Circus Stories: A Circus History Podcast

About Circus Stories: A Circus History Podcast

The good, the bad, the unbelievable stories from circus history. Each month we deep dive into topics like, "How do Clowns paint their faces and WHY", "Who was the first Human Cannonball act", "Circus Superstitions" and so much more! Join host and generational circus photographer Callie B as she explores circus history from centuries past all the way to present day marvels; accompanied by her pals/co-hosts Mark & Aíne . Complete with decoded circus lingo, fun circus facts, and first hand circus stories from Callie B's own family. Theme song by The Wolves of Glendale.

Publisher

Callie Biggerstaff, Mark Renaudin & Aíne Norris

Category

arts · history · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

16 Jul 2020

Latest episode

25 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

3 of 69 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   25 Aug 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Legacy of the Tattooed Lady

   Host Amelia Osterud explores the captivating life and motivations of "The Tattooed Lady" sideshow performer, revealing the secrets behind her iconic body art.

2. 

   10 Jul 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Tiny Tim

   Come join us as we "tip toe through the tulips" and discuss whom some have described as the "original goth" and all around quirky dude, Tiny Tim! The singer - not the other one -- and what is his connection with the circus!? We also share some VERY interesting circus lingo and stories from the vault! Two audio versions of “Tip Toe Through The Tulips With Me” shared in this episode use the original public domain sheet music and were created by Andy Rinaldi of tasker-morris sounds. Thank you ...

3. 

   10 Jun 2026

   Katie Sandwina; Lady Hercules

   We are talking strong women today! Katharina Brumbach, more commonly known as Katie Sandwina or Lady Hercules was, for a time, a headlining act at the famed Barnum and Bailey's circus and considered the "perfect" female specimen. We dive deep into her life, career, family and of course amazing feats of strength which will blow your socks off! +Check out our IG for images we discuss during the episode!! images and photos sourced from Stark Center.org ++View videos of Sandwina + Son Teddy Bru...

Inside a recent episode

Legacy of the Tattooed Lady

Published 25 Aug 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] Just choosing this career path, like, good for them. I thought that, I mean, in part, I thought they were just interested in tattoos and then went for it. Naive of me to just assume that they were just covered in tattoos. I think it can be both, right? Where they were interested and they wanted this for themselves because they knew that it would make money. But also, like so many of our circus stories, late 1800s, early 1900s, there were very limited opportunities for women to make money, for women to become famous, for women to do anything bold because it would be seen as subversive. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.3 / 5

55 ratings

Spotify

4.9 / 5

80 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 30 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

24

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

93

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