Behind the Scenes Minis: Self-talk Hoax

Holly and Tracy discuss the idea of autosuggestion and positive self-talk. Tracy shares her thoughts on writings about the Pompey stone. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Pompey Stone was discovered in the early 1820s, and was believed to be hundreds of years old. It turned out to be a hoax, but a fairly benign one. Research: Barber, John Warner and Henry Howe. “Historical collections of the state of New York : containing a general collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c. relating to its history and antiquities, with geographical descriptions of every township in the state ; illustrated by 230 engravings.” New York : S. Tuttle. 1841. https://archive.org/details/historicalcollec01barbg/ Beauchamp, W.M. “The Pompey Stone.” The American Antiquarian and Oriental Journal April-June 1911: Vol 33 Iss 2. https://archive.org/details/sim_american-antiquarian-and-oriental-journal_april-june-1911_33_2/page/7/  Clark, Joshua Victor Hopkins. “Onondaga, or, Reminiscences of earlier and later times : being a series of historical sketches relative to Onondaga, with notes on the several towns in the county, and Oswego.” Syracuse, N.Y. : Stoddard and Babcock. 1849. https://archive.org/details/onondagaorremini00clar/ Conlon, John Thomas. “The Beginnings of Catholicism in New Netherland.” United States Catholic Historical Society 1933: Vol 23. https://archive.org/details/sim_united-states-catholic-historical-society-records_1933_23/page/171 Crowell, Kathy. “Early Development of the Town of Pompey.” Dwight H. Bruce (ed.), Onondaga's Centennial. Boston History Co., 1896, Vol. I, pp. 595-608; 627-631.. https://onondaga.nygenweb.net/POMPEY/EARLYDEV.HTM Homes, Henry A. “The Pompey (N.Y.) Stone with an Inscription and Date of A.D. ” Transactions of the Oneida Historical Society at Utica. 1881. https://archive.org/details/transactionsofon00onei/page/83/mode/1up Huguenin, Charles A. “The Pompey Stone.” New York Folklore Quarterly. Spring 1958: Vol 14 Iss 1. https://archive.org/details/sim_new-york-folklore-quarterly_spring-1958_14_1/ O’Connor, Thomas F. “An Alleged Spanish Entrada into New York.” Mid-America : an historical review. Chicago, Ill. : Loyola University. 1943. https://archive.org/details/midamericahistor25unse/ “Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society at the Semi-annual Meeting in Boston, April 29, 1863.” Boston. John Wilson and Son. 1863. Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe. “Notes on the Iroquois, or, Contributions to American history, antiquities, and general ethnology.” Albany : E.H. Pease. 1847. https://archive.org/details/bp_1739112/ Squier, E. G. “Antiquities of the state of New York; being the results of extensive original surveys and explorations, with a supplement on the antiquities of the west.” Buffalo, G. H. Derby. 1851. https://archive.org/details/antiquitiesofsta00squi/ “The Pompey Stone.” Harper's Weekly 1879-12-20: Vol 23 Iss 1199. https://archive.org/details/sim_harpers-weekly_harpers-weekly_1879-12-20_23_1199/page/983/mode/1up See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Émile Coué genuinely seems to have wanted to help people by teaching them how to plant helpful directives in their subconscious minds. Whether he was effective is something that's still debated.  Research: Baldwin, J. Mark, et al. “A Disclaimer.” Science, vol. 12, no. 309, 1900, pp. 850–850. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1629542 Baudouin, Charles. “Émile Coué and His Life’s Work.” American Library Service. New York. 1923. https://digirepo.nlm.nih.gov/ext/dw/55330740R/PDF/55330740R.pdf Baudouin, Charles. “Suggestion and Autosuggestion.” New York. Dodd, Mead and Company, 1921. https://dn720207.ca.archive.org/0/items/suggestionauto00bauduoft/suggestionauto00bauduoft.pdf Britannica Editors. "Émile Coué". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Feb. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Emile-Coué “Coue, After Goodby Lecture, Flees City.” Boston Globe. January 31, 1923. https://www.newspapers.com/image/430295545/ “Coue Explains How to Use Auto-Suggestion.” Boston Globe. January 7, 1923. https://www.newspapers.com/image/430953338/?match=1&terms=Coue COUÉ, EMILE. “SELF MASTERY THROUGH CONSCIOUS AUTOSUGGESTION.” AMERICAN LIBRARY SERVICE PUBLISHERS. NEW YORK. 1922. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/27203/27203-h/27203-h.htm “Delirium Tremens.” Cleveland Clinic. June 5, 2023. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/25052-delirium-tremens “EMILE COUÉ DEAD; A MENTAL HEALER; Many Made Well by Saying ‘Every Day, in Every Way, I'm Growing Better and Better.’” New York Times. July 3, 1926. https://www.nytimes.com/1926/07/03/archives/emile-Coué-dead-a-mental-healer-many-made-well-by-saying-every-day.html Heid, Markham. “Is Hypnosis Real? Here’s What Science Says.” Time. March 2, 2023. https://time.com/5380312/is-hypnosis-real-science/ Myga, Kasia A et al. “Autosuggestion: a cognitive process that empowers your brain?.” Experimental brain research 240,2 (2022): 381-394. doi:10.1007/s00221-021-06265-8 Neal, E. Virgil, ed. “Hypnotism and hypnotic suggestion. A scientific treatise on the uses and possibilities of hypnotism, suggestion and allied phenomena.” New York State Publishing Company. Rochester, NY. 1906. https://archive.org/details/hypnotismhypnoti00roch/page/n9/mode/1up “Pliny 1813 Years Ahead of Coue … “ Boston Globe. January 30, 1923. https://www.newspapers.com/image/430295455/?match=1&terms=Coue Rapp, Dean R. “‘Better and Better—’ Couéism as a Psychological Craze of the Twenties in England.” Studies in Popular Culture, vol. 10, no. 2, 1987, pp. 17–36. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23413989 Sage, X. Lamotte. “Hypnotism As It Is: A Book for Everybody.” New York State Publishing Company. Rochester, NY. 1900. Accessed online: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Hypnotism_as_it_is%3B_a_book_for_everybody_%28IA_hypnotismasitisb00sage%29.pdf Sari, N. K. et al.“The role of autosuggestion in geriatric patients’ quality of life: a study on psycho-neuro-endocrine-immunology pathway.” Social Neuroscience, 12(5), pp. 551–559. 2017. doi: 10.1080/17470919.2016.1196243 Schlamann, Marc et al. “Autogenic training alters cerebral activation patterns in fMRI.” The International journal of clinical and experimental hypnosis 58,4 (2010): 444-56. doi:10.1080/00207144.2010.499347 Whiteside, Thomas. “Better and Better.” The New Yorker. May 9, 1953. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1953/05/16/better-and-better Yeates, Lindsay B. “Émile Coué and his Method (I): The Chemist of Thought and Human Action.” Australian Journal of Clinical Hypnotherapy & Hypnosis, Volume 38, No.1, (Autumn 2016), pp.3-27. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374753633_Emile_Coue_and_his_Method_I_The_Chemist_of_Thought_and_Human_Action See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2021 episode covers Louis Daguerre, who comes up almost any time we mention photography. Well before he figured out how to capture images through a camera obscura, he was an artist and innovator in entertainment.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly talks about the frustration of not finding any solid evidence of where Richard Peters stood on the issue of slavery. Tracy wonders what Elizabeth Fulhame's relationship with her husband was like.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elizabeth Fulhame’s biography is largely a mystery, but in 1794 she wrote a book on chemistry that was way ahead of its time. Research: Steinmark, Ida Emilie. “Elizabeth Fulhame: The Scientist the World Forgot.” Royal Society of Chemistry. 10/10/2017. https://edu.rsc.org/opinion/elizabeth-fulhame-the-scientist-the-world-forgot/3008111.article Shah, Irfan. “Rivers of Silver, Cities of Gold.” History Today. Volume 69 Issue 11 November 2019. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/history-matters/rivers-silver-cities-gold Lewes, Darby. “Fulhame, Elizabeth.” The Encyclopedia of Romantic Literature. Wiley Online Library. 4/12/2012. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118300916.wberlf007 Booth, Catherine. “Elizabeth Fulhame: Chemist.” Minerva Scientifica. https://minervascientifica.co.uk/elizabeth-fulhame/ Mills, Virginia. “Worthy of Public Attention.” Royal Society. 7/4/2025. https://royalsociety.org/blog/2025/07/worthy-of-public-attention/ Jarvis, Claire. “Elizabeth Fulhame, a forgotten chemistry pioneer.” Physics Today. 6/17/2020. https://physicstoday.aip.org/news/elizabeth-fulhame-a-forgotten-chemistry-pioneer Brazil, Rachel. “Elizabeth Fulhame, the 18th century chemistry pioneer who faded from history.” Chemistry World. 6/6/2022. https://www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/elizabeth-fulhame-the-18th-century-chemistry-pioneer-who-faded-from-history/4015638.article Smith, Thomas P. “A Sketch of the Revolutions in Chemistry.” Philadelphia : Printed by Samuel H. Smith. 1798. https://archive.org/details/b32885726/ Linker, Jessica C. “The Pride of Science: Women and the Politics of Inclusion in 19th-Century Pennsylvania.” Pennsylvania Legacies , Vol. 15, No. 1 (Spring 2015). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5215/pennlega.15.1.0006 Pancaldi, Giuliano. “On Hybrid Objects and their Trajectories: Beddoes, Davy and the Battery.” Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, 20 September 2009, Vol. 63, No.3. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40647277 Davenport, Derek A. "Fulhame, Elizabeth [known as Mrs Fulhame] (fl. 1780–1794), chemist." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. September 23, 2004. Oxford University Press. Date of access 11 Mar. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-39778 Palmer, Bill. “Elizabeth Fulhame: The Invisible Chemist.” Teaching Science. Volume 54, Number 4. December 2008. Laidler, Keith J. “The Development of Theories of Catalysis.” Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 1986, Vol. 35, No. 4 (1986). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41133790 Davenport, Derek A. and Kathleen M. Ireland. “The Ingenious, Lively and Celebrated Mrs. Fulhame and the Dyer’s Hand.” Bulletin for the History of Chemistry. 1989. The Gentleman's Magazine. Review of New Publications. “An Essay on Combustion …”. Vol. 65, Issue 6. June 1795. Beddoes, Thomas. “Mrs. Fulhame’s Essay on Combustion, &c.” The Monthly Review. Vol. 20. July 1796. https://archive.org/details/sim_the-monthly-review_1796-07_20/page/303/ Anderson, R. G. W. "Black, Joseph (1728–1799), chemist and physician." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. October 03, 2013. Oxford University Press. Date of access 11 Mar. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-2495 Cameron, Anne. “THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL REGISTRATION IN SCOTLAND.” Historical journal (Cambridge, England) vol. 50,2 (2007): 377-395. doi:10.1017/S0018246X07006115 McCloughlin, Thomas J.J. “Lost and found: The Nooth apparatus.” Endeavour. Volume 45, Issues 1–2. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.endeavour.2021.100763. Lim, XiaoZhi. "The new breed of cutting-edge catalysts." Nature, vol. 537, no. 7619, 8 Sept. 2016. Gale Academic OneFile, dx.doi.org/10.1038/537156a. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026. Gale Document Number: GALE|A462784622 MacPherson, Hamish. "The mysterious case of Elizabeth Fulhame, a chemist and true pioneer of science." National [Glasgow, Scotland], 31 Jan. 2023. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A735208005/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=896de822. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026. Benjamin Count of Rumford. “An Inquiry concerning the Chemical Properties That Have Been Attributed to Light.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 1798. Wheeler, T.S. “The life and work of William Higgins, chemist, 1763-1825, including reprints of ‘A comparative view of the phlogistic and antiphlogistic theories’ and ‘Observations on the atomic theory and electrical phenomena’.” New York, Pergamon Press. 1960. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Peters is responsible for many of the institutions that make up the identity of the city of Atlanta. And as a man from Pennsylvania, he had unique position regarding the U.S. Civil War.  Research: “Atlanta’s Suburb.” The Atlanta Journal. April 1, 1884. https://www.newspapers.com/image/968900463/?match=1&terms=Richard%20Peters Black, Nellie Peters. “Richard Peters, his ancestors and descendants. 1810-1889.” Atlanta. Foote & Davies. https://archive.org/details/richardpetershis00blac/page/n21/mode/2up Carlson, Leonard R. “Richard Peters: Champion of the New South.” (Book Review.) The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 46, No. 2, The Tasks of Economic History (Jun., 1986), pp. 564-565. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2122214.pdf “EDWARD C. PETERS HOUSE.” City of Atlanta Online. https://web.archive.org/web/20080820103941/http://www.atlantaga.gov/government/urbandesign_petershouse.aspx “Edward C. Peters House.” National Register of Historic Places. Jan. 20, 1972. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/1f64f313-3aa7-445c-ba1b-2cb6d3a1735f “Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania Biography.” Volume 13. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. 1921-. Accessed online: https://books.google.com/books?id=xAI9AAAAYAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s Falkenberg-Hull, Eileen. “Georgia's State Capitals (1868- present).” Explore Georgia. https://exploregeorgia.org/blog/georgias-state-capitals-1868-present “Hessians Auxiliaries,” American Battlefield Trust. July 29, 2021. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/hessians-auxiliaries “Rare Reminiscences.” Atlanta Journal. August 24, 1885. https://www.newspapers.com/image/968897469/?match=1&terms=Richard%20Peters “Richard Peters Founder of Atlanta and Midtown.” Midtown Neighbors Association. Feb. 9, 2012. https://midtownatlanta.org/richard-peters-founder-of-atlanta-and-midtown/ “Richard Peters Will.” Atlanta Constitution. Feb. 14, 1889. https://www.newspapers.com/image/26867020/?match=1&terms=Richard%20Peters Shingleton, Royce. “Richard Peters: Champion of the New South.” Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press. 1985.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2021 episode shares how in the U.S., the idea that people should know about the risks involved with the drugs that they are taking is tied directly to the complicated and often troubling history of oral contraceptives. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy talks about a "Molly of Denali" episode that references Elizabeth Peratrovich. She then shares her own experience with IUD insertion.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

IUDs are under the umbrella of long-acting, reversible contraceptives, and they’re the oldest one of these in use today.  Research: Baldauf, P et al. “A Report on the Hysteroscopic Removal of a Gräfenberg Ring After Almost Fifty Years in Utero.” Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde vol. 74,11 (2014): 1023-1025. doi:10.1055/s-0034-1383130. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4245252/ Case Western Reserve University. “Intrauterine device (IUD).” https://artsci.case.edu/dittrick/online-exhibits/history-of-birth-control/contraception-in-america-1950-present-day/intrauterine-device-iud/ Cooper, James Fryer. “Technique of contraception: the principles and practice of anti-conceptional methods.” Day-Nichols Inc., Publishers. 1928, 1930. https://archive.org/details/techniqueofcontr0000jame/ Corbett, Megan and Brandy Bautista. “A History: The IUD.” Reproductive Health Access Project. 3/20/2024. https://www.reproductiveaccess.org/2024/03/a-history-the-iud/ Curtis, Kathryn M. et al. “U.S. Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use, 2024.” Centers for Disease Control. 8/8/2024. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/rr/rr7303a1.htm Dickinson, Robert L. et al. “Contraception: A Medical Review of the Situation.” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 1924-11: Vol 8 Iss 5. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.50850/page/n585/ Edwards, Baylee A., "Ernst Gräfenberg (1881–1957)". Embryo Project Encyclopedia ( 2022-11-17 ). ISSN: 1940-5030 https://hdl.handle.net/10776/13358 Fallas, Rebecca and Helen King. “IUD or not IUD? Did the Hippocratics invent the first intrauterine device?. Mistaking Histories. 7/18/2017. https://mistakinghistories.uk/2017/07/18/iud-or-not-iud-did-the-hippocratics-invent-the-first-intrauterine-device/ Fotinos, Diane J. “Gold Stemmed Pessaries: A Shadow of the Past.” UT Health. 9/11/2019. https://library.uthscsa.edu/2017/09/gold-stemmed-pessaries-a-shadow-of-the-past/ Goldstuck, Norman D. “Reducing Barriers to the use of the Intrauterine Contraceptive Device as a Long Acting Reversible Contraceptive.” African Journal of Reproductive Health / La Revue Africaine de la Santé Reproductive, December 2014, Vol. 18, No. 4 (December 2014). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24362040 Goodhue PA. The Dalkon Shield debate. Conn Med. 1983 Mar;47(3):138-41. PMID: 6851548. Haubacher, David. “The Checkered Past and Bright Future of Intrauterine Contraception in the United States.” Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health , Mar. - Apr., 2002. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3030213 Homei, Aya. “Why did the Japanese Government take so long to approve the intrauterine contraceptive device?.” Reproductive biomedicine & society online vol. 6 45-54. 16 Oct. 2018, doi:10.1016/j.rbms.2018.09.002 Hubacher, David. “The Checkered History and Bright Future of Intrauterine Contraception In the United States.” Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. Vol. 34, Issue 2. https://www.guttmacher.org/journals/psrh/2002/03/checkered-history-and-bright-future-intrauterine-contraception-united-states Hutchings, Jane E. et al. “The IUD After 20 Years: A Review of Worldwide Experience.” International Family Planning Perspectives, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Sep., 1985). https://www.jstor.org/stable/2947998 Jones, R. W., et al. “Clinical Experience With The Dalkon Shield Intrauterine Device.” The British Medical Journal, vol. 3, no. 5872, 1973, pp. 143–45. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25420726. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026. Klapperich, Catherine M. “From the Dalkon Shield to Britney Spears’ IUD: Why Diverse Teams Need to Be Involved in Contraceptive Design.” The Brink. Boston University. 7/1/2021. https://www.bu.edu/articles/2021/from-the-dalkon-shield-to-britney-spears-iud-why-diverse-teams-need-to-be-involved-in-contraceptive-design/ Lopes-Garcia, E. A., Carmona, E. V., Monteiro, I., & Bahamondes, L. (2023). Assessment of pain and ease of intrauterine device placement according to type of device, parity, and mode of delivery. The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care, 28(3), 163–167. https://doi.org/10.1080/13625187.2023.2189500 Margulies, Lazar. “History of Intrauterine Devices.” Bull. N. Y. Acad. Med. Vol. 51, No. 5, May 1975. Museum of Contraception and Abortion. “Tenrei Ota (1900-1985).” https://muvs.org/en/topics/pioneers/tenrei-ota-1900-1985-en/ Oppenheimer, W.. “Prevention of pregnancy by the graefenberg ring method.” American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Volume 78, Issue 2, 446 – 454. https://www.ajog.org/article/0002-9378(59)90203-0/abstract Peipert, Jeffrey F. “Lippes loop and the first IUDs: lessons from a bygone era.” American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Volume 219, Issue 2, 127 – 128. https://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(18)30488-5/fulltext Peipert, Jeffrey F. “Lippes loop and the first IUDs: lessons from a bygone era.” American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Volume 219, Issue 2, 127 – 128 . https://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(18)30488-5/fulltext Thiery, M. “Pioneers of the intrauterine device.” The European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care. Volume 2, Number 1, March 1997. The Parthenon Publishing Group International Publishers. Thomsen, Russel J. “An Atlas of Intrauterine Contraception.” Hemisphere Publishing Company. 1982. Tietze, Christopher and Sarah Lewit. “Intra-Uterine Contraceptive Devices: Proceedings of the Conference, April 30-May 1, 1962, New York City.” Exerpta Medica Foundation. Willingham, Emily. “A ‘Simple’ Piece of Plastic.” American Scientist. May-June 2012. https://www.americanscientist.org/article/a-simple-piece-of-plastic World Health Organization. “Selected practice recommendations for contraceptive use.” Fourth Edition. https://iris.who.int/server/api/core/bitstreams/582c8182-f4b1-406b-b5e7-d81c1870df93/content See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.