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Episodes are released every other Thursday. We air Doyle’s detective stories chronologically, following each with a discussion episode. Occasionally we’ll do a Case File episode - an in-depth conversation on a particular topic, adaption, or person of interest.

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Subscribe to However Improbable at the podcatcher platforms below - or just listen right on our website!

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Search for stories by title below.

The Man with the Twisted Lip
Sarah Kolb Sarah Kolb

The Man with the Twisted Lip

An unusual tale of opium abuse, journalists with acting chops, wives with no first names, and the kind of sleepover only Sherlock Holmes could hold.

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Book Club Case File: My Dearest Holmes
Sarah Kolb Sarah Kolb

Book Club Case File: My Dearest Holmes

First published in 1988, My Dearest Holmes by Rohase Piercy is a very special pastiche that boasts something very rare—it’s certainly among the earliest published gay pastiches about the great detective and his good doctor.

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A Scandal in Bohemia
Sarah Kolb Sarah Kolb

A Scandal in Bohemia

“A Scandal in Bohemia” introduces us to the woman who casts the longest shadow over the canon - Irene Adler, of dubious and questionable memory.

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The House of Silk
Sarah Kolb Sarah Kolb

The House of Silk

Our first Book Club Case File begins with The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz, a dark and thrilling mystery with a very special narrative framework.

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“The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual”
Sarah Kolb Sarah Kolb

“The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual”

“The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual” is the second story that gives us a look back at Holmes’s life before he met Watson - this time in a very Gothic tale of buried treasure and cryptic rituals.

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Granada Holmes - Part 1
Sarah Kolb Sarah Kolb

Granada Holmes - Part 1

From 1984 to 1994, British actor Jeremy Brett starred in 36 one-hour episodes and five feature-length specials in the Granada Television Studios series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Part 1 of 2!

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“The Adventure of the Second Stain”
Sarah Kolb Sarah Kolb

“The Adventure of the Second Stain”

So far we’ve seen Sherlock Holmes solve the mysteries behind poisonings, hangings, and missing wives—and in “The Adventure of the Second Stain” he stops a war by looking at a rug.

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The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
Sarah Kolb Sarah Kolb

The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor

In “The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor,” Holmes finds himself assisting a Lord with a personal problem: his new bride vanishing the day after their wedding.

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Case File: The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
Sarah Kolb Sarah Kolb

Case File: The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

Billy Wilder’s film “The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes” is an unusual adaptation both beloved and hated. We talk about its merits, how it positions Holmes's sexuality, and what it means for queer detective fiction lovers to recognize that Sherlock Holmes might actually be gay.

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The Adventure of the Gloria Scott
Sarah Kolb Sarah Kolb

The Adventure of the Gloria Scott

“The Adventure of the Gloria Scott” takes us back in time to the story of Sherlock Holmes’s very first case. Join us for a tale of men on boats, old college friends, and secret ciphers.

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Case File: Arthur Conan Doyle, Paranormal Detective
Sarah Kolb Sarah Kolb

Case File: Arthur Conan Doyle, Paranormal Detective

Meet the man behind the canon: Arthur Conan Doyle. Besides creating Sherlock Holmes, what else is Conan Doyle known for? What was his life like? And what were his opinions about detective fiction and the world he lived in?

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The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Sarah Kolb Sarah Kolb

The Adventure of the Speckled Band

Serpents, sinister step-fathers, and sisters dying in the dead of night. “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” is usually considered one of the best Holmes stories—and one of Doyle’s favorites.

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A Study in Scarlet
Sarah Kolb Sarah Kolb

A Study in Scarlet

Mortuary meet-cutes, the science of deduction, and murderous Mormans. A Study In Scarlet famously introduced us to Holmes and Watson. Do you really know Sherlock Holmes like you think you might? What does this tale tell us about Holmes, Watson, and what’s coming in the following fifty-nine stories? And what’s the deal with the Mormons anyway?

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Introduction Episode
Sarah Kolb Sarah Kolb

Introduction Episode

Join your hosts Marisa & Sarah to hear more about who they are, what they’re planning, and why on earth they’re releasing a podcast devoted to 56 short stories and 4 novellas about a fictional detective, released over 130 years ago.

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