Happy holiday season, everybody! We've got a couple wildly divergent stories for our final episode of 2023. Scotty talks about the strange--and disturbing--rise of Andrew Dice Clay, and how the comedian became trapped within the ugly confines of his own character. Amelia provides a refreshing glass of egg nog, however, with her discussion of the origins of some popular Christmas traditions. We also spend a few minutes at the end talking about our favorite Christmas songs.

CONTENT WARNING: Scotty's story deals with racism, misogyny, and homophobia, and features language the listeners may find objectionable.

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This week Scotty and Amelia welcome author/longtime friend Shannon C.F. Rogers onto the pod to discuss her new novel "I'd Rather Burn Than Bloom" (2023, Feiwel & Friends), named one of the "20 Best Books to Read in July" by Kirkus Reviews and one of "The Best New YA Books of July 2023" by Paste Magazine.

We also talk about fan fiction,"The Animorphs," grief, growing up in New Mexico, the teenage mind, "Breaking Bad," and more. And Shannon even brought the WEIRD with the story of a terrifying creature from Filipino folklore. This was a fun, wide-ranging conversation, and we hope you enjoy it!

You can find Shannon online at: https://www.shannoncfrogers.com https://www.instagram.com/shannon.cf.rogers/ https://twitter.com/shannoncfrogers

You can order your copy of "I'd Rather Burn Than Bloom" at: https://bookshop.org/p/books/i-d-rather-burn-than-bloom-shannon-c-f-rogers/18675104?ean=9781250845665

You can pre-order her next novel "Eighteen Roses" (July 2024) here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/eighteen-roses-shannon-c-f-rogers/20209385?ean=9781250845733

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We're closing out spooky season with a couple spooky-adjacent stories this week. Scotty talks about the bizarre and ultimately deadly story of the "Hammersmith Ghost," and Amelia takes us through the history of one of Disney's most popular rides: the Haunted Mansion.

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Spooky spooky! We're back with some more Halloween-month content for you. This week we dive into two movies, "When a Stranger Calls" (1979) and "I Know What You Did Last Summer" (1997). We talk about the urban legends that inspired them (the-call-is-coming-from-inside-the-house and the tale of the Hookman, respectively), along with their possible connections to true stories.

SPOILER WARNING: We don't hold anything back on either film, so might want to watch them before listening to this episode.

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We're leaning hard into spooky season this week. Amelia talks about the grisly origins of the infamous "The Girl with the Green Ribbon" story, while Scotty takes us through the making and ignominious release of the "cursed" horror movie "Incubus," the first film ever made in the constructed Esperanto language.

CONTENT WARNING: Our stories this week touch on murder, execution, and suicide.

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To really kick off the start of spooky season, we're easing in and going only lightly creepy this week with the histories of two murdery/eerie board games. Scotty kicks things off with the creation of the Ouija Board, and Amelia takes us back into the billiard room with a candlestick and the origin story of the game "Clue." We also spend a few moments at the beginning talking about the documentary series "Shiny Happy People," and we have a ton of fun at the end dream-casting our perfect "Clue" movie remake.

CONTENT WARNING: The "Shiny Happy People" discussion touches on misogyny and child abuse.

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In an interesting role reversal, Amelia is the one who goes super dark this week with her story about the enduring mystery of the "Atlanta Blood House." Meanwhile, Scotty takes us back to Seattle with the infamous "Lexicon of Grunge" hoax.

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This week Scotty talks about how a down-on-his-luck Detroit musician became a cultural icon on another continent without him even knowing about it, and Amelia explores the very strange and twisty tale of "Miranda Grosvenor," the "Sweet Talker to the Stars."

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Welcome to another episode that only makes sense in the land of The Weirdest Thing. This week Amelia talks about the history of some of our very favorite cocktails... which she'll need to combat the stress dreams caused by Scotty's story about the Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear weapon ever created. Mix yourself a drink and join us to watch the world burn!

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Scotty's got family in town this week, so Amelia brought in actor/screenwriter and longtime friend Elizabeth Dwyer to guest host. They talk about the movies "Striptease" (1996) and "Hustlers" (2019), and how the cinematic depiction of sex work has evolved over time. And is it true that all you youngs have decided you don't want sex scenes at all anymore, period? Amelia and Elizabeth have thoughts.

CONTENT WARNING: Lots of sex talk this week. If you've got kids in the car with you...earmuffs!

To order Shannon C.F. Rogers' acclaimed new YA novel "I'd Rather Burn Than Bloom," click the link: https://bookshop.org/p/books/i-d-rather-burn-than-bloom-shannon-c-f-rogers/18675104?ean=9781250845665

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.