Interview: Historical AF Podcast

Historical AF is where a historian (Kyna), librarian (Natalee), and the occasional special guest hit the giggle water to deliver the funny, weird, spooky, morbid, and random historical nuggets you never knew you needed straight to your earholes!

What inspired you to start Historical AF Podcast? (or, what's your origin story?)

Kyna: It might seem like the most ridiculous origin story, but it all began with a beer and being cursed with knowledge. I was out with my husband at a new pub and he ordered a Rasputin beer. My husband has zero interest in history but this has never stopped me so I asked him if he had ever heard about Rasputin's alleged mystical member. I believe his words were, "dear god Kyna, who knows these things." But I continued. I told him about how he was a legendary lover and that women worshipped him after his death... and that parts of him traveled the world and gathered a following. The story is a long and wild one but you'll have to listen to episode 8 to get all the details. Alas, at this point, he no longer believed me and decided to give it a Google. He was floored that the first article to emerge not only recounted Rasputin but many many more. I remember saying, "that's it, that's my podcast."

It was a perfect fit. I am a historian but I have heard, more times than I can count, that people hate history because it is boring. That is honestly a dagger to the heart but it is also a challenge. I want to show the world that history is hilarious, interesting, and exciting and that it is a key part of true crime and paranormal stories. I have a Master's degree in Public History but I recently had to relocate to a new state due to military orders. This podcast has allowed me to research, remain current on historical discoveries, and talk about my passion as I find my footing in the museum world here. a has also allowed me to join forces with librarians, that I once worked with, to create podcast that tells a story.

Which historical event do you wish you could have witnessed firsthand?

Natalee: In episode 25, we talked about the Seven Wonders of the World and ancient monuments people assume aliens built. It was then I knew the answer to this question. I would want to witness the creation of Stonehenge to finally know how it was built and why it was built. There is so much mystery surrounding this prehistoric monument I just have to know!

How do you pick your episode topics?

Kyna: Our format has really simplified this process. We have a theme that is broken down into 6 stories that cover the weird, funny, spooky, morbid, random, and historical aspects of that theme. The random segment has an extra challenge to shake things up. The co-host with random must find a story that fits the theme but also incorporates a word given to her by the other host.

In the beginning, we just made a huge list of every potential theme we could think of covering. It is thorough because we are nerds and have a lot of ideas. When we started the Patreon page, we wanted our members to feel like they are a part of the podcast so they actually choose our weekly themes. We add a poll to the Patreon page and they vote on what is next. Once a theme has been selected, we roll for the stories. I created dice that have our 6 topics and it chooses which story we will cover each week. This way it is always changing and always random. Once we have our theme and the three topics we will be doing, we get to work researching.

What sort of prep work do you do for each episode?

Natalee: To prepare for an episode I google our topic using various keywords and review several articles that peak my interest. After choosing a story I'll then look at other sources to verify that the story is legit. I also will take a look at books at the library. I piece together what I've learned and hopefully deliver in an interesting and fun way for our listeners.

Kyna: My process is similar. I am currently writing this week's notes. I have 15 tabs open and I'm trying to piece together a story from different perspectives. Once I have all the facts and the story pieced together, I go back and throw my spin on things and add jokes as I read it. I always want it to feel well researched but more fun than dry.

Can you share a few fun historical facts we can use to seem smarter at cocktail parties?

Kyna: There are so many great historical nuggets to use at parties! We are cursed with knowledge so we are constantly telling people fun tidbits whether they like it or not. Probably why we have a podcast now. One of my favorite stories is that the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, rather than going further south to Virginia, because they were running out of beer! Because a ship's water supply could become a contaminated, germy mess, beer was preferred because it could be stored and ingested for weeks and months without issue. Once the Captain of the Mayflower decided to call it in Plymouth, the passengers were on their own to figure out the water situation so that they could save the remaining beer for the crew. There are a lot of fun quotes from passengers pretty pissed off that they had to drink water in the New World and it is hilarious.

Natalee: One of my favorites involves booze. Did you know that a gin & tonic cocktail can actually help fight malaria? Winston Churchill once said, “the gin and tonic have saved more Englishmen’s lives, and minds, than all the doctors in the Empire.”

Kyna: I want you to imagine Napoleon Bonaparte in all his glory. Now imagine him ready for a rabbit hunt that he had requested for him and his men. I'm sure he was ready to show off and look all manly and emperor-like. Of course, that didn't happen as planned. His chief of staff had set up the hunt with an impressive 3,000 rabbits for the occasion. Now, I need you to still imagine Napoleon for full effect. As the thousands of rabbits were released from their cages, they began charging toward Bonaparte and his men in a vicious and unstoppable onslaught. And you thought Waterloo was his biggest defeat.

Any interesting episodes/special content/live shows coming up? Where can people find you on the internet?

Kyna: I feel like every episode gets better and better but one of my favorites so far has to be the Asylum episodes. I recently earned a Masters in Public History and my thesis was on the Arkansas Lunatic Asylum. Part of my thesis was created a digital exhibit. I felt like this will be the only time I will be an expert in the theme we are discussing and ran with it. I am technically the world's leading expert in this particular asylum and I ran with it. I am so proud of my work and excited to share it with the world. I do have to say that the funniest episodes have to be the Historical Man/Lady Bit episodes. Hear me out, you wouldn't think this would be a fascinating topic but it was! It covered everything from Rasputin and Napoleon to the Amazon women and Lorena Bobbit. I would also give our puns and slang a 10/10. I also love some good alliteration and really shined on these episodes.

Nat: Episode 4 is my favorite! It was my first episode but it was also about food so it was such a great topic and really fun to do.

We are so proud of our Patreon page and the exclusive content and early access we provide there. Our Drunk Dives are by far our favorite thing to record. Every month, we watch a movie, pour a drink, then discuss the historical accuracy (or lack thereof) of the film. We have had a blast ranting and raving about movies like Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, The Greatest Showman, The Other Boelyn Girl, and Queen of the Desert. These are also videos so members get us all in our wild hand gestured glory. We also have deleted scenes, bloopers, and behind the scenes footage available. Patreon members also get a personally curated book list for each theme from Natalee and a Historical Bucket List for each theme from me. There is so much more so we definitely recommend checking out our Patreon page for a full list!

We also have a lot up our sleeves for the future. We are currently planning bonus episodes and scheduling future guests and we 100% intend on going live so keep a lookout for us!

Historicalafpodcast.wordpress.com is a good place to start. There you will find photos, our sources, and links to any videos or websites we mention. There are also links to where you can listen, our artwork, our bios, and the following web pages and our social media:

Or you can give us a Google, we are Google-able now :)




Victoria Krauchunas