Behind the Scenes Minis: Ticks and Spiders

Summary

Stuff You Missed in History Class: Behind the Scenes Minis – Ticks and Spiders

Hosts: Tracy V. Wilson & Holly Frey
Episode Date: October 3, 2025

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Overview

This "Behind the Scenes Minis" episode follows Holly and Tracy as they chat informally about personal connections and anecdotes surrounding the week’s main topics: eponymous diseases, particularly those transmitted by ticks (like Lyme disease, West Nile virus, Rocky Mountain spotted fever) and, later, Halloween-adjacent conversation about spiders. The hosts share their own stories, practical experiences, and humorous moments, while also reflecting on public health, disease prevention, and their affection (or lack thereof) for insects and arachnids.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Connections to Tick-Borne Diseases

• Tracy shares that her selections for the main episode (Lyme disease, West Nile virus, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever) were inadvertently personal:
  • Grew up in NC (high rates of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever), now lives in MA (Lyme prevalent), and deals with yearly reports of West Nile virus.
  • “I wound up choosing three that are personally relevant to me because I grew up in North Carolina, one of the states where Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is the most prevalent. I now live in Massachusetts where there’s a lot of Lyme disease.” (03:00)
• Monitoring West Nile Virus:
  • Discusses how health departments test birds as a surveillance method before major human outbreaks are detected.
• The Lyme, CT Connection:
  • Tracy recounts how her research into Lyme led her to realize the area where it was first studied is familiar—she has friends living in East Haddam, CT—and a misadventure with GPS in that area fed into her imagining it as an epicenter for tick exposure.
  • “I was like, you know what road I’ve been on that seems like a road where people could have gotten a lot of Lyme disease? That road.” (04:50)

2. Disease Anecdotes & ‘Disease Hilarity’

• West Nile Virus, Close to Home
  • Holly shares that a mutual friend contracted West Nile, discovering only after a lengthy bout of illness, and that the only prescribed treatment was fluids and rest (05:54).
    • Quote: “She finally showed up at craft night... and was like, apparently I just have West Nile, and there’s nothing they can do for it.” (06:20) — Holly
• Personal Reputation and Tick Reactions
  • Holly became known as her husband's "prissy city wife" after panicking over a tick during a family visit, which became an enduring family joke (07:00).
    • “That is how I came to be known as Brian’s prissy city wife.” (07:19) — Holly
    • Tracy's take: “Not gonna tick off you… is very reasonable to me.” (07:40)

3. Childhood Experiences with Tick-Related Illness

• Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever:
  • Tracy’s mother was vigilant about tracking tick bites, noting them on a calendar as a smart way to monitor for symptoms, which Tracy only appreciated later in life.
    • “Whenever she pulled a tick off of one of us, she would write the date on the calendar... which is incredibly smart.” (08:28) — Tracy
  • Recalls a drum corps roommate contracting Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and needing to drop out for treatment (09:25).

4. Disease Prevention Strategies

• Sun Protection & Insect Barriers:
  • Tracy prefers wearing sun-protective clothing instead of sunscreen; as a bonus, it also fends off ticks and mosquitoes (09:48).
  • Holly layers up in multiple clothes to mow the lawn despite the heat, prioritizing bite prevention over comfort (10:24).
• Bug Nets & Outdoor Gear:
  • Tracy uses a bug net when hiking if conditions warrant (10:45).

5. Lyme Vaccine & Clinical Research

• Clinical Trial Participation:
  • Tracy attempted to join a Lyme vaccine clinical trial, but logistics prevented her from participating.
    • “I signed up to be part of that trial… and eventually they did not wind up doing that. So I did not wind up being part of that study.” (11:23–12:04)
  • She’s optimistic even for partial vaccine efficacy, emphasizing the value of combining multiple preventive measures.

6. The Grim Reality for Early Researchers

• The hosts reflect on how many early researchers of vector-borne diseases became sick and often died due to lack of treatment (12:58).
  • “So many people who were researching these vector borne diseases before there were treatments for them, got the diseases and died.” (12:57) — Tracy

7. Silly Interludes: Pop Culture, Travel, and Spiders

• Star Wars Mozzie Easter Egg:
  • Holly reveals that in "The Force Awakens," three mosquito-like aliens are officially named the "Dengue Sisters." (13:46)
• Travel Medicine & Nerd Credentials:
  • Tracy recounts a pre-Morocco doctor visit where her knowledge of leishmaniasis surprised the doctor, leading to a joke:
    • “Doctor, have you heard of nerds? It’s a very common condition. You might want to look into it.” (15:32) — Holly

8. Spider Season & Home Dynamics

• Halloween, Spiders, and Home Life:
  • Holly relishes the increase in Joro spiders around her home (good for Halloween vibes!), names the ones near her window, and notes her cat’s shared fascination (24:00).
    • “It’s like they pre-decorated for me.” (24:18) — Holly
  • Tracy fondly recalls the “elegant” spiders in her former Atlanta yard and shares a black widow anecdote where her offhand joke became reality (31:08).
    • “I picked it up, and it was full of leafy debris kind of spider webby looking stuff. And I was like, oh, this is like a great place for a black widow spider. Ha ha ha. And I dumped it out… and there was a black widow spider.” (31:08) — Tracy
  • Both try to spare spiders when pest management is necessary, and Holly jokes about being “the crazy spider lady” to service workers (33:06).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “That is how I came to be known as Brian’s prissy city wife.” (07:19) — Holly
• “Whenever she pulled a tick off of one of us, she would write the date on the calendar... which is incredibly smart.” (08:28) — Tracy
• “Even if it were a 75% effective vaccine, that’s actually pretty good... People think about the 25% but not so much about the 75%.” (12:19) — Tracy
• “Didn’t you know there’s a reference to dengue fever in Star Wars?... They are officially the dengue sisters.” (13:39) — Holly
• “Doctor, have you heard of nerds? It’s a very common condition. You might want to look into it.” (15:32) — Holly
• “It’s like they pre-decorated for me.” (24:18) — Holly
• “I picked [the planter] up, and it was full of...spider webby looking stuff. And I was like, oh, this is like a great place for a black widow spider...and there was a black widow spider.” (31:08) — Tracy

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–02:35 — Ads and intros (skipped in summary)
• 02:46 — Episode proper starts, hosts greet
• 02:50–04:50 — Tracy on personal connections to eponymous tick-borne diseases and local disease occurrence
• 05:38–07:30 — Holly’s “disease hilarity” stories: West Nile close to home, family jokes
• 07:48–09:45 — Tracy recalls childhood tick vigilance, drum corps incident
• 09:48–11:16 — Sun protective clothing and bug defense strategies
• 11:16–12:36 — Lyme vaccine clinical trials & prevention
• 12:36–13:34 — The risks for early researchers of disease
• 13:34–15:41 — Lighter notes: Star Wars “Dengue Sisters”; travel medicine & being a “disease nerd”
• 23:26–25:24 — Spider talk: Halloween, Joro spiders, naming yard spiders, family/cat antics
• 29:53–31:18 — Tracy and Holly discuss Atlanta-area spiders, black widows, household pest management
• 33:06–33:41 — Holly stakes out “crazy spider lady” status, wraps up with spider appreciation as Halloween joy

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Tone & Style

• Chatty and personal, filled with humor and gentle self-deprecation
• Warm, supportive, and encouraging of disease prevention without alarmism
• Affectionate toward spiders, with playful asides for listeners who might not share that fondness

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Conclusion

This behind-the-scenes mini episode gives fans a relatable and insightful look into daily realities around tick-borne diseases and disease prevention, blended with affection for spiders and the joys of autumn. It balances practical advice, public health perspectives, and lighthearted diversions—perfectly encapsulating the open, nerd-positive tone the podcast is known for.

Transcript

[Tracy V. Wilson]

This is an iheart podcast.

[Sacred Scandal Narrator]

Sacred Scandal is Back, the hit true crime podcast that uncovers hidden truths and shattered faith. For 19 years, Alena Sada was a nun for the Legion of Christ. This season, she's telling her story.

[Elena Sada]

When I first joined the Legion of Christ, I felt chosen. I was 19 years old when Marcia Almaser, the leader of the Legionaries, looked me in the eye and told me I had a calling.

[Sacred Scandal Narrator]

Surviving meant hiding. Escaping took courage. Risking everything to tell her truth. Listened Sacred Scandal, the Many Secrets of Martial maciel on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Malcolm Gladwell here This season on Revisionist History. We're going back to the spring of 1988 to a town in northwest Alabama where a man committed a crime that would spiral out of control.

[Holly Fry]

And he said, I've been in prison 24, 25 years. That's probably not long enough. I didn't kill him.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

From Revisionist History, this is the Alabama Murders. Listen to Revisionist History, the Alabama murders on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danielle Robay]

Just like great shoes, great books take you places through unforgettable love stories and into conversations with characters you'll never forget.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I think any good romance, it gives me this feeling of like butterflies.

[Danielle Robay]

I'm Danielle Robay and this is Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club, the new podcast from hello Sunshine and I Heart Podcasts, where we dive into the stories that shape us on the page and off. Each week I'm joined by authors, celebs, book talk stars and more for conversations that will make you laugh, cry, and add way too many books to your TBR pile. Listen to Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Books is the official audiobook and ebook home for Reese's Book Club. Visit Apple Co Reese Apple Books to find out more.

[Dr. J]

I love that you created this system that revolves around you, creating pockets of peace. World Mental Health Day is around the corner, and on my podcast just heal with Dr. J, I dive into what it really means to care for your mind, body and spirit. From breaking generational patterns to building emotional.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Capacity, I'm gonna walk away feeling like, yes, I'm gonna continue my healing journey.

[Dr. J]

Listen to just heal with Dr. J from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Holly Fry]

Welcome to Stuff youf Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartradio.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Hello and happy Friday. I'm Tracy V. Wilson.

[Holly Fry]

And I'm Holly Fry.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

We had our second ever installment of eponymous diseases this week on Lyme disease, West Nile virus, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. I had a long. There's a longer list of tick and insect borne diseases that are eponymous in some way. And I didn't do this on purpose, but I wound up choosing three that are personally relevant to me because I grew up in North Carolina, one of the states where Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is the most prevalent. I now live in Massachusetts where there's a lot of Lyme disease. And also every year we start having reports of West Nile virus, including detections of birds. We as a society check where West Nile happen is happening by testing birds in a lot of cases. But then we also have had cases in humans the last few years and I think I already said Lyme disease, hilariously, as I was doing the Lyme research and I got to the part about how the advocacy of these two moms for their families led to a study that was carried out in Old Lyme, Lyme and East Haddam, Connecticut. That is the neighborhood where a number of people I know live and including people who live specifically in East Haddam. And I went to visit them in East Haddam last winter and my GPS directions were wrong. And the GPS directions led me down a road that vehicle traffic should not have been on. After some conversations about this over the weekend, I have, I have decided that it might have been intended as a snowmobile trail because there were moguls on it. And I was like, I don't understand why moguls would be here, but if it's a snowmobile trail or maybe like a mountain biking trail, that would make a lot more sense. A car should not have been on it. But when I got to the part about how there were these clusters of Lyme disease on specific roads, I was like, you know what road I've been on that seems like a road where people could have gotten a lot of Lyme disease? That road. When I tried to drive to East Haddam from Massachusetts, I. It was bad enough that I filed reports with Google about the directions being incorrect and how they should not be sending cars down that road. Yeah, I try to respect the place of all forms of life in the ecosystem, but I am not a fan of mosquitoes or ticks.

[Holly Fry]

I told you when we started this, I had disease hilarity. And I, I sort of do. One is just an offhander that our mutual friend that I love Very dearly. Do you know she had West Nile?

[Tracy V. Wilson]

No.

[Holly Fry]

And it was, like, so cavalier because she had been really, really sick for a while. And we used to, many moons ago, when we were still in our apartment, every Friday night, we would have people over to just do crafty things. And she had been sick for a while, and she had missed a couple, and she kept going to the doctor, and they couldn't figure out what was going on. And I had, you know, brought stuff over to her house for her to eat and whatnot. And we were trying to be really careful because we didn't know what she had and if it was contagious.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Right.

[Holly Fry]

And then she finally showed up at craft night one night and was like, apparently I just have West Nile, and there's nothing they can do for it. She was like, it's literally like the protocol that you would have for, like, a colder flu of, like, fluids, electrolytes. Rest. She's fine now. That was years and years ago.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

The.

[Holly Fry]

The truly funny one, okay. Is how I came to be perceived by my beloved's family early in our marriage, because, as listeners probably know, we got married very quickly. So, like, the first several years of our marriage was kind of like us constantly meeting each other's people in their lives and, like, being like, who is this person you married? And we had gone to visit his family in a fairly rural area. And we were outside at one point, and I looked down, and there was a tick on me. And I was like, ah. And I freaked out and slapped it off. And I was like, I want to get Lyme disease. And that is how I came to be known as Brian's prissy city wife.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Oh, goodness. Wow.

[Holly Fry]

It always strikes me as so funny to tell people that I'm Brian's prissy city wife. Literally, that phrase. Because I don't think I'm especially prissy.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

No. And I, you know, I feel like not gonna tick off you, especially before. It's very reasonable. Very reasonable to me.

[Holly Fry]

Yeah.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

When I was a child growing up in North Carolina, I did not know any of these. This history about Rocky Mountain spotted fever. It was weird to me that my mom was worried about Rocky Mountain spotted fever because I understood that the Rocky Mountains were far away from where we lived.

[Holly Fry]

Right.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

And I was so, like, as a kid, I sort of thought that my mom was just being anxious about things, which my mom was anxious. But anytime she pulled a tick off of me or my brother, which did happen relatively often because, you know, we lived in the country, we were Outside a lot. And we also had a dog. And whenever she pulled a tick off of one of us, she would write the date on the calendar.

[Holly Fry]

Smart.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

And so that if we developed weird symptoms, she would have the tick bite noted on the calendar, which is incredibly smart. My mom extremely smart about a lot of disease prevention things in our lives. I. To my knowledge, yeah, I don't think I ever. I ever had any kind of, like, illness after a tick bite that led to any concerns about Rocky Mountain spotted fever. I did, however, when I was in drum corps and we were practicing outside, you know, on an athletic field all day long. Not really in tall grass or anything like that, but, like, we were outside all day long for a lot of the day. My roommate, one of my roommates in the drum corps that I was in over the summer got Rocky Mountain spotted fever and she had to quit because she needed to be treated and was. It's an incredibly physically demanding thing to be in a drum corps. She was not well enough to do it. And I remember the staff being like, yeah, so she has Rocky Mountain spotted fever. She has to quit. She probably got it here. So check yourself for tics.

[Holly Fry]

This is why I'm an indoor baby.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I can't remember if I have talked about this on the show before. I might have when we've talked about sunscreen before. I. Especially if I have a brief outing to make into the sunlight. I have very fair skin. It is best for me to wear sunblock. I hate putting it on and then feeling like sunblock all day. And so I started wearing clothing that is sun protective clothing. And that has the double. The additional effect of making it a little harder for ticks and mosquitoes to get at you.

[Holly Fry]

Uh, yeah. So, yeah, when I mow the lawn, I look like a crazy Victorian clown. I have so many layers of clothing going all the way down all of my limbs. I don't care that it's hot out and I'm turning into some sort of human soup inside. I don't want anything biting me. I don't know.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I also. I also have a bug net that goes over my hat that a lot of time, like, it is a little annoying to have on. So I kind of wait until I get to where I'm hiking and see what the. What the bug situation is. And if it's very buggy, I will put the bug net over my hat to avoid any insect bites around my face and neck and just having them swarming my face all the time. I hate that.

[Holly Fry]

Do not enjoy. No.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

We mentioned in the episode that there is. There are clinical trials going on for a Lyme vaccine.

[Holly Fry]

Yeah.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I signed up to be part of that trial.

[Holly Fry]

Nice.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I got through the like initial phone screening part and at that point the closest places to me to do the actual like going blood work, get the.

[Holly Fry]

Oh, right.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

You know, all of that, they were far from me and it was gonna be like an hour to an hour and a half to get to the place. And it was something that it was gonna need to be like go back repeatedly for the ongoing study. And they were planning to set up a site that was going to be, I think in walking distance for me. And I was like, that would be amazing. And eventually they did not wind up doing that. So I did not wind up being part of that study. But I think that was the first time that I have signed up to try to be a clinical in a clinical trial of something. Because yes, I would like to have a vaccine for Lyme disease.

[Holly Fry]

Yeah.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Even if it were a 75% effective vaccine, that's actually pretty good. People think about the 25% but not so much about the 75% is a lot. Especially if you're combining it with other strategies to lower your risk of being bitten by ticks.

[Holly Fry]

Yeah, for sure.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I have a friend whose grandfather is a hunter and had not been feeling well and finally went to the doctor and I don't know what all he was diagnosed with, but they described him as having a constellation of tick borne illnesses.

[Holly Fry]

Oh, see, this is my nightmare.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah. Because if you're, I mean if you're in a situation, a lifestyle, a place, whatever, that you are likely gonna be bitten by ticks, it's very easy to get more than one tick borne illness that way. I think the last thing that I had on my list of things to talk about behind the scenes is just man, so many people who were researching these vector borne diseases before there were treatments for them, got the diseases and died. Yeah. So many. Yeah. I was not quite prepared for the number as I was working on the episode.

[Holly Fry]

Do you want me to land us on a silly note?

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah, let's do that.

[Holly Fry]

Didn't you know that there's a reference to dengue fever in Star Wars?

[Tracy V. Wilson]

No.

[Holly Fry]

In the Force Awakens in Maz Kanata's castle where all the aliens are, I. E. Always my favorite scene in every Star wars film. Give me the bar full of aliens. There are three very mosquito looking characters sitting at a table together and they are officially the dengue sisters.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

That's funny.

[Holly Fry]

I love them so much.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I have another funny thing that I can end on that is not about any of these particular not anything that was mentioned in the episode. But I went to do a travel medicine visit in preparation for our trip to Morocco and the doctor was telling me about how try to avoid being bitten by insects, same as here, because there are. I can't remember if she said sand flies or sand fleas, but it is a biting insect. And she's like, if you have like a sore that doesn't seem to be getting better and you're back in the United States, if you need to go to the doctor, like you really, you're gonna need to mention your travel history because there is something you can get called L Mania. And my face kind of lit up a little bit and she was like, oh, are you a clinician? And I said, no, I'm just interested in things because I have heard of what I had heard it referenced as leishmaniasis as a thing that was transmitted by insect bites and can lead to a range of different disease presentations, including one that is visceral leishmaniasis, which is very bad. But the fact that the doctor's immediate assumption was that maybe I was a clinician and not just a person who is fascinated by illnesses, it made me laugh a little bit.

[Holly Fry]

I mean you're like doctor, have you heard of nerds? It's a very common condition. You might want to look into it.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah, we're around.

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[Sacred Scandal Narrator (Alternate)]

At 19, Elena Sada believed she had found her calling. In the new season of Sacred Scandal, we pull back the curtain on a life built on devotion and deception. A man of God. Martial Maciel looked Elena in the eye and promised her a life of purpose within the Legion of Christ.

[Elena Sada]

My name is Elena Sada, and this is my story. It's a story of how I learned to hide, to cry, to survive, and eventually, how I got out.

[Sacred Scandal Narrator (Alternate)]

This season on Sacred Scandal, hear the full story from the woman who lived it. Witness the journey from devout follower to determined survivor as Helena exposes the man behind the cloth and the system that protected him. Even the darkest secrets eventually find their way to the light. Listen to Sacred Scandal, the many secrets of Martial Maciel as part of the Mike Ultura Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Malcolm Gladwell here. This season on Revisionist History, we're going back to the spring of 1988, to a town in northwest Alabama where a man committed a crime that would spiral out of control. 35 years. That's how long Elizabeth Senate's family waited for for justice to occur. 35 long years. I want to figure out why this case went on for as long as it did, why it took so many bizarre and unsettling turns along the way, and why, despite our best efforts to resolve suffering, we all too often make suffering worse.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

He would say to himself, turn to the right, to the victim's family and apologize. Turn to the left. Tell my family I love him. So he would have this little practice. To the right, I'm sorry. To the left. I love you.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

From revisionist History, this is the Alabama Murders. Listen to Revisionist History, the Alabama murders on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Evan Ratliff]

When news broke earlier this year that baby kj, a newborn in Philadelphia, had successfully received the world's first personalized gene editing treatment, it represented a milestone for both researchers and patients. But there's a gripping tale of discovery behind this accomplishment and its creators. I'm Evan Ratliff, and together with biographer Walter Isaacson, we're delving into the story of Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna, the woman who's helped change the trajectory of humanity. Listen to on crispr, the story of Jennifer Doudna with Walter isaacson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Holly Fry]

We talked about Alice Kittler this week, although really that story becomes about Richard Ledred more than her, and also about Petronella even more than her and Kilkenny. Okay, first of all, can I just tell you, the Kittler Inn is now on my bucket list of places I Want to go visit? Because it's really charming. Their website talks about, like, the way that building has gone through many changes over the years and how it got updated. And then I think the person that owns it now has had it since. I'm going by memory, so I could be wrong. 1986, and they renovated it by taking it back to the stone walls that it had originally. They had been covered over with, like, paneling and stuff, and they have kind of refurbished it in a state closer to its original, but with modern conveniences like plumbing and whatnot and electricity. But it looks really darling, and I absolutely want to go there. They also, you know, will do events there. So part of me is like, how can I host a party in Kilkenny? And how many people will come? 3. Cool.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I love it.

[Holly Fry]

I have many feelings about William's confession in particular.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah.

[Holly Fry]

Because this whole story really becomes. Ladred gets shut down, and he keeps going. And then the next person higher up goes, dude, you gotta drop this. And he goes, no. And keeps going. And then it keeps happening. And so finally, when they get to this moment where William, who has shown up in a full suit of armor, confesses, I believe in my soul. That was just like, fine, give the baby his bottle. I did it. I did it. Like, I really think it is in no way him going, you're right. I am a heretic. I have been harboring witches because he didn't initially do any of the things that he was supposed to do as his punishment. I really think it was just like, yes, yes, Bishop Ledred, you're so right. I really am a heretic. Great, great, great, great, great. Can we move on? I really think that's what it was. Put William outlaw on my list of people to visit in our time machine, because I'm gonna be like, were you just trying to placate this dude who just could not deal with himself or anyone else? That's my theory. It is interesting to me. This. And the next episode will do really. Or the have been working on. I don't know if it will fall right after this one in the order. But they really do establish a lot. How much the fervor around witchcraft in Europe that led to the witch trials all around the Western world really start in the Avignon papacy.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Oh, yeah.

[Holly Fry]

That's where they. And it really does seem like it is more than any actual concern about people's eternal souls or their bodies, being possessed is about a political tool for power.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah. And that's.

[Holly Fry]

I mean, we've always known that that's Part of it. But when you look at like how this, you know, if you make the Charlie Day chart, the orc chart, all of the strings go back to the Avignon Papacy, it's seems.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah, we have a number of episodes that have been about witch trials and witch hunters and witch panics and so many of them. Like there are other social and political issues at play and a lot of times some other kind of major unrest.

[Holly Fry]

Yes.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Like some other upheaval underlying all of it. One of the things that I'm working on now that I barely have started on, I think is going to have some similar themes.

[Holly Fry]

We're also going to talk about this a lot in the next one that I'm working on.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah, yeah. It's one of the running things of like all of the witch panics and the.

[Holly Fry]

Yeah, all of that. I also just want to say how happy I am that it's October. Yeah. Listen, I need Halloween this year. I need it so bad. I need it so bad. I've been so crabby and so angry all the time and this will be just me personally sharing about my life. So I think I mentioned a while back that for a while because of avian flu, people were being advised not to feed their backyard flocks.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Right.

[Holly Fry]

Which that has been rolled back because it's more like if you have waterfowl. But I just, because I've been so busy, have not picked up my usual bird feeding cycle that I would normally do every day. And as a consequence that means that this year we have so many Joro spiders.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I love it.

[Holly Fry]

It's like they pre decorated for me. My husband, bless him, does not love it, but he's being a very good sport about it.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah.

[Holly Fry]

But I love them so much and I name them the ones that live around our yard. At least the ones that are close to the house that I can identify in their separate locales because like if you look up, we have some very tall trees on the side and back of our house.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

And if you look up, it is.

[Holly Fry]

Like a New York high rise in there. There's so many spiders living in there. Hundreds, probably thousands. I can't name them all. But I do have Julia that hangs out in the windows by our kitchen on our deck.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah.

[Holly Fry]

And she's getting bigger and bigger and there has become this hilarious thing that happens where the cat in our house these days that is the most like me in behavior sits on the cat tree and watches that spider all day long. You really are a chip off the old block.

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[Sacred Scandal Narrator (Alternate)]

At 19, Elena Sada believed she had found her calling. In the new season of Sacred Scandal, we pulled back the curtain on a life built on devotion and deception. A man of God, Marcial Maciel, looked Elena in the eye and promised her a life of baby purpose within the Legion of Christ.

[Elena Sada]

My name is Elena Sada and this is my story. It's a story of how I learned to hide, to cry, to survive, and eventually how I got out.

[Sacred Scandal Narrator (Alternate)]

This season on Sacred Scandal, hear the full story from the woman who lived it. Witness the journey from devout follower to determined survivor as Helena exposes the man behind the clothes and the system that protected him. Even the darkest secrets eventually find their way to the light. Listen to Secret Scandal, the many secrets of Martial Maciel as part of the My Cultura Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Malcolm Gladwell here. This season on Revisionist History, we're going back to the spring of 1988, to a town in northwest Alabama where a man committed a crime that would spiral out of control. 35 years. That's how long Elizabeth Senate's family waited for justice to occur. 35 long years. I want to figure out why this case went on for as long as it did, why it took so many bizarre and unsettling turns along the way, and why, despite our best efforts to resolve suffering, we all too often make suffering worse.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

He would say to himself, turn to the right, to the victim's family and apologize. Turn to the left. Tell my family I love him. So he would have this little practice. To the right. I'm sorry. To the left.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

I love you from revisionist history, this is the Alabama Murders. Listen to revisionist history, the Alabama murders on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Evan Ratliff]

When news broke earlier this year that baby kj, a newborn in Philadelphia, had successfully received the world's first personalized gene editing treatment, it represented a milestone for both researchers and patients. But there's a gripping tale of discovery behind this accomplishment and its creators. I'm Evan Ratliff, and together with biographer Walter Isaacson, we're delving into the story of Nobel prize winner Jennifer Doudna, the woman who's helped change the trajectory of humanity. Listen to on crispr, the story of Jennifer Doudna with Walter isaacson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I was on vacation last week, and where we were staying is. Is surrounded by woods. You have to drive for a little bit before you get to something that you could call a town. And there was a beautiful. I didn't look closely enough. I missed my opportunity. There was a beautiful. Some kind of orb weaver that had made a web on the path out to, like, a fire pit that's behind the house. Somebody had pointed it out, and I was like, oh, that's. I'm gonna come look. I'm gonna come look at it tomorrow. And I'm not sure if we just created a lot more traffic back and forth across that path. And the spider was like, no, thanks. Or if perhaps nature happened. And so it's literally a bird. A bird had a meal either way. Orb weaver no longer there. So I didn't get to get a closer look, figure out exactly what kind of spider it was.

[Holly Fry]

Yeah, yeah. Birds. We started feeding the birds on the deck to keep the spider population down for Brian's peace of mind. Sure doesn't enjoy the spiders. But like I said, I'm slowly. I'm slowly giving him immersion immunity, I guess, because they really are just everywhere around the house right now, which is fine.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah.

[Holly Fry]

I make little videos of them when I go out to work in the yard or mow the lawn. And if your web connects to something on the ground, I don't mow in that spot. So there are weird little outcroppings of unmowed area in our yard that are where spiders are anchored.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

When I lived in the Atlanta area, my yard also had a lot of spiders, but the lot of spiders I had were black widows. Yeah. Which are very beautiful.

[Holly Fry]

But we used to get a lot more of those. And we just. They have stopped happening. I think they have largely gotten eaten by a growing lizard population.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Okay.

[Holly Fry]

I could be wrong, but.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

And I don't.

[Holly Fry]

I don't worry so much about black widows for me because they're unlikely to hurt most humans.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah, I. I was not afraid of them, but there were a lot.

[Holly Fry]

Yeah. But I. They can just because of proportions of body weight, be a little more of a concern for cats. So I don't want them in the house. Sure. But, yeah.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah, I don't think I ever saw one at the house. And I became aware that this was a problem. I had broken my leg. And being a person who can't ask for help, all of my plants and whatnot died because I could not get out there to take care of them. And I was doing cleanup on all of my sad plants. And I picked up. I had this little planter that was. That was shaped kind of like a wagon, and it had multiple potted plants in it. And it had a pot that I had intended to plant something in, but that had not happened. And I picked it up, and it was full of, like, leafy debris kind of spider webby looking stuff. And I was like, oh, this is like a great place for a black widow spider. Ha ha ha. And I dumped it out onto the ground, and there was a black widow spider. And I was like, oh, ha ha.

[Holly Fry]

She's like, girl, you just messed up my house.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

What do you mean? There were a lot of them. I did not have problems really with bugs inside the house. I had somebody come and treat the house quarterly. And he commented and said in a very. He had a lovely accent that I don't want to try to replicate. But he just came back in one day and said, Ms. Wilson, you have a lot of spiders. I was like, yeah, I know, I know.

[Holly Fry]

See, we have a quarterly bug person to whom I'm always like, you're not going to hurt the spiders. Right. And he's says that it will not hurt them. I'm sure some spiders get hurt by the whole process, but we try. We try, we try.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah. Our current spider load in the house is all in the basement. And I did not realize quite how spidery the basement had gotten until we had somebody come do a plumbing thing. And I was gesturing. I was like, then that's the pipe where the. Oh, sorry. There is so much spiderweb here.

[Holly Fry]

I'm the person who's like, please don't hurt that spider. Don't. I'm like, caution tape around the spider. Please don't mess with the spiders when you come to the house. Yeah, I'm sure I want a list somewhere of every service person that might need to come to our house where they're like, this is the crazy spider lady. Yeah. If you don't like spiders, do not take this job. In any case. But it's spider season, and I'm happy about it. Cause I. You really need the joy of beautiful spiders if you do not like spiders. I'm sorry that we've had so much buoyant spider talk, but I really do love them.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I think they're so elegant and they're.

[Holly Fry]

Such architects and they're just. They're high achievers and they're beautiful. So apologies if that's not your jam. But now that it's Halloween season, I hope all of us who love Halloween can grasp a little extra joy right now. I think everybody needs some. And if you're not a Halloween person, I'm sorry. But I hope whatever brings you joy is abundant in your life, because you deserve joy, too. We will be right back here tomorrow with a classic episode, and then on Monday, we're going to have something brand new and it's still Halloween season.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Stuff you missed in history class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[Sacred Scandal Narrator]

Sacred Scandal is Back, the hit true crime podcast that uncovers hidden truths and shattered faith. For 19 years, Elena Sada was a nun for the Legion of Christ. This season, she's telling her story.

[Elena Sada]

When I first joined the Legion of Christ, I felt chosen. I was 19 years old when Marcia Almasel, the leader of the Legionaries, looked me in the eye and told me I had a calling.

[Sacred Scandal Narrator]

Surviving meant hiding. Escaping took courage. Risking everything to tell her truth. Listen to Sacred the Many secrets of Martial Maciel on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Malcolm Gladwell here. This season on Revisionist History, we're going back to the spring of 1988, to a town in northwest Alabama where a man committed a crime that would spiral out of control.

[Holly Fry]

And he said, I've been in prison 24, 25 years. That's probably not long enough. I didn't kill him.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

From Revisionist History, this is the Alabama Murders. Listen to Revisionist History, the Alabama murders on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danielle Robay]

Just like great shoes, great books, take you places through unforgettable love stories. And into conversations with characters you'll, I.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Think any good romance. It gives me this feeling of like butterflies.

[Danielle Robay]

I'm Danielle Robay and this is bookmarked by Reese's Book Club, the new podcast from hello Sunshine and I Heart Podcasts, where we dive into the stories that shape us on the page and off each week. I'm joined by authors, celebs, book talk stars and more for conversations that will make you laugh, cry and add way too many books to your TBR pile. Listen to Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Books is the official audiobook and e book home for Reese's Book Club. Visit Apple Co ReeseAppleBooks to find out more.

[Dr. J]

I love that you created this system that revolves around you, creating pockets of peace. World Mental Health Day is around the corner and on my podcast just healing with Dr. J, I dive into what it really means to care for your mind, body and spirit. From breaking generational patterns to building emotional.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Capacity, I'm going to walk away feeling like, yes, I'm going to continue my healing journey.

[Dr. J]

Listen to just heal with Dr. J from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

This is an iHeart podcast.