CultureCraft is a storytelling podcast about the creators, innovators, and visionaries who shaped our world. From inventors and engineers to artists and entrepreneurs, each episode explores how a creator’s cultural context shaped their work- and how their work, in turn, shaped the world.
Submarines, Glass Delusion and Expensive Slippers | Culture Critters 5
Time for more little stories to scitter out into the world. Today’s critters include Mush Morton, who captained the USS Wahoo on a vengeance-fueled tirade throughout the Pacific Theater, the rich people who believed they turned into glass, and the theft of the most valuable slippers in the world by some idiots who had no idea what they stole.
28 Oct 2026
Le Corbusier: What happens when an architect likes concrete more than people?
Today Elle is exactly in her element as she takes us through the life and times of the legendary architect known to the world as, Le Corbusier.
We talk modernism, brutalism, spatialism, fascism, idealism...communism....racism?.... ism.
So join us as we learn to appreciate both the beauty of modernist architecture, and how lucky we are that the city of Paris didn't let this guy do what he wanted.
21 Oct 2026
Charles Frederick Worth Takes Paris
Have you ever seen a Balenciaga shirt and thought to yourself, "How did we get here? Where did it all begin?" Then this episode is for you. Ellie takes us on a journey through the life and illustrious career of Charles Frederick Worth, the father of Haute Couture. Lace up your corset, tie on your bustle, and ride with us on the roller coaster that is 19th century Parisian politics.
14 Oct 2026
The Industrial Age’s Greatest Engineer, the World’s Worst Magician
Isambard Kingdom Brunel was a tiny man who wore stovepipe hats, smoked 40 cigars a day, and slept for 4 hours a night. With nothing but demonic willpower, a preposterous lack of self-care, and an utterly expendable army of laborers, this little maniac changed the world in the age of steam.
Also, he almost killed himself performing a magic trick for his kids… hence the title… just listen to the episode, you’ll get it.
7 Oct 2026
Jadwiga Szczawińska Built The Best Secret Illegal University in Poland
Jadwiga Szczawińska was a socialist, feminist, and uncompromising patriot who defied the Tsarist forces in her occupied Poland. She attended then oversaw the Flying University, the only school where your alma mater was also your neighbor’s living room and your classmate was a future Nobel Laureate.
Join us as we discuss this stubborn, wonderful woman, talk way too much about who has the hottest beard and marvel at Dave’s absolute inability to pronounce a single Polish name correctly.
7 Oct 2026
Forest Nymph & Canal Workers Ice Cream Union
This is a weird one. What starts off as a sort of ranked battle thing becomes something else entirely. a whole new way to judge a historical figure's prominence. Who cares what they discovered or invented? Great art is for suckers. Transforming the world does not matter. The judgement of greatness is joining The Union. The Union is forever.
16 Sept 2026
Culture Critters: Episode 4
This month’s round up takes us from the Roman Republic to the invention of baseball. Together we ask the hard hitting questions such as, “Has anyone ever had a good day at Gettysburg?”, “How do you sneak up on a Viking?”, and “Are you suffering from religious excitement?” There is truly something for everyone this week, so hold on to your top hats.
9 Sept 2026
John Herschel: The Man Who Mapped the Sky
This week, Ian tells us about astronomer and polymath, Sir John Herschel. A member of the scientific Herschel family, John carried his family's legacy to new heights. Join us as we discuss the merits of oboes on the battlefield and the discovery of men on the moon.
2 Sept 2026
Margaret Cavendish: Science Fiction Pioneer
Today we discuss a very fancy lady who loved fashion, philosophy and peotry. She lived through the English Civil War and died a duchess. Her excentricities made her a celebrity, and her fearless self promotion makes her one of our favorite creators so far.
26 Aug 2026
Nellie Bly: Captain of Industry (Part 2)
You simply will not believe how much we have to talk about steel barrels in this one.
In the second, and final, part of her story, Nellie goes to war: figuratively against the banks and literally as she kind of accidentally supports the Central Powers in WW1.
Does she engage in some (light) human trafficking and kidnapping? Yes. Does she write about it? Also yes.
19 Aug 2026
Nellie Bly Makes Headlines (About Nellie Bly): Part 1
Nellie Bly’s willingness to do anything to get the story was matched only by her willingness to put herself right in the center of it.
Join us as we discuss the pioneer journalist who conned her way into the madhouse, travelled around the world faster than Phileas Fogg and wrote about the time a woman tried to pass off 4 different babies as the same kid. That part’s a bummer, but Nellie does get a pet monkey at one point... so, silver linings?
12 Aug 2026
Culture Critters #2: MIG15s, the Ghost Camaro, and Legendary Highwaymen
Join us for Culture Critters #2! This is a crazy one!
Dave tells the story of Operation Moolah- the time the US tried to bribe the North Koreans to defect with a MIG-15 jet fighter.
Ian tells us INSANE story of "God's Rambo and the Ghost Camaro".
And Ellie takes us through a delightful roundup of legendary highwaymen throughout history!
It's a long episode, but good lord it's fun.
Also, if you're feeling inspired; please leave us a comment on Spotify and/or rate our show! It's incredibly helpful.
And check us out on Instagram! @culturecraft_show
5 Aug 2026
Satire, Grotesquerie, Pettiness, and Fart Jokes: The John Harington Story
Ian takes us through the work of Sir John Harington; railing against the muck and mire of court of Queen Elizabeth with the invention of the toilet.
We talk about about how gross and unwashed everyone was in the 1500s, the church's tight-gripped control of the people, that one time they banned the study of Greek to stop people reading the Bible in its original language, and how the closest someone feels to God may indeed be while they're on the toilet.
There's a lot of talk of poop. So, if you're not into that I'm sorry. If you're super into that, welcome- you little weirdo.
Also, we're on the socials now @culturecraft_show!
29 Jul 2026
The Man Who Mapped The World Without Leaving Home
Come learn about the life and times of Gerardus Mercator. The dude who gave us the first world map and also got it so wrong in so many ways that would have massive implications for the rest of time. We get a glimpse into the bungling chaos that was the Holy Roman Emperor. We talk Humanism, cartography, religion, 1500s politics, and that one time he abandoned his son in the Alps.
22 Jul 2026
Full Steam Ahead: The Robert Fulton Story
Elle takes us through the life of Robert Fulton in his transcontinental search for the new nautical norm.
This is a cool cat. Holding his own with engineers and designers at the age of 12, building the most insane 1-man submarine with hand-held torpedoes for Napoleon, diving into a frozen river to save his friend, Robert Fulton ruled.
14 Jul 2026
Culture Critters #1
This is our inaugural foray into what (at Dave's insistence) we are calling Culture Critters! It's a roundup episode where each of us gets to tell a story we've come across that doesn't quite fit the broader format of the show. It's a chance to include tidbits in history we find fascinating that will hopefully provide broader context for the lives the creators we feature are living.
This week, Ellie takes us on a tour of some remarkable women who played a role in the First English Civil War. Ian scares everyone with the story of the Takata Airbag Scandal. And Dave- being Dave- tells us the story of the Infernal Machine and the world's dumbest assassin. It's bananas and we're still laughing about it.
Finally, RE: Takata Airbag Scandal- please use this link to make sure the car you're driving doesn't have a hand grenade aimed at your face: https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls
Stay safe, y'all.
8 Jul 2026
Frederic Tudor- The Ice King
Dave takes us through the daring and ludicrous life of terrible capitalist, Frederic Tudor. This is a guy who had bankrupted multiple businesses by age 17 and thought it was a great idea to load a boat full of ice in Boston and try to sell it in Cuba, in 1807.
We'll see if he was right or not.
Also we discuss the shared trauma of Vanilla Ice's 1991 masterpiece, Cool as Ice.
It's a fun one.
1 Jul 2026
Walter Reuther VS. The Big 3
This week we dive into the incredible story of Union Leader, Walter Reuther and his battle against the titans of the automotive industry: GM, Chrysler, and the Ford Motor Company. We talk nationwide strikes, harrowing clashes with police, old rich bastards, and Ellie joins the manosphere. It's a good time.
20 Jun 2026
Capability Brown- Genius Visionary or Epic Fraudster?
Capability Brown was referred to as the “Shakespeare of English Landscape Gardening”, which we find hilarious. Learn about the life and work of the man who literally reshaped the English countryside. Was he a genius? Was it all an incredible ploy to get paid for doing the bare minimum? Does being called the Shakespeare of Landscape Gardening make any sense to anyone? Let’s find out together!
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