Welcome to Well, I Laughed: People of Agency Edition. For today's holiday break episode, Grant and Maia introduce Aileen and this People of Agency episode.

What if the most revolutionary force in American history wasn't a politician or an army, but mail carriers bringing letters to farmhouse doors? At the turn of the 20th century, rural Americans lived in profound isolation, cut off from news, markets, and opportunities that city dwellers took for granted. Predatory merchants and railroad companies exploited this information gap, charging whatever they wanted because farmers had no way to know if prices were fair. But then something radical happened: farmers organized. Through the Grange movement, they launched a decades-long grassroots campaign demanding Rural Free Delivery, arguing that if city folks got mail delivered to their homes, rural Americans deserved the same democratic right. In Episode 5, Aileen and Maia trace how this seemingly simple postal reform transformed the entire country, spurring the Good Roads Movement, fueling the mail-order catalog revolution, and creating the infrastructure for modern consumer culture. Along the way, they explore the 17-year battle for Parcel Post (blocked by private express companies protecting their profits), the absolutely unhinged things Americans immediately mailed once the weight limit increased (yes, including live babies tagged "fragile"), and the inspiring story of Minnie M. Cox, a Black postmaster in Jim Crow Mississippi who forced Theodore Roosevelt to choose between political expediency and federal principle. This episode reveals how public institutions become battlegrounds, how corporate interests exploit public infrastructure for private gain, and why the fight over who the Post Office serves is still happening right now, with billion-dollar companies cherry-picking profitable routes while demanding the Post Office deliver everywhere else at a loss.

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Welcome to week one of the Well, I Laughed Holiday Break. Today, based on audience votes, we're revisiting Episode 40, originally published 2-14-24.

Grant tells Maia about the rarest fish in the world, found in the strangest of places. An episode about the Devil’s Hole Pupfish and Devils Hole, located in Death Valley National Park. With wild conservation showdowns, unexpected legal dramas, and a touch of irreverent humor, this episode is your invitation to uncover nature’s most astonishing secrets. Join us as we peel back the layers of a hidden ecosystem whose delicate balance has sparked multimillion-dollar court battles and fierce debates among local ranchers and environmentalists. Discover how these tiny survivors have defied extinction in a world where every detail counts, and hear jaw-dropping accounts of daring divers and unforeseen tragedies deep beneath the desert. We learn more about Ash Meadow, the legal rights of a tiny fish, and the many strange occurrences that have been documented at Devil’s Hole. A podcast episode that will leave you enchanted with the oddity of fish in the desert.

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We’re so glad these listeners shot their shot because now we get to read their stories! Our friends from around the Well, I Laughed listener-verse had some fantastic tales. Sarah resorts to hiding in a bush. Clara’s dad redefines “family” multiple times. Savannah survives her artistic era and gets her happy ending. And Anna needs a shot on Christmas Eve after an eventful encounter. They shot, and next time you could too! It’s this theme’s Listener Episode!

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Love a good laugh? Stay in the loop with the Well, I Laughed Podcast! Hit up wellilaughed.com for all the fun, throw some love our way on Patreon at https://patreon.com/WellILaughedPodcast, and send us your wildest listener stories at [email protected]—because let’s be real, we know you’ve got some!

Listener stories, topic ideas, or anything else you think belongs on the show—drop it all at wellilaughed.com/contact. We’re all ears—and laughs!

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Shoot your shot, take the leap, jump over a bunch of obstacles. This time, literally. Evel Knievel was a man that would only let one thing hold him down: gravity. But when a rebellious streak led to a wife and kids, Evel hopped on his bike and took off with the goal of supporting his family. His famous stunts and infamous wipeouts made him a household name. And his story is as interesting as his antics. The world knew him as the daredevil Evel Knievel, but we take a running jump at knowing Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel.

Video 1 (During "Evel Knievel and His Motorcycle Daredevils"): https://youtu.be/tTBpvIvSAZQ?si=H864Rbj99K2iPcEs

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Love a good laugh? Stay in the loop with the Well, I Laughed Podcast! Hit up wellilaughed.com for all the fun, throw some love our way on Patreon at https://patreon.com/WellILaughedPodcast, and send us your wildest listener stories at [email protected]—because let’s be real, we know you’ve got some!

Listener stories, topic ideas, or anything else you think belongs on the show—drop it all at wellilaughed.com/contact. We’re all ears—and laughs!

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What are the forces that make us who we are? Many people with hard childhoods grow up into adults with fulfilling lives and careers. Others... get kicked out of a sex cult. Charles Guiteau is the latter. A man destined for greatness if he was not so consistently bad at everything. And a liar. And crazed. But in America, even a loser can hit it big. This week on Well, I Laughed the incredible forgettable life of a man who changed the course of American history. A Life Long Loser.

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Love a good laugh? Stay in the loop with the Well, I Laughed Podcast! Hit up wellilaughed.com for all the fun, throw some love our way on Patreon at https://patreon.com/WellILaughedPodcast, and send us your wildest listener stories at [email protected]—because let’s be real, we know you’ve got some!

Listener stories, topic ideas, or anything else you think belongs on the show—drop it all at wellilaughed.com/contact. We’re all ears—and laughs!

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These listeners were caught Red-Handed... with some fantastic stories for this week's episode! Reality Winner confronts a mug thief, Laura has a traumatic time in a gas station bathroom, Linden accidentally runs a sting operation, Annie study abroad friends have an eventful hookup in Thailand, and Luna doesn't find what she is looking for (thank god). All that and more, this week on Well, I Laughed!

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Love a good laugh? Stay in the loop with the Well, I Laughed Podcast! Hit up wellilaughed.com for all the fun, throw some love our way on Patreon at https://patreon.com/WellILaughedPodcast, and send us your wildest listener stories at [email protected]—because let’s be real, we know you’ve got some!

Listener stories, topic ideas, or anything else you think belongs on the show—drop it all at wellilaughed.com/contact. We’re all ears—and laughs!

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For more than two decades you had a better chance of winning the lottery than the McDonalds Monopoly Millions. Unless... you knew the right guy, who knew a guy, a shadowy figure named "Uncle Jerry." What started as one of McDonalds most successful promotional campaigns in it's history also managed to fund organize crime, exotic vacations, and at least one strip club/church in South Carolina. Burgers are sold, lives are ruined, any yet we have to ask... do you want to be a Millionaire?

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Love a good laugh? Stay in the loop with the Well, I Laughed Podcast! Hit up wellilaughed.com for all the fun, throw some love our way on Patreon at https://patreon.com/WellILaughedPodcast, and send us your wildest listener stories at [email protected]—because let’s be real, we know you’ve got some!

Listener stories, topic ideas, or anything else you think belongs on the show—drop it all at wellilaughed.com/contact. We’re all ears—and laughs!

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Would you commit a crime if you thought you would never get caught? If you thought everyone was doing it? If there were no victims, just some light corruption? Maybe not, but what if the government compelled you to do it? This week, Maia dives into the anti-corruption operation the Federal government ran known as ABSCAM with the help of known con artist Melvin Weinberg. Dozens of politicians get swept up in corruption charges, and some were clearly better at committing crime than others. In an effort to root out corruption one has to ask... does this bribe make me look fat? This week, on Well, I Laughed: Money Talks

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Love a good laugh? Stay in the loop with the Well, I Laughed Podcast! Hit up wellilaughed.com for all the fun, throw some love our way on Patreon at https://patreon.com/WellILaughedPodcast, and send us your wildest listener stories at [email protected]—because let’s be real, we know you’ve got some!

Listener stories, topic ideas, or anything else you think belongs on the show—drop it all at wellilaughed.com/contact. We’re all ears—and laughs!

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Stories funny enough to make you sick (with laughter)! Rachel updates us on a dodge threesome and Ashley reports back from the scene of the infamous peeing-your-pants-while-donating blood story. Polly gushes over Winter Formal while Casey finds herself - but not god - in Uganda. Brittney instills a “well” of fear into Grant. And Kate ruins field trips for her school forever. All that and more, this week on Well, I Laughed!

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Love a good laugh? Stay in the loop with the Well, I Laughed Podcast! Hit up wellilaughed.com for all the fun, throw some love our way on Patreon at https://patreon.com/WellILaughedPodcast, and send us your wildest listener stories at [email protected]—because let’s be real, we know you’ve got some!

Listener stories, topic ideas, or anything else you think belongs on the show—drop it all at wellilaughed.com/contact. We’re all ears—and laughs!

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If you’ve ever been driven to the edge of fury trying to open up a bottle of pills (making your headache worse in the process) this story is for you! Between the sprawling backdrop of the Chicago suburbs Maia takes on a journey that involves more than one unsolved murder and raises serious questions about the safety of America’s pharmaceutical system. The case is infamous, the Tylenol Murders, the resolution less so. Did James Lewis do it? Is Johnson & Johnson complicit? Will Michelle Rosen find the true answer? This week we try to swallow a “Bitter Pill” on Well, I Laughed.

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Love a good laugh? Stay in the loop with the Well, I Laughed Podcast! Hit up wellilaughed.com for all the fun, throw some love our way on Patreon at https://patreon.com/WellILaughedPodcast, and send us your wildest listener stories at [email protected]—because let’s be real, we know you’ve got some!

Listener stories, topic ideas, or anything else you think belongs on the show—drop it all at wellilaughed.com/contact. We’re all ears—and laughs!

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