Bittersweet Infamy

Jan 26 2025 115 ep. 88 mins 30

Bittersweet Infamy Podcast artwork

Storytellers and best friends Josie Mitchell and Taylor Basso share the stories that live on in infamy: the strange and the familiar, the tragic and the comic—the bitter and the sweet. New episodes every other Sunday on the 604 Podcast Network! Support the show: ko-fi.com/bittersweetinfamy

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#115 - This Bud's Not for You

Jan 26 2025 109 mins

Taylor tells Josie the stories of transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, whose TikTok ad for Bud Light kicked off a right-wing beer boycott, and January Marie Lapuz, the beloved social butterfly whose 2012 killing shocked Vancouver's LGBTQ+ community.

#114 - The Terrorist Heiress

Jan 12 2025 175 mins

Season five premiere! Josie tells Taylor about heiress turned abductee turned revolutionary Patricia Hearst, and her explosive odyssey with the militia that kidnapped her, the Symbionese Liberation Army. Plus: the tragic saga of the animal outlaws who became MAGA martyrs, Peanut the squirrel and Fred the raccoon.

#113 - The Twelve Days of Infamy

Dec 24 2024 126 mins

Holiday special! Taylor tells Josie one infamous story for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas—from the drummer the Beatles drummed out of the band, to a Partridge naked on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.

#112 - A Spirited Tour of Spiritualism

Oct 27 2024 126 mins

Halloween special + season finale! Josie tells Taylor about the haunting history of the modern Spiritualist movement—from the crafty teen sisters who brought it to life, to the high-profile feud between Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that nearly caused its demise. Plus: get dressed up for Jimi (地味) Halloween, Japan's costumed celebration of the mundane and everyday;

#111 - The War of the Worlds

Oct 13 2024 103 mins

Halloween special! Taylor tells Josie about the 1938 Orson Welles radio play about a Martian invasion that allegedly caused a mass hysteria, and the 1949 Ecuadorean remake that went even further. Plus: flesh out your fall reading list with the world's largest collection of books bound in human skin!

#110 - The Killers of Eden

Sep 29 2024 102 mins

Guest host Peter Chiykowski tells Josie and Taylor about the pod of orcas who hunted in harmony with humans until a brutal betrayal ended it all. Plus: catch up with Darwin the Ikea Monkey, the stylish snow macaque whose fetching winter coat kept him warm through a chilly legal battle.

#109 - Night at the Dick Museum

Sep 22 2024 98 mins

Josie tells Taylor about the Icelandic Phallological Museum, which contains the world's largest display of phalluses, and curator Sigurður Hjartarson's quest for the collection's crown jewel: a human penis. Plus: listen to "Amelia's Song," the mysterious melody that reunited a family across cultures, continents, and centuries.

#108 - Satan's Last Stronghold

Sep 15 2024 89 mins

Guest host Erika Jo Brown tells Josie and Taylor about the evangelical Christian fervour that led American missionary John Chau to contact the voluntarily isolated people of North Sentinel Island—with deadly results. Plus: get to know Erika Jo with a harvest-fresh game of Bitter or Sweet?

#107 - The Tower

Sep 08 2024 98 mins

Taylor tells Josie about Alicia Esteve “Tania” Head, the prominent 9/11 survivor who was exposed as a fraud. Plus: a deep dive into the centuries-old history of the ama, Japan's legendary pearl divers.

#106 - The Party Bus Omnibus

Aug 25 2024 112 mins

Josie celebrates Taylor's birthday with a series of infamous party stories, featuring guests of honour from Kim Kardashian to Kim Jong-il. Plus: step into the ring with the Fighting Cholitas, the professional wrestlers crushing stereotypes of Indigenous women in Bolivia.