Our Fake History

For centuries the western Norse colony of Vinland was known only to scholars of the Icelandic Sagas. But in the 19th century the work of a few Scandinavian historians helped revive interest in these previously obscure tales. When the Danish historian Carl Christian Rafn published in his work in English in 1837, many American's were exposed to the idea that the Norse had beaten Columbus to North America by 500 years. Many New Englanders were also excited by the idea that the legendary colony of Vinland may have been in Cape Cod. However, this new interest in the American Vikings also kicked off a wave of Norse flavored forgeries. Some were inspired to create elaborate pseudo-histories that supplanted the America's true first people with a lost group of Norse settlers. The real history of the Norse in North America was soon clouded by a haze of hoaxes and fantasies. Tune-in and find out how runes in Minnesota, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Newfoundlander named George all play a role in the story.
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The only literary sources we have about the Viking settlements west of Greenland come from the Icelandic Sagas. The only problem is that the Sagas can be totally off-the-wall. Corpses reanimate and speak prophecies, giant-eyed doppelgängers vanish into thin air, and one-legged creatures murder unsuspecting Norse explorers. But, this same sources also describe interactions between the Norse and the Vinland's first people that sound remarkably believable. The people the Norse called the Skraeling's act quite a lot like the Algonquin speaking peoples of Canada's east coast. How do we separate the historical wheat from the legendary chaff? Tune-in and find out how female axe murderers, Vinland's first Viking baby, and the loudest bull in the world all play a role in the story.
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Between the 9th and 11th centuries Norse explorers undertook a series of remarkable journeys through the North Atlantic. Iceland and Greenland were settled by medieval farmers eager to find new uninhabited lands. But just how far west did these seafarer's manage to travel? The unique Icelandic texts known as the sagas tell tales of journeys to a fertile and abundant country south west of Greenland named Vinland, or the Land of Wine, for the wild grapes that allegedly grew there. Archaeology has proven that the Norse managed to reach Northern Newfoundland, but could the rocky North Peninsula really be the "land of wine" blessed with "frostless winters?" Where was Vinland? Did it ever truly exist? Tune-in and find out how magical sleeps, violent troll tests, and saga story-time all play a role in the story.
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In this Bonus Episode Sebastian takes questions from listeners about the series on the original Ponzi Scheme. The host investigates the history of the expression "robbing Peter to pay Paul", locates early usages of the phrase "getting Ponzied", and muses about whether all expansionist empires are actually just big Ponzi Schemes. Sebastian also throws out a possible replacement for "Watergate" as the go-to synonym for a scandal. Tune-in and find out how cheeky bank ads, skin grafts, and Atilla the Hun all play role in the story.
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Charles Ponzi's remarkable rise and fall played out over the course of a wild eight month period. He went from being a failed importer-exporter mired in debt to Boston's most talked about self-made millionaire in a matter of weeks. After rebranding his company as the Securities Exchange Company, Ponzi started offering remarkable 50% returns to investors after only 90 days. But almost immediately Ponzi's plan to use postal coupons to game international exchange rates became impractical. But, instead of grabbing as much cash as he could and making a dash, Ponzi believed he could transform his scam into a legitimate business. Was Ponzi ever really serious about going straight? Tune-in and find out how the America's nation menace, Babe Ruth, and guy named Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford all play a role in the story.
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