In the year 1212 something strange happened in Western Europe, but none of the contemporary historic sources can agree on exactly what it was. Later historians would claim that a religious movement made up of children under twelve sprang up in rural France. After gathering together thousands of pre-teen followers this crusade set out to liberate the holy land. However, we're told that this so-called Children's Crusade ended in disaster. According to some sources, the children were attacked, starved, murdered, or sold en-masse into slavery. But is any of that true? Was there really a Children's Crusade? If there was, should we believe the horror stories about this unusual movement? Tune-in and find out how "mythistory," a Woodstock Nation, and The Old Man of the Mountain all play a role in the story.

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Season 12 begins with the trip to the Northwoods! For over a century Paul Bunyan has been America's best loved lumberjack hero. Statues honoring the gigantic woodsman dot the mid-west. His smiling face has been used to sell everything from building materials to loaves of bread. But, in the 1950's one of America's leading folklorists declared that Paul Bunyan was a prime example of something he called "fakelore." These were tales invented by authors that mimicked stories that came out of oral traditions. He accused Paul Bunyan of being a corporate mascot masquerading as an authentic American myth. Have these accusations stood the test of time? Is Paul Bunyan a fake myth? Tune-in and find out how lumberjack improv teams, mythical Quebec potholes, and the best man in Ottawa all play a role in the story!

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In this throwback episode Sebastian takes you to an episode that is one of his personal favorites. Is it "secretly" one of the best episode of OFH? The character of Stagger Lee has been one of America’s most enduring folk heroes. There have been over 400 songs written about the swaggering, gun-toting, bad man. He has gone by many names: Stacks Lee, Stagolee, Staxs O’Lee. Sometimes he is presented as a malevolent villain, others a heroic defender of the oppressed. No matter the telling Stagger Lee is always a badass. Is this figure just a piece of fiction dreamt up by blues musicians and perpetuated by their rock’n’roll progeny? Or was there a real man behind the murderous myth? Tune-in and find out how Biggie Smalls, 19th century fightin’ words, and a milk white stetson hat all play a role in the story.

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With a new star-studded film adaptation of The Odyssey bringing Homer's world back to the big screen, it’s the perfect time to share a teaser clip from our friends at You're Dead To Me. It's the BBC comedy podcast that takes history seriously, bringing together experts and comedians to explore the people, stories and ideas that shaped our world. If you like what you hear you can find full episodes of You're Dead to Me wherever you get your podcasts.

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In this throwback episode Sebastian takes you to the conclusion of one of the podcast's most discussed series. The island of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, has been called “the clearest example of a society that destroyed itself.” For years it was taken for granted that the people of Rapa Nui had depleted their natural resources in pursuit of bigger and better stone statues called Moai. However, recent scholarship has called into to question the widely known story of ecological collapse. Were the people of Rapa Nui really the authors of their own destruction, or has this narrative been unfairly exaggerated? Tune-in and found out how Birdmen, traumatized skeletons, and a stolen friend all play a role in the story.

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In this Throwback Episode Sebastian revisits one of the best loved series from Season 6. Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as the indigenous islanders call it, may be the most misunderstood place on planet Earth. For centuries outsiders have tried to unravel what they perceived to be the islands many mysteries. How did stone age people manage to get to such a remote island? How did these people build the island’s remarkable statues? What caused this unique society to collapse? Recent research has completely upended many previous assumptions about this storied island. Was the mysterious collapse even a collapse at all? Tune in an find out how awesome canoes, ancestor mana, and OFH’s favourite ocean current all play a role in the story.

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In this Throwback Episode Sebastian revisits one of his favourite episodes from Season 7 and brings in some new critiques that did not make it into the original show! The legendary hybrid creature known as the gryphon was said to have the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. Despite this fantastical descriptions the ancient Greeks and Romans truly seemed to have believed that gryphons were real animals. It was thought that gryphons lived in arid steppes and deserts of central Asia where they guarded stashes of gold. Stories of gryphons made their way to Mediterranean by way of the nomadic Scythian people, who hunted for gold in the gryphon’s homeland. Stanford Professor Adrienne Mayor thinks she may have solved the mystery of this puzzling creature. Could the gryphon stories be an early form of paleontology? Tune-in and find out how giant hoaxes, paleo-art, and one eyed gold hunters all play a role in the story.

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Rhiannon Giddens is a multi-instrumentalist, a singer, and a composer. She is a MacArthur Genius fellow, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and one the most dynamic voices in American folk and roots music performing today. She’s also one of the knowledgeable people you can possibly talk to when it comes to history of the banjo and American music generally. In the finale of season 11 Ms. Giddens joins Sebastian for a sprawling talk about how the history of the banjo is deeply connected to America's tumultuous development as a nation. Is the banjo America's most misunderstood instrument? Tune-in and find out how the Tango craze, African lutes, and Japanese men playing minstrel tunes all play a role in the story.

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