While Scotty was away exploring the Liminal Space Hotel at StokerCon this week, Amelia invited friend (and returning guest host) Elizabeth Dwyer onto The Weirdest Thing to talk about queering the rom-com canon. They discuss which literary and film classics could handle queer remakes, the importance of telling marginalized stories that de-center trauma, and ponder who the Queer Meg Ryan (Queen of Rom-Coms) will be!

They also discussed which queer or queer-coded characters they became aware of first, how problematic rom-coms can be in general, and how the rom-com genre really needs diversification across the board.

Scotty starts off this Pocket Size episode with a quick recap of his experience at 2025's StokerCon in Stamford, Connecticut...and truly the strangest hotel he's ever stayed at. Amelia and Scotty then move into a spirited discussion of their favorite breakfast foods--from the various forms that Eggs Benedict can take, to which kind of bagel serves as the best platform for a bagel and lox, to which restaurant makes the best carne adovada in Albuquerque, and more.

WARNING: We suggest you not listen to this episode when you're hungry, or if you don't want to hear your hosts gagging about runny eggs.

It may not be spooky season, but it is SWELTERING season...so Amelia's here to tell Scotty and the listeners all about the history of our favorite hot-weather drink: iced coffee. From its origins in the North African desert to its unique place in culture and its current dominance of the worldwide beverage market, there's much more to this unassuming steeped conconction than meets the eye.

On this week's Pocket Size episode, Scotty and Amelia discuss four of their all-time favorite heist movies: "Point Break" (1991), "Inside Man" (2006), "Reservoir Dogs" (1992), and "Sneakers" (1992). Anyone notice the Gen-X Baby theme going on?

WARNING: Massive spoilers for ALL of these films. If you haven't seen them already, what're you doing here?

In a rare book-related episode, Scotty and Amelia discuss the brand-new horror novel "Come Knocking" by Mike Bockoven, which--similar to the author's previous book "FantasticLand" (2018)--purports to be the journalistic account of a live performance-turned-"Lord of the Flies"-style massacre. Structured as a series of interviews with those involved, Bockoven's novel explores issues of toxic fandom, exploitation of actors, dark Internet subcultures, and more. Scotty and Amelia do a deep dive into the book, and Amelia gives her own perspective as a theatre artist involved in interactive performance.

WARNING: This episode goes into spoilers. If you haven't read "Come Knocking" yet, you might want to come back to this one later.

For better or worse, as younger Gen Xers Scotty and Amelia came of age with the advent of reality television. So for this week's Pocket Size episode, they take on three of their favorite reality shows.

Scotty starts with the one that created the template by talking about those first three groundbreaking seasons of "The Real World," from 1992-1994...and then laments what could have been if the show had stayed on that track. Then Scotty and Amelia both wax poetic about "Top Chef," the haute cuisine of reality competition shows. Finally, Amelia talks about the sometimes rowdy, often bawdy, and downright important "RuPaul's Drag Race."

SURPRISE! In a follow-up to the last episode, where Scotty and Amelia discussed the brand-new horror novel "Come Knocking," author Mike Bockoven decided to crash the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about the book, his previous hit "FantasticLand" (2018), his work as a journalist, writing, horror, theatre, the Internet, fan culture, and more!

WARNING: This episode contains moderate spoilers for both "Come Knocking" and "FantasticLand."

We lost a few real ones recently, including Chuck Mangione and Malcolm Jamal Warner. But Scotty and Amelia are gathering aboard the Crazy Train this week to pay tribute to the metal god himself, Ozzy Osbourne. They discuss his legacy both as a singer and as a man, and consider the triumph of his final concert mere weeks ago with Black Sabbath. No more tears, listeners! It's the Prince of F*cking Darkness!

While Scotty continues to maintain that David Simon's "The Wire" (2002-2008) is the greatest television show of all-time, NBC's under-seen but critically acclaimed "Homicide: Life on the Street" -- which ran from 1993 to 1999 and was based on Simon's 1991 nonfiction book "Homicide: A Year On the Killing Streets" -- is often seen is its spiritual predecessor. And, like "The Wire" after it, "Homicide" often took its gripping TV narratives from real-life.

One such fact-based storyline is that of season one's "Calpurnia Church," who was based on Baltimore's "Black Widow," Geraldine Parrish. On this week's episode, Scotty tells Amelia (and the listeners) the wild and dark tale of Parrish, and explains how bigotry and institutional incompetence in the police may have allowed a genuine monster to run amok for years in West Baltimore.

A jetpack pilot going splat. A naked German guy going...well, splat. An epic (and low-rent) prank involving a drone and a Halloween decoration. One of the greatest (faux) movie trailers ever. Here are just a few of Scotty and Amelia's favorite viral Internet videos of all time.