Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

It's MaxFunDrive. And here, for the first time, we give you an exclusive look (well, listen) at the craft of podcasting: presenting Casters on Casters.

In this episode, John Moe (Sleeping with Celebrities & Depresh Mode with John Moe) talks about his double life, as a person who speaks in a normal voice, and the host he becomes for Sleeping with Celebrities. And Brenda Snell (Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries) tells us about what she's learned from her listeners, including what actor/basketball star Shaquille O'Neal is like in real life.

If this glamorous, in-depth journey into what makes your favorite hosts tick inspires you, support them by joining as a member at maximumfun.org/join.

Edited by Jesus Ambrosio and Produced by Laura Swisher for Maximum Fun.

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As requested by our lovely subscriber's as part of 2025's Max Fun Drive, Host Austin and Host Brenda are here to review Joker 2, a movie that wastes everyone's time and has nothing to say.  

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Back before there were dozens of different energy drinks to choose from, back before soda game in plastic bottles, there was a humble little juice company called Hanson's Juice, and they made the best juice on the American west coast.  Flash forward to 2002, and they're releasing Monster Energy Drink.  How did we get here?  

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In this episode, Host Brenda delves into the mad world of James Cameron, who seems to have an obsession about filming people in giant tanks of water.  Whether it's a 50 foot deep tank inside of an abandoned nuclear power plant for "The Abyss", or the 30 foot deep tank where he staged the sinking of a five foot replica of the Titanic, Jimmy Cameron sure does love filming people struggling for their lives in freezing water.

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Since the dawn of time, mankind has been playing around with guns, and that drive even extended to video games.  Right at the very beginning of video game history, light guns allowed players to simulate the real feeling of shooting.  However, while the targets were initially simply balloons and pixelated ducks, things shifted until these fake guns were aiming at real people.

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This week Host Brenda dives into the chaotic production history of 1989’s Little Nemo in Slumberland, a Japanese/American animated film based on Windsor McCay’s influential 1905 comic strip.  This story involves Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Ray Bradbury, George Lucas, both of the Sherman brothers and more.  

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In an era where superhero movies are few and far between, famed music producer Quincy Jones sets out to adapt the story of the recently introduced superhero, Steel.  However, between a writer/director who wanted to change the entire story, to Warner Bros. slashing the entire budget, it's a wonder this movie got made at all!  

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Before there were official olympic sanctioned mascots for every olympic games, there were unofficial mascots.  Sometimes they were already the mascot of an existing sporting event, or sometimes they were just a piece of merchandise that took on a life of its own, and sometimes they were a smirking Wombat with an impossibly fat ass and some really cool tennis shoes.   

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In this episode of Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries, Host Austin delves deep into the origins and cultural impact of Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books.  While they are commonly credited with popularizing interactive fiction, were they REALLY the first?  Is Wikipedia wrong about where this entire genre of fiction comes from?  How could wikipedia be wrong?  Why must we live in an unjust world?  

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Join hosts Austin and Brenda as they navigate sinus infections and the sometimes baffling, sometimes tragic history of Disney's River Country, the first themed water park in the United States. Come along on a thrilling deep dive into a lesser-known chapter of Disney's past, won't you?

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