May 19, 2019

EP. 292 — 11 Bizarre & Gross Problems That Took Over U.S. Cities

In the 50 years after the Civil War, America’s population quadrupled. That’s right: four times as many people within five decades. That surge of humanity made the turn-of-the-century United States a nation of 75 million Americans flocking to cities built so fast some didn’t have plumbing. What if one of those cities (Chicago) installed its pipes after the fact by raising entire structures into the air like in a cartoon? What if America’s nationwide surge of urbanization led to a host of other problems almost too weird to contemplate? And what if our cities are full of smelly trees, gross traitor-statues, and more odd issues to this day?

On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by comedian Ryan Asher, journalist Maya Dukmasova, historian Jane Dailey, and an amazing LIVE audience at Lincoln Hall in Chicago IL. Listen to this Chicago super-team break down the animals, minerals, cartoon corruption and other problems plaguing America’s cities (in a fun way!).

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/11-bizarre-gross-problems-that-took-over-u.s.-cities

Recent Episodes

January 26, 2020

Freedom sucks…and that is why we have to defend it. Because our democracy involves doing a lot of stuff that takes energy, takes time, and lacks that Michael Bay Quality that only a surprise missile launch can provide. So on this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt and special guest Jason Pargin (who writes for Cracked as David Wong) are exploring the ways being afraid of everything (an easy action) can stop us from being free. Discover the decades-long tradition of some Americans wanting to give up everything in exchange for not needing to think, the centuries-long tradition of people inciting fake panics, and the reasonable ways you can help change things for the better.

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/why-fear-based-democracies-arenE28099t-free-with-jason-pargin/

January 19, 2020

How’s your local shopping mall doing? Have you checked on it lately? Swing by sometime, because its department store might’ve turned into a call center or a hospital or a go-kart track. On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by the one and only Kai Ryssdal (Marketplace, Make Me Smart) for a look at surprising, strange, and shocking stories from all over the U.S. economy. Discover an international pig flu, a 26-word statement that built the modern Internet, and more amazing ways cash is ruling everything around you. By the way, if you’re an American listener, you spent the past few years funding an astonishingly huge bailout. Surprise! Listen for details!

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/5-parts-u.s.-economy-that-are-stranger-than-you-think

January 12, 2020

Movies, TV, gaming: three things that are theoretically a waste of time. Oh sure, they deliver value in the art sense, and comfort in the goofing-off sense. But what if they’re more valuable than that? What if consuming shows and playing video games (accidentally) turns people into real-life heroes? On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by comedians/writers Caitlin Gill and Alex Watt for a look at the surprising number of times that exact thing happened. They’ll explore stories of regular people who saved a life thanks to skills gained randomly from cartoons, sitcoms, ‘World Of Warcraft’, and more silly entertainment.

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/9-times-pop-culture-accidentally-taught-people-to-save-lives/