Épisodes

  • Strange Country Ep. 315: JZ Knight
    Jul 2 2026
    Put on your blindfolds, fill a wine glass to the brim and get ready to listen to the blather of a 35,000-year-old Lemurian god/warrior named Ramtha. It is only possible through the body of JZ Knight, a former cable television saleswoman who channeled that old dude after placing a paper pyramid on her head in 1977. And she has made millions off of it. Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly discuss the supposed enlightenment JZ shills as Ramtha's mouthpiece and whether channeling Ramtha might be the cure for Kelly's perimenopausal symptoms. Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands. Cite your sources: Aldred, Lisa. ""Money is just Spiritual Energy": Incorporating the New Age." Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 35, no. 4, 2002, pp. 61-74. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/money-is-just-spiritual-energy-incorporating-new/docview/195365462/se-2. Braga, Michael. "FDA crackdown on alternative health - From fringes, growing distrust of feds' motives." USA TODAY (Arlington, VA), FIRST ed., sec. NEWS, 15 Sept. 2020, p. 1A. NewsBank: Access World News, https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=AWNB&req_dat=0FA0729FAB9D3500&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews/17D81F89B606B428. Accessed 23 June 2026. Brunner, Jim. "Guess who's a big Trump fan? Ramtha, as channeled by Democratic donor JZ Knight." The Seattle Times, 4 April 2017, https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/guess-whos-a-big-trump-fan-ramtha-as-channeled-by-democratic-donor-jz-knight/. Accessed 18 June 2026. Buchanan, Susy. "Ramtha Riled." Southern Poverty Law Center, 24 May 2014, https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/ramtha-riled/. Accessed 18 June 2026. Egan, Timothy. "Worldly and the Spiritual Clash in New Age Divorce." New York Times, 25 Sept. 1992. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A174939497/STND?u=nysl_sc_ahs&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=e41ec71f. Accessed 18 June 2026. Eric, Scerri. "What the #$'! Do They Know?" Skeptical Inquirer, September/October 2004, https://skepticalinquirer.org/2004/09/what-the-do-they-know/. Accessed 23 June 2026. Hosenball, Mark. "The guru and the FAA." Newsweek, vol. 125, no. 10, 6 Mar. 1995, p. 32. Gale OneFile: High School Edition, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A16642039/STOM?u=nysl_sc_cayuga&sid=bookmark-STOM&xid=07d4682f. Accessed 23 June 2026. J. Z. Knight Divorce Trial Reveals Workings of Channeling Bu." The Skeptical Inquirer, vol. 17, no. 3, Spring, 1993, pp. 253. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/magazines/j-z-knight-divorce-trial-reveals-workings/docview/219263409/se-2. Mackay, Rob. "Shocking allegations from former JZ Knight follower." FOX 13 Seattle, 18 April 2014, https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/shocking-allegations-from-former-jz-knight-follower. Accessed 23 June 2026. "Madame Blavatsky and Theosophy." Expedition Magazine 29, no. 2 (July, 1987): -. Accessed June 18, 2026. https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/madame-blavatsky-and-theosophy/ "Ramtha is Solely Knight's, Court Says." The Seattle Times, 12 June 1997, https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19970612/2544252/ramtha-is-solely-knights-court-says. Accessed 17 June 2026. "Ramtha School of Enlightenment Promotes Natural Healing - Three Students report nontraditional recoveries from serious conditions thanks to RSE." PR Newswire (USA), 5 Apr. 2012. NewsBank: Access World News, https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=AWNB&req_dat=0FA0729FAB9D3500&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews/13DF7B30E8151FA8. Accessed 23 June 2026. Reiss, Adam, and Dareh Gregorian. "Steve Bannon pleads guilty in New York 'We Build the Wall' case." NBC News, 11 February 2025, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/steve-bannon-pleads-guilty-new-york-build-wall-case-rcna191672. Accessed 17 June 2026. RHODES, ELIZABETH. "STATE OF MIND JZ KNIGHT PREACHES SELF-LOVE THROUGH A 35,000- YEAR-OLD-SPIRIT." THE SEATTLE TIMES, SUNDAY ed., sec. SCENE, 25 Oct. 1987, p. K1. NewsBank: Access World News, https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=AWNB&req_dat=0FA0729FAB9D3500&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews/0EB5328A5EA73AE1. Accessed 23 June 2026. Sagan, Carl. The Demon-Haunted World. pgs. 204-5, Random House Publishing Group, 1997. Sailor, Craig. "Ramtha channeler J.Z. Knight apparently has donated $10,000 to Mexican border wall campaign." The News Tribune, 21 December 2018, https://www.thenewstribune.com/latest-news/article223435620.html. Accessed 17 June 2026. "' School of Enlightenment' Subpoenas Facebook for Information on Former Members." Tacoma Examiner (WA), sec. Tacoma Private Schools Examiner, 30 Mar. 2013. NewsBank: Access World News, https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=...
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    56 min
  • Strange Country Ep. 314: Jennicam
    Jun 18 2026

    Long before influencers were telling us to shove garlic in all orifices to cure hot-dog fingers, a college student thought it would be interesting to write a computer program that would upload pics of her in her dorm room every 15 minutes. Little did she know she would attract half a million followers (87% masturbators) and possibly play a role in the total collapse of humanity. On this episode of Strange Country, Beth and Kelly upload pics of themselves as they discuss Jennifer Ringley, the founder of Jennicam in 1996. She was one of the first to think it was a good idea to broadcast everything about yourself online.

    Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands.

    Cite your sources:

    Alptraum, Lux. "There Is Life After Campus Infamy - The New York Times." ny times, 22 July 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/21/style/campus-sex-women-exposure.html?searchResultPosition=1. Accessed 8 June 2026.

    Carlin, John. "Internet: The site that is bringing home entertainment to millions; A young American woman has a small video camera trained on her bedroom 24 hours a day. The camera, connected to a computer, relays continually updated colour photographs from her Washington flat into her Internet website, where 100 million visitors around." Independent [London, England], 26 Sept. 1997, p. 7. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A66974447/STND?u=nysl_sc_ahs&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=44e3efd8. Accessed 8 June 2026.

    Copeland, Libby. "All a Woman Can Bare." The Washington Post, 26 August 2000, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2000/08/26/all-a-woman-can-bare/f104e1fc-7cc1-47ca-acad-53193eb1c18b/. Accessed 8 June 2026. Craig, Elise. "The Discreet Thrill of Lurking Online." The New York Times Magazine, 11 May 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/09/magazine/lurking-online.html. Accessed 23 May 2026. "Final Days in the Life at Jennicam." The Washington Post, 6 December 2003, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2003/12/07/final-days-in-the-life-at-jennicam/06aef23c-6ff9-4f05-8ea3-e0857a034b4c/. Accessed 8 June 2026. Gilbert, Sophie. Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves. Penguin Publishing Group, 2025.

    Hart, Hugh. "April 14, 1996: JenniCam Starts Lifecasting - WIRED." Wired, 14 Apr. 2010, https://www.wired.com/2010/04/0414jennicam-launches/.

    Knibbs, Kate, et al. "Jennicam: Why the First Lifecaster Disappeared from the Internet." Gizmodo, 14 April 2015, https://gizmodo.com/jennicam-why-the-first-lifecaster-disappeared-from-the-1697712996. Accessed 8 June 2026.

    Marin, Cheech, and Ray Sawhill. "And NOW, The Human Show." Newsweek, vol. 131, no. 22, 1 June 1998, p. 64. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A20835616/STND?u=nysl_sc_ahs&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=4d1465bc. Accessed 8 June 2026.

    Stevic, Anja. "Anxious but Posting? The Psychology of Sharing Online." Stanford Cyber Policy Center, Stanford University, 13 April 2026, https://cyber.fsi.stanford.edu/news/anxious-posting-psychology-sharing-online. Accessed 8 June 2026.
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    56 min
  • Strange Country Ep. 313: America's Most Hated Woman
    May 14 2026

    How do you become the Most Hated Woman in America? Kelly and Beth have been trying for nine years, but we still have no trophy with those words. And maybe that's a good thing. Is it worth fighting for what's right and telling the truth if it means in the end you get murdered anyway? Learn about Madalyn Murray O'Hair who won that title according to Time Magazine, back in the era of Phil Donahue and people actually reading Time Magazine. Thanks for listening; it's an act of love, which we need more of these days!

    Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnMkhk9vAz8.

    Anderson, Owen. "Do You Remember Madalyn Murray O'Hair? | Owen Anderson." American Reformer, 7 April 2025, https://americanreformer.org/2025/04/do-you-remember-madalyn-murray-ohair/. Accessed 10 May 2026.

    "Become a Member." American Atheists, https://atheists.org/join/. Accessed 10 May 2026.

    Lancaster, Katherine, and Clarence B. Garrett. "O'Hair, Madalyn Murray." Texas State Historical Association, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/ohair-madalyn-murray. Accessed 10 May 2026.

    "Madalyn Murray O'Hair." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madalyn_Murray_O%27Hair. Accessed 10 May 2026.

    Seaman, Ann Rowe. America's Most Hated Woman: The Life and Gruesome Death of Madalyn Murray O'Hair. Bloomsbury Academic, 2005. Accessed 10 May 2026.

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    58 min
  • Strange Country Ep. 312: Bath School Massacre
    Apr 23 2026

    America is known for multiple things: apple pie, Mr. T, and school massacres. But the worst massacre of all time is likely one you've never heard of before. Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly talk about the 1927 bombing of Bath Consolidated Schools that resulted in the deaths of 43 people, mainly children. Just your ever-so-often reminder that while it seems like things are extra terrible now, we've always been pretty shitty.

    Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands.

    Cite your sources:

    Bernstein, Arnie. Bath Massacre: America's First School Bombing. University of Michigan Press, 2009.

    "Deepening Farms with Dynamite." Farms.com, 2 Nov. 2017, www.farms.com/reflections-on-farm-and-food-history/historical-articles-archive/deepening-farms-with-dynamite. Originally published in The Farmer's Advocate, 29 Aug. 1912.

    Gulliver, Katrina. "Why We Have Forgotten the Worst School Attack in U.S. History." Time, 12 December 2023, https://time.com/4492872/kehoe-attack-history/.

    Haddad, Ken. "96 years later: Michigan's Bath School disaster remains deadliest in US history." ClickOnDetroit, 18 May 2023, https://www.clickondetroit.com/features/2023/05/16/96-years-later-michigans-bath-school-disaster-remains-deadliest-in-us-history/. Accessed 22 April 2026.

    "Survivors Recall 1927 Michigan School Massacre." NPR, 17 April 2009, https://www.npr.org/2009/04/17/103186662/survivors-recall-1927-michigan-school-massacre. Accessed 22 April 2026.

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    48 min
  • Strange Country Ep. 311: Tylenol Poisonings
    Mar 26 2026

    In 1982, seven people died after taking doses of Extra Strength Tylenol, leading to a full-blown and safety standards for over-the-counter meds. To this day, the murders remain unsolved. Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly discuss this 1982 mystery and its possible suspects while Beth mispronounces "business ethics" because that's not really a thing.

    Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands.

    Cite your sources:

    Bergmann, Joy. "A Bitter Pill." Chicago Reader, 2 Nov. 2000, https://chicagoreader.com/news/a-bitter-pill/. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.

    Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders. Directed by Yotam Guendelman and Ari Pines, Netflix, 2025. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.

    Harris, Gardiner. No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson. Random House, 2025.

    Locke, Taylor. "Tylenol Orders in Pregnant People Plummeted after Trump Falsely Linked the Drug to Autism." Scientific American, 12 Mar. 2026, www.scientificamerican.com/article/tylenol-orders-in-pregnant-people-plummeted-after-trump-falsely-linked-the/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.

    "Searching for Tylenol Murder Suspects." Thirteen / PBS, https://www.thirteen.org/programs/chicago-stories/searching-for-tylenol-murder-suspects-iamsis/. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.

    Waxman, Olivia B. "The True Story Behind Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders." Time, 26 May 2025, https://time.com/7287680/tylenol-murders-documentary-netflix/. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.

    "Who Committed the Tylenol Murders? After More Than 40 Years, the Case Remains Unsolved." WTTW Chicago, https://www.wttw.com/chicago-stories/inside-the-tylenol-murders/who-committed-the-tylenol-murders. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.

    Winny, Annalies. "The Evidence on Tylenol and Autism." Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 7 October 2025, https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/the-evidence-on-tylenol-and-autism. Accessed 23 March 2026.

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    55 min
  • Strange Country Ep. 310: Inez Nathaniel-Walker
    Mar 5 2026

    Hey dear Dash Hounds, we are back this week in a regular kind of way talking about a woman you probably have never heard of—unless you are a folk art phenom like Beth. Learn about a woman and artist whose life may have gone unnoticed except for her self-taught crayon portraits. They go for about $3K on Antiques Roadshow, which is so close to our going rate for Patreon. Inez Nathaniel-Walker's life was not easy, but somewhere, someone with an easier life is looking at her work and likely wondering who was she? Well you have come to the right place. Thanks for listening; it is an act of love.

    Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands

    Cite your sources:

    https://www.inezwalker.com/, 2024, https://www.inezwalker.com/. Accessed 28 February 2026.

    "American Folk Art Museum." Women's Studies, https://folkartmuseum.org/exhibitions/womens-studies/. Accessed 28 February 2026.

    Bellows, Sierra. "Tales From and Attic." The American Scholar, Phi Betta Kappa, 4 March 2024, https://theamericanscholar.org/tales-from-an-attic/. Accessed 4 March 2026.

    Brown, Chris. "Her ex-husband cut off her hands. Now she is trying to help other Russian victims of domestic violence." CBC, 26 March 2021, https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/margarita-gracheva-tv-show-1.5949790. Accessed 4 March 2026.

    D'Ambrosio, Paul. "Bad Girls." American Folk Art, 31 March 2010, https://folkartcooperstown.blogspot.com/2010_03_01_archive.html. Accessed 27 Febrauary 2026.

    Kippert, Amanda. "Women Serve Longer Prison Sentences After Killing Abusers." Domestic Shelters, 22 June 2020, https://www.domesticshelters.org/articles/in-the-news/women-serve-longer-prison-sentences-after-killing-abusers. Accessed 4 March 2026.

    "Memorial Service for Pat Parsons." https://www.essexonlakechamplain.com/pat-parsons/.

    Rhodes, Adam. "New York Women's Prison with a hostory of Violencehired a high ranking officialknown for abuse." https://prismreports.org/2026/02/25/bedford-hills-michael-blot-transgender/.

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    45 min
  • Strange Country Ep. 309: Viola Liuzzo
    Feb 19 2026

    It may seem the government's technique of denigrating the people they kill to make it appear that the killing was justified is a new fun thing in 2026, but we've been here before. It's likely you've never heard of Viola Liuzzo, the only white woman murdered during the Civil Rights Movement. Her name kept popping up on the social media accounts of historians after the murders of Renee Good and Alexi Pretti, trying to tell us all once again to maybe pay attention to the past. In this episode of Strange Country, cohosts Beth and Kelly talk about Liuzzo's life and how J. Edgar Hoover made sure to smear her as a drug-taking, orgy-loving, baby-neglecting mother who deserved being shot in a head by klansmen.

    Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands

    Cite your sources:

    Baird, Jonathan. "The tragic and forgotten story of Viola Liuzzo." The Nation, 4 November 2024, https://www.thenation.com/travellog/the-tragic-and-forgotten-story-of-viola-liuzzo/. Accessed 30 January 2026.

    Baumgartner, Neil. "Viola Gregg Luizzo." Jim Crow Museum, February 2013, https://jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu/witnesses/violaliuzzo.htm. Accessed 30 January 2026.

    "City officials unveil new civil rights memorial monument honoring Viola Liuzzo at park bearing her name." City of Detroit, 28 September 2023. Accessed 8 February 2026.

    Crayton, Kareem. "The Voting Rights Act, Explained." Brennan Center for Justice, 17 July 2023, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-rights-act-explained. Accessed 8 February 2026.

    Dalby, Beth. "Killed by KKK and Smeared by FBI, Civil Rights Martyr Finally Hailed as Hero." Patch, 7 April 2015, https://patch.com/michigan/ferndale/killed-kkk-and-smeared-fbi-civil-rights-martyr-finally-hailed-hero-0. Accessed 8 February 2026.

    Daley, David. "John Roberts's Decades-Long Project to Neuter the Voting Rights Act." The Atlantic, 10 December 2025, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2025/12/justice-roberts-voting-rights-act/685193/. Accessed 8 February 2026.

    di Florio, Paola, director. Home of the Brave. Emerging Pictures, 2004. Amazon Prime.

    Kaufman, Michael T. "Gary T. Rowe Jr., 64, Who Informed on Klan In Civil Rights Killing, Is Dead (Published 1998)." The New York Times, 4 October 1998, https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/04/us/gary-t-rowe-jr-64-who-informed-on-klan-in-civil-rights-killing-is-dead.html. Accessed 8 February 2026.

    May, Gary. The Informant: The FBI, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Murder of Viola Liuzzo. Yale University Press, 2005.

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    51 min
  • Strange Country Ep. 308: Psychic Readers Network
    Jan 29 2026

    "Ask again later" would have been a common response if you had asked your magic eight ball when Strange Country would have a new episode over the last weeks. But now "the outlook is good" because here are cohosts Beth and Kelly together again to talk about the time people spent tons of money to talk to barely trained psychics over the phone lured in by the infomercial featuring the self-proclaimed shaman Miss Cleo.

    Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands

    Cite your sources:

    Aniskovich, Celia, and Jennifer Brea, directors. Call Me Miss Cleo. 2022. Amazon Prime. Burnham, David. "F.C.C. Eases Rules for Broadcast TV." The New York Times, 28 June 1984, https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/28/arts/fcc-eases-rules-for-broadcast-tv.html. Accessed 4 January 2026. Madison, Bennett. "I Was a Hotline Psychic for Miss Cleo (Published 2016)." The New York Times, 5 September 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/fashion/mens-style/hotline-psychic-miss-cleo-commercials.html. Accessed 3 January 2026. Scott, Liam. "The repeal of the fairness doctrine accelerated the polarization of US media." The Poynter Institute, 22 April 2025, https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2025/poynter-50-repeal-fairness-doctrine-rush-limbaugh-conservative-talk-radio/. Accessed 10 January 2026. Shreya, Kumari. "Steven Feder and Peter Stolz: Where Are PRN Co-Owners Now?" The Cinemaholic, 16 December 2022, https://thecinemaholic.com/steven-feder-and-peter-stolz-where-are-prn-co-owners-now/. Accessed 13 January 2026. "Why Do We Believe Our Horoscopes?" The Decision Lab, https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/barnum-effect?adw=true&utm_campaign=21+Biases+-+Barnum+Effect&utm_medium=ppc&utm_source=adwords&utm_term=barnum%20effect%20psychology&hsa_mt=b&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ad=500704987386&hsa_src=g&hsa_cam=12413027018&hsa_kw=barnum "Two companies, owners fined in 'Miss Cleo' case." Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 4 October 2002, https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2002/10/04/two-companies-owners-fined-in-miss-cleo-case/28723891007/. Accessed 13 January 2026.
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    58 min