Listen... I'm Scared

This week, Claire and Jessica discuss caves and caving accidents, one of Claire's obsessive fears. They start with the tragic death of Floyd Collins, who died in a cave in 1925, and jump forward to the terrifying move The Descent, which features a cave and also monsters. The biggest takeaway (besides being careful around caves) is that you always need to give Jessica a wide berth during dangerous situations because she WILL hit you with an oar. 

Sources:

• Trapped! The Story of Floyd Collins - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/809830.Trapped_The_Story_of_Floyd_Collins
• The Descent - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435625/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutty_Putty_Cave

Jessica and Claire confront their fear of confrontation, including their own default behaviors: Jess gets upset and Claire gets enraged. Thankfully, they talk about some better ways to confront someone besides tears and fury. 

Also, just as an aside, don’t ever tell someone they’re “precious” while they’re trying to have a serious conversation with you.

Sources:

• https://nickwignall.com/confrontations/

The girls take a break from their regularly scheduled programming to talk about something near and dear to their hearts: ghost movies! They spoil their top three favorite flicks (don't worry, there are spoiler alerts for those who can't enjoy a movie when they know how it ends) and a few honorable mentions to sweeten the deal.  Be sure to check these movies out and share your thoughts on Instagram and Twitter!



Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Mungo_(film)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unfriended
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Lies_Beneath 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blair_Witch_(film)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteen_Ghosts
•  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casper_(film)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grave_Encounters
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_House_LLC

This week, Claire and Jess explore intrusive thoughts - the ideas and voices that pop in your head and canNOT be controlled. Has that happened to you? Turns out, you're not alone! It's pretty normal to have some odd (and even disturbing) thoughts every now and then. Learn what some of the most common are, why some people think we have them, and even debunk some completely unrelated urban myths. Also, we'll talk about why you should never snap your fingers around Jessica.

Sources:

• https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/intrusive-thoughts
• https://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/unwanted-intrusive-thoughts
• https://www.calmclinic.com/anxiety/signs/intrusive-thoughts

Extra Special Note: If you suffer from intrusive thoughts and they are impacting your life, they might be a sign of a more serious issue, like depression or anxiety (not that we're trying to diagnose anybody - we're not doctors). If you're interested in talking to a therapist but don't know what to do, you can start here, at PsychologyToday.com.

On today’s episode, Claire shares her fear of dying a stupid and pointless death, and introduces Jessica to the Darwin Awards. Jessica, meanwhile, discovers her new life motto and remembers all the times she’s died on the inside after doing something stupid. They’ve also decided to become an okapi appreciation podcast, so look forward to that!

Sources:

• The Darwin Awards
• “F*ck that gator!” Article

This week, Jessica dives deep - or should we say, soars high? - with one of her most frequently faced fears: flying. She discusses being a world traveler and some of her worst moments on planes. Claire, meanwhile, shares her biggest worry - which is just trying to find the plane in the first place.

Claire and Jessica explore the spooky world of ghosts, including the different kinds that that exist (according to one dubious website) and their own experiences with the paranormal. They both consider a career in parapsychology (Jess is halfway there!) and explore the show that made them afraid of ghosts to begin with: the legendary Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Sources:

• https://paranormalschool.com/types-ghosts/
• http://www.unmuseum.org/ghosts.htm
• https://www.strangerdimensions.com/2013/06/21/infrasound-the-fear-frequency/

Two truths and a lie:
1. Claire and Jess met at a Borders bookstore in Indiana.
2. They're in their 30s.
3. They both LOVE icebreakers.

Nothing strikes fear in the hearts of introverted/awkward people like the phrase "Share a fun fact about yourself!" and this week, Claire and Jessica explore the terrifying world of icebreakers. Discover why it strikes such fear in their hearts and how to prepare yourself in case you find yourself being forced to find a partner (hint: look for another person who looks miserable).

This week, Claire and Jessica jump deep down into sinkholes, including the event that set off Jessica's lifelong fear and the signs you need to watch out for, like cracks in the sidewalk, or heavy rain. They pick up some survival tips from across the web so that you, too, can be a Head of Science.

If you like our podcast, please rate, subscribe, and/review, and tell your friends! We appreciate it!

PS - Here's a link to the story of the man who fell into a mischief of rats when a sinkhole opened up under him! https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54747625

Sources:

• The Survival Journal, https://thesurvivaljournal.com/sinkhole-survival/
• Bustle's article on sinkholes
• Technical sinkhole website - USGS
• Simpler sinkhole website - National Geographic

This week, Jess and delves into her fear of being wrongfully convicted after listening to Season 1 of the podcast Serial and the continuation of the case on Undisclosed. They also discuss other famous cases of wrongful convictions, including the Central Park 5, the West Memphis Three, and Jessica's ALLEGED theft of Hershey's Sundae pies from an alleged fast food restaurant while she was allegedly in high school. Allegedly. 

Sources:

• Serial podcast, from the creators of This American Life, by Sarah Koenig, plus the Undisclosed podcast
• Central Park 5 - Netflix: When They See Us, plus the Ken Burns Documentary, Central Park 5
• West Memphis 3 - Wikipedia page, plus the excellent Truth & Justice Podcast with Bob Ruff
• Deadline.com
• eji.org
• innocenceproject.org