Sofa King Podcast

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about one of the largest cults in Japan—the Happy Science Cult. Yes, that’s really their name. They were founded by Ryuho Okawa who was the key rival to the Aum Shinriko cult (who tried to kill Okawa with poison gas in his car). The Happies believe that Okawa is the embodiment of the god El Cantare who was born on Venus millions of yea...

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we explore one of the worst regimes in the West: the dictatorship of Papa Doc Duvalier. François Duvalier came to be the sadistic president for life of the island of Haiti, running the island through a regime of terror, voodoo, and secret police for 14 years. He had a murder squad called the Tontons Macoutes, named after a Haitian boogey man w...

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the career of the one and only Conan O’Brien. Conan went from utterly unknown to become one of the all-time greats of late night television. He had a major feud with Jay Leno (who screwed him out of his dream job), but nothing could dampen his impact on American comedy. From amazing remotes to unbelievable characters (I’m looking...

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we say a hearty “Live from New York…It’s Saturday Night.” That’s right. We talk all things Saturday Night Live. This American television institution has been responsible for discovering some of the most important comic voices over the past five decades. It has been a bastion for counter culture, political satire, musical discovery, and dicks i...

On this episode of The Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the ultimate case of forbidden love—the story of Mary Kay Letourneau. Letourneau was made (in)famous in the late 1990s when she had a love affair with a student of hers named Vili Fualaau. Why would this propel her to the heights of tabloid fame? Because she was 35, and he was only 13. She gave birth their first daughter while still awaiting...

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we look at the amazing underground city of Derinkuyu. This tomb of a city is in modern day Turkey and dates back thousands of years. Nobody is sure when they started building it, but at its peak, it held a sustainable population of 20,000 people. It held its own food stores, animal farms, churches, wine makers, you name it. It had giant stone...

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the many lives of Sacha Baron Cohen. He won awards as Ali G and took over the world as Borat, all through his unique style of comedy. Sacha Baron Cohen develops humor that plays off the prejudice, politeness, and ignorance of people. He takes shots at celebrities, politicians, racists, and an anti-Semites in the most scathing way...

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we take a look an activist group called MOVE, and how they were eventually assaulted, murdered, and bombed by Philadelphia police via helicopter in the 80s. MOVE started out as a strange group that people considered one part Black Panthers and one part green-loving hippies. They fought for social justice and justice for all living beings, blac...

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk the red planet, Mars. There is a lot to unpack here. I mean, yes, it is super cool that errors in interpreting early photos led us all to think Mars was covered in canals and highways. This lead to fiction such as The War of the Worlds. But more than that, Mars has always been an important symbol to humanity. For early humanity, it was...

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk about one of the most unique visionaries in all of Hollywood, Tim Burton. It’s hard to even start with his biggest hit since there are so many—Batman, Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. His movies aren’t just financial blockbusters, they are cult favorites, adored by millions. His visual style, animation, and soun...

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the ultimate brain baller, Archimedes. He was born in 287 BC, but he was a genius the likes of which the world has seldom known. The cool stuff was his machines. He created giant claws that could scoop attacking ships out of the sea, advanced catapults, ballista that could throw whole trees, and allegedly a heat ray that set ship...

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we go back in time to a story of murder, voodoo, torture, and sex. This is the story of Annie Palmer, the White Witch of Rose Hall. The year is 1820, and an 18 year old Annie marries the wealthy owner of Rose Hall. However, he is abusive to her, and she learned dark voodoo from her nanny, so he’s killed with a mix of poison and dark magic. Fro...

On this bonus episode of everyone’s favorite sitcom, the guys celebrate shark week. Brent turns his pool into salt water, so he can buy a great white shark. Brad builds a shark cage to use in Brent’s pool, but cheap steel from Kerplunkistan puts his life in danger. Dave makes a killing when he buys out all the U.S. steel in town and replaces it with cheap steel from Kerplunkistan. Special Guest St...

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the GOAT of late night television, Johnny Carson. At his height, he had the power to literally ask a comedian to stick around after a commercial break and make them overnight starts. David Letterman, Robin Williams, Rodney Dangerfield, Joan Rivers, and endless others claim that this single nod is what made their career. He single...

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast we talk about one of the strangest True Crime cases we’ve ever seen—the Phantom of Heilbronn. Also called “The Woman Without a Face,” this master criminal left DNA evidence at over 6 murders and 40 crime scenes spread over three countries. From the gang-style murder of an elite drug cop to DNA left on a toy gun at a small robbery, The Phantom w...

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the Order of Odd Fellows. This fraternity slash secret society included Charlie Chaplin, Wyatt Earp, Ulysses S Grant, Charles Lindberg, and Franklin D Roosevelt. It was once larger than the Masons. Their goal was to expand friendship, love, and truth to all of humanities. They even acted as a form of insurance for each other before such a con...

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the godfather of propaganda, Edward Bernays. Bernays was Sigmund Freud’s nephew, and stewing in that pot of mental manipulation made him a master of the craft. He started as a small-time editor and ended up toppling communist regimes alongside the CIA, getting women to smoke cigarettes, and making bacon a health food. He actually...

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the one and only Batman. That’s right, crime fighters! Batman has been a hallmark of American popular culture since he debuted in 1939. He’s gone from a murderer to a campy clown to a brooding teen and back again. His origin story is tragic, and his heroism is arguably a psychotic obsession, but something about the Dark Knight has captured ou...

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about John Ashley. He was the head of the Ashley Gang and was said to rob 40 banks while becoming the head of Florida rum-running during prohibition. He got one of his eyes shot out by a member of his own gang, became the first pirate to attack American ships since it was a British colony, and had a feud with a one-legged sheriff who v...

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we dive back in to the treasure trove of Artificial Intelligence with a talk on the state of A.I. (part 2). This time around, we talk about some of the newer events unfolding with AI. We cover the music being generated by AI, which uses the exact voice of actual singers. That’s going to be a legal mess, as will digital actors doing things they may not appr...

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we explore the skies of the land down under and talk about the Westall '66 Encounter. Also called Melbourne 350, this is a strange UFO sighting. Why is it strange? Well because there were 350 witnesses including 5 local pilots from a flight club who were chasing it in the sky. It is also strange because all the reports sent to the government o...

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk about one of the greatest authors and popular culture figures of all time, Kurt Vonnegut. With the release of his 1969 book Slaughterhouse Five, Vonnegut became an overnight sensation. He was something we lack today—a celebrity author who was witty enough to dominate late night and literary enough to be studied by scholars. One of the key moments o...

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the Mad Gasser of Mattoon. A few weeks after D-Day in Mattoon, Illinois, some families smelled a sweet gas that either paralyzed them or left then nauseous with swollen mouths and faces. Within a couple days, there were even sightings of a tall thin man with a long coat and tight cap prowling the neighborhoods. Once it hit the newspapers, doz...

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we look at the life, twists, and scares of Alfred Hitchcock. Considered the greatest director of all time by many film rankings, this legend spawned entire genres of film. He was a true auteur, overseeing every bit of the production. Hitchcock was an interesting man filled with unique horrors and a wicked sense of humor. If you like the macabre in film, ch...

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the creator of The Twilight Zone, Rod Serling. Serling was a visionary who changed the very medium of television. He survived some of the worst warfare in the Pacific theater in WWII, and when he returned home, he was a changed man. He wrote of justice and dreamed of worlds without war, racism, and the worst that humanity had to...