Sometimes the real conspiracy isn't Big Pharma or The Lizard People...it's your own editing software.

This week's CTRL + ALT + DELUSION episode hit a technical meltdown in post-production, throwing every sound effect into a parallel dimension. So, while Nate wrangles the chaos back into sync, enjoy this quick update on what went wrong, what's coming up next, and how AJN is making sure it never happens again.

No grand plots here, just transparency, a sense of humor, and a reminder that even the best timelines need a reboot.

Please Rate & Review to keep the Nerdcast Signal strong!

“IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME!”

Before the memes, before the morphers, before parents threw elbows in Toys “R” Us aisles, there was a cheap little show stitched together from Japanese monster footage and American teen drama.

And somehow, it worked!

In this Checkpoint Extra, Nate rewinds the click to uncover the wild, warts-and-all story of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers - from Haim Saban’s hotel-room pitch and Fox Kids’ risky greenlight to the chaos of on-set exhaustion, toy mania, and the cultural explosion that shaped an entire generation.

Along the way, we honor the legends who made it more than a show: Thuy Trang, Jason David Frank, and the unsung composer Ron Wasserman, whose guitar riffs still make the Morphin’ Grid hum thirty years later.

So grab your Morpher, cue the sparks, and join Nate for an emotional deep dive into the lightning bolt that changed ‘90s kids television forever.

Featuring:

• Behind-the-scenes stories, interviews, and cast history

• The music of Ron Wasserman and the birth of the most iconic TV theme of the ’90s

• Reflections on the legacy and loss of the original Rangers

• Why Power Rangers still matters…and why it always will

All Power Rangers themes and compositions referenced in this episode are the property of their respective rights holders and are used here under fair-use principles for commentary, education, and review.

Music featured (in order of appearance):

• “Go Go Power Rangers (Main Theme)” - Written and performed by Ron Wasserman (as Aaron Waters) | © 1993 Saban Music Group / BMI

• “Power Rangers Zeo Theme” - Written and performed by Ron Wasserman | © 1996 Saban Music Group / BMI

• “White Ranger Tiger Power” - Written and performed by Ron Wasserman | © 1994 Saban Music Group / BMI

• “Go Green Ranger Go” - Written and performed by Ron Wasserman | © 1994 Saban Music Group / BMI

All original Power Rangers music was produced for Saban Entertainment / Toei Company Ltd.

Current franchise and soundtrack rights are administered by Hasbro / eOne Music Licensing.

PLEASE RATE, REVIEW, and FOLLOW THE SHOW!

STAY GOLD, NERD BOLD!

It’s November, which means two things: turkey season…and arguments with relatives who “did their own research.”

So for the entire month, every Mainline Monday of the Average Joe Nerdcast is going full-tilt conspiracy with a new series: CTRL + ALT + DELUSION - your official pre-Thanksgiving survival kit.

First up: The Flat Earth Conspiracy.

From Victorian chaos gremlins and YouTube “scientists” to ice walls, domes, and merch-slinging influencers, Nate fires up the roast of all roasts - tearing down the world’s dumbest theory with humor, history, and just enough physics to make your uncle choke on his cranberry sauce.

Be sure to Rate, Review, and Follow the show!!

STAY GOLD, NERD BOLD!

Because the Earth’s not flat… but your uncle’s arguments sure are.

Ever heard that Halloween was “the Devil’s holiday” or that it started as All Hallows’ Eve and was corrupted by pagans?

Yeah…about that.

In this feature length Holiday Special episode, Nate grabs the shovel and digs all the way back to Samhain, the ancient Celtic festival of fire and fear, before tracing how Rome, the medieval Christian Church, and eventually capitalism each stole a piece of the party.

What you’ll hear:

• The real Samhain - bonfires, masks, and ancestor lore long before Christianity.
• How Rome franchised everything it touched (Feralia, Pomona, and the first “Festival of Fruits and the Departed”).
• Why the Christian Church moved All Saints’ Day to November 1 and rebranded a pagan rave as a holy vigil.
• Souling, guising, and the invention of trick-or-treat.
• Witch trials, Puritan bans, and how Irish immigrants resurrected Halloween in America.
• The rise of pumpkins, horror movies, and candy corporations that turned a fire-festival into a billion-dollar season.
• Plus: ghostly Producer Steve, a fruit-goddess cameo, and a heartfelt finale on why we still light the dark together.

It’s part folklore documentary, part stand-up roast, and entirely the truth behind your favorite haunted holiday.

History, humor, and heresy...served full-size.

Searchable Sources & References:

• Nicholas Rogers, Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night (Oxford University Press, 2002)
• Ronald Hutton, The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain (Oxford University Press, 1996)
• Mircea Eliade, The Encyclopedia of Religion (Macmillan, 1987) - entries on Samhain & seasonal rites
• Ovid, Fasti Book II (lines 533-570) - primary account of Feralia & Pomona
• Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, “Samhain,” “All Saints’ Day,” “Halloween”
• The Malleus Maleficarum (1486) - the witch-hunter’s manual you shouldn’t read before bed
• David J. Skal, Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween (Bloomsbury, 2002)
• Jack Santino, Halloween and Other Festivals of Death and Life (University of Tennessee Press, 1994)

Stay Gold, Nerd Bold...And HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

And please Follow, Rate, and Give the Show a 5-star Rating!

Before social media, before algorithms, before doomscrolling…there was the 1990s.

A decade that traded Cold War dread for day-care demons, trench-coat paranoia, and talk-show hysteria...when America turned fear into entertainment and the 24-hour news cycle made anxiety a national pastime.

In this Nerdoween Checkpoint Extra, Nate rewinds through the moral panics that shaped a generation: the Satanic Panic hangover, the “superpredator” myth, video-game witch hunts, Y2K, and chain-email urban legends that made even our inboxes haunted. With humor, heart, and real data, this deep dive unpacks how the Fear Machine of the ’90s became the anxiety economy we still scroll through today.

Mentioned & Sourceable Research:

Google any of these for more context and receipts - the stats, studies, and sociologists behind the story:

• Harvard / National Comorbidity Survey - Ronald Kessler et al. (1994–2005)
• CDC / NCHS - U.S. antidepressant-use trends (1988–2000)
• FBI Behavioral Science Unit - Kenneth Lanning (1992), Investigator’s Guide to Allegations of Ritual Child Abuse
• Stephen Ceci & Maggie Bruck, Cornell University (1993) - Child suggestibility research
• Mary de Young (2004) - The Day Care Ritual Abuse Moral Panic
• John J. DiIulio (1995) - “The Coming of the Superpredators” + later retraction interviews (2001-2008)
• Bureau of Justice Statistics - Juvenile violent-crime data, 1990–2000
• Elizabeth Loftus (1994) - The Myth of Repressed Memory
• David Altheide & Robert Snow (1996-2002) - Media Logic and Creating Fear: News and the Construction of Crisis
• Joel Best (1985-2008) - Research on poisoned-Halloween-candy myths
• U.S. Senate Special Committee on Y2K (1998-1999) - Prevention cost reports
• CDC MMWR (1999) - First U.S. West Nile Virus outbreak
• Indicators of School Crime & Safety (NCES/BJS 1999-2000)

Trigger & Content Note:

Includes discussion of school shootings and Columbine (skip 35:00 - 40:00 if needed).

Fear sells...but it’s not free. Stay gold, nerd bold.

And don't forget to Follow, Rate, and Review the Show!

Welcome to the grand finale of Nerdoween 2025: The Final Fright.

After a month of monsters, haunted hardware, cursed VHS tapes, and cult horror kings, Nate closes the book on Nerdoween with one last deep dive into what makes fear human.

In this feature-length episode:

Monster Manual: The Zombie - a breakdown of horror’s oldest metaphor.

Movie Monster Spotlight: Ghostface - the slasher who knew the rules.

The What-If Crypt: What if Bungie had made a Halo horror spinoff? What if John Carpenter directed RE 2? And many more!

Halloweens of Yesteryear: The 2010s

The History We Haunted: A walk through horror’s evolution from the 1970s to the 2020s.

Behind the Mask: A love letter to horror fans, conventions, and the family that fear built.

The Sound of Fear: Why silence, static, and one piano key can still wreck your nerves.

Dia de los Muertos: Remembering the ones we love, and lighting a candle for Ripley.

Community Checkpoint: True listener ghost stories including “The Man in the Cowboy Hat,” “The Sleeper,” and “Under the Bed.”

Then it ends the only way it should - with gratitude, love, and a reflection on what it means to carry the light forward when the fog rolls back in.

Don't forget to follow, rate, and review the show!

Stay Gold, Nerd Bold...Stay Spooky!

Today, the fog rolls back.

It's Nerdoween, and we're cracking open the VHS vault for two of the creepiest shows ever to haunt a 90s kid's living room: Unsolved Mysteries and Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction.

From Robert Stack's trench-coated terror to Jonathan Frakes' smug smirk of doom, these were the bedtime boogeymen that made us lock our doors, question our closets, and love every second of it.

Join Nate for a nostalgic look back through fog, fear, and VHS static as we reopen the cold cases that shaped a generation - including the Circleville Letters, the Ghosts of the Queen Mary, and the disappearance of Tara Calico. The, we cross into Frakes country for three tales of truth, lies, and pure Saturday-afternoon weirdness.

Plus: hometown legends, the mystery of File Thirteen, and a few Easter eggs hiding in the shadows.

Featuring:

-The Trench-Coated Terror: Robert Stack & Unsolved Mysteries

-Five Stories and a Smirk: Jonathan Frakes & Beyond Belief

-The Call is Coming from Kentucky: Local Legends & Modern Myths

Whether you're walking the dog, driving home, or scrolling in the dark...don't change the channel.

Don't forget to follow, rate, and review!

Stay Gold, Nerd Bold, Stay Spooky!

Halloween has gone corporate, the monsters have evolved, and fear itself has a brand.

In Week 3 of Nerdoween, Nate claws into the next phase of horror - from the tragic curse of the Werewolf to the cinematic rise of sci-fi terror and the viral birth of digital boogeymen.

Explore how the 2000s turned fear into a franchise, relive LAN-party Halloweens full of Halo 2, Saw, and screamo soundtracks, and discover how gaming made horror personal with icons like Pyramid Head, Alma Wade, and the Clickers.

Then, in our new Behind the Screams segment, we pay tribute to the practical-effects legends: Savini, Bottin, Winston, and Baker - the craftsmen who built nightmares by hand before CGI took over.

Finally, gather ‘round for the Community Checkpoint, featuring three listener-submitted ghost stories - from The Woman in the Road and The Haint of Butler County, Kentucky to a chilling family tale called Skin Daddy.

Whether you grew up on VHS slashers or haunted dial-up connections, this episode proves one thing:

fear evolves, but it never dies.

Don't forget to RATE, REVIEW AND FOLLOW THE NERDCAST

Stay gold, nerd bold...and stay spooky!

Pull up a chair by the fire, this one’s for every 90s kid who ever whispered “Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society…”

In this Average Joe Nerdcast: Checkpoint Extra, Nate heads back to the woods to revisit Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark? - the cult-classic anthology that taught a whole generation how to enjoy being scared.

From the smoke-filled carnival of Zeebo the Clown to the haunted pool of Dead Man’s Float, this episode digs into the stories that burned themselves into our brains.

We’ll break down how the show balanced moral lessons with genuine terror, reveal behind-the-scenes trivia, and explore why its brand of “safe fear” still hits harder than most modern horror.

Nate also opens up about discovering Are You Afraid of the Dark? and how every October he now watches the series with his kids, seeing them jump at the same moments that scared him back in the day.

It’s nostalgia, storytelling, and family tradition all rolled into one glowing campfire.

In this episode:

The birth of the Midnight Society and Nickelodeon’s leap into darker storytelling

• Deep dives into The Tale of Laughing in the Dark and Dead Man’s Float
• Why 90s “kids’ horror” hit deeper than most adult shows today
• Hidden trivia, production details, and that unforgettable theme
• How fear, memory, and imagination connect generations of fans

If you can still hear the laughter echoing through the spook house or get triggered any time someone says, "I'm cold...", this one’s for you.

Please rate, review and follow for more!

Stay Gold, Nerd Bold...Stay Spooky!

Lightning strikes twice for Nerdoween Week 2 as Nate cracks open the next chapter of the Average Joe Nerdcast Monster Manual!

This time, it's all about what we build - and what builds itself.

From Mary Shelley's storm-born Frankenstein to the chrome skulls of The Terminator, from cursed consoles and lost cartridges to real-life hauntings sent in by listeners, this episode dives head-first into the machines, monsters, and memories that refuse to die.

Segments this Week

Monster Manual - Frankenstein's Monster: the fear of ourselves, from Shelley's 1816 vision to AI and digital ghosts.

Top 5 Supernatural Villains: demons, curses, and the entities that never stop coming.

Halloween of Yesteryear - The 1990s: Hocus Pocus, Goosebumps, and the last great neighborhood Halloween.

Consoles of The Crypt: Virtual Boy, Sega Saturn, Dreamcast - the haunted hardware that changed gaming.

Creepy Cut Content: the lost games that still haunt the code - Halo CE's Juggernauts, Resident Evil 1.5, PT, Star Wars 1313, and more.

Film Fear: cult-classic horror deep-dives - The Thing, Creepshow, Event Horizon, and the VHS nights that made us fans for life.

Movie Monster Spotlight: The T800 - from Cameron's nightmare sketch to cinematic perfection and sequel chaos.

AJN Draft Night - Survive the Slashers: Nate builds his ultimate horror-survival dream team.

Community Checkpoint - True Ghost Stories: three chilling listener tales - The Girl in the Doorway, The Baby in the Blue Onesie, and The Man in the Fisherman Hat.

It's part history, part horror, and all heart-the perfect way to celebrate everything that makes Halloween one of the best times of the year!

Be sure to Like, Follow, Rate, and Review to keep the algorithm Gods fed so we can continue to build this community and share your own ghost stories: Email [email protected] - your real tales may be featured in one of the following episodes leading up to Halloween!

Stay Gold, Nerd Bold...and Stay Spooky!