The Tipsy Exchange | Movies, Mysteries & More

Ahoy! This week, Berly and LA set sail into the Golden Age of Piracy. Yes, it's partly because we're obsessed with Our Flag Means Death. And yes, Taika Waititi in a leather crop top is a significant part of that.

Berly kicks things off with the most feared pirate of all time, Blackbeard. He was a real man with a very committed approach to personal branding. We have questions about his hair and beard maintenance routine. Then LA brings us the story we couldn't believe was true: Stede Bonnet, the Gentleman Pirate, a wealthy man with an estate, a wife, and kids, who one day decided he'd rather be a pirate. He had zero sailing experience. He bought a ship instead of stealing one. He paid his crew. And then he met Blackbeard.

What happened next sounds less like a pirate story and more like a romance novel. There's a very generous invitation to "relax," a ship name that's giving major jilted-lover energy, and a breakup that ended in betrayal. We're just saying, Our Flag Means Death might be more historically accurate than anyone expected. You'll have to listen for the ending, which we promise is dramatic.

Along the way, we get a Taika Waititi appreciation break (including his work as a very dedicated Instagram boyfriend), a wish that King Arthur was real, a Pirates of the Caribbean memory lapse, and a theory about Blackbeard's hot coals that we probably shouldn't have said out loud.

This week's toast: Jack Handey reminds us that pirates spent all that time hunting for treasure, never realizing the real treasure was the fond memories they made. Cheers to that, and to LA's sweet husky, Pirate. Then we close with a quote from The Princess Bride: "Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while." Cheers!

Tell us what you think! Are you watching Our Flag Means Death? Do you think Stede and Blackbeard were more than just friends? (We have our answer.) Who's your favorite real-life pirate? Tell us in the comments!

Please drink responsibly.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy
• https://www.nps.gov/people/blackbeard.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Flag_Means_Death#Premise
• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-gentleman-pirate-159418520/ 

Support the show

The Tipsy Exchange is a comedy podcast where besties Berly and LA pour a drink, raise a toast, and dive into true crime, mysteries, the paranormal, and pop culture, with plenty of tangents along the way. It's like happy hour with your funniest friends. Leave us a review, send us your topic and toast ideas on Twitter and Instagram, and follow the show at thetipsyexchange.com. Cheers!

Remember the opening of Prometheus, where an alien shows up on ancient Earth and basically kick-starts humanity? Berly loves that movie. (LA loves Michael Fassbender, even when he's an android). It's also the perfect gateway into this week's question: have aliens visited Earth at some point in history?

Berly starts with the Anunnaki, the gods of ancient Sumer (and a word she will definitely mispronounce, so please forgive her in advance). One author translated ancient clay tablets and came away convinced that these weren't myths. They were records of real visitors from another planet who came here for a very specific reason. Just wait until you hear what they wanted. It'll make you rethink humanity's obsession with shiny rocks. Plus: the surprisingly advanced math that ancient civilizations seemed to know long before anyone else.

Then things get weird. LA takes us from ancient aliens to the lizard people conspiracy. We explain where it came from, who started it, and which famous faces have supposedly been "outed" as reptilian. There's also a list of "signs you might be a lizard person," and Berly checks way too many boxes. She'd like to thank her mom.

Along the way, there's a Stargate appreciation break (French Stewart!), a Stardust and Baron Munchausen recommendation, comparisons to The Eternals, and an honest debate about why we decided diamonds are valuable in the first place. You'll also get a Dark Knight quote we should have used as our toast, and a hot take on the Lizard from Spider-Man: No Way Home that we're not proud of. Okay, we're a little proud.

This week's toast: From David, Michael Fassbender's android in Prometheus: "Big things have small beginnings." Cheers!

Tell us what you think! Do you think aliens visited ancient civilizations? How many lizard person signs do you have? (Be honest.) Tell us in the comments. And if you're a lizard person, you can admit it here. This is a safe space.

Please drink responsibly.

Sources:

• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anunnaki
• https://allthatsinteresting.com/anunnaki
• https://www.afrikaiswoke.com/were-the-anunnaki-a-reptilian-race/
• https://www.vox.com/2014/11/5/7158371/lizard-people-conspiracy-theory-explainer 

Support the show

The Tipsy Exchange is a comedy podcast where besties Berly and LA pour a drink, raise a toast, and dive into true crime, mysteries, the paranormal, and pop culture, with plenty of tangents along the way. It's like happy hour with your funniest friends. Leave us a review, send us your topic and toast ideas on Twitter and Instagram, and follow the show at thetipsyexchange.com. Cheers!

Remember our time travel episode? LA is still recovering. So naturally, we're back for another attempt at a scientific discussion. This time the topic is the multiverse, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters next month.

Spoiler warning: If you're not caught up on the MCU's Phase 4 movies and series, there are spoilers ahead. You've been warned. If you're still here, that's on you.

Berly has been fascinated by the idea of parallel worlds for a long time, so she turned to a real theoretical physicist to answer the big question: is the multiverse actually real? Turns out there's a lot of real science behind what Marvel is doing. There are two different ways to picture the multiverse, one of which involves bubbles (LA had… an interpretation). There's a theory about how the Big Bang may have happened. And we find out why time travel might not work the way the Avengers think it does. Spoiler: you might not be able to kill your Lincoln.

Then we head back through the MCU to find the multiverse hiding in plain sight, years before anyone said the word out loud. You'll learn which early movie quietly laid the groundwork, what real-world physics the Bifrost is based on, and why Doctor Strange deserves more love than it gets. Mads Mikkelsen! Benedict Cumberbatch! Come on, people. Then we rank our favorite Phase 4 series and movies so far, and we get emotional about No Way Home all over again.

Along the way, you'll hear a sci-fi movie recommendation that'll mess with your head, a Mario Kart mix-up, a New Girl episode that made Berly cry, and a Willem Dafoe fact that is… frighteningly large.

This week's toast: In honor of Baron Mordo's return, we quote the Ancient One from Doctor Strange: "We never lose our demons. We only learn to live above them." Cheers!

Tell us what you think! Do you believe in the multiverse? If you could visit another version of your life, would you? What's your favorite Phase 4 series or movie so far? Tell us in the comments. Science nerds, feel free to correct us. Kindly.

Please drink responsibly.

Support the show

The Tipsy Exchange is a comedy podcast where besties Berly and LA pour a drink, raise a toast, and dive into true crime, mysteries, the paranormal, and pop culture, with plenty of tangents along the way. It's like happy hour with your funniest friends. Leave us a review, send us your topic and toast ideas on Twitter and Instagram, and follow the show at thetipsyexchange.com. Cheers!

We're back for part two! Last time, we covered the first six of the Earth's 12 vile vortices: spots where planes vanish, compasses spin, and ancient civilizations built things nobody can explain. If you haven't listened yet, go back and start there. Or don't. We're not your mom. This week, Berly and LA finish the list.

LA starts us off in the Pacific with an underwater volcano off Hawaii and the Ring of Fire. There are so many underwater volcanoes, and Berly will never hear a certain Johnny Cash song the same way again. Next is an island chain near New Caledonia with violent currents, whirlpools, and an island that may or may not have ever existed. Then Berly takes us to the one vortex that isn't on Earth at all, a weak spot in the planet's magnetic field that messes with satellites, spacecraft, and our brains. From there, we dive into a stretch of the Indian Ocean tied to one of modern aviation's biggest mysteries.

Then we head to the poles. LA covers the North Pole, where early explorers faced deadly conditions and one doomed expedition left behind a haunting discovery more than a century later. Berly wraps things up in Antarctica with blood-red waterfalls, strange fossils, and a Norwegian research team that found something frozen in the ice. Or did they? You'll have to listen. Kurt Russell is involved.

Along the way, there's a reminder to never watch Open Water if you like the ocean, a trip back to the nightmare bear from Annihilation, some creative analogies to explain magnetic fields, and our ongoing quest for a globe with a skewer through it.

This week's toast: From Benedict Cumberbatch (because of course): "Mystique is rare now, isn't it? There aren't that many enigmas in this modern world." Here's to being an enigma. Cheers!

Tell us what you think! Now that you know all 12, which vile vortex would you never visit? Which one would you actually book a trip to? And do you think there's a real connection between them, or is it all just a big coincidence? Tell us in the comments!

Please drink responsibly.

Support the show

The Tipsy Exchange is a comedy podcast where besties Berly and LA pour a drink, raise a toast, and dive into true crime, mysteries, the paranormal, and pop culture, with plenty of tangents along the way. It's like happy hour with your funniest friends. Leave us a review, send us your topic and toast ideas on Twitter and Instagram, and follow the show at thetipsyexchange.com. Cheers!

Remember our Mysterious Triangles episode from season one? Turns out it's become a fan favorite, and it sent us down a rabbit hole we promised we'd come back to: the vile vortices. Not vital vortices. Berly spent an embarrassingly long time calling them that.

The vile vortices are 12 spots around the globe, evenly spaced along the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn plus both poles, where strange things seem to happen. Planes and ships vanish. Instruments go haywire. Ancient civilizations build things nobody can explain. This is part one of a two-part series, and your hosts are covering the first six.

We start with a quick return to the Bermuda Triangle, including two ghost ship stories that are still unexplained. Then we head to the Dragon's Triangle off the coast of Japan, where ships have disappeared, a research vessel went missing, and something mysterious sits deep underwater. After that, we visit Easter Island, where we wonder how on Earth they moved those massive statues and try to decode a writing system nobody has ever cracked. Then it's on to the Algerian megaliths in North Africa, Great Zimbabwe's mysterious birds and far-traveled treasures, and an ancient city in the Indus Valley with plumbing more advanced than Shakespeare's England. Its people then… vanished.

Along the way, you'll hear a Brendan Fraser appreciation break (he could get it), a TikTok about climbing inside a pyramid that's pure cardio, a debate about ancient imaginations, and yet another plea to our favorite Forbes science writer to explain it all. JV Chamary, we still need you.

This week's toast: From Neil Armstrong: "Mystery creates wonder, and wonder is the basis of man's desire to understand." (It's a little ironic to quote a guy who went to the moon while we talk about what's under the ocean.) Cheers!

Tell us what you think! Which vile vortex creeps you out the most? What's your theory on how they moved those Easter Island statues? Tell us in the comments. And stay tuned for part two, where we cover the other six!

Please drink responsibly.

Support the show

The Tipsy Exchange is a comedy podcast where besties Berly and LA pour a drink, raise a toast, and dive into true crime, mysteries, the paranormal, and pop culture, with plenty of tangents along the way. It's like happy hour with your funniest friends. Leave us a review, send us your topic and toast ideas on Twitter and Instagram, and follow the show at thetipsyexchange.com. Cheers!

What's your favorite dance scene in a movie? Pulp Fiction's twist contest? The Office wedding march? That unhinged Ex Machina routine? Dancing is joy, cardio, and endorphins. Well, except for that one Zumba class. We don't talk about that one. But what if dancing was the enemy?

This week, Berly takes us back to Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries, when "dancing mania" swept through towns and villages. Crowds of people, sometimes thousands at a time, danced uncontrollably until they collapsed. There's a bridge that couldn't take the boogie, a group of kids who danced their way between two towns, and outbreaks that spread across country after country. Then comes the big one: in the summer of 1518, one woman stepped into the streets of Strasbourg and started dancing. She didn't stop for days. Soon, others joined her. The city's solution to the problem? Let's just say it was not what we expected. We have questions about the band.

So what caused it? A saint's curse? Something in the bread? The world's longest peer pressure event? We walk through the theories, from the one historians favor to a surprisingly modern case of mass hysteria that proves this kind of thing didn't end in the Middle Ages. Along the way, we have a chat about patron saints, a strong Fleabag detour (Hot Priest, we're still not over it), and a theory about the dancers that's… a little kinky.

This week's toast: Bob Marley reminds us to forget our troubles, sorrows, sickness, and weakness, and just dance. We close the episode with a toast to Frau Troffea and her legendary dance-a-thon. Cheers!

Tell us what you think! Which theory do you buy: curse, ergot, or mass hysteria? What's your all-time favorite movie dance scene? And the most important question: how long could you dance before collapsing? Our answer is about five minutes. Tell us in the comments!

Please drink responsibly. 

Support the show

The Tipsy Exchange is a comedy podcast where besties Berly and LA pour a drink, raise a toast, and dive into true crime, mysteries, the paranormal, and pop culture, with plenty of tangents along the way. It's like happy hour with your funniest friends. Leave us a review, send us your topic and toast ideas on Twitter and Instagram, and follow the show at thetipsyexchange.com. Cheers!

They're baaack! Paul Rudd may have won People's Sexiest Man Alive, but let's be honest, our honor is way better. People just says "you're sexy." We have criteria. Welcome to the 2022 Andy Nominations!

If you're new here: it all started with Spartacus star Andy Whitfield. Back before the internet told us everything about everyone, we decided he rescued puppies, read to children, and would never do anything shady. Andy would never. From that beautiful delusion came the Andy factor: a man who's attractive, nice, delightful, and yes, yummy. Before we get to this year's nominees, we honor the man who started it all with a sweet story from someone who knew him.

This year, each host nominates three men. LA brings an Oscar winner with a very calm, very soothing energy (and a surprising college athlete past), an Aussie god who is basically the perfect specimen of a man, and a sitcom sweetheart who turned out to be a sneaky, sexy action star. Berly brings the one she's been obsessed with forever (his haters are wrong and she hates them), a former Spider-Man who is finally getting the love he deserves, and a Star Wars pilot whose hair deserves its own award.

Along the way, you'll hear about SNL sketches, a very delightful Alan Rickman impression, a red carpet moment that broke the internet, and a pandemic web series that gave us all some much-needed good news. You'll also get what may be the most unhinged pickup line we've ever uttered on this podcast. We regret nothing.

This week's toast: Cheers to Andy Whitfield, the man who started it all. Andy forever.

Vote for your favorite! Head to our website and cast your vote for the 2022 Andy. Then tell us in the comments who we missed. Who has the Andy factor on your list? And if one of our nominees doesn't deserve it, how dare you. You don't even know Andy.

Please drink responsibly.

Support the show

The Tipsy Exchange is a comedy podcast where besties Berly and LA pour a drink, raise a toast, and dive into true crime, mysteries, the paranormal, and pop culture, with plenty of tangents along the way. It's like happy hour with your funniest friends. Leave us a review, send us your topic and toast ideas on Twitter and Instagram, and follow the show at thetipsyexchange.com. Cheers!

On this episode, Berly and LA discuss the 2022 ANDY nominees and what makes them each attractive, nice, delightful, and yummy.  After listening, please visit thetipsyexchange.com to vote for your favorite nominee!  

Way too many to list so sources are available upon request.

Every other week, Berly and LA research a topic in which they wish to know more. Then, they exchange ideas over drinks. Sci-fi? True crime? Unexplained phenomena? Anything goes on the exchange. Now, let's get tipsy!
Help the Tipsy Exchange get more exposure by rating this episode and leaving a review. Visit www.thetipsyexchange.com for socials, merch and additional episodes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every other week, Berly and LA research a topic in which they wish to know more. Then, they exchange ideas over drinks. Sci-fi? True crime? Unexplained phenomena? Anything goes on the exchange. Now, let's get tipsy!
Help the Tipsy Exchange get more exposure by rating this episode and leaving a review. Visit www.thetipsyexchange.com for socials, merch and additional episodes.

Remember when we got sidetracked in our Tennant vs. Tenet episode talking about people who claimed to be from the future? Well, we couldn't let it go. This week, Berly and LA investigate self-proclaimed time travelers. Are they visitors from the future, or just some very committed trolls?

Berly kicks things off with a viral TikToker who claimed that by 2027, humanity would be extinct. Then she moves on to the OG of internet time travelers, John Titor. In 2000, he appeared on message boards claiming to be a soldier from 2036 on a mission to 1975. He shared blueprints, blurry photos of his time machine, a list of very specific predictions, and some truly disappointing news about the state of future science. Then he vanished, leaving behind one final piece of advice that sounds a lot like something your dad would say. Why are people still obsessed with him 20 years later? And how many of his predictions came true? You'll have to listen.

Then LA brings a documentary she found while "lurking" on Amazon, about a mysterious man with no fingerprints on record anywhere, who says he came from the year 3036. His vision of the future includes pods, chips, a very long blackout, and a nickname for our current era that's a little too accurate. And the way his story ends? Chills.

Along the way, there's a Conan O'Brien appreciation break, a Gattaca rewatch recommendation, and some thoughts on Sebastian Stan's latest transformation (Pam & Tommy, anyone?). There's also a teaser for our Lord of the Rings episode later this season, plus an unexpected investment strategy for surviving the future: candles.

This week's toast: We skipped the toast this week. Maybe it's waiting for us in 3036?

Tell us what you think! Real time travelers or internet trolls? If you could travel through time, would you go to the past or the future? And if you are from the future, please tell us which stocks to buy. Drop it all in the comments.

Please drink responsibly.

Support the show

The Tipsy Exchange is a comedy podcast where besties Berly and LA pour a drink, raise a toast, and dive into true crime, mysteries, the paranormal, and pop culture, with plenty of tangents along the way. It's like happy hour with your funniest friends. Leave us a review, send us your topic and toast ideas on Twitter and Instagram, and follow the show at thetipsyexchange.com. Cheers!

On this episode, Berly and LA pay homage to Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej of Buzzfeed Unsolved. Their show was the primary inspiration for the Tipsy Exchange.  As we embark on our second season, Berly and LA would like to take a moment to thank the ghoul boys and wish them luck with their new company, Watcher Entertainment.  

Sources: 

• https://buzzfeed-unsolved.fandom.com/wiki/BuzzFeed_Unsolved; 
• https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/buzzfeed-unsolved-final-season-interview-why-the-hosts-are-ending; 
• https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/watcher-entertainment-buzzfeed-steven-lim-ryan-bergara-shane-madej-1203427669/; 
• https://screenrant.com/buzzfeed-unsolved-true-crime-best-episodes-imdb/; 
• https://screenrant.com/buzzfeed-unsolved-supernatural-best-episodes-imdb/

Every other week, Berly and LA research a topic in which they wish to know more. Then, they exchange ideas over drinks. Sci-fi? True crime? Unexplained phenomena? Anything goes on the exchange. Now, let's get tipsy!
Help the Tipsy Exchange get more exposure by rating this episode and leaving a review. Visit www.thetipsyexchange.com for socials, merch and additional episodes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every other week, Berly and LA research a topic in which they wish to know more. Then, they exchange ideas over drinks. Sci-fi? True crime? Unexplained phenomena? Anything goes on the exchange. Now, let's get tipsy!
Help the Tipsy Exchange get more exposure by rating this episode and leaving a review. Visit www.thetipsyexchange.com for socials, merch and additional episodes.