He was lauded as a hero… until it was revealed he was gay. His conviction for “gross indecency” led to the tragic end of a brilliant visionary who pushed computer science forward by leaps and bounds. 

Kate also gives a very high-level overview of the history of computers through the mid-20th century, and discusses the shady Nazi dealings of IBM and its president, Thomas Watson. 

Content Warning: Suicide

References

History of Computers

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/computer

https://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/Ancient-Africa/lebombo.html

https://afrolegends.com/2019/05/17/the-lebombo-bone-the-oldest-mathematical-artifact-in-the-world/

https://mathigon.org/timeline/ishango

https://old.maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/mathematical-treasure-ishango-bone

https://kb.osu.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/5ec33729-835c-5b97-8993-f6ea84bd7617/content

https://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/computers/

https://www.britannica.com/technology/computer/History-of-computing

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/analog-vs-digital/all

https://control.com/textbook/digital-data-acquisition-and-networks/digital-representation-of-numerical-data/

https://www.paleotechnologist.net/?p=5264

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinknudson/2017/01/21/the-humble-logarithm/

https://www.nps.gov/long/blogs/a-gunter-scale-used-for-navigation-and-mathematics.htm

https://web.mit.edu/2.972/www/reports/slide_rule/slide_rule.html

https://sites.imsa.edu/hadron/2024/04/02/decoding-the-digital-age-how-binary-code-rules-our-world/

http://scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/jacquard-loom

https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/charles-babbages-difference-engines-and-science-museum

https://www.computerhistory.org/babbage/engines/

https://www.computerhistory.org/babbage/adalovelace/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666389920301598

Thomas Watson and IBM

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/watson_hi.html

https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2021/02/carroll-21-and-meirowitz-22-why-is-brown-celebrating-a-nazi-honoree-rename-the-watson-cit

https://www.nytimes.com/1940/06/07/archives/1937-hitler-decoration-is-returned-by-watson.html

https://chsi.harvard.edu/harvard-ibm-mark-1-about

IBM and the Holocaust: The Strategic Alliance Between Nazi Germany and America’s Most Powerful Corporation: https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ICISEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP8&dq=thomas+j+watson,+Ibm,+and+nazi+germany&ots=dvygruNeA_&sig=pGtz198U3coJnEUA8E6qVvABOzQ#v=onepage&q=thomas%20j%20watson%2C%20Ibm%2C%20and%20nazi%20germany&f=false

Alan Turing

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18419691

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/articles/zhwp7nb#zbmwcxs

15-year-old Alan: https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/976xn/p02ck8fl.jpg.webp

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alan-Turing

https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/enigma-codebreaker-alan-turing-two-jewish-refugees/

https://www.cia.gov/stories/story/the-enigma-of-alan-turing/

https://www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk/science-engineering/2024/06/18/an-indicted-hero-honouring-alan-turing-as-a-gay-man-failed-by-society-pride-month-2024/

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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We weren't intending to upcycle this week, but we had a guest drop last-minute and didn't have time to put something else together in a thoughtful way. We'll be back all new on the next one with a (sad) story for Pride!

References

https://www.nature.scot/landscapes-and-habitats/habitat-types/lochs-rivers-and-wetlands/freshwater-lochs

​​https://www.historyhit.com/painted-people-who-were-the-picts/#:~:text=Before%20the%20Romans%20came%20to,which%20later%20evolved%20into%20Scotland.

​​https://www.digitscotland.com/scottish-archaeology-and-the-loch-ness-legend/

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-14881753

https://www.scotclans.com/pages/the-loch-ness-monster

https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/the-library/online-exhibitions/mary-anning-and-the-geological-society/reconstruction-of-life/plesiosaurus-dolichodeirus/

https://www.britannica.com/animal/plesiosaur

Images from sonar and imaging study in the 70s: https://www.reddit.com/r/Cryptozoology/comments/n99p51/photos_from_the_mit_sonar_and_imaging_study_of/

https://www.technologyreview.com/2007/10/15/223418/the-nessie-quest/

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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But that’s assuming you have real EVOO, which… you probably don’t. And you might have paid the mafia for the knockoff sitting on your shelf.

Kate, now an olive oil obsessive, enlightens Larkin on the incredible history and science behind olive oil, before discussing the issue of oil fraud that plagues the industry. Then, she gives some tips on how to find good oil from Tom Mueller, author of Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil. 

Plus, she and Larkin discuss the uncomfortable romanticization of the mafia. 

We want to emphasize that we are NOT trying to turn you off olive oil! We just want to help you maximize the benefits by making sure you find the good stuff. 

References

Tom Mueller, Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil, Atlantic Books, 2012 

Tom’s article in the New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/08/13/slippery-business

Tom’s Website: https://www.tommueller.co/extravirginigy

https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/world/mafia-olive-oil-on-60-minutes/50203

https://www.oliveoilsource.com/info/history-of-the-olive

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/celebrations/article/hanukkah

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/add-antioxidants-to-your-diet/art-20546814

https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/good-food/olive-oils-health-benefits-and-why-you-should-add-it-to-your-diet/2024/04

https://www.mdanderson.org/cancerwise/what-are-free-radicals-a-dietitian-explains.h00-159699912.html

https://history.state.gov/countries/italy

https://time.com/4788671/hunger-italy-food-culture/

https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2025/05/08/olive-oil-a-major-target-for-food-fraud/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mafia

https://people.howstuffworks.com/mafia.htm#pt1

https://kottke.org/07/11/the-mafias-ten-commandments

https://theweek.com/crime/italian-mafia-why-is-murder-and-extortion-going-out-of-fashion

Toxic Oil Syndrome: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1240833/

Get Gotti on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/watch/81712582

Fear City: New York vs. The Mafia on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80218338

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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If you celebrate, grab your favorite means of ingestion and listen as Larkin talks all things sticky and icky, breaking down the history of how cannabis was used as an excuse for racism and anti-immigrant sentiment, eventually leading to its criminalization. The movement against this hearty “herb” has fueled oppression, fed the prison-industrial complex, and stalled research about the potential benefits. Plus, the formerly social drug is now increasing social isolation among 1 in 15 American adults. 

References

Kursgesagt - In a Nutshell “You Need to Quit Weed”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Brm71uCWr-I

TIME Magazine article “420 Day: Why There Are So Many Different Names for Weed” Katy Steinmetz. April 20, 2017

https://time.com/4747501/420-day-weed-marijuana-pot-slang/

PBS Eons - “The Hazy Evolution of Cannabis”

https://www.pbs.org/video/the-hazy-evolution-of-cannabis-cyjdln/

Science Advances research article: “Large Scale Whole-Genome resequencing unravels the domestication history of Cannabis sativa” 16 Jul 2021 Vol 7, Issue 29

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abg2286

NPR Codeswitch: The Mysterious History Of 'Marijuana' Matt Thompson July 22, 2013

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/07/14/201981025/the-mysterious-history-of-marijuana

The MIT Press Reader: ‘Cannabis Through the Ages’ Linda A. Parker 

https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/cannabis-through-the-ages/

The MIT Press Reader. ‘A Brief Global History of the War on Cannabis’ Ryan Stoa

https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-global-history-of-the-war-on-cannabis/

Dictionary definition “Marijuana”

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marijuana

The University of Sydney: Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics “History of Cannabis

https://www.sydney.edu.au/lambert/medicinal-cannabis/history-of-cannabis.html

HISTORY.com Authors: Marijuana

https://www.history.com/articles/history-of-marijuana

Lee, Martin A. “Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana – Medical, Recreational and Scientific” Scribner, August 13, 2013

Anslinger Testimony 

https://www.hempology.org/ALL%20HISTORY%20ARTICLES.HTML/1937%20ANSLINGER%20TESTIMONY.html

ACLU Stats

https://www.aclu.org/the-war-on-marijuana-in-black-and-white

https://www.aclu.org/the-war-on-marijuana-in-black-and-white

Brownie Mary 

https://www.sfweekly.com/archives/the-legacy-of-brownie-mary/article_b9ac6c31-dd01-5228-8d63-f0418aed36dd.html

Missouri Independent “Why some people believe ‘marijuana’ is a racist word, and why it doesn’t offend me: Latin American History Professor Isaac Campos recently published findings online of his study on the history of cannabis terminology” Rebecca Rivas. May, 2023

https://missouriindependent.com/2023/05/02/why-some-people-believe-marijuana-is-a-racist-word-and-why-it-doesnt-offend-me/

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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Follow KP/Styled Over Substance on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. 

Check out Ifemi, the ready-to-wear line for plus-sized women, and sign up to be notified when it drops.

References

https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1860-1869/

https://books.google.co.za/books?hl=en&lr=&id=KqSjAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=the+history+of+sizing&ots=UmW7pq8OC9&sig=AK2KmyOJ6RV91jbPGQRMxLaQPDE&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=the%20history%20of%20sizing&f=false

https://time.com/3532014/women-clothing-sizes-history/

https://fashionmagazine.com/style/vanity-sizing/

https://www.bu.style/articles/clothing-sizing

https://medium.com/sizolution/a-brief-history-of-sizing-systems-aee6bd066834

https://www.seamwork.com/style-and-wardrobe/the-origins-of-clothing-sizes?srsltid=AfmBOooeAY2Kg18VOTWGOTdHcnrk_AnkpuGgLW854Grs0v8X0cMId2Nl

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0887302X0502300301

https://twyg.co.za/struggle-for-size-inclusivity/

https://www.vogue.com/article/the-vogue-business-spring-summer-2026-size-inclusivity-report

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0891243218756010

https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/women

https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1910-1919/

tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2752/175174109X467512?__cf_chl_tk=LC4e9csNn0vhBSzAq2PuzNuxkRbH.a8azzTyxQOdVUM-1775066032-1.0.1.1-fqS2dfMCXo0s4.d9pjCv43thIg_j5LLPqLa13Jy38tc

https://www.illustrationhistory.org/essays/flapper-fashion-illustrating-the-garments-worn-by-the-modern-woman-during-the-jazz-age-1919-1942

https://www.britannica.com/topic/flapper

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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Get ready to learn about the man behind the movement, mediocre white man Charles Boycott. Boycott worked as a land agent for the oppressed tenant farmers of British-occupied Ireland in the 1850s, showing up post-famine and pissing off pretty much everyone. His refusal to lower rents, imposition of fines for petty violations, and general jerkishness did not ingratiate him to the locals. Little did he know that his name would live on as one of the most effective tools in the protest playbook. 

Kate also gives you a hefty (yet woefully inadequate) summary of the conflicts between the English and Irish up to 1853. She does her best to hit the highlights from 700 years of war and rebellion, including the Norman invasion, Oliver Cromwell’s campaign of terror, and the pathetic English response to the famine that killed a million people. 

And, as a bonus, you’ll hear the origin of boycatting!

CW: Violence, Sexual Assault, Self-Harm

References

Captain Boycott and the Irish, by Joyce Marlow

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boycott

https://apnews.com/article/trump-musk-tesla-sales-model-y-boycott-doge-deliveries-976a467eca5a179db58cbe4318f54a52

https://www.businessinsider.com/target-boycotts-making-mark-more-protests-are-coming-2025-5

https://www.newsweek.com/target-facing-permanent-boycott-june-2079736#:~:text=Pastor%20Jamal%20Bryant%2C%20in%20an,was%20cut%20by%2043%20percent.

https://www.britannica.com/money/Charles-Cunningham-Boycott

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Boycott

https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/corps-royal-engineers

https://www.britannica.com/technology/sapper-military-engineering

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/marking-the-norman-invasion-of-ireland-850-years-and-counting-1.3877350

https://www.tcd.ie/news_events/articles/2023/how-ireland-served-as-a-laboratory-for-the-british-empire/

https://yourirish.com/history/16th-century/introduction-of-the-crown-of-ireland-act-1542

https://www.olivercromwell.org/wordpress/ireland/

https://www.hrp.org.uk/banqueting-house/history-and-stories/the-execution-of-charles-i/

https://www.britannica.com/event/Penal-Laws

https://www.britannica.com/event/Irish-Rebellion-Irish-history-1798

https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/irish-rebellion-1798

https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/parliamentandireland/collections/ireland/act-of-union-1800/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Daniel-OConnell

https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1653&context=mulr

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Land-League

https://cartlann.org/authors/charles-stewart-parnell/ennis-speech/

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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Kate dives more into the history and culture of the Taino people, including their invention of the hammock, as well as the deeply horrific details of their encounters with the Spanish, instigated by Christopher Columbus. 

This episode comes with an enormous CONTENT WARNING for graphic violence, including against children and infants, as well as torture, rape, and suicide. 

References

A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Bartolomé de las Casas, first published 1552, translated to English 1689

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-were-taino-original-inhabitants-columbus-island-73824867/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bartolome-de-Las-Casas

https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/july-2015-bartolom-de-las-casas-and-500-years-racial-injustice

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Taino

https://www.britannica.com/place/Lesser-Antilles

https://www.britannica.com/place/Greater-Antilles

https://www.britannica.com/topic/shifting-agriculture

https://www.taino-tribe.org/tribal-culture.html

https://tainomuseum.org/taino/

https://www.rutopia.com/en/blog/the-hammocks-mayan-handcrafts-for-your-home

https://www.caneycircle.org/female/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christopher-Columbus#ref25447

https://www.biography.com/history-culture/christopher-columbus

https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/content/did-you-know-spread-islam-southeast-asia-through-trade-routes

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2045/the-gold-of-the-conquistadors/

https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/gold-of-the-indies

https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/transatlantic-slave-trade-begins

https://www.njstatelib.org/research_library/new_jersey_resources/highlights/african_american_history_curriculum/unit_2_rise_of_afro-americans/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christopher-Columbus/The-second-and-third-voyages

https://www.hatueyproject.org/who-is-hatuey/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1769869/

https://chacruna.net/latinos-coast-to-coast/

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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Join us as Larkin sorts through the tale of displacement and discrimination behind one of the largest ballparks in the U.S.

References

Follow Minna Lee Jameson: https://www.instagram.com/minnaleejamison

LA Dodgers

https://www.laalmanac.com/sports/sp06.php

They Moved Home Plate! How baseball’s geography has evolved with the US

Jenny Schuetz and Cecile Murray

March 28, 2018

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-baseballs-geography-has-evolved-with-the-u-s/

NY Times Archive Article 1957

https://www.nytimes.com/1957/10/09/archives/dodgers-accept-los-angeles-bid-to-move-to-coast-team-will-play-in.html

Gabrielino/Tongva Nation of the Greater Los Angeles Basin

State of California Native American Heritage Commision

https://nahc.ca.gov/cp/tribal-atlas-pages/gabrielino-tongva-nation/

Jackie Robinson Foundation

https://jackierobinson.org/jackie-robinson/

HIstory - Jackie Robinson’s Battles for Equality on and off the Baseball Field

Martin Stezano

https://www.history.com/articles/jackie-robinson-color-barrier-baseball

Negro League

https://www.britannica.com/sports/Negro-league

Farm Team

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farm_team

History Baseball owners allow Dodgers and Giants to move

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/may-28/baseball-owners-allow-dodgers-and-giants-to-move

PBS SoCal - Lost LA

Once Upon a Time in Chavez Ravine

https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/lost-la/clip/once-upon-a-time-in-chavez-ravine

Where is Chavez Ravine, Exactly?

Nathan Masters

September 8, 1014

https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/lost-la/where-is-chavez-ravine-exactly

PBS SoCal - They Moved Mountains to Build Dodger Stadium

https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/lost-la/they-moved-mountains-to-build-dodger-stadium

Before the Dodgers

https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/lost-la/episodes/before-the-dodgers

Chavez Ravine: Community to Controversial Real Estate

https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/lost-la/chavez-ravine-community-to-controversial-real-estate

The Dark Heart of Dodger Stadium: The History of Chavez Ravine

Lauren Vandivier

April 25, 2025

https://thelemur.org/2025/04/25/the-dark-heart-of-dodger-stadium-the-history-of-chavez-ravine/

CHAVEZ RAVINE AND THE DODGERS: MYTHS AND REALITIES

John Caragozian

California Supreme Court Historical Society: Sept. 28, 2021 issue of the Los Angeles Daily Journal

https://www.cschs.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/History-Resources-Caragozian-Chavez-Ravine-the-Dodgers.pdf.pdf

CLU Smart Justice: Chavez Ravine - Elysian Park

https://www.callutheran.edu/college-arts-sciences/history/civilliberties/chavez_ravine_civil_liberties_ver2.html

Julian Chavez, the Old Spanish Trail

Angela Reiniche

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/julian-chavez-the-old-spanish-trail.htm

Proclamation 2257

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-2257-pacific-mercado-international-exposition-and-worlds-fair

National Parks Service - Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo

https://www.nps.gov/cabr/learn/historyculture/juan-rodriguez-cabrillo.htm

LA Times 48-Year-Old Armory Rises From Ashes to Serve Again

DENISE HAMILTON

Oct. 2, 1986

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-10-02-ga-3747-story.html

WPA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_Progress_Administration

Aurora Arechinga Vargas

https://share.google/images/ENoOTovry4l6kYQzw

Eminent Domain - Cornell

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/eminent_domain

Barrio

https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/barrio

Arroyo 

https://www.britannica.com/science/arroyo

​​NPR - Remembering the Lost Communities Buried Under Center Field

October 31, 2017

Janice Llamoca

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/10/31/561246946/remembering-the-communities-buried-under-center-field

HUAC

https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/presidential-inquiries/house-un-american-activities-committee

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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Washington Whistles Network: https://linktr.ee/wa.whistles

Support legal aid in Minnesota: https://legalrightscenter.org/

Support the Peoples’ Bail Fund of Minnesota: https://pbfmn.org/

Support the ACLU: https://action.aclu.org/give/now

Minneapolis Mutual Aid Linktree with tons more places to give: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid

Follow Lee Stedman: https://www.instagram.com/ghost_lee19/

Follow John Carlos: https://www.instagram.com/johncarlos1968/?hl=en

References

https://hmh.org/event/the-impact-of-racist-ideologies-jim-crow-and-the-nuremberg-laws/

https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691172422/hitlers-american-model?srsltid=AfmBOopIJ8XgP5D-qsXzbdgv5Txx5QWVIMW6PY6vhZ-DGrQ9IKisoXHn

Bombing of Prague/Challenger Explosion

https://english.radio.cz/80-years-ago-american-bombs-fell-prague-8842882

https://www.mentalfloss.com/holidays/valentines-day-horrible-historical-events

History of the Olympic Games

https://www.olympics.com/ioc/faq/history-and-origin-of-the-games/what-is-the-origin-of-the-olympic-games

https://www.britannica.com/sports/Olympic-Games

https://www.britannica.com/event/Classical-antiquity

https://researchguides.cpcc.edu/his111-112/world-timeline

https://www.britannica.com/sports/Pythian-Games

http://britannica.com/sports/pentathlon

https://www.suu.edu/blog/2016/08/naked-athletes-olympic-history.html

https://www.olympics.com/ioc/ancient-olympic-games

https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/roman-copies-of-greek-statues

https://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/nero.html

https://www.historyskills.com/classroom/ancient-history/nero-olympics/?srsltid=AfmBOoolsB8Q-kP0EylmFHnvmXcnwDvcwEddg8XdqrcZFkZ6hRNh3COd

https://www.olympics.com/ioc/ioc-overview/ioc-history/ancient-olympics/the-end-of-the-ancient-games

https://www.olympics.com/ioc/faq/history-and-origin-of-the-games/when-were-the-first-olympic-winter-games-held

https://www.olympics.com/ioc/paris-1894-olympic-congress

https://www.3wiresports.com/articles/2025/3/20/the-iocs-first-female-and-first-african-president-kirsty-coventry

https://www.olympics.com/ioc/mrs-kirsty-coventry

https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/sports-and-leisure/salt-lake-city-olympics-bid-scandal

Elitism/Racism in the Olympics

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0033350617301282

https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/interactive-wealth-equality-and-olympic-success

https://thecrimsonwhite.com/94225/opinion/the-olympics-reveals-inequalities-in-sports/

https://theconversation.com/why-some-college-sports-are-often-out-of-reach-for-students-from-low-income-families-167334

https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/special-admission/9781978821200

https://www.businessinsider.com/parents-of-olympic-athletes-have-these-3-traits-in-common-2021-8

https://fox59.com/2024-olympics/do-olympic-medalists-get-paid-it-depends/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incentives_for_Olympic_medalists_by_country

https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/news/norway-support-lower-profile-wintersport-nations

https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/47618178/norway-coaches-banned-18-months-ski-jumping-suit-scandal

https://nypost.com/2026/01/17/world-news/ski-jumping-rocked-by-penis-gate-claims-athletes-manipulated-genitals-for-aerodynamic-edge/

https://www.usopc.org/us-olympic-and-paralympic-foundation

https://www.dorfonlaw.org/2016/08/the-olympics-amateurism-and-american.html

https://usopm.org/jim-thorpe/

https://www.americanindianmagazine.org/story/jim-thorpe-backlash-olympic-medals-debacle-and-demise-carlisle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stripped_Olympic_medals

https://www.them.us/story/history-of-racism-at-the-olympic-games

https://www.britannica.com/topic/worlds-fair

https://www.scribd.com/document/298308484/The-1904-Anthropology-Days-and-Olimpic-Games

https://www.npr.org/2004/05/31/1909651/living-exhibits-at-1904-worlds-fair-revisited

https://asianamericanedu.org/1904-worlds-fair-exhibition-of-the-igorot-filipino-people.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16295827

https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a37039437/1904-olympic-marathon/

https://www.olympics.com/en/news/the-strange-case-of-the-st-louis-1904-marathon

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-olympic-torch-relays_b_96648

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-nazi-olympics-berlin-1936

https://jesseowens.com/

​​https://www.ushmm.org/online-calendar/event/MAHATEIMPCTDC0319

https://www.olympics.com/ioc/news/jesse-owens-and-the-greatest-45-minutes-in-sport

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avery_Brundage

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20231011-in-history-how-tommie-smith-and-john-carloss-protest-at-the-1968-mexico-city-olympics-shook-the-world

https://www.britannica.com/event/Moscow-1980-Olympic-Games

https://www.aaihs.org/black-los-angeles-and-the-lapd-in-the-early-1960s/

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/04/26/492848045/-it-s-not-your-father-s-lapd-and-that-s-a-good-thing

https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/gangs-terrorism-and-radicalization

https://digitalscholarship.umich.edu/lsa-history/showcase/season-1-episode-6-transcript/

https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/operation-hammer-1987-1990/

https://cityclerk.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2020/20-1376-S1_ord_draft_7-02-21.pdf

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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CW: Suicide. If you or someone you know is experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, visit this support site for help.

Support legal aid in Minnesota: https://legalrightscenter.org/

Support the People's Bail Fund of Minnesota: https://pbfmn.org/

Support the ACLU: https://action.aclu.org/give/now

Support Magic Wheelchairs: https://www.magicwheelchair.org/

Follow Alia on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/magicalblackgirlalia/

Follow Alia on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@magicalblackgirlalia

References

https://www.csustan.edu/sites/default/files/2023-11/borjonashley_article-the-social-phenomenon-surrounding-b_ashley-borjon.pdf

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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Well, Larkin has an abundance of unpleasant history to add to the mix, including a long line of men known as the “fathers” of the practice, who committed horrific acts while barely advancing their understanding. From murdering the poor to performing unanesthetized surgeries on enslaved people, graphic atrocities abound. 

Listener discretion is definitely advised.

Content Warning: Medical Trauma, Birth Trauma

References

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Book a free assessment with Rhia on her website, rebuildwithrhia.com, and follow her on TikTok and Instagram for more amazing insights and advice. 

References

https://www.history.com/articles/the-history-of-new-years-resolutions

https://www.almanac.com/history-of-new-years-resolutions

https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/when-did-new-years-resolutions-start

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/history-of-new-years-resolutions

https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/luxury/article/a-history-of-new-years-resolutions-times-luxury-dst9n092x?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqd3VPsIuXrvrVZDRfOJpxE_ulWWU5iKyynDv6QwyftHeRPphJwesshI5wjSa2k%3D&gaa_ts=6942ec2c&gaa_sig=xPzgGd7NZVEVRoniYVBzX4kxeH9-W1m5nhlMrd0zoLJQrX-ON8w4VrbgDEd4S5owePl-xdZXxtTbTKCNWfisiA%3D%3D

https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/31/health/new-years-resolutions-history-wellness

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7725288/

Norcross JC, Ratzin AC, Payne D. Ringing in the new year: The change processes and reported outcomes of resolutions. Addict Behav. 1989;14(2):205–212. 10.1016/0306-4603(89)90050-6

https://www.britannica.com/procon/New-Years-resolutions-debate

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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Kate breaks the usual format to bring you three shorter Christmas-related ruins. She discusses a cannibalistic scarecrow, the murder-riddled true story behind Good King Wenceslas, and how the Vikings permanently deforested Iceland. 

Happy holidays!

Special thanks to Elisa Hanssen, aka Elisa in Iceland, for helping us pronounce Icelandic words! Follow her on Instagram and TikTok.

References

Hans Trapp

http://frenchmoments.eu/hans-trapp/#t-1702120300802

https://usghostadventures.com/haunted-stories/25-days-of-christmas/hans-trapp-the-christmas-cannibal-scarecrow/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palatinate_(region)

https://www.britannica.com/event/Italian-Wars

https://www.ripleys.com/stories/hans-trapp

King Wenceslas

https://genius.com/Christmas-songs-good-king-wenceslas-lyrics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenceslaus_I,_Duke_of_Bohemia

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wenceslas-I-prince-of-Bohemia

https://www.umnews.org/en/news/the-real-story-behind-good-king-wenceslas

https://www.britannica.com/event/East-West-Schism-1054

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East%E2%80%93West_Schism

https://magicbohemia.com/drahomira-and-the-gateway-to-hell/

Iceland, The Yule Lads, and the Vikings

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/before-the-yule-lads-evolved-into-icelandic-versions-santa-claus-they-terrorized-children-into-following-rules-180948162/

https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-europe/elves-and-dwarves-0017783

https://adventures.is/blog/the-icelandic-yule-lads/?srsltid=AfmBOop5efv3ZPK06PA-xkZGzqpTLJWgJwkqF_fGGC5cThqPhaFSf2uV

https://restless-viking.com/2019/12/05/icelandic-yule-lads/

https://guidetoiceland.is/history-culture/history-of-iceland

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Viking-people

https://www.visitnorway.com/things-to-do/art-culture/vikings/

https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/maritime-history/viking-ships

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278416524000369

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/little-known-role-slavery-viking-society-180975597/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Norse/comments/1i6m4cg/what_were_blood_brothers_in_norse_society/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harald-I-king-of-Norway

https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/apaa.12102

https://www.savingiceland.org/2017/08/icelands-troubled-environment/

https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/sciencebitesvolume2/chapter/5-6-soil-erosion-in-iceland-reclaiming-a-fragile-environment/

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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CW: Violence against children

References

The Baby Alice Thumb Guard

https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/lindbergh-kidnapping

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/lindbergh-kidnapping/

https://www.rutgers.edu/news/was-lindbergh-kidnapping-inside-job

https://www.geneticsandsociety.org/biopolitical-times/why-newest-lindbergh-baby-conspiracy-theory-isnt-all-out-there-disability

https://famous-trials.com/hauptmann/1405-clinderberghtestimony

https://famous-trials.com/hauptmann/1404-amlinderberghtestimony

https://crimearchives.net/1935_hauptmann/html/1935-01-07_trial_gow.html

https://www.fbi.gov/image-repository/lindberg_note.jpg/@@images/image/high

https://famous-trials.com/hauptmann/1389-#:~:text=Wilentz%20asked%20Lindbergh%20if%20he,a%20bizarre%20line%20of%20questioning.

https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1726&context=lcp

https://famous-trials.com/hauptmann/1398-ransom

https://www.bullionvault.com/gold-guide/gold-certificate

https://www.washoeschools.net/cms/lib/NV01912265/Centricity/Domain/1116/Suspect%20Number%202%20Violet%20Sharpe.pdf

https://dogs-in-history.blogspot.com/2024/03/dogs-in-charles-lindberghs-life.html

https://www.criminalelement.com/how-the-tragic-death-of-violet-sharpe-inspired-a-classic-mystery/

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2004-15002-003

https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=WIT19350202-01.2.18&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA--------0------

https://www.agathachristie.com/news/2017/the-case-that-inspired-murder-on-the-orient-express

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bruno-Hauptmann

https://www.rutgers.edu/news/was-lindbergh-kidnapping-inside-job

https://www.the-sun.com/news/10801407/charles-lindbergh-baby-kidnapping-suspect/

https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/was-wrong-person-executed-in-death-of-lindbergh-baby-ex-judges-book-and-dna-quest-raise-issues

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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CW: Graphic Violence, Food Trauma, Medical Trauma

If you’d like to make a difference to people who are living with food insecurity, check out https://www.feedingamerica.org/ for opportunities to give back. 

References

History of nutrition science

https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/361/bmj.k2392.full.pdf

Canada’s shameful history of nutrition research on residential school children: The need for strong medical ethics in Aboriginal health research

Noni E MacDonald, Richard Stanwick, Andrew Lynk

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3941673/

The dark history of Canada's Food Guide: How experiments on Indigenous children shaped nutrition policy; Zoe Tennant 2021

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/how-food-in-canada-is-tied-to-land-language-community-and-colonization-1.5989764/the-dark-history-of-canada-s-food-guide-how-experiments-on-indigenous-children-shaped-nutrition-policy-1.5989785

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3787164/

https://gladue.usask.ca/sites/gladue1.usask.ca/files/gladue/resource559-2d380424.pdf

Military Influence on Modern American Nutrition

https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2019/01/historian-traces-militarys-influence-modern-american-nutrition

Hannah LeBlanc

The Myths of the Thanksgiving Story and the Lasting Damage They Imbue

Claire Bugos 2019

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/thanksgiving-myth-and-what-we-should-be-teaching-kids-180973655/

https://wampanoagtribe-nsn.gov/wampanoag-history

https://plimoth.org/for-students/homework-help/who-are-the-wampanoag

https://www.history.com/articles/squanto-pilgrims-help-plymouth-thanksgiving

https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/resources/Cranberry-Day

https://www.rd.com/article/history-of-thanksgiving/

King Philip’s War

https://www.history.com/articles/king-philips-war

https://www.history.com/articles/turkey-thanksgiving-meal

Nutrition

https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/vitamins/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20805686/

https://www.britannica.com/science/amine

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK216786/

Nuremberg Code

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-nuremberg-code

Hungerplan

https://www.nobelpeacecenter.org/en/news/hitler-s-hungerplan

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34907689/

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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References

https://www.epa.gov/radtown/natural-radioactivity-food

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/02/10329710/how-to-eat-a-banana-correctly

https://gardenbetty.com/a-banana-plant-is-an-herb-or-little-known-banana-facts/

https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/why-dont-banana-candies-taste-like-real-bananas/

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monoculture

https://www.britannica.com/topic/banana-republic

https://abgc.org.au/our-industry-old/history-of-bananas/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cavendish,_6th_Duke_of_Devonshire

https://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/harvesting-history-the-untold-story-of-united-fruit-in-costa-rica/

https://www.unitedfruitcompany.com/biographies/the-seldom-recorded-life-of-minor-cooper-keith

https://www.maritimeheritage.org/vips/meiggsHenry.html

https://www.unitedfruitcompany.com/timeline/1855-1880

https://www.crcdaily.com/p/the-lost-legacy-of-costa-ricas-railroads

https://library.harvard.edu/collections/united-fruit-company-photographs

https://provincetownindependent.org/history/2020/07/02/wellfleets-most-famous-son-and-a-fateful-partnership/

https://www.unitedfruitcompany.com/biographies/lorenzo-dow-baker

https://twailr.com/locating-the-united-fruit-company-in-the-history-of-international-law/

http://investopedia.com/terms/v/verticalintegration.asp

https://www.unitedfruitcompany.com/timeline/1900-1910

https://visitpuertoarmuelles.com/united-fruit-company-the-great-white-fleet

https://greatwhitefleet.com/

https://visualizingtheamericas.utm.utoronto.ca/race-1

https://hir.harvard.edu/the-dark-side-of-bananas-imperialism-non-state-actors-and-power/

https://history.wsu.edu/rci/sample-research-project/

https://www.anumuseum.org.il/blog/sam-zemurray/

https://www.unitedfruitcompany.com/biographies/samuel-zemurray

https://www.thecollector.com/colombia-banana-massacre-1928-story/

https://visualizingtheamericas.utm.utoronto.ca/1928-massacre-1

https://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/23/tye.php

https://coha.org/peeling-back-the-truth-on-the-guatemalan-banana-industry/

https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/united-fruit-guatemala/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6pprpd3x96o

https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2007/March/07_nsd_161.html

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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Content warning: Child death, poisoning deaths

More from Erica: https://www.ericavogel.com/ 

References

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/30/health/halloween-candy-panic-conversation-wellness

https://www.britannica.com/topic/urban-legend

https://www.snopes.com/urban-legend/

https://westridgespyglass.org/5981/op-ed/the-backstory-hersheys-happy-accidents-flavorful-failures/

https://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyle/factbox-the-history-and-facts-of-halloween-idUSN23504990/

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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Despite a life marked with abuse, racism, alcoholism, and loss, Jim became the greatest athlete of the 20th century (we’d say ever), as well as an exceedingly generous member of his community. On top of his athletic accomplishments, Jim created a legacy of selflessness and love, truly living up to the name given to him by his Sac and Fox family: Wa-Tho-Huk, or Bright Path. 

Jim’s story also leads us to a discussion of the government-sanctioned abduction and abuse of Indigenous American children by "Indian Boarding Schools." It’s an emotional journey that we hope you find infuriating but inspiring. 

Content Warning: Racial violence, child abuse, child sexual abuse

References

https://www.americanindianmagazine.org/story/jim-thorpe-backlash-olympic-medals-debacle-and-demise-carlisle

https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=TH016

https://www.pbs.org/native-america/blog/warrior-spirit-jim-thorpes-lasting-impact-on-sports

https://oklahomasportshalloffame.org/jim-thorpe-museum

https://www.wrhistoricalsociety.com/thorpe-jim

https://www.vice.com/en/article/a-thanksgiving-reminder-jim-thorpe-is-a-native-american-hero/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jim-Thorpe-American-athlete

https://www.biography.com/athlete/jim-thorpe

https://www.americanindianmagazine.org/story/akapamata-forgotten-hollywood-legacy-jim-thorpe

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pop-Warner

https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/11.09.html

https://www.olympics.com/en/athletes/jim-thorpe

https://www.tribaltribune.com/sports/article_292f1e78-df3f-11e6-906f-0f16a174ec94.html

https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/17163767/heated-debate-now-lawsuit-burial-ground-jim-thorpe-remains-continues-today

https://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/oorang-indians/

https://mcgrath.nd.edu/assets/390540/expert_guide_on_the_assimilation_removal_and_elimination_of_native_americans.pdf

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/30/us/native-american-boarding-schools.html

https://www.ou.edu/gaylord/exiled-to-indian-country/content/remembering-the-stories-of-indian-boarding-schools

https://boardingschoolhealing.org/us-indian-boarding-school-history/

https://www.stateoftheunionhistory.com/2017/04/1818-james-monroe-indian-civilization.html?view=classic

https://www.cambridgescholars.com/resources/pdfs/978-1-4438-4976-0-sample.pdf

https://calendar.eji.org/racial-injustice/mar/03

https://www.theindigenousfoundation.org/articles/us-residential-schools

https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/kids-were-marched-everywhere-was-concentration-camp

https://www.history.com/articles/jim-thorpe-athlete-indian-boarding-school

https://www.pbs.org/articles/the-history-and-impact-of-residential-schools

https://eji.org/news/federal-investigation-finds-at-least-973-children-died-in-federal-indian-boarding-schools/

https://www.theindigenousfoundation.org/articles/us-residential-schools

https://apnews.com/article/indigenous-boarding-schools-biden-apology-reaction-666f5d55496a36bd0dc40a357714273e

https://nativephilanthropy.org/blog/2022/09/29/how-to-learn-more-about-national-day-of-remembrance-for-indian-boarding-schools#:~:text=September%2030%20th%20is%20National%20Day%20of%20Remembrance,deep%20generational%20trauma%20caused%20by%20Indian%20boarding%20schools.

https://boardingschoolhealing.org/national-day-of-remembrance-for-us-indian-boarding-schools/https://ictnews.org/news/i-would-not-cry-national-day-of-remembrance-recognizes-boarding-school-survivors-and-families/

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/03/18/us-truth-and-healing-commission-indigenous-boarding-schools-long-overdue

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/761/all-actions

https://www.congress.gov/legislative-process/calendars-and-scheduling

https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/code-talkers/boarding-schools/

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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Larkin walks us through the history and legacy of Hello Kitty, shares some facts about her that make Kate absolutely furious, and describes how a culture of cute helped heal the economy (and image) of post-war Japan.

References

Yano, Christine R. (2013) Pink Globalization - Hello Kitty’s Trek Across the Pacific. Duke University Press, Durham and London

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/hello-kitty-kawaii-imperial-japan?showLogin=true&cds_email=bGFya2luLmJsYWtlQHlhaG9vLmNvbQ%3D%3D&loggedin=true&rnd=1757021759654

https://hellokitty.fandom.com/wiki/Dear_Daniel

https://kirj.ee/wp-content/plugins/kirj/pub/TRAMES-3-2023-311-324_20230821152905.pdf?v=7516fd43adaa

https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/regency-shotoku-taishi

https://iris.unive.it/retrieve/160ac5ac-4281-41e7-b5d1-0abefc110df3/SoniaFaviTesi.pdf#:~:text=%E2%80%9CGiapam%E2%80%9D%20for%20the%20archipelago.%20In%201556%2C%20%E2%80%9CGiapam%E2%80%9D,Universale%20della%20parte%20del%20mondo%20nuovamente%20ritrovata

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/YR49cBP9YY9wzmSqxhTLDX/i-created-hello-kitty

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/the-fascinating-history-behind-the-popular-waving-lucky-cat

https://time.com/6993173/hello-kitty-anniversary-50-years-sanrio-tsuji/

https://medium.com/@Joey121/why-japan-and-not-nihon-in-english-775df3db7df6

https://thewire.in/culture/hello-kitty-at-50-years-old-how-is-it-so-successful

https://bokksu.com/blogs/news/celebrating-50-years-of-cuteness-hello-kittys-milestone-anniversary?srsltid=AfmBOop9w2q_8Uile-oSwJ2JXmqtjrYWqkdpwtku0RWztC1zPs3DIuhL

https://apjjf.org/mark-selden/2724/article

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease that’s especially common in athletes. CTE has cascading effects that can cause memory loss, aggression, and other disturbing cognitive and personality changes, and football ranks second-highest on the list of sports with the most CTE exposure. This episode will teach you more about this upsetting disease, why certain positions in football may carry a higher risk (it’s not all about concussions), and how the NFL dismissed the problem for decades while players suffered and died. 

Trigger Warning: Violence, suicide, sexual assault

References

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5094259/

https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/neurodegenerative-disorder

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy/symptoms-causes/syc-20370921

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.938163/full

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/subconcussive-head-impacts#vs-concussion

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/concussion/symptoms-causes/syc-20355594

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6748163/

https://www.britannica.com/sports/American-football

https://www.olympics.com/en/athletes/jim-thorpe

https://usopm.org/jim-thorpe/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Camp

https://footballplayershealth.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/40_App_J.pdf

https://blog.networldsports.co.uk/american-football-positions-explained/

https://www.inverse.com/article/37934-nfl-funded-study-brain-injury

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4628259/

https://www.bumc.bu.edu/camed/2023/02/06/researchers-find-cte-in-345-of-376-former-nfl-players-studied/

https://www.npr.org/2025/07/29/nx-s1-5484101/manhattan-shooter-cte-nfl-explainer

https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=1972285

https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/injury-violence-prevention/recognizing-patterns-truth

https://www.gq.com/story/nfl-players-brain-dementia-study-memory-concussions

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/18/474702082/concussion-update-u-s-appeals-court-affirms-deal-between-nfl-retired-players

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/03/15/470513922/in-a-first-nfl-executive-admits-football-is-linked-to-brain-damage

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1113196-tracing-the-evolution-of-player-safety-throughout-nfl-history

https://theconversation.com/new-nfl-helmet-accessory-reduces-concussions-but-players-and-fans-may-not-be-ready-to-embrace-safety-over-swag-236928

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10650906/

https://theconversation.com/new-nfl-helmet-accessory-reduces-concussions-but-players-and-fans-may-not-be-ready-to-embrace-safety-over-swag-236928

https://www.reuters.com/article/sports/arrests-in-us-general-population-higher-than-for-nfl-players-study-idUSKCN0QU2EL/

https://www.allprobailbond.com/blog/news/sports-and-crime-rates/

https://www.biography.com/athletes/aaron-hernandez

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/aaron-hernandez-timeline-murders-trials-prison-suicide/1886y82a8bgyx123qxcgg04lb5

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/aaron-hernandez-found-to-have-had-severe-case-of-cte/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/youre-rich-aaron-hernandezs-suicide-note-to-fiancee-released/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/head-games/202006/the-nfl-has-race-related-ejection-problem

https://lasallefalconer.com/2022/01/the-complicated-legacy-of-ben-roethlisberger/

https://web.archive.org/web/20190420024228/https://www.si.com/vault/2010/05/10/105935652/the-hangover-roethlisberger

https://sports.yahoo.com/ben-roethlisberger-talks-past-porn-alcohol-addictions-not-the-best-christian-i-can-be-000140079.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHiklcHUILx8e76VAtwOm84XFvGFN9qJmB3QPJ5KAvM4kdaouLqFCpVq9r26hUQz6eVKWbVd1vtniiEXVGGlGhIdUticYZFGIbujfVIOI_FZHFRC-Qi_Ji6-gdUcGXk2J3tka1YzuuDR_DUNVBbUvzue9I1_r5MrsX-WZJOQ_C0l

https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=5099224

https://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/16/roethlisberger.incident/index.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/18/sports/football/deshaun-watson-suspension-11-games.html?name=styln-deshaun-watson®ion=TOP_BANNER&block=storyline_menu_recirc&action=click&pgtype=Article&variant=show&is_new=false

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/11/sport/deshaun-watson-no-criminal-charges-spt/index.html

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31208850/nike-suspends-sponsorship-deshaun-watson-amid-sexual-assault-allegations

https://sports.yahoo.com/third-civil-suit-filed-against-houston-texans-quarterback-deshaun-watson-alleging-sexual-assault-173153176.html

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2022/03/where-deshaun-watson-ranks-among-the-25-most-expensive-contracts-in-the-nfl.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/darreonnadavis/2022/06/21/deshaun-watson-settles-20-of-24-suits-alleging-sexual-misconduct/?sh=c0c1374237ab

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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We all see road signs all the time. But have you ever wondered who makes them? Then answer is the same as for many products in the United States: Prisoners.

This episode covers the history of road signs in the U.S., the history of prisons around the world, and how America’s prison system was built on forced labor from the very start. We also go into how the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution left a convenient loophole that maintained the slavery status quo and motivates the disproportionate imprisonment of Black people. Finally, we take a peek at the prison system in Finland, Norway, and Denmark to get a glimpse of how things could be different.

Trigger warning: Prison and race-related trauma, violence.

Follow Wyatt Cenac and stay up to date with Everything is Racist:

Wyatt Cenac Substack

Wyatt Cenac YouTube

Watch The Farm: Angola USA.

Watch The 13th

References

https://freakonomics.com/podcast/highway-signs-and-prison-labor/

https://www.marketplace.org/story/2015/09/22/ever-wonder-who-makes-those-big-highway-signs

https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/private-prisons-in-the-united-states/

https://plsny.org/

https://www.interstatesignways.com/post/why-us-signage-differs-from-the-rest-of-the-world&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1754862494573257&usg=AOvVaw2brh4pFwS5oavSxctQF7JL

https://www.correctionenterprises.com/vision-mission-values/

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/13/1210564359/slavery-prison-forced-labor-movement#:~:text=Five%20years%20ago%20this%20month,on%20this%20issue%20in%202024. 

https://www.freedomunited.org/news/nevada-ends-forced-prison-labor/#:~:text=Nevada%20has%20become%20the%20latest,true%20freedom%20from%20forced%20labor

https://pressbooks.pub/alaskacriminallaw2022/chapter/1-5-the-purposes-of-punishment/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison#:~:text=During%20the%20Middle%20Ages%20in,on%20naval%20or%20merchant%20vessels

https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Ergastulum.html

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Discipline_and_Punish/6rfP0H5TSmYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP5&printsec=frontcover

https://daily.jstor.org/the-invention-of-incarceration/

https://www.aclu.org/issues/smart-justice/mass-incarceration

https://review.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/03/Rushin-Edwards-73-Stan.-L.-Rev.-637.pdf

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/stop_and_frisk

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8389488/

https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/13th-amendment

https://jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu/origins.htm#:~:text=During%20the%20Jim%20Crow%20period%20there%20were%20separate%20hospitals%20for,place%20to%20sit%20or%20eat

https://justice.tougaloo.edu/sundown-towns/using-the-sundown-towns-database/state-map/

https://innocenceproject.org/news/how-the-13th-amendment-kept-slavery-alive-perspectives-from-the-prison-where-slavery-never-ended/

https://www.bop.gov/inmates/custody_and_care/work_programs.jsp

https://onlinedegrees.kent.edu/blog/how-much-do-prisoners-make-in-each-state#:~:text=agencies%20or%20nonprofits.-,1,Wages%20Can%20Be%20Taken%20Away

https://www.epi.org/publication/rooted-racism-prison-labor/

https://naacp.org/resources/criminal-justice-fact-sheet

https://jpia.princeton.edu/news/two-roads-reform-marijuana-policy-changes-arrest-trends-and-racial-disparities-chicago-and

https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2021/09/07/colin-hanks-on-cannabis-and-handkerchiefs-appealing-to-everyone-from-models-to-mechanics/

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/research/projects/feminist-recovery-plan/teaching/policy-briefs/prison_labourin_the_uk_-_rebecca_cole_et_al.pdf

https://www.prison-insider.com/en/articles/kenya-the-dehumanisation-and-exploitation-of-inmates-in-state-prisons

https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/posts/the-danish-prison-system

https://www.prisonstudies.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/inbrief_updateddec.2012.pdf

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEurope/comments/he4y5s/do_prisoners_in_your_country_get_paid_for_labor/

https://www.brown.edu/news/2017-02-15/enslavement

https://impactjustice.org/building-justice-through-humanity-how-scandinavias-prisons-changed-me/#:~:text=Open%20Prisons,spend%20time%20with%20their%20families

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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References

https://www.science.org/content/article/why-did-new-zealands-moas-go-extinct

https://www.britannica.com/animal/elephant-bird

https://www.britannica.com/animal/moa

https://www.britannica.com/animal/emu

https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/emu

https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/atwar/first-world-war

https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/birds/the-emu-war-of-1932

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/australian-emu-war-history

https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/soldier-settlement

https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/conscription/ww1

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yeoman

https://www.etymonline.com/word/yeoman

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/aboriginal-australians

https://www.historyhit.com/the-great-emu-war/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Emu-War

https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/evidence-of-first-peoples

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-26/australia-day

https://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/aboriginals

https://www.aboriginalcontemporary.com.au/pages/what-is-the-dreamtime-and-dreaming

https://www.mabonativetitle.com/info/dreamingCreatures.htm

https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/sciencecomma/2017/05/17/emus-in-space/

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/21/aboriginal-astronomy-can-teach-us-about-the-link-between-sky-and-land

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In it, Larkin outlines her effort to track down the red-eyed, child-eating cryptid she talked about in our False Eyelashes episode. It turns out she may have invented a Now It's Ruined original cryptid, the Dusty Werewolf. But her journey to identify it led her to many fascinating child-stealing cryptids from around the world! Listen to learn about Manananggals, Gytrashes, and more (oh my!).

We'll be back with a brand new episode next time! Plus, there will be a new bonus episode for $5 and up Patrons released before the end of July. Thank you as always for your understanding!

References

https://www.jahernandez.com/posts/el-coco-el-cucuy-the-child-eater

https://astonishinglegends.com/astonishing-legends/2023/10/30/drekavac

https://godsandmonsters.info/drekavac/

https://brickthology.com/2023/06/14/drekavac/

https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/monstrum/episodes/manananggal-n4c1zf

https://mythlok.com/ijiraq/

https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Oude_Rode_Ogen

https://www.fascinatingspain.com/articulo/history-and-legends/monster-scares-half-world-coco/20211021124637068642.html

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We all know bacon and eggs as an iconic breakfast combo. But have you ever thought about why we eat it for breakfast? 

It’s because it was sold to the American public by a master of propaganda: Edward Bernays.

Bernays revolutionized the advertising industry by using psychology to appeal to people’s feelings rather than their logic. He manipulated the world of fashion to push cigarettes on women, helped overthrow a Guatemalan president to protect banana sales, and pioneered techniques that were used by the Nazis and the orchestrators of the opioid crisis. 

It’s one of our wildest rides yet, so buckle up and get ready to question whether your tastes are really your own… and who benefits from them.

On that note, check out Larkin’s sister’s Etsy shop, mentioned in the episode. We promise your purchase won’t secretly benefit big tobacco. 

*Kate misspeaks at the beginning of the episode and states that "Propoganda" was written in 1828: She meant 1928.

References

Watch Bernays talk about his bacon and eggs strategy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLudEZpMjKU

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-Bernays

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/12/consumer

https://blogs.loc.gov/preservation/2022/11/housing-bernays-scrapbooks/

http://www.ww1plays.com/2020/08/eugene-brieuxs-damaged-goods-les-avaries.html

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-woodrow-wilsons-propaganda-machine-changed-american-journalism-180963082/

https://www.loc.gov/collections/stars-and-stripes/articles-and-essays/a-world-at-war/timeline-1914-1921/

https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/about-wwi/unrestricted-u-boat-warfare

https://americanillustration.org/project/james-montgomery-flagg/

https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/educate/other-resources-image/official-bulletin.html?start=567

https://www.britannica.com/money/George-Washington-Hill

https://www.periodpaper.com/products/1923-ad-pall-mall-turkish-tobacco-cigarettes-flapper-wife-smoking-husband-price-127939-col3-335

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Propaganda/p3NDAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA9&printsec=frontcover

https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.163.3.386

https://apsa.org/about-psychoanalysis/

https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/womens-political-participation-after-1920-myth-and-reality

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44311/#A6558

https://tobacco.stanford.edu/cigarette/img1093/

https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/08/16/specials/bernays-father.html?scp=8&sq=bernays&st=cse

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/heart/smoking

https://alswh.org.au/resources/smoking-linked-to-painful-periods/

https://news.weill.cornell.edu/news/2004/01/female-smokers-twice-as-likely-as-men-to-develop-lung-cancer-weill-cornell-study-finds

https://chibe.upenn.edu/news/the-scientists-who-shape-what-and-how-we-eat/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9339402/

https://www.heraldnews.com/story/opinion/2019/04/12/stop-blaming-my-late-husband/5452825007/

https://www.mahf.com/inductee/arthur-m-sackler/

https://www.npr.org/2021/04/13/986929541/empire-of-pain-the-secret-history-of-the-sackler-dynasty-profiles-pharma-family

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2051498/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2622774/

https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs/651/backgrnd.htm

https://restaurantexpertwitness.com/blog/flashback-friday-2317/

https://thecounter.org/hairnet-food-safety-laws/

https://history.wsu.edu/rci/sample-research-project/

https://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/23/tye.php

https://theconversation.com/the-manipulation-of-the-american-mind-edward-bernays-and-the-birth-of-public-relations-44393

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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TW: Violence and SA, particularly directed at the LGBTQIA+ community

Nothing in this podcast should be considered legal advice. 

Follow Michael Foote, the attorney Larkin referenced, on TikTok and Instagram. Follow Reb Masel on TikTok and Instagram.

References

https://www.holocausthistoricalsociety.org.uk/contents/germanbiographies/ernstrohm.html

https://www.history.com/articles/pink-triangle-nazi-concentration-camps

https://jewishcurrents.org/the-men-with-the-pink-triangle

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/the-men-with-the-pink-triangle-heinz-heger

https://perspectives.ushmm.org/item/chart-of-prisoner-markings

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/dachau

https://khc.qcc.cuny.edu/jacket/themes/dehumanization-categorization/

https://eguide.arolsen-archives.org/fileadmin/eguide-website/downloads/Haftarten_engl.pdf

https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?params=/context/student_scholarship/article/1985/&path_info=Homosexuality_during_the_Transition_from_the_Weimar_Republic_to_the_Third_Reich.pdf

https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/brief-history-paragraph-175-germany

https://hsp.org/blogs/fondly-pennsylvania/karl-heinrich-ulrichs

https://www.history.com/articles/oscar-wilde-trial

https://www.timesofisrael.com/100-years-ago-germanys-einstein-of-sex-began-the-gay-rights-movement/

https://www.nycaidsmemorial.org/timeline

https://www.thehenryford.org/explore/blog/silence-equals-death-the-early-fight-against-the-aids-epidemic

https://www.holocaust.org.uk/news/homosexual-victims-of-nazi-persecution

https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/act-up-and-the-aids-crisis/sources/1263

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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Due to the unexpected passing of Kate's mom, we're upcycling our first Patreon bonus episode so we don't leave you without content for a week. More ruinous content will come your way soon, but we appreciate your understanding and support during this tough time. 

We didn't know much about this tragedy before we researched it for the show, and it was even worse than we remembered. We hope it's educational (and entertaining) for you.

You can find pictures referenced by Kate here. Slide 3 is the floor plan of 9th floor of the Asch building.

This is a list of the victims. 

And here's more about the elevator operator, Joseph Zito, who made as many trips as he could despite being stabbed with shears by panicked workers attempting to escape the fire. When the elevator cables snapped, Joseph was trapped at the bottom of the shaft with a broken leg, nearly drowning in water from the firehoses until he was rescued.

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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In our first guest episode, Kate and Larkin are joined by Erica Vogel, author of the book Advice from Your Trans Aunty and the episodic Substack memoir Blue Sky Bird. Erica has spent the majority of her life solving a wide variety of trials and tribulations as both a closeted and out transgender woman. Drawing from her experiences, her education, and her interactions with thousands of transgender people, she provides a point of view focused on personal agency as a transgender individual. She is a frequent public speaker on trans affairs in and out of workplaces across the United States. 

She also happened to be an early supporter of the show, so when Kate and Larkin put out a call for topics, she said, “I could ruin allyship…” 

Now before you ask, “Why don’t you want us to be allies?!” that is not the point of this episode. Erica “ruins” allyship by discussing the bad forms of allyship some of us may be guilty of. So show up, shut up, and get ready to do the work as Erica walks Kate and Larkin through how you can take your allyship from performative to genuine. 

Of course, what would Now It’s Ruined be without a little history? Erica walks us through the origin of the word “boycott,” and how laws put in place by Henry VIII were used to spread oppression and eventually caused WWII hero Alan Turing’s tragic end. Plus, you’ll never again be able to disentangle Bruce Springsteen from a very particular sexual act…

We highly recommend checking out the Wheel of Privilege and Power to see where your traits land. You can also take Buzzfeed’s quiz to determine your level of privilege. It includes some questions about COVID so is a bit outdated, but it’s very thorough. Kate scored a 63/67, Erica scored a 49/67, and Larkin scored a 52. 

TW: Self harm

References

Allyship: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allyship

Neolgisms: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neologism

Boycott: 

https://www.britannica.com/money/Charles-Cunningham-Boycott

1533 Buggery Act: 

https://shirehalldorset.org/a-timeline-of-lgbtq-law-and-justice/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buggery_Act_1533

Alan Turing

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alan-Turing/Computer-designer

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/8-things-didnt-know-alan-turing

The handkerchief code

https://historyproject.org/news/2019-04/hanky-panky-abridged-history-hanky-code-0

https://www.thesaintfoundation.org/community/hanky-code-bob-damrons-address-book

Code words & Flowers

https://gcn.ie/exploring-queer-coded-language/

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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It’s a story that’s all the more frustrating because it could have been so romantic! Charles’ early days sound like a thrilling fairytale, and he could have been a highly influential catalyst for positive change. Instead, Charles devolved into a stubborn, deeply problematic figure who insisted on expressing opinions that would put him at odds with President Roosevelt and tarnish the Lindbergh legacy forever. 

Oh, and then there’s the womanizing.

We hope you (don’t) enjoy this deeply disappointing look at Lindbergh’s life and controversies.

References

https://www.biography.com/history-culture/charles-lindbergh

https://www.mnhs.org/lindbergh/learn/controversies

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/concentration-camps-1939-42

http://www.charleslindbergh.com/ny/105.asp

https://www.biography.com/history-culture/charles-lindbergh

https://www.mnhs.org/lindbergh/learn/aviation/early#:~:text=Learning%20to%20fly,Aircraft%20Corporation%20in%20Lincoln%2C%20Nebraska. 

https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/transatlantic-100

https://www.mnhs.org/lindbergh/learn/aviation/promoting

https://www.mnhs.org/lindbergh/learn/aviation/anne

https://www.mnhs.org/lindbergh/learn/aviation/commercial

https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/lindbergh-kidnapping

https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1726&context=lcp

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_688713

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2621292/

https://www.airandspaceforces.com/PDF/MagazineArchive/Magazine%20Documents/2014/August%202014/0814lindbergh.pdf

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/dachau

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-nuremberg-race-laws

https://www.mnhs.org/lindbergh/learn/controversies

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/lindbergh-fallen-hero/

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/invasion-of-poland-fall-1939#:~:text=German%20troops%20invaded%20Poland%20on,declared%20war%20on%20Nazi%20Germany.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ford

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/05/america-first-was-not-a-pro-nazi-organisation

https://www.cfr.org/blog/twe-remembers-charles-lindberghs-des-moines-speech#:~:text=Lindbergh%20couldn't%20have%20been,United%20States

https://www.mnhs.org/lindbergh/learn/other-occupations/environmentalist

https://www.mnhs.org/sites/default/files/-paragraphs/image/edit/cal_700x470_environmentalist.jpg

https://www.mnhs.org/lindbergh/learn/family/double-life

https://www.today.com/popculture/book-lindbergh-had-children-europe-wbna8088935

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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We don’t want to call her a “bad” mom, because she was doing everything she could to protect her child. But the methods she used move her out of “good mom” territory pretty fast. 

Leonarda had been told by a fortune teller that she would outlive all of her children. So when she found out her oldest son was planning to enlist in WWII, she went to extremes to keep him safe. Transferring her cooking and soap-making skills into witchcraft, she set about casting a spell of protection for her precious boy. But to save a life she had to sacrifice a life. Or- as it turned out- three. 

This is a great episode to put on while you’re in the bath, but we don’t recommend snacking on tea cakes (or anything else) while you listen. 

If you want a deeper dive into the Cianciulli case, the fantastic true crime podcast RedHanded did a two-parter on it (episodes 186 and 187). You can find it on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And find books written by Kate's mom, Tessa Bridal, here: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/8918.Tessa_Bridal

TW: Graphic Violence, Sexual Assault, Suicide

References:

https://mail.murderpedia.org/female.C/c/cianciulli-leonarda.htm    

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27257822

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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In our first episode, Kate shares the incredible story of Sojourner Truth and her fight to free her son from slavery. Truth is famous for her participation in the abolitionist and women’s suffrage movements. But long before she was hanging out with the likes of Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony, she bravely walked into a courthouse and asked a grand jury to help her get her son back from an illegal sale to Alabama. The case made legal history, which is why Kate (who’s technically still a lawyer) was so enthusiastic to nerd out about it.

Despite being our good mom story, it is still a rough one. We recommend having tissues nearby. 

Look out for part two tomorrow, when we'll take our first foray into the world of true crime as Larkin tells us about Leonarda Cianciulli, the Soap Maker of Coreggio.

TW: Violence against children

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sojourner-truth

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Narrative_of_Sojourner_Truth/i3HhAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PR6&printsec=frontcover

https://www.thesojournertruthproject.com/the-readings

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/27/809723362/in-the-1700s-an-enslaved-massachusetts-woman-sued-for-her-freedom-and-won

https://freedomcenter.org/voice/henrietta-wood/

https://rep.club/products/sojourner-truth-a-life-a-symbol?srsltid=AfmBOopEbv9dOdn6x7N2QY5M_x-G0-FGrcfA2zpRz4taWbymmp3hcJlG

https://apnews.com/article/new-york-education-slavery-kingston-government-and-politics-3b0d38ed6e556d77ba074f58dfb3c131

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What does this have to do with gin and tonics, you ask? Give a listen to find out.

References

https://www.britannica.com/plant/juniper

https://www.craftginclub.co.uk/ginnedmagazine/what-is-gin-made-from-and-how-is-it-made

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9714995/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK555962/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK215638/

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldcivilization/chapter/the-indo-aryan-migration-and-the-vedic-period/#:~:text=The%20Vedic%20Period%20refers%20to,with%20them%20specific%20religious%20traditions. 

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(12)65320-8/fulltext

https://www.britannica.com/plant/Cinchona

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200527-the-tree-that-changed-the-world-map

https://daily.jstor.org/cinchona-a-legacy-of-extraction-and-extirpation/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/East-India-Company

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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TW: Medical trauma, childbirth trauma, abortion trauma

Helpful links:

How to connect Patreon to other podcasting apps: https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005429546-Which-podcast-apps-will-my-custom-audio-RSS-link-work-with

Read the full account of the first recorded C-Section in the United States here.

References (Current as of 4/9/2025):

https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/fun-fact-unfortunately-chainsaws-were-invented-for-childbirth

https://www.iflscience.com/we-regret-to-inform-you-that-chainsaws-were-originally-invented-for-childbirth-58685

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/husband-stitch-is-not-just-myth

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23025-pubic-symphysis

https://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(22)00733-5/fulltext

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39581635/

https://www.commonwealthfund.org/press-release/2018/us-women-more-likely-die-pregnancy-and-childbirth-and-skip-care-because-cost

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-cesarean/c-section-complication-risk-rises-with-mothers-age-idUSKCN1RN2SN/

https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2024/jun/insights-us-maternal-mortality-crisis-international-comparison

https://sph.tulane.edu/study-finds-higher-maternal-mortality-rates-states-more-abortion-restrictions

https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/research/findings/nhqrdr/2023-NHQDR-appendixes-ACDE.pdf

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/women-and-pain-disparities-in-experience-and-treatment-2017100912562

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/cesarean/part1.html#:~:text=Perhaps%20the%20first%20written%20record,unable%20to%20deliver%20her%20baby. 

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1258/jmb.2009.009019

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.1177/003693300404900218

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigli_saw (Tsk, tsk)

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/cesarean/part3.html

https://www.cnn.com/2015/01/30/europe/ireland-symphysiotomy/index.html

https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2023/06/01/irish-catholic-census-religion-decrease-245404

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2022/11/22/church-ethos-and-role-in-healthcare-or-education-can-no-longer-be-funded-by-state/#:~:text=Twelve%20of%20Ireland's%2018%20private,conglomerate%2C%20Bon%20Secours%20Mercy%20Health. 

https://www.thejournal.ie/readme/column-symphysiotomy-was-seen-as-a-gateway-to-childbearing-without-limits-401570-Apr2012/

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/dec/12/symphysiotomy-irelands-brutal-alternative-to-caesareans

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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Orca Fads:

https://www.livescience.com/animals/orcas/orcas-start-wearing-dead-salmon-hats-again-after-ditching-the-trend-for-37-years

Henry Cavill Tsk Video: https://www.reddit.com/r/HenryCavill/comments/1gdmw2g/smoothest_tsking_ever/

Support the show

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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As a note, the Google pronunciation lied to Kate about how to pronounce "Taíno," so she mispronounces it throughout the episode. Apologies.

Sound quality will improve in subsequent episodes! But we thought this was a good taste of what you can expect from the show. We're planning to re-do the episode in more detail at some point down the line. 

Learn more about the Taíno people.

Read A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies by Bartolomé de Las Casas.

Support the show

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to nowitsruined@gmail.com. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.