The Weirdest Thing

"Great Story! -- Our 100th Episode"

HELLO, boils and ghouls! We made it to 100 episodes! And in celebration, we've got yet another WEEEIRD story for you this week! Your GhouLunatic host Scotty takes his partner Amelia deep into the rat-infested catacombs of 1950s horror comics, where rotting corpses rise from the grave and the putrid stench of pearl-clutching U.S. Senators threatens to bring down an entire industry of writers, artists, and misfit FREAKS!

Would you like us to stick around for another 100 episodes? Well, kiddies...be careful what you AX for...HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

"The Hipster Effect."

This week Amelia talks about the concept of generations--from Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway's storied "Lost Generation," all the way up through today's "Zoomers" and Generation Alpha. And she and Scotty use irrefutable science and logic to determine which of the previous century's many generations is, in fact, the best (spoiler alert: it's obviously Generation X).

"Ramon Raquello and His Orchestra..."

Don't adjust that dial (actually do, because Scotty kind of screwed up the level on his audio track )...this week's episode is about an alien invasion. Or so Orson Welles would have you believe. That's right; Scotty is bringing you the story of Mercury Theatre on the Air's infamous 1938 broadcast of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds," the "panic" it created, the headlines it generated, and he finally answers the eternal question: was Welles a total genius, a massive douchebag, or maybe both at the same time?

WARNING: Scotty really did kind of mess up his audio track. It's not terrible, but his voice is a teensy bit distorted. So maybe don't turn your headphones up to 11.

"Booze terrorism."

In the first episode of our new one-story-a-week format, Amelia takes us on an exploration of Tiki culture--from its well-meaning (if questionable) origins to its more dubious evolution over time. And she poses the ever-important question: is it possible to responsibly Tiki in this day and age?

"F.T.S.O.D."

Break out your popcorn buckets, because Scotty and Amelia are going back to the movies this week with a special Oscars episode. They start off with some strong opinions about two of this year's big Best Picture contenders: Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon" and Cord Jefferson's "American Fiction." They follow that up with some, er, maybe less strong opinions about Alexander Payne's "The Holdovers" and Celine Song's "Past Lives." They close out with a few thoughts on "Godzilla Minus One" and "Saltburn," two films that got some serious Oscar buzz but came up short on nominations.

SPOILER WARNING: There are moderate spoilers in this episode, particularly for "Killers of the Flower Moon" and "Saltburn."

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"A threat to the patriarchy."

This week Scotty reviews a pair of documentaries about two seminal bands who coincidentally share the same morbid name, while Amelia relates the story of the inspiring life and work--and the infuriating death--of Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta. They conclude with some more Oscar talk; Scotty finally shares his thoughts on "Barbie" and talks about "The Zone of Interest," while they both rave about "Society of the Snow."

CONTENT WARNING: Amelia's story discusses sexual assault, violence against women, murder, and suicide.

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"Germanism and gloom..."

Happy 2024, everyone! For our first show of the new year, we have a couple wildly different stories for you. Amelia tells the tale of how one guy stole an idea and turned it into one of the biggest fast-food chains in the world. Meanwhile, Scotty details the sad life and strange death of Edgar Allan Poe. Since we're coming into Awards Season, we also spend a few minutes at the beginning talking about the movies "Oppenheimer" and "The Iron Claw."

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"Sushi on the bagels."

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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"All the coyotes..." (with Shannon C.F. Rogers)

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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"If it's for science, it's fine..."

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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