Historically Bad

About Historically Bad

Join us each as we unpack some seriously messed up history. Hosted by self-proclaimed comedians and real life scientists, Carly and Tab. New episodes when we make them.

Publisher

Historically Bad

Category

history

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

21 Nov 2023

Latest episode

2 May 2026

Latest episodes

28 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 May 2026

   27. Femme Fraud: Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos

   SURPRISE EPISODE!!! A special Saturday treat because you deserve it, baddies. Elizabeth Holmes was just 19 years old in 2003 when she founded what would become a multi-billion dollar health technology company. This company, called Theranos, acquired over 700 million dollars in investments from venture capitalists and private investors which was meant to be used towards the research and development of a diagnostic tool that would revolutionize the healthcare industry for the better. This tool – called “The Edison” was a portable analysis machine that could test blood for several different conditions, illnesses, and diseases with only a few drops of blood from a finger prick. The goal was to make blood tests more convenient, affordable, and accessible, relieving a significant burden off of the healthcare system and giving patients direct access to personalized healthcare. Great! What an excellent idea! It’s no wonder that so many people wanted to invest in Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos way back at it’s conception, but they could not have predicted that they were funding and enabling one of the most manipulative con-artists of all time – who would stop at nothing to be successful - even if that meant lying her way to the top and putting hundreds of patient lives in jeopardy. Keep up to date on all things Historically Bad: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@historicallybadpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website:⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.historicallybadpodcast.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon:⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/HistoricallyBadPatreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/HistoricallyBadPatreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) Contact us: ⁠admin@historicallybadpodcast.ca⁠ Historically Bad is created and produced by Tabitha Festa and Carly Sullivan. Case Sources: HBO Documentary: The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley Book: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou Hulu miniseries: The Dropout starring Amanda Seyfried https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/09/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-exclusive (https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/09/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-exclusive) https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1969/05/12/78345169.html (https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1969/05/12/78345169.html) https://web.archive.org/web/20110618093924/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,732595-2,00.html (https://web.archive.org/web/20110618093924/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,732595-2,00.html) https://www.vice.com/en/article/wjm3eb/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-comes-from-a-bakers-yeast-empire (https://www.vice.com/en/article/wjm3eb/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-comes-from-a-bakers-yeast-empire) https://www.businessinsider.com/the-dropout-what-is-real-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-differences-show-reality#holmes-actually-bought-a-siberian-husky-as-theranos-collapsed-19 (https://www.businessinsider.com/the-dropout-what-is-real-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-differences-show-reality#holmes-actually-bought-a-siberian-husky-as-theranos-collapsed-19) https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/15/blood-simpler (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/15/blood-simpler) https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/03/226452/phyllis-gardner-elizabeth-holmes-professor-interview-the-inventor (https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/03/226452/phyllis-gardner-elizabeth-holmes-professor-interview-the-inventor) https://www.inc.com/magazine/201510/kimberly-weisul/the-longest-game.html (https://www.inc.com/magazine/201510/kimberly-weisul/the-longest-game.html) https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medical-devices/safeway-severs-ties-theranos-as-350m-deal-collapses (https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medical-devices/safeway-severs-ties-theranos-as-350m-deal-collapses) https://www.engadget.com/2014-11-18-walgreens-blood-tests.html (https://www.engadget.com/2014-11-18-walgreens-blood-tests.html) https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131113005513/en/Theranos-and-Walgreens-Expand-Diagnostic-Lab-Testing-to-the-Phoenix-Metropolitan-Area (https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131113005513/en/Theranos-and-Walgreens-Expand-Diagnostic-Lab-Testing-to-the-Phoenix-Metropolitan-Area) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7Be_6NEPQE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7Be_6NEPQE) https://www.integrityline.com/expertise/blog/elizabeth-holmes-theranos/ (https://www.integrityline.com/expertise/blog/elizabeth-holmes-theranos/) https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58336998 (https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58336998) https://www.wsj.com/articles/DJFVW00120151015ebafa9go1 (https://www.wsj.com/articles/DJFVW00120151015ebafa9go1) https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elizabeth-Holmes (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elizabeth-Holmes) https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/03/technology/elizabeth-holmes-guilty.html (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/03/technology/elizabeth-holmes-guilty.html) https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/07/business/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-interview.html (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/07/business/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-interview.html) https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2022/01/04/timeline-the-rise-and-fall-of-theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes.html (https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2022/01/04/timeline-the-rise-and-fall-of-theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes.html) https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/07/tech/theranos-rise-and-fall/index.html (https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/07/tech/theranos-rise-and-fall/index.html) https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/07/tech/elizabeth-holmes-prison-release-date/index.html (https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/07/tech/elizabeth-holmes-prison-release-date/index.html) https://www.npr.org/2023/05/30/1178728092/elizabeth-holmes-prison-sentence-theranos-fraud-silicon-valley (https://www.npr.org/2023/05/30/1178728092/elizabeth-holmes-prison-sentence-theranos-fraud-silicon-valley) https://apnews.com/article/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-prison-reporting-date-9fd718cd012d49f68c654bad89abb0ed (https://apnews.com/article/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-prison-reporting-date-9fd718cd012d49f68c654bad89abb0ed) https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/literary/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-john-carreyrou (https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/literary/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-john-carreyrou) https://www.forbes.com/profile/elizabeth-holmes/?sh=739c019547a7 (https://www.forbes.com/profile/elizabeth-holmes/?sh=739c019547a7)

2. 

   27 Nov 2025

   26. The Bermuda Triangle: We Went Looking… and Got Lost Too

   We're back Baddies and this time, we are covering the famous Bermuda Triangle. Spoiler… It’s Literally Just Water (or is it?).The Bermuda Triangle refers to a region in the Western North Atlantic where several ships and aircrafts famously disappeared under puzzling circumstances. Among the most well-known cases are the USS Cyclops, a U.S. Navy ship that vanished without a trace in 1918, and Flight 19, a group of five U.S. Navy bombers that disappeared during a training mission in 1945. While theories range from navigational errors to unusual weather patterns, (and even aliens and other dimensions), the Triangle remains one of the most talked-about maritime mysteries in modern history. Dive in as we unpack one of the world’s most dramatic 2 million square miles of ocean. Yes, planes disappeared. Yes, ships vanished. No, it’s probably not a portal to another dimension (but we’re not ruling out the ocean being petty). We break down the science, roast the myths, and try very hard not to get lost ourselves. Keep up to date on all things Historically Bad: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@historicallybadpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.instagram.com/historicallybadpodcast/?igshid=NzZhOTFlYzFmZQ%3D%3D) Website:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.historicallybadpodcast.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://historicallybadpodcast.ca/) Patreon:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/HistoricallyBadPatreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contact us: ⁠admin@historicallybadpodcast.ca⁠ STICKERS:⁠ ⁠https://historically-bad-podcast.square.site/⁠⁠ (https://historically-bad-podcast.square.site/product/sticker-bundle/1?cp=true&sa=true&sbp=false&q=false&fbclid=PAY2xjawI8vUVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABpnfbvPrtxSojhIKNQ48ljZzU0q22uS9S9I49cxaEvp4VrTFa07e_Gv3Djg_aem_7gx-ZCOa73f0-ZN4PyRxLg) Historically Bad is created and produced by Tabitha Festa and Carly Sullivan. Case Sources: Brittanica.com The Bermuda Triangle The US naval institute.com The mysterious disappearance of flight 19 Boaterexam.com: 6 prevailing theories on the Bermuda Triangle Art19.com “Did you know? The USS cyclops Disappearance(1918)” Marinalife.com: The mystery of the Bermuda Triangle Johnny Harris Youtube Channel: What's really happening in the Bermuda Triangle? Reddit and Wikipedia – step daddy resources https://www.britannica.com/place/Bermuda-Triangle https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2021/october/mysterious-disappearance-flight-19 https://www.boaterexam.com/blog/bermuda-triangle-theories/ https://art19.com/shows/did-you-know/episodes/ae9d691c-f9cb-4a3b-8ac9-72cca1e3d0d0 https://www.marinalife.com/articles/the-mystery-of-the-bermuda-triangle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=112H-vY4Wdo

3. 

   28 Aug 2025

   25. Hell’s Belle: America’s Most Notorious Female Serial Killer

   Surprriissee Baddies! We're back with a brand new episode! When a fire broke out at a farm in LaPorte, Indiana, in 1908. a disgruntled farmhand was immediately suspected of arson and the murders of Belle Gunness and her three children. But when investigators were forced to look deeper by a desperate man searching for his missing brother, they discovered a chilling web of disappearances and a trail of dead bodies leading to the identification of one of the most notorious female serial killers in American history. Join Carly and Tab as they unpack the dark secrets of the Black Widow of LaPorte/ the Mistress of Murder Farms and how she was able to operate undetected for years, hiding in plain sight. This episode includes discussions of violence and murder, including violence against children. Please listen with care. Keep up to date on all things Historically Bad: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@historicallybadpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.instagram.com/historicallybadpodcast/?igshid=NzZhOTFlYzFmZQ%3D%3D) Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.historicallybadpodcast.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://historicallybadpodcast.ca/) Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/HistoricallyBadPatreon⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contact us: ⁠admin@historicallybadpodcast.ca⁠ STICKERS: ⁠https://historically-bad-podcast.square.site/⁠ (https://historically-bad-podcast.square.site/product/sticker-bundle/1?cp=true&sa=true&sbp=false&q=false&fbclid=PAY2xjawI8vUVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABpnfbvPrtxSojhIKNQ48ljZzU0q22uS9S9I49cxaEvp4VrTFa07e_Gv3Djg_aem_7gx-ZCOa73f0-ZN4PyRxLg) Historically Bad is created and produced by Tabitha Festa and Carly Sullivan. Case Sources: “Come prepared to stay forever”: The tale of a murderess in turn-of-the-century America - PhD Thesis by Paula Hinton from Miami University in Ohio Hinton, Paula K. "Just Like One of the Family: An Immigrant Murderess in Turn-of-the-Century America." Ohio Valley History 6.4 (2006): 27-47. Anne H. Lorentzen (2010) On the Performativity of Murder: The Female Offender Revisited, NORA—Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 18:4, 246-265, DOI: 10.1080/08038740.2010.521133 https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-belle-gunness-murder-farm/selected-articles (https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-belle-gunness-murder-farm/selected-articles) https://www.biography.com/crime/belle-gunness (https://www.biography.com/crime/belle-gunness) https://laportecountyhistory.org/exhibits/belle-gunness/ (https://laportecountyhistory.org/exhibits/belle-gunness/) https://murderpedia.org/female.G/g/gunness-belle.htm (https://murderpedia.org/female.G/g/gunness-belle.htm) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Gunness (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Gunness)

Reach and audience

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

Spotify

5.0 / 5

55 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 24 / 100

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

Quality

20

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

71