We discuss the phenomenon of the Cargo Cult, a brand of apocalyptic cult that sprang up in indigenous societies that were suddenly exposed to industrial cultures during the Pacific campaign of World War II.
 

In December 1978 over $5 million dollars in cash was stolen from Lufthansa at JFK airport.  The crime has gone nominally unsolved, with one primary suspect, Jimmy Burke, who was never arrested for the heist.  Burke and his associates are the subject of the hit film Goodfellas. 

It is thought that Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was inspired by the real life Deacon Brodie, a prominent citizen of Edinburgh that happened to be a burglar and inveterate gambler on the DL.

We discuss the AIDS epidemic and the creation of the largest piece of folk art in the world, the AIDS memorial quilt.

We discuss the history, lore, and possible present whereabouts of the Lost Ark of the Covenant.  Indiana Jones references might or might not be added.

We discuss Leonardo Da Vinci, artist, scientist, engineer, (and stage manager?).  Come learn the backstory and fashion sense of the OG Renaissance Man.

We discuss the history and nuances of  American Barbeque.  Where did it come from?  What types are there?  Why are we so obsessed with it?  Learn all about it on this week's episode.

Today we discuss Gustave, the demon crocodile of Lake Tanganyika in Africa.  Thought to have potentially killed up to 300 people, Gustave has stalked the lake for decades seemingly killing his victims for sport (since many are not eaten).  Listen in and learn more about this serial killer of the reptile variety.

We discuss Niccolo Michiavelli, multitalented politician of Renaissance Florence and famed writer of The Prince.  

The Medici Family controlled Florence and Tuscany for hundreds of years, dominating politics and bankrolling the great artists and scientists of the Renaissance.  Learn the history of the family from their rise as a banking power to their eventual decay and fall.