Get Shocked!

They say you are what you eat. In which case, some people are toxic pufferfish liver. Others are a turkey head sewn onto a pig's butt. Food is everything to us: life, culture, and community. For millennia we've put all kinds of things in our mouths, some of them deadly, some which seem - to modern eyes and ears - uh, questionable? Today, as we dig, Jolts & Zing ask: What celebrity fad diet did...

Victorians ate mummies. Let me say it again: Victorians. Ate Mummies. For Medicine. Many kept it around like aspirin. Today, as we dig up a long-buried secret from our past, Jolts & Zing ask: Which King not only took mummy ashes for his health, but patented his very own medicine including the substance? Which canonical painter(s) used a special pigment - dubbed 'Mummy Brown' - mixed with actua...

The gods give us life. And we must give them life in return. Specifically in the form of blood, tears, and hearts carved from willing donors. Ah, the circle of life. Nearly every ancient culture has their local version of the blood sacrifice to their gods. But the Aztecs created a ritual of passion, spectacle, and gore that goes unmatched. Today, as we cut to the heart of MesoAmerican Blood Sacrif...

Birds do it. Whales do it. Ancient Greeks in toga tails do it. Today, in our deep probe into the history of anal sex, Jolts and Zing learn How anal sex helps keep the peace Which non-human species have anal sex How public opinion (and law) on anal sex has shifted radically through time, and why! Grab you lube, unclench, and get ready to Get Shocked! Created, researched and performed by Daniel Berg...

One fateful day in 1943, Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann pulled out an old ergot compound he'd been ignoring for a decade, and accidentally got a drop of it on his hand. He soon experienced humanity's first ever Acid Trip. Over the next 20 years, scientists, governments and militaries experimented to learn just what Lysergic Acid Diethylamide could be used for. The results? Astoundingly positive for...

The world's wealthiest man. Bill Gates? Jeff Bezos? Elon Musk? No, no, and No. Mansa Musa, "King Moses," leader of the Malian Empire in the 14th Century. Net Worth: approx. $400billion in 2025 dollars. Under the watch of Mansa Musa, Timbuktu became the center of islamic learning and science. West Africa grew into an international trading force (supplying European nobles and elite with gold). Throu...

A little stocking stuffer for you Shockers - some outtakes from our recent episode on Vampires. We'll be back with our next full episode on January 16, 2025, diving into the story of the wealthiest man ever to live: Mansa Musa, King of 14th Century Mali!

Vampires suck. And thank goodness they do. Complicated creatures full of flaws: no mirrors means bad hair days. Fangs make dentist visits tough. And they can’t eat stake. But today's vampires have plenty to love: immortality, shape shifting, badassery and power. More often than not, they’re totally sexy. Think snake-necklaced Salma Hayek. Long-locked, pastel-suited Gary Oldman. Kate Beckinsale cli...

Who’s got two swords and went from poor fisher woman to pirate Queen in less than a decade? Today, Zing ‘N’ Jolts set sail for the early 1800s to track the facts on a woman who truly defied the patriarchal society of her birth. For young girls growing up in a poor fish village, there were two options: stay where you are, or sex work as a means of upward mobility (err…horizontal mobility?). Today’s...

Jolts and Zing dive into the life, loves, and art of the iconic Frida Kahlo (1907 – 1954) . The renowned Mexican painter, celebrated for her feminism, indigenous fashion, and relentlessly personal artistic vision, has become ubiquitous in pop culture. But beyond the headlines of her work and chronic pain, lie incredible – and startling – details. Today: Frida Kahlo. Let’s Get Shocked. Warnings : S...

"I eat, therefore I poop." - Renee Descartes (mistranslated by Daniel Berger-Jones. Poop. Caca. Dookie. For most of us, it's an everyday activity. But how much do we really know about it? What did people do before toilet paper? Before toilets? Why does it look and smell and, gulp, sound like that? Who realized we shouldn't keep it all around us, and how did people find ways to move it? And: What d...

Introducing GET SHOCKED , launching Thursday , October 31 . Co-hosts Daniel Berger-Jones and John J King quiz each other on the stories of people and events we all sort of know, but barely, and inaccurately. Every wrong answer receives an increasingly high-voltage electric shock. The facts will stun you. Season 1 launches on Thursday, October 31, with The History of Poop: Manure to Sewer. Check ou...