The Mind Blown Podcast

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens step into the gaslit horror of 1888 Whitechapel, where fear reigned and a nameless killer stalked the night. In Part 1 of their Jack the Ripper series, they trace the gruesome murders that shook London to its core, and the chilling letters that taunted police and the press. Signed with "blood," boasting of slaughter, and mocking investigators, these messages...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens plunge into the electrifying world of fear, unraveling the paradox of why humans are the only species that actively seek it out. From haunted houses and horror films to the terrifying thrill of roller coasters, discover how this “benign masochism” works in our brain. Explore the amygdala’s lightning-fast alarms, the hippocampus’s haunting memories, and the prefronta...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens explore one of America’s most haunted homes: the infamous Sallie House in Atchison, Kansas. So terrifying that visitors must sign a waiver before stepping inside, this unassuming residence has become ground zero for ghost hunters, skeptics, and thrill seekers alike. From chilling EVP recordings to violent scratches that appear out of nowhere, the Sallie House has le...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens take you inside the strange, sneaky, and utterly fascinating world of food tricks. From the airplane mystery of why tomato juice tastes amazing at 35,000 feet to why stale chips can sound fresh with the right crunch soundtrack, this episode reveals the bizarre science behind every bite. Discover how music can literally change the flavor of cheese, why wine drinkers...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens plunge into the chilling legend of the Bermuda Triangle, the mysterious stretch of ocean between Miami, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico where planes vanish, ships go silent, and whole crews disappear without a trace. From Flight 19, the squadron of five bombers that flew straight into oblivion in 1945, to the eerie ghost ship Carroll A. Deering found abandoned with meals u...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens take you deep into the eerie heart of Massachusetts’ most haunted stretch of land: the Bridgewater Triangle. Since the 1970s, this cursed zone has been a hotbed of chilling phenomena that defy explanation. From UFOs and Bigfoot-like creatures to giant birds, ghostly apparitions, and phantom hitchhikers, the stories emerging from this area are as terrifying as they a...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens venture into one of America’s most chilling and mysterious regions: the Alaska Triangle. This vast and unforgiving wilderness has swallowed more than 20,000 people since the 1970s: with 16,000 disappearing since 1988 alone. From hikers vanishing just feet from safety to entire planes lost without a trace, the disappearances baffle both locals and investigators. Is t...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens dive into the outrageous, unscripted world of reality TV: where drama is manufactured, secrets are staged, and nothing is ever quite what it seems. From hidden camera setups and hypnotized contestants to shock-value social experiments, this episode uncovers the jaw-dropping tricks behind TV's so-called "real" shows. Melanie shares her own outrageous expe...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens uncover some of the most baffling and controversial UFO civilian encounters of the past century - where everyday people witnessed the extraordinary. From the bizarre 1955 Hopkinsville “little green men” standoff that left Project Blue Book scrambling, to the eerie silence of the massive 1997 Phoenix Lights seen by thousands (and then publicly ridiculed), this episod...

Melanie Avalon and Danielle explore the seductive science behind why we fall for people, and what secretly fuels our romantic obsessions. From dopamine-fueled mind games to biological drives rooted in our evolution, they uncover the shocking (and often manipulative) psychology of attraction. Why do inconsistent replies make you crave someone more? How does wearing red affect how sexy you're pe...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens dive deep into the chilling and confounding world of government-documented UFO encounters that defy logic, and sometimes, vanish without a trace. From a Japanese cargo flight stalked by a mile-wide object over Alaska, to the eerie lights and mysterious craft spotted near a military base in Rendlesham Forest, these cases have left military officials baffled and inves...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens take you deep into one of the most shocking, convoluted, and politically charged stories in modern science: the quest to cure Alzheimer’s. With over 6 million Americans affected, why - after decades of research and billions in funding - do we still have no cure? This episode unpacks how one woman’s brain in 1906 became the foundation of an entire medical paradigm, h...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens take you on a cosmic journey through one of the most enigmatic and mesmerizing celestial bodies: the Moon. Why do ancient cultures say there was a time before the Moon? How was it actually formed: through a violent collision, gravitational capture, or something else entirely? And why do we always see the same side of the Moon, with its smooth, familiar face… while t...

Melanie Avalon and Danielle unravel the whispered secrets and veiled longing tucked inside Taylor Swift’s most haunting 1989 ballads: Wildest Dreams, This Love, and Clean. Beyond the glitter and gloss of pop perfection lies a layered story of a romance that may not have been so fleeting after all. Was Wildest Dreams really just a passing fantasy? Or was it the memory of something deeper, more prof...

Rodney Alcala was charming, intelligent… and also one of the most sadistic serial killers in American history. (Dramatized in Anna Kendrick's "Woman of the Hour" on Netlix.) Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens take you deep into the horrifying double life of the so-called “Dating Game Killer,” who once won appeared on national television, in the middle of his murder spree. From his early r...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens crack open the toy chest of the past to reveal the dangerously fun - and sometimes just plain dangerous - world of toys from the 80s and 90s. From the deceptively innocent Super Elastic Bubble Plastic that came with a side of toxic fumes, to the Wiggle Hose that became an unintentional whip, this episode dives into the shocking hazards of our childhood playthings. T...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens pull back the curtain on the secret world of background acting, revealing what it’s really like to be a “living prop” on your favorite shows and movies. From endless hours of waiting to surreal encounters with A-listers, Melanie shares her rollercoaster journey through the highs, the heartbreaks, and the hilarity of life on set. What does it take to get into SAG-AFT...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens explore the spine-tingling world of venom, poison, and the mind-blowing creatures that wield them. From jellyfish to snails to spiders that cause… erections that won't go away (yes, really), nature’s most dangerous designs also hold surprising medical marvels. Discover why rattlesnakes are losing their rattle, why spitting cobras aim for the eyes, and how some o...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens dive deep into the shockingly real ways you can score free stuff in everyday life - without (technically) breaking the law or the bank. From free money that may be just waiting for you, to loopholes in fast food promos and secret credit card perks, this episode exposes the hacks, programs, and oddball tricks that let you live luxe for less (or nothing at all). Prepa...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens crank up the boombox and step into a time machine back to one of the most iconic decades in history: the 1980s. From Pac-Man mania to Walkman obsession, this episode dives deep into the bold, brash, and unforgettable era that gave us MTV, shoulder pads, neon spandex, and the Breakfast Club. Explore the tech revolutions that started it all, like the first home comput...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens take you on a wild linguistic ride through the dark, twisted, and downright bizarre origins of common phrases you use every day—without ever questioning why. Did “saved by the bell” really come from boxing... or was it from people being buried alive in the 1700s? From puppet murderers and medieval rooftops to pigs kicking beams and reading laws aloud before riots, t...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens venture into the shadowy world of US cryptids, the mysterious beings said to dwell just beyond the veil of our known reality, from the unsettling grins of the Black-Eyed Kids to the elusive Michigan Dogman, this episode explores creatures that that follows you home. Who is the White Thing, and why does it terrify rural communities? What do the Stick Indians whisper...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens take you into the chilling world of Lizzie Borden, the woman accused of one of the most infamous double murders in American history. In 1892, the quiet town of Fall River, Massachusetts, was rocked by the gruesome axe killings of Andrew and Abby Borden. The primary suspect? Their seemingly prim and proper daughter, Lizzie. From the details of the crime scene to the...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens take you on a hilarious, head-scratching tour of the strangest laws still technically on the books in the United States. From pickles that must bounce in Connecticut to a bathtub-banishing donkey in Arizona, this episode is a legal labyrinth of bizarre bureaucracy and outdated oddities. Whether it’s illegal couch décor, surprise pizzas, or outlawed seaweed collectin...

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens take you inside the twisted mind and bone-chilling exploits of America’s first known serial killer: H. H. Holmes. Beneath the polished facade of a charming doctor and businessman, Holmes constructed his infamous “Murder Castle” during the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair—a labyrinthine hotel rigged with trapdoors, gas chambers, and secret chutes designed for death. What dr...