PODCAST · history
Historical Blindness
by Nathaniel Lloyd
Historical Blindness is a podcast about history’s myths, mysteries, and misconceptions. By examining cases of outrageous hoaxes, pernicious conspiracy theory, mass delusion, baffling mysteries and unreliable historiography, host Nathaniel Lloyd searches for insights into modern religious belief and political culture.
Episodes
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The Path of the Headless Horseman
In my first spooky episode for October, I look at the real, historical basis of Washington Irving's story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, as well as the folklore on which he may have drawn in inventing the story's iconic vengeful ghost. Check out the show...
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Hibernian Hokum: Irish Origins and the Stone of Destiny
In this new episode, I explore the various claims about the origins of the Irish people and a certain legendary magical stone, which requires debunking the pseudohistories of British Israelism. Check out the show merch, perfect for...
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The Atlantis Fantasy - Part Three: Location, Location, Location
In the last part of my series on belief in the historicity of Atlantis, I look at the problems with all the many places proposed as the actual location of Atlantis. Check out the show merch, perfect for gifts!...
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The Atlantis Fantasy - Part Two: A Convenient Fiction
In part 2 of my series on belief in the historicity of Atlantis, I look at how the myth was kept alive through the ages because it conveniently served the arguments of philosophers and lent weight to the fictions and racial ideologies of colonialists, mystic charlatans, and white supremacists....
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The Atlantis Fantasy - Part One: The Platonic Idea
This series explores belief in the long-lived myth of Atlantis. In this first part, I look at the origin of the story in Plato's Timaeus and Critias and the reasons scholars have long concluded it was fiction. Check out the show merch,...
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Common Séance; A History of Spiritualism - Part Two: Manifestly False
In the conclusion of my look at the practice of mediumship, its origins and its fraudulence, I trace the evolution of Spiritualism into a new religion and profile its two greatest promoters and opponents, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini. Check out the show...
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Common Séance; A History of Spiritualism - Part One: The Fox Sisters, Rap Artists
In this new 2-part series, I look at the practice of mediumship, its origins and its fraudulence. In Part One, I talk examine the originators of 19th century Spiritualism, the Fox Sisters, from the start to the end of their claims of genuinely contacting the dead. Check out...
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The Shape of Things; An Intellectual History of Flat Earth Theory - Part Two: Stunt Performers and Grifters
In part two of my series on the history of Flat Earth Theory, I talk about the devotees of Flat Earthism, who promote it through publicity stunts and enrich themselves off their fellow believers. Check out the show merch, perfect for gifts!...
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The Shape of Things; An Intellectual History of Flat Earth Theory - Part One: Zetetic Astronomy
In part one of a new series on the history of Flat Earth Theory, I talk about ancient conceptions of the Earth's flatness, ancient proofs of its sphericity, and the 19th century resurgence of belief in its flatness. Check out the show merch,...
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Moonstruck! Debunking Apollo Hoax Claims - Part Two: Dignifying Lunarcy
In part two of my series on the long-lived claims that the Apollo program was a hoax, I look more closely at the "evidence" of denialists and refute it all. Check out the show merch, perfect for gifts! Pledge support on...
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Moonstruck! Debunking Apollo Hoax Claims - Part One: An Astronomical Amount of Evidence
In part one of a two-part series, I review all the positive evidence proving humanity reached the Moon to refute long-lived claims that the Apollo program was a hoax. Check out the show merch, perfect for gifts! Pledge…
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Wunderwaffe: The Myths of Nazi Supertechnology - Part Two, The Bell Hoax
In part 2 of my series on the myth that Nazis developed supertechnology, I look at the growth of this conspiracy theory and later hoaxes, like the Nazi Bell, that have kept it alive. Check out the show merch, perfect for gifts!...
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Wunderwaffe: The Myths of Nazi Supertechnology - Part One, The Vril Fiction
In part 1 of a 2-parter, I explore the myth that Nazis developed supertechnology, like flying saucers, looking at both the reality of German innovation in the war and the fiction that developed. Check out the show merch, perfect for gifts!...
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Versailles Time-Slip: The Moberly-Jourdain Incident
In this episode, I look into an early 20th century claim of a supernatural encounter with the past. Did two Oxford dons really see Marie Antoinette at Versailles in 1901? Was it a haunting? A "time-slip"? A psychic journey? Or was it a hoax or a simple mistake? Check out the...
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Under the Pink Triangle: Transgender Experience in Interwar Germany
In this episode, I continue to look at the topic of women's persecution under fascism then pivot, in observation of International Trans Visibility Day, to a discussion of the dramatic shift from the gender progressivism of the Weimar Republic to the persecution of the LGBTQ community, and...
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The Martyrdom of Hypatia of Alexandria
In this episode, I kick off women's history month with the story of the much mythologized but undeniably symbolic and important Hypatia of Alexandria, martyred by Christians who would afterward co-opt her memory. Check out the show merch, perfect for gifts!...
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The Gun Controllers: Freedom, Firearms, and Fear of Black Power
In this episode, I talk about the history of gun rights and gun control as a history of systemic racism. Check out the show merch, perfect for gifts! Pledge support on Patreon to get an ad-free feed with exclusive episodes!...
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Crispus Attucks, American Martyr
In this episode, I talk about Crispus Attucks, a figure in Black history both lauded as the first martyr of American liberty and maligned as a violent thug, and I explore his relevance in this moment of state-sanctioned violence against protestors. Check out the show...
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Doomsday Deferred: The Failed Predictions of American Millennialism
In this episode, I recount TikTok's recent brush with rapture predictions and then survey America's deep history of failed millennialist predictions of the Second Coming and the end of the world. Check out the show merch, perfect for gifts! Pledge...
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The Great Alignment Lie
In this year's season premiere, I return to my series on the myths and legends of the Indiana Jones franchise, this time examining the ideas underpinning the recent video game, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, leading me to all kinds of claims about ancient landmarks aligning and their origin…
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The Origins of the Christ (Another Very Historically Blind Xmas!)
In my annual holiday special for 2025, I examine discrepancies in the gospels relating to Jesus's lineage and parentage, as well as the gospel authors' use of common biblical tropes, their incorporation of prophecy and philosophy, and early church apologists' embrace of comparisons between Christ...
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Special Presentation: The Devil You Know
This week I'm sharing an episode of a new podcast from CBC, called The Devil You Know. In The Devil You Know, Sarah Marshall explores the tangled web of the Satanic Panic, a journey that will take you everywhere from Victoria, B.C. to rural Kentucky to San Antonio, Texas. This is a show about the...
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Think of the Children - Part Two: Satanic Panic
In the conclusion of my series on the moral panics of the eighties, I look at the development of the Satanic Panic and consider its resurgence today. This episode is sponsored by American History Tellers: The Mayflower and American Scandal: The West Memphis Three. Binge all episodes of both…
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Think of the Children - Part One: Stranger Danger
In this episode, I look at the development of the Stranger Danger moral panic as a precursor to right wing conspiracist claims today. This episode is sponsored by American History Tellers: The Mayflower. Binge all episodes early and ad-free right now on Wondery+. Get 3 months of premium wireless...
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Hunting the Highgate Vampire
In this episode, I tell the story of a hysteria in 1970s London, involving claims of ghosts, Satanists, and vampires, as well as two dueling magicians. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at MintMobile.com/Blindness Check out the show...
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Poltergeist in Rosenheim
In this episode, I tell the story of a haunting in Bavaria that was claimed to be the first in which paranormal phenomena was scientifically observed. The Rosenheim Poltergeist claim is a perfect case for examining the ghost story generally, its history, and the pseudoscience of parapsychology.…
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Standing Army, Sitting President: The Posse Comitatus Act and the Domestic Deployment of the Military
In this new episode, I talk about America's long history of resenting domestic policing by the military especially when the military is used against citizen protesters, from the Boston Massacre to the Gilded Age. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at...
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Cracked and Packed: A History of Gerrymandering
After Texas's recent mid-decade partisan redistricting, representing a blatant power grab for the Republican Party undertaken at Trump's behest, I search for precedents and historical parallels and examine the history of gerrymandering in the US. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15...
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Back Door to War: A History of Undeclared and Unauthorized US Warfare
Last month, when the Trump regime allied with Israel in their Twelve-Day War and bombed Iran, there was much scrutiny of presidential war powers. In this episode, I look at the evolution of undeclared wars and military authorizations throughout US history, specifically examining the conspiracy...
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A New Reassessment: Realism on Israel-Palestine
To conclude my series on the Israel-Palestine conflict, I look at Jewish presence in the Levant going all the way back to the Iron Age, the events leading to the founding of the modern State of Israel, its unique economic and military relationship with the US, and its long asymmetrical conflict...
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Project Esther and the Weaponization of Anti-Semitism
In this first part of a two-part series on the Israel-Palestine conflict, I start by looking at the Heritage Foundation's campaign to characterize any criticism of Israel or advocacy for Palestinians as anti-Semitism and to exploit that as a cudgel against free speech, academic freedom, and...
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Town and Gown: Academic Freedom in Crisis
In this episode, I discuss the Trump administration's war on higher education and place it within the context of the history of academic freedom and previous assaults on it. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at MintMobile.com/Blindness Check out the…
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License to Discriminate: LGBTQ Rights, Religious Exemption, and the Misreading of the Bible
Here at the end of Pride, I want to discuss the long, bigoted history and false scriptural basis of religious opposition to LGBTQ rights, and the effort of the religious right to seek an exemption to anti-discrimination laws so that they can persecute gay and trans people. UPDATE: since the...
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Scapegoated! A History of American Nativism
As Trump ramps up his immigration raids in California and brings the armed forces to bear against peaceful citizen protesters, I want to talk more about the long, racist history behind similar immigration crackdowns in the US. I encourage you to visit 5calls.org and find their page to help you...
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Inalienable: Alien Enemies, the Great Writ, and Trump's Constitutional Crisis
In this episode, I discuss the history of the controversial wartime power that Trump has invoked to justify his mass deportations and the importance of the inalienable rights of due process and habeas corpus, granted by the constitution to all persons, that he is seeking to strip away. UPDATE: a...
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Gaslighter! Trump's Historical Distortions
In this episode, in response to Trump's order supposedly "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," I look at the many ways he and his handlers/enablers distort and whitewash history and "sanewash" his administration. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at...
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Tariff Men: A History of the US in Tariff Controversies
In this episode, I tell the history of the US through the history of controversial tariff policies, and I examine speculation about the motivations behind Trump's disastrous tariff hikes. For an easy and effective way to make a political impact, visit 5calls.org and make your voice heard....
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Darkness Came: the Myths of Easter and Good Friday
From claims about the pagan origins of Easter traditions to biblical literalists asserting that the miraculous darkness at the crucifixion is historically provable, I explode all kinds of myths in this holiday special. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at...
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The Legend of Joan, Popess of Rome
Throughout the Middle Ages and the Reformation, a story was told of the first female Pope, who had hidden her sex and been elevated to the highest position within the Church by accident. The story of Pope Joan is a total myth, but even today it serves as a useful lesson to illustrate the…
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Empress Elagabalus
In the face of trans erasure and genocide, this episode affirms the existence of transgender people throughout history, focusing on the trans empress of the Roman Empire, long misgendered and called Elagabalus, though that was not her name. For an easy and effective way to make a political…
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The Erasure of Aspasia
An examination of Aspasia, a woman of ancient Athens who was universally agreed to have been extremely influential in politics and philosophy, depicted as both a harlot and a sage. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at MintMobile.com/Blindness Check out the show merch,...
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The Lincoln Legends - Part Four: Smoke and Fire
In the 4th and final part of my series on the legends surrounding Lincoln and his assassination, I look at the false urban legend that John Wilkes Booth was not actually killed but rather escaped justice. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at MintMobile.com/Blindness...
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The Lincoln Legends - Part Three: Puppet Masters and Masterminds
In the 3rd part of my series on the legends surrounding Lincoln, I further examine conspiracy theories suggesting the plot to assassinate was much larger, involving some of the favorite culprits of conspiracists: the government, the Catholic Church, the Freemasons, and Jews. Get 3 months of…
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The Lincoln Legends - Part Two: A Conspiracy, Simple or Grand
In the second part of the series, we look at the plot to assassinate Lincoln, and the claims that it was a much larger conspiracy than history suggests. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at MintMobile.com/Blindness Check out the show merch, perfect for gifts! Pledge...
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The Lincoln Legends - Part One: Larger Than Life
In the 2025 season premiere, I kick off a series about the myths and conspiracy theories surrounding Abraham Lincoln's assassination with a look at the misconceptions and legends that surround this much mythologized figure. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at...
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The Roots of the Christmas Tree (Another Very Historically Blind Xmas!)
In this year's annual holiday special, I examine the roots of the Christmas tree custom to determine its origins and whether it is indeed a pagan survival, as many claim. Check out the show merch, perfect for gifts! Pledge support on Patreon to get an ad-free feed with exclusive episodes! Check…
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Patreon Release: A Very Shroomy Xmas!
In this holiday special minisode from last year, I tackle the claims of entheogen theorists who suggest, falsely, that almost all Christmas traditions really derive from Siberian cultures' use of hallucinogenic mushrooms! Pledge support on Patreon to get an ad-free feed with exclusive episodes!...
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Special Presentation: Plodding Through the Presidents - Conspiracy Theories and the Corrupt Bargain with Mark Cheathem
In this special presentation, I share an episode of the wonderful podcast Plodding Through the Presidents, in which hosts Howard and Jessica Dorre discuss the many myths, mysteries, and scandals surrounding the early presidents who shaped our country. In this episode from their archives, they...
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The Thanksgiving Union (Holiday Bonus Minisode)
This holiday bonus minisode presents my personal thoughts on the upcoming holiday, in the wake of the election, reflecting on the establishment of the national holiday during the Civil War. Music on this episode is by Kai Engel, licensed under Creative Commons. Tracks include "September,"…
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Jack the Ripper - Part Two: Ripperology
In the conclusion of my series on Jack the Ripper, I look the many claims and theories purporting to solve the crimes, their weaknesses and how far Ripperologists go to sell books. Direct all advertising inquiries to [email protected]. Visit www.airwavemedia.com to find other...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Historical Blindness is a podcast about history’s myths, mysteries, and misconceptions. By examining cases of outrageous hoaxes, pernicious conspiracy theory, mass delusion, baffling mysteries and unreliable historiography, host Nathaniel Lloyd searches for insights into modern religious belief and political culture.
HOSTED BY
Nathaniel Lloyd
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Historical Blindness have?
Historical Blindness currently has 250 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Historical Blindness about?
Historical Blindness is a podcast about history’s myths, mysteries, and misconceptions. By examining cases of outrageous hoaxes, pernicious conspiracy theory, mass delusion, baffling mysteries and unreliable historiography, host Nathaniel Lloyd searches for insights into modern religious belief and...
How often does Historical Blindness release new episodes?
Historical Blindness publishes regularly with 250 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Historical Blindness?
You can listen to Historical Blindness on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Historical Blindness?
Historical Blindness is created and hosted by Nathaniel Lloyd.
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