Profiles In Eccentricity

We love weird, whether it's people, places, or phenomenon. Check out this trailer for a brief rundown of some previous Profiles. We cover a lot of different topics, but, if you like what you hear, find a full episode that piques your interest. Thank you for listening!

This week John shares the life of Fredericka Mandelbaum, the Jewish-German immigrant who started a school for criminals in 19th century New York and created a progeny of world class criminals like Sophie Lyons, Max Shinbaum, George Leonidas Leslie, and Alan Worth.

This week John tells the tragic story of the pre-Victorian British royal family's rebellious princess who struggled for independence and ultimately broke the hearts of her husband, family, and subjects.

This week Matt treats us to the life of an early 20th century boxer and booze hound from Buffalo, New York. Jimmy goes from fighting in Madison Square Garden, throwing money from his car window, blowing through toll booths, and fighting guys like Young Stribling and Kid Numbers to living on the streets of the city that worshiped him.

This week John tells the boys about the 19th and 20th century gangs that caused mayhem and bloodshed in the slums of New York and created the foundation for organized crime in the next century.

This holiday season the boys bring a feast of media clips to devour and in between they pause to give two of our favorite guests time to get into some mini-profiles. First up our adorable bussy boss Joe Kaye brings us the tale of the bears the US military drugged and ejected from fighter jets. Then returning hero David Sharpe tells of another gambling legend, Stu Ungar, the card player who loved chopping' it up. Extra giant-sized edition.

This week John tells of the early 20th century con man and impersonator Stanley Weyman, who mainly used his false identities not for money, but sheer experience. Then Matt shares the story of a strange miser with a fondness for silver dollars! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week John serves up the story of the priest who self maimed or spontaneously suffered from the stigmata, a condition where devout Christians painfully suffer eternally open wounds similar to those of Jesus at his execution. Hear how the church ostracizes him, fascist thugs protect him, and Pope John Paul II makes him a saint after Pio allegedly cures his friend's inoperable cancer.

On our Patreon we also do extra profiles. In this one Matt drops the tale of Boggs, the man who drew money to barter with. Hear a possible history of money and how one artist's contemporary recreation redefined contemporary definition. Get an extra episode every week: https://www.patreon.com/profilesineccentricity

This week Aaron regales the boys with the epic tale of the Chinese woman who rose from prostitution to the illicit control of the Eastern seas with a massive fleet of men and vessels at her whim. But first, Matt treats us to the absurdly sad and stupid saga of the Ketchum brothers, the doomed train robbers who idolized Jesse James.