Vienna Past and Present

• The Habsburg Vampire Panic: When Maria Theresia Took on the Undead

  In our first Halloween episode, we sink our teeth into the true story of the vampire panic that swept through the Habsburg borderlands during the Age of Enlightenment—because nothing says "reason and progress" like mass fear of the undead. It all begins in 18th-century Serbia, where a shoeless peasant was said to have crawled out of his grave to reclaim his footwear… and maybe a little blood. From there, the hysteria spread across the empire, reaching even the court of Empress Maria Theresia herself. Her response? A vampire decree based on reports by her Dutch physician, Gerard van Swieten—the very man who would later inspire Bram Stoker's legendary vampire hunter, Professor Van Helsing. Join us as we trace how the Enlightenment tried (and mostly succeeded) to drive a stake through superstition—and how bats somehow ended up taking the blame. For more, check us out on social media at viennapastandpresent or at viennapastandpresent.com. Reach out to us at [email protected]. We love hearing feedback and ideas. Danke! LINKS Klenk+Reiter podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/74Ib9NB1WM4KdImJBWaiHD?si=14d7e9ebf36f4258 Arnold Paole - Wikipedia Petar Blagojević - Wikipedia The Theological and Esoteric Debate on the Existence of Vampires (17th–19th centuries). 2. An Epidemic of Vampirism in the Austro-Hungarian Empire  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_van_Swieten https://www.onb.ac.at/mehr/blogs/untot-seit-dem-18-jahrhundert-der-erste-vampirhype https://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?aid=wrz&datum=17250721&seite=11&zoom=33 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1369848612000313 https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250630-serbian-village-stakes-claim-to-the-first-vampire https://www.br.de/radio/bayern2/sendungen/kalenderblatt/maria-theresia-verkuendet-den-vampir-erlass-100.html https://www.thegreatprojects.com/blog/bats-associated-with-vampires

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• Felix Baumgartner: Living on the Edge

  This week, we're freefalling into the story of Felix Baumgartner, Austria's very own daredevil skydiver who leapt from the stratosphere (literally). Along the way, Stephen valiantly attempts some German words with mixed results, Carmen learns a few things she probably should have already known, and together they try—and mostly fail—to understand what drives someone to jump out of perfectly good aircraft for fun. Is it bravery, madness, or just another day in the life of a man who redefined "living on the edge"? Join us as we parachute straight into the world of Felix Baumgartner. For more, check us out on social media at viennapastandpresent or at viennapastandpresent.com. Reach out to us at [email protected]. We love hearing feedback and ideas. Danke!   LINKS Felix Baumgartner - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000280012/felix-baumgartner-obduktion-soll-todesursache-klaeren https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000279972/felix-baumgartner-ein-teufelskerl-mit-eigenem-kopf https://www.redbull.com/int-en/felix-baumgartner-in-numbers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASE_jumping https://felixbaumgartner.com/base-jumper/ https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2012/oct/16/felix-baumgartner-from-the-vault https://www.redbull.com/int-en/red-bull-stratos-contribution-to-science https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/hall-of-fame/felix-baumgartner-first-person-to-break-sound-barrier-in-freefall  

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• Wilhelm Reich: The Prophet of the Better Orgasm

  In this episode, we uncover the strange and fascinating life of Wilhelm Reich, a once-promising Vienna-trained psychoanalyst whose career took a sharp turn into uncharted territory. From a scandalous youth and mentorship under Freud to his unorthodox theories on "orgastic potency," Reich's ideas often teetered between groundbreaking and eyebrow-raising. We follow him across the Atlantic, where he invented the Orgone Accumulator (a.k.a. the cosmic orgasm box), clashed with the FDA, tried to win over Einstein, and even claimed to battle UFOs in the Arizona desert. Visionary, eccentric, or both? Either way, his story is a wild ride through sex, pseudoscience, and space energy. For more, check us out on social media at viennapastandpresent or at viennapastandpresent.com. Reach out to us at [email protected]. We love hearing feedback and ideas. Danke! LINKS https://www.nytimes.com/1971/01/04/archives/back-into-the-old-orgone-box.html https://projectmailer.net/pm/The_Mailer_Review/Volume_10,_2016/Mailer%E2%80%99s_Use_of_Wilhelm_Reich https://www.meduniwien.ac.at/web/en/about-us/history/ https://www.wilhelmreich.at/wp-content/uploads/Hebenstreit_Diplomarbeitsauszug-2.pdf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orgone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich https://www.scribd.com/document/409496302/brady-the-strange-case-of-wilhelm-reich-pdf https://oe1.orf.at/artikel/328444/Film-Der-Fall-Wilhelm-Reich https://www.lennygibson.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Reich-review.pdf Movie about Reich (Apple+): https://tv.apple.com/at/movie/the-strange-case-of-wilhelm-reich/umc.cmc.4d5kpivmlampf1bsyguxnu6my?l=en NYTimes article : https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/12/07/87342935.html?pageNumber=20  

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• Gänsehäufel - Vienna's beloved goose pile

  This week, we're headed to the seaside! Or at least, as close as Vienna gets— we're talking about the Gänsehäufel, the beloved island in the Danube that's been offering sun, swims, and skin (lots of it) for over a century. We dig into the evolution of this uniquely Viennese summer escape: from its early days as a kind of naturist commune founded by Florian Berndl, to a city-led takeover (with a surprise return of good old Sexy Karl), to its glory days in Red Vienna and post-war nudist boom. We also reminisce about our experiences with Japanese baths and KOA—yes, Kampsites of America. Why the K? And how do you pronounce it? Sunburns, socialism, and public nudity—it's all here. For more, check us out on social media at viennapastandpresent or at viennapastandpresent.com. Reach out to us at [email protected] . We love hearing feedback and ideas. Danke!   LINKS https://www.filmarchiv.at/de/filmarchiv-on/video/f_030HDAllma6h1gTTStWtQ0 https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A4nseh%C3%A4ufel https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florian_Berndl https://www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at/G%C3%A4nseh%C3%A4ufel https://www.falter.at/zeitung/20210831/ums-nackte-ueberleben https://geschichtsgreisslerei.at/gaensehaeufel/ https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000061895606/kabane-und-liebe-sommerresidenz-im-gaensehaeufel https://www.wien.gv.at/freizeit/baeder/uebersicht/sommerbaeder/gaensehaeufel.html https://www.travelportland.com/culture/sauvie-island/  

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• Zeitgeist: 12 Points to Austria!

  Try as we might to talk about literally anything else, Eurovision keeps pulling us back in. Are we closet fans? Maybe. Probably. OK, fine—yes. In this Zeitgeist episode, we set out to cover a range of current topics... but then Austria won Eurovision again, and suddenly we're back, clumsily covering a topic we know little about. But we do know that  JJ has officially captured our hearts. Stephen watches the winning entry live on air and—shockingly—realizes he might actually enjoy the whole dramatic spectacle. Resistance was futile.  For more, check us out on social media at viennapastandpresent or at viennapastandpresent.com. Reach out to us at [email protected]. We love hearing feedback and ideas. Danke!   LINKS https://dietagespresse.com/damit-oesterreich-teuren-esc-2026-nicht-ausrichten-muss-marterbauer-ruft-3-000-mal-fuer-schweden-an/ Wasted Love, Austrian Eurovision entry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coGaxAWtp58 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/arts/music/eurovision-how-to-win.html?unlocked_article_code=1.JE8.MzUg.jbIOX3S6CkWM&smid=url-share 'It's going to be expensive': Austria frets about price tag of hosting Eurovision 'There is anxiety' - RTE 'fears' winning Eurovison & facing huge staging costs, claims Ireland's first winner Dana | The Irish Sun JJ & Conchita Mashup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaTvgfopHkU  

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