The Cracked Podcast

Ever wonder if your garbageman is secretly judging you for your trash? Or, whether that trucker passing by can see you and your spouse fiddling with each other's dangly-bits? The answer to both of those terrible questions is, "yes." Cracked's spent the last year-and-change talking to people with jobs you never see in the movies, or read about in the paper. Ever wonder what life's like for a SeaWorld trainer? Or, the lady who plays Snow White at Disney World? The answer to both is, "drenched in sweat and surrounded by aggressively drunk people." On today's podcast, Cracked editors Jack O'Brien, Dan O'Brien and Robert Evans talk about the unsung heroes of our world: the bold men and women selling camouflaged drugs to people in jerk-off booths or having sex on camera for your amusement. Curious about life surrounding knife-wielding prisoners? We've got the wild stories of a former prison guard. Want to know if our future drone operators will be watching you have sex? They will! And, we'll tell you why. For these horrible truths and so, so many more, throw on your headphones and click play above. This episode is sponsored by: Squarespace. Build a better website. Go to www.squarespace.com and use the offer code CRACKED to get 10% off your first purchase! Pluralsight.com. Unlock access to the world’s largest tech and creative training library on the planet today by starting your free trial now at www.pluralsight.com

Did you know Zeppo Marx invented a heart attack alarm? We usually think of genius as one explicit thing: You're a genius at music, or computer programming, or whatever. But there's no straight road from "genius" to "what you do with that genius." Charles Darwin may have figured out evolution as a side effect of his obsession with eating rare animals. Paris Hilton seems like she's famous for being rich and spoiled, but she might be the greatest marketing mind of our generation.On today's podcast, Cracked editors Jack O'Brien, Soren Bowie, and Michael Swaim discuss the exceptional people who built our world, and the exceptionally weird things that made them brilliant. It seems strange for a musician or a comedian to invent new technology, but smart people are smart all around. It gets even broader than just inventions. Bob Dylan makes art out of plagiarizing everything from older songs to a book on the Monica Lewinsky trial. Want to hear more crazy connections made by beautiful minds? Click here and listen in. This episode is sponsored by: The Art of Charm Podcast: Go to www.aocpodcast.com/cracked to check out one of the top 5 health podcasts on iTunes. Squarespace: Build a better website. Use offer code CRACKED for a free trial and 10% off.

Did you know Zeppo Marx invented a heart attack alarm? We usually think of genius as one explicit thing: You're a genius at music, or computer programming, or whatever. But there's no straight road from "genius" to "what you do with that genius." Charles Darwin may have figured out evolution as a side effect of his obsession with eating rare animals. Paris Hilton seems like she's famous for being rich and spoiled, but she might be the greatest marketing mind of our generation.On today's podcast, Cracked editors Jack O'Brien, Soren Bowie, and Michael Swaim discuss the exceptional people who built our world, and the exceptionally weird things that made them brilliant. It seems strange for a musician or a comedian to invent new technology, but smart people are smart all around. It gets even broader than just inventions. Bob Dylan makes art out of plagiarizing everything from older songs to a book on the Monica Lewinsky trial. Want to hear more crazy connections made by beautiful minds? Click here and listen in. This episode is sponsored by: The Art of Charm Podcast: Go to www.aocpodcast.com/cracked to check out one of the top 5 health podcasts on iTunes. Squarespace: Build a better website. Use offer code CRACKED for a free trial and 10% off.

Have you noticed that all the great series of television's current renaissance are darker than the devil's taint with a suntan? You've got Game of Thrones, where every likable character dies horribly and sociopathy is cruise control for success. There's True Detective, a show were any given screengrab would fit in the dictionary alongside the definition of "bleak". Hell, the critically-acclaimed series with the happiest ending we've seen recently was Breaking Bad. What does that say about us? Cracked editors Jack O'Brien, Dan O'Brien and Michael Swaim asked this question on today's podcast. Whether you're looking at television or movies, soul-crushing sadness seems to be the new norm. Your show just won't draw in a modern audience unless it's got an antihero. Has something shifted in our culture? Can we blame this on 9/11? Or, has the darkness we used to put in our novels and saddest music just finally bled out into film and TV? Either way, it's pretty weird that the Coen brothers started their careers mocking nihilists, then went on to make No Country for Old Men, the nihilist ... ist film ever made. Throw on your headphones and click play above.This episode is sponsored by: Automatic: Your smart driving assistant. No subscription fees. 20% off for Cracked listeners with promo code CRACKED.

Have you noticed that all the great series of television's current renaissance are darker than the devil's taint with a suntan? You've got Game of Thrones, where every likable character dies horribly and sociopathy is cruise control for success. There's True Detective, a show were any given screengrab would fit in the dictionary alongside the definition of "bleak". Hell, the critically-acclaimed series with the happiest ending we've seen recently was Breaking Bad. What does that say about us? Cracked editors Jack O'Brien, Dan O'Brien and Michael Swaim asked this question on today's podcast. Whether you're looking at television or movies, soul-crushing sadness seems to be the new norm. Your show just won't draw in a modern audience unless it's got an antihero. Has something shifted in our culture? Can we blame this on 9/11? Or, has the darkness we used to put in our novels and saddest music just finally bled out into film and TV? Either way, it's pretty weird that the Coen brothers started their careers mocking nihilists, then went on to make No Country for Old Men, the nihilist ... ist film ever made. Throw on your headphones and click play above.This episode is sponsored by: Automatic: Your smart driving assistant. No subscription fees. 20% off for Cracked listeners with promo code CRACKED.

Did you know Michael Jordan is convinced no one ever believed he’d be a great basketball player? It seems inconceivable -- just as crazy as that pristine, perfect image of the 1950s so many old white people seem to believe in. Or, the memory millions of Americans have of watching the Challenger explode on TV (even though most of their classrooms didn’t have TVs). It’s not because MJ, those elderly folks and everyone who attended grade school in the 80s are liars. It’s because the human memory is fucking awful, and our brains actively make up shit based on things we hear or decide after-the-fact. On today’s podcast, Cracked editors Jack O’Brien and Jason Pargin talk about the “filter” in our brains that makes us remember everything the wrong way. There’s a reason most fatal accidents happen close to home: your eyes aren’t windows to the world. They’re crafting a picture of reality based on what you’ve seen before and what you expect. History isn’t as much a list of 'what happened’ as it is a collection of lies and misperceptions a bunch of people have passed down over time. Remember Tom Cruise running out on stage and jumping on Oprah’s couch like a crazy man? No you don’t, because that’s not at all how the actual interview went down! We just want to believe he’s crazy hard enough that we invented a lunatic episode for the man. Remember seeing that first plane hit the tower on 9/11? No you don’t, because that first impact wasn’t recorded on television. Your brain is lying to you, and if you click play you’ll learn exactly how.

Did you know Michael Jordan is convinced no one ever believed he’d be a great basketball player? It seems inconceivable -- just as crazy as that pristine, perfect image of the 1950s so many old white people seem to believe in. Or, the memory millions of Americans have of watching the Challenger explode on TV (even though most of their classrooms didn’t have TVs). It’s not because MJ, those elderly folks and everyone who attended grade school in the 80s are liars. It’s because the human memory is fucking awful, and our brains actively make up shit based on things we hear or decide after-the-fact. On today’s podcast, Cracked editors Jack O’Brien and Jason Pargin talk about the “filter” in our brains that makes us remember everything the wrong way. There’s a reason most fatal accidents happen close to home: your eyes aren’t windows to the world. They’re crafting a picture of reality based on what you’ve seen before and what you expect. History isn’t as much a list of 'what happened’ as it is a collection of lies and misperceptions a bunch of people have passed down over time. Remember Tom Cruise running out on stage and jumping on Oprah’s couch like a crazy man? No you don’t, because that’s not at all how the actual interview went down! We just want to believe he’s crazy hard enough that we invented a lunatic episode for the man. Remember seeing that first plane hit the tower on 9/11? No you don’t, because that first impact wasn’t recorded on television. Your brain is lying to you, and if you click play you’ll learn exactly how.

Have you ever noticed how some actors do the same weird things in every movie? Peeing forms a major plot point in like, half of Tom Hanks' films. Tom Cruise can't finish a film without breaking into a dead sprint. And, on the opposite side of things, some actors just never fit in certain roles: Michael Douglas only works as a modern man, John Hamm only works if the film is set in the past, and no audience on earth believes Tom Cruise as a father.On today's podcast Cracked editors Jack O'Brien, Michael Swaim and Soren Bowie talk about the weird trends in our favorite actor's histories. Ever notice how the stakes rise from film to film for Mel Gibson -- from saving Scotland in 'Braveheart' to saving America in 'The Patriot' to saving the world in 'Signs')? Or how Mark Wahlberg can't play anything but a blue color man? For a gripping look at how these trends came to be, throw on your headphones and click play above.

Have you ever noticed how some actors do the same weird things in every movie? Peeing forms a major plot point in like, half of Tom Hanks' films. Tom Cruise can't finish a film without breaking into a dead sprint. And, on the opposite side of things, some actors just never fit in certain roles: Michael Douglas only works as a modern man, John Hamm only works if the film is set in the past, and no audience on earth believes Tom Cruise as a father.On today's podcast Cracked editors Jack O'Brien, Michael Swaim and Soren Bowie talk about the weird trends in our favorite actor's histories. Ever notice how the stakes rise from film to film for Mel Gibson -- from saving Scotland in 'Braveheart' to saving America in 'The Patriot' to saving the world in 'Signs')? Or how Mark Wahlberg can't play anything but a blue color man? For a gripping look at how these trends came to be, throw on your headphones and click play above.

Accidents happen. And, sometimes those accidents lead to world-changing inventions, like penicillin, cheese and (mankind's most critical invention) Silly Putty. On today's podcast, Cracked editors Jack O'Brien, Dan O'Brien and Soren Bowie talk about the cock-ups that led to huge revelations. If it weren't for filthy ol' Europeans believing bathing was a tool of the devil, a whole continent of Native Americans wouldn't have died out. If it weren't for a madman trying to find testicles in frog's legs, we wouldn't know how nerves work.For more crazy accidents with earth-shattering impacts, throw on your headphones and click play above.