In this mind-boggling episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, hosts Shea and Jody take you on a wild ride through one of the most absurd plans in Cold War history: Project A119, the United States Air Force's secret proposal to nuke the moon. Yes, you read that right! Join us as we explore the motivations behind this bizarre plan, from ego and public relations to a desperate need for cosmic swagger in the face of Soviet competition.

You'll discover:
- How the Cold War turned into a cosmic pissing contest
- The role of young Carl Sagan in calculating the visibility of a lunar explosion
- The environmental and geopolitical repercussions of detonating a nuke on the moon
- Why this plan was ultimately scrapped and buried deeper than your most embarrassing secrets
Expect a mix of laughter and disbelief as we delve into this ridiculous chapter of history that almost turned our celestial neighbor into a glowing crater. After all, what's a little lunar devastation when national pride is at stake?
🌕 CHAPTERS
00:00 – Intro and Welcome
02:30 – The Hypothetical Cold War Dilemma: Blow It Up!
08:15 – Introducing Project A119: The Moon Nuke
15:45 – The Science Behind the Madness: Carl Sagan’s Involvement
24:00 – The Risks of Nuke-ing the Moon: Tides and Climate
32:20 – Why the Project Was Shelved: A Cosmic Cautionary Tale
40:00 – Wrapping Up and Reflections on Human Folly

🔗 LINKS
🌐 Rainy Day Rabbit Holes Website: https://www.rainydayrabbitholes.com
💌 Support Us on Patreon: https://www.rainydayrabbitholes.com/support

Show notes created by https://headliner.app

Episode 81-Cryptids and Kindred Spirits – A Dive with Devon from Ouija Broads

Rainy Day Rabbit Holes is thrilled to welcome Devon from the Ouija Broads, one of the most beloved podcasts about Pacific Northwest paranormal history, ghosts, and cryptids. With a relaunch underway and a new book on cryptids in progress, Devon joins Shea and Jody for a hilarious and heartwarming episode about everything from mosquito bites and neighbor drama to her favorite haunted stories, paranormal research, and crafting workshops.

Plus, after the break, Devon faces her biggest challenge yet: a Who Am I? Cryptid Edition trivia game where she flexes her cryptozoology knowledge and tells us what really qualifies as a cryptid vs. a myth.

🔮 Expect weird neighbor stories, beavers falling from the sky, Bigfoot posters with grills, and a whole lot of laughter.

✨ Featured Guest:

Devon from the Ouija Broads

🧭 CHAPTERS

00:00 – Intro and Welcome

02:40 – What’s Chapping Our Ass: Mosquitoes, Trashy Neighbors, and Home Depot Rage

14:10 – Meeting Devon and the Origins of Ouija Broads

20:30 – Soul Sisters of Weird History and Podcast Chemistry

27:00 – Creative Lives, Art Farm Dreams, and Teaching Classes at MostGhost.com

33:30 – Devon’s Upcoming Cryptid Book (What Is a Cryptid, Really?)

38:45 – 🎧 AD BREAK & Patreon Shout-Out (BREAK POINT)

41:10 – 👣 Who Am I? Cryptid Edition – Devon Plays the Game

01:12:30 – Wrapping Up and Where to Find More Ouija Broads & Most Ghost

🔗 LINKS

🌐 Rainy Day Rabbit Holes Website: https://www.rainydayrabbitholes.com

👻 Ouija Broads Website: https://ouijabroads.com

🎨 Devon’s Classes & Art: https://www.mostghost.com

Cryptids and Kindred Spirits – A Dive with Devon from Ouija Broads

Rainy Day Rabbit Holes is thrilled to welcome Devon from the Ouija Broads, one of the most beloved podcasts about Pacific Northwest paranormal history, ghosts, and cryptids. With a relaunch underway and a new book on cryptids in progress, Devon joins Shea and Jody for a hilarious and heartwarming episode about everything from mosquito bites and neighbor drama to her favorite haunted stories, paranormal research, and crafting workshops.

Plus, after the break, Devon faces her biggest challenge yet: a Who Am I? Cryptid Edition trivia game where she flexes her cryptozoology knowledge and tells us what really qualifies as a cryptid vs. a myth.

🔮 Expect weird neighbor stories, beavers falling from the sky, Bigfoot posters with grills, and a whole lot of laughter.

✨ Featured Guest:

Devon from the Ouija Broads

🧭 CHAPTERS

00:00 – Intro and Welcome

02:40 – What’s Chapping Our Ass: Mosquitoes, Trashy Neighbors, and Home Depot Rage

14:10 – Meeting Devon and the Origins of Ouija Broads

20:30 – Soul Sisters of Weird History and Podcast Chemistry

27:00 – Creative Lives, Art Farm Dreams, and Teaching Classes at MostGhost.com

33:30 – Devon’s Upcoming Cryptid Book (What Is a Cryptid, Really?)

38:45 – 🎧 AD BREAK & Patreon Shout-Out (BREAK POINT)

41:10 – 👣 Who Am I? Cryptid Edition – Devon Plays the Game

01:12:30 – Wrapping Up and Where to Find More Ouija Broads & Most Ghost

🔗 LINKS

🌐 Rainy Day Rabbit Holes Website: https://www.rainydayrabbitholes.com

👻 Ouija Broads Website: https://ouijabroads.com

🎨 Devon’s Classes & Art: https://www.mostghost.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What happens when church politics go full horror movie?

In this jaw-dropping episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, hosts Shea and Jody unearth one of the most bizarre trials in history—the Cadaver Synod of 897 CE, when the Catholic Church literally put a dead pope on trial.

You'll learn:

• Why Pope Formosus was exhumed, dressed in papal robes, and propped up in court
• How medieval church power struggles spiraled into corpse mutilation and chaos
• What role Charlemagne’s crumbling empire played in this grotesque drama
• How public backlash, earthquakes, and papal revenge shaped the aftermath

Part of our “Silly Summer Season,” this episode trades the misty PNW for medieval Rome, where ecclesiastical drama meets dark comedy. It’s Mean Girls meets The Exorcist, and somehow, it’s all real.

Visit www.rainydayrabbitholes.com for more!

Support us by joining our Patreon! You get access to our unhinged bonus episodes plus more! www.rainydayrabbitholes.com/support

🔍 Keywords: Cadaver Synod, Pope Formosus, Stephen VI, weird Catholic history, medieval trials, corpse on trial, Vatican scandals, exhumed pope, bizarre history podcast, funny history stories

How did a 7-ton statue of Vladimir Lenin—a symbol of Soviet communism—end up in Seattle’s artsy, free-spirited Fremont neighborhood? In this listener-requested episode, Shea and Jody uncover the bizarre journey of Fremont’s Lenin statue, from a scrapyard in post-Communist Europe to its quirky life as a holiday-themed, drag-clad Seattle oddity.

They dive into the statue's Cold War origins, the eccentric American who brought it to the U.S., and the ongoing debate: Is it art, satire, or an accidental shrine to tyranny? Expect laughter, social commentary, wild hypotheticals, and a heartfelt nod to Fremont’s fading weirdness.

📍 Chapters

00:00 – Welcome to Summer Silly Season

02:15 – Listener Request from Brian of Spirits and Monsters of Old Seattle

03:20 – Who Sculpted Lenin (and Why It Took 10 Years)

06:05 – From Poprad to the Scrapyard: Lenin's Fall

09:25 – Enter Lou Carpenter: The English Teacher Who Bought Lenin

13:55 – Issaquah Says “Nope”

15:10 – A Tragic Car Crash and a Statue with No Home

18:40 – Fremont to the Rescue

21:10 – Yes, It’s Still For Sale (for $300,000!)

23:30 – Dressing Lenin: From Jack-o’-Lanterns to Drag

26:45 – Art or Offense? Slavic Americans Weigh In

29:15 – When the Mayor Got Involved

32:40 – Can You Mock History Without Glorifying It?

35:00 – Final Thoughts: Quirky Art, Political Satire, or Both?

37:00 – Patreon Shoutouts, Sexy Bigfoot, and Thank Yous

🔗 Links

🌐 Website: www.rainydayarabbitholes.com

💰 Support the show: www.rainydayarabbitholes.com/support

🎧 Bonus Content & Merch: Patreon

Normally, this kind of jaw-dropping rabbit hole is reserved just for our Patreon supporters—but today, we’re unlocking it for everyone.

In 1968, Irishman Mick Meaney decided to let himself be buried alive for 61 days in a Guinness record stunt that captured international attention…and caused his pregnant wife to find out via the radio. In this bonus episode, Shea welcomes special guest Kevin Ryan, host of Tyrant in Training Podcast and a fellow member of our Umbrella Podcast Collective, to explore:

• The surprisingly popular 1960s fad of human burial endurance contests
• The bizarre safety coffins that people invented to avoid being buried alive by accident
• Edgar Allan Poe’s stories—and real-life fears—of premature burial
• The transatlantic rivalry with Texan “Living Corpse” Bill White
• And how Mick Meaney’s stunt became a moment of Irish legend

🎧 This is the kind of fascinating, darkly funny story our Patreon supporters get access to every month. If you enjoy it, we’d love to have you join the community!

💸 Special Offer:

Get 20% off your first month on Patreon through the end of July with promo code SUMMERFUN20.

Unlock more bonus episodes, early access, and exclusive content:

👉 rainydayrabbitholes.com/support

🎙️ About Our Guest:

Kevin Ryan is the host of Tyrant in Training Podcast, where he dives into the strange and the sinister side of history.

🌐 Learn more at tyrantpod.com

Rainy Day Rabbit Holes: Silly Summer Season — Napoleon vs. The Bunny Apocalypse

In this episode, we travel back to 1807, when Napoleon Bonaparte, the conqueror of Europe and master tactician, faced the most humiliating defeat of his career — at the paws of a swarm of ravenous rabbits. We explore how a grand hunting party meant to celebrate his triumph turned into slapstick chaos, why the bunnies charged, and whether this story was an elaborate piece of historical trolling.

Topics Covered:

• The aftermath of the Treaty of Tilsit
• Napoleon’s love of grand gestures
• Alexandre Berthier’s ill-fated event planning
• The possibly hangry domesticated rabbits
• Paul Thiebault’s rivalry and the murky origins of the story
• What it all means for the myth of invincibility

Resources & Further Reading:

• Ripley’s Believe It or Not
• Mental Floss
• Just History Posts
• History Facts

History Unhinged: Rainy Day Rabbit Holes is the podcast that makes history wild, weird, and unforgettable. Join hosts Jody and Shea as they dig into outrageous true stories, haunted places, bizarre disasters, and scandals from the Pacific Northwest and beyond. With unfiltered humor and a love of storytelling, each episode brings you the fascinating tales you never learned in school. Perfect for anyone who enjoys history, true crime, and a good laugh along the way.