Bittersweet Infamy

Storytellers and best friends Josie Mitchell and Taylor Basso share the stories that live on in infamy: the strange and the familiar, the tragic and the comic—the bitter and the sweet. New episodes (usually) every other Sunday on the 604 Podcast Network! Support the show: ko-fi.com/bittersweetinfamy

#135 - Mother of a Monster 10/28/2025

#135 - Mother of a Monster Trick-or-Treat Infamy + season finale! Josie tells Taylor about the dramatic life and times of English novelist Mary Shelley, and the infamous origins of her Gothic masterpiece, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Plus: is your Labubu a conduit for an ancient Mesopotamian demon? Find out in the final minfamous of season five! /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/38639350

#134 - The Mad Trapper of Rat River 10/14/2025

#134 - The Mad Trapper of Rat River Trick-or-Treat Infamy! Taylor tells Josie about Albert Johnson (not his real name), the mysterious outlaw who led Mounties on an explosive and deadly winter manhunt through Canada's Yukon and Northwest Territories. Plus: unpacking Taylor's trip to the Yukon, including the community of Carcross, population: 300, where the ghosts of Bessie Gideon and her parrot Polly haunt the century-old Caribou Hotel. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/38504585

#133 - Naked and Aflame 10/07/2025

#133 - Naked and Aflame Big Skookum B.C. Road Trip! In this special episode, Josie tells Taylor about the Sons of Freedom (a.k.a. the Freedomites), the religious sect with an affinity for public nudity and arson, and the history of the Doukhobors in British Columbia. Plus: join Josie, Taylor, and special guests Lucia Misch and Ruy Gonzalez as they wrap up the Big Skookum B.C. Road Trip, including stops at the South Enderby Flea Market, a Keremeos curio shop, and the party capital of Canada: Kelowna-fornia! /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/37461145

#132 - Operation: Save Linda's Sweater 09/15/2025

#132 - Operation: Save Linda's Sweater Big Skookum B.C. Road Trip! Josie, Taylor, and special guests Lucia Misch and Ruy Gonzalez travel around Canada's beautiful westernmost province, British Columbia, with stops including the legendary Shambhala Music Festival in Salmo, a gusty ferry ride across Upper Arrow Lake, and a dip in the river-fed Lussier Hot Springs! Plus: Taylor loses a family heirloom, Josie gets some good news from home, Lucia spearheads a heroic rescue effort, and Ruy drinks too much prune juice. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/37591550

#131 - The Big Skookum Bittersweet Ambush 08/24/2025

#131 - The Big Skookum Bittersweet Ambush Big Skookum B.C. Road Trip! In this special episode recorded at the Arthur O. Wheeler hut in Glacier National Park, Taylor and special guests Lucia Misch and Ruy Gonzalez ambush Josie with a game show all about the beautiful province of British Columbia. Watch the plan come together, and play along from home to prove your B.C. bona fides! /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/37461135

#130 - Bury Me On Rattlesnake Island 08/10/2025

#130 - Bury Me On Rattlesnake Island Big Skookum B.C. Road Trip! In this special episode, Taylor tells Josie about Lebanese-Canadian entrepreneur Eddy Haymour, and how his dream of building an Arabian theme park on Lake Okanagan led him to take 33 people hostage at the Canadian embassy in Beirut. Plus: join Josie, Taylor, and special guests Lucia Misch and Ruy Gonzalez as they kick off the first leg of a British Columbia road trip, with stops in Kamloops, Salmon Arm, and Glacier National Park! /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/37461110

#129 - A Shipwreck Away from Abalonia 07/30/2025

#129 - A Shipwreck Away from Abalonia Josie tells Taylor about the 1966 near-founding of the micronation of Abalonia on a sunken island 100 miles off the California coast, and how the would-be country's future was washed away with the tides. Plus: enter the mystical and dangerous world of catch fétiche, a.k.a. Congolese voodoo wrestling. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/37421330

#128 - Too Cute for Comfort 07/13/2025

#128 - Too Cute for Comfort Taylor tells Josie about Cuties (a.k.a. Mignonnes), the 2020 Netflix film by Senegalese-French writer/director Maïmouna Doucouré, and how it sparked a child exploitation panic that made its way to the U.S. Senate. Plus: illusionist Murray SawChuck breaks the magician's code, and gets disappeared from the Academy of Magical Arts. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/37252845

#127 - A Palace of Seeds and Nothing to Eat 06/29/2025

#127 - A Palace of Seeds and Nothing to Eat Josie tells Taylor how the botanists at the U.S.S.R.'s Institute of Plant Industry kept the world's largest seed bank intact during the infamously brutal Siege of Leningrad (1941-44). Plus: we examine the ancient roots of the al-Badawi tree, the millennia-old olive tree that keeps vigil over the embattled village of al-Walaja, Palestine. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/37130720

#126 - Spin-Out in the Fast Lane 06/15/2025

#126 - Spin-Out in the Fast Lane Taylor tells Josie about the cheating conspiracy behind Brazilian auto racer Nelson Piquet Jr.’s deliberate crash at the 2008 Formula One Singapore Grand Prix. Plus: a few notes on the reclusive Q Lazzarus, the mysterious voice behind the cult favourite song "Goodbye Horses." /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/36912060

#125 - The White Witch of Rose Hall 06/01/2025

#125 - The White Witch of Rose Hall Josie tells Taylor about Annie Palmer, the legendary murderous vodou matron whose ghost is said to haunt her Montego Bay plantation—and how her story wrestles with the true spectre of slavery in Jamaica. Plus: learn about Lapu-Lapu, the hero of Philippine resistance who crushed Ferdinand Magellan's dreams of circumnavigating the globe. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/36710455

#124 - My X Father 05/18/2025

#124 - My X Father Guest host Kai Cheng Thom tells Josie and Taylor about the turbulent relationship between terminally online rich guy Elon Musk and his transgender daughter Vivian Wilson. Plus: look to the heavens as we memorialize the ill-fated Laika, the first dog in space. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/36519785

#123 - The Wreck of the Titan 04/27/2025

#123 - The Wreck of the Titan In the finale of our Titanic April series, Taylor tells Josie about the discovery and exploration of the Titanic's wreck, and the deadly 2023 implosion of the OceanGate Titan submersible. Plus: learn about Charles Joughin, the infamous "drunken baker" who seemingly survived the sinking of the Titanic with a bit of liquid courage. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/36268580

#122 - Women and Children First 04/20/2025

#122 - Women and Children First As part of our Titanic April series, Josie tells Taylor about the history of the disaster evacuation rule "women and children first," and how the gender roles of 1912 impacted the victims and survivors of the Titanic's sinking. Plus: history repeats itself as we check out the ambitious (or unrealistic?) plans for three modern Titanic replicas. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/36144340

#121 - Nazi Titanic (and Other Films in Which Ships Sink) 04/13/2025

#121 - Nazi Titanic (and Other Films in Which Ships Sink) As part of our Titanic April series, Taylor tells Josie and guest host Mitchell Collins about the film adaptations of the Titanic story, including Saved from the Titanic, the lost 1912 film that starred an actual survivor, and 1943's Titanic, the Nazi propaganda flick whose turbulent production was connected to an even more deadly maritime tragedy. Plus: was world-famous boxer Jack Johnson really turned away from the Titanic because of the colour of his skin? /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/36049650

#120 - The Sinking of the RMS Titanic 04/06/2025

#120 - The Sinking of the RMS Titanic To launch our Titanic April series, Josie tells Taylor about the most infamous maritime disaster in history: the sinking of the largest ocean liner in the world, the RMS Titanic, after hitting an iceberg on her 1912 maiden voyage. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/36022060

#119 - In the Garden of the Emperor 03/23/2025

#119 - In the Garden of the Emperor Taylor tells Josie about France's disastrous attempt to overthrow the Mexican government in the 1860s, and the unwise rise and catastrophic fall of the last emperor of Mexico, Maximilian I. Plus: Taylor unpacks his trip to Cuernavaca, Mexico, including a tour of Jardín Borda, Emperor Maximilian’s lavish personal garden. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/35742790

#118 - How the West Was Sold 03/09/2025

#118 - How the West Was Sold Josie tells Taylor how our modern cultural image of the Wild West was constructed by one man: soldier and showman "Buffalo" Bill Cody. Plus: unravelling the mystery of the Persian Princess, the mummy whose royal trappings disguised a heartbreaking hoax. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/35524030

#117 - My Perfect Socialist Daughter Must Die 02/23/2025

#117 - My Perfect Socialist Daughter Must Die Taylor tells Josie about the toxic, possessive, and deadly mother-daughter relationship between 1930s Spanish political activists Aurora and Hildegart Rodríguez Carballeira. Plus: unearthing the legend of the green children of Woolpit, the green-skinned changelings who’ve mystified the world since the 12th century CE. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/35308175

#116 - A Most Unusual Proposal 02/09/2025

#116 - A Most Unusual Proposal Josie tells Taylor about the unconventional art project that saw American artist Jill Magid propose to Italian archivist Federica Zanco with a diamond made from the physical remains of prominent Mexican architect Luis Barragán. Plus: head up to Dawson City, Yukon, and join the Sourtoe Cocktail Club—by drinking a cocktail made with a severed human toe! /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/35158100

#115 - This Bud's Not for You 01/26/2025

#115 - This Bud's Not for You Taylor tells Josie the stories of transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, whose TikTok ad for Bud Light kicked off a right-wing beer boycott, and January Marie Lapuz, the beloved social butterfly whose 2012 killing shocked Vancouver's LGBTQ+ community. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/34935370

#114 - The Terrorist Heiress 01/12/2025

#114 - The Terrorist Heiress Season five premiere! Josie tells Taylor about heiress turned abductee turned revolutionary Patricia Hearst, and her explosive odyssey with the militia that kidnapped her, the Symbionese Liberation Army. Plus: the tragic saga of the animal outlaws who became MAGA martyrs, Peanut the squirrel and Fred the raccoon. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/34745670

#113 - The Twelve Days of Infamy 12/24/2024

#113 - The Twelve Days of Infamy Holiday special! Taylor tells Josie one infamous story for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas—from the drummer the Beatles drummed out of the band, to a Partridge naked on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/34439485

#112 - A Spirited Tour of Spiritualism 10/27/2024

#112 - A Spirited Tour of Spiritualism Halloween special + season finale! Josie tells Taylor about the haunting history of the modern Spiritualist movement—from the crafty teen sisters who brought it to life, to the high-profile feud between Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that nearly caused its demise. Plus: get dressed up for Jimi (地味) Halloween, Japan's costumed celebration of the mundane and everyday; and walk with us amongst the dead at Old City Cemetery in Galveston, Texas. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/33627057

#111 - The War of the Worlds 10/13/2024

#111 - The War of the Worlds Halloween special! Taylor tells Josie about the 1938 Orson Welles radio play about a Martian invasion that allegedly caused a mass hysteria, and the 1949 Ecuadorean remake that went even further. Plus: flesh out your fall reading list with the world's largest collection of books bound in human skin! /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/33395842

#110 - The Killers of Eden 09/29/2024

#110 - The Killers of Eden Guest host Peter Chiykowski tells Josie and Taylor about the pod of orcas who hunted in harmony with humans until a brutal betrayal ended it all. Plus: catch up with Darwin the Ikea Monkey, the stylish snow macaque whose fetching winter coat kept him warm through a chilly legal battle. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/33131722

#109 - Night at the Dick Museum 09/22/2024

#109 - Night at the Dick Museum Josie tells Taylor about the Icelandic Phallological Museum, which contains the world's largest display of phalluses, and curator Sigurður Hjartarson's quest for the collection's crown jewel: a human penis. Plus: listen to "Amelia's Song," the mysterious melody that reunited a family across cultures, continents, and centuries. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/33120682

#108 - Satan's Last Stronghold 09/15/2024

#108 - Satan's Last Stronghold Guest host Erika Jo Brown tells Josie and Taylor about the evangelical Christian fervour that led American missionary John Chau to contact the voluntarily isolated people of North Sentinel Island—with deadly results. Plus: get to know Erika Jo with a harvest-fresh game of Bitter or Sweet? /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/32964492

#107 - The Tower 09/08/2024

#107 - The Tower Taylor tells Josie about Alicia Esteve “Tania” Head, the prominent 9/11 survivor who was exposed as a fraud. Plus: a deep dive into the centuries-old history of the ama, Japan's legendary pearl divers. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/32890987

#106 - The Party Bus Omnibus 08/25/2024

#106 - The Party Bus Omnibus Josie celebrates Taylor's birthday with a series of infamous party stories, featuring guests of honour from Kim Kardashian to Kim Jong-il. Plus: step into the ring with the Fighting Cholitas, the professional wrestlers crushing stereotypes of Indigenous women in Bolivia. /episode/index/show/009be5d6-c390-4bf8-8545-bdb56f7dc66c/id/32710067

Bittersweet Infamy

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