In this episode, we get into the absolutely unhinged Dancing Plague of 1518 — the real moment when hundreds of people in Strasbourg danced for days, weeks, and sometimes literally to death.
We look at the dance manias that came before, the political and religious chaos that had everyone on edge, and how it all escalated after Frau Troffea started dancing and ... Show More
Oct 21
No Blood, No Sparkles — China’s Hopping Vampires
<p>A corpse that hops through the night in Qing dynasty robes—sounds fake, right? But the jiāngshī was once a very real fear. This week, we’re talking about China’s “hopping vampires,” and how they came from something way less supernatural: family obligations, burial delays, and ... Show More
1h 1m
May 2022
Susan Westhafer Furukawa, "The Afterlife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi: Historical Fiction and Popular Culture in Japan" (Harvard UP, 2022)
Popular representations of the past are everywhere in Japan, from cell phone charms to manga, from television dramas to video games to young people dressed as their favorite historical figures hanging out in the hip Harajuku district. But how does this mass consumption of the pas ... Show More
40 m
Sep 2024
Ian Williams, "Vampire State: The Rise and Fall of the Chinese Economy (Birlinn, 2024)
State capitalism. Socialism with Chinese characteristics. A socialist market economy. There have been numerous descriptions of the Chinese economy. However, none seems to capture the predatory, at times surreal, nature of the economy of the world’s most populous nation – nor the ... Show More
1h 1m
Sep 30
The Truth About "Zombies"
As summer turns and fall begins, Ridiculous History officially enters the most wonderful time of the year. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max dive into the legend of a specific kind of 'living dead' -- the zombie. According to the stories, a zombie is a cadaver reanimated thro ... Show More
50m 17s
Jan 2024
Season 3, Episode 3: Jessica Rawson, Life and Afterlife in Ancient China
Join Professor Jeffrey Sachs and Jessica Rawson, one of the world’s most eminent scholars of China, as they discuss Rawson’s book, Life and Afterlife in Ancient China. Listen in to learn about the roots of Chinese civilization through the stories of twelve grand tombs, each helpi ... Show More
44m 21s