True Weird Stuff

Today's True Weird Stuff - Swing Your Partner   From 17th-century folk traditions to 20th-century propaganda, the square dance traveled a long road before landing in your elementary school gym. What looks like homespun Americana hides a secret: a powerful man’s fear that jazz was a threat to white America. Sometimes the most wholesome traditions carry the darkest fingerprints.  

Today's True Weird Stuff - Internal Sunshine   William J.A. Bailey wasn’t a doctor, but he convinced the public to trust him anyway—selling radium-laced water as a cure for nearly everything. One of those believers was Eben Byers, a wealthy athlete who drank more than a thousand doses, slowly poisoning himself until his jaw disintegrated and his skull began to rot before his death. The death of Eben Byers forced the world to finally confront the cost of pseudoscience that goes unchecked.  

Today's True Werid Stuff - Lynnewood Hall   Lynnewood Hall was built as a monument to wealth, power, and permanence—an American Versailles, commissioned by the Widener family, meant to last for generations. But tragedy struck the Widener family at the height of their fortune, tying the mansion forever to the sinking of the Titanic and a grief no amount of money could undo. As decades passed, the house was stripped, sold, misused, and left to decay, becoming a silent witness to hubris, loss, and the slow collapse of a gilded dream.

Today's True Weird Stuff - The Award Winning "Doomsday Clock"   True Weird Stuff is currently on hiatus, but Sheri and Max will be back with a brand new episode next week. Until then, we present to you another one of their award winning episodes. Winner of two Signal Awards for best history episode and best editing, "Doomsday Clock" explores the origins of the clock, and its lingering flirtation with striking midnight.

Today's True Weird Stuff - The Award Winning "Cokey & Lucky"   Sheri and Max have placed True Weird Stuff on hiatus as we enter the chaotic crunch time of the Christmas season, In their stead, we present to you one of their award-winning episodes. Winner of a W3 Award for best history episode, Cokey and Lucky explores the rise and fall of the architect of the modern mafia.   Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/trueweirdstuff #rulapod

Today's True Weird Stuff - Dopey & Sad: The Year In Review   It's been quite the year for the True Weird Stuff crew. We won awards and spent countless hours writing and editing dozens of stories that may or may not have been lost to time. We don't have a story for you in this episode, per se, but it is the tale of how we've managed to build True Weird Stuff into something we're really proud of.   Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/trueweirdstuff #rulapod      

Today's True Weird Stuff - Road Zoo   As cars and family road trips exploded across America in the early 20th century, hundreds of mom-and-pop zoos sprang up along the highways, promising exotic animals, cheap thrills, and quick profits. But behind the quirky billboards and hand-painted signs, many of these zoos operated with little to no oversight. Lax regulations opened the door for questionable practices: cramped cages, animal mistreatment, and even the smuggling of dangerous species that sometimes resulted in serious injuries—or worse.