It's time once again to start thinking of ways to be more spooky - whether it's communing with suburban witches, collecting low grade serial killers, or waiting to be summoned from your lair in the sewers. And now I see by my shibboleth timepiece that we're just about ready to wrap up our absolutely thorough audit of these 50 states with Louisiana's WE NEED TO TALK.

This week we are wearing only black. Not in mourning, but because we must walk in the footsteps of the goatfathers who came before us in respecting small businesses, cultural foodstuffs, and the chain of provenance of the swords of America. As luck would have it, you can also wear black when slamming to the music of Arkansas such as BURNED UP BLED DRY.

This week we don broad hats and cravats to pass as riverboat gamblers en route to america's most culturally productive delta, hoping the lawless highwayman strategy of putting an entire paycheck on red yields a good result. If not, at least we have the paint-peeling shriek of Mississippi's own ATOMIC JEFFERSON to keep us occupied in our cells.

This week we think about fish made of stone, snakes borne of a toddler's screen time, and the warlike tendencies of nostalgia streamers before finally solving some lifelong mysteries by checking out the hot North Dakota (maybe) sounds of Fargo(maybe)'s own GODHEADSILO.

Gang, it's just storytime this week. You've never heard so many goddamn stories. Plus we're RAPIDLY concluding our survey if American Hardcore by chalking up another challenging state. Perhaps you know these fellas from Mt Rushmore. No the other Mt Rushmore. Wait have you ever even been to South Dakota? STATE OF THE UNION has.

If you thought we were old before, check out today's episode where we discuss the finality and hopelessness of hospice and the sweet sounds of Sting as misinterpreted by booger punks. Eventually we find lots and lots to think about from Philadelphia metallic hardcore pioneers DARE 2 DEFY.

We're back from a very relaxing break to ask very tense and personal questions to famous touring artist and 3-time FSIC guest SHELBY COBRAS. By the unbelievable power of three, we turn the world of podcasting on its head discussing Korn, occult veganism, and the unacceptable place-names of Australia before interrogating some of the rarest death metal on earth from the pursed kissy lips of Vietnam's DISGUSTED.

Why don't you grab a seat there buddy. We need to talk about something and it's kind of important. It's about Mucky Pup. I know, I know... you know all about it from the kids at school. I get it. But we just want to make sure that your first time is safe and... what do you mean it's not your first time? Well did you use a flexi?

This week we are all taking a plane ride to see if any carnies will give us a body massage or at least let us bum an exotic cigarette before putting down our fried oreo pickle poutine long enough to book a train to Oklahoma to catch at least one of the 11 zippy tracks from the presciently non-libertarian THE 💀💀💀 LEVELING.

Steps away from the finish line on the ROAD to 200, we celebrate the internet past, the internet future, and sophisticated metacommentary on how the internet will be used in the data-beast wars. Maybe the only solution is to retreat to the deep frontier of interior Alaska where all we have to worry about is the gas wars and how to score a room in that one building where everyone lives. Luckily THE CYNICS are statewide nonstop for the last 45 years (we assume).