Why Would You Ask That?

The joke of "being a Karen" feels like a recent meme, but the idea behind it is as old as feminism has been a movement, and our very own amazing Karen is here to talk to you about it. She's going to address being a white woman named Karen, but really, she's going to talk about white feminists and the origins of the movement, the not so intersectional nature of it, and how people without melanin hi...

In our first non cult-based episode this Black History Month, we talk about heroes who fought for their, and others, freedom against huge odds and touched lives  through history. Since you've been listening to a lot of cult content lately and had several small episodes lately, here's a longer episode with three stories of amazing people who steer themselves head first into danger for freedom, who...

It's Black History Month, and as we are wrapping up our cult talk for a while to focus on talking about the cool Black folks who deserve talking about (for more than this month, but we're focusing especially hard right now too). To end our cult talk, we're looking at a man who straddled a lot of lines: cult leader and civil rights activist, man and god, about 5 different religions, and influencing...

Sometimes God reaches out and shakes a person, telling them, "How about we knock off being evil for a while?" Granted, God lives in the back of their mind, but hey! It happens! And sometimes, in weird ways. And sometimes, you get extremely popular cabinets and brooms out of it. This is part two in conversation about the Shakers where we talk about how exactly the Shakers were told by God to knock...

Sometimes God reaches out and shakes a person, telling them, "How about we knock off being evil for a while?" Granted, God lives in the back of their mind, but hey! It happens! And sometimes, in weird ways. And sometimes, you get extremely popular cabinets and brooms out of it. In this episode, we talk about the Shakers and how they got their start here in the United States. We experienced some te...

Basically since the moment the pilgrims landed in the U.S. there have been cults here. From the beginning until now, the U.S. has had its fair share of self-professed messiahs. The week before last we posted an episode about our own personal experiences with cults, and this week, we're starting a tour of American Messiahs from the first to the contemporary. In this one, we're talking history, the...

M and Karen are finishing up their move, and then we'll be back to our regularly scheduled program, but until then, we wanted you to have something to enjoy. So this week, M is bringing you a mini episode about the Champawat Tiger. The events of this tigers life and the ones discussed in the episode have been the subject of books, movies, and TV shows for a century. On this episode, M will tell yo...

As we mentioned in the last episode, M and Karen are moving! You might have heard us mention that M and Karen used to have another podcast before this one, so while we're on a brief break as they move, we've ported over an episode from there. The audio is a little scratchy in places, and I'm sorry I couldn't clean it all up. So for this week, enjoy an extra long episode where the three of us talk...

It's rolling over to the new year, and we're talking hypothetical new year resolutions. Let's aim as high as we can so when we all do that thing where we don't actually follow through with our plans we're starting from way up and can still end on a high note. That's the theory anyway. And how much more aspirational can you get than taking over the world? So hang out while bullshit out way through...

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate. You might not know, but the symbols you associate with Christmas - whether you're coming from a secular or religious background - have their roots in very different practices than how they're being used now. In this episode, we'll look at the history of how people have celebrated Christmas (or been told they can't), how recently some of our Christmas traditi...

Winter festivities are not confined to the big jolly round man. And as such: we talk about em. Us three are all over the place trying to bring old and new to the table— eat up! This week, we've got a lot of talk about various Yule type observances, Kwanzaa, everyone's favorite Christmas devil Krampus, and the skeleton horse Mari Lwyd. Also, if you celebrate any of these things, I hope you have a g...

Chag sameach! This upcoming weekend on the 18th is the first night of Chanukah, so we thought we'd talk about the holiday a bit. Unfortunately, a lot of people either don't know many/any Jewish people and/or aren't taught much about Jewish culture and history. The point of this podcast is to learn always, so if all you know about Chanukah is 8 days and presents, we hope this episode gives a starti...

Glitter! It's everywhere, and you can't get rid of it, but if you're on certain sides of social media, you might have heard in the last month or so that we're running out of glitter! And apparently, the glitter companies are so secretive that they won't even let people into their factories. There's two main glitter companies, and they say "you'd never know our biggest client's products even had gl...

Hey, folks! This week, we're not doing a true episode due to some Thanksgiving travel by a few of us, so Remy is going to talk about the true history behind the first Thanksgiving. The myth of the first Thanksgiving is largely filled with inaccuracies, half-truths, or flat out lies, and we never get to hear things from the Indiginous perspective. Well, Remy, having quite a bit of Indiginous ancest...

Stingy Jack. Jack and the Beanstalk. Jack and Jill. Jack o Lanterns... who the fuck is Jack? You're in luck this episode. Jack has been burning in our minds, too, and we decided to get to the bottom of this mystery. Remy has painstakingly mapped out the origin of the Jacks... and found a relation that is responsible for Jack. Listeners, this weekend is leading into Thanksgiving, so enjoy this shor...

"Even if you can't cook, you can make a Jell-O dessert!" Ads promoting Jell-O in the early 1900s gladly declared the gelatin treat to be easy and quick, a delight! But things got weird in the 1950s when the jiggly food started to be introduced with a more savory profile... Join us this episode to talk about the history of gelatin desserts, the flavors, the inclusions, and the all-important Weird F...

Some artists put a lot of themselves into their work, and some artists put way too much. We're not talking about the ones who pour their heart and soul into their work. We're talking about the ones who pour their various fluids into it. That's right, folks! We're heading back to our roots from episode one and talking body fluids, but this time, we're getting artsy. If you want to look at the art a...

Halloween is here once a year, but the dolls are here to stay. Dolls have captured the imagination when it comes to flights of fancy, and it's no different in the horror genre. Might be because some dolls are fucking freaky. Might be because they're possessed and freaky. Might be because whoever made them was absolutely out of their mind and decided that having a facsimile of a human being in utte...

There's nothing so iconic around Halloween as the Jack o' Lantern. Big toothy pumpkin grins grace store windows and front porches all the same, and carving them is a fun family activity. So where did the jack o' lantern come from? Who the heck is Jack? And why do we carve out pumpkins? And how does racism fit into all of this? CW: Racism, Death Music provided by Dark Fantasy Studios . [ License ]...

The mystery that Virginians adore: CROATOA. A mysterious message. A disappeared colony. Lots of artifacts and evidence saying that perhaps, just maybe, the dying settlement was less dying so much as... adapted. Depending on your definition of adapted, though... it could be anything. After all, denial is a powerful drug. CW: Cannibalism, Murder Music provided by Dark Fantasy Studios . [ License ] B...

"As you can see, Mr. President: I have nothing to hide." On this spooky feature, join us as presidents haunt the halls of their former residence. The White House, historic and old as balls, is ripe for the spirits of the dead to infest, and the deceased certainly seem to agree. If ghosts aren't enough to get you going, of course, consider that there may be a larger-than-life demon cat coming your...

Have you ever felt a brush against your back but no one was there? Felt eyes on you but you know you’re alone? Perhaps you aren’t as alone as you thought. And perhaps that presence has more on its mind than typical hauntings. Maybe it even possesses the psychic you sought out for answers? Or maybe it’s just the Psychic Mafia. CW: Sex, Ghosts, Death, Manipulation Music provided by Dark Fantasy Stud...

There’s a history of marriage that goes beyond the living. After all... ghosts can get married too! Inter-mortal marriages, post-mortem marriages, pre-mortem marriages— ghosts and spirits have been getting married for a long time. Marriage is a human ritual that some even deem necessary for a peaceful afterlife. Jump in and learn how ghosts find love and partnership with us! And you've had a few w...

Have you ever wanted to traumatize yourself on purpose? Well, good news, because you can PAY MONEY (or dog food??) to be traumatized by people who build their own haunted house attractions! We're not talking about peeled grapes and fake blood at all. These are experiences that will absolutely maim your brain. So obviously... we point out the strangest ones out there. And at the end, we'll give you...

It's More Likely Than You Think! Ever wanted to venture into the dark, the disturbed, and the utterly goth? Well, guess what, that school trip your school took to the local battlegrounds is exactly that! In this episode we delve into what is dark tourism, and how 'dark' does something have to be to earn the title. Not only that, but there's some do's, don't's, and why-the-HELL-would-you-do-that's...