Malice in the Mitten

In the frozen wilderness of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, stories have endured for generations—whispers of Ice Bound Giants, massive figures said to roam the snow-choked forests during the dead of winter.
In this episode of F-Bomb Friday, we explore one of the U.P.’s most chilling pieces of folklore. Lumber camps spoke of towering shapes moving through blizzards. Hunters reported impossible footprints frozen deep into the ice. Entire communities passed down warnings meant to keep people indoors after dark.
Are the Ice Bound Giants a cautionary legend born from isolation and winter madness—or something far older, rooted in Indigenous storytelling and the brutal reality of Great Lakes winters?
Welcome to F-Bomb Friday—where Michigan folklore, fables, and frights come alive.
Story written and original artwork by Todd Preston
Recorded, edited and original music by Tracy Preston
#FBombFriday#MichiganFolklore#UpperPeninsula#GreatLakesLegends#WinterFolklore

In Part Two of The Quiet Widow, the story deepens — and the line between accident and intent begins to blur.
What happens when care turns into control?When silence replaces concern?When neglect becomes something far more deliberate?
This episode explores the psychological unraveling at the center of the case — the warning signs, the isolation, and the choices that allowed a slow death to continue unseen. There are no dramatic outbursts here. No sudden violence. Just quiet decisions, made over time, with irreversible consequences.
This is a true crime story about power, indifference, and the moment accountability disappears.
Listener discretion advised.
Researched, written, recorded and edited by Tracy Preston
Original theme song and original background music created by Tracy Preston
Original artwork by Todd Preston
#TrueCrime#TrueCrimePodcast#PsychologicalTrueCrime#FemaleKillers#RealCrime#DarkTrueCrime#CrimeStories#MaliceInTheMitten
Sources:
Vronsky, Peter. Female Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters. Berkley Books, 2007.
Schechter, Harold. The A–Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. Simon & Schuster, 1996.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Behavioral Perspectives on Female Offenders. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Archives.
Smith, Carolyn. Gender, Crime, and Justice: Historical Perspectives. Oxford University Press, 2011.
Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society. Gender Norms and Criminal Proceedings in the Early 20th Century. Lansing, MI.
Rafter, Nicole Hahn. Partial Justice: Women, Prisons, and Social Control. Transaction Publishers, 1990.

On today’s Round Robin, Tracy leads the table through the many faces of Ebenezer Scrooge — from the dark, musical rage of Albert Finney’s 1970 Scrooge, to the sharp corporate cruelty of Bill Murray’s Frank Cross in Scrooged.
Along the way, the team dives into:
How many Scrooges have appeared on screen (and why each era gets the one it deserves)
Dickens’ real anger behind A Christmas Carol
Victorian-era language we no longer use — and what it actually meant
Holiday trivia, modern parallels, and the Scrooge that feels uncomfortably familiar today
It’s festive, funny, a little dark — and very Round Robin.
🎄 Because Scrooge never disappears… he just changes clothes.
Theme song, background music, researched, recorded & edited by Tracy Preston
Original artwork by Todd Preston
Sound effects from Uppbeat:  sleigh-bells-joshua-chivers-1-00-14.mp3 / Bah-humbag-christmas-is-canceled-scrooge-voice-david-h-m-lambert-1-00-04.mp3 / Merry-christmas-to-all-to-all-a-good-nigh-igh-bells-david-h-m-lambert-1-00-11.mp3
#Scrooge#Scrooged#ChristmasMovies#HolidayTrivia#Dickens#ClassicFilms#BillMurray#AlbertFinney

Christmas is not always warm lights and joyful songs.In this episode of F-Bomb (Fables, Fiction, Folklore & Frights), we uncover the ghostly side of Christmas past—haunted traditions, lingering spirits, and winter folklore steeped in sorrow, memory, and fear.
From spectral carolers and cursed celebrations to echoes of Victorian Christmases long buried beneath snow and time, these are the stories that remind us why the longest nights of the year were once feared. This episode blends dark folklore, historical superstition, and chilling holiday atmosphere, accompanied by an original ghostly Christmas score designed to linger like a memory you can’t shake.
#FBombPodcast#GhostsOfChristmasPast#HauntedChristmas#DarkChristmas#ChristmasFolklore
Story and original artwork by Todd Preston
Recorded, edited, original theme and score by Tracy Preston

In the final chapter of The Silent Killers Trilogy, Malice in the Mitten turns its focus to Michigan women whose stories disappeared entirely. These were not famous cases. Many never became cases at all. Recorded as illness, misfortune, or family tragedy, their deaths were quietly absorbed into history without investigation or remembrance.
This episode explores how unnamed women, unexamined deaths, and institutional blind spots allowed patterns of violence to repeat — and what it means when silence replaces accountability. This is not a story about spectacle. It’s a story about absence, and the cost of not looking closely enough.
Detroit Free Press. Early 20th-Century Crime Briefs and Obituaries. Detroit Free Press Archives.
Michigan State Archives. County Death Records and Caregiver-Related Mortality Reports (Pre-Regulation Era).
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Historical Death Certification Practices in Michigan. State of Michigan.
Vronsky, Peter. Female Serial Killers. Berkley Books, 2007.
Walker, Samuel. Sense and Nonsense About Crime. Wadsworth Publishing, 2010.
Rafter, Nicole Hahn.  Creating Born Criminals. University of Illinois Press, 1997.
#MaliceInTheMitten #SilentKillers #ForgottenMichigan 
Written, Produced & Narrated by Tracy Preston
Co-Host Christine Mulligan
Research Support & Archival Review: Silas
Original artwork by Todd Preston
 

Cheers to the New Year 🥂 reflections, resolutions & real talk on this New Year’s Eve Round Robin #NewYearPodcast #RoundRobinShow #PodcastLife
Produced and hosted by Tracy Preston
Original Music by Tracy Preston
Original artwork by Todd Preston
Sound effects upload from Uppbeat: party-horn-single-blow-smartsound-fx-3-3-00-01.mp3 / bottle-cork-pop-gfx-sounds-1-1-00-01.mp3 / happy-new-year-cheering-fireworks-gfx-sounds-2-2-00-10.mp3 / haha-sly-grinned-male-laugh-bosnow-1-00-01-mp3 / auld-lang-syne-piano-new-years-eve-intro-jam-fx-1-00-32.mp3
 

Deep in Michigan’s forests, hunters whispered about a towering creature that walked like a man, screamed like something inhuman, and vanished without a trace. Known as the Gugwe, this forgotten legend predates modern Bigfoot sightings and carries a far darker reputation.
In this F-Bomb Friday episode, we explore the origins of the Gugwe, eyewitness accounts, Indigenous lore, and why some believe this creature was never meant to be found. This is Michigan folklore at its most unsettling — where the woods are watching, and something ancient still remembers us.
Researched and written by Todd Preston
Produced and hosted by Tracy Preston
Original music from Tracy Preston
Sources:
https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Gugwe— Gugwe cryptid background & sightings info
https://apex-flameback.fandom.com/wiki/Gugwe— “Beast of Seven Chutes” cryptid profile
https://www.reddit.com/r/Cryptozoology/comments/y5o97z/the_gugwethe_beast_of_seven_chutes_is_it_a/— Reddit discussion on Gugwe topic
https://medium.com/@fallofskywalker/deep-dive-into-the-legend-of-the-gugwe-74c8b5083a0f— Deep dive into lore & Mi’kmaq connections
https://www.native-languages.org/kukwes.htm— Mi’kmaq Kukwes legend (related folkloric creature)
https://www.thecryptocrew.com/2022/01/the-gugwe-bigfoot-sasquatch-dogman.html— Crypto Crew overview of Gugwe legend & variants
https://superbugtom.com/gugwe— Superbugtom blog on Gugwe description & Beast of Seven Chutes details
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcleiEtTk34— Video titled “The Gugwe Are Not Bigfoot — They Are Much, MUCH Worse”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uilD2NeXMKc— YouTube commentary including Gugwe-related discussion

On December 2, 2016, Danielle Stislicki left her job at a MetLife office in Southfield, Michigan, planning to meet a friend for dinner. She never arrived.
Her Jeep was found the next morning outside her Farmington Hills apartment — purse and belongings inside — but Dani was gone. Nearly a decade later, her disappearance has led to a murder charge, a complex legal battle, and a trial scheduled for February 2026.
In this extended episode of Malice in the Mitten, we tell Dani’s story from the beginning — who she was, the ordinary day she never came home from, and the details that matter. We examine the investigation, the assault of another woman months earlier, the controversial suppression of key evidence, and how juries are instructed to decide cases when they are never allowed to hear everything.
This is not a story about speculation or headlines.It’s a story about absence, evidence, and what justice is allowed to look like.
If you have credible information about Danielle Stislicki’s disappearance, contact the Farmington Hills Police Department 248-871-2610 or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers 800-SPEAKUP.  National Sexual Assault Hotline Support 800-656-HOPE or 988
Written and produced by Tracy PrestonResearch and story development: Tracy PrestonScript support and production partner: SilasOriginal artwork: Todd PrestonTheme song and embedded music created by Tracy Preston
#MaliceInTheMitten #MichiganTrueCrime #DanielleStislicki #FindDani
Sources:
Dani last seen leaving work Dec 2, 2016; expected at dinner; Jeep found at her apartment next day with purse/ID/credit cards inside. CBS News+2WDIV+2
Floyd Galloway Jr. charged with first-degree premeditated murder (AG announcement). Michigan+1
Trial date set for Feb 2, 2026 (and pretrial scheduling reported). WXYZ 7 News Detroit+2WDIV+2
Suppressed evidence categories (Fitbit, keys, Tim Hortons, BP, cab, certain bank/retail threads) reported July 2025. WDIV+1
Privileged tip / due process discussion summarized in public appellate/case reporting. Justia Law+1
Dani’s parents spoke after Feb 26, 2025 pretrial hearing (local reporting/video). WDIV+1
ClickOnDetroit (WDIV). “Judge sets new trial date… trial set for Feb. 2, 2026.” May 21, 2025. WDIV
WXYZ. “New trial date set for Floyd Galloway in Danielle Stislicki murder case.” 2025. WXYZ 7 News Detroit
ClickOnDetroit (WDIV). “Here’s all the evidence suppressed in the Danielle Stislicki murder trial.” July 17, 2025. WDIV
Justia (Michigan Court of Appeals – unpublished decision page). People of MI v. Floyd Russell Galloway Jr., Docket No. 364083 (public summary page). Justia Law
Michigan Attorney General. Press Release: “MI Attorney General Dana Nessel Charges Floyd Galloway Jr. with the murder of Danielle Stislicki.” March 5, 2019. Michigan
ClickOnDetroit (WDIV). “Dani’s parents speak after pretrial hearing…” Feb. 26, 2025. WDIV+1
CBS News. “Missing Michigan woman’s Jeep found…” Dec. 9, 2016. CBS News
FOX 2 Detroit. “Danielle Stislicki murder: Judge sets… trial for next year…” May 21, 2025. FOX 2 Detroit
 
 

Michigan’s sand dunes aren’t just beaches — they’re ancient, moving landscapes with secrets beneath the surface.
This week on Round Robin, we explore Michigan’s massive freshwater sand dunes, wild fun facts, hidden dangers, and the eerie truth about dunes that shift, swallow forests, and sometimes catch people off guard. From Silver Lake to Sleeping Bear, we break down why Michigan’s dunes are unlike anywhere else on Earth — with curiosity, laughter, and just a hint of creepiness.
#RoundRobinPodcast #Michigan #MichiganSandDunes #GreatLakes #MichiganNature
Produced and hosted by Tracy Preston
Original music by Tracy Preston
Original artwork by Todd Preston

Dive into the legend of the Kalamazoo River Dragon, one of Michigan’s most enduring cryptid mysteries. From 19th-century sightings to connections with Indigenous water spirits and river lore, we explore what people have claimed to see along the Kalamazoo River, why this creature became part of local storytelling, and what it means for Michigan folklore today. Featuring firsthand accounts, historical research, and cultural context — this episode unravels the mystery, myth, and meaning behind the elusive River Dragon.
Story researched and written by Todd Preston
Produced and hosted by Tracy Preston
Original Music by Tracy Preston
Original artwork by Todd Preston
Source
Michigan Cryptid Arcane – “The Legend of the Kalamazoo River Dragon”https://www.cryptidarcane.com/krd
Kalamazoo Public Library – Kalamazoo River Historyhttps://www.kpl.gov/local-history/kalamazoo-history/general/kalamazoo-river/
Kalamazoo Public Library – Origin of the Name “Kalamazoo”https://www.kpl.gov/local-history/kalamazoo-history/general/how-kalamazoo-got-its-name/
Indigenous Water Spirit Lore – Mishipeshu / Underwater Pantherhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_panther
Community witness discussions and anecdotal accounts (non-academic):https://www.reddit.com/r/michiganflyfishing/