Basically since the moment the pilgrims landed in the U.S. there have been cults here. From the beginning until now, the U.S. has had its fair share of self-professed messiahs. The week before last we posted an episode about our own personal experiences with cults, and this week, we're starting a tour of American Messiahs from the first to the contemporary. In this one, we're talking history, the pilgrims, the surprising ideology early cults were working with, why early America was such a fertile place to cults, and who The Public Universal Friend is.  CW: religious talk, cult talk, persecution, police  Music provided by Dark Fantasy Studios. [License]

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M and Karen are finishing up their move, and then we'll be back to our regularly scheduled program, but until then, we wanted you to have something to enjoy. So this week, M is bringing you a mini episode about the Champawat Tiger. The events of this tigers life and the ones discussed in the episode have been the subject of books, movies, and TV shows for a century. On this episode, M will tell you the harrowing story of the Champawat tiger, the Maneater of Kumaon, and Jim Corbett, her hunter. CW: Animal Violence both toward the animal and to the animal, death Music provided by Dark Fantasy Studios. [License]

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As we mentioned in the last episode, M and Karen are moving! You might have heard us mention that M and Karen used to have another podcast before this one, so while we're on a brief break as they move, we've ported over an episode from there. The audio is a little scratchy in places, and I'm sorry I couldn't clean it all up. So for this week, enjoy an extra long episode where the three of us talk about cults. We're going to look at the history of cults in the U.S., our own personal experiences in cults or almost being in cults, and some cults that are still active near us.  CW: Religious talk, All sorts of abuse (more detailed list is talked through in the intro to the episode) Music provided by Dark Fantasy Studios. [License]

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It's rolling over to the new year, and we're talking hypothetical new year resolutions. Let's aim as high as we can so when we all do that thing where we don't actually follow through with our plans we're starting from way up and can still end on a high note. That's the theory anyway. And how much more aspirational can you get than taking over the world? So hang out while bullshit out way through some hypothetical take overs (and remember, we're all writers so this is all fiction) with some detours into our favorite cartoons and games.  CW: We're talking world domination so War, Violence, Cults, Politics Music provided by Dark Fantasy Studios. [License]

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Merry Christmas to those who celebrate. You might not know, but the symbols you associate with Christmas - whether you're coming from a secular or religious background - have their roots in very different practices than how they're being used now. In this episode, we'll look at the history of how people have celebrated Christmas (or been told they can't), how recently some of our Christmas traditions were established, and what all the symbols of this holiday originally meant.  CW: rioting, blood Music provided by Dark Fantasy Studios. [License]

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Winter festivities are not confined to the big jolly round man. And as such: we talk about em. Us three are all over the place trying to bring old and new to the table— eat up! This week, we've got a lot of talk about various Yule type observances, Kwanzaa, everyone's favorite Christmas devil Krampus, and the skeleton horse Mari Lwyd. Also, if you celebrate any of these things, I hope you have a good time doing it, and feel free to email us and correct us or tell us about your celebrations!  *A correction for this episode: We cited a professor of Old Norse who specializes in the language, literature, and mythology of that culture. We mis-quoted his name as Dr. Jackson Campbell, but he name is Jackson Crawford.  CW: Single line mentions of fascism and sexual assault, police brutality, hitting children with sticks (it's literally Krampus' whole job), animal sacrifice Music provided by Dark Fantasy Studios. [License]

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Chag sameach! This upcoming weekend on the 18th is the first night of Chanukah, so we thought we'd talk about the holiday a bit. Unfortunately, a lot of people either don't know many/any Jewish people and/or aren't taught much about Jewish culture and history. The point of this podcast is to learn always, so if all you know about Chanukah is 8 days and presents, we hope this episode gives a starting point to go seek out Jewish creators to get an even deeper look at this holiday (and the others too). We're going to talk about where Chanukah all began back in the 2nd century BCE, touch on how U.S. consumerism and the pressures of immigration influenced how the holiday is celebrated here versus elsewhere, and we'll talk about Judith.   Check our resource page for a list of suggested Jewish creators to go learn from as well, as we really want to amplify their voices since this is their holiday.  CW: war, death, Antisemitism Music provided by Dark Fantasy Studios. [License]

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Glitter! It's everywhere, and you can't get rid of it, but if you're on certain sides of social media, you might have heard in the last month or so that we're running out of glitter! And apparently, the glitter companies are so secretive that they won't even let people into their factories. There's two main glitter companies, and they say "you'd never know our biggest client's products even had glitter on them and we can't tell you what it is." Well, WE'LL tell you. And we'll take a diversion to talk about the sand mafia too. Music provided by Dark Fantasy Studios. [License]

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Hey, folks! This week, we're not doing a true episode due to some Thanksgiving travel by a few of us, so Remy is going to talk about the true history behind the first Thanksgiving. The myth of the first Thanksgiving is largely filled with inaccuracies, half-truths, or flat out lies, and we never get to hear things from the Indiginous perspective. Well, Remy, having quite a bit of Indiginous ancestry, wanted to give you all some historical truth and events from the Native side as well as some resources if you're looking to learn more.  Music provided by Dark Fantasy Studios. [License]

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Stingy Jack. Jack and the Beanstalk. Jack and Jill. Jack o Lanterns... who the fuck is Jack? You're in luck this episode. Jack has been burning in our minds, too, and we decided to get to the bottom of this mystery. Remy has painstakingly mapped out the origin of the Jacks... and found a relation that is responsible for Jack. Listeners, this weekend is leading into Thanksgiving, so enjoy this shorter, very easy going episode. We have several side conversations, but I promise they are all mostly relevant to the topic in some way. And there's a cute story about one of my kids.  Music provided by Dark Fantasy Studios. [License]

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