45 years later, the effect of The Shining on pop culture is undeniable. From writers, to musicians to filmmakers, comedy, and every facet of the artistic world. It’s been praised, parodied, sequeled and more. So in this, the concluding episode of our two-part Halloween stay at the Overlook Hotel, we look at just how far it has gone.

The frontmen of Muder By Death and Devotchka tell us about their surprising musical connection to the novel and the hotel. Historian of hauntings, Rebbeca Pittman, returns to tell us about working there, Room 237 director Rodney Ascher tells us a story you wouldn’t believe, and horror legend Mick Garris tells us about the version of The Shining unfairly forgotten by the world…

For more, including links to the things we talked about, and the places we visited, plus a full transcript, visit: https://frequencymachine.com/passport 

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In 2006, Passport host Neil Innes found himself outside the house of Stephen King in Bangor Maine. He didn’t get to meet King that day… but it didn’t change how he felt about his work. A lifelong fan of King and Kubrick, The Shining has always held a special place in his heart. And so this Halloween, Passport traces the legacy of a single nightmare - one that still echoes 45 years later - all the way back to the place it all began: The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.

Stephen and Tabitha King only spent one night in The Stanley - The only guests in an old hotel the night before it closed for the winter. That night, King awoke from a nightmare, smoked a cigarette, and outlined The Shining - one of the biggest horror novels of all time. But that’s not all that happened. King’s The Shining changed the genre, Kubrick’s film adaptation changed horror cinema. But The Stanley has a remarkable story of its own.

In part 1 of Passport's 2-part Halloween special, Neil checks into The Stanley to investigate that story with the people who know it best - historian and writer Rebecca Pittman and filmmaker and paranormal expert Karl Pfeiffer. It’s a ghost story that stretches from 1909 to King’s only night in the infamous Room 217. And for those of you wondering about Room 237, Neil and Andrés also journey into the hedge maze of the definitive adaptation - Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

For more, including links to the things we talked about, and the places we visited, plus a full transcript, visit: https://frequencymachine.com/passport

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On this episode of Passport, we go to Oaxaca, the heart of Mexico, to find out what the Day of the Dead really is. It’s history, it’s present and it’s future.

We’ll sit at the dinner table with spirits. We’ll dive into folklore, fables and rituals to see how this celebration has lasted so many life times, through so much hardship, and repression. We’ll hear the stories of the people closest to the festival and discover the power of storytelling, and reinvention of stories in Mexico, that have kept the festival alive. But how can death be so celebrated in a country with such a high mortality rate? And why do people look to this hub of culture, history and creativity for inspiration in dark times, for better or worse?

Plus, we’ll meet a witch who has drawn from the history, used the spirits, a forgotten tradition and the folk music of Mexico to turn it into a powerful forward thinking statement about sex, death and gender.

La Bruja De Texcoco.

For more, including links to the things we talked about, and the places we visited, plus a full transcript, visit: https://frequencymachine.com/passport

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Vienna is a city of Old World baroque charm, cafés, and waltzes. It consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in the world. It’s the city of Mozart, Freud, Klimt, and Strauss. Except this story is less Blue Danube, more Orange Sunshine.

This week, Andrés and guest producer Aisha Prigann plunge into a 1970s acid flashback and return with a tale of mind-expansion, revolutionary politics, and the dangers of meeting your idols. It’s the story of a group of accidental filmmakers getting caught up in a psychedelic act of diplomacy starring the Chancellor of Austria and Timothy Leary, the high priest of LSD on the run from the law. What kind of mad chemistry could have made this happen? And how did the manic sparkle of the 1970s transform Vienna into the city it is today?

For more, including links to the things we talked about, and the places we visited, plus a full transcript, visit: https://frequencymachine.com/passport

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On the southernmost tip of Texas, where the US and Mexican borders meet the sea, sits the tiny town of Boca Chica. Surrounded by nothing but wild open scrub land, eight miles of virgin beach and a rich array of wildlife, the twenty-something residents of Boca Chica live in peace and disconnection. Away from the noise of the modern World.

It was that peace and disconnection that Maria Pointer, AKA Boca Chica Maria, and husband Ray sought when they made their plans to settle down and retire in Boca Chica. But dreams of a quiet retirement are to be thrown out the window when new neighbors SpaceX move into town, right outside their bedroom window.

In today’s episode of Passport, we take a very special look at one of the most important journeys we may ever take via a quiet town in the South of Texas. A town which has become the launch pad to new possibilities and discovery for the human race.

The launch pad to Mars.

For more, including links to the things we talked about, and the places we visited, plus a full transcript, visit: https://frequencymachine.com/passport

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Super Skyscrapers, Lamborghini police cars, streets where it rains 24/7 in the middle of desert… Welcome to Dubai, the UAE’s most populous city and one of the richest and most absurdly ostentatious places in the world. Those stories of diamond encrusted Hummers? They’re all true. It’s the epitome of luxury.

And nowhere is this more true than in the city’s islands. Well, artificial islands to be exact. Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed, loves them, and in the mid 2000s he built his most ambitious to date. We’ve been around the world on Passport but now we’ve found the world in one place. ‘The World’ islands, a 300 island archipelago off the city’s coast.

It’s one of the most ridiculous pieces of architectural engineering you’ll ever see, but the story behind them is equally absurd, and incredibly dark. This week we’re headed to Dubai for a story about obscene luxury and how it all gets paid for. The answer? Corruption. On a big, big scale.

For more, including links to the things we talked about, and the places we visited, plus a full transcript, visit: https://frequencymachine.com/passport

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Peru has everything. Dense jungles, imposing mountains, and a long coastline. A rich history that combines breathtaking Incan archeological sites with the original seats of colonial power on the southern continent. But people also treasure Peru for something else: UFOs.

To those in the know, Peru is the Mecca for unidentified flying objects. Peru’s capital, Lima, even has its very own X Files-style UFO investigations office -- an official department in the Peruvian air force.

Recently the Pentagon released footage of US air force pilots tracking mega-fast unidentified objects that left no vapor trails -- this has been stirring up a lot of mainstream interest.

In Peru, they don’t need much convincing. UFOs are already part of the national psyche The reason? Just the sheer number of sightings and weird goings-on. So are UFOs really visiting Earth? And if so, why have they singled out Peru?

For more, including links to the things we talked about, and the places we visited, plus a full transcript, visit: https://frequencymachine.com/passport

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On this episode of Passport, we go to the fog of London, and walk the fine line between the glamorous lifestyle of James Bond and the realities of spies sitting on the complicated grey streets of England’s capital. We see this fictional world through the eyes of writers and films, from Bond to Villanelle, a stylish femme fetal character from the new series, “Killing Eve.” We dive into what could possibly have inspired these characters, and the city they all have in common.

Our touch of reality is Annie Machon, a legendary ex-MI5 whistleblower who fled the London streets leaving any possible spy devices at home, to escape one of the most surveilled cities in the world, and disappear into the picturesque countryside of France.

For more, including links to the things we talked about, and the places we visited, plus a full transcript, visit: https://frequencymachine.com/passport

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Amsterdam is a city of canals and coffeeshops: of charm and sin. Nowhere is this better encapsulated than in its art scene. The Dutch capital is a hub of both contemporary and classic art - from incredible graffiti to world leading institutions like the Van Gogh museum.

Van Gogh still holds a lot of sway in the city - he’s the Netherlands’ most famous artistic son, after all. But his work is also under threat from art thieves. In the twentieth century, Amsterdam has been home to two of the world’s most notorious art thefts, and they were both Van Goghs.

This week, we’re going to meet the man behind one of those heists: Octave Durham, he’s an art thief. But when a Van Gogh is stolen, there’s someone in Amsterdam whose job it is to get them back. We’re going to meet him too: Arthur Brand, he’s an art detective.

It’s a story straight out of holywood, taking us to the heart of stunning art and audacious crime in the Dutch capital.

For more, including links to the things we talked about, and the places we visited, plus a full transcript, visit: https://frequencymachine.com/passport

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The Bay Area around San Francisco is home to beautiful beaches, gorgeous wineries and the people who are creating the future. Because if you head south from San Fran, you’ll find Silicon Valley, the center of global technology.

The place today is filled with artificial intelligence, billionaire tech-bros and people trying to become immortal. Silicon Valley might be the wealthiest town in America, but behind the Teslas and the venture capital is an origin story defined by people who bucked all the rules. The history of this town was written by adventurers, with an ethos of “nothing is impossible, everything is permitted”.

This week on Passport we’re going inside the Matrix, into the real Silicon Valley, mapping its history through the hackers and freaks who made it boom. We’ll meet secret societies, burning men and giant fighting robots from San Fran’s past, as well as the AI overlords, transhumanists and mind uploaders who dominate the place today. Strap in, it’s going to get weird.

For more, including links to the things we talked about, and the places we visited, plus a full transcript, visit: https://frequencymachine.com/passport

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