TTKG's first cult-dedicated episode! Originally established as a drug rehabilitation program, by the early 1960s, Synanon became an alternative community centered on group truth-telling sessions that came to be known as the "Synanon Game." Listen to the ep to hear your hosts discuss how the group ultimately became a cult called the Church of Synanon in the 1970s how things quickly spiraled out of control. 

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Episode sources:

Hillel, A. (April, 2018). “The Story of This Drug Rehab-Turned-Violent Cult Is Wild, Wild Country-Caliber Bizarre”. LA Magazine. https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/synanon-cult/

Novak, M. (April, 2014). “Synanon's Sober Utopia: How a Drug Rehab Program Became a Violent Cult”. Pale of Future. https://paleofuture.com/blog/2014/4/15/synanons-sober-utopia-how-a-drug-rehab-program-became-a-violent-cult

Morantz, P. (2009). “The History of Synanon And Charles Dederich”. Paul Morantz.com. http://www.paulmorantz.com/cult/the-history-of-synanon-and-charles-dederich/

This episodes marks TTKG's first historical mystery and disappearance case! In February, 1978, a group of friends from Yuba City in California; fondly referred to as "The Boys" by their families,  set out on a trip to watch a basketball game. They left after it finished and for reasons which perplex investigators to this day, drove up a mountain into the wilderness and were never seen alive again.

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Episode sources:

Gorney, C. (July 6, 1978). “5 ‘ Boys’ Who Never Come Back”. Washington Post.   https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/07/06/5-boys-who-never-come-back/f8b30b11-baeb-4351-89f3-26456a76a4fb/

Lakshmi, S. (July 20, 2021). “The Disturbingly Mysterious Disappearance of the Yuba County Boys”. Medium. https://medium.com/the-mystery-box/the-disturbingly-mysterious-disappearance-of-the-yuba-county-boys-b8a7dfd07ab0

(no by line). (August 12, 2022). “The Yuba County Five”. Dark Tales https://darktales.blog/2022/08/12/the-yuba-county-five/

(no by line). (February 26, 2019). “Cold Case: Why Did 5 Northern California Men Disappear in 1978?”. Sacramento Bee.

(no by line). (December 8, 2017). “The haunting case of the Mathias Group (Yuba County Five)”. Strange Outdoors. https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/2017/12/7/mathias-group-from-yuba-city

Listen as we cover our first, man-made disaster on TTKG! With special co-host Max K (Casey's twin brother) we cover the terrible failure of the St Francis Dam in 1928, triggering a flood that claimed the lives of at least 431 people. 

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Episode sources:

Outland, C. F. (2002). Man-Made Disaster: The Story of St Francis Dam (revised ed.). The Arthur H. Clark Company. ISBN 0-87062-322-2.

Pollack, A. (2014, March 13). “St. Francis Dam Disaster: An Extended Timeline”. SCV History. https://scvhistory.com/scvhistory/stfrancistimeline_pollack2014.htm

Blitz, M. (2015, March 12).”On Occasions Like This, I Envy the Dead: The St. Francis Dam Disaster”. Smithsonian Mag. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/occasions-i-envy-dead-st-francis-dam-disaster-180954543/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Francis_Dam

TTKG's first robber-centric episode! Listen to this week's episode as we cover a string of flawless crimes spanning over a year in the early 90's, a mysterious perpetrator, and a twist ending that shocked even the most experienced agents from the FBI. Grab yourself a bubble-gum bill and have a giggle with your hosts Casey K and Amy K - yeehaw!

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Send us your terrible tale so we can share it on the pod! OR send us your feedback or request your favourite story.

Episode sources:

Serena, K. (2018, April 10). “The Twisted Life Of Cowboy Bob — The Robber Who Fooled The FBI”. All That’s Interesting. https://allthatsinteresting.com/cowboy-bob

Hollandsworth, S. (2005, November). “The Last Ride of Cowboy Bob”. Texas Monthly. https://www.texasmonthly.com/true-crime/the-last-ride-of-cowboy-bob/

*WARNING* crimes (sexual) committed against children

In 1972, Merced, California - 7-year-old Steven Stayner was kidnapped by a pedophile and held captive and abused for seven years. We discuss his terrible ordeal and what took place after the seven years.

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Send us your terrible tale so we can share it on the pod! OR send us your feedback OR request a case or crime type. 

Episode sources:

McGill, E., Raso, M., (Anonymous Host). (2020, August 29). “Case 154: Steven Stayner” [audio podcast episode]. Casefile True Crime. Casefile Presents.

Moran, M. (2017, December 13). “The Most Depressing Follow-up to a Happy Ending Ever: The Steven Stayner Story.” Medium.  https://medium.com/@michaelmoran/the-most-depressing-follow-up-to-a-happy-ending-ever-the-steven-stayner-story-745e166d75cb

Yang, A., Rhee, J., & Schiffman, K. (2019, July 19). “Steven and Cary Stayner: The tale of two brothers' horror and heroism”. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/US/steven-cary-stayner-tale-brothers-horror-heroism/story?id=60529944

Margaritoff, M. & Hawkins, E. (2022, December 20). “Inside The Harrowing Abduction Of Steven Stayner — And His Daring Escape”. All That’s Interesting. https://allthatsinteresting.com/steven-stayner

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-09-22-vw-766-story.html

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

Linda Hazzard, nicknamed the "Starvation Doctor" and self-proclaimed fasting "doctor"; used extreme starvation and sick torture methods to kill her often wealthy patients. Listen as we discuss how the quack and swindler founded her terrible "Health Retreat" to soon become convicted for manslaughter.

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Send us your terrible tale so we can share it on the pod! OR send us your feedback or request your favourite story.

Episode sources:

Olsen, G. (2012). Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice. Constable & Robinson Ltd.

Natalia. (2019, September 21). “Linda Hazzard, "The Starvation Doctor". Talk Murder With Me. https://www.talkmurderwithme.com/blog/2019/9/21/linda-hazzard

Lovejoy, B. (2014) “The Doctor Who Starved Her Patients to Death”. Smithsonian Mag https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/doctor-who-starved-her-patients-death-180953158/

The 1976 Chowchilla Bus Kidnapping. 26 Children aged 5-14 plus their school bus driver were abducted on a country road on their way back from a swim outing. After many hours on the road, they were forced inside a trailer buried 12-feet underground. Listen as we discuss their ordeal. 

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[email protected]

Send us your terrible tale so we can share it on the pod! OR send us your feedback or request your favourite story. 

Episode sources:

48 Hours. (2022, August 17). “Chowchilla bus kidnapping: Rare photos from one of the largest abductions in U.S. history”. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/chowchilla-bus-kidnapping-frederick-woods-rare-photos-from-one-of-the-largest-kidnappings-in-u-s-history/4/

City of Chowchilla. (2021, October). “1976 Bus Kidnapping”. City of Chowchilla. https://www.cityofchowchilla.org/300/1976-Bus-Kidnapping

O’Connor, J. & Johnson, C. (2022, July 21). “Inside The 1976 Chowchilla Kidnapping That Left 26 Schoolchildren Buried Alive”. All That’s Interesting. https://allthatsinteresting.com/chowchilla-kidnapping

Sneak peak (for your ears dolls) of the flavour of us! 

No spoilers inside, just a hodge-podge of voice bites and crudely edited takes of our first few recordings. 

We hope you have as many giggles as we do. Keep going and chat to you soon sickos.

xo Casey K and Amy K 

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