The Box of Oddities

What do a mysterious metal orb and a sadistic ultramarathon have in common? They’re both ready to ruin your weekend—and they’re both in this episode of The Box of Oddities. First, Kat and Jethro roll into the strange saga of the Betz Sphere—a shiny, sentient-looking ball discovered in Florida that might be haunted, alien... or just really into Foghat. Then, lace up for the Barkley Marathons, the g...

In this episode of The Box of Oddities, things get weird—fast. First, JG explores the chilling legend and even chillier reality of Wendigo psychosis—a rare (and horrifyingly real) condition where individuals become obsessed with consuming human flesh. Spoiler: It’s not a new fad diet. Then, Kat balances the darkness with heartwarming stories of random acts of kindness that didn’t just make someone...

What do a duck with refined musical taste, a prophetic child, a phantom couch with mom-guilt, and a mysterious man named “Lars” (who pays in silver and fears airborne horsefish) all have in common? In this latest Inbox of Oddities episode, they’re all real tales from you, the wonderfully weird freak family. Join Kat and JG as they dive headfirst into listener-submitted stories featuring: Sleep par...

Operation Highjump and Tycho Brahe Was Antarctica the site of a secret Nazi UFO battle? And did a 16th-century astronomer really keep a pet elk... that kept falling down the stairs? In this delightfully peculiar episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro dive deep into the chilling conspiracy theories behind Operation Highjump, a U.S. Navy mission shrouded in mystery, paranoia—and possibly int...

In this episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat, and Jethro unbox a double dose of historical weirdness and cultural curiosity. First, meet Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher—Prussian war hero, chaos gremlin, and the kind of guy who believed he was pregnant with an elephant. (Spoiler: He wasn’t.) His wild behavior helped defeat Napoleon but also raised a few powdered eyebrows. Then, we head to the island o...

The Inbox of Oddities is a delightful bonus episode where Kat and Jethro dive into the treasure trove of listener emails, comments, and messages sent by you—the ever-curious Freak Family. From spine-tingling personal encounters with the paranormal to bizarre trivia, mysterious coincidences, and even a touch of the hilariously strange, this episode is a wild ride of oddities shared by the ones who...

In this episode of The Box of Oddities, we unravel two wildly bizarre tales that will leave you questioning reality itself. First, Jethro dives into the terrifying legend of the Red Ghost of Arizona—a monstrous, bloodthirsty creature that terrorized the Old West, leaving a trail of destruction and something even more horrifying in its wake. Then, Kat sets sail with the SS Sapona, a ship with a str...

Elmer McCurdy Won’t Stay Dead & Sapphire Sandalo on the Spirit World What happens when an Old West outlaw refuses to stay buried—literally? The saga of Elmer McCurdy, the train-robbing bandit-turned-traveling-corpse, takes another bizarre twist. We’ve got the latest on his posthumous misadventures because, apparently, being dead is just a minor inconvenience. Then, we delve into the supernatural w...

The Inbox of Oddities is a delightful bonus episode where Kat and Jethro dive into the treasure trove of listener emails, comments, and messages sent by you—the ever-curious Freak Family. From spine-tingling personal encounters with the paranormal to bizarre trivia, mysterious coincidences, and even a touch of the hilariously strange, this episode is a wild ride of oddities shared by the ones who...

What do interdimensional beings and the freakiest game of evolutionary Jenga have in common? Absolutely nothing—except they’re both on today’s episode of The Box of Oddities! First, we plunge headfirst into the psychedelic rabbit hole of DMT and the Machine Elves—the eerie, hyper-intelligent entities that thousands claim to encounter during their otherworldly trips. Are they hallucinations, cosmic...

Plum Island and Alice Clement Is a top-secret government island harboring bioengineered nightmares? Probably. But does it also have weirdly aggressive seagulls? Absolutely. This episode of The Box of Oddities unravels the bizarre conspiracies swirling around Plum Island—a place so mysterious it makes Area 51 look like a roadside gift shop. Then, we step back to the Roaring Twenties to meet Alice C...

The Inbox of Oddities is a delightful bonus episode where Kat and Jethro dive into the treasure trove of listener emails, comments, and messages sent by you—the ever-curious Freak Family. From spine-tingling personal encounters with the paranormal to bizarre trivia, mysterious coincidences, and even a touch of the hilariously strange, this episode is a wild ride of oddities shared by the ones who...

The Toilet Bowl Parade & A Call from the Dead—Strange But True! What do a parade of toilets and a phone call from beyond the grave have in common? They’re both gloriously bizarre—and they’re both in this episode of The Box of Oddities! First, we plunge into the world of the Toilet Bowl Parade, an annual event where porcelain thrones take center stage, proving that even plumbing can be pageantry. W...

Ghost Transmissions from the Vietnam War and The History of Prostitution Some say the dead don’t speak—but what if they broadcast? In this episode of The Box of Oddities, we tune in to the eerie world of ghostly transmissions from the Vietnam War. Could long-lost soldiers still be sending distress signals through the static through some glitch in the matrix? Are there more grounded theories? Or ma...

In this episode of Freak Family Favorites, we ask the following question: What happens when a person literally freezes solid and somehow lives to tell the tale? Meet Jean Hilliard, the woman who defied science after spending six hours in subzero temperatures—completely frozen. Then, we waddle into the world of the kākāpō, the 9-pound, nocturnal, flightless parrot that’s just as bizarre as it sound...

The Lakewood Artillery Shell Incident & Nature’s Tiny Assassins What do you do when a giant artillery shell crashes into your backyard? If your answer is “casually mow around it for years,”—congratulations, you would be so very, very not correct. We'll tell you the story of an unsuspecting homeowner at the center of the Lakewood artillery shell incident. Then, we shift gears (and continents) to un...

Strap in for a ride through the bizarre and the badass! In this episode of The Box of Oddities, we set sail on the doomed T-36 barge—because what’s more fun than an ice-clogged death trap in the middle of the North Pacific? Discover the harrowing tale of survival, mystery, and a terrifying maritime disaster that makes your morning commute look like a spa day. Then, we shift gears as we meet Bessie...

The Inbox of Oddities is a delightful bonus episode where Kat and Jethro dive into the treasure trove of listener emails, comments, and messages sent by you—the ever-curious Freak Family. From spine-tingling personal encounters with the paranormal to bizarre trivia, mysterious coincidences, and even a touch of the hilariously strange, this episode is a wild ride of oddities shared by the ones who...

Doom Unleashed – Timur’s Cursed Tomb & the Man-Eating Lions of Tsavo Some legends are just old stories… and then some prove themselves terrifyingly real. In this episode of The Box of Oddities, Jethro and Kat unravel the eerie curse of Timur’s Tomb, a chilling prophecy that may have ignited one of the deadliest conflicts in history. Did disturbing the warlord’s grave actually unleash a catastrophe...

The Starlight Tours, aka The Saskatoon Freezing Deaths and The Phantom Barber In this episode of The Box of Oddities, we unravel the haunting case of the Saskatoon freezing deaths, where Indigenous men were abandoned in subzero temperatures by local police—an unsettling true crime story that’s both horrifying and heartbreakingly real. Then, we tiptoe into the baffling and bizarre tale of the Phant...

The Inbox of Oddities is a delightful bonus episode where Kat and Jethro dive into the treasure trove of listener emails, comments, and messages sent by you—the ever-curious Freak Family. From spine-tingling personal encounters with the paranormal to bizarre trivia, mysterious coincidences, and even a touch of the hilariously strange, this episode is a wild ride of oddities shared by the ones who...

Mad Travelers Syndrome & The Science of Blushing Ever woken up convinced you're supposed to be somewhere else—like, on another continent? In this episode of The Box of Oddities, we unravel the baffling Mad Travelers’ Phenomenon, where people suddenly believe they must embark on an urgent, often nonsensical journey and don't remember any of it. Passport not required—just a healthy disregard for log...

A Serial Killer & Tobacco Where?! – Box of Oddities What do an elusive serial killer and some genuinely questionable medical practices have in common? Nothing—except that they’re both unbelievably weird, unsettling, and featured in this episode! First, Kat unpacks the chilling case of the Connecticut River Valley Killer, an unidentified predator who terrorized New England with a string of brutal a...

In this episode of Freak Family Favorites, we ask, Did Magic Mushrooms Make Us Human? And Why Is That Guy Getting Pelted with Turnips? In this mind-bending episode of The Box of Oddities, we dive into the Stoned Ape Theory—the wild idea that psychedelics might have turbocharged human evolution. Did our ancestors owe their intelligence to a little fungal inspiration? Then, we journey to Spain’s Jar...

What if time travel wasn’t just science fiction? In this episode of The Box of Oddities, we unravel the mind-bending concept of the Tipler Cylinder. This theoretical object could, in theory, send you spiraling through time like a cosmic waterslide. Could it actually work? Is it working now? And if so… where do we sign up? Then, we shift gears (and centuries) With guest host Nan McNamara to uncover...