More Design Flaws of the Human Body In this bonus episode, Dr. Lents walks me through our backwards eye, a nerve that takes the three foot scenic route instead of going 3 centimeters, and why we need to eat a varied diet while our dogs can eat the same thing every day and live long, […]
Design Flaws of the Human Body Human beings are pretty confident by nature. As a species, we are pretty sure that we are at the top of the evolutionary scale. It turns out, this is not true at all. While we are without a doubt at the top of the food chain, there are several […]
*Bonus* Cheerleading’s Greatest Rivalry In this episode, Natalie and I discuss the rivalry between Lawerence “Herkie” Herkimer and his protege Jeff Webb. Herkie is credited as the father of cheerleading, while Jeff is consider the modernizer of the sport. Not only that, but we get into the origin and correct spelling of the Pom Pons […]
The Evolution of Cheerleading At first glance, cheerleading can be mistaken for a trivial, vapid, activity that not only creates “mean girls” at the top of the social hierarchy, but it perpetuates the stereotype of women holding secondary roles to men, literally cheering them on. The reality is, nothing could be further from the truth. […]
*Bonus* Alien Phenomena Derrel and I continue our conversation and get into some of the more fringe topics including cattle mutilations, Greek Conquerors, RFID chips, the 1880’s, abductions, and the idea of ancient aliens. For background on Cattle Mutilations, listen to my episode with Linda Moulton-Howe. For background on paleocontact/ancient aliens, listen to my episode […]
Alien Implants There are people in this world who have unidentifiable pieces of metal inside their bodies, metal that is literally not of this world. Their chemical composition is similar to meteorites, and they appear to be wrapped in a biological sheath. Most of the people with this phenomenon state that they have been visited […]
*Bonus* – The Strange Artifacts of Diablo Manor When Scott inherited his grandfather’s estate, with it came all sorts of strange and unusual artifacts. We discuss several of these one-of-a-kind items, including a shrunken head, an Egyptian mummy, pig with one head, two snouts, and three eyes, a rare Edison prototype and a killer doll […]
Carnival Diablo – The Last Great Sideshow At the turn of the century, the circus sideshow was one of the main attractions. Typically they featured superhuman feats such as sword swallowing and glass walking, as well as rare objects of wonder including shrunken heads, two-headed animals, wax figures. These collections fell out of fashion during […]
The Celebrities of Braidwood Illinois Besides mayors, presidents, and strange fossils, Braidwood has had its share of celebrities. Even though it has always been a small town, surprisingly it has spawned quite a few world class athletes. They had a world class soccer team that competed at the 1893 World’s Fair and took second […]
The Small Town Saga of Braidwood Illinois The United States was built on small towns. Every city you see now had a humble beginning as a small community. There are countless songs, movies, tv shows proclaiming the superiority of growing up in a small town. This is the story of Braidwood Illinois. I believe that […]
Stories From A Shanty Town For almost a year, Shaughnessy lived with a group of homeless squatters on a vacant lot in Canada. Their shanty town was called Tent City, and every day was an act of survival. He chronicles this endeavor in a book called Down To This. We discussed all sorts of things, […]
The Hangover Cure Since the dawn of time, and the discovery of alcohol, Man has been is search of a cure for the hangover. Finally that man has arrived, and his name is Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall. In his latest book ‘Hungover’, Shaughnessy analyzes the effects of alcohol on the human body, then chronicles his adventures trying […]
Stephen Wynne Interviews: Stephen Wynne is the CEO of DeLorean Motor Company, a business you probably thought went bankrupt in 1983. Technically it did, and Stephen, a life-long DMC-12 advocate, went from servicing DeLoreans in the early 80’s to owning the entire stock of more than 3.5 million new DeLorean parts today. It was an […]
*Bonus Episode* – The Decline of the DeLorean What goes up, must come down, and DeLorean Motor Cars was no exception. Listen as Barrie recounts his story in the waning days of the company, from firebombings, car crashes, to harsh winters, and a sagging economy. All of these factors, as well as a surprise cocaine […]
Barrie Wills Interviews: When most people think of The DeLorean, they immediately think of the time machine from Back to the Future. In reality that car (called the DMC-12), was the center of an amazing story albeit having nothing to do with time travel. It was the vision of John Z. DeLorean to build an […]
Tom Watkins Interviews If you are an animal person, there is nothing worse than your pet running away. When this happens, who would you call? Sherlock Holmes? Batman? Both are amazing detectives, yet nether one of them are real. You are in luck because The Planet’s Premiere Pet P.I. Tom Watkin’s is real, and he […]
In this bonus episode, Jeff and I discuss a superstition that almost lead to a riot in 1928 Massachusetts, a three state battle over the right to use the phrase “First In Flight” on their license plates, and a story of vanity plates gone wrong.
Jeff Minard Interviews: License plates are probably the one thing we stare at for hours a week, and never give them any thought. Occasionally you may see a funny vanity plate and chuckle to yourself, but other than that, they are pretty transparent. Well it turns out, the history of license plates is pretty incredible. […]
Dr. James Fallon Interviews: We are taught that psychopaths are dangerous individuals who should be avoided at all costs. This is probably good advice. Dr. James Fallon is a neuroscientist at UC Irvine who has been studying the brains of killers for over a decade…including his own. Dr. Fallon is a psychopath by definition, although […]
As we discussed, card counting is perfectly legal, but that doesn’t mean that casinos allow it. As a matter of fact, they actively prohibit it. When they start to figure out what you are up to, they will start to pay close attention to you. This is called “heat”, and you want to avoid it […]
Josh Axelrad Interviews: Casinos invest a lot of money in creating games you think you can win, but in reality the odds are such that you have absolutely no chance at beating them. That is, of course, unless you can count cards. As a matter of fact, if you aren’t counting cards, then you are […]
Emelyn Rude Interviews: Today, we give little thought to just how common it is to find chicken on our plates at meal time. In truth, the cultural popularity of this fantastic fowl is an amazing journey that starts all the way back in the Roman Empire. A true under-bird story, chicken had to overcome the […]
Michael Bream Interviews: I LOVE antique cars, but I also love the environment. I thought I would have to choose one or the other, but thanks to Michael Bream “The Dream” of EV West, I don’t have to. What does EV West do? They electrify antique cars. What does that mean? They pull out the […]
The Mother Road – Route 66 Everybody loves to travel, and the United States has one of the most comprehensive interstate systems on any country. You can get on a road anywhere on the continent and end up almost anywhere else. The whole concept of interstate travel can be credited to one singular stretch of […]
Erich von Daniken Interviews: Ever since the 1968 publication of the highly influential book ‘Chariots of the Gods?’, Erich von Daniken has championed the concept of paleocontact: the belief that ancient human cultures were visited, and therefore influenced by, extraterrestrial beings. This is an extraordinary concept, although I am not sure where I fall. Luckily […]
Dr. John Donaldson Interviews The Simpsons has always intrigued me for several reasons. First of all, it is way smarter than people thought a cartoon could be. Secondly, it was the first television show that had really perfected the Easter Egg: Hidden jokes, messages, and meaning. One such layer is complex philosophical thought, which makes […]
Dr. John Donaldson Interviews The Simpsons has always intrigued me for several reasons. First of all, it is way smarter than people thought a cartoon could be. Secondly, it was the first television show that had really perfected the Easter Egg: Hidden jokes, messages, and meaning. One such layer is complex philosophical thought, which makes […]
*BONUS* This interview wouldn’t be complete without a conversation with John’s partner Stan Milford. Stan has had some truly mind-boggling experiences, including a haunting where coins appeared out of thin air, a ghost throwing a butcher knife into a cantaloupe, and a UFO case involving the abduction of 8 puppies!
One of the problems with paranormal stories is a lack of evidence and credibility. That is where the Paranormal Rangers excel. Federal Rangers on the Navajo Nation, John Dover and Stan Milford are assigned the most inexplicable cases that come through the station, meticulously investigating each one with an objective scrutiny that is unheard of […]
Even though gambling is hardwired into our DNA, and it is a global phenomenon, few would question that Las Vegas is the Casino Capital of the world. As such, it has quite an interesting history, from the days of silver prospecting, to the modern days on online sports betting. Listen as Dr. Schwartz and I […]
