Welcome to another episode of Hero or Dick! 

This time around, we jump from local happenings (shout out to Alpena, MI!) to a fast, funny, and frank tour of the Winter Olympics: how the Games are organized, who gets to compete, what the sports actually demand, and why hosting can be both a pride play and a headache. Between curling rocks and ski suit controversies, we land on a simple verdict: the Games bring people together when we need it most.

Thanks for your continued support!

~ Kate & KJ

It starts with a borrowed $100, a stubborn teenager, and a ferry that never slept. From there, the Vanderbilt story runs fast—from Cornelius Vanderbilt’s ruthless rise through ferries, steamships, and railroads to the cultural institutions and monuments the family later built to soften the edges.

We end where the money thins and the question sharpens: can libraries, opera houses, and grand estates ever balance out the damage done on the way up? Hero or Dick? The answer isn’t clean—and that tension may be the real legacy.

Thanks, as always for listening!

~ Kate & KJ

If you ever sang along to a lyric in your car because it said the thing you couldn’t, this one’s for you.

We open Season Four with special guest Harley, talking emo—where it came from, what it did, and why it still matters. From Rites of Spring cracking the door, to bands like My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy turning private pain into something you could sing out loud. Small rooms. Big feelings. No armor.

That’s emo.
 Hero and dick. Sometimes in the same verse.

Thanks for tuning in.

— Kate & KJ

A thousand downloads. Cookies, steak, and one deeply suspect mushroom Swiss.

That’s how we close 2025—by taking inventory and not pretending it was tidy.

What surprised us wasn’t which episodes blew up, but why. The biggest listens didn’t come from grand arguments or hot takes. They came from small, stubborn things: cows. Pickles. Birds. Food. The way ordinary obsessions turn into memory and meaning if you sit with them long enough.

We keep circling the same question because it won’t let us go:
Can a single act make someone a hero? And if it does, how long before the shine wears off and the rest of the human shows through?

We revisit the episodes that sparked real conversation—and the ones that landed with a thud. We look hard at what worked, what didn’t, and what we’re willing to change next time.

If you’ve got a topic, a person worth grilling, or a strong opinion about dill versus sweet, we want it. Season four is still wet cement. Your fingerprints are welcome.

Best to you and yours,
 Kate & KJ

[email protected]

This week we peel George Washington down to the bone—no marble shine, just the man. The contradictions stack up fast: hundreds enslaved at Mount Vernon, Washington freeing only the people he personally owned after Martha died, Martha burning their letters, and his scorched-earth orders against Native communities. All of it sitting beside the government he helped sketch and the power he refused to keep. The good is real. So is the harm. We hold both.

If you want history without hero worship—and a couple laughs along the way—hit play.

Thanks for being on this ride with us. Welcome to Hero or Dick!

~ Kate & KJ

Ever met a bird that sees nearly 270 degrees, purrs when it’s calm, hits fifty miles an hour, and still ends up glazed on a platter by sundown? In this episode of Hero or Dick, we move from the woods to the warehouse, dropping dinner-table facts, oddities, and a few honest guesstimations.

Hit play. Give a listen.

~ Kate & KJ

Welcome to another episode of Hero or Dick! 

This time, we trace the wild history of American game shows — from 1930s radio quizzes like Brooklyn Eagle Quiz and Vox Pop to the TV titans that shaped family routines: Jeopardy!, The Price Is Right, and Wheel of Fortune.
And of course, we stop to salute (or side-eye) the chaos agents like The Gong Show that bent every rule of taste and talent.

Along the way, we unpack the 1950s rigging scandals, the risqué daytime revivals of the ’60s and ’70s, and the high-stakes tension of the ’90s boom with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Deal or No Deal, and their reality-show cousins.

Enjoying the ride? Follow, rate, and share the show—and email your topic ideas to [email protected]

Thanks for tuning into another episode of Hero or Dick!

A house can be your safest place and still give you the creeps. We dive into the rooms that shape who we are—from bathrooms that reset a chaotic day to kitchens that magnetize every guest, even when there’s no food on the counter. Along the way, we face the stranger corners of home life: basements that flood or whisper, attics that store history and fear, and the painful legacy of “disappointment rooms” and servants’ quarters that enforced class and control. 

Which room is your hero—and which one’s the dick?

Like what you heard? Follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review to help others find us. 

Best, 

Kate & KJ

The night’s messy and honest—perfect for comedy to tell the truth. From Carson’s cool to Letterman’s edge, Rivers’ rebellion to Conan’s redemption, late-night TV has always tested who gets to speak after midnight. We talk about ego, chaos, politics, and the power of a live moment—when the wrong word can end a career or make history.

Another Hero or Dick? episode—where fame meets fallout and we decide who lands where.

Thanks for tuning in!

~ Kate & KJ

Fascinated by cosmology? Curious about the complicated humans behind world-changing ideas? Then maybe this episode is for you! Tune into Kate and KJ as they take a look into the life and legacy of Stephen Hawking.