October 17, 2016
EP. 146 — The 2nd Annual Cracked Podcast Halloween Spooktacular
Last Halloween (https://goo.gl/Eu1CJU) we spooked you with a melange of real-life horror stories that had little explanation. There was the dead girl who was found in a water tower above the hotel where she went missing. Security tapes were inconclusive, except for one minor detail: it appeared as if she was hiding and running away from…absolutely nothing. Was it a ghost? An inter-dimensional monster? A coked-up Harry Potter in his invisibility cloak? We have no idea. Scary.
There was also the story of Major Henry Rathbone, the unfortunate fellow who took the invitation of Abraham Lincoln to see a play at Ford’s Theater. Rathbone was so wracked by guilt over Lincoln’s death that he straight-up turned into Jack Nicholson in ‘The Shining’ and slaughtered his whole family. Horrifying.
So in anticipation of All Hallow’s Eve, Jack O’Brien is joined by first time co-host Nick Mundy as well as Cracked’s Carmen Angelica and Josh Sargent and comedians Eric Lampaert, Ryan Singer and Anna Seregina to share more macabre and strange stories that actually happened. They’ll discuss the thousands of missing people in our national parks and why the government may be covering it up, the French impostor who killed his entire family, the scary clowns that are tormenting America right now, the French Jack the Ripper and the famous serial killer H.H. Holmes, who may be the actual Jack the Ripper.
Also, you can see us on Saturday, October 29th at the Now Hear This podcast festival in Anaheim, California. We’re on an amazing lineup with other podcasts like WTF with Marc Maron, Doug Loves Movies, I Was There Too and Superego. Use promo code CRACKED to get 25% off 3-day GA passes. Tickets and information available here: https://goo.gl/R8gzMX
Footnotes :
Ryan Singer on Twitter: https://goo.gl/MQFwia
Josh Sargent on Twitter: https://goo.gl/0Ypaz3
Carmen Angelica on Twitter: https://goo.gl/B7W9JR
Eric Lampaert on Twitter: https://goo.gl/b70FTt
Anna Seregina on Twitter: https://goo.gl/rKkyAS
HuffPo: Missing Person Cases at National Parks: https://goo.gl/JuD3mq
‘ The Adversary’ on Google Books: https://goo.gl/uB361S
NBC News: Creepy Clown Sightings Across the US: https://goo.gl/lYFQtA
Headstuff: Joseph Vacher, the French Ripper: https://goo.gl/fCU0Ga
Biography.com: HH Holmes: https://goo.gl/BD57Bb
Cracked: Real People Who Turned Their Homes Into Death Traps: https://goo.gl/zoTqj5
Cracked: The True, Drunken Story Behind ‘The Amityville Horror’ (See Entry #1): https://goo.gl/tivgA
This episode is brought to you by Blue Apron and Adam and Eve.
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/