy - and from Blaine Harden, the world’s leading expert on the subject.

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Joining Napoleon on his journey to his now-famous defeat at Waterloo, is comedian, Jackie Kashian. She has several comedy albums, performs across the country, and on all your screens: Netflix, late show, Conan and so much more.

You can also hear her on two great podcasts, The Dork Forest, which invites folks from a variety of backgrounds to come and share the stuff on which they are “dorks”, and the comedy podcast The Jackie and Laurie Show which pairs her with another great comedian, Laurie Kilmartin.

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Re-join Dawn and her guest, comedian, Jackie Kashian (Netflix, late show, Comedy Central) for a few more tasty morsels from the history of Napoleon's doomed last stand. 

Listen to Jackie's two great podcasts: The Dork Forest, which invites folks from a variety of backgrounds to come and share the stuff on which they are “dorks”, and the comedy podcast The Jackie and Laurie Show which pairs her with another great comedian, Laurie Kilmartin.

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“Entertainment Specialist” was the technical designation of what would later be known as The Morale Corps. This intrepid group of enlisted soldiers were responsible for finding joy in life’s darkest and most dangerous corners.

To tell the story, Dawn is joined by author Robert B. O’Connor who wrote Jeep Show: A Trouper at the Battle of the Bulge. Hear how his novel weaves a lovely fiction among real history and makes the case for why we should all learn to play the spoons.

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In HILF EP78, you got to know the Jeep Show, a real-life WW2 unit of enlisted soldiers (including Mickey Rooney) who were on the front lines with nothing but an accordion, a Jeep full of wigs, and ORDERS to boost morale. 

Continue the conversation with Dawn and author Robert B. O’Connor who wrote Jeep Show: A Trouper at the Battle of the Bulge. 

See video of the real Electro - The Westinghouse Robot that captured Robert's heart.  

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It’s a family affair as Dawn is joined by her husband, director Andrew Melby, to HILF this awe-inspiring natural wonder of the world. On a recent road-trip to Los Angeles from Minnesota, Dawn and Andrew stopped in the Grand Canyon. The beauty, wonder and mystery of the place inspired Dawn to take a deep dive into the history.

…and who better to go down with?

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Join Dawn and guest, Cristina Van Epps, as they follow the dark and fascinating path of Jack Parsons - the rocket-loving occultist who helped man get to the moon. Cristina works as an engineer at The Jet Propulsion Laboratory and is also a self-professed ‘sci-fi nerd’.

Hear the incredible story of Jack Parsons whose fascination with science and outer space led him on a journey to the stars… and huge piles of drugs.

Listen to Cristina’s Dungeon and Dragons podcast: I Seduce the Dragon

Listen to Cristina’s...

Dawn's guest is comedian, Andy Rider, whose hit comedy album The Get Together has topped itunes and earned him increasing acclaim. Together they discuss the history of North Korea, the incredible story of No Kum Sok, and so much more!

Learn more about HILF's new podcast family, The Big Comedy Network.

Find Andy's podcast Fingering the Page

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This was no party...

They were the group who got hopelessly stranded over a particularly harsh winter in the Sierra Nevadas - many of them starve to death and several of those who don’t starve to death, survived by resorting to cannibalism.

Dawn's guest is actor and writer, Andy Kraft. He is a longtime friend and colleague - together they've done everything from romantic comedies on screen, to portraying water droplets on stage. Andy can be seen in countless commercials, episodes of television (including the final episode of Brooklyn nine-nine) and is the hand up...

When last we met, Dawn and guest Andy Kraft were taking a shot of whiskey to prepare for the dark path ahead. Hear how it all ends up in the dark pages of history and why your high school teachers probably never told you the whole story. 

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Dawn has the benefit of a live audience and visual aides as she tells the story of the remarkable Christmas Truce of 1914. From the streets of Sarajevo to the trenches of France, it's a story of humanity and joy in the darkest of times.  Recorded LIVE in Burbank, California - December 11th, 2024 at Flappers Comedy Club. 

Watch the full video of the show when you subscribe on Patreon! 

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Dawn's guests are two connoisseurs of drinking, Juliana McIntosh and Brad Sutton - the neice-and-uncle-team behind the hit podcast, The Art of Drinking.  Jules is an influencer in the craft cocktail space (what?); and her real-life uncle Brad serves up classic cocktail recipes and history. Swoon!

GET JULE'S BOOK - Pretty Simple Cocktails

**During the episode, we make and drink 2 cocktails! 

Recipes and approximate time-code in the episode when we start making ours is below so you can toast along with us!

COCKTAIL #1 - The View Carre. [00:13:00]

Hear about the places that managed to avoid the plague, at least for a little while, and what a medieval haz-mat suit looked like. Also, continue to roll the 'Death Dice' along with celebrated music supervisor, Mary Ramos, to see if any of the characters we meet along the way manage to avoid the sickness and death that overcame half of the global population. 

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Join us for HILF LIVE - Wednesday, Dec. 11th @8PM - Flappers Comedy Club. Burbank, CA

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Dawn is joined by celebrated Music Supervisor, Mary Ramos, who has worked on some of the most incredible film scores in movie history! A close collaborator with Quentin Tarantino, she’s had a hand in everything from Pulp Fiction to Django Unchained - and a slew of other favorites in-between.

Join us as we discuss the very beginning of The Black Death, starting with Patient Zero in Italy and then follow us… and the rats, and the fleas… around the world and right to our own back door.

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Join us for HILF LIVE...

Dawn is joined by comedian, Macy Issacs, to talk about the origin of Vampire folklore and what - from the many stories about them - is actually real! We’ll go around the world and see how vampires in Japan and Alaska differ from the ones in Transylvania. 

Take notes, because we also discuss the most effective ways to fight them off… unless you chose to invite them in.

Find Macy on Instagram

Hear Macy's Podcast, SSRI'M OK

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Originally released in October of 2022, revisit Dawn and her guest, Jose Barrientos, for a rundown of the history of horror movies! From silent dancing skeletons, to The Wolfman, and all the way past The Walking Dead - we're here to tell you what has scared us collectively the most... and why! 

Find Jose on Youtube!

Find Jose on Instagram!

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To help tell the story of the man behind our 100-dollar bill, Dawn is joined by Benjamin Franklin expert, Bryan Austin. He portrays James Madison and Ben Franklin in Colonial Williamsburg and has walked much more than a mile in their shoes...

Pull up a chair and hear the stories of Benjamin Franklin’s wild childhood, his multitude of lovers, and the parties that were so good, they saved America.

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LEARN MORE about Benjamin Franklin!

Nannerl Mozart, Wolfgang Amadaeus's intriguing older sister, is the HILF of Dawn's guest, LAZOU. She is an award-winning podcast host and composer with work featured in film, television and a gazillion other places!  Hear about her childhood growing up on the tiny island of Mauritius (the only place the Dodo bird ever lived) and how moving to Canada and then the US shaped both her perspective and her music. 

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Dawn's guest literally wrote the book on this mysterious and mythic place known by some as 'the Atlantis of the Pacific Ocean'. Historian and writer Justin McHenry joins her from his office in West Virginia to help tell this absolutely bananas tale of Lemuria: A True Story of a Fake Place. 

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While many of us can easily picture Mount Rushmore in our heads, few of us know much about it beyond the heads. Even if you CAN name all four presidents featured (and only 30% of Americans can) the story of how and why this enormous feat of engineering - and total fuck-job on the Native Americans - came to pass.

Guest, Christine Blackburn, is a comedian and story-teller located in LA, and the host of several wildly successful shows. 

Story Worthy is an epic podcast now in it’s 14th season

Story Smash is a l...

AJ Jacobs is a writer and humorist known for his immersive dedication to a variety of subjects.  He spent a year attempting to follow EVERY rule in the Bible and wrote a NY TIMES best-seller, The Year of Living Biblically; and his latest book The Year of Living Constitutionally follows his journey through the lens of the 18th century.  

Join Dawn and AJ as they discuss what in the constitution they think is worth keeping, what could use some changes - and why 'cherry picking' isn't such a bad concept after all... 

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Originally recorded recorded in April, 2022 - over 50 episodes ago - Dawn revisits The Whiskey Rebellion with bartender, Rashid Green.   

Learn how to make some of the best 18th Century cocktails AND get a dose of some founding daddy realness.

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Get Rashid's recipe for THE SHERRY FLIP

Get Rashid's recipe for CLARET'S PUNCH

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Dawn is joined by actor and writer, Brandon Gibson (Black-ish, Fresh Off the Boat, Spilled Paint) who has long been fascinated by the the consumptive, former-dentist, with a southern drawl and a propensity for prostitutes… who isn't?

SILF’s (Sources I’d Like to F*ck)

Join Dawn as she strips down YOUR HILF's in the first-ever audience-request show. 

[00:01:13]  The Great Emu War of 1932 which pitted a bunch of WWI veterans against a mob of flightless birds.

[00:08:37] The Blood Countess, Elizabeth Bathory. Was she the first documented serial killer AND an inspiration for Dracula?

[00:19:42]  Hedy Lamarr who went from dinner parties with Hilter to inventing weapons to go right up Germany's ass. 

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Maybe you think WW2 started when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor... but that was just when America got involved. 

Maybe you think WW2 started when Germany invaded Poland... but that was just when England and France had finally had enough. 

To really understand how WW2 started, historian Michael Trapani has written and produced an audio-book - HOW TO START A WAR - that is a vivid guide through the lurid and surprising events of the rise of the Third Reich. Together, Dawn and Michael highlight some of the  most hair-raising moments, while reminding the listener of...

Dawn's guest is adult-film actress, Ryan Keely who takes no offense to the term 'porn star'. Ryan is also a book-worm and one of the cast of the sensational new Dungeons and Dragons podcast, I Seduce The Dragon. @ISTD

Join Dawn and Ryan as two professional 'fuckers' in hot pursuit of history's hottest outlaw. 

Dawn's Sources   

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Climbing into the cockpit with Amelia and Dawn is guest, Fallon Morey of That's So Fucked Up. Fallon's knowledge of history and love of bad-ass women makes her a perfect navigator for this incredible story.

Dawn's Sources   

---- Hear Dawn as a guest with Ashely on TSFU - Jonesin' for Jonestown

Dawn is joined by guest, Katy Hearne-Church one of the hosts of The Queens Podcast. Katy is not only a big fan of Josephine Baker, but she is whip-smart and enjoys a cocktail in the afternoon. 

Dawn's Sources   

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Dawn's Guest, Dave Reinitz is a stand-up comedian and stain-glass artist whose personal connection to this slice of History brings it alive for all of us. Hear about how his mother, Janet Braun-Reinitz, joined with the Freedom Riders in 1961 and endured and enlightened one of the darkest chapters of American History. 

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Dawn's Sources   

Joining Dawn for the HILF-ing of the Conch Republic is Florida native, comedian, and former Marine Biologist, Forrest Shaw. He currently performs stand-up around the world, and is the co-host of the podcast, I don’t Know About That with Jim Jeffries. 

You can also catch him on The Mermen Podcast with Dave Williamson.

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Dawn's Sources   

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Welcome back aboard the ill-fated Bounty with Dawn and guest, Scott Edwin Williams, school-teacher and author of the fantastic book series, LIGHTBULB MOMENTS IN HUMAN HISTORY.  

Part one left the mutineers singing and dancing as they pushed Captain Bligh into the horizon. Rejoin them as they go in search of a new future among hostile territory, and while be hunted by an angry king.

Dawn's Sources   

Come aboard the ill-fated Bounty with Dawn and guest, Scott Edwin Williams. Scott is a school-teacher and author of the fantastic book series, LIGHTBULB MOMENTS IN HUMAN HISTORY which looks at history with a nod to both humor, and a hope for the future. Together they trace the origins and outcomes of not only the infamous Captain Bligh, but the mutineers, their Tahitian lovers, and even the blind fiddler... 

Dawn's Sources

Aleister Crowley is a sado-machoistic cult leader that Dawn frankly hates... but since when has hate ever made anyone less fuckable? Joining her on this journey into the darker pages of history, is celebrated chef, Hilah Johnson. She has hosted several cooking shows on Youtube and The Travel Channel and is also the author of several cookbooks. 

Dawn's Sources

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Dawn's guests are sports podcasters (and native Bostonians) Sarah Retalic and Dave Houghton of IN A PICKLE RADIO.  Find out how much they know regarding one of their city's defining events, and keep score along with Dawn all the way to the surprise ending. 

Dawn's Sources

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Dawn's guests  are Jimmy G and Mike Wehmann who love the world of wrestling - and the world of rock bands, and whiskey, and podcasting, and bacon. They are the co-hosts of the hit podcast ‘Bacon is my Podcast’ and that makes this episode a three-way, baby.

Hear Dawn on BIMP - Part 1 and Part 2 are available now!

Dawn's Sources

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