American Filth
<p>From famous founders to capitalist cooks, from sex scandals to the dirtiest blues song, AMERICAN FILTH dives into the filthier side of American history: uncovering people who society has largely excluded from the history books because they were too unconventional, provocative, seedy, dirty, trashy…. Or just plain filthy. And sure, some of these folks made great contributions to history. But that’s not the part of their lives AMERICAN FILTH is interested in. This podcast is here for the drama, the spice, and general tomfoolery. The weekly series of brisk episodes plunges face-first into the dirtiest events and people in the annals of American history.</p>
The note was deleted
The note was saved
Happy 69th episode! To celebrate, we learn about author Henry Miller popularized the term "boobs" and also...how he got sued a lot for his disgusting books. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In 1979, Nelson Rockefeller, a member of the esteemed Rockefeller family and also the former Vice President and Governor of New York, died. And it might have happened while he was banging it out. As New York Magazine reported, “Nelson thought he was coming, but he was going.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Did the 12th president die by poison or from a classic case of tummy ache??? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mary Todd Lincoln embarks on a scheme to make money: selling her old clothes. And she gets her friend and dressmaker Elizabeth Keckley involved. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Another installment of the series GAY OR NAY, where we determine if someone is gay...or nay. This time? Mary Todd Lincoln and the woman who made her dresses Elizabeth Keckley. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Charles Lindbergh was the first person to do a solo trans-Atlantic flight. Men will really do anything to cheat on their wives!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In 1939, Dr. Seuss published a book featuring seven naked sisters. It flopped. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Happy New Year, Filth Heads! American Filth host Gabbie Watts (aka the person typing this) is moving to New York City in 2025 and looking forward to all the good smells.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Let's remember the filth behind what makes the yuletide so gay. Back with new episodes next week! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Did you know if you are a vegetarian and never think about death, you could be immortal?? Well, not you, sinner, but an innocent little baby could! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Napoleon Hill wrote one of the most influential self-help books of all time. And yes, of course, he's a fraud. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A little spicy rerun!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In 1919, a baseball player competes with the "world's greatest eater" in a spaghetti eating competition. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A bad dog goes on trial in 1921 San Francisco...for murder. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How many husbands are too many husbands in the Wild West??? Well, in Kitty Leroy's case, five. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hello, I'm from the past (yesterday). How's the post-election world? Does the USA still exist? Well, let's go back in time and look at another election. This time, Kansas 1855 when settlers were deciding if it should be a free state or a slave state. And because of that choice, in one week in 1856, pro-slavery ruffians sacked a town in Kansas, a senator got beat up with a cane, and abolitionists murdered three pro-slavery Kansans. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A comedian said offensive stuff this week at a Trump gathering (is that what they're called?), so let's look at a comedian of yore, who fought for the right to say c**ks**ker on stage! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the 1920s, the youths were kissing and touching each other! Disgusting! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
American Filth recorded another live episode! This time with the Cheerful Earful Podcast Festival in London. We got to explain to the Brits how filthy America's Founding Fathers were and also recite Gabbie's Declaration of Dependence, a plea for Britain to take us back. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Were you transported back in time to colonial America?? Well, don't worry. Follow this guide to get some hanky-panky. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Rachel Wall was executed for stealing a bonnet. But was that really her only crime??? Come see American Filth live in London! The podcast will be part of the Cheerful Earful Podcast Festival with a live show on October 15 at 8 p.m. at the Bedford Pub. Tickets can be found here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Tenth president John Tyler annexed Texas and Florida into the United States, and if that's not filthy enough, he also married a woman 30 years younger than him, and even more sinister, he might have fathered a kid or to with an enslaved woman. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Artist Sarah Goodridge sent a miniature painting of her bosom to a no-good senator. Some people say they were just friends, but then why did she send him a tit pic??? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Were these young bucks just really good friends??? Or was something else going on??? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
All the filth returns September 11!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
One more week until American Filth returns! The show's crowning achievement has been outing historical figures who might have been gay. And it all started with some bigoted Southerners who sent a couple of spicy letters. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
New episodes back in two weeks! In the meantime...the solitary vice is not, in fact, listening to American Filth. But instead...well, figure it out by listening to the episode from earlier this year when Kellogg's CEO said that poor people should just eat cereal! What a time! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
AF summer break continues... so let's go back to Nashville, where young Union soldiers wet their whistle so much that 100 sex workers were forced aboard a boat and stranded in the river for days.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Some AF BTS! That stands for American Filth behind-the-scenes. Gabbie talks to Jesse Nighswonger, who composed the theme song. He also made an extra special remix that critics (Gabbie) are calling the song of the summer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The show's on summer break and will be back in September. So let's go back to the beginning...to our esteemed Founding Father Gouverneur Morris who died as he lived: with his wiener.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
So... after John Wilkes Booth killed Abraham Lincoln, there was a huge manhunt that ended with Booth getting shot by a guy who had previously cut his own balls off. Whomst was this man? Well, he made hats and loved god. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
I know this will be hard to imagine, but the man who is considered the father of the American freak show wasn't the greatest of guys. He was actually a pile of American Filth if you can believe it. This episode, we're talking about PT Barnum and his origin story of exploitation and racism!! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Whoa! It's the live episode but in regular format. America wins its independence with the help of a gay Prussian.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It's our recording of American Filth Live! Featuring a gay Prussian who changed the course of the Revolutionary War. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Two days before the end of the Constitutional Convention, the delegates, including George Washington, got hammered. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sometimes when Puritans are oppressing you, a Quaker, you gotta pull the girls out. Come to American Filth Live this Saturday in Atlanta! Tickets here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Our 29th president had a habit of cheating on his wife. And one of his affairs left behind 1000 pages of smutty letters. Come to American Filth Live! June 29th in Atlanta. Tickets here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The son of Francis Scott Key was a womanizer and then womanized a woman whose husband would not stand being cuckholded! Come to American Filth Live on June 29th in Atlanta. Tickets here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Andrew Jackson had a bad bird...but did you know that pets often take on the personalities of their owners??? Frick! Come to American Filth Live! It's in Atlanta on 6/29 at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at this link: https://dynamiceldorado.fourthwalltickets.com/shows/american-filth-live. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feminist scholar Ida Craddock taught sex education to young couples. She had a lot of experience and expertise to pass on because of her own intellectual and sexual relationship with her husband who was a ghost. But Comstock came calling after she published some pamphlets. Come to American Filth Live on June 29th in Atlanta! Click here for tickets.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Anthony Comstock strikes again! This time going after notorious abortionist Madame Restell. Get your tickets to American Filth Live here! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Big follower of Christ/mail snoop Anthony Comstock rails against obscenity and gets a law named after him passed in 1873! One thing he hates in particular? Birth control!! Come to American Filth Live! Tickets here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Has America already had a gay president??? Or was he just a fussy, prissy, well-dressed guy?? James Buchanan lived with the same man for decades in Washington, and many people find that pretty sus!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Men continue to sleep in the same bed and maybe...give a little head. This time the couple in question shared a bed for four years. But yeah! Maybe they were just roommates! Or is Abraham Lincoln actually a little bit gay? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Some South Carolinian politicians in the 1820s did a lot more than sleeping. Just ask their fleshen poles. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Religious group? Sex cult? Polyamorous filth? Silverware manufacturer? The Oneida Community had it all. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Progressive reformers are like, AH WHITE SLAVERY! And they pass a law to protect WHITE LADIES from PROSTITUTION! But then criminals are like, I'm going to exploit this. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mae West brings Sex to Broadway but also...gay people?? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Wow, a true crime story!! Did this man kill his wife and daughter in 1845? Or did he kill EVEN MORE PEOPLE??See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Touching yourself too much? Have you tried eating some cereal?? John Harvey Kellogg was a chastity crusader who could solve any horned up feelings you have. Come learn how to abstain and get those hands out your own pants! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In 1873, a woman finds a husband from a newspaper ad. But turns out... he sucks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In a small colonial settlement in Virginia in 1629, an indentured servant is confusing the heck out of everyone. Some people swear the servant is a dude named Thomas. But others are like, no, she's a lady named Thomasine! Follow along with the podcast on Instagram. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Did you know we have gross presidents??? Well, President Grover Cleveland, aka Steve Cleve, was one of the grossest. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Stephanie St. Clair ran Harlem's underground. But she came up against police and other mobsters, and one or twice, she shot her boyfriends. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
To get you in the mood for Valentine's Day, let's indulge in some of the filthiest lyrics ever written. And yes, they are from the 1920s and 30s.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When the haters* get you down, douse 'em in some tar and stick on some feathers. *Britain Follow American Filth on INSTAGRAM!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the mid to late 19th century, the seven Sutherland sisters were the talk of the town. Why?? Because they had a lot of hair. 49 feet in total. If that fell into your soup, there would be no soup left. But their rags to riches story quickly went back to rags. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
At the end of the 20th century, most cities were covered in HORSE POO! It was not only gross but also DIRE! Find out how they dealt with this because it smelt quite bad. Follow the pod on Instagram. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
New Orleans used to have a legal red light district, and it was THRIVING at the turn of the 20th century. But then, of course, war happened and messed it all up!!! Stupid war! Follow American Filth on Instagram. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oh my god, can you believe it? Here we got another case of a husband cheating on his wife with his wife's younger sister!! Yuck! But this time, it features a laudanum overdose and America's first novel. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Welcome to 2024! To mark this momentous occasion, let's start off with a bang. And who liked banging more than Benjamin Franklin?? Allegedly. But there was one person he didn't seem to want to bang. His wife! Today's episode is filled to the brim with hot (re: questionable) takes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The stinky puritans are at it again! This time instead of executing people over hog banging, they are canceling Christmas ONCE AND FOR ALL! Well...until they un-cancel it. Find out WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Two presidents received an odd gift: a big-ass wheel of cheese. Why?? How?? From whomst??? Listen to find of these curdled mysteries. (PS...follow the pod on Instagram IF YOU DARE!!!)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A millionaire shoots an architect at the premiere of a really bad musical in 1906. And yeah, it's probably because that millionaire has terrible mental health. But he says that he did it for his wife, Evelyn Nesbit. Listen to learn about how this murder came to be! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Did you run out of food on your sea voyage? No worries. It is totally fine to eat your fellow sailors. It's the CUSTOM OF THE SEA! Today's episode, the sinking of the whaling ship the Essex, the real history that inspired Moby-Dick. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
During the Spanish-American War, a bunch of our boys got sick and died... not from the war but maybe from some nasty meat. Or maybe not. But it did smell and taste really bad!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Noted thief and sex worker Mary Jones stole countless men's wallets in the 1830s and 40s. Robert Haslem was one of those "victims," and he had no shame taking her to court! ! ! Follow along with the pod on Instagram at @AmericanFilthPod!!!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
President Lyndon B. Johnson's administration is known for all sorts of stuff, like the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965, the creation of public radio and television, food stamps, and Medicare and Medicaid. And, of course, escalating the Vietnam War. Lyndon did all that...while whipping his dick out all the time. And his wiener? He named it Jumbo! BEWARE: lots of penis puns in this one. Sorry! Follow American Filth on Instagram at @americanfilthpod. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This episode starts with a frothing vat of piss. And the story set in the 1980s, sorry guys, that is history now. Worse than all of that, this episode is about FINE ART. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Happy Halloween! Trying to get over that consumption cough?? Have you tried digging up your dead grandma and BURNING HER?! Follow American Filth on Instagram @americanfilthpod!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
James Garfield gets shot, and some doctors stick their nasty fingies in the wound. Yum! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Before James Garfield was (briefly) president, he had a fun hobby of cheating on his wife. But it's okay because he felt SO BAD about it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Union soldiers won't stop banging, so they hire a boat. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Finally, an episode featuring incest. Before she married Founding Daddy Gouverneur Morris, Ann Cary "Nancy" Randolph got accused of not just incest but also infanticide! Neat! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
FDR hates gay sex. Well, sort of. (Also, I don't think I made seamen/semen joke in this episode, which is a real oversight.)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Watch out for your eyes! MAIN SOURCES: Elliott J. Gorn, "Gouge and Bite, Pull Hair and Scratch,” Thomas Ashe, "Travels in America Performed in 1806." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Bang a sow! Hang a man! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Founding Daddy Gouverneur Morris is coming for (and on) your wife. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Your message was sent