By Caustic Soda
The Podcast of the weird, gross, & disturbing
4.5
344344 ratings
With a heavy heart and in honour of our good friend Mr. Dr. Greg Bole we present a very special episode: "The End." The process and smells of dying, semelparity, animal grief, famous last words, weird wills, and Greg's final...
Almost six years to the day of our first ever podcast, Mike, Toren, Joe and Kevin are bringing their journey through the absolute worst the world of science, history, and pop culture has to offer to an end. Veteran Guestpert Dr. Rob...
The caustic look at elephants continues with elephant attacks, beehive fences, Jumbo, Topsy's execution, plus news and pop culture!
Yvonne Morrin joins Kevin, Toren, and Joe to talk elephants, starting with a mammoth pop-quiz and a ton of caustic elephacts: musth, the Phajaan ritual, and elephant artificial insemination. Part 1 of 2.
Caustic Hosts Joe, Toren, and Kevin get thirsty discussing the causes and effects of droughts including tumblefirenados, the Syrian Civil War, Indian and Chinese famines, the California Water Wars, Lake Karachay, a super-dry extremophile, the horrors experienced in Virginia's Jamestown...
Carnivorous plants, strangling kelp, giant hogweed, gympie-gympie, falling saguaros, manchineel trees, coconuts, and more!
Kevin, Joe, and Toren conclude Caligula's history, an exploration of explanations for his behavior, plus pop culture! Music: "The Killing Type" by Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra
Kevin, Toren, and Joe discuss Evil Dude in History Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, aka "Caligula". Part 1 of 2 -- the early years and rise to power.
Allan Newell rejoins the hosts with his firefighter helmet on to discuss the seven motives of arsonists, Herostratus, the Happy Land Fire, the Clarence Roberts mystery, the Sydney Ghost Train Fire, the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments...
Joe, Toren, and Kevin "check out" the caustic side of libraries, including both Melvil Dewey's classification system and the man himself, the librarian who took over China, librarian sex habits, "for sex see librarian", the Brave Sage of Timbuktu, plus...
Toren, Kevin, and Joe discuss mines of every description including naval mines, helicopter mines, fougasses, nuclear mines, the Camp Bonifas Golf Course and mine-detecting flowers. Plus what to expect when you step on a blast mine.
The podcast marathon continues as Dr. Katie, Joe, Toren, and Kevin talk about the Badwater Ultramarathon, the Canadian Death Race, Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope, and Oscar Pistorius' career and deadly Valentine.
Dr. Katie Marshall is back with Joe, Toren, and Kevin to talk about the horrors of running. They compare human and animal running speeds, the horrors the running inflicts on your body (plus some benefits), the man vs. horse marathon,...
Season seven of Caustic Soda begins with pathogenic fungi, prototaxites, spelunker’s lung, fungal eye and yeast infections, magic mushrooms, the death suit, and cordyceps. Plus news and pop culture!
Joe, Toren, and Kevin ring in the end of another season of Caustic Soda with a look at the arbitrary time of year we chose as the end. We'll look at how calendars work, new year around the world and...
Comedian Adam Pateman joins us to discuss diving accidents, dead whale carcasses, losing one's sense of smell, cannibalism on the Franklin Expedition, a doomed expedition to Africa, plus which is the lesser of two evils - being sprayed with skunk...
Dr. Rob is back for for a Caustic Anatomy Class on kidneys! We'll cover kidney disease, hear Toren's own kidney stone story in full detail, the largest kidney stones ever reported, kidney stones in history, the effects of kidney-blows, plus...
Vigiles, Sombra Negra, Jonathan Idema, Bernhard Goetz, The Lavender Panthers, the Fierce Missouri Bald Knobbers and Anonymous hacktivism, and more!
Our caustic look at hurricanes concludes with hurricane hunters, Hurricane Katrina, Typhoon Haiyan, the insultingly nitpicky appearance of the 1970 Bhola Cyclone In The News, plus pop culture! Part 2 of 2.
Kevin, Toren, and Joe are back to talk about Big Wind: hurricanes! We'll cover the biggest and most destructive ever, including the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, plus a Public Service Announcement, the Great Hurricane of 1780, and Galveston, Texas...
Hippo attacks and how to avoid them, hippo castration, hippo ranching, hippo news and pop culture.
Dr. Rob Tarzwell is back with Joe, Kevin, and Toren to discuss epilepsy. We'll look at the science of the condition, what to do if you witness a seizure, notable epileptics in history, a seizure while falling 10,000 feet, plus...
Author Don Debrandt joins Toren, Kevin, and Joe to discuss golems of all varieties in our 2015 Hallowe'en special.
While Toren and Kevin were at the HP Lovecraft Film Festival, Joe was at VCON 40 talking "Time Travel" with Eric Fell, Barbara Beall, Joe Haldeman and Mr. Dr. Greg Bole!
Celebrated actor Jeffrey (Re-Animator, Star Trek DS9) Combs joins Toren, Kevin and guest-host Warren Banks to talk bad books, space warfare, ghosts, film set accidents, plus a very special Lesser of Two Evils!
Joe, Kevin, and Toren discuss the denial of Galileo's look-for-yourself findings, Ebin Byers' "Radithor" addiction, "Deutsche Physik", yet another evil tobacco cover-up, AIDs denialist Christine Maggiore, the Flat Earth Society, climate denial and conspiracy theories.
Toren, Kevin, and Joe continue discussing Prisons with Riker's Island, Diyarbakir Prison, Gitarama Central Prison, Camp 22, The Shining Path, For-Profit Prisons and the Kids for Cash Scandal, plus news and pop culture!
Toren, Joe, and Kevin lock themselves up in the studio to discuss locking people up in prisons, prison garb, panopticons, prison slang, a "So You're Going To Prison" PSA, the Prison Rape Elimination Act, The London Bridewell, Prison Hulks, The...
Kevin, Toren and Joe continue their look at the Nazi doctor Josef "Angel of Death" Mengele with his post-war movement plus news (yes, news!) and pop culture.
Kevin, Toren, and Joe are back in Evil Dudes in History with a two-part look at Josef Mengele. In this episode it's his life and the horrors he perpetrated, from his early days in the SS to his terrible experiments...
War elephants, anti tank dogs, moose cavalry, carrier pigeons, donkey bombs, rocket cats, bear moats, bee hive missiles, explosive rats, the PDSA Dickin Medal and the dolphin arms race. Plus pop culture.
Bed-wetting treatments, urine in the animal kingdom, the urine wheel, uromancy, phosphorous alchemy & urine therapy. Plus when is it safe to drink your pee?
Joe, Toren, and Kevin discuss the science and history of deserts, animal desert adaptations, the desert ordeals of David "Jack" Sillito, Noel St. Malo Juul, and Chris Ryan, what happens when the "Marathon des Sables" -- a Sahara-based ultramarathon --...
Jim Crow Laws, the Nuremberg Laws, Bill C-51, Sudanese apostasy and the common sundae. Plus news & pop culture. Part 2 of 2.
The Bloody Code, transportation to Australia, prohibition of nonbelievers to office, sexist laws, laws against homosexuality and blasphemy laws. Part 1 of 2.
Actor Richard Harmon from "The 100" joins Kevin, Toren, and Joe for a special blend of caustic subjects: Killer robots, cockfighting vengeance, mascot murder, enslaved Thai fishermen, the youngest cryogenic subject ever, polar bear vs. dolphin, sourtoe cocktail, and sewer-water-beer!
Corpses on Everest, Everest Day, Beck Weathers' survival story, plus pop culture. Part two of two.
Altitude sickness, frostbite, Ötzi the mummy, the Murder Wall, and other mountaineering deaths. Part one of two. Music: "Marching 'Round the Mountain" by Pete Fountain Images
Kevin, Toren, and Joe are back with part two of "weird wars!". This episode features The Anglo-Zanzibar War, The War of the Golden Stool, The War of the Stray Dog, The Football War, plus news and pop culture! Music: "Watch World War...
Kevin, Toren, and Joe take a look at history's weirdest wars. Tales from the Third Mithridatic War, The Siege of Yongqiu, The War of the Bucket, the Sham Battle, the War of Jenkins' Ear, the Battle of Den Helder, The Pastry War, and...
The history of HIV/AIDS, 'slow puncture' in South African prison gangs, possible cure and pop culture! Part 2 of 2 with special guest BJ Allan. Music: "Close Your Eyes" by Al Bowlly with Ray Noble and His Orchestra Images
BJ Allan joins us to talk about the science and history of HIV and AIDS. Music: "I'll Never Be the Same Again" Billie Holiday with Teddy Wilson & his Orchestra Charity O' The Week: Doctors Without Borders Links Giant Microbes - HIV A Timeline of AIDS Images Videos
Toren, Joe, and Kevin are joined by The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast's Paul Chapman for a special "Cinematastrophe" episode, where we force ourselves to review the most caustic cinema we can find. In our inaugural episode it's two 80's horror comedy...
Joe, Kevin, and Toren are joined again by Dr. Rob Tarzwell for another Caustic Anatomy Class, this time on bones! We look at the structure and evolution of bones, the world's biggest, smallest, and most-broken, several weird bone diseases, the...
Allan Newell joins us to discuss the science and history of wildland fires including the Ash Wednesday bushfires, the Peshtigo Fire, The Big Burn, the Great Miramichi Fire, Black Saturday, and the Kursha-2 Fire. Also - fire tornadoes! Music: "Settin' the Woods on Fire"...
Actress, comedian, and former live-show guest Barbara Beall is finally in-studio with Joe, Toren, and Kevin to talk about a grab-bag of caustic topics including the Ortolan Bunting recipe, an Australian double-whammy of deadly nature, a Soda Jerk's personal story of being...
Who's taking the red pill? Debunking sexist evolutionary psychology, sexism in science, menstruation, sexual assault victim blaming, women in refrigerators, the Bechdel test plus Star Trek! With Dr Jenna, Deanna and Jarrah. Part 2 of 2. Music: "Never Trust A Woman" by Red...
Dr Jenna Moccia returns with special hosts Jarrah Hodge and Deanna Ogle for a particularly hysterical look at sexism. Part 1 of 2. Music: "Sobbin' Women" by Howard Keel et al Charity O' The Week: International Planned Parenthood Federation Links Gender Focus Trekkie Feminist Behind The Photo...
The Caustic look at Ivan the Terrible continues with the Massacre of Novgorod, swollen cods, and the Time of Troubles, plus news and pop culture, and our thoughts on where Ivan falls on the Caustic Soda Evilometer! Music: "Evil Man Blues" by Lil...
Kevin, Toren, and Joe are back with more Evil Dudes in History. This time it's Russian Tsar Ivan IV Vasilyevich: "Ivan the Terrible". In Part 1 we talk about the early years and middle years of this outrageous tyrant. Content warning: Ivan's...
