The Weirdest Thing

To really kick off the start of spooky season, we're easing in and going only lightly creepy this week with the histories of two murdery/eerie board games. Scotty kicks things off with the creation of the Ouija Board, and Amelia takes us back into the billiard room with a candlestick and the origin story of the game "Clue." We also spend a few moments at the beginning talking about the d...

In an interesting role reversal, Amelia is the one who goes super dark this week with her story about the enduring mystery of the "Atlanta Blood House." Meanwhile, Scotty takes us back to Seattle with the infamous "Lexicon of Grunge" hoax. This podcast is powered by Pinecast .

This week Scotty talks about how a down-on-his-luck Detroit musician became a cultural icon on another continent without him even knowing about it, and Amelia explores the very strange and twisty tale of "Miranda Grosvenor," the "Sweet Talker to the Stars." This podcast is powered by Pinecast .

Welcome to another episode that only makes sense in the land of The Weirdest Thing. This week Amelia talks about the history of some of our very favorite cocktails... which she'll need to combat the stress dreams caused by Scotty's story about the Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear weapon ever created. Mix yourself a drink and join us to watch the world burn! This podcast is powered by Pinecast .

Scotty's got family in town this week, so Amelia brought in actor/screenwriter and longtime friend Elizabeth Dwyer to guest host. They talk about the movies "Striptease" (1996) and "Hustlers" (2019), and how the cinematic depiction of sex work has evolved over time. And is it true that all you youngs have decided you don't want sex scenes at all anymore, period? Amelia and Eliz...

We're back with another yin-yang episode this week. Scotty goes grim with the story of South Africa's Boesmansgat sinkhole and the tragic death of cave diver Dave Shaw, and Amelia lightens(??) things up with an examination of changing beauty standards of the industrial era and how Coco Chanel and Josephine Baker turned tanning into a thing. CONTENT WARNING: Scotty's story deals with drowning and a...

Happy (continued) Pride Month! This week Amelia talks about the importance of "Bob Damron's Address Book" to pre-Stonewall gay culture, and Scotty continues his exploration of the life and work of author, filmmaker, queer icon, and shameless Hollywood gossip-monger Kenneth Anger. To read Anger and filmmaker Stan Brakhage's cuckoo-bananas correspondence, go to: https://www.desistfilm.com . This pod...

Happy Pride, everyone! This week Scotty presents Part 1 of his exploration of the life and career of author, filmmaker, and queer icon Kenneth Anger. Meanwhile, Amelia invites us all to experience the disaster bisexual dumpster fire that was Hans Christian Andersen. To watch Kenneth Anger's "Fireworks" (1947) in its entirety, go to: https://vimeo.com/425202939 This podcast is powered by Pinecast .

In one of the stranger episodes we've done, Amelia talks about erotic performance artist, sex columnist, and celebrated burlesque dancer Honeysuckle Divine, while Scotty goes full tinfoil hat with the Nibiru Cataclysm Hypothesis and the very real possibility that there's a ninth planet lurking somewhere at the far reaches of the solar system. This podcast is powered by Pinecast .

Welcome to the very first (and maybe only) Weirdest Thing ask-me-(us)-anything! After soliciting questions from our listeners, Scotty and Amelia talk about the genesis of their friendship, how the podcast got started, why softball is (maybe) a sexist sport, and the most embarrassing thing Scotty ever saw Amelia do. Nothing was off limits! Link to watch "SEND" (2010), the first short film Scotty an...

Amelia is out of town this week, so horror writer and editor Rebecca Rowland is back for another impromptu edition of A Weirdest Thing! This week she and Scotty talk about some of their earliest influences–from the movie "Time Bandits" (1981), to the darkest episode of The Smurfs and the grislier work of Clive Barker–and how it all informed their development as horror writers. To buy Rebecca's nov...

Scotty's here to bum everyone out this week with the story of the Hartford Circus Fire of 1944 and the enduring mystery of "Little Miss 1565." Luckily Amelia is on hand to cheer us all up with a deep dive into the history of Barbie, one of the most revolutionary and iconic toys of all time. Plus, the inevitable spoiler-free discussion of the second season of Showtime's "Yellowjackets." CONTENT WAR...

RIOT!! This week we delve into two of the dumbest music-inspired free-for-alls in recent history. Amelia details the infamous "Disco Demolition Night" at Chicago's Comiskey Park in 1979, and Scotty goes into the story of the Metallica/Guns 'N' Roses Stadium Tour of 1992 and its resulting "Battle of Montreal." CONTENT WARNING: This week we talk about racism, sexism, and homophobia, and there are a...

Plans changed at the very last minute and we decided to do another impromptu movie episode, inspired by our viewing of "Cocaine Bear." This week we compare that film to last year's "The Menu" and talk about horror comedies in general. Also: a classic Amelia Ampuero Weirdest Thing rant! WARNING: MASSIVE SPOILERS!! If you have not seen either "Cocaine Bear" or "The Menu," you should wait until you g...

This week Scotty goes through the history of the "jump scare," and Amelia details some past and current food trends that have helped shape society. This podcast is powered by Pinecast .

In this return to THE Weirdest Thing podcast, Amelia talks about the fascinating history of the T-shirt, while Scotty takes us through the making of one of the biggest cinematic debacles of all time.

Welcome to the return of A Weirdest Thing podcast! This week Amelia takes the reigns along with guest host/friend-of-the-pod Danielle Robertson. Inspired by Duke City Repertory Theatre's upcoming Bard Crawl, Amelia and Danielle take two classic (?) teen movies–"10 Things I Hate About You" (1999) and "She's the Man" (2006)–and explore how they hold up as adaptations of William Shakespeare ("The Tam...

Welcome to 2023! To celebrate the new year (and Friday the 13th), we're coming at you hot and hard this week with a few infamous curses. Scotty talks about three cursed tombs–including that of Egypt's Tutankhamun–while Amelia discusses the Superman curse. Plus some fairly extensive geekery around comic-book movies in general. CONTENT WARNING: Amelia's story mentions suicide. NOTE: When Scotty refe...

This week we decided to talk about two holiday season movies that manage to not be about Christmas. Scotty chose the classic animated film "An American Tail" (1986), which has become a bit of a Hannukah tradition for many Jewish families. Meanwhile, Amelia chose "Knives Out" (2019), a movie that is rapidly becoming the "'Die Hard' of Thanksgiving." SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't seen "Knives Out,"...

We've got a couple morbid stories for you this (yuck) Black Friday. Scotty relates the wild, violent tale of the Bloody Espinosas of southern Colorado, while Amelia takes us deep into the mystery of "disaster ghosts." CONTENT WARNING: This week's stories mention sexual assault, murder, plane crashes, and deadly fires. Happy Thanksgiving!

Spooky Season continues here at the Weirdest Thing podcast! Amelia takes us on a tour of some of Hollywood's most haunted hotels, and Scotty details the sordid lives and extravagant crimes of Scotland's Burke and Hare. CONTENT WARNING: This episode is full of murder.

Happy Spooky Season! This week Scotty talks about the New England vampire panics of the 18th and 19th century, and Amelia gives the true story behind the Winchester Mystery House. Plus some general musings about true crime and hauntings. To read Scotty's short story "Basically Normal" in the Dark Matter Magazine Halloween Special, go to https://darkmattermagazine.shop/blogs/halloween-special-issue...

We're coming into your earholes this week with a couple major natural disasters. Amelia talks about the 1985 Mexico City earthquake and the subsequent "Miracle of Hospital Juárez." Scotty describes the Great Peshtigo Fire of 1871, which remains the deadliest fire in U.S. history. CONTENT WARNING: This week's stories both detail crushings, burnings, boilings, drownings, and just about any other hor...

Scotty tried to claim we were being lazy this week, but Amelia violently disagreed. Either way, we have another research-free movie episode for you guys, where each of us picked a favorite film that we knew the other would probably never watch on their own. Scotty chose the Coen Brothers' 1991 black-comic Hollywood horror/noir Barton Fink, and Amelia selected Alfonso Arau's 1992 adaptation of Laur...

THE Weirdest Thing is back! And this week we're coming at you with a couple stories about conflicts within the entertainment industry. Scotty kicks things off with Van Morrison's "revenge album" against Bang Records, and Amelia does a deep dive into the infamous Comedy Store strike. CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses suicide. This podcast is powered by Pinecast .