The Nimrod Navigator Podcast

Your mother lied to you, a man turned his underwear into an international bird sanctuary, and a doctor woke up with a bat trying to crawl into her mouth. Just another perfectly normal day on the Nimrod Navigator Podcast!

This week, Chills and Ash tackle three bizarre stories that prove truth is not only stranger than fiction — it's also a hell of a lot more disturbing.

MOM LIED TO YOU!
Remember being told that swallowed gum stays in your stomach for seven years? That shaving makes hair grow back thicker? Or that going outside without a coat will give you a cold? Turns out Mom's medical degree from the University of Because I Said So wasn't entirely legitimate. We bust some classic childhood body myths and question everything we thought we knew.

BIRDS IN THE BRIEFS!
A traveler arriving in Miami from Cuba allegedly tried smuggling TEN LIVE BIRDS inside specially modified underwear. That's right. Ten birds, six plastic tubes, and one spectacularly questionable packing strategy. Chills and Ash investigate the world's worst in-flight accommodations, the meaning of "personal use," and why airport security should probably receive hazard pay.

A BAT IN THE MOUTH!
A Virginia doctor woke up to discover a real, live bat trying to crawl into her mouth! What started as a strange dream turned into a rabies scare and a nightmare worthy of a horror movie. We discuss the bizarre encounter, the serious health risks, and why Chills may start sleeping in a full-face motorcycle helmet.

Along the way, expect savage sarcasm, questionable anatomy lessons, ridiculous wildlife observations, childhood nostalgia, and enough inappropriate commentary to make a school nurse resign.

Three true stories. Two completely unfiltered hosts. One podcast that probably shouldn't be considered educational.

What ridiculous health myth did YOUR parents tell you? And what's the strangest animal encounter you've ever experienced?

Join Chills and Ash for another wild ride through the weird, hilarious, and occasionally horrifying world we live in.

Nimrod Navigator Podcast — Small Town Roots. Big Time Laughs.

Was 1999 the greatest year in movie history? Chills and Ash think it has one hell of a case!

This week on the Nimrod Navigator Podcast, we're traveling back to a time when movie theaters were packed, Blockbuster was king, nobody had a smartphone, and Hollywood was cranking out classics like it was going out of business.

Chills and Ash take turns revealing the Nimrod Navigator's 25 favorite movies of 1999, in no particular order. From unforgettable action and psychological thrillers to raunchy comedies, teenage romance, and movies that completely screwed with our heads, this year had EVERYTHING.

Some of the movies on our list:
The Matrix, Fight Club, American Pie, Office Space, The Mummy, The Green Mile, Cruel Intentions, The Sixth Sense, The Blair Witch Project, Big Daddy, Any Given Sunday, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Galaxy Quest, and plenty more!

Along the way, Chills reveals his real-life success using an Office Space pickup line on a VFW bartender, admits he identified a little too closely with Stifler from American Pie, and explains why The Phantom Menace never needed to exist. Ash fires back with her own favorites, defends Star Wars, and tries to keep the conversation from completely going off the rails.

There's movie trivia, behind-the-scenes stories, unforgettable quotes, questionable teenage memories, and enough sarcasm to make a film critic reconsider their career.

Plus, we give some love to the movies that almost made the cut, including Being John Malkovich, Man on the Moon, Sleepy Hollow, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, and Tarzan.

Twenty-five movies. One incredible year. Two hosts with absolutely no filter.

What was YOUR favorite movie from 1999? What did we miss? And which one have you watched so many times you can practically recite it?

Join Chills and Ash for a hilarious, nostalgic trip back to one of Hollywood's greatest years.

Nimrod Navigator Podcast — Small Town Roots. Big Time Laughs.

Remember when going to the mall was an actual event? When you could spend an entire Saturday browsing stores, discovering new music, trying out ridiculous gadgets, and blowing your paycheck on clothes that probably should've been illegal?

This week on the Nimrod Navigator Podcast, Chills and Ash fire up the nostalgia machine and revisit the legendary mall stores that disappeared from our lives but never quite left our memories.

Chills relives his glory days at County Seat, dropping serious cash on Girbaud jeans and those magnificent, ridiculously pleated Z Cavaricci pants. Ash remembers the colorful world of Esprit, while both reminisce about the cheap treasures at Steve & Barry's, the magic of KB Toys, flipping through CDs at Sam Goody, browsing Waldenbooks, testing gadgets at The Sharper Image, hunting for bargains at Payless ShoeSource, and finding that one impossible-to-find electronic part at RadioShack.

Along the way, there are plenty of laughs, questionable fashion choices, childhood memories, and a surprising realization: We didn't just lose stores. We lost places where memories were made.

From Orange Julius and food courts to cassette tapes, CDs, and jeans with enough fabric to upholster a Buick, it's a hilarious trip back to a time when shopping malls were the center of the universe.

What old mall store do YOU miss the most? And what's the most embarrassing thing you ever bought there?

Join Chills and Ash for laughs, nostalgia, and a little heartfelt reminiscing about the good old days.

Nimrod Navigator Podcast — Small Town Roots. Big Time Laughs.

Halloween is creeping closer, and Chills and Ash are heading into the darker corners of northern Minnesota ... where the buildings are abandoned, the graves have secrets, and apparently even the dead can't escape public transportation.

First stop: Nopeming Sanatorium near Duluth, a century-old tuberculosis hospital where countless patients sought treatment, many never returned home, and visitors have reported mysterious footsteps, shadowy figures and voices echoing through empty hallways. The real history might be scarier than the ghost stories.

Next, Hibbing's Greyhound Bus Museum, where the transportation giant got its start—and where paranormal legends involve phantom mechanics, unexplained noises, moving bus windows and a mysterious little girl in a pink dress. Is something still waiting for the last bus? And more importantly, do ghosts still pay baggage fees?

Finally, we venture into Lakeview Cemetery in Buhl, where forest surrounds old graves, some patients were reportedly buried beneath numbered iron crosses, and visitors tell stories of apparitions, disembodied voices and footsteps with nobody around.

Along the way, Chills questions the economics of ghost mechanics, Ash discovers the world's worst retirement plan, Dale threatens to fact-check the afterlife, and neither host is particularly interested in spending a night alone in an abandoned hospital.

Three eerie Minnesota locations. Real history. Unexplained legends. And just enough inappropriate humor to get us haunted.

Turn down the lights, check behind your chair, and join Chills & Ash on The Nimrod Navigator Podcast Halloween Special.

Because some places are haunted by ghosts. Others are haunted by history. And some apparently still charge for luggage.

Minnesota has officially lost its damn mind—and October is only making things worse.

Three straight weekends. Three Minnesota towns. Three completely ridiculous ways to celebrate fall. Chills and Ash are here to determine who's the craziest.

First, Stillwater Harvest Fest, where people spend months growing pumpkins the size of Buicks, hollow them out, climb inside and race them down a river. And because apparently that's not insane enough, they bring in a 100-foot crane and drop giant pumpkins to their explosive deaths. Nothing says family entertainment like vegetable executions.

Next, Grand Marais goes full Moose Madness, celebrating enormous antlered animals with scavenger hunts, trivia and dancing. Naturally, Chills finds a way to drag Kyler Murray into the conversation, and Ash begins questioning her career choices.

Finally, Anoka, the Halloween Capital of the World, proves that sometimes the best traditions begin with badly behaved children. More than a century ago, kids were tipping outhouses and terrorizing the town. The solution? Give the little bastards a parade. And somehow, it worked.

Along the way, Cody threatens to turn pumpkin carnage into soup, Dale conducts more questionable Facebook research, Penelope the gun-grabbing emu makes a comeback, and Chills still refuses to surrender Nimrod's bear-record bragging rights.

Three weekends. Giant vegetables. Dancing moose. Halloween insanity. Absolutely zero adult supervision.

Welcome to another episode of The Nimrod Navigator Podcast with Chills & Ash, where Minnesota's strangest traditions get the attention (and ridicule) they deserve.

Apparently Minnesota's animals held a meeting and decided we've been in charge long enough.

A grouse hunter south of McGrath sends his Brittany into the woods expecting a little game bird—and Australia walks out. A six-foot escaped emu named Penelope follows him through the woods, pecks at his shotgun dozens of times and turns an ordinary grouse hunt into the weirdest hostage situation in Minnesota.

Then we head to Saginaw, where a 701.5-pound black bear has Chills concerned. Not because it's enormous—but because Nimrod has a title to defend. Jesse Koskiniemi's Minnesota firearm black-bear record isn't leaving Wadena County without a fight. Chills studies the pictures and delivers his professional assessment: plump, fatty, and built like a Chevy Suburban with paws.

Finally: YES, APPARENTLY THE COW CAN GET RABIES. A Brown County case gives Chills and Ash a chance to actually teach something useful... which lasts roughly thirty seconds before Dale, Cody, Kyler Murray and a rabid skunk destroy any remaining credibility.

Birds are disarming hunters. Bears need commercial plates. Cows have rabies.

Welcome to another perfectly normal week in Minnesota on The Nimrod Navigator Podcast with Chills & Ash.

Chills and Ash tackle three stories that probably shouldn't belong in the same conversation—but somehow do.

First, social media warfare: if you charge into somebody else's post yelling “this is bullshit,” don't act shocked when the room fires back. Then Nimrod responds to one of the strangest headlines imaginable with an official reminder that roadside deer are wildlife, not dating prospects. Keep driving. Yes, even with a nice rack.

Finally, it's off to Mackinac Island, where cars have been banned for more than a century. Could Nimrod survive a car-free weekend? Bikes, horses, walking, golf carts and January quickly turn that idea into another argument.

Along the way, Kyler Murray gets dragged again, Cody still has crayfish in the VFW freezer, the undefeated lawyer goat returns, and a mysterious Facebook expert named Dale becomes part of the show.

Know the room before you speak—and for God's sake, don't date the transportation.

Minnesota has rusty crayfish invading nearly 300 lakes, so Chills has a solution: get Cody down at the VFW, find the biggest damn pot available, and turn an invasive-species problem into a Cajun boil.

Then things get heated.

Chills has been calling Kyler Murray a failed project for years, and after Kyler's rough, short-lived Vikings debut, he's taking a victory lap nobody asked for. Ash tries to defend him. Chills brings receipts, questions the work ethic, attacks the refrigerator résumé, and wonders whether Shorty can even see over his offensive line. It goes downhill beautifully from there.

Finally, we visit Minnesota's Oddities & Curiosities Expo, where taxidermy, bones, preserved specimens, funeral collectibles and questionable medical devices somehow inspire a new business venture involving mounted rusty crayfish.

Invasive species become appetizers. Dead things become décor. And Kyler Murray probably needs witness protection.

It's Episode 2 of The Nimrod Navigator Podcast with Chills & Ash — actual information buried beneath sarcasm, satire and two people who probably shouldn't have microphones.

Vultures are disgusting. They’re also quietly helping keep you alive. Mayo Clinic and Microsoft are bringing AI deeper into the doctor’s office. And somewhere in 1937 Chicago, a goat accidentally launched one hell of a legal career.

In the first full episode of The Nimrod Navigator Podcast, Chills and Ash dig into three stories pulled from past issues of the Navigator — nature’s bald-headed sanitation crew, the promises and questions surrounding AI-assisted medicine, and the legendary drunk-driving case where an officer couldn’t smell the driver’s breath because there was a goat in the car.

Along the way, we discover that vultures handle sanitation, computers handle medicine, goats handle legal matters... and Chills and Ash probably shouldn’t be trusted with any of them.

Local stories. Weird history. Actual information. Questionable behavior. Welcome to Episode 1.

Welcome to the very first episode of The Nimrod Navigator Podcast.

Meet Chills and Ash — one local guy with a microphone and one sarcastic co-host who was apparently hired without a proper background check.

This introductory episode lays out what we're doing here: Nimrod and Wadena County happenings, Minnesota news, community events, the Wild, Vikings and Wolves, strange stories, questionable decisions, and whatever else is worth talking about.

Some stories will be serious. Some will be useful. Others will leave us asking, “Who in the hell thought that was a good idea?”

The topics, reporting, opinions and editorial direction come from The Nimrod Navigator.

Welcome aboard. This could get interesting.