Episodes

There are millions of Deaf Americans. Tone deaf Americans, unfortunately, outnumber them massively. This week, the guys learn all about the 1988 Deaf President Now! movement within Gallaudet University, a school for the deaf in Washington, DC. It's an inspiring story of peaceful protest, unity, and corndogs, a story which will leave you filled with the spirit of Les Mis, complete with barricades! Draw near and listen, and maybe turn the volume down in solidarity.

The aliens are coming! The aliens are coming! But first, a word from Colgate Toothpaste! This week, the guys scan the airwaves for the truth behind Orson Wells' infamous "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast of 1938, which caused a nationwide panic, launched the career of a Hollywood legend, and led to the first recorded case of a lawsuit being settled with a pair of shoes. Stay off the streets for this one, and don't forget to tune in next week!

What is it with aliens and butts? This week, the guys take a probing (!) look at the supposed UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. Along the weird and winding way, they encounter Joseph Stalin, Josef Mengele, a bunch of mixed alien parts, and tiny Russian children plummeting from the sky. No one wants to feel alone, but if these are our interstellar neighbors, I'll take loneliness!

Toys are dangerous. We all know that Legos present a choking hazard and an Easy Bake Oven will burn your child to death, but did you know that Beanie Baby ownership can lead to a serious heroine habit? This week, the guys play around with the most tragic fad toys in history, from the Pet Rock to the Tomagotchi. Pitch a tent and stay up all night for this one!

Nee means nee, Vinny. Sure, you know about the ear thing, but Vincent Van Gogh, who personified the starving, tortured artist of the 19th Century, also left an unparalleled artistic legacy, complete with haystacks, starry nights and armless Flemish peasant women. This week, the guys wander around in his brilliant, yet troubled mind, only to come back with a Belgian miner and the worst case of tinnitus you've ever half-heard.

Theater people are superstitious. Usually, those superstitions are completely fabricated. But the "Scottish Play" thing is real, you guys. It's so real. This week, the guys tread the boards in search of the origin of the supposed curse, touching on some of the most unhinged moments of theater history. In the process, they will answer the question of how an actors' rivalry led to the worst incident of civilian death due to militia action in America's history. Watch out for flying swords and don't...

In 1969, the Woodstock Music Festival was the epitome of peace, love, and harmony. This is not that story. Join the guys as they dive into the disease pool of the Powder Ridge Rock Festival of 1970, Connecticut's answer to Woodstock. Have a refreshing drink of hepatitis, grab some poison ivy and meet us down at the Freak-Out Place!

Some records will never be broken. Some simply shouldn't. This week, both are true! Welcome to Balloonfest, wherein Cleveland fails, once again, to shake the moniker The Mistake By The Lake. This event has everything: good intentions gone horribly awry, people with no friends, beauty, and a healthy dash of death and destruction. This is a dicey one, but as long as you're not a fisherman or an Arabian horse, you should be fine.

Flower Power is real, and it kills. That's the lesson the guys learn this week as they uproot the history of the Orchid Craze in Europe, before people realized that seeds were a thing. Who knew that flower hunting was so dangerous? Everyone, it turns out, except the one guy who survived it. Keep all your appendages securely inside the dolphin for this one!

It's our 20th episode! This week, the guys discover the toxic truth behind another Superfund disaster! Join Kevin and Jason as they learn how an idyllic Missouri getaway town became a GET AWAY! town overnight, and how the present day isn't the first time the EPA has been the villain.

This week, the guys look into a disaster at a baseball stadium. Wait, didn't we do that last week? Yes! Turns out, baseball stadia are dangerous places. In our first listener-suggested topic (thanks to Twitter follower Maureen!), Kevin and Jason discover that not only is Disco dead, but... It was murdered.

On this Very Special Episode, the guys are joined by our brother podcast, Vic In A Box! Vic and Steve, both Philadelphia natives, join Kevin and Jason to share the brotherly love! Together, we delve into the worst disaster in baseball history, not including that time Michael Jordan tried to play. Along the way we learn a lot about sports, streetcars, sound effects, and why Philadelphians are so literal. Many thanks to Vic and Steve for dropping in and sharing the fun! Check out all their episode...

This week, the guys uncover the inspiring story of Billy Haines, the biggest movie star you've never heard of. In 1930s Hollywood, the draconian Production Code led to the blacklisting of many of America's greatest talents, including the top-grossing star of 1930, Billy Haines. What dark secret led to Billy's erasure? Here's a hint: if he'd just married Joan Crawford, none of this would have happened. Grab your hand-painted wallpaper stencil and settle in for a rollercoaster of emotion!

In honor of Independence Day, this week the guys look into a time in history where Americans heard a celebrity say something they didn't agree with, and simply respected that person's right to free speech and freedom of expression. Ha! Just kidding! John Lennon said something about Jesus, so America lost its damn mind! Pop a cold one, light some sparklers and sing as much of "America the Beautiful" as you can remember.

Boo! Sorry we scared you! Go cry to Patrick Swayze about it. This week, the guys learn about the creepy history of the Greenbriar Ghost of West Virginia, who sought (and achieved) revenge on her killer. Warning: you might not want to be alone for this one. Go dig up a friend and listen together!

You're gonna need a good shower after this one! Join the guys this week as they examine the murky skies of the Dust Bowl, one of the most terrible ecological disasters in American history. Pack up your Grandma and head for California, if you know what's good for you!

Ah, the 80s. A time of big hair, pastel suits and one of the greatest corporate debacles of all time! Move over, IHOB, and meet New Coke! This week, the guys pop open a can of whoop-ass on the moment when America reached peak 80s-ness. Dust off that stockpile of nostalgia you've been hoarding in your basement, because it's time for rock-and-roller cola wars!

You thought MTV's reality show was the worst thing to happen to Spring Break? Think again! This week, the guys explore the sordid history of America's favorite vacation in search of Where the Boys Are. (Hint: they're freezing their asses off on the Knife River.) Along the way, we will learn a few things about the time in 1969 when some North Dakota college students asked the fateful question: Why should Florida have all the fun?

You may think the rules of fashion are arbitrary and inane, but did you know they were also dangerous and deadly? This week, Kevin and Jason blow the lid off the Straw Hat Riots of 1922, a moment in history which proves that people will never pass up the opportunity to freak out for no good reason. Dust off your white suit, put pajamas on the cat, and settle in for one of the dumbest fashion events since the Met Gala!

Fasten your seatbelt...it's going to be a bumpy show! This week, the guys discuss one of the great celebrity feuds of all time, that between the first shady queens, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Katy Perry and T Swift have nothing on these two! As a bonus, we also learn some cardinal rules of Hollywood: (1) Don't piss off the writers, and (2) take Fountain.

This week's episode involves the freaking Energizer Bunny of fires, started in Centralia, PA in 1962. Want to know when it will go out? Well, then, you're more curious than the residents of Centralia! Stay tuned for the most frustrating city government in the history of botched Memorial Day celebrations. Also, this week we learn about spontaneous combustion. Spoiler Alert: it's not a thing.

In the second part of our first two-parter, the guys look into the blazingly shitty experience that befell London just as it was recovering from the buboes of the year before. That's right, get ready for the Great London Fire! Cruise out on the river, grab your golden bucket and fill it with popcorn for this one!

Join Kevin and Jason as they learn about the Great Plague of London. No, not The Spice Girls. The actual plague. In the first part of our first two-parter, we discover why stray cats are actually good for us and the modern-day plague afflicting Republican senators. Be sure to tune in next time to learn how the situation actually gets worse!

Yes, he's the longest-serving director of the FBI. But did you also know he was a human tragedy? Well, today we'll get inside the head (and possibly the chiffon) of the notorious J. Edgar Hoover, a man so powerful, presidents were forced into respecting the FBI. Those were the days, eh? Also, Jason tries (kinda) to bury the hatchet with Texas.