Timesuck with Dan Cummins - podcast cover

Timesuck with Dan Cummins

Jump down new rabbit holes with Timesuck, the weekly podcast that takes you on a fascinating and bizarre journey through history’s darkest corners, most shocking conspiracies, and wildest true stories. Hosted by acclaimed standup comedian and storyteller Dan Cummins, each episode blends dark humor with deep research to uncover hidden truths about infamous historical figures, unsolved mysteries, notorious serial killers, and more. If you crave the weird, the wild, and the unexpected, Timesuck is your next obsession! And check out the Short Sucks, a new series of 40-60 minute episodes two Fridays a month. These bite-sized stories are perfect for when you want a quick dose of Timesuck (or need more addictive content to consume while you’re waiting for your next Timesuck!)

Episodes

448 - The Delphi Murders

On the afternoon of February 13th, 2017, in the sleepy little 3000(ish) person town of Delphi, Indiana, two local junior high girls and best friends, 13-year-old Abigail Joyce Williams and 14-year-old Liberty Rose Lynn German, went missing nearing an abandoned bridge near the edge of town. Their bloody bodies would be found the next day, but their killer wouldn't be caught for over five years. And when he was, the town would be shocked for a second time, when they learned that the killer was one...

Mar 31, 20252 hr 18 min

Short Suck #30 - Sherlock Holmes and Spiritualism

Today we take a peek at the interesting life of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the man who invented the world's most famous and influential literary detective, Sherlock Holmes. However, Doyle was never really that interested in the fictional creation that made him famous. He was very interested, though, in spiritualism, and took part in hundreds of seances and wrote dozens of books, pamphlets, and newspaper articles attesting to a belief he saw as indisputable fact: that the dead surround us and...

Mar 28, 202547 min

447 - Falun Gong: The Cult Behind The Epoch Times and Shen Yun

Have you ever been to one of those Shen Yun traveling traditional Chinese dance performances? Have you ever seen one of their blitz marketing campaigns? What about the Epoch Times - is that where you or someone you know get their news? Did you know that both of these companies are directly connect to the Falun Gong, a strange cult that originated in China in 1992, and is now based in a massive compound less than a 100 miles north of New York City? Merch and more: www.badmagicproductions.com Time...

Mar 24, 20253 hr 1 min

446 - Who Was The Real Mr. Rogers?

Today we examine the beloved host of the long-running children's television show, Mr Rogers' Neighborhood. Was Fred McFeely Rogers truly as wholesome as he seemed? Could anyone be that good? Or was it all just an act? When the cameras turned off, did a completely different emerge, and who was that person? Merch and more: www.badmagicproductions.com Timesuck Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v Want to join the Cult of the Curious PrivateFacebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult...

Mar 17, 20252 hr 15 min

Short Suck #29 - Luis Garavito: The World's Most Prolific Serial Killer

Luis Alfredo Garavito Cubillos was a ruthless, sadistic Colombian rapist and serial killer who became known to the task force searching for him as… The Beast. This sadistic monster would be convicted of sexually torturing and murdering 142 boys. He would confess to 221 murders, and to raping another 200+ children. And after all that, he was nearly released after serving just 22 years in prison. For Merch and everything else Bad Magic related, head to: https://www.badmagicproductions.com...

Mar 14, 20251 hr 3 min

445 - Anders Breivik & the 2011 Neo-Nazi Norway Attacks

On July 22nd, 2011, Norwegian alt-right gamer Anders Behring Breivik carried out the deadliest attack on Norwegian soil since WW2, when he detonated a car bomb in Oslo and then snuck onto the nearby island of Utoya and opened fire on a large group of teenagers attending a political summer camp. Why did he do this? And how was no one able to stop him? Merch and more: www.badmagicproductions.com Timesuck Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v Want to join the Cult of the Curious PrivateFacebook Group...

Mar 10, 20253 hr 45 min

444 - Nelson Mandela: From Prisoner to President

How much do you know about Nelson Mandela and South Africa's brutal, racially oppressive system of apartheid? Mandela became the first black president of South Africa in 1994, just four years after serving 27 years in prison for demanding equal rights for the black citizens of the predominantly black nation of South Africa. Mandela would do so much to help dismantle the South African system of apartheid that led to his incarceration, and we'll learn about how apartheid worked, who Nelson Mandela...

Mar 03, 20252 hr 26 min

Short Suck #28 - The Pirate Queen

Ching Shih, born as Shi Yang, was quite possibly the most powerful pirate of all time. While famous UK pirates like Blackbeard, Black Bart, Calico Jack, Sir Francis Drake, or Captain Kidd get much more name recognition, none of them ever commanded a confederation of pirates up to 80,000 men strong, with around 2,000 ships. Learn some of the history you never learned in school, today, on Timesuck. For Merch and everything else Bad Magic related, head to: https://www.badmagicproductions.com...

Feb 28, 202550 min

443 - The Long Island Serial Killer

On November 20th, 1993, the sexually violated and mutilated corpse of a young woman is found on Long Island, New York. The first of over ten bodies found in the coming decades of young, petite, sex workers, whose murders will later be attributed to "The Long Island Serial Killer." But no suspect will be arrested until July of 2023. Why did it take law enforcement three decades to find this guy, how did they find him, and who is he? All this and more on this week's true crime deep dive. Merch and...

Feb 24, 20253 hr 49 min

442 - Ganas: Intentional Community? Or Cult?

Ganas is an intentional community founded in 1979 in Tompkinsville, Staten Island that is still active. Is it also a cult? What is an "intentional community" And why was one of the founding members, Jeff Gross, shot and nearly killed (allegedly) by a disgruntled, former member, in 2006? Visit CrimeWaveatSea.com/SCARED to claim your fan code in order to register and join us November 3rd-7th, 2025!!! Merch and more: www.badmagicproductions.com Timesuck Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v Want to j...

Feb 17, 20253 hr 45 min

Short Suck #27 - The History of Castration

Happy Valentine's Day! Let's talk about love. Kind of. But not really. Not all actually. Let's instead, talk about how and why we humans have castrated each other and ourselves throughout human history. This one's not for the squeamish. But, I also can't remember laughing this often in any other recent episode! For Merch and everything else Bad Magic related, head to: https://www.badmagicproductions.com

Feb 14, 202546 min

441 - Never Surrender! The WW2 Soldier Who Kept Fighting Until 1974

Have you heard of Hiroo Onoda? The Japanese 2nd Lieutenant was sent to the island of Lubang in The Philippines at the end of 1944. And he kept fighting for Imperial Japan for the next 28+ years, hiding out in the jungle, occasionally running raids on local villagers, shooting and killing random people he thought were enemy combatants, and refusing to believe that the war had ended back in 1945. Visit CrimeWaveatSea.com/SCARED to claim your fan code in order to register and join us November 3rd-7...

Feb 10, 20253 hr 43 min

440 - The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann

On the night of May 3rd, 2007, three year-old British girl Madeleine vanished from her bed in her parents villa at a Portuguese vacation resort. What follows will be what The Daily Telegraph will describe as "the most heavily reported missing-person case in modern history." Listen to find out why. Visit CrimeWaveatSea.com/SCARED to claim your fan code in order to register and join us November 3rd-7th, 2025!!! Merch and more: www.badmagicproductions.com Timesuck Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89...

Feb 03, 20253 hr 30 min

439 - Bill Cosby.... America's Dad?

Comedian, actor, author, and producer Bill Cosby... affectionately nicknamed as "America's Dad" for his portrayal of Dr. Cliff Huxtable on the hit, iconic sitcom, The Cosby Show, has now been accused by over sixty women of rape, drug-facilitated sexual assault, sexual battery, child sexual abuse, and/or sexual harassment. The assaults allegedly began in the mid-1960s, but never got much publicity until 2014. Why? Merch and more: www.badmagicproductions.com Timesuck Discord! https://discord.gg/tq...

Jan 27, 20253 hr

Short Suck #26 - Castaway! Stranded on an Island...

Can you imagine being stranded for years on a remote uninhabited island with almost nothing but a few simple tools and the clothes on your back? Some people haven't had to imagine this scenario, like Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe, and Fernão Lopes, who would actually live alone for a total of several decades on the remote Atlantic island of St. Helena. Could you survive like they did? For Merch and everything else Bad Magic related, head to: https://www.badmagicproductio...

Jan 24, 202552 min

438 - The Octopus Murders & Conspiracy

Was aspiring investigative journalist Danny Casolaro murdered in his Sheraton hotel room in Martinsburg, West Virginia on August 10th, 1991 because he was very close to exposing a conspiracy involving CIA, DOJ, and Whitehouse players involved in numerous murderous, illegal arms deals, espionage and more as truth? Are there shadowy power players in the highest ranking levels of government who won't hesitate to have anyone who threatens to expose their nefarious wheelings and dealings killed? Merc...

Jan 20, 20253 hr 37 min

437 - The Yorkshire Ripper

Peter Sutcliffe, dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper in the press, attacked woman after woman with a hammer and a knife (and sometimes also a screwdriver), primarily in West Yorkshire, England, from 1969 to 1980. Murdering 13 women between 1975 and 1980, he left many other women alive but badly battered and traumatized. The search to find one of England's most heinous serial killers became the largest manhunt in British history. And I share the whole crazy story today. Merch and more: www.badmagicproduc...

Jan 13, 20252 hr 29 min

Short Suck #25 - Prison Breaks!

A look at how we humans have chosen to incarcerate those who break the rules and how certain rule breakers have busted out of incarceration over the years. Life rafts, helicopters, sexing up prison employees and more! For Merch and everything else Bad Magic related, head to: https://www.badmagicproductions.com

Jan 10, 202559 min

436 - The History of Sh*t (Literally)

Do you ever think about where your poo goes once you flush it down the toilet? Or about how not having access to toilets... or the sewer systems beneath them... would dramatically (and negatively) impact your life? Today, we cover the history of how we humans have dealt with our (literal) shit. Another reminder of how life in the present is so, so, SO much better than life in the past. Merch and more: www.badmagicproductions.com Timesuck Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v Want to join the Cult ...

Jan 06, 20253 hr 43 min

435 - Dolly Parton: WWDD?

Time for some year end inspiration from the incomparable Dolly Parton! A true living legend. If all you think about when you think of Dolly is big hair, bigger boobs, and some catchy songs, I hope you give this one a listen. She is so much more than that. A truly incredible, inspiring soul who has built an incredible life on a foundation of generosity, kindness, and her faith. Merch and more: www.badmagicproductions.com Timesuck Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v Want to join the Cult of the Cu...

Dec 30, 20243 hr 35 min

Short Suck #24 - The Improbable Survival of Phineas Gage

On September 13th, 1848, a dynamite blast rocketed a 43-inch long, 13-pound iron bar completely through the skull of 25-year-old railway worker Phineas Gage. It landed some eighty feet away, covered in Phineas' blood and brains. And after a few minutes, Phineas got up, started talking, walked over to an oxcart, rode it to the hotel where he was staying, sat on the porch and waited to speak with a doctor. Not long after the doctor arrived, he vomited and more of his brain fell out of his head. An...

Dec 27, 202450 min

434 - Shelby Hewitt: The 32-Year-Old 7th Grader

Have you heard about the recent case of Shelby Hewitt? The 32 year-old Massachusetts Social Worker enrolled in two different Boston area public high schools as a sixteen year-old sophomore, and then later enrolled in another Boston area school as a 7th grader, spending nearly a year as a fake teen student before her real identity was uncovered. How??? And more importantly... why??? Merch and more: www.badmagicproductions.com Timesuck Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v Want to join the Cult of t...

Dec 23, 20242 hr 55 min

433 - The Vatican Girl Disappearance

On June 22nd, 1983, 15-year-old Emanuela Orlandi disappeared after attending a music lesson in Rome. Following her disappearance, a mystery surrounding it has deepened for over four decades, involving the KGB trying to assassinate the Pope, an allegation of a satanic sex cults within the Vatican, Catholic prophecies in Portugal, anti-communist revolts in Poland, the Holy See being involved in money laundering, and Italian mob bosses being in cahoots with top Vatican officials. Merch and more: ww...

Dec 16, 20242 hr 29 min

Short Suck #23 - The Weird But True Dancing Plague of 1518

What a tale I have for you today! In 1518, a very peculiar form of madness fell over the people of the city of Strasbourg (modern day France) in the Holy Roman Empire. People started... dancing. A lot of people. As in hundreds. And out in public in full view of anyone who wanted to watch! And many of them only stopped when they died. They literally danced themselves to death. What happened and why??? For Merch and everything else Bad Magic related, head to: https://www.badmagicproductions.com...

Dec 13, 202453 min

432 - Gerald Stano: Florida's Forgotten Monster

Have you ever heard of serial killer Gerald Stano? For years, he sat on death row in Florida, just a few cells down from Ted Bundy. He's also believed my most sources to have killed more girls and young women than Bundy did. So why is this monster, whose first six months of his life were so brutal he was deemed "unadoptable" by the government agency that removed him from his mother's care, almost entirely unknown in the world of true crime? Merch and more: www.badmagicproductions.com Timesuck Di...

Dec 09, 20242 hr 24 min

431 - 400+ Dead in the Forest: The Malindi Doomsday Cult

We take a look at the recent, tragic final act of a doomsday cult in Kenya that left 448 dead and another 613 missing in March of 2023. How did cult leader Paul Mackenzie, pastor of Good News International Ministries, convince his followers to starve their own children and then themselves to death? And how did the Pentecostalism he based his messages in contribute to his insane and deadly teachings? Merch and more: www.badmagicproductions.com Timesuck Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v Want to ...

Dec 02, 20243 hr 38 min

430 - Sigmund Freud: The Sex Crazed Father of Psychoanalysis

Does not having a penis make you feel inferior due to a bad case of penis envy? Do you or have you ever wanted to have sex with your mother? Or your father? When most people think of Freud they think of his more extreme notions and theories, stuff like his Oedipus and Electra complexes. But he also really helped us understand our unconscious mind and how it interacts with our conscious mind. How the id, ego, and superego shape our personalities and desires. A fascinating blend of important scien...

Nov 25, 20243 hr 52 min

Short Suck #22 - The Kentler Experiment: That One Time Germany Intentionally Hired Pedos To Be Foster Parents

Today I'm sharing a wild story that I'm surprised isn't much more known - that one time Germany intentionally hired known pedophiles to be the foster parents of unsuspecting little boys, thinking that these fosters parents would care more for the boys since they were more invested in them.... because they were having sex with them. Yep. This really happened. Recently. It began in the 1970s, and continued throughout the 1990s. How??? For Merch and everything else Bad Magic related, head to: https...

Nov 22, 202459 min

429 - Serial Killer Aileen Wuornos: Damsel of Death

The true story behind the incredible 2003 film, Monster, about sex worker and serial killer, Aileen Wuornos, who killed seven men over the course of one year beginning in November of 1989. Aileen's story is incredibly unique, the exceptionally rare female serial killer who murdered the men who paid her for sex, instead of the other way around. If you are able to give extra support this holiday season, please consider supporting the annual Bad Magic Giving Tree by purchasing a digital amazon gift...

Nov 18, 20242 hr 25 min

428 - Andrew Higgins: D-Day's Secret War Hero

Happy Veteran's Day! On D-Day, June 6th, 1944, over 150,000 Allied troops stormed Nazi-defended beaches in northern France in the largest military amphibious assault operation the world had ever seen. D-Day led directly to Allied forces pushing the Nazis back into Germany and winning the war. And D-Day would have never worked without the troop and supply transport boats designed by a colorful boat builder in New Orleans named Andrew Higgins. If you are able to give extra support this holiday sea...

Nov 11, 20243 hr 41 min