This Podcast Doesn't Exist

This Podcast Doesn't Exist

By Shannon McCarthy and Emma Kiely-HampsonTrue Crime
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This Podcast Doesn't Exist episodes

  • Ep. 159: The Poof of Despair: The Alabama Prison System and the Case of Kelvin Moore

    *CW: racism, autopsies, abuse, drug use, and death.* This week Shannon brings us the harrowing case of Kelvin Moore and the current state of the Alabama prison system. New laws are in place to keep inmates from earning time back for good behavior and there is a prevailing next-of-kin issue, among myriad other problems. One of these problems has led to family members of incarcerated peoples not receiving the bodies of their loved ones intact after they have passed. We explore the claims of why and the mystery of whether this will ever be remedied. 


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    Sources:

    ANDSCAPE

    Bureau of Justice Statistics

    Equal Justice Initiative

    The Guardian

    Alabama Reflector

    Alabama Daily News

    Vera

    UAB Institute for Human Rights Blog - Pt. 1, Pt. 2

    ABC 15 News

    Atlanta Black Star - 1, 2

    Prison Book Network

    41 min
  • Ep. 158: Show Yourself: The Flatwoods Monster

    We’re back together and headed to West Virginia this week, home to not only Mothman (Holland?!) but to the Flatwoods Monster, too. Was it a cryptid? An extraterrestrial? A bird? Does it deserve to be on the runway of Ru Paul’s Drag Race? We think so. We delve deep into fandoms of Drag Race, Ghost Adventures, and Marvel so hop in the car; we’re headed on a roadtrip through the Appalachian, cryptid-covered hills!


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    Sources: 

    The Mother Source on the Flatwoods Monster

    Skeptical Inquirer: The Flatwoods UFO Monster by Joe Nickell

    Braxton County website

    History.com

    West Virginia Public Broadcasting

    All That’s Interesting

    WBOY website

    Braxton Citizens’ News: Mrs. America Competition

    Cryptid Wiki

    Snopes

    42 min
  • Ep. 157: Experts and Idiots: Folklore 101 WITH SPECIAL GUEST HOLLAND

    Our reigning ghost host Holland is back again to talk all things folklore! Is Limewire folklore? What about Mothman? Taylor Swift?! We truly talk about everything this episode, from Slenderman to parakeets to licking. So much licking (New here? Sorry!). Come for the expert and stay for the idiots!


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    Sources:

    Whatisfolklore.org

    Cryptid Quiz

    Green Bean Casserole: The Logic of a Midwestern Foodways Aesthetic

    “Our Lady of Authenticity: Folklore’s Articles of Faith” in Implied Nowhere: Absence in Folklore Studies (pp. 19-37) Willow G. Mullins

    Folklore Rules by Lynne McNeill

    1 hr 26 min
  • Ep. 156: Team Tommy: The Ship of Gold WITH SPECIAL GUEST CHRIS

    We're back and it's a big one! This week Professor Chris (a real professor y'all) is stepping in for Shannon to tell us about the SS Central America and her untimely end. She's full of gold when she goes down, but 130 years later Tommy Thompson finds her and brings up some of her treasure. When asked to pay his backers, Tommy disappears with the gold. So what happened to the gold? How long is too long to be held in contempt of court? And what did Emma believe was a Spanish doubloon for way too long? Come find out and make sure to bring your lawyer!

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    Sources:

    Gary Kinder, Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea (2009)
    PGCS, The Coins of the S.S. Central America
    Another Delay for Ex-Deep-Sea Treasure Hunter Stuck in
    Jail
    Fugitive Treasure Hunter Arrested in Florida
    Treasure Hunter Still in Jail After 6 Years for Refusing to Disclose Whereabouts of 500 Gold Coins Found in Historic Shipwreck
    Tarnished Treasure: Will Shipwreck Hunter Tommy Thompson’s Legal Limbo Finally End?

    Court Cases (Various Docket Filings):

    Columbus-America Discovery Group v. Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company, 56 F.3d 556 (4th Cir. 1995)
    United States v. Thompson, Case No. 2:15-cr-81 (S.D. Ohio)
    Williamson v. Recovery Limited Partnership, Case No. 2:06-cv-292 (S.D. Ohio)

    1 hr 23 min
  • Ep. 155: The Muppet Gallery: The Bielefeld Conspiracy

    Emma didn’t get bingo this week but maybe you will as Shannon tells us about the German town of Bielefeld that just might not exist! Numerology rears her (sometimes ugly, sometimes beautiful) head, tangents abound, and there’s a lot of disclaimers, but one thing is for sure: Bielefeld understands a #bit. 


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    Sources:

    Wikipedia

    Deutsche Welle

    City of Bielefeld

    BBC News

    Degruyter: Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik

    Atlas Obscura

    Goethe Institut

    Bielefeld Marketing

    Reddit

    39 min
  • Ep. 154: In My Ice Age Era: The Disappearance of Steven Kubacki

    This week Emma shocks Shannon with the disappearance of quintessential-70s college student Steven Kubacki. What exactly happened to this man during his last year of college? Time travel? Laylines? Aliens?! Listen in to learn why aliens love the fall, who Emma’s new stepdad is, and the scope of man's audacity.


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    Sources:

    The first installment of Ellen Killoran’s six piece Substack

    Steven Kubacki, PhD website

    The Anchor, Hope College’s Student Newspaper

    Steven Kubacki’s LinkedIn and his Psychology Today page

    The Lake Michigan Triangle

    Holley Archeology website about the “North American Stonehenge”

    46 min
  • Ep. 153: Let’s Not Get Physical: Sleepytime Tea and the Urantia Cult

    Have you got a demitasse set? Carafes? Drums?! Whatever you have, Buttercup Sunshine and Dandelion Moss have got the piping hot tea ready for you. This week, Shannon clues us into everyone’s favorite nighttime go-to, Sleepytime Tea, and the cult that may have started it all. Does this cult have a weak grip on the tea as it stands today? Or is it still steeped in it? 


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    Sources:

    Inverse

    Thought Catalog

    Celestial Seasonings: Our History

    Wikipedia

    The Urantia Foundation

    Youth Pastor Ryan’s TikTok

    Extra Crispy


    Bon Appetit (in case you want a tea rebrand)

    47 min
  • Repost: Ep. 104: Nick with the Fur: Belsnickle

    Happy New Year, Pod Fiends! We're closing out 2023 with our favorite dirty Santa, Belsnickle! Enjoy the throwback and we'll be back in your ears with fresh new episodes in 2024.


    It's the holiday season! Emma’s coming atcha with the creepiest Christmas companion out there - Belsnickle. This Dirty Santa, while weird and gross, is really here to make sure that the real Santa doesn’t need to put you on his naughty list, so you’d better watch out! We’ve got Carmela the Troll, and Loretta the Elf watching too, so put on your scariest Christmas mask and join the chaos this week!


    Come follow us on ⁠TikTok⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, and ⁠Twitter⁠!

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    Sources:

    ⁠The Mother Source⁠

    ⁠Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine⁠

    ⁠Museum of the Shenandoah Valley⁠

    ⁠New York State Parks⁠

    The Office “Dwight Christmas” from 2012 on Hulu

    34 min
  • Repost: Ep. 61: So Much Licking: Grýla the Christmas Witch

    Happy Holidays from your favorite chaos besties! We hope you all have a wonderful season however you celebrate and enjoy this throwback to Christmas gone by!


    Merry Christmas, Witches! We’ve got a short one this week to get you in the holiday mood; Shannon tells Emma the terrifying tale of Grýla, the Christmas Witch of Iceland, and her crazy sons, the Yule Lads. Is there anything better than traumatizing your kids into behaving? Probably, but telling them there are thirteen trolls coming to lick all of their belongings might keep them in line while you prepare for the holidays. So take a quick break with us and snuggle in for some creepy holiday cheer!


    Sources:

    Smithsonian on ⁠Gryla⁠ and the ⁠Yule Lads⁠

    ⁠Iceland.is⁠

    ⁠The Reykjavik Grapevine⁠

    ⁠Mythical Creatures Guide⁠

    ⁠The Mother Source⁠

    Guide to Iceland on ⁠Gryla⁠ and the ⁠Yule Lads⁠

    ⁠Mental Floss⁠

    ⁠Villains Wiki⁠

    ⁠Iceland Mag⁠

    ⁠Vice

    39 min
  • Ep. 152: Eau de Frog: The Loveland Frogman

    This week it’s short and sweet…smelling? When was the last time you smelled a frog? We’re not sure as Emma regales with the legend of the Loveland Frogman. Is this creature extraterrestrial, somehow deciding that Ohio was the best place to touch down? Or is it simply an escaped Pokémon that Emma can’t pronounce? Join the chaos, and thank God for the Loveland Frog(man).


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    Sources: 

    Loveland, Ohio and the Loveland Frog from the Mother Source

    The Frogman of Loveland Christmas book

    Frogman video sighting

    Finding the Truth

    North American Cryptids

    Cryptid Wiki

    The Portalist

    Creature from the Black Lagoon

    Snopes

    Cincinnati Enquirer

    WCPO

    Weird U.S.

    27 min

About This Podcast Doesn't Exist

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