TRUE CRIME: Jeffrey Dahmer Murders

Content warning: violence, sexual assault, murder, necrophilia, cannibalism, homophobia, racism

In part 2 of A Haunted Genetic Architecture, we pick back up after Jeffery Dahmer’s trial and subsequent death a few years post-imprisonment. We spend time spotlighting the lives of those he targeted and the devastating impact these murders had on surviving family members, loved ones and the community at large. We’ll go over the rise of homophobia that occurred after media coverage of this case as well as the grassroots activism that emerged in response. Finally, we’ll highlight some groups doing vital police accountability, queer liberation and Black liberation work in Milwaukee, WI, where these stories take place.  

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NOTE FOR SPOTIFY LISTENERS: Starting 03/01/2026 we will no longer be on Spotify. Not only has Spotify had a poor track record with pay transparency and just compensation for artists, the CEO recently invested $700 million in AI military warfare technology. Articles and alternatives to Spotify for podcasts and more can be found here. 

We’ll also be moving minisodes and parts of our series episodes so that they are only available on Patreon. If you’re interested and able, the lowest tier is $2/month. This helps us maintain hosting fees and the bare basics of keeping our podcast active. Appreciate your support! 

Theme Song Title: Creepy Mood | Artist Name: Oleg Fedak

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P.S. We're in the process of updating our intro and making edits to our episodes. You may notice inconsistencies as we do that! 

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Laugh uncomfortably with us as we unpack the eerie! Here, we’ll explore true crime, the occult, conspiracy theories & other unknowns via dark humor, and a psychosocial/social justice lens. Each episode we’ll dig past the surface of morbid fascination, scavenging for unasked questions surrounding the stories that creep the hell out of us. Follow us on Instagram @unpackingtheeerie, Facebook at Facebook.com/unpackingtheeerie  and Twitter at twitter.com/unpacktheeerie

Support the show

Thank you for listening to our passion project <3 You can find us on social media here! We're a team of 2 people & have always been ad-free. If you are enjoying, please consider supporting our sustainability on Patreon or through Buzzsprout.

- your grateful hosts

P.S. We're in the process of updating our intro and making edits to our episodes. You may notice inconsistencies as we do that!

TRUE CRIME: Jeffrey Dahmer Murders

Content warning: sexual assault, ableism, murder, necrophilia, cannibalism, pedophilia, homophobia, racism, police violence/neglect.

We’re backkkk!!!!!! After a long hiatus caused by multiple huge life changes on both our ends, we bring you our first story recorded in two separate continents. It’s a heavy one - we’re covering the Jeffrey Dahmer murders. But as is always true with us, it’s less about the violence itself and more about the historical and social context these murders are situated in. You’ll learn about 1960/70s Queer Black history in MKE, including the ‘Stonewall’ of Milwaukee that happened 8 years before Stonewall. We unearth the brutality of police negligence and also do a deep dive framing Dahmer’s violence as a microcosm of European conquest and colonialism. (Stay tuned for Part 2, which will go deep on victim stories, the fall out of the murders on the community, and some amazing theses about the socio-political implications of this case we found while digging deep into this story).

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Reach out to us with thoughts, comments, questions or collab requests!

NOTE FOR SPOTIFY LISTENERS: Starting 03/01/2026 we will no longer be on Spotify. Not only has Spotify had a poor track record with pay transparency and just compensation for artists, the CEO recently invested $700 million in AI military warfare technology. Articles and alternatives to Spotify for podcasts and more can be found here. 

We’ll also be moving minisodes and parts of our series episodes so that they are only available on Patreon. If you’re interested and able, the lowest tier is $2/month. This helps us maintain hosting fees and the bare basics of keeping our podcast active. Appreciate your support! 

Theme Song Title: Creepy Mood | Artist Name: Oleg Fedak

Support the show

P.S. We're in the process of updating our intro and making edits to our episodes. You may notice inconsistencies as we do that! 

Laugh uncomfortably with us as we unpack the eerie! Here, we’ll explore true crime, the occult, conspiracy theories & other unknowns via dark humor, and a psychosocial/social justice lens. Each episode we’ll dig past the surface of morbid fascination, scavenging for unasked questions surrounding the stories that creep the hell out of us.

New here & unsure where to begin? Check out our episode master list here. Also, content warnings are always included in episode bios and at the beginning of each episode.

Reach out to us with thoughts, comments, questions or collab requests!

Support the show

P.S. We're in the process of updating our intro and making edits to our episodes. You may notice inconsistencies as we do that! 

Join us for a guest episode and round-table discussion between four Palestinians in the diaspora, Muhamed, Battuul, Firas, Vinny & Michlin. In part two of this two-part conversation, our guests shed light on the brutality of the Israeli occupation and the people's movements to resist it. This episode unpacks zionism, land sovereignty and also offers a window into the 2nd Intifada. We are honored to offer these folks a platform to share their voices & stories with us.
(Recorded December 2023)

Guests: 

• Muhamed Abedelhak, Sociology Professor
• Battuul Abdal
• Firas Helall, writer/organizer, writing to Palestinians back home to a liberated Palestine
• Vinny Mansoor, law student, born in exile, raised in heritage and currently on his way back home
• Michlin Mikel, Social Worker

Resources:

• Decolonize Palestine 
• Electronic Intifada
• Palestine Resist
• Arabs of Canada, Instagram
• Save Sheikh Jarrah Now, @savesheikhjarrahnow on Instagram 
• Decolonize the Classroom, @decolonize_the_classroom on Instagram

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At the publishing of this episode, at least 33,175 people, including more than 13,000 children have been brutally murdered at the hands of the Israeli Occupation Forces in Gaza. At least 75,886 have been injured and more than 8,000 remain missing. In the West Bank, at least 459 people, including over 117 children, have been killed since October 7th and over 4,750 injured. . (Source: Aljazeera)

Learn more & take action here: Call to Action & Resource Checklist 

Reach out to us with thoughts, comments, questions or collab requests!

Support the show

P.S. We're in the process of updating our intro and making edits to our episodes. You may notice inconsistencies as we do that! 

Join us for a guest episode and round-table discussion between four Palestinians in the diaspora, Muhamed, Battuul, Firas, Vinny & Michlin. In part one of this two-part conversation, we are given the gift of listening  to our guests talk about Palestine, Palestinian resistance, indigeneity, historical memory, cross-movement solidarity and so much more.  We are honored to offer these folks a platform to share their voices & stories with us. Stay tuned for Part II, coming soon!
(Recorded December 2023)

Guests: 

• Muhamed Abedelhak, Sociology Professor
• Battuul Abdal
• Firas Helall, writer/organizer, writing to Palestinians back home to a liberated Palestine
• Vinny Mansoor, law student, born in exile, raised in heritage and currently on his way back home
• Michlin Mikel, Social Worker

———————————

At the publishing of this episode at least 32,782 people, including more than 13,000 children have been brutally murdered at the hands of the Israeli Occupation Forces in Gaza. More than 8,000 remain missing. In the West Bank, at least 455 people have been killed since October 7th and over 4,750 injured. (Source: Aljazeera)
Learn more & take action here: Call to Action & Resource Checklist 

Reach out to us with thoughts, comments, questions or collab requests!

Support the show

P.S. We're in the process of updating our intro and making edits to our episodes. You may notice inconsistencies as we do that! 

Send us a text

Ongoing Palestinian Genocide

content warning: extreme violence, genocide 

At the publishing of this episode at least 8,306 Palestinians have been killed and over 21,000 injured in Gaza in the past 3 weeks. The current massacre and ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people has left us heartbroken and called to use our platform to uplift Palestinian voices as well as share resources and calls to action. Please listen to this short episode where we will share some of our thoughts & reflections, but mostly help support you in taking some tangible actions to stand up against genocide.

Call to Action Checklist

Theme Song Title: Creepy Mood | Artist Name: Oleg Fedak

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From October to December 2025 we will be re-releasing our favorite series' - A Lethal Location and A Psychedelic Nightmare. They will only be available for a limited time, as starting January our minisodes and 2nd part onwards of our series' will be exclusively available for our wonderful patrons.

Thank you for listening to our passion project <3 You can find us on social media here! We're a team of 2 people & have always been ad-free. If you are enjoying, please consider supporting our sustainability on Patreon or through Buzzsprout.

- your grateful hosts

P.S. We're in the process of updating our intro and making edits to our episodes. You may notice inconsistencies as we do that!

Send us a text

DARK HISTORY: Lake Washington

cw: brief mentions of slavery

Ever wondered what lies beneath the lakes you hang out at? Shaena does! And this week she takes us on an exploration under the depths of Lake Washington.  Join us and learn about the ancient frozen forest that has existed deep under Lake Washington for decades. The eerie sunken dwellings of the largest lake in King County is sure to give you goosebumps. 

Support the show

Thank you for listening to our passion project <3 You can find us on social media here! We're a team of 2 people & have always been ad-free. If you are enjoying, please consider supporting our sustainability on Patreon or through Buzzsprout.

- your grateful hosts

P.S. We're in the process of updating our intro and making edits to our episodes. You may notice inconsistencies as we do that!

Send us a text

HAUNTING: The Pontianak Legend

CW: sexual and domestic violence

We’re back with another minisode and this time we’ve returned to Malaysia to explore an iconic urban legend and spiritual embodiment of feminine rage, The Pontianak. Join us as Akshi shares about her origin story and how the continuation of her lore offers significant commentary about patriarchal violence and survivor empowerment. She also takes time to discuss the utility of the horror genre as a medium to unpack the above and more. 

Sources

Support the show

Thank you for listening to our passion project <3 You can find us on social media here! We're a team of 2 people & have always been ad-free. If you are enjoying, please consider supporting our sustainability on Patreon or through Buzzsprout.

- your grateful hosts

P.S. We're in the process of updating our intro and making edits to our episodes. You may notice inconsistencies as we do that!

DARK HISTORY: The Weston State Hospital continued
CW: ableism, racism (including eugenics), gender-based violence, psychiatric trauma, abuse

Part 2 of Melancholia, Menstrual Derangement and Bad Whiskey continues deep dive into Weston State Hospital and the history of U.S.-based "mental asylums."  In this episode, we uncover the different “treatments” that  used at these institutions, including the famously horrific “Icepick” lobotomy. We’ll also explore the backstory of the DSM, deinstitutionalization and the decline of asylums in America. Tune in to learn how Weston State was transformed into the tourist attraction that it is today and learn about the psychiatric survivors & disability justice movements.

References

Reach out to us with thoughts, comments, questions or collab requests!

NOTE FOR SPOTIFY LISTENERS: Starting 03/01/2026 we will no longer be on Spotify. Not only has Spotify had a poor track record with pay transparency and just compensation for artists, the CEO recently invested $700 million in AI military warfare technology. Articles and alternatives to Spotify for podcasts and more can be found here. 

We’ll also be moving minisodes and parts of our series episodes so that they are only available on Patreon. If you’re interested and able, the lowest tier is $2/month. This helps us maintain hosting fees and the bare basics of keeping our podcast active. Appreciate your support! 

Theme Song Title: Creepy Mood | Artist Name: Oleg Fedak

Support the show

P.S. We're in the process of updating our intro and making edits to our episodes. You may notice inconsistencies as we do that!