New episode out now! We watched the pilot of The Pinkertons, a Canadian period procedural about the beginnings of the Pinkerton Agency in post-Civil War Missouri. We discuss the representation of both Allan Pinkerton and his son Will, as well as one of the earliest female detectives Kate Warne, and wonder how involved the actual Pinkerton agency was in their depiction. We decide it follows basic procedural rules, admire the costume design even if they are not dirty enough, try to diagnose our lackluster feelings about the episode, and talk at length about how it made us want to play Red Dead Redemption 2 instead. (Seriously, this episode is basically half advertisement for RDR2). Katy finds herself defending Canadian television again, Carrie busts out a high-point vocabulary word, Maddy reveals her feelings for bagpipes, and Mack raves about Allan Pinkerton. We talk about the true dangers of the Civil War, compare the weird commercials we saw while watching, share video game stories, and try to remember our confirmation names. We also learn many facts in real time, including why some movies are called spaghetti westerns, what bushwhackers are, and when sunscreen was invented. Listen to hear about wild unboxing stories, the Sultana steamboat, litigation, the sexual energy of Dulé Hill, and more! (Seriously Mack shares so many varied and interesting facts). Enjoy and yeehaw!

TW: Anti-Union sentiment, strikebreaking, racism, Southern Confederacy

Show Notes:

Wikipedia article about Adam Worth linked here.
Wikipedia article about Allan Pinkerton linked here.
Mack meant the villain tried to poison the UK Parliament, not US Congress, in 2009’s Sherlock Holmes
Mack DOES know Wilson Fisk was Kingpin, not the Punisher, it was just a slip of the tongue.
Rockstar Games Hits Back at Real Pinkertons Over ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’ Lawsuit
Re: The story Katy half remembered: The man who attacked the woman in the apartment was allegedly a Pinkerton employed security guard; the woman’s name is Jennifer Morey and you can read about the story here. A YouTube link to the I Survived episode about her is here but be warned it is disturbing. Also, here is a link to the My Favorite Murder episode about it, released September 2016: Episode 33: What About Mimi?
Clip from the Drunk History episode Katy mentioned: Drunk History - Allan Pinkerton Protects Abraham Lincoln (ft. Charlie Day and Paget Brewster)
The National Museum of Civil War Medicine is in Frederick, Maryland.

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