Loose Units: The Podcast

Is it safe to eat - or snort - the ashes of a cremated loved one? Are John's antiques stories as thrilling as he suspects? AND ARE THOSE SIRENS OUTSIDE? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're going right back to the eighties. In the book Loose Units, Paul told fanciful, fantastical versions of John's adventures as a cop in North Sydney in the early 1980s. Now, he and John go chapter-by-chapter and break down the stories behind the stories. This week, why did John actually join the police force? Why didn't his family want him to enrol? And how the hell did he pass the entrance exa...

A listener sends in a truly incredible story which floors John and Paul. They also discuss whether creamtoriums have chimneys, if bodies get burnt with their clothes in, and what happens when you burn weed and are standing down-wind. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is it. The end of Loose Units: Dead Serious. What pushed John to leave the funeral industry? What was the straw that finally broke the camel’s back? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul and John take a look at the new Netflix true crime feature, American Murder: The Family Next Door . Warning: this episode contains SPOILERS. Also, it was recorded while Paul was moving house, so apologies for the audio quality! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A body, wrapped in plastic. An unjust set of laws. And trapped in the middle, an ex-cop and ex-firefighter struggling with a terrible decision. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John forgets that Paul almost drowned, the boys discover that Australian forensics experts are the reason the heist from National Treasure even exists, and a trapped demon escapes it's salty prison. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A mysterious box full of human remains. A grieving mother. A strange request... and a terrible moment for John, who realises he's going to have to do something truly questionable to salvage this situation. Find out the story behind one of the most tragic chapters from Electric Blue in this harrowing and honest episode of Loose Units. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John attends a seance, a folk band gets waterlogged at a funeral, and Paul tells John all about the legendary Inuit Sh*t Knife. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John begins to work with an embalmer who performs emergency surgery on a corpse with one of John's most prized possessions. But what will said embalmer use to settle a debt? And what does UNDEAD SEX DUNGEON allude to? All will become clear on this truly twisted episode of Loose Units: Dead Serious. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Icelandic witches, weird zombie rituals, and pants made from dead people. It’s a super-grisly Icelandic folklore edition of Loose Ends! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A cemetery the size of a suburb, a procession of a hundred cars following you, a dead body in the back, and wife of the departed running out of oxygen. What could possibly go wrong? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can you smother a person to death, then get water into their lungs to make it look like a drowning? And why on Earth would you WANT to? It's time for a violent, speculative and hilarious episode of Loose Ends! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A nervous, inept minister who has crossed paths with young John before nearly does something truly terrible. That’s right: the Anglican minster who flings holy water and rocks up at the Catholic masses to wreak havoc is back, and this time… there’s a body on the line. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John tells Paul about how to sort through a garbage bag full of pulverized dead person to find something you can actually fingerprint. It's time for a bloody, soupy, and very loose Father's Day episode of Loose Ends! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John walks Paul through his worst day as a funeral director. A dead child, a secret stash of holy water, and several staggering funeral mistakes add up to make this a truly unforgettable day for young John. TRIGGER WARNING: Deceased children, SIDS. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John and Paul revisit a tale involving Roger Rogerson, Sallie-Ann Huckstepp and penile rigor mortis. An accident on the Sydney Harbour Bridge leads to an unlikely meeting, and John's secret passion takes centre stage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Finally, John goes supernatural. From a mysterious stranger who appears under the Verhoeven's house, to a dead person spontaneously sitting upright and making a horrifying sound, this is the first time Loose Units has gone paranormal. Its about to get seriously spooky, folks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's launch week for Electric Blue, so John and Paul discuss the release and the impending Zoom launch party! John talks the qualifications needed to join forensics, but he also tells Paul about what is involved putting make-up on dead people (and shaving them, too). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To celebrate today's release of Electric Blue, Paul's new book based on John's real cases, John revisits a case which didn't make it into the book. A body has been found under deeply suspicious and odd circumstances, and John is sent in to figure out what happened. Strange fluid on the ceiling, sex toys everywhere, and something that just doesn't add up. All the various outlets selling Electric Bl...

What happens when John's Dad helps him carry a coffin at a potential mafia funeral? Can you cook popcorn inside a body being cremated? And what is the single strangest story from John's childhood, one which will haunt Paul FOREVER? It's time for Loose Ends! Also, get ready for the Electric Blue online launch party, 22nd of August! Tickets go on sale next week! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privac...

What does embalming involve? Making the dead look alive, and keeping them preserved, seems like a subtle art. But as John learned one very odd day at the funeral home, it was a lot stranger, more complex and more visceral than he'd ever have suspected. It's time for an in-depth look at embalming, people. Strap in. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Loose Ends, John ends up in court embroiled in an art forgery case. No, seriously. He and Paul also discuss whether you'll be ending up with other people mixed in with your ashes after cremations, and there's some pretty odd talk about elves. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sure, John is an emergency services jack-of-all-trades. But what happened the first time he was trusted to conduct a funeral? The wheels fell off, that's what. Paul pries from his Dad an embarrasing tale of funerary woe, and then he and John discuss National Missing Persons Week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when you scatter the wrong ashes? Do teddy bears get cremated with their owners? And what's it like to carry your Dad's ashes around with you? It's time for another episode of Loose Ends! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.