Weird World Podcast

What's the best date for a new couple? Dinner and a movie? A concert? A rave? Maybe something cultural like a museum? Or perhaps a steep climb up a rugged Alpine mountain. In Winter. At night? And, it turns out, your date is kind of an a-hole.

In our first Weird World Weird New Weird Bit (WWWNWB, rolls off the tongue), we report on the recently released UFO files. Some puzzled astronauts, some grainy pictures, and some pretty odd red hot orbs highlight the declassified files. Let's explore.

What if it wasn't just RFK, Jr. driving away the best scientists in America? What if someone was abducting or killing the nation's best brains? The leading researchers on nuclear power, space technology and, let's say, plasma physics? Well maybe someone is.

Part 2 of the Zodiac case focuses on the the potential additional victims of the killer that may have gone unnoticed. But Zodiac is probably most famous as the serial killer who was  never caught. Or was he? Let's discuss.

America’s most famous monster cemented his status as much with his attention-seeking toying with press and police as he did with his demented deeds. In part 1, we explore both Zodiac’s actions and his incessant calls to be noticed.

Was there a Zodiac murder before we knew the name? The method was similar, the victim, and then the boasting letters to the police and papers. But this was years before Zodiac claimed his first victims… That we know of.

Content Warning: There is talk of suicide, sexual assault, coercion and manipulation. Please skip this episode if you need to.Maybe he had done a stretch in prison, but Talia's Dad Larry was still awesome. And maybe it was weird when he started crashing in her dorm. Her roommates loved him. And maybe some people misunderstood those strange things he was asking your roommates to do - Oh, wait. This is Larry Ray's story, and if Billy Zane plays you in a movie, you know you have made some bad decisions. 

The two boys who had seen the UFO crash in the New Mexico months before Roswell waited until they were old men to tell their story. They had dates and names and even a piece of the alien craft made from this exotic, unearthly metal called "aluminum." But at least their story was consistent--  Oh, wait...

Most folks date the modern UFO era from 1947. Kenneth Arnold saw those skipping saucers in Washington and Roswell became extraterrestrial crash landing central. But what if an alien craft smashed into the New Mexican desert two years before Roswell? And what if it was right after, and right next to, the first atomic explosion?

In 2019, a niche website focused on e-commerce made a passing reference to some minor legal trouble the head of eBay was in. Months of surveillance, harrassment, and death threats later, and the world knew not to mess with eBay. This is not so much of David vs. Goliath story. This is more the story of Goliath jumping David in a dark alley and David left wondering what the hell he did to piss off Goliath.

The money pit seems a perfectly devised trap - dig tantalizingly close to the treasure and the sea fills it yet again, wrecking your  dreams. We end the Oak Island story with a deep dive into its history and if the money pit was devised by man or God.

Chalino Sanchez had left behind a dangerous life in Sinaloa and by the early 1990s had become a narcocorrido singing star in the U.S. He had killed, had been shot, and sang of the exploits of the cartels. In May 1992 he returned to Sinaloa for a tour. Halfway thru his performance at a sold out club in the state capital he received a note from a fan. Chalino's face went white...

What is at the bottom of the Oak Island Money Pit? We have theories. So many theories. Buried priate treasure. Loot from a French pay ship (which is a thing). Marie Antoinette's smuggled jewels. Knights Templar treasure, also smuggled. Rosicrucian stuff, something to do with Shakespeare. Or something more mundane?

Among get rich fantasies, finding buried treasure is harder than inheriting from a forgotten uncle, but way more fun. Oak Island has been enticing and frustrating treasure hunters for over 200 years with its impossibly well-protected money pit. In the first of a three-parter, we start with Oak Island's fascinating origin story.

40 miles outside of Idaho Falls, a skeleton crew run a micro nuclear power plant. They are poorly trained with little experience. One mundane task is to handle fuel rods that could explode if moved a few inches too far. And one of those workers has been drinking too much... 

From AI Jesus to AI fakery to insanely irresponsible AI-fueled kid's toys to an AI end of the world, we explore some recent AI headlines that point the way to a scarier future.

The U.S. Navy went all out looking for Amelia Earhart or her plane but never found a shred. Since then, many have searched and some have claimed to have spotted the remains of the lost aircraft if not even of Amelia herself. What happened? Did they find temporary solace on a tiny isle? Were they captured by the Japanese? Was it a planned disappearance? Or did they simply run out of fuel and ditch the little Lockheed Electra into one fo the loneliest places on the planet?

Amelia Earhart set out to be a pioneer and she was. She flew fearlessly, broke records, and even found time for forward-looking fashion. When she set out to be the first woman to circumnavigate the world, she knew the second to last leg landing on tiny Howland Is. in the vast Pacific would be the most dangerous. It was. Part 1 of 2.

At nearly 7 square miles, Griffith Park is an urban wilderness in the heart of Los Angeles. The land was a gift from Col. Griffith J. Griffith. That was very generous. He was less generous to his wife Tina seven years later when he… Well, you'll see.

Nikola Tesla was an acknowledged genius. He had countless patents for a huge variety of inventions – the first remote control, the Tesla Coil, alternating current, and best of all he had nothing to do with the Cybertruck. So is he said he had invented a death ray, you would have to believe him. Or would you?

If you're walking home through a dark forest in West Africa and hear a cry like that of a strangled man, you'd better run. The Kikiyaon is about to swoop down on you with its razor talons and sharp shoulder spurs. Part giant owl, part human, the Kikiyaon is a cryptid to be feared.

You can't avoid political news these days, though you would probably like to. We promise these stories are more likely to say "WTF?" than WTF!"

Instellar comet / alien craft possibly coming for us 3I Atlas passed out from behind the sun settled all of our questions. It is, we can say for sure now, either a comet or an alien spacecraft probably bent on our destruction.

31 Atlas is only the third interstellar object tracked into our solar system, a strange visitor from very, very far away. And while most scientists believe it to be a comet, there are enough questions to cause some folks to wonder if it is something … unnatural?

More classic creepypasta with tales of insomniac Russains, a disappearing town in Kansas, a wikipedia-obsessed figure skater, a mysterious puppet show, an overly animated amusement park dog, and the tragedy of a closed door.

Creepypastas - those spooky and terrifying stories that have the run of the internet - have become an art form. Here we share the best of the best, the most iconic and creepiest of creepypastas. In Part 1, we hear about a battle-scarred killer, a terrifyingly slender man, a killer proud of his masterpiece, and an eeriely calm woman with a kitten in her mouth.

If you're driving through the moors of Dartmoor keep a tight grip on the wheel. And if your car suddenly careens off the road, look down at the wheel and you just might see a pair of ghostly, and very hairy, hands atop your own. They mean you harm.

For one night in 1987, the Stocksbridge Bypass in Yorkshire was alive with spectral activity. Ghost children dancing, a ghost monk terrorizing constables, a police car battered by something unseen. What was the cause of this horror and will it return?

What's crawling between the walls of your old apartment building? Roaches? Rats? The cast of "Only Murders in the Building"? Ruthie May McCoy found out in the worse way that it could be something so much worse.

Forests are spooky. That is just a straight up fact. Here are three stories from those spooky places: North Carolina's Devil's Tramping Ground where nothing grows but fear; the Scottish highlands where you stop into a haunted bothy at your own risk; and the infamous tale of a frighteningly tenacious forest stalker who just wanted to know how to get to Bells Canyon.

Welcome to a new season of Hallow Weird World! We start with a spooky story about a town in Connecticut that has suffered from madness, disappearances, unexplained deaths, and strange dark figures in the forest for centuries. Welcome to Dudleytown.

CONTENT WARNING: Gun violence, murder, including of childrenThe young survivors of the massacre began to remember bits and pieces, but memories are tricky things and the hints and flashes lead no where solid. With the case still unsolved, we dissect the likeliest scenarios for what happened on that horrific day.

CONTENT WARNING: Gun violence, including harm to childrenWhile the French focus on Saad al-Hilli's brother fighting as the murder, the English believe the acutal target was the cyclist Molliere. The investigation cycles through one suspect after another - a serial killer, a gun nut, a former French Foreign Leggionairre - but one of the seem to fit. Then they find the mystery motorcyclist dressed in black...

CONTENT WARNING: for violence and murder, including children victimsThe al-Hillis were a respectable English family yon a caravan vacation to France’s Lake Annecy near the border with Switzerland. They stop at a turnout for a nice family stroll in the forest. But when a cyclist stops at the same clearing moments later, he realizes he has stumbled onto an atrocity.

Arkansas has given us Walmart, free diamonds, the Clintons and the gowrow. You might not know about that last one, but it was said to be a bloodthirsty giant lizard-like, dinosauric beast that left its cave at night to terrorize the countryside. Then some brave Arkansans decided to chase the monster into its lair and rid the world of the gorow forever. Or did they?

Politicians are usually such dicks, we all know that, but sometimes they can be fun. They can prank and kid and mock with the best of them. From JFK to Abe Lincoln to the Oregon legislature, let's have some fun with politicians.

CONTENT WARNING for mention of suicide and sexual abuse of women and minors.We've all heard of the "Epstein Files," but who was really attending his parties, what went on, and who had the most to lose? And who really put that bedsheet around his neck?

CONTENT WARNING: Talk of suicide, sexual abuse including of minorsAfter his sweetheart deal, Jeffrey Epstein enjoyed a decade of freedom before he found the FBI was waiting for his private plane.  Just over a month later, though, Epstein was found dead in his cell at a highly secure facility. On a night when Epstein was alone in his two-person cell, the guards fell asleep, and the security video had a mysterious gap. Hm.

Howick Falls in South Africa is breathtaking - crashing 310 feet over a cliff along the Umgeni River. But don't get too close because the Inkanyamba lives there, and it is a testy beast. With the body of a snake, a head like a horse, and the ability to cause thunderous storms and kill with a look, the creature is best left alone.

CONTENT WARNING - Sexual assault and abuse of women and minorsThe hallway approaching Jeffrey Epstein prison cell was videotaped and closely guarded, yet somehow he was able to tie a bedsheet to his bunkbed and hang himself. Allegedly. In part 1, we trace the rise of Epstein, from prep school teacher to financier to pedophile pimp to the rich and famous.

CONTENT WARNING for gun violence and harm to a childWhen a nice normal English family takes a camping trip through the south of France, they aren't usually murdered on the roadside. Unless maybe the father was a spy. When an old farmer was convicted of the crime, French president Charles De Gualle thought the case mysterious enough to free him after on a few years in prison.

CONTENT WARNING - There is discussion of mental illness, some domestic violence and suicide in this episodeAI is revolutionizing everything, at least if you listen to the people who believe that AI is revolutionizing everything. But when a NYC accountant asked AI to tell him about "simulation theory," the revolutionary technology sent him down a horrific rabbit hole he never fully dug out of. Welcome to the world of AI Psychosis.

In the second of a two-parter we try to set the record straight on Frankenstein's monster, zombies, ghosts, and witches.

Velvet Sundown is blowing up on Spotify. Billboard Magazine said they "sound like the memory of something you never lived, and somehow make it feel real." Timbaland find Ta-Ta is another rising star. But maybe you should give us a listen hear before you decide if you want to give these exciting artists a listen there.

We're not saying monsters are real, but we're not saying they're not. But do we get monsters right? In part 1, we take a look at how modern storytelling has reshaped vampires and werewolves from their "true" selves.

We are all over the place with this Weird News episode, from Area 51 to the nuke dogs of Chernobyl to the Gateway to Hell to the pitfalls of relying on tech to solve your problems. 

Turns out Joe Biden was "executed" in 2020 and all this time he has been a clone pretending to be Joe Biden. Or a robot. Or a "soulless entity." Maybe even a demon because his eyes are black. Who knew? Thankfully there are people out there willing to tell the truth, including one who lives in Washington, DC.

Aimee is flying high, her Echo Park megachurch filled every Sunday when suddenly she disappears while swimming in the ocean. It is a sensation. Weeks later she shows up bedraggled at a small Mexican border town with a remarkable tale to tell. But what really happened to Aimee while the police and press frantically searched for her?

When James Kennedy murdered his first-wife (allegedly, by Deanonly) he replaced her with his 14-year-old nanny. They had a daughter they named Aimee. Aimee got religion early and preached fire and brimstone to her dolls, as you do. She soon shed farm life and a Mr. McPherson to found the world's first megachurch in the heart of Los Angeles decadence. Then she disappeared.

Katie got it first, a weird tick with her chin she couldn’t explain or control. Then Laurie, then Chelsea, then five more, then ten more. An epidemic of strange behavior hit the kids of Leroy Junior Senior High School. The case became a national cause celebre even more baffling than the name of their school.