Podcast Episodes

David Chase's Wonder Years

Season 1 Episode 44

Sopranos creator David Chase wrote an episode of The Wonder Years that was deemed too intense for network television. The internet says it's because the script involved hard core drug use. But we ask…

Published on 4 months, 1 week ago

The Night the Harlem Globetrotters Finally Lost

Season 1 Episode 43

The Harlem Globetrotters always beat the Washington Generals. It's just what they do. As of 1971, they’d done it 2,495 times. But for one gloriously confusing night that January, the underdogs got to…

Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago

Introducing: What Happened to Talina Zar

What Happened to Talina Zar unravels the chilling mystery of a woman who vanished during the COVID-19 lockdown, the internet sleuths who wouldn’t let it go, and the dark subcultures and betrayals the…

Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago

Operation Lunar Eclipse [Re-Release]

Season 1 Episode 42

In 1973, NASA gifted a piece of the moon to a teenage astronomy fan, inadvertently pulling him into the seedy underground moonrock trade.

Hello VSE friends! We published a new episode on Monday, so w…

Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago

The Popsicle Kings of Mexico

Season 1 Episode 41

Happy Cinco de Mayo! To celebrate, Zaron Burnett is here with a mini-episode about the frozen treat that is quietly and quickly taking over the world. 

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Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and J…

Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago

North by North Korea

Season 1 Episode 40

When two of the most influential figures in film become the personal hostages of Kim Jong Il, they have two objectives: to elevate North Korean cinema on the world stage, and to plot their daring esc…

Published on 4 months, 4 weeks ago

Spies and Dolls

Season 1 Episode 39

Velvalee Dickinson ran a doll shop on Madison Avenue that catered to wealthy collectors. But in one of the strangest espionage cases of World War II, Dickinson's clients had no idea she was using cor…

Published on 5 months ago

The Pizza Funeral

Season 1 Episode 38

On a cold day in 1973, a crowd gathered on a farm for one of history's strangest funerals. It was an elite group, including the Governor of Michigan, bank presidents, and local dignitaries. Even Walt…

Published on 5 months, 1 week ago

How Gatsby Went From Total Flop to Great American Novel

Season 1 Episode 37

When he published The Great Gatsby 100 years ago this week, F. Scott Fitzgerald thought he'd written the Great American Novel. But it was a commercial flop. The year Fitzgerald died, he received a ro…

Published on 5 months, 2 weeks ago

The Mysterious Death of Andy, the Sneaker-Wearing Goose

Season 1 Episode 36

Gene Fleming and his pet goose Andy made headlines around the world. They brought out the best in the people of Hastings, Nebraska. But amid all this attention, Andy also brought out the worst. And t…

Published on 5 months, 3 weeks ago