Weird World Podcast

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.