logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2018
27m 18s

The Curse of the Hope Diamond

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
About this episode
The Hope Diamond is one of the most iconic items in the Smithsonian's collections, but this glittering gem is rumored to have a dark side. French monarchs, an heiress, and at least one unlucky postman have met misfortune after possessing it—though does that really constitute a curse? This time on Sidedoor, we track the lore of this notorious gem through the ... Show More
Up next
Jun 10
How Can You Forget Me
Everyone thought ghosts lived in the basement of Stockton, California's old Daguhoy Lodge. So, nobody went down there. But when one man refused to be spooked, he made a discovery that would bring the ghosts back to life. In this episode, we explore how an accidental discovery res ... Show More
27m 35s
May 27
High Art, Low Ride
How did a car with chopped suspension and hydraulics become a symbol of pride and self-expression for an entire community? We'll cruise back in time to see how lowriders emerged from the post-WWII car craze and became a powerful symbol of Mexican American pride. It's a long road ... Show More
32m 15s
May 13
The People in the Pictures
At the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, archivists are working with Native communities to correct the historical record … one photo at a time.In this episode, we go inside the archives, where century-old photographs once labeled “Indian man” or “woman in cost ... Show More
30m 8s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2023
Episode 37: The Hope Diamond
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Marilyn Monroe and Madonna told me so! That is… unless those diamonds are cursed! This episode is a deep-dive into the Hope Diamond, a 45.52 carat blue diamond in the collection of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Come for an almost to ... Show More
1h 13m
Mar 2024
Diamonds are a Gaul's Best Friend: The Affair of the Diamond Necklace
As Orson Welles would say, "Ah, the French." Here, in a lead up to the French Revolution, we consider the tale of one randy Cardinal, one social climbing almost-noble, one doomed queen, and one hideous diamond necklace. C'est ridicule (especially Elizabeth butchering all French p ... Show More
49m 21s
Mar 2012
Legacy
In this Diamond Jubilee year, BBC Arts Editor Will Gompertz has been selecting some of the most revealing objects from the Royal Collection to see what they tell us about the monarchs who acquired them. It is one of the most wide-ranging collections of art and artefacts in the wo ... Show More
27m 56s
May 2019
Marie Antoinette and the Diamond Necklace Hoax
Queen Marie Antoinette's reputation was already tarnished by gossip in 1784, but was completely ruined by the implication that she defrauded the crown jewelers, conning them out of a dazzling, expensive diamond necklace. That's the short summary -- but the story itself is a start ... Show More
43m 48s
Aug 2022
OFH Throwback- Episode #96- What is America's Weirdest Secret Society?
In this "throwback episode" we look back at episode #96. In the 1930’s a famous California history professor thought he had discovered a long lost historical treasure. It was a brass plate apparently inscribed by the famous English adventurer Sir. Francis Drake. The plate was her ... Show More
1h 2m
Jan 2024
Delphine Lalaurie, la tortionnaire de la Nouvelle Orléans
tail spinning
33m 22s
Jul 2022
L’affaire du collier de la Reine, la pire escroquerie de l’Histoire de France
C'est l’une des plus grandes affaires d’escroquerie du XVIIIème siècle. Celle d’un bijou d’une valeur exorbitante qui a terni pour de bon la réputation de Marie-Antoinette et a précipité la Révolution française. Diamants, fausses lettres, rendez-vous galant et manipulation… Autan ... Show More
15 m
Aug 2022
OFH Throwback- Episode #96- What is America's Weirdest Secret Society?
In this "throwback episode" we look back at episode #96. In the 1930’s a famous California history professor thought he had discovered a long lost historical treasure. It was a brass plate apparently inscribed by the famous English adventurer Sir. Francis Drake. The plate was her ... Show More
1h 2m
Sep 2022
8. The Koh-i-Noor Diamond
A single stone has been fought over for at least 250 years by four different empires, and now sits in the Queen Consort's crown as part of the British royal family's Crown Jewels. William and Anita trace the murky history of one of the world's most famous diamonds. Learn more abo ... Show More
51m 58s
Oct 2022
Golden Canary Diamond to be auctioned in New York
The Golden Canary Diamond, weighing a colossal 303.10 carats, is one of the largest polished diamonds in the world and the largest flawless diamond ever graded. The historic diamond is set to highlight Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels auction in New York. Gerry Appleby from Appleby J ... Show More
8m 43s