Deep Cuts

A cult started by a blind Japanese man went on to become a deadly terrorist organization. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Shoko Asahara was rising in the ranks as one of the most powerful cult leaders in history. He had over ten thousand followers, and slowly over the course of several years would launch several deadly terrorist attacks against the country of Japan - a few of which are the wors...

12 years ago she lost control of her life. Is it for mental health reasons, or something far more evil? In 2008, after a very public mental health scare in which pop star Britney Spears shaved her head and had several violent outbursts, her father, Jamie Spears, was granted a permanent conservatorship over her. Conservatorships are usually reserved for the mentally unwell or handicapped, or the ol...

They were three young girls held prisoner by their father and forced to become a rock band because of a prophecy. They ended up becoming a huge cult hit, beloved by many - including Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain who lists their album as his third favorite of all time - and one of the most influential indie bands of all time. They were musical geniuses in the category of "outsider music." They also...

Actor Jared Leto has slowly been growing a cult-like following for the last several years. What's his endgame? You know him from his films throughout the 90s, 2000s, leading up to today, as well as from his band 30 Seconds to Mars. Did you also know that, for the last several years, he's invited thousands of people to a large gathering that happens on a remote Island in some exotic area of the wor...

He's the brother that director Christopher Nolan doesn't want to talk about. Because he's a murderer. You are familiar with the massively successful British filmmaker, Christopher Nolan, who has directed films like the Dark Knight, Inception, the Prestige, and the Tenet. You might also be familiar with his brother, Jonah Nolan, who co-created HBO's Westworld. But did you know that there's a third...

He was a one-hit wonder rocker who loved to party, but nobody noticed he was a complete hoax. In the late 90s/early 2000s, Andrew W.K. exploded out of nowhere with the anthemic, epic party anthem "Party Hard" complete with a stylish music video depicting him thrashing onstage in front of a giant mural of his bloodied face. After that, he became a novelty fringe element of pop culture - occasionall...

He was a real life costumed hero dedicated to stopping crime, but in the end his story was a supervillain origin. Phoenix Jones was a real life costumed superhero that operated out of Seattle, Washington for several years. Every night, seven days a week, he patrolled the streets of Seattle at night with his crew of fellow costumed heroes and a camera person. Anywhere he could find crime being comm...

He was the world's greatest private eye who was also a double amputee. He also lied about his entire life. In part 1 of our three-part "Kayfabe Trilogy", we explore the crazy life and astonishing lies of Jay J Armes - a man from El Paso, Texas who lost both of his hands in a horrible accident as a child, and went on to become a globe-trotting private detective responsible for solving thousands of...

He was a beloved comedian and linchpin of Hollywood Squares, but he was also a tortured soul with a tragic life. In the 70s, Paul Lynde enjoyed success as one of the most popular comedians of the time - notably with his role as Uncle Arthur on 'Bewitched' and as the center square on Hollywood Squares. However, what many of the time didn't know is that Lynde was dealing with deeply-routed demons fr...

He was the Stan Lee of Hong Kong comics, but his practices eventually landed him in prison. Throughout the 70s and 80s, Tony Wong produced hundreds of Hong Kong comics, or Manhua, based on his long-running franchise Little Rascals/Oriental Heroes. Despite the fact that it was an open secret that he was largely lying about how involved he was with the creation of his own comics - most of them clear...

The Mona Lisa was once a very ordinary painting, but one man made it the most famous one in the world. In 1911, a man with an inside connection stole the Mona Lisa from the Louvre by simply walking in and taking it. At the time, the Mona Lisa was regarded as a fairly insignificant minor work by the legendary artist, Leonardo DaVinci. However, all of that would change with the ensuing investigation...

A comic writer discovered the first superhero Stan Lee ever created. It was the greatest hoax in comics history. In 1999 it was discovered that Stan Lee had created a superhero character BEFORE the Fantastic Four - long-believed to be the first superhero comics characters he'd ever been a part of. His name was the Sentry, and he was co-created by an artist named Artie Rosen back in 1961 and then p...

These are the bizarre, inspiring, and sad stories of the scandals that rocked the James Bond franchise. George Lazenby was the second man to play James Bond after Sean Connery left. However, he had never acted before and tricked producers into casting him. Kevin McClory was a producer who managed to somehow win the rights to make his own bootleg James Bond movies in court. Both men left lasting ma...

Lonnie Johnson invented your childhood, but big business tried to steal all his money. Lonnie Johnson is an American inventor and engineer, and in the early 90s he invented and patented some of the most important aspects of any 90s kids' childhood. We would have had a lot of boring summer days without his contributions. However, after selling his inventions to big toy companies, he started noticin...

Andrew Getty spent 15 years making a horror movie, and it ended up killing him. Grandson of oil tycoon, J. Paul Getty, and cousin of John Paul Getty III, who was famously kidnapped and tortured as a 16-year-old boy in 1973, Andrew Getty became haunted by night terrors that were so vivid and horrifying that he decided the only way he could get rid of them was to channel all of his fear into a self-...

She was the greatest action star of the 80s you've never heard of. Her career should have been bigger. Cynthia Rothrock was a World Champion martial artist that transitioned into Hong Kong action films in the 80s despite being an American from Scranton, Pennsylvania. She went on to be in some of the most underrated action films of all time. Every heard of the 1985 film, "Yes, Madam!"? Well, it lau...

The most expensive film in Japanese History was an insane bootlegged Star Wars ripoff. In 1978, at the height of the global 'Star Wars' craze following the release of the first movie in George Lucas's legendary franchise, tons of knockoff Star Wars movies were produced to try and capitalize off of the space craze. However, there was only one of those movies that was notable for A: being directed b...

The creator of 'The Adventures of Tintin', Hergé, willingly worked for Nazis for years. He's one of the most beloved comic artists in history, deservedly so, but many fans don't want to discuss this dark aspect of his career. For years he produced his long-running comic, 'The Adventures of Tintin,' for Nazi-run magazines in German-occupied Belgium and even collaborated closely with Nazi-sympathize...

He made a movie about the Zodiac Killer to catch the real Zodiac Killer. It almost worked. In 1973, Tom Hanson wrote and directed the world's first movie about the Zodiac Killer - an infamous serial killer that terrorized Northern California for months, killing multiple victims. The movie was released mere months after the grisly killings. It was one of the most flagrant examples of exploitation c...

She claimed Hollywood stole 'The Matrix' and 'The Terminator' from her. Many still believe her. Sophia Stewart says that she wrote a book in the 80s that was the basis for both smash-hit movie franchises, 'The Matrix,' and 'The Terminator,' and that her ideas were unceremoniously stolen by The Wachowskis (directors of 'The Matrix) and James Cameron (director of 'The Terminator'). She also claims t...

The secret backstory behind 'The Hardy Boys' and 'Nancy Drew' is much darker than you ever imagined. These two beloved classic children's mystery novel series written by Franklin W. Dixon and Carolyn Keene that have entertained children and adults alike since the 1930s. Or are they? What if we told you that Franklin W. Dixon and Carolyn Keene never existed? And that Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and a s...

Hosts Dave Baker and Andrew Price walk you through the ins and outs of a particular topic in film, television and pop culture, no matter how strange or obscure. No matter how small a factoid seems to be, Dave and Andrew will explore its origin and maybe even correct some misconceptions on commonly held pop culture beliefs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices