On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk about bats. Yes, they get a bad rap since a few species are vampires and drink the blood of horses and cattle. But they are an amazing creature, as helpful to human society as bees are, and aren’t really a threat. In fact, they weren’t considered evil or a menace until Bram Stoker used them in Dracula, where they were permanently married to Halloween and all things dark. These crazy critters use sonar to hunt, live in sophisticated colonies, pollinate, regulate pests, and silently help human society in many ways. They are a tourist attraction in Austin, and their poop is worth its weight in gold!

Visit Our Sources:

https://www.si.edu/spotlight/bats/batfacts

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/bats

https://www.doi.gov/blog/13-facts-about-bats

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat

https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/arizona/stories-in-arizona/top-10-bat-facts/

https://www.nwf.org/garden-for-wildlife/cover/build-a-bat-house

https://www.vicksburgpost.com/2019/12/13/for-what-it-is-guano-is-far-more-valuable-than-you-would-think/

https://www.austincityguide.com/listings/congress-bridge-bats

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk about a unique group called the Bajau people. They are a group of sea nomads who have genetically evolved to be the perfect sea-goers. Their bodies have adapted to hold their breath insane amounts of time and regulate oxygen in ways no other human can. Some have held their breath for as long as 13 minutes and have dived as deep as 200 feet with no ill effects. They live on boats and coral reefs, call no nation their home, and some spend 60% of their day underwater. Their ancient legends about “The wave that eats people” let them survive the great Tsunami with no casualties. If you want to hear about the real-life Waterworld, give this one a listen.

Visit our Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43823885

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sama-Bajau

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/bajau-sea-nomads-free-diving-spleen-science

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/04/bajau-sea-nomads-diving-evolution-spleen/558359/

https://isemph.org/Sea-Nomads#:~:text=The%20Bajau%20are%20a%20seafaring,day%20hunting%20underwater%20for%20fish.

https://authentic-indonesia.com/blog/8-unique-facts-of-the-bajau-indonesia-sea-gypsies-tribe/

(88) Bajau - the real waterworld people - YouTube

(88) Meet the ocean nomads of the South Pacific | 60 Minutes Australia - YouTube

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sea-gypsies-saw-signs-in-the-waves/

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the Godfather of Soul, Mister James Brown! James Brown is arguably the most influential artist on the birth of soul, funk, and hip hop. Everyone from Justin Timberlake to Public Enemy to Kanye West say they would not be in music if not for James. He was born in the backwoods on a turpentine plantation and then after both his parents abandoned him, he moved in to his aunt’s brothel. He fell into jail, but upon his release he was obsessed with making history as an artist, and he did so. He defined several generations of black music, single-handedly averted a riot in Boston the day MLK was assassinated, and has the most sampled drum beat in all of hip-hop history. If you want to get down with your bad self, this is the one for you.

 

 

Visit Our Sources:

Documentary: Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown

https://www.biography.com/musician/james-brown

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Brown

https://www.notablebiographies.com/Br-Ca/Brown-James.html

https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/james-brown-facts

https://www.thetalko.com/soul-brother-number-1-10-facts-trivia-james-brown/

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we discuss the myth, facts, science and searches for Noah’s Ark. This ancient myth tells of the global flood and Noah creating a boat that could carry all of life for 40 days and drop it safely ashore when the flood died down. Cool story, bro, but do you even science? We start this one talking about the hard physics and facts of what would go into making and maintaining such a craft, and then we go into the many, many expeditions to find it. For hundreds of years, humans have tried to find this ancient craft, and some of their stories are wild.

 

Visit Our Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/100428-noahs-ark-found-in-turkey-science-religion-culture

https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/has-the-location-of-noahs-ark-finally-been-proven-using-3d-scans-680890

https://ncse.ngo/impossible-voyage-noahs-ark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL9eo9QaJb4

On this episode of Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the life and laughs of Will Ferrell. This juggernaut has made some of the greatest comedies of all times and helped to launch the careers of many other comedians. He started as a Groundling and soon moved to Saturday Night Live; it was a time when ratings were at their all-time low, and Lorne Michaels himself thinks Will Ferrell was the only thing that brought it back to life. He left it to make movies like Anchorman, Old School, Elf, and Talladega Nights. But he also co-founded Funny or Die through which he produced things like Between Two Ferns and Drunk History. His life has taught us one key lesson: stay classy, Sofa King Podcast!

 

Visit Our Sources:

https://www.biography.com/actor/will-ferrell

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002071/bio

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Ferrell

https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/john-william-ferrell-3179.php

https://wealthygorilla.com/will-ferrell-net-worth/

https://www.factinate.com/people/43-facts-will-ferrell/

https://www.ranker.com/list/will-ferrell-facts/coy-jandreau

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elf_(film)

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk about one of the most sensationalized murders of the 1920s, the Hall-Mills murder. In September of 1922, Dude Passerby and his girlfriend stumbled upon the bodies of Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills. Hall was the local pastor, and Mills was in the church choir. But the details got crazy. First, the entire congregation knew of the affair. Second, Hall was married to an older heiress of the Johnson & Johnson company and thought to be a gold digger. One of Hearst’s newspapers whipped the nation into a frenzy over this murder, and the trial was one of legend. There was the Pig Woman who testified from her hospital bed. There were steamy love letters read to the crowd. But who did authorities think did the murder? Why did some people think it was the KKK? What made police rethink the case forty years later? Listen, laugh, learn.

 

Visit Our Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall%E2%80%93Mills_murder_case

https://www.northjersey.com/story/entertainment/books/2022/09/14/hall-mills-murders-case-location-nj-100-years/66060247007/

Audio Clip: https://www.nbfpl.org/local-history/hall-mills-murder-radio-broadcast

https://www.nytimes.com/1964/02/02/archives/was-the-murderer-in-the-jury-box-the-minister-and-the-choir-singer.html

https://www.grunge.com/853673/the-tragic-details-of-the-hall-mills-murders/

https://www.communitynews.org/princetoninfo/artsandentertainment/off-the-presses-blood-and-ink/article_e5c245ae-4f0c-11ed-addf-73e1c5335d3b.html

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the infamous Fyre Festival. This aborted music festival was supposed to happen on Pablo Escobar’s private island and headlined by Blink 182 and celebrity chefs. It ended up being a disaster where guests lived in rained-out FEMA tents and ate slices of wilted cheese on wheat bread. There was no power, no water, no Wi-Fi, no food, no toilets. Quite simply, there was no festival; hundreds found out too late and were stranded there. So, what crime did the organizer, Billy McFarland, end up facing? How was this caused by the social ills of media influencers? How did 18 trucks of Evian water lead to a blowjob scandal? How as Ja Rule involved? Listen, laugh, learn.

 

Visit Our Sources:

https://www.billboard.com/pro/fyre-festival-founder-billy-mcfarland-out-prison-new-venture/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fyre_Festival

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnises

https://www.businessinsider.com/fyre-festival-expectations-vs-reality-2017-4

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_McFarland_(fraudster)

https://www.thedailybeast.com/fyre-festival-fraudster-billy-mcfarland-busted-by-prison-guards?via=twitter_page

https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/billy-mcfarland-now

Netflix: FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk beer. The history of beer is no less than the history of human civilization. Archaeologists and historians can track most major human innovations back to the need to make better beer. Its history is thousands of years old, and people think everything from the wheel to money and agriculture all come from a desire for people to have this fizzy goodness. It fed the Egyptians, pleased the Babylonians, and helped fuel the industrial revolution. If you want to have a cold one, or just hear us talk about it, give this one a listen.

 

Visit Our Sources:

https://www.history.com/news/who-invented-beer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_beer

https://www.salon.com/2017/04/26/heres-a-timeline-that-explains-how-beer-went-from-brilliant-mistake-to-hipsterific_partner/

https://www.ranker.com/list/how-beer-changed-history/steve-wright

https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/beer-facts-beer-facts-to-make-you-sound-smarter-at-parties

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2018/01/craft-beer-industry/550850/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2018/10/17/beer-consumption-these-americas-26-top-selling-beers/38104743/

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we get our nerd on and talk about Magic: The Gathering. Magic was the brainchild of Richard Garfield, and he published it through the little known gaming company called Wizards of the Coast. His concept was a card game that was cheap to make and was infinitely expandable. So, unlike other games, you didn’t just buy one copy and call it a day, but collected it and always had a thirst for more. In the past 30 years, this indie game has become a juggernaut with millions of players and billions in revenue. It may be the most fun game on the market, so if you want to learn how it works, hear about its history, or just listen to us nerd out for a bit, this is the one for you!

 

Visit Our Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic:_The_Gathering

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-twenty-five-year-journey-of-magic-the-gathering

https://www.thegamer.com/magic-gathering-history-facts/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse_(Magic:_The_Gathering)

https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3b4n9/magic-the-gathering-professional-earnings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_jvMTCSHoY

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we travel back in time to the end of World War Two and the Nuremberg Trials. These trials were a worldwide sensation at the end of the war. Their goal was complex: to bring justice to the world by trying the worst of the Nazi leaders. The top architects of the Third Reich had all killed themselves, but that left millions of Nazis to deal with. This trial created the notion of crimes against humanity and even had to invent the word Genocide to deal with the true scope of Nazi horror. How did one Nazi get poison smuggled to their cell? Why did Allied leaders like Stalin get a pass for their own war crimes? What became known as the “Nuremberg Defense” used by most Nazis? Listen, laugh, learn.

 

Visit Our Sources:

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/nuremberg-trials

https://allthatsinteresting.com/nuremberg-trials

https://nuremberg.law.harvard.edu/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_trials

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/brief-overview-of-defendants-and-verdicts-at-nuremberg-trials

https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-nuremberg-trials

https://www.roberthjackson.org/speech-and-writing/the-influence-of-the-nuremberg-trial-on-international-criminal-law/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/feb/08/usa.secondworldwar