Grim & Mild Presents

iHeartPodcasts and Grim & Mild

An ongoing exploration of history’s most unusual and the macabre themes. Each 13-episode season unpacks a new topic in fresh format and style. Presented and executive produced by Aaron Mahnke. Season 1: "Sideshow", is all about the history behind one of America's most bizarre institutions, the traveling sideshow. read less

Our Editor's Take

Host Aaron Mahnke brings everyday horror to life in the Grim & Mild Presents podcast. With exceptional production value, Mahnke discusses both the unusual and the grotesque. Each season focuses on a group of people living in the shadows. Whether it's circus sidecar shows, pirates, or old-timey doctors, intrigue awaits. With new episodes released biweekly, there's a regular dose of macabre to look forward to.

Grim & Mild Presents features impressive attention to history. Each podcast episode is a cabinet of curiosities. This is fitting, given that the host leads the Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities podcast. The host brings listeners into true-life stories with a focus on the small, surprising details. This podcast may entangle those with morbid curiosity and a love of documentaries.

One season of the Grim & Mild Presents podcast explores the history of doctors. From discoveries in biology to the role of chemists, this season offers a combination of science and body horror. Another season, on pirates, focuses on the long history of the sea-dwelling rebels. On the ships, pirates came from varying social and political classes. These societal markers were unimportant on board. Loyalty to the captain was the only metric for success, equalizing the field. The age of pirating saw the rise of its importance in national governments.

The series' first season, about sideshow performers, discusses some of the most ostracized members of society. People with appearances considered outside the "norm" faced discrimination. Grim & Mild Presents discusses how these social outcasts turned to the sideshow for work. The podcast explains how they fared at the circus.

With social and cultural awareness, Mahnke is a measured and thoughtful host. He highlights new angles on stories society has mythologized, staying true to history. Fact-driven context complements the curiosity-piquing content of this exciting podcast. Fans love Grim & Mild Present's stellar narration and high production value. Reviewers have a hard time waiting for new episodes. Listeners can get ready to join them. The podcast has new episodes every two weeks. Fans of this show may also appreciate Lore, the host's first podcast.

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Introducing Grim & Mild Presents

Introducing Grim & Mild Presents

Welcome to Grim & Mild Presents. Each 13-episode season (published every other week, ongoing, for a non-stop, ongoing experience) will dive into the strange, the unusual, and the fascinating. History has never been this intriguing. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episodes

The Wild West 13: Hollywood

The Wild West 13: Hollywood

We didn’t become fascinated with the Wild West until Hollywood gave us gunfights at high noon and heroic outlaws. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wild West 12: Outlaws

The Wild West 12: Outlaws

When we think of the Wild West, we conjure up certain characters in our imaginations. But none are more iconic than the outlaw. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wild West 11: Gender in the West

The Wild West 11: Gender in the West

Hollywood portrays the Wild West as a tough man’s world. Yet, there were some who refused to be labeled. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wild West 10: Women’s Work

The Wild West 10: Women’s Work

The post office has a saying about mail delivery in all kinds of weather. Meet Mary, a mail carrier in the West whose story is nothing short of a Western novel. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wild West 9: Doomtowns

The Wild West 9: Doomtowns

Gold. New lives. Second chances. The West provided many opportunities. But conquering the land often came at a high cost. Here’s the story of one of the most well-known families on the frontier: the Ingalls. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wild West 8: Transit

The Wild West 8: Transit

Getting from East to West was difficult, especially for those who chose the Oregon Trail. Survival meant timing their passage and path just right. Those who didn’t served as a dire warning to others. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wild West 7: Uprising

The Wild West 7: Uprising

With westward expansion came the Homestead Act. What followed was nothing short of horrific for the people already occupying the land. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wild West 6: Tales of the West

The Wild West 6: Tales of the West

From Stetson hats to barbed wire, this episode sheds some light on little-known Wild West icons and how they came to be. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wild West 5: Mountain Meadows Massacre

The Wild West 5: Mountain Meadows Massacre

The French, Spanish, and the Americans believed that heading west was a divine calling. This is the story of when beliefs cross the line into territory more dangerous than the land itself. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wild West 4: East Meets West

The Wild West 4: East Meets West

The Gold Rush became a beacon of hope for many. They headed West to seek their fortunes. But Americans weren’t the only ones looking for a better life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wild West 3: Trail of Tears

The Wild West 3: Trail of Tears

One of the most horrific times in history came when treaties and deals with Native Americans were broken. In 1836, US troops rounded up Cherokee tribes with acts of extreme violence and forced them across the country. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wild West 2: Go West

The Wild West 2: Go West

From the Spanish to the French, to the British — everyone had their eye on the vast expanse of America’s western frontier. Then, in the early 1800s, Thomas Jefferson saw an opportunity and made a deal no one expected.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wild West 1: Legends

The Wild West 1: Legends

When it comes to tales of the Wild West, there’s one tale that surfaces again and again — and for good reason. Join us for the story of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grim & Mild Presents: Season 4 Trailer

Grim & Mild Presents: Season 4 Trailer

From the early explorers and the indigenous peoples they encountered, to the gunslingers of legend, and everything in between, this is your chance to learn just how complicated our move into western North America really was—and why so many of the assumptions we have about it are dead wrong.Beginning July 7th 2023, Grim & Mild Presents: A trek into the unknown, the misunderstood, and the forgotten tales of America’s westward expansion. Subscribe today on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Learn more at GrimAndMild.com/presents. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bedside Manners 13: The End?

Bedside Manners 13: The End?

The one guarantee in life is that it will end—we can anticipate that, and we have tried to cope with that truth forever. But when the suffering overextends itself, we’ve always tried to find ways to adapt. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bedside Manners 12: The Beginning

Bedside Manners 12: The Beginning

Humans have been mothering and midwifing since the beginning of humanity. Why, then, did something so natural become so fiercely under fire? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bedside Manners 11: Back to Health

Bedside Manners 11: Back to Health

Florence Nightingale set out to change the course of nursing as the world knew it… and ended up getting more than she ever bargained for. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bedside Manners 10: Dark Matter

Bedside Manners 10: Dark Matter

Everyone poops. And for thousands of years, as civilizations have risen and fallen, humans have been trying to figure out exactly what to do with it all. The story of waste is one of ingenuity and class, of innovation and epidemic – and it is one that is deeply human. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bedside Manners 9: Mind Games

Bedside Manners 9: Mind Games

A doctor might dismiss your concerns by saying that something is all in your head…as if the brain doesn’t play host to many kinds of illness. Some of our oldest corpses bear physical evidence that directly cutting into the brain is one way to attempt healing the mind. But what happens when our modern attempts at this become a bit more…misguided? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bedside Manners 8: Heartwrench

Bedside Manners 8: Heartwrench

Poets have been writing about the madness of love for thousands of years. We love to be in it; we hate to be without it. But what if this wasn’t just hyperbole, and there is something indeed bigger happening to a brain in love? Where does love and madness meet? And, perhaps, where does one end, and another begin? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.