My guest today is Professor Fiona Sampson. Fiona is a leading British poet and writer who has authored 27 books, been published in 37 languages, and she has received numerous international awards in the US, India, Macedonia and Bosnia. In the U.K., she has been named a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by the Queen for her services to literature. 

She joins me on the podcast to talk about her critically acclaimed biography, In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein which has received several significant accolades, including BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week as well Literary Non-fiction Book of the Year in the Times. In our discussion, we cover Mary Shelley's childhood in a unique intellectual household, her romance with the aristocratic poet Percy Byshhe Shelley, the origins of Mary's monumental novel Frankenstein, and how she pushed the envelope of social convention to craft a literary career during her life and reshape the face of literature with her legacy. 

One disclaimer before we get started. You will notice some issues with the audio quality at certain points in our interview. While Fiona and I didn't hear it during recording, I think there was an issue with our connection that I discovered during post production. I've spent several nights taking out what interference I could, and the recording is much improved but not where I would like it to be. For that I apologize. 

Now on to my interview with Professor Fiona Sampson.

In Search Of Mary Shelley - 2 - 1:8:19, 1.50 AM

My guest today is Paul Watson. Paul's career in investigative reporting and photo journalism has spanned thirty years and has taken him across the globe. As a war correspondent, Paul has written for the Toronto Star as well as the Los Angeles Times where he served as South Asian Bureau Chief. He has won numerous awards for his work including the Freedom of the Press Award from the National Press Club for his reporting during the Kosovo war, Daniel Pearl Award from the South Asian Journalist's association for his coverage in Afghanistan, and most notably a Pulitzer Prize in news photography for his work during the Somali Civil War and the 1993 UN peacekeeping mission in Mogadishu. There is even a permanent display on Paul's work in the Newseum, a museum dedicated to the history of journalism and the press, in Washington, D.C. 

 

Paul joins me today from western Canada via Skype to talk about his book Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition. Paul was present on board the ship that discovered the wreckage of HMS Erebus in 2014 over 150 years after the expedition was beset by arctic ice and lost to history. Today we cover what motivated Sir John Franklin and his crew, how the quest to find the lost expedition became an international fascination, and how Inuit oral history was pivotal in solving this century old mystery. 

 

If you're new to the Can't Make This Up History Podcast and you like what you hear today give the show a review on iTunes and be sure to subscribe so you can be notified as new episodes become available. If you'd like to get more involved in supporting the show and receive some extras, visit the shows Patreon page at www.patreon.com/CMTUHistory. And as always, if you would like to get in touch with me, I'd love to hear from you on social media. I'm at www.Facebook.com/CMTUHistory, on Twitter @CMTUHistory, and on Instagram @CMTUHistory.

If you are interested in Paul's book, Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition, you can find a link to it in the show description. I've also provided a list of bonus content including Paul's other work, some of the articles and websites he mentioned during our interview, and information about the new TV show we talked about at the end of the episode, AMC's The Terror. They are available on the show's website at www.cantmakethisuppodcast.com.

Ice Ghosts with Paul Watson

My guest today is Dean Jobb. Dean is a professor of creative nonfiction and journalism at the University of Kings College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has been a newspaper staff writer and freelance journalist for over 35 years. During that time, he has received numerous awards in the United States and Canada for his investigative reporting. A lover of true crime and crime fiction, Dean writes a monthly true crime column for Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine called "Stranger than Fiction." 

Dean joins me via Skype to talk about his seventh book Empire of Deception: The Incredible Story of a Master Swindler Who Seduced a City and Captivated the Nation. Through his extensive research, Dean uncovered the tale of a largely forgotten con artist whose investment scheme put Charles Ponzi to shame. Today we cover the economic atmosphere of the Roaring Twenties that made Chicago ripe for the picking for a lawyer named Leo Koretz to implement his "big idea," how Koretz built an imaginary investment empire that made himself and his early investors fantastically wealthy, and how even the most carefully built house of cards eventually falls down. 

If you're new to the Can't Make This Up History Podcast and you like what you hear today give the show a review on iTunes and be sure to subscribe so you can be notified as new episodes become available. If you'd like to get more involved in supporting the show and receive some extras, visit the shows Patreon page at www.patreon.com/CMTUHistory. And as always, if you would like to get in touch with me, I'd love to hear from you on social media. I'm at www.facebook.com/CMTUHistory, on Twitter @CMTUHistory, and on Instagram @CMTUHistory. I've also provided a list of resources, including Dean's other work, on the show's website at www.cantmakethisuppodcast.com.

Empire Of Deception with Dean Jobb

The Can't Make This Up History Podcast is a biweekly podcast dedicated to the stranger than fiction reality of our often unbelievable past. Beginning August 31, 2018, Can't Make This Up will feature interviews with historians and authors of unique and unusual history about their groundbreaking research.