The Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Jackalope

Apr 06 2025 130 ep. 31 mins 169
The Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Jackalope Podcast artwork

The Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Jackalope is a secret society devoted to sharing strange stories and amazing facts. No topic is off limits -- if it's interesting or entertaining, we'll do an episode about it.

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#111: Samozvantsy [false Dmitrys in the Time of Troubles]

Apr 06 2025 72 mins  
The Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich died from an accidental self-inflicted knife wound in 1591... but that didn't stop him from popping up to try and reclaim his throne in 1604. And 1607. And 1611. And 1612. And... https://order-of-the-jackalope.com/samozvantsy Key sources for this episode include Chester S.L. Dunning's Russia's First Civil War: The Time of Troubles and the Romanov Dyna

#110: The Choice of the Next Generation [the Cola Wars in space]

Feb 02 2025 26 mins  
War! The balance of power in the Cola Wars has been shifting for years. In a stunning move, Coke has swept into NASA and is about to send its signature beverage into orbit... but not if the underdogs at Pepsi have anything to say about it... https://order-of-the-jackalope.com/the-choice-of-the-next-generation/ Key sources for this episode include Charles T. Bourland and Gregory L.

#109: The Number of the Stars [are there actually twelve planets?]

Jan 12 2025 38 mins  
New Age types keep saying that there are twelve planets. Where does that number come from, and what are these three extra planets supposed to be? (Plus: a detour to the world of ancient astronauts.) https://order-of-the-jackalope.com/the-number-of-the-stars/ Key sources for this episode include Gottfried de Purucker's Fundamentals of the Esoteric Philosophy and The Fountain-Source

#108: Your Eyebrows Will Grow Back [Richard Timewell's Space Ranger] presented by #42

Dec 22 2024 16 mins  
Everybody always asks, "If this is the future, where's my jetpack?" but only Richard Timewell was bold enough to do something about it. And by "do something" I mean "sell jetpacks through the mail." https://order-of-the-jackalope.com/your-eyebrows-will-grow-back/ Presented by #42 (Alex Baumans): Pathologically interested in anything unusual and obscure. Closet goth, armchair genera

#107: Deeply Impressed [Helen Duncan goes on trial]

Dec 01 2024 42 mins  
Helen Duncan was the last person persecuted in Britain for being a witch. Except she wasn't the last, she wasn't a witch, and she wasn't exactly persecuted either... https://order-of-the-jackalope.com/deeply-impressed/ Key sources for this episode include C.E. Bechhofer Roberts' The Trial of Mrs. Duncan; Gena Brealey and Kay Hunter's The Two Worlds of Helen Duncan; Harry Price's Le

#106: Cloud Dongs [George Gray Barnard's Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groups]

Nov 10 2024 33 mins  
George Gray Barnard's sculptures have been installed in front of the Pennsylvania State Capitol since 1911... but the story of their creation is a long and tortured one, featuring the strangest act of self-censorship you'll ever see. https://order-of-the-jackalope.com/cloud-dongs/ Key sources for this episode include Dan Williams' "George Grey Barnard"; Ingrid Steffensen's "Toward

#105: Wild Frantics [the Sanctified Band of Chincoteague Island]

Oct 20 2024 36 mins  
The Sanctified Band was driven from their homes on Chincoteague Island, forced to live in floating arks, and persecuted up and down the Eastern Seaboard... and all they really wanted was freedom to worship as they pleased. https://order-of-the-jackalope.com/wild-frantics/ Key sources for this episode include Harry J. Collins, Jr. and Floyd L. Hagan, Sr.'s History of Christ's Santif

#104: Rapscallions! Part 3 "Surprised and Excited" [the St. Albans Raid and more] Take 2

Oct 07 2024 50 mins  
This week we wrap up our look into Confederate skulduggery with a grab bag of smaller plots: Staging fake peace conferences at Niagara Falls! Robbing banks in Vermont! Burning New York! Kidnapping the vice president! https://order-of-the-jackalope.com/surprised-and-excited/ (This episode is the third and final part of Rapscallions!, a series about Confederate cloak-and-dagger oper

#103: Rapscallions! Part 2: "Resist at Your Peril" [the Philo Parsons Incident]

Sep 22 2024 42 mins  
The only thing standing between John Yates Beall and the Confederate prisoners-of-war on Johnson's Island was the USS Michigan... Well, that and a terrible con man and the cowardice of his own men. https://order-of-the-jackalope.com/resist-at-your-peril/ (This episode is part two of Rapscallions!, a three-part series about Confederate cloak-and-dagger operations in the final year o

#102: Rapscallions! Part 1: "Patience is Sour" [Thomas Henry Hines and the Great Northwestern Conspiracy]

Sep 08 2024 52 mins  
Thomas Henry Hines had a cunning plan to free Confederate prisoners-of-war and break the Northwest off of the Union. All he needed were sixty good men, fifty footsoldiers, and friends on the inside. Too bad none of those groups existed. https://order-of-the-jackalope.com/patience-is-sour/ (This episode is part one of Rapscallions!, a three-part series about Confederate cloak-and-da