107: Frances Glessner Lee with Courtney Smyth

Hyperfixations

Hi I am rich. Could you please do this ridiculous request for me? Don't ask me any questions.

Content warning: this episode contains mentions of surgery, death, murder, suicide, misogyny

This week Courtney Smyth, author of The Undetectables and 2024's The Undead Complex, and Ireland's foremost amateur expert in Frances Glessner Lee peels the details back on the original mother and the founder of modern forensic science. In this episode we discuss buying your way into Harvard, ensuring real justice is gotten for victims, the problems with real people in fiction, our plans to revitalise interest in Frances, and a room specifically built for an orchestra to live in.

If you liked the episode, please feel free to tell us about it! You can send your comments and suggestions to our podcast Twitter (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@HyperfixationsP⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), or our Instagram (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@Hyperfixationspod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), and join our Discord server here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/NQJFFHgpgf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Our guest Courtney can be found on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky, and Tiktok @cswritesbooks

You can visit their website here

Buy their books The Undetectables, and The Undead Complex everywhere books are sold (and a copy for your mother!)

And your hosts can be reached individually here: Nigel - Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@spicynigel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ally - Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@alleykat_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ally_k_keegan⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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If you would like to come onto the show to discuss one of your Hyperfixations, please feel free to reach out at any of the aforementioned social media. If you want to come on the show to discuss one of your Hyperfixations, you can also fill in this ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Google Form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and we'll get back to you as soon as we can

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Media mentioned in this episode:

Of Dolls and Murder (documentary)

18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics by Bruce Goldfarb (book)

Southerngothicdollhouse on TikTok

Mystery Street (1950) (film)

The Smithsonian series of lectures on Frances' dioramas

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Thank you so much for listening, you rock!

Intro/Outro Song: Strollin Along by David Renda, find it here - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.fesliyanstudios.com/royalty-free-music/download/strollin-along/339