In the 50 years after the Civil War, America’s population quadrupled. That’s right: four times as many people within five decades. That surge of humanity made the turn-of-the-century United States a nation of 75 million Americans flocking to cities built so fast some didn’t have plumbing. What if one of those cities (Chicago) installed its pipes after the fact by raising entire structures into the air like in a cartoon? What if America’s nationwide surge of urbanization led to a host of other problems almost too weird to contemplate? And what if our cities are full of smelly trees, gross traitor-statues, and more odd issues to this day?

On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by comedian Ryan Asher, journalist Maya Dukmasova, historian Jane Dailey, and an amazing LIVE audience at Lincoln Hall in Chicago IL. Listen to this Chicago super-team break down the animals, minerals, cartoon corruption and other problems plaguing America’s cities (in a fun way!).

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/11-bizarre-gross-problems-that-took-over-u.s.-cities

Movie sequels are the biggest gamble in entertainment. The first movie is the first bet: how much do you build it toward a franchise at the expense of its story? How many of those folks will stick around for a second adventure? With your Adventure #2, how do you retell Adventure #1's story in a new way? Those and more questions make it amazing second and third movies happen at all (let alone 20+ Avengers building blocks). But what if that sequel process isn’t as hard as it looks? What if it’s actually pretty easy to do...as long as you avoid a few classic pitfalls audiences reject every time?

On this week’s episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt teams up with Cracked editor/columnist/swell fella Cyriaque Lamar for a look at mistakes multi-million dollar movie franchises repeat year after year. They’ll dig into the story problems studios keep bringing on themselves. They’ll examine why Aliens, Terminators, and more Hollywood big bads turn kind of lame after enough iterations. And stick around for a few movie franchises that nail this every time, in replicable ways (HINT HINT MOVIEMAKERS).

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/7-common-mistakes-that-ruin-movie-sequels-trilogies/

Movie sequels are the biggest gamble in entertainment. The first movie is the first bet: how much do you build it toward a franchise at the expense of its story? How many of those folks will stick around for a second adventure? With your Adventure #2, how do you retell Adventure #1's story in a new way? Those and more questions make it amazing second and third movies happen at all (let alone 20+ Avengers building blocks). But what if that sequel process isn’t as hard as it looks? What if it’s actually pretty easy to do...as long as you avoid a few classic pitfalls audiences reject every time?

On this week’s episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt teams up with Cracked editor/columnist/swell fella Cyriaque Lamar for a look at mistakes multi-million dollar movie franchises repeat year after year. They’ll dig into the story problems studios keep bringing on themselves. They’ll examine why Aliens, Terminators, and more Hollywood big bads turn kind of lame after enough iterations. And stick around for a few movie franchises that nail this every time, in replicable ways (HINT HINT MOVIEMAKERS).

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/7-common-mistakes-that-ruin-movie-sequels-trilogies/

Video games are escapist. That’s one theory about them, anyway. People think we fire up the ol’ console or PC or goofy VR headset to get away from life’s troubles. But what if that’s not the case? What if the art form of video games is a breeding ground for criminal activity? And what if the crimes are felony-level misdeeds, caused by everything from greed to malfeasance to Kate Upton’s chest? 

On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by Heather Anne Campbell and Nick Wiger, hosts of Earwolf’s upcoming ‘How Did This Get Played?’ podcast. They’ll combine incredible true stories with a deep knowledge of the gaming world to bring you gamer-based tales of theft, embezzlement, and biological warfare. Discover how millions of dollars, a slew of professional sporting events, and the Dutch Supreme Court changed forever thanks to the seemingly escapist medium of video games.

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/10-insane-real-life-crimes-committed-through-video-games/

Video games are escapist. That’s one theory about them, anyway. People think we fire up the ol’ console or PC or goofy VR headset to get away from life’s troubles. But what if that’s not the case? What if the art form of video games is a breeding ground for criminal activity? And what if the crimes are felony-level misdeeds, caused by everything from greed to malfeasance to Kate Upton’s chest? 

On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by Heather Anne Campbell and Nick Wiger, hosts of Earwolf’s upcoming ‘How Did This Get Played?’ podcast. They’ll combine incredible true stories with a deep knowledge of the gaming world to bring you gamer-based tales of theft, embezzlement, and biological warfare. Discover how millions of dollars, a slew of professional sporting events, and the Dutch Supreme Court changed forever thanks to the seemingly escapist medium of video games.

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/10-insane-real-life-crimes-committed-through-video-games/

Be glad you don’t work in turn-of-the-century America. It was a time of lethal accidents, legal child labor, lecherous tycoons and more sick problems we've (mostly) left behind. Things got better in the past hundred years. That's a fact. But have things gotten better for you? Do you know working adults with benefits, unions, pensions, or any sense of a future? And most of all, if you hear somebody complain about their job, do you kinda think they're lucky to have a job at all?

On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt sits down with Jason Pargin (who writes for the site as David Wong) to dig into how modern work might be ruining your life. They’ll show the surprising life-or-death stakes baked into the simple question “how’s work?” They’ll also examine what science says about jobs of the future, how little science knows about jobs of the present, and how we can make each others’ jobs suck less by remembering the ways we’re the boss.

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/how-lousy-life-shortening-jobs-became-americas-gig/

Be glad you don’t work in turn-of-the-century America. It was a time of lethal accidents, legal child labor, lecherous tycoons and more sick problems we've (mostly) left behind. Things got better in the past hundred years. That's a fact. But have things gotten better for you? Do you know working adults with benefits, unions, pensions, or any sense of a future? And most of all, if you hear somebody complain about their job, do you kinda think they're lucky to have a job at all?

On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt sits down with Jason Pargin (who writes for the site as David Wong) to dig into how modern work might be ruining your life. They’ll show the surprising life-or-death stakes baked into the simple question “how’s work?” They’ll also examine what science says about jobs of the future, how little science knows about jobs of the present, and how we can make each others’ jobs suck less by remembering the ways we’re the boss.

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/how-lousy-life-shortening-jobs-became-americas-gig/

If you ask the average American to name ten things from World War II, Benito Mussolini won’t often make the list. But “Il Duce” seized power long before Hitler, spent more than two decades reshaping Italy in his image, and coined that “Fascist” term we all yell these days. Isn’t it strange that we never focus on Mussolini when we hearken back to WW2? Could he be a useful historical touchstone for understanding the present day? And did you know modern Italy is so steeped in Mussolini, its rising political stars CELEBRATE his brutal genocidal legacy?

On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by historian & scholar Ruth Ben-Ghiat and by comedian & podcaster Adam Tod Brown. They're taking a timely look at the most ignored fascist government of all time. They’ll debunk common myths about Mussolini’s train-centric reign. They’ll reveal the shockingly brazen Mussolini acolytes in modern Italian politics, supported by Fascism’s soccer subculture and normalized legacy. Also stick around for the shocking parallels between 2010s world leaders and Mussolini’s 1920s quest to Make Italy Great Again.

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/what-fascist-italy-reveals-about-modern-america/

If you ask the average American to name ten things from World War II, Benito Mussolini won’t often make the list. But “Il Duce” seized power long before Hitler, spent more than two decades reshaping Italy in his image, and coined that “Fascist” term we all yell these days. Isn’t it strange that we never focus on Mussolini when we hearken back to WW2? Could he be a useful historical touchstone for understanding the present day? And did you know modern Italy is so steeped in Mussolini, its rising political stars CELEBRATE his brutal genocidal legacy?

On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by historian & scholar Ruth Ben-Ghiat and by comedian & podcaster Adam Tod Brown. They're taking a timely look at the most ignored fascist government of all time. They’ll debunk common myths about Mussolini’s train-centric reign. They’ll reveal the shockingly brazen Mussolini acolytes in modern Italian politics, supported by Fascism’s soccer subculture and normalized legacy. Also stick around for the shocking parallels between 2010s world leaders and Mussolini’s 1920s quest to Make Italy Great Again.

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/what-fascist-italy-reveals-about-modern-america/

Notes are annoying. Nobody likes to spend weeks and months crafting an idea only to be told what’s wrong with it. Flip side to that: we often have blind spots when it comes to our creative projects. And that goes for everybody, even the creators of the most famous and successful entertainment of all time, because surprise -- almost every movie and TV show you love needed saving from creative notes that are (in hindsight) blisteringly obvious.

On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by Cracked editor/columnist Dan Hopper and by writer/comedian Kandice Martellaro for a look at the most quotable, lovable, Oscar-winning movies of all time...and how they almost fell apart at the ideas step. They’ll also discover series-killing TV episodes that got rehearsed and staged and brought within a hair of terrifying America. And yes, don’t worry, they one hundred percent discover which iconic franchise almost made its villain a confusing monkey.

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/10-great-movies-tv-shows-that-were-almost-disasters