Caustic Soda

The End with Mr. Dr. Greg Bole

Mon, 24 May 2021 08:27:14 +0000

With a heavy heart and in honour of our good friend Mr. Dr. Greg Bole we present a very special episode: “The End.” The process and smells of dying, semelparity, animal grief, famous last words, weird wills, and Greg’s final plans and wishes.

Update: On Sunday, August 22, 2021 at 3:36 PM, Mr. Dr. Greg Bole passed in the loving arms of his wife at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, BC, Canada. We miss our dear friend.

Charity O’ The Week: BC Cancer Foundation, in honour of Greg Bole

Links:

Fanfare Finale

Mon, 28 Mar 2016 22:36:47 +0000

Almost six years to the day of our first ever podcast, Mike, Toren, Joe and Kevin are bringing their journey through the absolute worst the world of science, history, and pop culture has to offer to an end. Veteran Guestpert Dr. Rob joins us for the first two hours of our massive farewell episode.

We cover almost every followup we’ve got left, including Olfactory Reference Syndrome, necrotic cervix, decomposing corpse poo, toxic trucker pee, auto urine therapy, urine-repellent paint, helminthic therapy, synthetic marijuana, coffin-birth, outrageous anti-abortion laws, vagina potato, poop transplant, ancient viking shit, a creepy face transplant, compulsive-bad-joke-telling (more than our usual), a lethal silicone penis injection, self-amputation, elevator abandonment, an “autism cure” that rates on the Evilometer, the worst auto-racing disaster in history, a whale meat experience, ape answers, mite shit, a failed test of faith, a lethal posthumous snake-bite, crocodile guards, sword booby-traps, a bloody pillow fight, the 1904 Olympic Marathon, bouncy house dangers, a fire-boozenadeo, terrible gamer-parents, The Granny Ripper, and the very last Lesser of Two Evils!

Music
“Toot Toot Tootsie (Goo’ Bye)” by Al Jolson
“When You Go” by Jonathan Coulton
“The Caustic Soda Show” by Toren Atkinson and Rowan Lipkovitz (of The Creaking Planks)

Charity O’ The Week: Rain City Badger

Thanks

Researchers/editors Cory, Dave E, Jonathan Snow, Kelly N, Mele, Raymond, Sheri, Teagan and Todd
Dr Rob
Dr Jenna
Firefighter Allan Newell
Mr Dr Greg Bole
Gavin Pitts
Steven Schwartz
Yvonne Morrin
Lisa Gemino
Chris Pramas
Chris Stewart from Kerberos Productions
Fraser Cain from Astronomycast
Nurse Katie
Jordan Pratt, Warren Banks, Chris Woods from Horsetrack Hooligans
Our amazing listeners, the Soda Jerks.

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd6qDBUP72g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-7q3IeTawE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEk85gKJN6k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKTNMbEoOKE

Elephants, Part 2 of 2

Mon, 21 Mar 2016 23:01:29 +0000

The caustic look at elephants continues with elephant attacks, beehive fences, Jumbo, Topsy’s execution, plus news and pop culture!

Music: “Tiny Paper Elephant” by The Doubleclicks

Links

World Wildlife Federation of Justice

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoKi4coyFw0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSLVgrNJ-HU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKng-2JaqJU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4xX5vuxOaY

Elephants, Part 1 of 2

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 00:02:10 +0000

Yvonne Morrin joins Kevin, Toren, and Joe to talk elephants, starting with a mammoth pop-quiz and a ton of caustic elephacts: musth, the Phajaan ritual, and elephant artificial insemination. Part 1 of 2.

Music: “Grown Man Cry (Piano Demo)” by Amanda Palmer

Links:

Images

Videos

http://youtu.be/LYhT6FHEpwY?t=18

http://youtu.be/IvhJsd2qfuw?t=139

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXcRw6Piaj8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcvGGe-zpIA

http://youtu.be/9xK1jfiuj_w?t=97

Droughts

Tue, 08 Mar 2016 01:24:03 +0000

Caustic Hosts Joe, Toren, and Kevin get thirsty discussing the causes and effects of droughts including tumblefirenados, the Syrian Civil War, Indian and Chinese famines, the California Water Wars, Lake Karachay, a super-dry extremophile, the horrors experienced in Virginia’s Jamestown Colony, “shade ball” debunking, plus pop culture!

Music: “Quantum of Solace” by Miracles of Modern Science

Links

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcUnE0tHcaI

Killer Plants

Mon, 29 Feb 2016 12:22:35 +0000

Carnivorous plants, strangling kelp, giant hogweed, gympie-gympie, falling saguaros, manchineel trees, coconuts, and more!

Music: “Like A Monkey Likes Coconuts” by Hoosier Hot Shots (1939)

Images

Caligula, Part 2 of 2

Mon, 22 Feb 2016 21:18:46 +0000

Kevin, Joe, and Toren conclude Caligula’s history, an exploration of explanations for his behavior, plus pop culture!

Music: “The Killing Type” by Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra

Links

Multiple versions of Caligula

Images

Videos

http://vimeo.com/53296145

Caligula, Part 1 of 2

Mon, 15 Feb 2016 23:58:06 +0000

Kevin, Toren, and Joe discuss Evil Dude in History Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, aka “Caligula”. Part 1 of 2 — the early years and rise to power.

Music: “Ego” by Colour Machine – Available on iTunes and Google Play Music

Images

Arson

Mon, 08 Feb 2016 07:33:38 +0000

Allan Newell rejoins the hosts with his firefighter helmet on to discuss the seven motives of arsonists, Herostratus, the Happy Land Fire, the Clarence Roberts mystery, the Sydney Ghost Train Fire, the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, Operation Backfire, the Pillow Pyro, the Mary Pang Warehouse Fire, and more!

Music: “I’m Playing with Fire” by Jack Jackson

Charity O’ The Week: BurnFund.org

Images

Libraries

Mon, 01 Feb 2016 22:51:37 +0000

Joe, Toren, and Kevin “check out” the caustic side of libraries, including both Melvil Dewey’s classification system and the man himself, the librarian who took over China, librarian sex habits, “for sex see librarian”, the Brave Sage of Timbuktu, plus news and pop culture. Recorded at the Vancouver Public Library’s Inspiration Lab!

Music: “Nyarlathotep” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Links

The Brave Sage of Timbuktu: Abdel Kader Haidara

Images

Will Manley’s Librarian Sex Survey Results

Question 1 – Playboy, Playgirl, Playguy

40% of the respondents felt that Playboy should be included in libraries, 23% felt that Playgirl should be included, and 6% felt that Playguy should be included.

Question 2 Video Ratings

61 % felt that libraries should label their videotapes with G, PG, Pg-13, R, NC-17, and X ratings. 39% felt that they should not give labels.

Question 3 – R Rated Videos and Minors

22% of the respondents felt that libraries should check out R rated videos to minors not accompanied by adults.

Question 4 – X Rated Videos

17% of the respondents felt that libraries should carry X rated videos.

Question 5 – Condom Dispensers

22% of the respondents felt that libraries should have condom dispensers in their bathrooms.

Question 6 – Sexual Harassment by a Supervisor

14% of the respondents indicated they had been sexually harassed by a library supervisor.

Question 7 – Sexual Harassment by a Patron

78% of the female respondents and 7 percent of the male respondents indicated that they had been sexually harassed by a library patron.

Question 8 – Sex Without Love

20% of the respondents felt that sex without love is by definition bad sex.

Question 9 – Nuclear War and Roseanne Barr Arnold

30% of the male respondents indicated that if there were a nuclear war and Roseanne Barr Arnold was the only woman on earth to survive, they would have sex with her in order to propagate the species.

Question 10 – Nuclear War and PeeWee Herman

38% of the female respondents indicated that if there were a nuclear war and PeeWee Herman was the only man on earth to survive, they would have sex with him in order to propagate the species.

Question 11 – AIDS and God

6% of the respondents felt that AIDS is a punishment from God.

Question 12 – Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas vs. Anita Hill

82% of the respondents felt that Anita Hill told the truth in the Senate Judiciary Hearings. {Historical Note for Net Genners: Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment }

Question 13 – Shakespeare and “the 1st Time”

When asked to pick the Shakespearean title that best described their first sexual encounter, 28% chose Comedy of Errors; 23% chose Midsummer’s Night Dream; 22% chose Much Ado About Nothing; 21% chose All’s Well That Ends Well; and 6% chose Rape of Lucrece.

Question 14 – Genre Fiction and Sex Lives

38% of the respondents classified their sex life as a “romance”; 31% as a fantasy; 22% as a comedy, and 9% as a tragedy.

Question 15 – $$$’s for Posing Nude

51 % of the respondents would pose nude in Playboy, Playgirl, or Playguy for all the money in Fort Knox; 24% said they would do it for $1 million.

Question 16 – Age and Virginity Loss

12% lost their virginity from 12 to 15; 22% between 16 and 18; 37% between 19 and 21; 17% between 22 and 25; 5% between 26 and 30; 2% between 31 and 35; 1% between 36 and 100; 4% are virgins.

Question 17 – Marriage and Celebrities – Men

Given a list of 12 celebrities, 27 % of the males preferred to marry Kathleen Turner; 25% Jane Fonda; 14% Dolly Parton; 13% Diane Keaton, 8% Diane Sawyer; 6% Madonna; 4% Prince; 2% Elton John; and 1% split between Marla Maples, Yoko Ono; Dianna Ross, and Tina Turner.

Question 18 – Marriage and Celebrities – Women

Given a list of 12 celebrities, 60% of the females chose Robert Redford; 18% Patrick Swayze; 7% Woody Allen; 5% Michael Jordan, 4% Martina Navratilova, 3% Cher, 2% Eddie Van Halen, and 1% was split between Prince, Dan Quayle, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Geraldo Rivera, and Michael Jackson.

Question 19 – Frequency of Sex

50% of the respondents reported having sex 1 – 2 times per week; 22% 3 – 4 times per week; 21% – 0 times a week; 6% 5 -7 times per week; and 1% have it more than 7 times per week.

Question 20 – Public Places where librarians have had sex at least once

63% in a car; 57% in a sleazy motel room; 52% sleeping bag; 43% kitchen floor; 32% hot tub; 20% library; 7% airplane; 8% elevator.

Question 21 – Number of Sexual Partners in their lifetime

30% – 2 to five partners; 22% – 1 partner; 17% – 6 to 10; 16% – 11 to 20; 7% 21 to 50; 4% more than 50; 4% – none.

Question 22 – Sex and Presidential Elections

72% of the respondents said they would not let a candidate’s sex life influence their vote in an election for President.

Question 23 – X Rated Movies

61% of the respondents had rented an x rated movie.

Question 24 – Librarians and Sex Books

91% had read The Joy of Sex; 29% had read How to Make Love to a Man; 14% had read Human Sexual Inadequacy; and 3% had read Macho Sluts.

Nyarlathotep Lyrics

Sebehy er rut ta desheret
Iw iyin s n kekw
Em seshet’w djuu senefu

Rekh-en-ef pa nisut kem
B’k n netjeri shesepu nen horef
Redi-en-ef medjat en mut

Nyarlathotep
Sefetju tehemy buyetyen
Nyarlathotep

Heruyu her nu ‘reku
I’tyu her muetem kh’sut nebut
Neb senedju h.enemnemy er kheru

Wepwety en buyetyen
Seb waten shut her niku
Neru m per khenety n idenu

(Lyrics Translation)

Crying out from the Red Land
Came a man of darkness
With evil bloody secrets

He knew the Black Pharaoh
Servant to the Faceless Sphinx God
He gave me the book of the dead

Nyarlathotep
Slaughterer bringing nigh those who are detested
Nyarlathotep

Tumult and time bent
Mutilation and death in every land
Unleashing fear, creeping downward

Messenger to those who are detested
Prepare a way for the Void and the Evil Ones
Terror in the harem of pestilences

Mines (Warfare)

Mon, 25 Jan 2016 17:06:58 +0000

Toren, Kevin, and Joe discuss mines of every description including naval mines, helicopter mines, fougasses, nuclear mines, the Camp Bonifas Golf Course and mine-detecting flowers. Plus what to expect when you step on a blast mine.

Music: “Oooh-oh-Boom!” by Benny Goodman with Martha Tilton

Charity O’ The Week: International Campaign to Ban Landmines

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuKp-ctLGI4

Running, Part 2 of 2

Tue, 19 Jan 2016 00:24:20 +0000

The podcast marathon continues as Dr. Katie, Joe, Toren, and Kevin talk about the Badwater Ultramarathon, the Canadian Death Race, Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope, and Oscar Pistorius’ career and deadly Valentine.

Music: “We’re on the Other Side Now” by Magdalen

Charity O’ The Week: The Terry Fox Foundation (Buy “Terry” here!)

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1QOtPDAAeY

Running, Part 1 of 2

Tue, 12 Jan 2016 03:34:56 +0000

Dr. Katie Marshall is back with Joe, Toren, and Kevin to talk about the horrors of running. They compare human and animal running speeds, the horrors the running inflicts on your body (plus some benefits), the man vs. horse marathon, the beer mile, and the “Ride and Tie”.

Music: “Flee!” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Links

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e6h4zLC5U8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6I2-YP42rs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKf1eTzmK14

Fungus

Mon, 04 Jan 2016 08:13:37 +0000

Season seven of Caustic Soda begins with pathogenic fungi, prototaxites, spelunker’s lung, fungal eye and yeast infections, magic mushrooms, the death suit, and cordyceps. Plus news and pop culture!

Music: “Baby’s There’s Mold Outside” by Toren and Louise
the hyphae are long – Baby there’s mold outside
the filaments strong – Baby there’s mold outside
it’s turning me green – and fuzzy and sometimes white
like some old fruit – it’s in the shower and the sink

you find it in penicillin, other mold can make you illin’
they use it to make some cheese – pass the gorgonzola please
releasing their spores – they’re gonna get doled out
Baby there’s mold outside

Images

New Year

Mon, 28 Dec 2015 23:22:33 +0000

Joe, Toren, and Kevin ring in the end of another season of Caustic Soda with a look at the arbitrary time of year we chose as the end. We’ll look at how calendars work, new year around the world and in history, plus the dangers of drunk walking and a cork injury PSA!

Music: “Sexist Bullshit” by The Doubleclicks

Charity O’ The Week:

Links

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsskF3u-QoM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqYchj3hii8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl6y6k_1X6Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znwh41szei4

Special Blend with Adam Pateman

Mon, 21 Dec 2015 17:29:11 +0000

Comedian Adam Pateman joins us to discuss diving accidents, dead whale carcasses, losing one’s sense of smell, cannibalism on the Franklin Expedition, a doomed expedition to Africa, plus which is the lesser of two evils – being sprayed with skunk water or being pelted with frozen paintballs?

Music: “Out of Line” by Aphasia ( Soundcloud | YouTube | Facebook )

Links

Adam Pateman

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adhGYqdjIsg

Kidneys

Tue, 15 Dec 2015 01:06:06 +0000

Dr. Rob is back for for a Caustic Anatomy Class on kidneys! We’ll cover kidney disease, hear Toren’s own kidney stone story in full detail, the largest kidney stones ever reported, kidney stones in history, the effects of kidney-blows, plus news and pop culture!

Music: “Kidney Stone Song” by Stacy Pearcy

Links

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZj7H8sfkR0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqKOYQcGojU

Vigilantes

Tue, 08 Dec 2015 07:53:11 +0000

Vigiles, Sombra Negra, Jonathan Idema, Bernhard Goetz, The Lavender Panthers, the Fierce Missouri Bald Knobbers and Anonymous hacktivism, and more!

Music: “Power Up” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Hurricanes, Part 2 of 2

Mon, 30 Nov 2015 23:42:05 +0000

Our caustic look at hurricanes concludes with hurricane hunters, Hurricane Katrina, Typhoon Haiyan, the insultingly nitpicky appearance of the 1970 Bhola Cyclone In The News, plus pop culture! Part 2 of 2.

Music: “Maxine, We’re Alive” by A Lovely War

Links

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-SnxC-BkPo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKng-2JaqJU

Hurricanes, Part 1 of 2

Mon, 23 Nov 2015 19:59:08 +0000

Kevin, Toren, and Joe are back to talk about Big Wind: hurricanes! We’ll cover the biggest and most destructive ever, including the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, plus a Public Service Announcement, the Great Hurricane of 1780, and Galveston, Texas in 1900. Part 1 of 2.

Music: “Goin’ Down to Dunwich” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiFFfFMFCU0

Hippos

Mon, 16 Nov 2015 20:17:23 +0000

Hippo attacks and how to avoid them, hippo castration, hippo ranching, hippo news and pop culture.

Music: Gayla Peevey

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeCCr2mQKpk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKQ_coXOKgg

Epilepsy

Mon, 09 Nov 2015 23:01:58 +0000

Dr. Rob Tarzwell is back with Joe, Kevin, and Toren to discuss epilepsy. We’ll look at the science of the condition, what to do if you witness a seizure, notable epileptics in history, a seizure while falling 10,000 feet, plus news and pop culture!

Music: “Worst Superpower Ever” by The Doubleclicks

Charity O’ The Week: AbleGamers

Links

November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month (in the USA — Canada’s is March!)
Did you know Snow White’s Dopey had epilepsy?
Play it your way: how Twitch lets disabled gamers earn a living online
Mackenseize on Twitch

Images

Videos

http://youtu.be/55QUQHm2B5A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOe9cxkxJTU&t=329

Golems

Sat, 31 Oct 2015 20:33:54 +0000

Author Don Debrandt joins Toren, Kevin, and Joe to discuss golems of all varieties in our 2015 Hallowe’en special.

Music: “Postmodern Prometheus” by Invasives from their album Robot Stink

Charity O’ The Week:

Links

Ironwood Vol. 1 (NSFW!)
Ironwood Vol. 2 (NSFW!)

Images

Time Travel, Live at VCON 40

Mon, 26 Oct 2015 16:19:18 +0000

While Toren and Kevin were at the HP Lovecraft Film Festival, Joe was at VCON 40 talking “Time Travel” with Eric Fell, Barbara Beall, Joe Haldeman and Mr. Dr. Greg Bole!

Music: “Out of Line” by Aphasia

Links

Work Done For Hire – Joe Haldeman on Amazon
“Hands Off” by Edward E. Hale on archive.org

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iQuhsmtfHw

Special Blend with Jeffrey Combs Live at HPL Film Festival

Mon, 19 Oct 2015 07:20:58 +0000

Celebrated actor Jeffrey (Re-Animator, Star Trek DS9) Combs joins Toren, Kevin and guest-host Warren Banks to talk bad books, space warfare, ghosts, film set accidents, plus a very special Lesser of Two Evils!

Music: “Strange” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Science Denial

Mon, 12 Oct 2015 20:57:35 +0000

Joe, Kevin, and Toren discuss the denial of Galileo’s look-for-yourself findings, Ebin Byers’ “Radithor” addiction, “Deutsche Physik”, yet another evil tobacco cover-up, AIDs denialist Christine Maggiore, the Flat Earth Society, climate denial and conspiracy theories.

Music: “Deniers (Demo Version)” by Information Society

Links

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_nWp6ZHA2Q

Prisons, Part 2 of 2

Mon, 05 Oct 2015 09:09:21 +0000

Toren, Kevin, and Joe continue discussing Prisons with Riker’s Island, Diyarbakir Prison, Gitarama Central Prison, Camp 22, The Shining Path, For-Profit Prisons and the Kids for Cash Scandal, plus news and pop culture!

Music: “Lonesome Jailhouse Blues” by the Delmore Brothers

Images

Prisons, Part 1 of 2

Mon, 28 Sep 2015 17:42:00 +0000

Toren, Joe, and Kevin lock themselves up in the studio to discuss locking people up in prisons, prison garb, panopticons, prison slang, a “So You’re Going To Prison” PSA, the Prison Rape Elimination Act, The London Bridewell, Prison Hulks, The Separate System and the Stanford Prison Experiment.

Music: “In The Jailhouse Now” by Gene Autry

Links

7 Horrifying Things You Didn’t (Want to) Know About Prison

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYcOl33-mI0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XN2X72jrFk

Josef Mengele, Part 2 of 2

Mon, 21 Sep 2015 18:27:03 +0000

Kevin, Toren and Joe continue their look at the Nazi doctor Josef “Angel of Death” Mengele with his post-war movement plus news (yes, news!) and pop culture.

Music: “Moments Unaware” by Gavin Kade

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=167yT9JX0_Y

Josef Mengele, Part 1 of 2

Mon, 14 Sep 2015 10:24:40 +0000

Kevin, Toren, and Joe are back in Evil Dudes in History with a two-part look at Josef Mengele. In this episode it’s his life and the horrors he perpetrated, from his early days in the SS to his terrible experiments at Auschwitz, to fleeing the country as the Allies close in.

Intermission: “And I’ll Not Die” by Death Day Cabaret

Images

Military Animals

Mon, 07 Sep 2015 15:43:08 +0000

War elephants, anti tank dogs, moose cavalry, carrier pigeons, donkey bombs, rocket cats, bear moats, bee hive missiles, explosive rats, the PDSA Dickin Medal and the dolphin arms race. Plus pop culture.

Music: “Pigeon Walk” by Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra (1937)

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw0Ojx7OgUM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gbPIyCuGTA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Lv_vd30s5s&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6yAaqH1YJ4

http://youtu.be/60iXsD-ilVI

Urine

Mon, 31 Aug 2015 09:21:10 +0000

Bed-wetting treatments, urine in the animal kingdom, the urine wheel, uromancy, phosphorous alchemy & urine therapy. Plus when is it safe to drink your pee?

Music: “All That Glitters is Not Gold” by Dinah Shore

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2OdA7DUOAQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQoiE-hfqFY

Deserts

Mon, 24 Aug 2015 21:15:15 +0000

Joe, Toren, and Kevin discuss the science and history of deserts, animal desert adaptations, the desert ordeals of David “Jack” Sillito, Noel St. Malo Juul, and Chris Ryan, what happens when the “Marathon des Sables” — a Sahara-based ultramarathon — goes wrong, plus news and pop culture.

Music: “Fiver’s Lament” by Tarantula Head

Charity O’ The Week: Humane Borders

Links

Bonus link: Burning Man Sucks: 10 Reasons To Stay Home

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48mLmphq6Gs

Bad Laws, Part 2

Mon, 17 Aug 2015 06:54:48 +0000

Jim Crow Laws, the Nuremberg Laws, Bill C-51, Sudanese apostasy and the common sundae. Plus news & pop culture. Part 2 of 2.

Music: “Let the Punishment Fit the Crime” by Erskine Hawkins

Images

Bad Laws, Part 1

Mon, 10 Aug 2015 08:22:59 +0000

The Bloody Code, transportation to Australia, prohibition of nonbelievers to office, sexist laws, laws against homosexuality and blasphemy laws. Part 1 of 2.

Music: “Kissing is a Crime” by the Carter Family

Images

Special Blend with Richard Harmon

Mon, 03 Aug 2015 11:12:26 +0000

Actor Richard Harmon from “The 100” joins Kevin, Toren, and Joe for a special blend of caustic subjects: Killer robots, cockfighting vengeance, mascot murder, enslaved Thai fishermen, the youngest cryogenic subject ever, polar bear vs. dolphin, sourtoe cocktail, and sewer-water-beer!

Music: “Can’t You See The World Is Ending” by The Doubleclicks

Images

Mountain Misadventure, Part 2

Mon, 27 Jul 2015 03:07:42 +0000

Corpses on Everest, Everest Day, Beck Weathers’ survival story, plus pop culture. Part two of two.

Music: “I’m Sitting On Top of the World” by Al Jolson

Images

Mountain Misadventure, Part 1

Mon, 20 Jul 2015 04:54:02 +0000

Altitude sickness, frostbite, Ötzi the mummy, the Murder Wall, and other mountaineering deaths. Part one of two.

Music: “Marching ‘Round the Mountain” by Pete Fountain

Images

Weird Wars, Part 2

Mon, 13 Jul 2015 19:39:30 +0000

Kevin, Toren, and Joe are back with part two of “weird wars!”. This episode features The Anglo-Zanzibar War, The War of the Golden Stool, The War of the Stray Dog, The Football War, plus news and pop culture!

Music: “Watch World War Three (on Pay TV)” by Crown City Four

Links

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnCyMpl4dhk

Weird Wars, Part 1

Mon, 06 Jul 2015 14:54:25 +0000

Kevin, Toren, and Joe take a look at history’s weirdest wars. Tales from the Third Mithridatic War, The Siege of Yongqiu, The War of the Bucket, the Sham Battle, the War of Jenkins’ Ear, the Battle of Den Helder, The Pastry War, and The Pig War.

Music: “The Seeds of Pain” by Information Society

Images

HIV/Aids, Part 2

Mon, 29 Jun 2015 09:44:00 +0000

The history of HIV/AIDS, ‘slow puncture’ in South African prison gangs, possible cure and pop culture! Part 2 of 2 with special guest BJ Allan.

Music: “Close Your Eyes” by Al Bowlly with Ray Noble and His Orchestra

Images

HIV/AIDS, Part 1

Mon, 22 Jun 2015 08:19:53 +0000

BJ Allan joins us to talk about the science and history of HIV and AIDS.

Music: “I’ll Never Be the Same Again” Billie Holiday with Teddy Wilson & his Orchestra

Charity O’ The Week: Doctors Without Borders

Links

Images

Videos

Cinematastrophes – Brain Damage & Street Trash

Mon, 15 Jun 2015 06:58:31 +0000

Toren, Joe, and Kevin are joined by The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast‘s Paul Chapman for a special “Cinematastrophe” episode, where we force ourselves to review the most caustic cinema we can find. In our inaugural episode it’s two 80’s horror comedy classics: Brain Damage and Street Trash.

This is just us, a webcam, and some editing right now. With your help we can do more! Support us at patreon.com/causticsoda.

Images

Videos

http://youtu.be/f1Csvo7GqHw

Bones

Tue, 09 Jun 2015 01:09:50 +0000

Joe, Kevin, and Toren are joined again by Dr. Rob Tarzwell for another Caustic Anatomy Class, this time on bones! We look at the structure and evolution of bones, the world’s biggest, smallest, and most-broken, several weird bone diseases, the Oddfellows’ closeted-skeletons, plus news and pop culture!

Music: “Dem Bones” by Fred Waring & his Pennsylvanians

Links

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXmRuJByoVs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeJjgCtqPEI

Wildfires

Mon, 01 Jun 2015 15:49:36 +0000

Allan Newell joins us to discuss the science and history of wildland fires including the Ash Wednesday bushfires, the Peshtigo Fire, The Big Burn, the Great Miramichi Fire, Black Saturday, and the Kursha-2 Fire. Also – fire tornadoes!

Music: “Settin’ the Woods on Fire” by Hank Williams with his Drifting Cowboys

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnvWW4kYhnk

Special Blend with Barbara Beall

Mon, 25 May 2015 19:56:47 +0000

Actress, comedian, and former live-show guest Barbara Beall is finally in-studio with Joe, Toren, and Kevin to talk about a grab-bag of caustic topics including the Ortolan Bunting recipe, an Australian double-whammy of deadly nature, a Soda Jerk’s personal story of being hit by lighting while flying a plane, plus some “I Can’t Believe You Didn’t Mention” followups from our wonderful Patrons!

Music: “A Need To Know Basis” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Links

The Critical Hit Show (featuring previous guests Ian Boothby, Joanna Gaskell, and Eric Fell!)
The Fictionals
Google Image Search: “Carbuncle” (Note: Gross!)
An OR Nurse Talks About The Most Gory, Disgusting Thing They’d Ever Seen At Work

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TDlBT5iokE

Sexism, Part 2

Mon, 18 May 2015 06:47:03 +0000

Who’s taking the red pill? Debunking sexist evolutionary psychology, sexism in science, menstruation, sexual assault victim blaming, women in refrigerators, the Bechdel test plus Star Trek! With Dr Jenna, Deanna and Jarrah. Part 2 of 2.

Music: “Never Trust A Woman” by Red Foley

Charity O’ The Week: International Planned Parenthood Federation

Images

Sexism, Part 1

Mon, 11 May 2015 13:48:01 +0000

Dr Jenna Moccia returns with special hosts Jarrah Hodge and Deanna Ogle for a particularly hysterical look at sexism. Part 1 of 2.

Music: “Sobbin’ Women” by Howard Keel et al

Charity O’ The Week: International Planned Parenthood Federation

Links

Images

Ivan the Terrible, Part 2

Mon, 04 May 2015 21:04:16 +0000

The Caustic look at Ivan the Terrible continues with the Massacre of Novgorod, swollen cods, and the Time of Troubles, plus news and pop culture, and our thoughts on where Ivan falls on the Caustic Soda Evilometer!

Music: “Evil Man Blues” by Lil Johnson

Links

Siberian Times – Ivan’s Sword?

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnL0FP6Zczo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbFSV86Scu0

Ivan the Terrible, Part 1

Mon, 27 Apr 2015 21:12:16 +0000

Kevin, Toren, and Joe are back with more Evil Dudes in History. This time it’s Russian Tsar Ivan IV Vasilyevich: “Ivan the Terrible”. In Part 1 we talk about the early years and middle years of this outrageous tyrant.

Content warning: Ivan’s not keen on consent.

Music: “A Thousand Fists” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Alzheimer’s Disease

Mon, 20 Apr 2015 21:05:44 +0000

Dr. Rob joins Joe, Toren and Kevin to look at Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia. We look at dementia through history, how shockingly recently we’ve understood that this is a disease at all, signs of Alzheimer’s, fake bus stops, the “Dementia Village” of Hogewey, plus pop culture!

Music: “Non Dementicar” by Nat King Cole

Links

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90b1MBwnEHM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwiOBlyWpko

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8TsAh-zYFI

Fearsome Fish

Mon, 13 Apr 2015 08:24:56 +0000

Gavin Pitts returns to discuss the Goonch catfish, needlefish, sailfish, swordfish, moray eel, pacu, barracuda, anglerfish, snakehead, stingrays and the not-so-dreaded candiru!

Music: “Three Little Fishies” by Glenn Miller & His Orchestra

Links

Benthic Love

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=727ISEi6Kyw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL7skjAt0e0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE1l28aynoo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXeu_FvRx3g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2KnIpCNqdc

Heroin, Part 2

Mon, 06 Apr 2015 17:39:22 +0000

Our look at heroin continues with trafficking, the Golden Triangle, a public service announcement, the “North London Turk”, GG Allin, plus a selection of pop culture including The Man with the Golden Arm, Trainspotting, The Barbarian Invasions, and more pop culture!

Music: “Straighten Up And Fly Right” by Works Off Progress

Images

Heroin, Part 1

Mon, 30 Mar 2015 13:04:16 +0000

Kevin, Joe, and Toren take an extended look at the drug known as junk, dope, smack, shot, shit, and h: Heroin. In part one we cover heroin’s history, methods of use, lesser-known effects such as toxic leukoencephalopathy, and — of course — withdrawal.

Music: “Yog Sothoth” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Garbage

Mon, 23 Mar 2015 17:02:13 +0000

Landfills, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, crap on Mount Everest, Smokey Mountain, garbage around the world and trashy history. Plus pop culture!

Music: “I’m Waiting for the Junkman” by Ella Fitzgerald

Images

Turtles

Mon, 16 Mar 2015 22:53:23 +0000

Mr. Dr. Greg joins Joe, Toren, and Kevin to discuss the shell out of turtles. We’ve got a pop quiz, information about neck-folding, butt-based breathing, Vietnam’s great grandfather turtle, Discworld’s Great A’Tuin, Gamera and the turtles of Pokemon. Though recorded before his passing, this flamethrower against the darkness is lovingly dedicated to Sir Terry Pratchett.

Also: We’ve been nominated for the Podcast Awards in the “Science” category! Voting is on now. Do with this information what you will.

Music: “Take It Slow and Easy” by The Rhythmakers

Links

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmAO44_52vU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rE_FG2xauA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Smd9pOlsNk#t=45

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xADb8en4q-k

It Burns! It Burns! Caustic Updates

Mon, 09 Mar 2015 16:27:12 +0000

Caustic Updates featuring Chris Woods from Horsetrack Hooligans! It’s a grab bag of updates on past episodes, including body modification, art, plus a new Lesser of Two Evils!

Music: “Looking on the Bright Side of Life” by Al Bowlly

Links

Teen artist proposes nude statue of Bill Cosby with Fat Albert in place of his genitals

Images

Images Too Gross To Display Thumbnails

(you have been warned)

The Heart

Mon, 02 Mar 2015 21:40:35 +0000

Dr. Rob Tarzwell is back with Joe, Toren, and Kevin to get to the heart of the matter of… the heart. We’ll discuss its structure, a brief history of heart knowledge, look at early “pluggable” and “luggable” pacemakers, plus news from Syria and Heart Attack Grill and pop culture!

Music: “Burrow Your Way To My Heart (Live)” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Links

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SidxJz94Svs

Lightning

Mon, 23 Feb 2015 17:10:49 +0000

Ball lightning, “dark lightning,” petrified lightning, Lichtenberg figures, dramatic lightning strikes through history and how to avoid being struck by lightning. Plus pop culture!

Music: “Ain’t a Fit Night Out for Man Nor Beast” by Noble Sissle

Charity O’ The Week: Lightning Strike & Electric Shock Survivors International, Inc.

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNJRPOltifI

The Brain

Mon, 16 Feb 2015 22:52:06 +0000

Caustic Regular Dr. Rob Tarzwell joins Joe, Toren, and Kevin in the premiere episode of our new series: “Caustic Anatomy Class”, this episode focusing on the master control of it all: the brain! We’ll talk about the history of brain knowledge, an introduction to the brain’s structure, brain-eating amoebas, the “creepy threesome”, several people walking and talking without a large part of their brain, brain tapeworms, and The Man With Two Brains and a skull-full of pop culture!

Music: “Scatter Brain” by Frankie Masters And His Orchestra

Links

Caustic Anatomy Class Intro music from Creative Sound.
Brain in a Jar trope
Fungi from Yuggoth
The Whisper in the Darkness

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHxyP-nUhUY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFY2PvkqB2M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH6Cb8IYjOY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xK-ulxa0m4

Anatomy of the Brain
collated by Caustic researcher Cory

The most common method used to divide the brain, is based on the three main regions that developed in the embryonic state:

The Forebrain (or prosencephalon)

the cerebrum (telencephalon)
thalamus
hypothalamus and pineal gland among other features (diencephalon, or interbrain).

The Midbrain (or mesencephalon)

located near the very center of the brain between the interbrain and the hindbrain, is composed of a portion of the brainstem.

The Hindbrain (or rhombencephalon)

Consists of the remaining brainstem (myelencephalon) as well as our cerebellum and pons (metencephalon).

 Brain cells can be broken into two groups:

Neurons, or nerve cells, are the cells that perform all of the communication and processing within the brain.
Neuroglia, or glial cells, act as the helper cells of the brain; they support and protect the neurons. In the brain there are four types of glial cells:

Astrocytes which protect neurons by filtering nutrients out of the blood and preventing chemicals and pathogens from leaving the capillaries of the brain. They have also been observed to turn into neurons by virtue of the stem cell characteristic pluripotency.
Oligodendrocytes wrap the axons of neurons in the brain to produce the insulation known as myelin.
Microglia act much like white blood cells by attacking and destroying pathogens that invade the brain.
Ependymal cells line the capillaries of the choroid plexuses and filter blood plasma to produce cerebrospinal fluid.

The tissue of the brain can be broken down into two major classes: gray matter and white matter.

Gray matter is made of mostly unmyelinated neurons, most of which are interneurons. The gray matter regions are the areas of nerve connections and processing.
White matter is made of mostly myelinated neurons that connect the regions of gray matter to each other and to the rest of the body.

Myelinated neurons transmit nerve signals much faster than unmyelinated axons do. You could imagine your brain’s gray matter as suburbs and businesses, and the white matter as the express highway, carrying information to be processed.

Parts of the Brain

Cerebrum

The cerebrum is the largest portion of the brain, and is responsible for most of the brain’s function. It is divided into four sections:

Frontal Lobe: Controls several elements including creative thought, problem solving, intellect, judgment, behavior, attention, abstract thinking, physical reactions, muscle movements, coordinated movements, smell and personality.
Parietal Lobe: This lobe focuses on comprehension. Visual functions, language, reading, internal stimuli, tactile sensation and sensory comprehension are monitored here.
- Sensory Cortex – This receives information relayed from the spinal cord regarding the position of various body parts and how they are moving. This middle area of the brain can also be used to relay information from the sense of touch, including pain or pressure which is affecting different portions of the body.
- Motor Cortex– This helps the brain monitor and control movement throughout the body. It is located in the top, middle portion of the brain.
Temporal Lobe: Controls visual and auditory memories. It includes areas that help manage some speech and hearing capabilities, behavioral elements, and language.
- Wernicke’s Area – This portion of the temporal lobe is formed around the auditory cortex. While scientists have a limited understanding of the function of this area, it is known that it helps the body formulate and understand speech.
Occipital Lobe: Helps to control vision.

Broca’s Area – Functions linked to the production of speech and language.

Cerebellum

This is commonly referred to as “the little brain,” and is considered to be older than the cerebrum on the evolutionary scale. The cerebellum controls essential body functions such as balance, posture and coordination.

Limbic System

The limbic system contains glands which help relay emotions. Many hormonal responses that the body generates are initiated in this area. The limbic system includes the amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus and thalamus.

Amygdala: The amygdala helps the body responds to emotions, memories and fear.
Hippocampus: Used for learning memory, specifically converting temporary memories into permanent memories which can be stored within the brain. The hippocampus also helps people analyze and remember spatial relationships, allowing for accurate movements.
Hypothalamus: The hypothalamus region of the brain controls mood, thirst, hunger and temperature. It also contains glands which control the hormonal processes throughout the body.
Thalamus: The Thalamus is located in the center of the brain. It helps to control the attention span, sensing pain and monitors input that moves in and out of the brain to keep track of the sensations the body is feeling.

Brain Stem

All basic life functions originate in the brain stem, including heartbeat, blood pressure and breathing. The brain stem consists of midbrain, pons and medulla.

Midbrain: The midbrain, also known as the mesencephalon is made up of the tegmentum and tectum. These parts of the brain help regulate body movement, vision and hearing.
Pons: Links to the cerebellum to help with posture and movement. It interprets information that is used in sensory analysis or motor control. The pons also creates the level of consciousness necessary for sleep.

Medulla: The medulla or medulla oblongata maintains vital body functions such as the heart rate and breathing.

Love

Mon, 09 Feb 2015 19:17:19 +0000

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Joe, Toren, and Kevin take a Caustic look at “love”. We discuss the obsessive “limerence”, Helen of Troy, Abelard & Heloise, Bosko & Admira, two horribly criminal plans to keep a lover In The News, plus Toren reads a portion of Larry Niven’s Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex in the style of David Attenborough.

Music: “Millionaire Girlfriend” by Jonathan Coulton

Links

Intro background music by longzijun
Together In Death – TVTropes
Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex
Man of Steel (related, unmentioned in the show)
I hate love. from The Sandman

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf-gZ0dr9so

http://youtu.be/dqxqy36VYiw

Rabies

Mon, 02 Feb 2015 17:12:26 +0000

Rabies science and symptoms, old timey remedies, dog death squads in China, rabid whale speculation, the Milwaukee Protocol and Shitty Jobs: Louis Pasteur rabies vaccine lab assistant. Plus pop culture, a rabies pop quiz and what to do if you’re bitten by a rabid animal.

Music: “I’m Losing My Mind Over You” by Al Dexter

Charity O’ The Week: Global Alliance for Rabies Control

Links

Criminal Minds Round Table, “Rabid”

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grDQCjs3WV4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtiytblJzQc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IicwwXRd1GE

Hospiticide

Mon, 26 Jan 2015 23:45:58 +0000

Kevin, Toren, and Joe continue our “Caustic Icide Guide” with “Hospiticide”. We talk about the Glencoe Massacre, Gertrude Baniszewski, Sam Cook, Phil Spector, Dorothea Puente plus news and pop culture!

Music: “At An Arabian House Party” by Raymond Scott

Links

Mafia/Werewolf game
The Resistance
Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap 62nd Year on Flickr

Images

Kids Who Kill

Mon, 19 Jan 2015 20:05:38 +0000

The Kobe child murders, The Sasebo slashing, Eric Smith, the “Teacup Poisoner,” The Boston Boy Fiend, William York, Mary Bell, Amarjeet Sada, Carl Mahan, The Slender Man, and Jon Venables and Robert Thompson. Plus pop culture.

Music: “Angels With Dirty Faces” by Cab Calloway (vocals June Richmond)

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csko2e9m_dg

Belle Gunness

Mon, 12 Jan 2015 11:52:44 +0000

Evil Dames in History continues as Kevin, Toren, and Joe look at “professional widow” Belle Gunness. Murder, insurance fraud, arson, evil glares, and… Guitar Hero?

Music: “Diggin’ Up The World (Acoustic)” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Links

Gunness Victim Photo

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOSaDbb9gaQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpPMearfG3o

Espionage

Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:52:30 +0000

Allan Newell returns once again to discuss Sarah Emma Edmonds, Klaus Fuchs, the Rosenbergs, honeypots, and the acoustic kitty. Also a pop quiz on spy terminology plus pop culture!

Music: “Shhh, It’s a Military Secret” by Glenn Miller

Images

Fandamonium 2014

Mon, 29 Dec 2014 19:23:57 +0000

What do we do when we need a last-minute replacement show? A “Followups” episode created entirely from your suggestions and questions! In addition to new segments on Gaming, Stalin, Radiation, and Sports Injuries, we answer Soda Jerk questions, including early Caustic Soda history and the choosing of the name, plus “Fuck, Marry, Kill: The other hosts”!

Pedant note: This counts as “Followups XVII”!

Music: “Shhh…” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Links

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDQjtCfUhPw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEJ8lpCQbyw

“Shhh…” Lyrics
I understand that you’re upset
and you have every right to be
It’s obvious to see
I was in the wrong
but I will make it up to you
I’m gonna make it right

If we can put this in the past
and never speak to anyone
about this gaucherie
I will swear to you
that it will not happen again
I’m gonna make it right tonight

No tears
No noise
No calls
No choice
No lock
No key
No third degree

No need to trouble the police
and I can take care of the mess
I know a little place
Let me handle this
Why don’t you go and see the kids?
I’m gonna make it right tonight

No tears
No noise
No calls
No choice
No lock
No key
No third degree
No flight
No flaws
No breaks
No pause
No clues
No trace
No hands
No face

Untold
Unseen
Unphased
Unclean
Unsaid
Unkind
Undead
Unwind

No fuse
No prime
No plans
No time
No push
No shove
No god above

No black no white no source of light
No second chance no end in sight
No flesh no blood no bones no mess
No hate no love no sweet caress
Nothing to see no links no ties
No time for that no long goodbyes
No lies no thanks no secrets
No problem
No way

Hunting Spiders

Tue, 23 Dec 2014 02:47:05 +0000

Our micro-series on spiders concludes with a look at the goliath bird eater, the funnelweb, the vampire spider, spider traumatic insemination and various tarantulas. Also news and pop culture – all with guespert Gavin Pitts!

Music: “Stop, Look and Listen” by Syd Dale

Images

Web Building Spiders

Mon, 15 Dec 2014 09:09:27 +0000

Gavin “They’re Not Insects They’re Arachnids” Pitts joins us in studio for our epic micro-series on spiders. First up: the weird and wonderful world of web-building spiders, including the brown recluse and black widow. Plus news, pop culture and a spider pop quiz!

Music: “Slipstream” by Syd Dale

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coUd6d3j_6g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQABY9H1h1Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AGU6vtJLR8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb66JQl40mM

Lesser of Two Evils Live at the Northwest Podcast Festival

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 08:26:36 +0000

On October 4th, 2014, because you demanded it, Toren, Joe and Kevin appeared live at the Northwest Podcast Festival with four hilarious friends to choose between two horrible fates.

Barbara Kozicki and Ian Boothby take on Harmful Supersitions vs Acid
Ian Boothby and Fatima Dhowre choose between Urban Fires and Film Fatale
Fatima Dhowre and Emmet Hall discuss Toxicity vs Whales

Music: “Hookworm (Live)” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

If you enjoyed this special Lesser of Two Evils Marathon and want more, we’ve got three segments available as Pay-What-You-Want bonus content on Caustic Gear:

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcAZwDOWhfk

Followups XVI

Mon, 01 Dec 2014 10:52:20 +0000

Sneaky Dragon’s David Dedrick assists as we talk about a great grandmother brawl, a hoarder in Connecticut, a Spaniard who attacks his family after having a dream about ostriches, a testicular cancer survivor who pushes a giant ball around the US, and a bunch of horse stuff. Also, which is the Lesser of Two Evils? Killing your loved ones while asleep or being drawn and quartered?

Music: “Someone’s Rocking My Dreamboat” by Artie Shaw with Paula Kelly

Links

Images

Pregnancy & Childbirth, Part 2 of 2

Mon, 24 Nov 2014 09:03:44 +0000

We continue our look at pregnancy and childbirth by looking at puerperal fever, how to perform an emergency birth, birth risks in history, the invention of forceps, “Twilight Sleep”, weird birthing aids, plus news and pop culture!

Music: “Why Was I Born” by Billie Holiday

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsHCqrrU-Gk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ7b4spjXhw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUdZbRttXMY

Pregnancy & Childbirth, Part 1 of 2

Mon, 17 Nov 2014 20:34:53 +0000

In the most terrifying topic we’ve covered yet, Dr. Jenna Moccia (and her own special silent guest!) joins Kevin, Joe, and Toren to look at child bed fever, c-sections, morning sickness, eclampsia, and all the other weird and gross stuff that comes from making (and having) babies!

Music: “Womb With A View” by Jonathan Coulton

Links

RateYourTrimester.com

Images

Tigers

Mon, 10 Nov 2014 08:44:59 +0000

Poaching, tiger attacks, escaped tigers, killing tigers to show off wealth, as well as tigers in pop culture. Also “Myth or Fiction? Tiger parts in quackery” and how to survive a tiger attack.

Music: “Tiger Rag” by The Mills Brothers

Charity of the week: Big Cat Rescue

Links

Images

WARNING: Gore – Boy’s arm after being attacked by tiger, MORE GORE

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml-5NMCkyWQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0kzdu_wTM0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRGiF8DIusI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HHPo3qxomQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv2O0GahNtM

Freezing

Mon, 03 Nov 2014 08:35:01 +0000

Cryobiologist Dr. Katie Marshall joins Joe, Kevin, and Toren to talk about the horrible side of turning water into ice. We cover nucleation, amorphous ice, flash-freezing humans, paradoxical undressing and terminal burrowing, promession burial, cryonics, Nazi freezing experiments, plus news and pop culture!

Music: “Make It Gross” by Sasja Smolders (formerly Sasja Vice) (Lyrics Joe Fulgham, Music by BassBeastJD)

Links

Dr. Katie Marshall at UBC

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz3wuPUjzSA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4cX2EPt2zE

Witches and Witchcraft

Mon, 27 Oct 2014 10:47:55 +0000

Witch dunking, familiars, the witches’ cradle, burning at the stake, the Wiccan code of ethics, familiars, African witch camps and witchcraft accusations in the modern world. Plus pop culture!

Music: “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead” by Glenn Miller (1939)

Charity: ActionAid

Links

Warning: Graphic Images – Witch Burning in New Guinea

Images

Gaming

Mon, 20 Oct 2014 21:37:17 +0000

Joe, Kevin, and Toren are joined by Critical Hit Show Dungeon Master Eric Fell to look at the caustic side of games and gaming! We discuss “Senet”, the 5000 year old Egyptian board game, the anti-Dungeons & Dragons group “BADD”, “The Book of Erotic Fantasy”, chess-playing serial killer Alexander Pichushkin, and both the most offensive video game (“Ethnic Cleansing”) and role-playing game (F.A.T.A.L.) we could find. We also look at this #GamerGate thing, and top it off with select gaming-related pop culture!

Music: “Frogger! The Frogger Musical” by Paul and Storm

Links

Pinky & The Brain Theory
Ancient Board Games
The Pulling Report
Book of Erotic Fantasy
Fiasco RPG
RPG.net review of F.A.T.A.L.
Depression Quest
#GamerGate – Indie GameJam Article
Feminist Frequency YouTube Channel
Storify 4Chan IRC Logs
Dark Dungeons Chick Tract
The Future of the Culture Wars is Here, and it’s Gamergate – an excellent summary of the current #GamerGate situation.
EricFell.com
Critical Hit Show
The Gentlemen Hecklers

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl43nzam8Z4#t=133

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB9JgxhXW5w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6p5AZp7r_Q&list=PLn4ob_5_ttEaA_vc8F3fjzE62esf9yP61

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qc9JiIiOSQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGY1_LMiV-g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIObrPWHKqc

Evil Duos: The Borgias, Part 2 of 2

Mon, 13 Oct 2014 10:40:49 +0000

Continuing with the Borgias we discuss cantarella poison and the fall and death of the Borgias. Also, which is the lesser of two evils: being poisoned by Alexander or stabbed and strangled by Cesare? Plus pop culture. Part 2 of 2.

Music: “Daddy’s Little Boy” by The Mills Brothers

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRzrP9dOC6M#t=641

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcE8xJkK6t4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV5CSJ-10NQ

Evil Duos: The Borgias, Part 1 of 2

Mon, 06 Oct 2014 10:02:45 +0000

How evil were Rodrigo and Cesare Borgia? Hear that and more on this 15th Century Holy Father and cruel son as Kevin, Toren, and Joe continue the Evil Duos in History series of Caustic Soda ! Part 1 of 2.

Update: Hey, check out the new Caustic Soda Podcast Wiki! It needs help with content!

Music: “Who’s Sorry Now?” by The Rhythmakers

Images

Fratricide

Mon, 29 Sep 2014 08:02:03 +0000

Brother kills brother in the next episode in our “Icide-Guide”: Fratricide! Kevin, Joe, and Toren cover Ashoka, the Ottoman Empire, fratricidal animals, the myth of Osiris, Cain and Abel, Medea, Hodur, Richard III, and A History of Violence.

Music: “Cain and Abel” by Louis Armstrong

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO1WccH2_YM

Aliens

Mon, 22 Sep 2014 23:04:04 +0000

Fraser Cain from Astronomy Cast helps us discuss the Drake Equation and Fermi Paradox, close encounters, alien abduction insurance, the feasibility of several kinds of alien invasions and aliens in the news.

Music: “It Conquered the World” by Sheldon Allman

Links

Images

Harmful Superstitions

Mon, 15 Sep 2014 11:12:39 +0000

Toren, Joe, and Kevin talk about the psychology of superstition, harmful superstitions around the world, the unlucky numbers 13 and 4, sati, albino body-harvesting superstition, and more!

Music: “I’m Making Believe” by Ella Fitzgerald and The Ink Spots

Images

Chemical Warfare, Part 2 of 2

Mon, 08 Sep 2014 14:17:11 +0000

The Mustard Disaster at Bari, VX, atropine poisoning, The Dugway Sarin Incident, the Halabja Massacre, the Ghouta chemical attack, and the dew of death — lewisite contamination cleanup in Spring Valley. With Allan Newell.

Music: “There’s Something in the Air” by Shep Fields (vocals Bob Goday)

Links

Nerve Agent Treatment

Images

Chemical Warfare, Part 1 of 2

Mon, 01 Sep 2014 15:10:45 +0000

Emergency responder and history buff Allan Newell and the guys talk about the types and reasons for chemical warfare, chemical weapons in history including soul-hunting gas, quicklime, hellebore roots, chlorine and phosgene gas. Plus what to do when you’ve been tear-gassed. Part 1 of 2.

Music: “Mustard Gas” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Hate Crimes

Mon, 25 Aug 2014 11:49:32 +0000

The science of hate in the human brain, 9/11 revenge killings, racial, homophobic and transphobic hate crimes, as well as the Museum of Tolerance. Also American History X, Boys Don’t Cry, Milk and the X-Men.

Caustic Soda apologizes for the misgendering of Brandon Teena in our Boys Don’t Cry segment. Though accidental we agree was problematic, and Joe has digitally altered the file to use his proper pronouns. Note that we have left in a section that quotes his murderers’ own words misgendering Brandon while admitting to their crime. Their words are their own, and we report them. Our words we will correct and apologize for.

Music: “Guilty” by Margaret Whiting

Images

Followups XV

Mon, 18 Aug 2014 23:24:08 +0000

Soda Jerk Prime 2014 Cameron Potter, who claimed the “Jonestown Massacre” level of our Season 5 Fundraiser (be a guest on the show) joins Kevin, Joe, and Toren to discuss a range of topics including Tornadoes, Oklahoma, Fisticuffs (and Apes!), rat slaver, oral myiasis, Cam’s personal cancer story and the ABCs of skin cancer. Plus, more dangerous homeopathy, toxicity and SURPRISE TARANTULAS.

Note: Due to a technical glitch we had to re-record the first 20 minutes over Skype, so Cameron’s sound quality starts off low, but improves to in-studio quality around the 23 minute mark.

Music: “Pizza Day” by Jonathan Coulton

Images

This image NSFL (Not Safe For Lunch): Oral Myiasis

Links

The ABCs of Skin Cancer

The Other Senses

Mon, 11 Aug 2014 07:47:10 +0000

Proprioception, interoceptors, equilibrium & vertigo, gravitropism, thermoreception in pit vipers and jewel beetles, electroreception in sharks and platypus, magnetoreception, phantom limbs, and synesthesia. Pop culture too!

Music: “The Hell Raisers” by Syd Dale

Links

Ian’s Story

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPqPv2SKYUE

Sight, Part 2 of 2

Mon, 04 Aug 2014 08:13:22 +0000

Joe, Toren, and Kevin conclude “sight” with historical vision-correction quackery, news, blind movie reviews, porn for the blind, and a look at a pop culture!

Music: “I’m Beginning To See The Light” by Ella Fitzgerald

Links

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_83MEuLoz9Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLtok0VgVck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJgKC6sQyMo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1IY6plQKGI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_ILDFp5DGA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPvaWtQpXts

“Shaking Your Eyes” reference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1S5pAF1YYA

Sight, Part 1 of 2

Mon, 28 Jul 2014 11:19:41 +0000

Joe, Kevin, and Toren take a look at looking, including how vision works, and the “supervision” of tetrachromacy. Then the amazing eyes of the animal kingdom, including giant squid and the mantis shrimp, plus the full-body “eye” of the Ophiocoma Wendtii, visual defects like floaters, non-24-hour-sleep-wake-disorder, surfer’s eye, and Charles Bonnet Syndrome.

Music: “I Just Can’t See For Looking” by Nat King Cole

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze8VVtBgK7A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM9o4VnfHJU

Touch, Part 2 of 2

Mon, 21 Jul 2014 08:35:10 +0000

Hugs! Also, tickle torture, the “death touch,” touch in plants, Temple Grandin and the squeeze machine, the effects of ciguatera poisoning, news and pop culture. Part 2 of 2

Music: “That Old Feeling” by Guy Lombardo & His Orchestra

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D5o3PYcJoM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8UKDzVmzt8

Touch, Part 1 of 2

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 08:24:44 +0000

The ‘Senses’ series continues with tactile perception, aka touch. In part one we discuss tactile disorders, sensory illusions and haptics. Part 1 of 2.

Music: “Feelin’ No Pain” by Red Nichols

Images

Smell

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 20:02:19 +0000

Dr. Nina Quiskamp joins Toren, Joe, and Kevin as our Five(ish) Senses series continues with “Smell”! We’ll talk about how plants can detect scents, smell in the animal kingdom, how our noses work, various smelling dysfunctions and how one influenced Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, the smell of starvation and the stink of outer-space! Also, awful smells, landmine-sniffing rats, cancer-sniffing dogs and pop culture!

Music: “Robot Stink” by The Invasives

Images

Hearing

Mon, 30 Jun 2014 18:19:55 +0000

Joe, Toren, and Kevin continue the Five(ish) Senses series this week with Hearing. We’ll cover how our bodies take in and process sound waves, the various causes of hearing loss, Hyperacusis, hearing in the animal kingdom, the Greater Wax Moth, Krakatoa, and noise pollution. Then it’s on to the history of hearing aids, news, and pop culture!

Music: “Sounds of Tindalos” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeTriGTENoc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yps7pgq1TAk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzo45hWXRWU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9c3GPEtGZg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nN1PekyYZ4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0AMKG31wME

Taste, Part 2 of 2

Mon, 23 Jun 2014 09:35:39 +0000

Our Five(ish) Senses series continues with the second part of “Taste”. Kevin, Joe, and Toren look at taste in the animal kingdom, the dangers of bitter orange, miracle fruit, vomit fruit, Scientist/Taster Carl Wilhelm Sheele , what happened to French wine, breast milk ice cream and pop culture!

Note: The mentioned bonus content will appear mid-week!

Music: “There Ain’t No Sweet Man (That’s Worth the Salt of My Tears)” by Bix Beiderbecke & Bing Crosby

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX2Sc1BSMhM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO8V72pDw1o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6i5p8RbTCg

Taste, Part 1

Mon, 16 Jun 2014 10:08:23 +0000

In the first of our multi-part series on the senses, Kevin, Toren, and Joe look at umami, Scoville Heat Units and the world’s hottest peppers, Burning Mouth Syndrome, supertasters, plus the effect of vision on taste and the weirdness that is phenylthiocarbamide!

Music: “If I Knew You Were Comin’ Id’ve Baked A Cake” by Eileen Barton

Images

Mass Hysteria

Mon, 09 Jun 2014 10:54:28 +0000

Toren, Joe, and Kevin are back with a look at the “collective delusions of threats”, or mass hysteria, including the June Bug Epidemic, Tanganyika laughter epidemic, The West Bank fainting epidemic, The Dancing Plague, the Mad Gasser of Mattoon, plus news and a brief pop culture!

Music: “Blackout” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Nuclear Accidents, Part 2 of 2

Mon, 02 Jun 2014 07:58:22 +0000

Nuclear Accidents continues with Three Mile Island, the Kyshtym Disaster, the Fernald Feed contamination, the SL-1 meltdown, the Soviet sub K-431 refueling disaster, the Zaragoza radiotherapy accident, Chernobyl and Fukushima, plus news and pop culture. Part 2 of 2 with special guespert Bob Apthorpe

Music: “Crawl Out Through the Fallout” by Sheldon Allman

Links

Echo Class II Submarine

Images

Nuclear Accidents, Part 1 of 2

Mon, 26 May 2014 10:21:38 +0000

Bob Apthorpe, nuclear engineer, defense waste cleanup & severe accident analyst, joins us to talk about nuclear meltdowns and other accidents involving radioactivity. We discuss scavenged radioactive materials recycled for building, the NRX Incident, the Windscale Disaster, as well as the crashed Soviet nuclear-powered satellite Kosmos 954 and Operation: Morning Light

Music: “Radioactive Mama” by Sheldon Allman

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ4vtUzG6sQ

Suicide

Mon, 19 May 2014 10:51:44 +0000

TRIGGER WARNING: Some of the images and videos below are GRAPHIC, and of course the episode deals with suicide entirely.

Dr. Rob joins Kevin, Toren, and Joe to talk about the act of taking your own life: suicide. We’ll discuss the Werther effect, suicide statistics, methods and their consequences, Cato the Minor’s intestinal fortitude, seppuku, Budd Dwyer’s on-air suicide, Dr. Kevorkian’s “Thanatron”, the “Deliverance Machine”, plus news and pop culture.

Music: “Gloomy Sunday” by Billie Holiday

Links

Images

This one (incomplete gun suicide) is pretty gory so we’re hiding the thumbnail. You’ve been warned.

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gO7uemm6Yo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVm88MX2Gw4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2OPV6iuk2o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3Q8oM_AnK8

Diving Accidents, Part 2

Mon, 12 May 2014 09:39:33 +0000

Jonathan Martin and the guys discuss diver’s squeeze, the death of David Shaw, the “Diver’s Cemetery,” the Byford Dolphin diving bell accident, plus news and pop culture. Part 2 of 2.

Music: “Stop and Breathe” by The Invasives. Buy their new album “Robot Stink” on iTunes or http://invasives.bandcamp.com/

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRC5R1jRO58
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF4iFJ-G74o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V21qpZ2Y9IA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF4iFJ-G74o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhcF-Coc1J0

Diving Accidents

Mon, 05 May 2014 15:56:54 +0000

Diver extraordinaire Jonathan Martin joins us to discuss the types and hazards of diving, including decompression sickness (the “bends”), nitrogen narcosis, high pressure nervous syndrome, and isobaric counterdiffusion. Plus Rice Krispie neck, The Martini Effect and SHITTY JOBS: compressor diving. Part 1 of 2.

Music: “I Threw A Kiss In The Ocean” Benny Goodman

Images

Dennis “BTK” Rader

Mon, 28 Apr 2014 10:48:13 +0000

It’s time for Kevin, Toren, and Joe to return to their Evil Dudes In History series, this time looking at Dennis “Bind, Torture, Kill” Rader. His bad spelling and grammar, dog euthanizations, and oh yeah, several horrible murders.

Trigger Warning: Rape, Murder

Music: “Please God No” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Less than a week left until the Lesser of Two Evils Marathon! Get your tickets now!

Images (Note: Disturbing photos of BTK himself below are not victims! Still disturbing though!)

Crime Scene and Autopsy Photos of Rader’s victims — WARNING!! VERY GRAPHIC IMAGES:

Otero Family: http://murderpedia.org/male.R/r/rader-dennis-otero-family.htm
Kathryn / Kevin Bright: http://murderpedia.org/male.R/r/rader-dennis-kathryn-bright.htm
Shirley Vian: http://murderpedia.org/male.R/r/rader-dennis-shirley-vian.htm
Nancy Fox: http://murderpedia.org/male.R/r/rader-dennis-nancy-fox.htm
Marine Hedge: http://murderpedia.org/male.R/r/rader-dennis-marine-hedge.htm
Vicky Wegerle: http://murderpedia.org/male.R/r/rader-dennis-vicky-wegerle.htm
Dolores Davis: http://murderpedia.org/male.R/r/rader-dennis-dolores-davis.htm

Videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCh_9Oe2OA8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SAwJoF1wvs

Leeches

Mon, 21 Apr 2014 08:38:55 +0000

The wonderful world of leeches includes bloodletting, leech collectors, the tempest prognosticator, hirudotherapy, how to properly remove a leech, plus news and pop culture.

Music: “Leeches” by Toren Atkinson

Lyrics

I heard you scream
I tried to ask about it
you had a dream
You wouldn’t talk about it
I’m guessing you were down in the bog
you’re coming out
to find its covered you with leeches

back in the day
of all the barber-surgeons
not feeling great
a sickness is emergin’
well there was only one thing to do
sit in the chair
they’re gonna cover you with leeches

oh what a day
can you even imagine
you lost a thumb
were gonna reattach it
the clotting blood it gums up the works
we’ll get it out
we’re gonna cover you with leeches

Images

Benign Tumors

Mon, 14 Apr 2014 14:59:06 +0000

Dr Rob returns to talk about the terrible tumors – or at least the non-cancerous ones. Includes molar pregnancies, teratomas, fetus in fetu, gourmand syndrome, and -omas of all kinds.

Music: “I’ve Found A New Baby” by Lionel Hampton

Links

http://www.tumorlibrary.com/
Teratoma Image Search (WARNING: EW!)

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQpPeMGQv90

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJyBy_cgTtA

Griselda Blanco

Mon, 07 Apr 2014 14:29:47 +0000

Kevin, Joe, and Toren are back again with a look at our next Evil Dame In History: Cocaine Godmother Griselda Blanco. Motorcycle hits, hits on children, her massive cocaine habit, arrests and the shenanigans that got her free. All that plus the return of Lesser of Two Evils!

Music: “Deadly Weapon” by Eddy Howard

Links

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqvwBH-Jg4k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKA1CXBOchY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi8yI5_Zets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx_M3_FBUTY

Flatulence

Mon, 31 Mar 2014 11:53:49 +0000

Pull our finger, Soda Jerks! Instead of pretending fooling people is comedy this April Fools we’re celebrating the gross that makes you laugh: flatulence! Why we fart, why it smells, and faaaaaarts innnnn spaaaaace! Then fart history with Japanese Fart Scrolls, Benjamin Franklin’s demand for fart science, professional flatulists and fartistes, Adolf Hitler’s other offensive gas, and is that a soviet sub or is something farting in the ocean?

In the news we’ll look at a few people fired for farting on-the-job, fart-lighting injuries, the return of “Shit Dick”, and a flatulence-caused stabbing. Then we select some personal favorites and new weird finds in flatulence pop culture.

Plus: The world’s oldest known joke!

Music: “Big Dick Farts a Polka” by Jonathan Coulton

Links

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUjGIVNIBdw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcrPP-HPPeo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9GU4P-1AWI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXFVWB_hgAE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_-OEhe3nlE

Grenades

Mon, 24 Mar 2014 09:06:30 +0000

Grenados, jam tin grenades, the Mills bomb, potato masher, jumping hand grenades, hornet’s nest grenades and chemical hand grenades. Plus falling on a grenade and a public service announcement on how to survive a frag grenade attack.

Music: “Oooh-Oh Boom!” by Benny Goodman with Martha Tilton

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU3rSI_tl8U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwBFepUkQms

Whales

Mon, 17 Mar 2014 10:04:56 +0000

Mr. Dr. Greg Bole rejoins Joe, Toren, and Kevin to talk about the marine mammals called whales. We’ll play “Whale or No Such Thing”, talk about exploding whale autopsies, the story of the real-life inspiration for Moby Dick: “The Essex”, “Blackfish” and Tillicum’s attacks, plus a dramatic reading on whale penis fashion from Moby Dick.

Music: “The Dying Sailor to his Shipmates” by Paul Clayton

Links

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynQ_cw6oHMg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B_poyjBqYE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chVk5ziw0lM

Abortion, Part 2 of 2

Mon, 10 Mar 2014 16:15:17 +0000

Abortion in the news and in pop culture. Plus a Public Service Announcement on Pregnancy Crisis Centers. With guespert Katie Scoular. Part 2 of 2!

Music: “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby” Andrews Sisters & Bing Crosby.

Charity O’ The Week: The Morgentaler Clinic

Images

Videos

Paste the URL here while in HTML view. Make sure no secret code gets in. Just the URL, and WordPress will auto-embed.

Abortion Part 1 of 2

Mon, 03 Mar 2014 06:10:38 +0000

Katie Scoular returns to discuss the ins and outs (mostly outs) of abortion. We look at some basic pregnancy facts, the different types of abortion (safe and unsafe), fetal viability, abortifacients, and abortion in history. Part 1 of 2.

Music: “I’m Nobody’s Baby” by Roy Eldridge & Mildred Bailey

Charity O’ The Week: National Network of Abortion Funds

Images

Child Labor

Mon, 24 Feb 2014 11:42:42 +0000

This week, Joe, Kevin, and Toren discuss child labor. They’ll discuss the eleven worst countries for child labor, the prevalence of child labor in chocolate production, tobacco, video games, and in mining. Plus: Oliver Twist and some curiously comedic examples of child labor in pop culture.

Music: “Angels with Dirty Faces” by Cab Calloway featuring June Richmond

Links

GMB Akash Child Labor Photos

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJpaqRNKqks#t=2299

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vfbv6hNeng

Clowns

Mon, 17 Feb 2014 12:20:38 +0000

Coulrophobes beware! We talk about killer and suicidal clowns, including John Wayne Gacy, clown assassinations, and of course, Juggalos. Plus dangerous clowns in pop culture!

Music: “Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside)” by Andy Russell

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLMoCIDSCIE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJai18eys0M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JGUKtc9Bjc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v96fv67ak0o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rJj5S1fwXE

Lice

Mon, 10 Feb 2014 06:29:00 +0000

Gavin Pitts joins Kevin, Toren, and Joe again via Skype to talk head lice, body lice, public lice, Strigiphilus Garylarsoni, Aristotle’s “spontaneous generation” theory, the lice-spread typhus outbreak in the first World War, perukes, Archbishop Thomas Becket, German WWII de-lousing stations, Japanese Unit 731, as well as South Park’s “Lice Capades” episode.

Correction: Joe stated there are four countries not using the metric system. It’s actually just three: USA, Liberia, and Burma. Get with the times, America.

Music: “The Kwellada Kid” by SNFU

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEBmZAf3oK4

Toxicity Part 2 of 2

Mon, 03 Feb 2014 16:40:30 +0000

Food tasters, Wiley’s poison squad, tetra ethyl lead, pesticide-contaminated lunches, a new botulinum toxin, and the usual pop culture. Plus – what’s the lethal dose of various toxins? With Dr. Jenna Moccia, part 2 of 2!

Music: “Spooky Scherzo” by Sam Fonteyn

Images

Toxicity

Mon, 27 Jan 2014 11:22:40 +0000

Dr Jenna Moccia joins us to talk nightshade, strychnine, curare, arsenic, ricin, cyanide, botulinum, chemotherapy, the 1858 Bradford Sweets poisonings, the 1971 Iraq mercury grain poisonin, plus the largest mass poisoning of a population in history. Part 1 of 2.

Music: “Life or Death” by Jack Beaver

Images

Shipwreck!

Mon, 20 Jan 2014 07:19:58 +0000

Part three of our Maritime Mishaps series continues with a look at complete loss of water-going vessels: Shipwrecks! We’ll look at the wrecks of the Swedish “Vasa”, the Admiral Nakhimov, the MS Estonia, Tek Sing, Le Joola, leading up to the deadliest shipwreck ever: the MV Doña Paz. Then we do some news, and talk mostly about the shipwreck movie: Titanic!

Music: “Return to Melanesia” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Links

Vasa (Wikipedia)

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VchsHhPIx_s

Marooned

Mon, 13 Jan 2014 02:26:25 +0000

We discuss several instances of people cast away to deserted islands in history, and provide a PSA on how to survive! We also analyze Robinsonades such as Robinson Crusoe (on Earth and on Mars), Swiss Family Robinson, Lost in Space, Lord of the Flies, and more. I can’t believe we didn’t talk about Cast Away!

Music: “Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go With Friday on Saturday Night?” by Al Jolson

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYxx-NsH6UA

Robinson Crusoe On Mars by crazedigitalmovies

Lost At Sea

Mon, 06 Jan 2014 08:04:30 +0000

This week, Joe, Kevin, and Toren look at getting stuck out on the open ocean. We’ll cover the several dangers of being lost at sea, as well as tales of survivors of some of the longest (and grossest) “unplanned extended ocean vacations” such as the Baileys, amazing survivor Poon-Lim, and the Robertson family. In The News we’ve got a religious family set adrift and a survivor found in a capsized tugboat 98 feet underwater!

Correction: Joe was wrong, tigers love water.

Music: “Night On The Water” by Helen Ward

Links

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_4FPG48SkU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV8NraEwtbI

Ecocide

Mon, 30 Dec 2013 18:26:55 +0000

Joanna Gaskell joins us to discuss dead zones, the deforestation of Easter Island, the Dust Bowl, the Great Sparrow Campaign, the desiccation of the Aral Sea, the draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes, and mountain top removal mining. Also: shape-changing testicles in pop culture!

Charity O’ the Week: Nature Conservancy
Music: “Dust Pneumonia Blues” by Woody Guthrie

Links

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnGBqBip9aM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgjbCljrlhk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQCwhjWNcH8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbSkRS8Ih7o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc-P8oDuS0Q

Trench Warfare

Mon, 23 Dec 2013 11:05:42 +0000

Jordan “Funk Hole” Pratt joins us to discuss WWI’s Western front, The Battle of the Trench, The Battle of the Crater, trench foot, dysentery, chlorine and mustard gas, self-inflicted wounds, trench raids plus news and pop culture.

Music: “Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag” by Art Mooney

Don’t forget our Season 5 Fundraiser!

Images

Links

Trench Warfare

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH3-Gt7mgyM

Followups 14

Mon, 16 Dec 2013 12:34:14 +0000

Gentleman Heckler, Dungeon Master, and future Space Cabbie Eric Fell joins Joe, Kevin and Toren to talk about the antechinus, death via coital defenestration, escamole, asian giant hornets and more!

Music: “First of May” by Jonathan Coulton

Images

Links

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2zDvz5Y6p8

Addiction

Mon, 09 Dec 2013 11:09:25 +0000

Dr. Rob joins Joe, Toren, and Kevin to talk about the reason people just can’t stop: Addiction! We’ll look at the difference between use, abuse, misuse, and dependence, Alexander the Great’s murderous alcoholism, “Rat Park”, Elvis Presley’s prescription drug addiction, and a story of heroin induced copremesis. We’ll also talk about the addictiveness of Oreos, a bad Warcraft mother, addiction in Fallout, and select pop culture examples of addiction.

Music: “Addicted to the Disco” by Sean Cullen

Images

Links

Rat Park (comic)

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoTKBXqQDsA&t=24

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_2FycHamfA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bflYjF90t7c

Hominins

Mon, 02 Dec 2013 09:13:26 +0000

Mr. Dr. Greg Bole is back to discuss our close human relatives: Hominins! Australopithicus, Homo erectus, Neanderthal, Homo floresiensis, their tool-use, cannibalistic behaviors, and skull-bashing ways. We’ll look at some name-game-changing new finds In The News, and desperately try to find some decent “caveman” pop culture.

Music: “I’m A African” by Baba Brinkman

Images

Links

Walking with Cavemen

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6r6POHC8zg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCfDNUcyN6Q

Chemical Accidents

Mon, 25 Nov 2013 09:40:20 +0000

Firefighter Allan Newell joins us to discuss the dirty details of toxic spills and other chemical accidents including the Seveso Disaster, the Binghamton State Office Building contamination, the Baia Mare cyanide spill, the Ajka alumina sludge spill and the Bhopal disaster. Plus news and pop culture.

Music: “There’s Something in the Air” by Artie Shaw with Peg La Centra

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znvcQBua–w

Genocide, Part 2 of 2

Mon, 18 Nov 2013 09:18:51 +0000

In part 2 of 2 we discuss the Armenian Genocide, Herero Wars, and Indonesia vs East Timor. Plus news and pop culture!

Trigger Warning: Rape, outrageous violence.

Music: “After You’ve Gone” by Django Reinhardt

Images

Links

Death of a Nation: The Timor Conspiracy

Genocide, Part 1 of 2

Mon, 11 Nov 2013 11:00:26 +0000

This episode is rated ‘T’ for TRIGGER ALERT. In part 1 of 2 on genocide, we discuss Genghis Khan and Tamerlane, The Tasmanian “Black Wars” and the Maori invasion of the Moriori.

Music: “Wipe ‘Em Off” by Clarence Williams & the Seven Gallon Jug Band

Charity of the week: http://www.genocidewatch.org (and Healapalooza, of course!)

Images

Links

Moriori Trust

Vampires, Part 2 of 2

Mon, 04 Nov 2013 09:59:29 +0000

In Part 2 of our Caustic look at Vampires we turn to recent news and pop culture, covering a vampire-inspired killer and recent vampire finds in Venice and Bulgaria featuring bricks-in-mouths and poles-through-chests. Then we try to get through as much vampiric pop-culture as we can!

Post your favorites you missed here or on our Facebook page!

Music: “I’m Scared” by Sarah Vaughan

News: Voting in The Podcast Awards has begun and we’ve been nominated in both the “Best Produced” and “Education” categories. You can vote once per day and it’d sure be nice if you would.

Images

Links

Varney the Vampire

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_2IZFqrXKI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RR-nVtxvlI

Vampires, Part 1 of 2

Mon, 28 Oct 2013 08:25:15 +0000

Just in time for Halloween, it’s the first part of a blood-gorged Caustic Soda Vampire episode. In part one Toren covers several vampire “facts” in a pop quiz, Joe and Kevin join in talking about just what it takes to be considered a vampire. Following a vampiric musical break we look at vampires in history such as Jure Grando, “the hysteria”, and then a look at “real-life vampires” like Mercy Brown, Fritz Haarmann, Richard Chase, and James Riva.

Music: “Blue Sunny Day” by Jonathan Coulton

Images

Followups 13 Live at VCON 38

Mon, 21 Oct 2013 15:16:21 +0000

Mur Lafferty and John Kovalic join us to discuss electrocution, toys that kill, funerals, burns, motor vehicle accidents, sleep disorders, and sports injuries. Plus – which is the lesser of two evils: being electrocuted in a pool or killed trying to park your Lexus?

Music: “The Penguin” by Raymond Scott

Charity: Healapalooza – our t-shirt maker got hit by a car!

Images

Links

Body Modification

Mon, 14 Oct 2013 08:00:00 +0000

Live at EmilyCon in Vancouver, Chris “Sandstorm” Woods returns to discuss tattoos, branding, scarification, tightlacing, genital beading, scleral tattooing, piercing, suspension, lip plates and cranial deformation. Plus: which is the lesser of two evils – having a revenge tattoo put on your forehead or being mummified Japanese buddha-style?

Music: “Lydia the Tattooed Lady” by Groucho Marx

Images

Links

Healapalooza

Evil Duos in History: Hindley & Brady vs. The Makins

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 07:38:19 +0000

It’s a duo of evil duos! We compare Ian Brady and Myra Hindley – who (among other things) murdered children in 1960’s Manchester – to John and Sarah Makin, who murdered up to 13 babies in late 1800’s Sydney. Includes a Lesser of Two Evils!

Trigger warning: There’s quite a bit about rape and several dead babies, sorry.

Music: “Tea for Two” by Comedian Harmonists

Charity: Missing People

Images

Links

Healapalooza

Floods

Mon, 30 Sep 2013 10:53:15 +0000

Kevin, Toren and Joe take a look at what happens when you get too much of a good thing like water – Floods! They’ll paddle down the two Grote Mandrenkes to Johnstown, Pennsylvania to China’s many great floods. We’ll look at explanations for the story of Noah’s flood, and finally dip into floods in popular culture. Plus an all-wet Lesser of Two Evils!

Music: “When The Levee Breaks” by Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezyyBZ1bfbE

Nukes!

Mon, 23 Sep 2013 13:03:22 +0000

This week Joe, Kevin, and Toren are joined by Dr. Rob Tarzwell for a look at nuclear weapons. From “The Gadget” to Fat Man & Little Boy to the incredible destructive power of the fusion-powered “H-Bomb”, plus the world’s smallest nuclear weapon – the Davy Crockett recoilless nuclear gun! We’ll look at the timeline and effects of nuclear explosions, “Peaceful Nuclear Explosions”, and a special (and completely arbitrary) selection of nuke-related movies and video games.

Music: “Tic, Tic, Tic” by Doris Day

Images

Links

Subjecting “Fridge Nuking” to Scientific Peer Review

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKqXu-5jw60

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAiYwADzr2Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlE1BdOAfVc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOUtZOqgSG8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=q6Q3YrMFe9k#t=634
(the mention of this game was cut since all we did was describe what happens in the video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc6iUCX2u3Q

Mummies

Mon, 16 Sep 2013 06:44:39 +0000

Various kinds of mummies are discussed, including ancient Egyptian methods, bog mummies, saponification, and electroplating. Plus the mummies of Guanajuato, Chiesa dei Morti, Luang Pho Dang, and plenty of pop culture.

Music: “Ra Ra Ra” by Here Come the Mummies

Images

Links

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERXD-SHbwyU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbL_LaDtWBA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x48Hq9F4Q70

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3vhpk7DhZM

Stalin, Part 2 of 2

Mon, 09 Sep 2013 10:11:30 +0000

Kevin, Toren, and Joe continue their look at Joseph Stalin with WWII-era horribleness, news about the return of a Georgian monument to Stalin and pop culture with Children of the Revolution, Animal Farm, and more!

Music: “Stalin Kicked the Bucket” by Ray Anderson

Images

Links

Trotsky: A Graphic Biography

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClaNnaMgbF0

Stalin, Part 1 of 2

Mon, 02 Sep 2013 07:27:19 +0000

This week in Evil Dudes in History it’s Joseph Stalin: the “Man of Steel” responsible for even more deaths than in Zack Snyder’s movie! We’ll talk about his rise to power, daring thefts, murders, the “Road of Bones” and so much more horribleness that we had to save some for next week!

Music: “Mr. Stalin You’re Eating Too High On The Hog” by Arthur ‘Guitar Boogie’ Smith and his Crackerjacks

Images

Bad Advertising

Tue, 27 Aug 2013 02:24:08 +0000

Babies in cellophane, lead for kids, bad advertiser turned propagandist Edward Bernays, Tom Vu, the Marlboro Man, Joe Camel, Pizza Hut’s moon advertising plan, and more!

Sorry for the slight lateness of this one — we had a pretty severe tech problem to recover from and so editing took quite a bit longer.

Music: “Try Wheaties” (the world’s first jingle!) by The Wheaties Quartet

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzsSpDyBc_4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEep5BrexT0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQc-zD7WrzA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dk0jjG9CbqA

Cruise Ships

Mon, 19 Aug 2013 06:37:07 +0000

Steven Schwartz returns to discuss all of the horrible things that happen on cruise ships, including fires, collisions, murders, sexual assaults (trigger warning!), suicides, medical malpractice, disease, and Mal de Debarquement Syndrome. All this plus pop culture too!

Music: “The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” by Helen Ward

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3279Ry6bN4k

Megafauna

Mon, 12 Aug 2013 06:14:52 +0000

Can you clone a mammoth and have it build a pyramid? Baz Edmeades of megafauna.com joins us to talk about prehistoric elephants, hell pigs, terror birds, giant ground sloths, marsupial lions, hippopotamus wombats, moas, sabretooth cats, stellar sea cows and more!

Music: “Downtown (in the Cenozoic)” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Links

Megafauna.com

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XfFtKGECjI

Infanticide

Mon, 05 Aug 2013 07:24:33 +0000

Rolling into flaming pits, roasting in bronze statues, or just leaving them exposed to the elements, there’s a plethora of ways to kill infants. Joe, Toren, and Kevin look at infanticide across history and in the animal kingdom, as well as featuring in horrible recent news and mercifully less-horrible pop culture.

Music: “Baby Face” by Buddy Clark & the Andrews Sisters

Charity o’ the Week: AMT Children of Hope Foundation

Images

Space Hazards

Mon, 29 Jul 2013 08:30:55 +0000

From our live Space Disasters (in 3D!) event at at EXP Restaurant in Vancouver, B.C. where we were joined by Sneaky Dragon and One Minute Medical School! In this episode we’ll discuss Kessler Syndrome, the cold depths of space, vacuum exposure, fluid redistribution, plus Soyuz 11, Vostok II, space debris, galactic cosmic radiation, space hazards in pop culture, and another live Lesser of Two Evils!

Music: “20 Minutes of Oxygen” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Links

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rSI-rMPVJM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdesgp_xEVw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO8L9tKR4CY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8B6Vn7ixAk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSccwmmrS5A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS6m6NM_Md0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=vL3x6KaWsUM&t=386

Duels

Mon, 22 Jul 2013 06:08:39 +0000

Lisa Gemino joins us to talk judicial dueling, naked dueling, famous duelists like La Maupin and Lord Minimus, plus how dueling in a carriage and in balloons worked (or didn’t work). Also Magic: The Gathering and duels in film!

Music: “Feudin’ Banjos” by Arthur Smith

Images

Links

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27M5KWI_q50

Acid

Mon, 15 Jul 2013 10:05:50 +0000

Adam Barlev joins Toren, Kevin, and Joe for a look at the caustic chemicals known as “acids”. Hydrofluoric, Sulfuric, Muriatic, and more. Toren reveals the details of the Sausage-Vat Murders and the Acid-Bath Murderer. Plus acid attacks in the news, and Breaking Bad’s grisly acid-related “bathtub” scene.

Music: “It’s Bad For Me” by Al Bowlly

Charity of the Week: Acid Survivors Trust International

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kgNL1tYFvc

The End of the Universe

Mon, 08 Jul 2013 08:28:46 +0000

AstronomyCast‘s Fraser Cain joins Toren, Joe and Kevin to talk about The End of All Things — the death of the entire Universe. Everything, everyone, even the very atoms themselves! The Big Crunch, The Big Chill, dark energy, and a whole lot more that confuses the heck out of Kevin. Plus: Doctor Who, Spaceship Zero, and what Marvel’s all-time eating champion Galactus has to do with the end of the Universe.

Music: “Theme from Spaceship Zero” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Links

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd9cBlvfjow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZiXC8Yh4T0

Mining Disasters

Mon, 01 Jul 2013 06:28:57 +0000

The science and main causes of mining disasters, and a closer look at specific mining accidents, including the 1913 Senghenhydd Pit Disaster, the 1966 Aberfan Disaster, the 1972 Honkeiko Colliery, the 1975 Chasnala Mine Disaster and the Springhill Mining Disasters. Also mining disasters in the news and pop culture.

Music: “Whistle While You Work” by Comedian Harmonists

Images

Links

Minecraft

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmB9b5njVbA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xFOf_n_lOc

Wasps and Hornets

Mon, 24 Jun 2013 16:12:50 +0000

Gavin Pitts is back with Joe, Kevin, and Toren to discuss wasps, from the world’s smallest of the amoeba-sized Fairy Fly to the Asian Giant Hornet! Plus the difference between wasps, hornets, ants and bees, how the Green Fairy Wasp “drives” cockroaches around via their antennae, a pop quiz on the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, several recent wasp-related deaths, and some terrible wasp-related movies.

News: We’re doing another live podcast at EXP Restaurant & Bar with special guests Sneaky Dragon and a live One Minute Medical School! Details at tickets available at Caustic Gear.

Music: “I Got The Stinger” by Jabo Smith’s Rhythm Aces

Images

Links

Damn Interesting – Mind-Controlling Wasps and Zombie Spiders

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UkDMrG6tog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_aHOnyXIOI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN2XMyxAs5o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtF-u4q7dI4

Patricide

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:58:57 +0000

This chapter of Caustic Soda’s “-icide guide” explores the psychological reasons as to why children kill their fathers. In history we discuss Beatrice Cenci, Richard Dadd, the Menendez Brothers, Chris Porco, and the Tochigi Case. Also, patricide in the news and in pop culture!

Music: “Daddy’s Little Boy” by The Mills Brothers

Images

Videos

The Caustic Soda Live EXPerience (May 12, 2013)

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 09:52:28 +0000

Live from the EXP Restaurant and Bar in Vancouver, BC, it’s The Caustic Soda Live EXPerience! Recorded May 12, 2013 in front of a packed-house, Joe, Toren, Kevin and follow-up aficionado Warren Banks cover a variety of stories, including squid spermatophores in disturbing places, a squid bomb, shitty radiation shielding for a trip to Mars, “blood facials”, self-cannibalism, and a special Lesser of Two Evils featuring a face-off between a story from this show and one chosen from Soda Jerk suggestions by our live audience!

Notes: We had a few audio glitches during the show so we lost our intros (we re-recorded them) and a bit of the very beginning. I know — we’re upset too! We also didn’t get a clean copy of Murder Dove’s performance (more audio glitches) so we’ve included the studio version of a song in its place.

Music: “Devil Eyes” by Murder Dove

Images

Links

EXP Restaurant and Bar
Murder Dove on Facebook
Horsetrack Hooligans comedy podcast and on Facebook
Fred Bremmer’s Caustic Soda Live EXPerience photos on Flickr

Ninja, Part 2 of 2

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 06:24:47 +0000

In the news: ninja festival and marijuana thieves. Pop culture includes: Snake Eyes, You Only Live Twice, Miami Connection, Shinobi No Mono, American Ninja, and of course Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Plus Nels Anderson gives us the scoop on Mark of the Ninja! Part 2 of 2.

Music: “Mad Shinobi Skills” by Toren Atkinson

Images

Links

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZvTIztzDL8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpZu69OB2KM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FvrTb-iJQY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f8nonuK0RA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMlu7ZleclI

Ninja

Mon, 27 May 2013 08:23:04 +0000

Nels “Mark of the Ninja” Anderson joins us to discuss facts and controversy surrounding history, technology, and countermeasures of shinobi no mono! Part 1 of 2.

Music: “Oh Mein Papa” by Pegi Hayama

Images

Links

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbDvYP0wGpI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LHzj3MosKs

Falling

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:32:58 +0000

Joe, Toren, and Kevin take a look at plummeting to your death (and other outcomes) from heights both great and ridiculously small. We go from history’s Gemonian Stairs to the 1912 Eiffel Tower “Parachute Coat” incident to the most impressive falls from planes in recent memory including Alan MaGee, Nicholas Alkamade, and Vezna Vulović. All this plus a Public Service Announcement on how to survive a bungee jumping accident and pop-culture most memorable falls!

Plus: a special Celebrity Lesser of Two Evils recorded with skeptic-musician George Hrab! He’s not here for the whole episode but we managed to catch up with him while he was in Vancouver to ask him to choose between two horrible fates!

Music: “Everything Alive Will Die Someday” by George Hrab

Images

Links

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBN3xfGrx_U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIGrvofPqRU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZIzreiseMk

Alchemy

Mon, 13 May 2013 05:22:41 +0000

Joanna Gaskell of the Standard Action web series joins us to discuss the history and “science” of alchemy, including the philosopher’s stone and elixir of life, transmutation of elements, the universal solvent, homonculi, famous alchemists and frauds. Plus alchemy portrayed in film, comics, TV, literature, and video games.

Music: “There’ll Be Some Changes Made” by The Boswell Sisters

Images

Linksguest

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5_9nat1_9U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAKNkrXhB60

Regicide, Part 2

Mon, 06 May 2013 08:57:11 +0000

Regicide continues — surprisingly — in the news with the Nepalese royal massacre! From there we jump right into the regicide-filled world of A Song of Ice And Fire/Game of Thrones. Spoiler alerts aplenty if you haven’t been keeping up to the END of Book/Season 3! Also: Oblivion, Shakespeare’s most famous regicides, and a “King vs. Pirate” Lesser of Two Evils.

BIG Game of Thrones Spoiler Starting Times
Game of Thrones Season/Book 1: 9:00
Game of Thrones Season/Book 2: 13:15
Game of Thrones Season/Book 3: 14:28
You’re safe again at 20:00!

As of this posting we go ahead of where the current episode of Game of Thrones is in the story, so being “caught up” isn’t enough. If you don’t know what happens all the way through to the end of Season/Book 3, you’re going to get spoilers if you don’t skip ahead!

Music: “The Kingdom of Swing” by Benny Goodman

Images

Links

A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYNeT2nzEgA

Regicide, Part 1

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:28:52 +0000

Green Ronin Publishing’s Chris Pramas joins Kevin, Toren, and Joe to discuss the deaths of royalty like Mary, Queen of Scots and Charles I as well as Shaka Zulu’s mother issues and more!

Music: “After You’ve Gone” by Bing Crosby

Images

Links

A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying

Bed Bugs

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 05:50:39 +0000

Entomophile Andrew Scott joins us to talk about Cimex lectularius including a science quiz, traumatic extravaginal insemination, old timey bed bug treatments, plus news, pop culture and tips on how to avoid bed bug infestation at home and when traveling.

Music: “Mean Old Bed Bug Blues” by The Rhythmakers

Images

Links

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GcFO8y-WDE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKfvnYGVTYg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9z_LtDx5-4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSJgbzczdDY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MakIB_IJnu0

Marijuana

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 05:07:09 +0000

Joe, Kevin, and Toren discuss marijuana’s many odd nicknames, effects, history of use, and some of the outrageous anti-marijuana propaganda of the 20th Century. After the break it’s time for the weirder side of stoner movies, including Super High Me and the “Evil Bong” series.

Music: “That Cat Is High” by The Ink Spots

Images

Links

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jO_ncXj7RE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpDKfj7X8A0

Ilse Koch

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 09:29:19 +0000

The second in our ongoing Evil Dames in History series features “The Beast of Buchenwald”, Ilse Koch. Kevin, Toren, and Joe look at this concentration camp terror, the claims of her bizarre leather work, as well as Ilse Koch inspirations in pop culture! Then we top it up with the return of “Lesser of Two Evils”.

Music: “The Old Lamplighter” by Sammy Kaye

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmhxHPsxYRc

Pranks, Practical Jokes, and April Fools

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 06:55:19 +0000

The history of April Fools Day and other mischievous occasions, famous pranks gone wrong, practical jokes in the news and in comics, cartoons, movies and video games.

Music: “Just Kiddin’ Around” by Artie Shaw

Images

Links

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBtOkw38DJU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyXWnVY0F3U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MjPPMLlZqo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=5tyV19ItB20&feature=fvwp

Malaria

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 09:43:35 +0000

Dr. Jenna joins Joe, Kevin, and Toren to look at the mosquito-borne peril of malaria. We discuss the life cycle of the this protist parasite from mosquito to human and back again, tales of a recent outbreak, and news of a promising new treatment strategy.

Music: “Heebee Jeebies” by The Boswell Sisters

Charity O’ The Week: Nothing But Nets Campaign

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y68F8YwLWdg

Biblical Apocalypse, Part 2

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 17:40:51 +0000

In part two of our look at the biblical apocalypse, we discuss news and pop culture, including “Left Behind,” “The Omen,” “End of Days.” and “The Rapture.” Special guest Robert M. Price!

Music: “Someone Stole Gabriel’s Horn” by Spike Hughes

Images

Links

Robert M. Price

Biblical Apocalypse, Part 1

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 08:25:30 +0000

Our apocalypse series continues with noted biblical scholar Robert M. Price discussing the biblical apocalypse! Noah’s flood, The rapture, tribulation, second coming, millennium and last judgment are all explained so simply that even Toren can understand. Also: a brief history of failed apocalypse prophecies including Montanism, The Millerites’ Great Disappointment, Harold Camping and more. Part one of two!

Music: “Brush the Dust Off That Old Bible” by Bradley Kincaid

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBktYJsJq-E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7BQKu0YP8Y

Followups 11

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 07:57:05 +0000

Zoophiles and penile cancer, recto-vaginal fistula, coughing up cancer, window vomiting, an improvised giant egg weapon, a failed assassination attempt caught on tape and… shitdick.

Music: “Re: Your Brains” by Jonathan Coulton

Charity of the week: The Fistula Foundation

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0235KOwU_yM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EIIUyc6GaU

Urban Fires, Part 2

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 07:49:36 +0000

Part two of this episode on urban fires deals with the Kiss nightclub fire in Brazil, The Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island, Bradford Stadium fire, and the Great Chicago Fire. Guest firefighter Allan Newell critiques the fire science in such films as “Towering Inferno,” “In Old Chicago,” “Roxanne,” “Spider-Man,” Watchmen” and of course Ren & Stimpy.

Music: “Hot Club Stomp” by Mezz Mezzrow

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ_vG4cHRKU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOzfq9Egxeo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U82BQnjTie4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RYdD5msr9g

Urban Fires – Part 1

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 09:04:14 +0000

In part one of this two-part episode, firefighter Allan Newell returns to discuss the science and classification of fire, the Great Fire of Rome, the Great Fire of London, the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, Coconut Grove fire and the Great Fire of Meireki.

Music: “Hotter Than Hell” by Fletcher Henderson

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYqc9ZNqhrE

Backdraft/Smoke Explosion

Jellyfish

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 11:35:27 +0000

Mr. Dr. Greg Bole is back with Toren, Joe, and Kevin to discuss jelly fish and their amazing gelatinous friends! Immortal jellyfish, the intense pain of some jellyfish stings, and a live tasting of jellyfish!

Music: “Whippin’ That Jellyfish” by the State Street Swingers

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJne0uWgaK8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL-5LgbACgM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V6ZTrj0wXA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8isTBU3gxB0

Hunting Humans

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:27:06 +0000

The most dangerous game! Drag hunting, paintball, tons of pop culture, plus the true horrible story of Robert Hansen. Alsoplus: Which is the lesser of two evils, hunting down someone close to you, or hunting someone you’ve never met?

Music: “Looking Around Corners For You” by Tommy Dorsey

Images

Links

Four Horsemen – Death

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 07:21:53 +0000

The Grim Reaper, Ereshkigal, the pale rider… it’s the fourth horseman (or woman, as you’ll hear) in a series of four: DEATH! This episode Joe, Toren, and Kevin take on the anthropomorphic personification of death throughout history and popular culture.

Music: “O Death” by Dock Boggs

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG2IFsz_n5c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uY0ofqJur8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg0kQHIMx9M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qjl54v1irbs

Depression

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 17:38:50 +0000

What is the cause of depression? Are incidents of depression increasing? Can you cure depression with a bullet? None of these questions will be answered to your satisfaction, but Dr. Rob will nonetheless help dispel much of the myths and misinformation about clinical depression that come out of the other hosts’ mouths. All donations made through causticgear.com for the first week of this episode’s release will go directly to the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Music: “My Melancholy Baby” by Django Reinhardt

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOIAXrS1GOM

Four Horsemen: War

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 10:42:14 +0000

The personification (and deification) of War is the focus of our third “Horsemen” episode. Ares, Belatu-Cadros, Murugan, Morrigan, and of course the actual Red Rider himself, the Horseman of War!

Music: “This Is Worth Fighting For” by The Ink Spots

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdgqDTpi6OA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNx7POhBt3E

Bats

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 10:38:42 +0000

Bat expert Yvonne Morrin joins us to talk about those weird and scary-to-some nocturnal flying mammals. Rabies, bat fellatio, guano, bat bombs, histoplasmosis, white nose syndrome, and of course the sanguivorous vampire bat! Also: what to do if a bat attacks you.

Music: “Flip Flop and Fly” Joe Turner

Charity of the Week: Batworld (Located in Texas)
Bat rescue, rehab and education, and build new flight cages to get bats exercising before return to wild).
Also: www.dontshootbats.com

Images

Links

Filming in the Dark in Bat Dung

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clvXhAXRIfc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0asSZFMQVg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Va9ull44yw

Four Horsemen – Famine

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 22:12:34 +0000

“Famine” is part 2 in our Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse series. We discuss the Russian Famine of 1601, The Irish Potato Famine, the Holodomor, the Great Leap Forward, and more. Plus: what does it feel like to starve to death? Double plus: the ‘famine food’ pop quiz. Triple plus: which is the lesser of two evils, being inflicted with famine or pestilence?

Music: “Everybody Eats When They Come To My House” by Cab Calloway

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlbsKQs1RVc#t=566s

Bad Books

Mon, 24 Dec 2012 06:20:54 +0000

We tried to bind this episode in human flesh but the MP3 codec’s lossiness kept causing it cancer. This episode, Toren, Joe, and Kevin talk about Dr. Spock’s bibliographic death-toll, anti-Jewish hoax The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the copycat-inspiring The Collector and many more caustic tomes.

Music: “Epilogue: Some Things Man Was Not Meant To Know” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93id9Wn9Xok

Pestilence

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:28:51 +0000

In part one of our four part series on the Horsemen of the Apocalypse we discuss various gods of pestilence, plague amulets, pest houses, plague doctors, and of course news and pop culture.

Music: “When the Saints Go Marching In” Fats Domino

Charity O’ the week: Doctors Without Borders

Images

Improvised Weapons

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 09:58:02 +0000

Violence expert Lisa Gemino returns to discuss shivs, French nails, Millwall bricks, donkey jawbones, thrown animals, petrol bombs and many other improvised weapons. Plus news and pop culture.

Music: “Holiday Fun” by Richard Myhill

Images

Links

The Art of the Shiv
Like this

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuU60r7VT30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewFE4ymvn1o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC1d7dw24Gg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0ScNLt2zNc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-XYPJ3_YAY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLquz4Iz-30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELSGwz7xTmM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFnmq5PPScA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRBwvIX7Sao

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhvRQGq5g3s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iELKMNjZx9o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCNqKrX1sx8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAvRbWQ_Izg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy43iZCPeLI

Motor Vehicle Accidents

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 02:25:45 +0000

Allan Newell brings his firefighter expertise to discussions on notable car wrecks, risk compensation, the car industry’s built-in-hazards, the Mont Blanc tunnel fire, El Camino de la Muerte, collection fuel from crashed tankers, and what to expect when rescue responders have to cut you out of your crumpled Volkswagen. Plus: car crashes in movies.

Music: “Blame the Accident” by The Invasives. Used with permission.
Visit www.invasives.ca ‘n’ The Invasives on Facebook

Charity of the Week: MADD

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGPoaBVYMp8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3XBWDlCtns

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9ucKunaSSQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzfSLgWkTlY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_akwHYMdbsM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pyoAf2xhkU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yaU8ySrK7Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COiR_gZEGIE

Journalism, Part 2 of 2

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 10:53:17 +0000

Steven M. Schwartz is back for the second part of our caustic look at Journalism. “Shrieking harpy” Nancy Grace, terrorist victim Daniel Pearl, Janet Cook, sock-puppets, Network, Transmetropolitan and more!

Music: “It Ain’t Right” by Artie Shaw

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWPY7b35vF4

Journalism, Part 1 of 2

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:12:32 +0000

Honest-to-goodness journalist Steven M. Schwartz joins Kevin, Joe, and Toren to talk about the caustic side of news gathering. We discuss bad journalists (who spy on people and tamper with evidence) and when bad things happen to good journalists. We had so much stuff we had to split it into two episodes!

Music: “Dies ist Unverschamtheit” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Charity: Reporters Without Borders

Images

Rhinoceros

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 08:32:39 +0000

All things rhinoceros including poaching, attacks on people, woolly rhinos and Operation: Crash. Plus pop culture and the Lesser of Two Evils: being attacked by a rhino or by 99 cats?

Music: “Action Stations” by David Lindup

Charity: http://www.rhinos.org/ really needs our help ASAP!

Images

Links

Historyonics

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fT3dQNTPwQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4FChkrZ6kU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p-COGPLibE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh2iyPmucFk

Followups 10

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 09:19:24 +0000

We got requests for a more gross and offensive follow up episode, and we delivered. Pop culture artist Chris Woods joins us to talk about female genital mutilation in Swedish art, green Klu Klux Klan uniforms, Darth Vader four-ways, virgin boy eggs, pink slime, Russian space guns, and how faulty understanding of statistics led to a mother drinking herself to death. Plus: which is The Lesser of Two Evils, swallowing a couple dozen magnets or being a nuclear diver?

Music: “All That Meat and No Potatoes” by Fats Waller

Charity: V-Day

Images

Links

http://www.indiegogo.com/sandstorm

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCK6zvWEN_Q

Ghosts

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 11:11:33 +0000

In today’s episode, Toren, Joe, and Kevin are joined by Chris “Stewie” Stewart for a look at the spiritual remains of the dearly departed: Ghosts! We talk about The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall, Puzzlingly Terrified Ghost Hunters, and Peter Jackson’s first big effects movie and more!

OoOOoOOOOooOOOOoOoooOOOOOoooOOOOOooooOOoOOoOOOOOOoOOoOOOOooOOOOoOooOooOOOooOoo
OOOooOooooOoooOoooOooOOoOoOooOOoOoOooOoooOOOoOOOOo!

Music: “Space Ghosts” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Links

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE_C1FXRo20

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RryZV8NK9-Q

Toys That Kill

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 07:22:05 +0000

Deadly toys discussed include Steven’s Model Dockyard Locomotive, Slip ‘n’ Slide, lawn darts, Cabbage Patch Snack Time doll, the Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab, Flubber, Silly String, Koba Kick, Hang Ten Mini-Hammock, Bucky Balls, Water Balz, Aquadots and more!

Music: “The Toy Trumpet” by Raymond Scott

CHARITY DE JOUR: British Toy & Hobby Association – http://www.btha.co.uk/
Established in 1944 to raise safety standards of practice in the toy industry, from safety in design to manufacturing of the products.

Images

Links

Epic Toy Fail

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPnX-hx94OU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8efguf0XOs

Dogs

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 09:35:49 +0000

Sit! Lie down! Roll over! Now sacrifice your face for our safety! Good boy! In this episode of Caustic Soda, Joe, Kevin, and Toren fetch the weird and the gross about man’s best friend: the domestic dog. We’ve got dog-on-human and human-on-dog weirdness for you, plus our favorite dogs in pop culture!

Music: “Ill Barkio” by Spike Jonez

Images

Links

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvZThr3POlQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxVvKb0fGAY

The Post-Apocalyptic World

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 19:20:24 +0000

Live from VCON 37 in Surrey BC, the regular nerds talk about life in the post-apocalyptic wasteland with the help of Hugo Award-winning author and Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductee Connie Willis and Nebula Award-winning science fiction author and astrophysicist Gregory Benford. Plus the lesser of two evils: Life after a nuclear armageddon or the biblical apocalypse?

Music: “When the Saints Go Marching In” by Louis Armstrong

Images

Links

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYQ1rj9I8FI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWLE-1xpBtU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BUXkQ7puw4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOKO19BMPKk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oavwndvq-ZA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8aLKHShv9o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCnCRj5-bC4

Smuggling

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 06:38:00 +0000

Sorry we’re late. We had trouble getting this episode over the border! This week involves animals, drugs, and even drugs in animals! Kevin, Toren, and Joe are joined by the mysterious “Agent Smith” to take a look at the ups and downs — let’s face it mostly downs — of smuggling!

Music: “Caravan” by David Grisam

Images

Mormonism

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:48:23 +0000

Brigham Young University faculty member Stuart Parker helps us discern Mormon doctrine from folklore as we discuss Joseph Smith’s assassination, the Mountain Meadows massacre, retroactive baptism, polygamy and racism in both the mainstream and splinter Mormon groups. Plus suggestions from the Quorum of Twelve on how to break your masturbation habit, and the Church of Latter Day Saints in film and TV.

Music: “Tarred & Feathered” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q6brMrFw0E

Charity: http://www.mormonabuse.com/

Bubonic Plague

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 08:39:03 +0000

Joe, Toren and Kevin are joined by Dr. Jenna to talk about not just the bubonic, but all things yersinia pestis-y: Bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic plagues! We discuss the three “great” plagues of history as well as modern occurrences and outbreaks and even some pestilence-laden movies.

Music: “Please God No” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Charity: Doctors without Borders

Followups 9

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 08:41:20 +0000

Follow ups, listener mail and updates on spina bifida, screech, cannibalism, running amok, cyclopea, parasitic barnacles, snake venom party drug, mesoamerican shrunken heads, drunk driving decapitation, Wesley Warren Jr’s scrotal lymphodema, plus more!

Music: “Spina Bifida” by Toren Atkinson (after The Beatles)

Images

Links

http://absencecomic.com/

Charity

Booby Traps

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 09:34:09 +0000

Panji, door, spike, tiger, and whip traps, military applications and those more… “personal”. From Vietnam to Hollywood to video games, Kevin, Toren, and Joe take a caustic look at booby traps! Plus: booby traps in the recent news!

Music: “Execute Operation: Get the Hell Out of Here” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Links

Vietnam War Booby Traps

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDrzMGdYWZc

Body Snatchers

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 08:34:19 +0000

Mortsafes, Chinese Corpse Brides, and stealing corpses for profit — Kevin, Toren, and Joe look at the creepy world of the body snatcher!

Music: “All Of Me” by Frank Sinatra

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5jxpZ8A8kE

Psychosis

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 06:24:20 +0000

Dr Rob returns to explain post-partum psychosis, Capgras delusion, Fregoli delusion, alien hand syndrome, wendigo psychosis, koro syndrome, Paris syndrome, reduplicative paramnesia, Alice in Wonderland syndrome, plus loads of pop culture.

Music: “I’m Losing My Mind Over You” by Al Dexter

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUhOnX8qt3I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwMsXL_YUEo

Charity

Canadian Mental Health Association

Feral Children

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 07:54:31 +0000

Toren, Joe and Kevin discuss Leopard Boy, “Baby Hospital”, Peter The Wild Boy, the Wild Child of Champagne, Tarzan and more children raised by animals — or raised as animals by people we’re declaring worse than animals.

Music: “Ain’t A Fit Night Out For Man Nor Beast” by Noble Sissle and His Orchestra

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntwSGBWCRIw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rcozzl9wAOI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ogQ0uge06o

Countess Elizabeth Bathory

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 10:41:51 +0000

Our first entry in the “Evil Dames in History” series has the hosts separating mact from fyth on the supposed “blood countess” Elizabeth Bathory. Includes star kicking and other tortures she inflicted on her servants, plus her trial, death and legacy!

Music: “Super Mario Theme” performed on harpsichord by Lord Vinheteiro. Used with permission. Visit http://jinglesevinhetas.com.br/

Images

Sibling Rivalry

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 08:11:47 +0000

Mister Doctor Greg Bole – B.Sc. (Biology) and Ph.D. (Evolution and Ecology) – joins us to talk about sibling rivalry in the animal kingdom, which of course includes that most savage and destructive animal – homo sapiens. Includes siblicide, porbeagle ovophagy, adelphophagi, polyembryoni in parasitoid wasps, and the Dassler brothers, Karla Homolka & the Han sisters. All this plus news & pop culture including the Game of Thrones analysis you didn’t ask for.

Music: “Anything You Can Do” by Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrqgPjZ07Ts

Zombies, Part Two

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 07:20:26 +0000

Robin Thompson is back for part two of our look at zomb…b… braaains… braaaaaaainsssss….

Music: “Abercrombie Had A Zombie” by Fats Waller

Links:

http://www.indiegogo.com/zworlddetroit

http://fortzombie.com/

Images

Zombies, Part 1

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 06:10:14 +0000

How do zombies and science connect? Very tenuously. “Zombie Jesus” creator and zombie connoisseur Robin Thompson is our fourth man this week. We discuss zombie-creating recipes, alleged Haitian zombie cases, zombiewalks, Cotard’s syndrome, nanobot zombies, rage virus, brain-modifying parasites and more. Plus, would a zombie plague succeed in becoming an apocalypse, and what would be your favourite weapon? PART ONE OF TWO!

Music: “Zooming at the Zombie” by John Kirby & his Onyx Club Boys

Images

Links

Followups 8

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 11:40:33 +0000

Chris “Stewie” Stewart joins us for brain tapeworms, murder by testicle crushing, cannibal cook cultists and more in our latest grab-bag “Followup” episode! Plus: Which is the lesser of two evils – having your testicles crushed over a parking space, or brain tapeworms?

Music: “Let That Be A Lesson To You” by Louis Armstrong

Images

Links

Full Octopus-Seagull story and more photos

Cold War (Part 2)

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 06:44:55 +0000

The Cold War part two of two, with guest Allan Newell, includes: the nuclear arms race; Project: Ice Worm, LSD & the CIA; bungled Fidel Castro assassination attempts. Plus news and pop culture including Dr Strangelove, Manchurian Candidate, Thirteen Days, Our Man in Havana, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING! THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING! and Red Dawn.

Music: “The Sacred War” by the Russian Red Army Choir

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9lquok4Pdk

Cold War (Part 1)

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 06:48:45 +0000

Allan Newell joins us to talk about as many caustic facets of the cold war that we could fit into a 2 hour mini-series. In part one we talk about the origin and players, then get into Igor Gouzenko and the space race, including top-secret projects to nuke the moon!

Music: “I’m No Communist” by Carson Robison

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zjs3nBfyIwM

Links

CFB Bagotville’s “X-Hut”

Censorship

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:16:08 +0000

Live from the Roundhouse Community Centre and the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival, Toren, Joe, and Kevin are joined by Cinema Sewer’s Robin Bougie to talk about censorship. Book burnings, the Seven Dirty Words, the Danish Mohammed cartoons, Elvis’ pelvis, and more!

Music: “Shaving Cream” by Benny Bell

Images

Links

Charities of the Week:

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (USA)
Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund (Canada)

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLSgqH2BOeg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXMzEdXpvPw

Notes

MPAA Film Board members are supposed to have children between the ages of 5 and 17.
We had a segment about an Oxford Library burning, but on further research we believe that to have been an error so it was edited out. We’ll try to find more information if we can.

Music

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 08:18:02 +0000

For our “music” episode, Canadian comedy legend Sean Cullen joins us to talk about music-inspired riots, castrati, music as torture, Norwegian black metal and backmasking. Plus movies, TV, and Lesser of Two Evils: would you rather be a castrato or have soot wart?

Music: “Cacheevo” by Sean Cullen

Images

Links

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9RNw7sFUGc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpQfCcsqQ0E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUDG3Ze8w_0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv-S3uoeTXg

Science Blunders

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 10:50:58 +0000

Dr. Rosie Redfield joins Joe, Kevin, and Toren to talk about NASA and the Shadow Biosphere, blinded scientists all over the place, extreme solutions to illegal parking, and one of our favorite sciencey shows goes terribly awry.

Music: “The Future Soon” by Jonathan Coulton

Images

Links

RRResearch – Rosie Redfield’s science blog
Unit 731
Ig Nobel Prize Winners 2011
How Much Money You Need To Realistically Recreate The Scrooge McDuck â€˜Gold Coin Swimâ€™

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOguslSPpqo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAbprwIhWQQ#t=9s

Not mentioned in the show but Ben Goldacre’s TED talk here is great and on-topic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4MhbkWJzKk

Vlad the Impaler

Mon, 28 May 2012 07:10:54 +0000

In another installment of our “Evil Dudes in History” we explore the history and legend of the Wallachian voivod Vlad Tepes, the inspiration for the most famous vampire of all time. Plus: Which is the lesser of two evils: being impaled Vlad style, or being left to die of exposure on the top of a mountain as an Incan sacrifice?

Music: “The Wheel of Hurt” by Margaret Whiting

Images

Videos

http://youtu.be/LHQ7J4IbW8I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AXIFn8zQOY

Charity o’ the Week: Relief Fund for Romania

Vietnam War

Mon, 21 May 2012 04:05:14 +0000

Horsetrack Hooligans podcaster and Vietnam War movie afficionado Jordan Pratt joins us to talk about the Gulf of Tonkin incident, The Battle of Hue, Operation: Rolling Thunder, cluster bombs, napalm, fragging, the My Lai massacre, tunnel rats, torture, agent orange, unexploded ordnance and more. Plus movies, comics and Lesser of Two Evils: would you rather be an American soldier or a Viet Cong?

Music: “Ride of the Valkyrie” by Wagner

Images

Horses

Mon, 14 May 2012 09:30:35 +0000

In this episode: Przewalksi’s horse, quartering, Caligula’s horse Incitatus, diving horses, Clever Hans, horse racing, and that’s just the first half!

Music: “Ghost Riders in the Sky” by Vaughn Monroe

Images

Links

Naked Woman Crawls Inside of Horse

Charity

Wild Horse Welfare

Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwOnFrfPRdE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w0Q-JS9RME
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94-urbxlVe4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8vIjuIeQpM

Sleep and Sleep Disorders

Mon, 07 May 2012 07:20:10 +0000

Sexsomnia sells! Dr Rob joins us to talk about a whole host of sleep disorders including chronic insomnia, sleep paralysis, night terrors, Kleine-Levin syndrome, narcolepsy, exploding head syndrome, homicidal somnambulism, sleep apnea, periodic limb movement disorder, myoclonic jerks, encephalitis lethargica and the horrible fatal familia insomnia. All this plus weird sleeping habits in the animal kingdom.

Music: “Wake Up And Live” by Chick Webb

Images

Links

http://www.wikihow.com/Lucid-Dream

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIeTVVAEFn8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tuNzubLTI_A

Blunt Weapons

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:12:35 +0000

Sticks and stones will break your bones, and so will a heck of a lot of other things! Lisa Gemino joins Toren, Joe, and Kevin for a look at all kinds of blunt weapons from sticks to maces to truncheons!

Music: “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” by Duke Ellington

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nnOcgElmMc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpmdcZHKShc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x9hN1AVHwc

The Sun

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 06:57:35 +0000

We are joined by solar physicist Dr. Ian O’Neill of Discovery News and astroengine.com as we discuss solar flares, coronal mass ejections, the Carrington event, red giants and white dwarfs, and tornadoes on the sun! All this plus pop culture.

Music: “You Are My Sunshine” Gene Autry

Images

Links

http://www.astroengine.com/

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xKRBkBBEP0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-zt8qnTcLM

Caustic Soda Live Extravaganza 2012

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:10:33 +0000

Not one, not two, but three guests join Toren, Joe, and Kevin for a live podcast event in Vancouver, BC on Sunday, March 25, 2012! We welcome Dr. Rob, Dr. Jenna, and Chris “Stewie” Stewart back on for a plethora of gruesome topics including the Demon Core, badgers, and the man with the giagantic scrotum.

Images

Links

Sincerely, Natalie Reed

Ebola

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 07:31:40 +0000

Dr. Jenna Capyk joins us to discuss the lighter and darker side of ebola. Spoiler alert: it’s mostly dark. Plus news and pop culture, plus Lesser of Two Evils: ebola versus serving on a slave ship.

Music: “Fever” by Little Willie John

Images

Sports Injuries

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:35:01 +0000

Kevin, Joe and Toren bring you organized sporting riots in France, a multi-billionaire ancient sports hero, hockey skates to the throat and all sorts of painful sporting insanity!

Music: “Bear In A Ladies Boudoir” by Cliff Edwards

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwQlIibBEgA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHCXNt4P8Xg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJHYGu669w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR-wA4SmbO4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4os7Wa8gtM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_j_69c7KyI

Ghost Towns

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 21:48:38 +0000

Some of the most wretched and caustic ghost towns are discussed, including “blue sky mine” Wittenoom, Picher’s chat piles, Oradour-sur-Glane’s nazi massacre legacy, the dioxin-tainted roads of Times Beach, Centralia’s ongoing coal fire, and more. All this and pop culture too! PS – Don’t worry Soda Jerks, we didn’t forget Chernobyl – it will get its own episode at some point!

Music: “G’Bye Now” by Martha Tilton

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPdIBbBETw4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTDAJMXZQKo

Links

Sexually Transmitted Infections Part 2: Syphilis

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 07:39:33 +0000

RN Katie Scoular returns for the science and rather unpleasant history of that old Neapolitan bone-ache: syphilis. Plus news & pop culture.

Music: “Hot Nuts” by Williams Washerboard Band

Charity o’ the Week: http://www.optionsforsexualhealth.org/

Images

Links

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW3AJ9xPSWE

Hoarding

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 08:52:34 +0000

Joe, Kevin, and Toren have gathered up so much information on compulsive hoarding in this episode it’s threatening to tip over and crush us all under its weight! Food hoarders, animal hoarders, cosmic-powered hoarders — they’re all here!

Music: “Put ‘Em In A Box” by Doris Day

Caustic Charity: Institute for Challenging Disorganization.

Images

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVg-_e-jPO4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqJkJt1UF-E

Followups 6

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:47:11 +0000

Ian Boothby, The Simpsons comics writer and co-host of Sneaky Dragon podcast, joins Kevin, Joe and Toren to talk about cyclopean albino sharks, crab parasites, octopus wrestling, prehistoric krakens, the Glore Psychiatric Museum, cement butt implants, ancient Roman lead poisoning, alkaline hydrolisis and other funerary awkwardness. All this plus how to stay in the eye of a tornado and… BADGERS!

Music: “Panic Patrol” by Kenny Graham

Caustic Charity
Adopt an octopus!

Images

Links

Videos

Cocaine

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 07:04:42 +0000

Kevin, Joe, and Toren cover cocaine-laced products with papal approval, cocaine intake options, some personal insight on cocaine addiction from a friend of the show, plus cocaine-centric songs and movies! In case you hadn’t figured it out, this week’s topic is cocaine!

Music: “Cocaine Blues” by Luke Jordan

Images

Movies

Blow
Kevin: 7/10
Joe: 6/10
Toren: 7/10

True Romance

Kevin: 9/10
Joe: 9/10

Toren: 8/10

Half Nelson

Kevin: 10/10

Toren: 8/10 (would have been higher if I knew why it was called ‘Half Nelson’)

Burns

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:00:16 +0000

The secret world of burns is investigated with the help of veteran firefighter Allan Newell. How does one distinguish the four degrees of burns? What’s the ‘rule of nines?’ How did burning at the stake work? Also news and pop culture. Plus: Which is the lesser of two evils? Having 50% of your body burned in a car fire or getting mercury poisoning?

Music: “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire” by The Ink Spots

Charity of the week: Burn Camps: http://www.canadianburnfoundation.org/donate.php

Images

Links

GQ – Burning Man

Videos

True Bugs

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:37:13 +0000

Forensic entomologiest Gavin Pitts joins the hosts to talk about the hemiptera order of insects, more commonly known as ‘true bugs.’ Assassin bugs, chagas disease, bat bugs and water bugs that take down reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals are all on topic! Plus: The Lesser of Two Evils – would you rather spend a few years in an Uzbekistan bug pit or trying to farm out a living under the Khmer Rouge?

Music: “I’m Just a Jitterbug” by Chick Webb & Ella Fitzgerald

Charity de Jour: The Chagas Disease Foundation

Images

Tsunami

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:39:11 +0000

This episode Joe, Kevin, and Toren look at the giant waves known as tsunami. You’ll hear about the biggest and deadliest waves known to man, incredible stories of survival during one of nature’s deadliest disasters, and tsunami vs. kittens!

Music: “Tidal Wave” by Fletcher Henderson

Images

Links

The Passionate Eye – Tsunami Caught On Camera – only available for 45 days after last airing, sorry. If there’s another airing this will work again so I’m keeping the link up.
Hideaki Akaiwa – Badass of the Week
XKCD on “Tidal Wave” (we recorded before this went up, but agree with him!)

Videos

Hereafter Tsunami scene (can’t embed)

Demons

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:57:39 +0000

Succubi, oni, pishacha – call them what you will. Whether they’re scapegoats for serial killers or epilepsy, demons have been a part of human culture for aeons. The boys talk history, news and pop culture, plus as a special bonus: practical tips on how to summon a demon!

Music: “Kamakilas” by S. Satoh (from Son of Godzilla)

Images

Links

Movies
Night of the Demon
Toren: 5/10

The Keep
Toren: 5/10

Hellraiser
Toren: 6/10
Kevin: 7/10

The Evil Dead
Kevin: 8/10
Joe: 7/10

Evil Dead 2
Toren: 8/10
Kevin: 9/10
Joe: 8/10

Army of Darkness
Toren: 9/10
Kevin: 8/10
Joe: 9/10

Drag Me To Hell
Toren: 7/10
Kevin: 7/10

Pol Pot

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:11:12 +0000

Continuing the Evil Dudes in History series, Kevin, Toren, and Joe look at Cambodian Communist leader Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

Music: “Call Me Irresponsible”

Images

Videos

Pol Pot (can’t embed, sorry)

Links

Cholera

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:36:22 +0000

This episode’s got it coming out of both ends! Toren, Kevin, Joe are joined by Almost Dr. Jenna to talk about cholera. Death by vomit and diarrhea, cholera cots, mummies, and how procrastination led to the world’s first artificial vaccine!

Music: “Shoggoths Away” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Links

UN Haiti Cholera Outbreak Report

Film Fatale

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:16:21 +0000

Comedy Film Nerd Graham Elwood joins Kevin, Joe, and Toren to talk about the perils of making moving pictures – film tragedies! The Crow, The Ten Commandments, The Twilight Zone and more horrible, horrible occurrences just so we could be entertained for 90 minutes.

Music: “Hooray for Hollywood” by Johnny Mercer

Images

Links

Videos

Movies

Wizard of Oz
Toren: 8/10
Joe: 6/10
Kevin: 7/10

The Crow
Toren: 5/10
Joe: 7/10
Kevin: 7/10

Troy
Joe: 5/10
Kevin: 8/10

Twilight Zone: The Movie
Joe: 6/10
Kevin: 5/10

Kidnapping

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 09:43:03 +0000

Express kidnappings, the “millionaire tour,” the Lindbergh baby, the Cudahy kidnapping, Chowchilla school bus incident, and more. Plus news, pop culture, how to survive a kidnapping and “The Lesser of Two Evils” – would you rather be kidnapped for ransom or savaged by a pack of wolves?

Music: “5 Months, 2 Weeks, 2 Days” by Louis Prima

Images

Videos

Movies
Proof of Life
Toren: 8/10

Taken
Toren: 7/10
Kevin: 7/10

Man on Fire
Kevin: 8/10

Suicide Kings
Kevin: 4/10
Joe: 5/10

Quackery

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 09:53:44 +0000

Step right up, Soda Jerks! What the boys at Caustic Soda have for you today is going to REinvigorate, REvitalize, REVULGARIZE you with their astounding look at the world of QUACKERY! It’s a homeopathic, detoxifying, quantum colloidal-silver potion that cures what ails ya! Ingredients include Joe, Kevin, Toren and special guest Doctor Rob!

Music: Snake Oil by Vaughn DeLeath

Images

Videos

Links

Wolf Attack!

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:50:20 +0000

Death by wolf! Toren, Joe and Kevin discuss the many wolf attacks throughout history, the “sex lock”, and the mighty Dire wolf!

Music: “The Wolf Wobble” by Joe Venuti

Images

Links

Elfquest

Movies

300
Toren: 4/10
Kevin: 8/10
Joe: 8/10

Frozen
Toren:
4/10

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Toren: 7/10
Kevin: 7/10
Joe: 8/10

Rasputin

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 04:25:36 +0000

Continuing the “Evil Men In History” series Joe, Kevin, and Toren check out Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin. Just how evil was this Russian that was so hard to kill it took stabbing, poisoning, shooting, drowning and then burning to make him completely stop moving? The answer may surprise y… oh who knows, really? But we’ll take our best barely-educated guesses!

Music: “Unstoppable” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Doomed Expeditions – Part 2

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:55:39 +0000

Toren, Joe, and Kevin are back with guest Jessica Pink for the second half of the podcast of DOOOOOOM!

Music: “Funeral March” by Frederic Chopin

Images

DOOM-O-METER RATINGS (out of 10)

The Karluk Disaster
Toren: 5
Kevin: 2
Joe: 3
Jess: 5

Shackleton’s Trans-Antarctic Expedition
Toren: 3
Kevin: 3
Joe: 3
Jess: 5

MOVIES

Blair Witch Project
Toren: 8
Kevin: 10
Joe: 7
Jess: 7

Aguirre: The Wrath of God
Toren: 7
Kevin: 4
Joe: 5

The Fountain
Kevin: 4

The Abyss
Toren: 7
Kevin: 7
Joe: 8
Jess: 6

Into the Wild
Kevin: 8
Jess:9

Sphere
Jess:7

Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition
Toren: 8
Kevin: 7
Joe: 8
Jess:8

Doomed Expeditions Part 1

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 11:23:40 +0000

Jessica Pink joins us to talk about our top seven doomed expeditions, in which we find out why you shouldn’t name your ship “Terror,” how not to treat helpful aborigines, how many captains it takes to spoil the expedition, how many pounds of rock samples are worth the lives of five scientists, how to make a polar tuxedo, and whether or not you should test your balloon steering system before you leave for the arctic. All this and pop culture too. Part 1 of 2.

Music: “Operation: Get the Hell Out of Here” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

DOOM-O-METER RATINGS

Franklin Expedition:
Toren: 10
Kevin: 10
Joe: 10
Jess: 9

Burke & Wills Australian Expedition
Toren: 7.5
Kevin: 6
Joe: 7
Jess: 7

Polaris Expedition
Toren: 4
Kevin: 3.5
Joe: 4
Jess: 7

Arctic Balloon Expedition
Toren: 8
Kevin: 6
Joe: 6
Jess: 8

Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition
Toren: 6
Kevin: 9.5
Joe: 6
Jess: 9

Brainwashing and Mind Control

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:54:58 +0000

Join Kevin, Joe, and Toren with guest Dr. Rob Tarzwell as they discuss MK Ultra, Psychic Driving, LSD, and High Energy Electroconvulsive Therapy! Plus Lesser of Two Evils: would you rather get ocular myiasis or lose your memory and identity from psychic driving?

Music: “The Innsmouth Look” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Videos

Bad Cop, Bad Cop

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 07:04:55 +0000

In our “Bad Cop, Bad Cop” episode, we look at some of the most corrupt, venal, and downright outrageous abuses of police power past and present, as well as the best of the worst cop movies and TV shows.

Music: “Jangled Nerves” by Fletcher Henderson

Movie Reviews

Serpico
Kevin: 7/10

Copland
Joe: 7/10
Kevin: 6/10

First Blood
Joe: 6/10
Kevin: 8/10

Mississippi Burning
Joe: 8/10
Kevin: 9/10

Bad Lieutenant
Joe: 8/10
Kevin: 5/10

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call
Joe: 6/10

Thin Blue Line
Kevin: 7/10

Maniac Cop
Joe: 3/10
Kevin: 2/10

Training Day
Kevin: 6/10

Leon (The Professional)
Joe: 9/10
Kevin: 9/10

Cancer

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:49:10 +0000

Cancer! Dr. Rob returns as our expert for the big ‘C’. We discuss how jabbing radioactive beads in your prostate works, how mustard gas led to chemotherapy, “soot wart,” and common cancer myths. All this plus “Lesser of Two Evils” (would you rather have colon cancer or listen to your loved one being eaten by a bear?) and a special appearance by Marielle Kho!

SPECIAL NOTE TO OUR FANS:

Say “fuck you!” to cancer the Caustic Soda way!

Hey soda jerks, you probably knew that you can go to the website of the Canadian Cancer Society and make a donation. But did you also know that If you want to be extra suck-uppy, you can select “Caustic Soda Podcast” under the Tribute Gift Information Field, or that there is also a “Where would you like to designate your donation?” field where you can select any of the cancers we talked about including Hodgkins research? Think about it!

Here’s the link: http://tinyurl.com/causticcancer

There. Now you can never say we’re a bunch of heartless bastards.

Music: “After You’re Gone” by Quintette Du Hot Club De France

Images

Videos

Links

Movies

Green Mile
Toren: 8/10
Joe: 8/10
Kevin: 7/10

50/50
Toren: 7/10
Kevin: 8/10

Halloween

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:59:54 +0000

Costumes, the confusing origins of Halloween customs, Devil’s night, old-fashioned candy vs. chocolate bars, candy-poisoning urban legends and of course Halloween movies and television specials!

Music: Ogdru Jahad by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Links (some cut from the show for time!)

Axes of Evil

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 07:41:41 +0000

A brief history of axes and notable murders, news items, movies, comics and “The Lesser of Two Evils”: murder by axe or murder by sword?

Music: “Butcher Pete” by Roy Brown

Images

Movies

So I Married an Axe Murderer
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 7/10

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Toren: 8/10
Joe: 9/10

Two Towers
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 9/10

Return of the King
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 9/10 (they all blur together)

The Shining
Toren: 8/10
Joe: 8/10

American Psycho
Joe: 7/10

Flies ‘n’ Maggots

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 08:32:50 +0000

Caustic Soda is a labor of larva! Get to know the bot, tsetse, tumbu, bat and coffin fly, not to mention screw worm, sheep ked and ant decapitator. Also – what is myiasis? All this plus flies and maggots in pop culture and current events. Guest: Gavin Pitts

Music: I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly – Burl Ives

Images

Video

Movies
The Fly (1958)
Kevin: 5/10
Gavin: 6/10

The Fly (1986)
Toren: 6/10
Kevin: 8/10
Gavin: 10/10
Joe: 7/10

The Fly II
Gavin: 7/10

Return of the Fly
Gavin: 5/10

Dystopias (Recorded Live at VCON)

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 11:31:57 +0000

Special guests science fiction legend Larry Niven and Buffy/Angel/Firefly editor Lisa Lassek join Kevin, Joe, and Toren at Vancouver’s VCON! We cover the dysfunctional tech society of Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil”, the system-spanning Alliance of Firefly, the comic book supervillain heaven of “Wanted” and more!

Images

Links

The Feeling of Power, by Isaac Asimov

Bacteria

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 07:52:07 +0000

E-Coli, Salmonella, gut bacteria social networks (no, really!) and lots more infectious awesomeness! Jenna Capyk joins Kevin, Joe, and Toren for a podcast so chock full of prokaryotes it’s our longest yet!

Music: “Colour Me Green” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets.

Images

Videos

Followups 5

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 08:21:28 +0000

It’s Fünf for the whole Familie! More shark, crocodile AND bear attacks, self surgery, decapitations, Chinese internet addiction boot camps, art made of pee and poo, armadillo leprosy. All this plus witch’s nipples!

Music: “The Preacher and the Bear” – Phil Harris

Links: Museum of Bad Art

Images

Videos

Sexually Transmitted Infections Part 1: Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, and HPV

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 05:32:24 +0000

Caution, cyprianophobes! Katie Scoular doles out the facts on three of the most common STIs: the slang, the history, and the science. Plus news, pop culture and “The Lesser of Two Evils.”

Music: “Once In Love With Amy” by Ray Bolger

Images

Links

Death Talks About Life

Scorpions

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 06:24:56 +0000

What you don’t know about scorpions can kill you! The biggest, the oldest, the deadliest, plus scorpions in biological warfare!

Music: Raymond Scott “Twilight in Turkey”

Images

Videos

Movies
Scorpion King
Toren: 5/10
Kevin: 3/10
Joe: 4/10

Transformers
Toren: 7/10
Kevin: 7/10
Joe: 5/10

Mortal Kombat
Toren: 4/10
Kevin: 6/10
Joe: 5/10

Clash of the Titans 1981
Toren: 4/10

Kevin: 7/10

Joe: 5/10

Clash of the Titans 2010

Toren: 4/10
Kevin: 5/10

The Black Scorpion
Toren: 3/10

Small Arms

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 10:01:07 +0000

Mike T. joins Joe, Toren, and Kevin to talk about small arms — firearms carried by an individual soldier. From the “grenade on a stick” beginnings of the fire lance all the way to caseless ammunition, Caustic Soda covers the history and science of these small arms, and even manages to talk about some of their favorite depictions of firearms in pop culture.

Music: “Pistol Packin’ Mama” by the Andrews Sisters

Images

Videos

Links

Human Sacrifice

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 08:41:16 +0000

Our Human Sacrifice episode features vikings, Aztecs, Incans, Olmec sacrifical bogs, the Peruvian temple of doom, the Decapitator god, Egyptian & viking burial rites, Mound 72, the torso in the Thames, General Butt Naked, human sacrifice in the Bible plus other items to turn your stomach!

Music: “The Chosen One” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Movies

Wicker Man (2006)
Joe: 2/10

Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom
Kevin: 5/10
Toren: 6/10
Joe: 6/10

Apocalypto
Joe: 6/10

The Mummy
Kevin: 6/10
Toren 4/10
Joe: 6/10

Heavy Metal
Kevin: 5/10
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 5/10

Dragonslayer
Toren 7.5/10
Joe: 7/10

Conan The Destroyer
Kevin: 4/10
Toren 3/10

Clash of the Titans (1981)
Kevin: 7/10
Toren: 4/10
Joe: 5/10

Clash of the Titans (2010)
Kevin: 5/10
Toren: 5/10

King Kong (1933)
Kevin: 6/10
Toren: 8/10

King Kong (1976)
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 5/10

King Kong (2005)
Kevin: 8/10
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 6/10

Joe VS The Volcano
Kevin: 5/10
Joe: 6/10

Robespierre

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 09:51:30 +0000

This week Caustic Soda returns to “Evil Men In History” with a discussion of Maximilien Robespierre, source of the French Revolution’s “Reign of Terror”!

Music: “Unstoppable” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

P.O.W. Camps

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:48:18 +0000

Horsetrack Hooligans’ Jordan Pratt joins us to talk about P.O.W. Camps from the Civil War to Guantanamo Bay.

MUSIC: Roy Rogers “Don’t Fence Me In”

Images

Movies
The Great Escape
Kevin: 7/10
Joe: 6/10
Jordan: 7/10
Toren: 7/10

Victory
Jordan: 4/10

Empire of the Sun
Kevin: 8/10
Jordan: 8/10
Joe: 7/10

Deerhunter
Kevin: 9/10
Jordan: 9/10
Toren: 6/10
Joe: 7/10

Rescue Dawn
Kevin: 7/10
Toren: 6/10

Stalag 17
Kevin: 8/10
Toren: 8/10

Bridge on the River Kwai
Kevin: 7/10
Jordan: 8/10
Toren: 8/10

Tobacco

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 07:15:13 +0000

First hand, second hand and third hand smoke, tobacco enemas and medicinal use of smoke, plus all the usual detrimental health effects of tobacco, not the least of which is giant exploding cigarettes in Thailand.

Music: “Smoke, Smoke, Smoke” Tex Williams

Images

Videos

Destroyed in Seconds – Exploding Cigarette

Links

Chris Woods’ Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms

Movies

Thank You For Smoking
Toren: 7/10
Kevin: 8/10
Joe: 8/10

Smoke
Kevin: 7/10

The Insider
Toren: 8/10
Kevin: 6/10
Joe: 7/10

X-Files
Toren: 6/10
Kevin: 6/10
Joe: 6/10

Submarines

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:09:39 +0000

Toren, Kevin, and Joe once again welcome Chris Woods for a look at submarines, from the early days of the man-powered Turtle to the nuclear powered Nautilus. German wolf-packs, blue-on-blue engagement, emergency blows, and — we kid you not — submarine-launched bombers carrying medieval biological warfare!

Music: “Beyond the Sea” by Bobby Darin

Images

Near Earth Objects

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 06:16:29 +0000

Fraser Cain of Universe Today and Astronomy Cast joins Toren, Joe and Kevin to talk about meteors, comets and asteroids including the Torino Impact Hazard Scale, the Tunguska blast, the Chicxulub impact event and the Dawn Mission to not one but two asteroids. Also news, films, pop culture, and some German kid who may or may not have been hit by a meteorite.

Music: “Caravan” by Gordon Jenkins

Images

Links

Videos

Movies

Armageddon
Toren: 4/10
Kevin: 2/10
Joe: 5/10
Fraser: 2/10

Empire Strikes Back
Toren: 10/10
Kevin: 9/10
Joe: 9/10
Fraser: 9/10

Deep Impact
Kevin: 4/10

Creepshow
Toren: 5/10
Kevin: 5/10
Fraser: 5/10

Day of the Triffids (1962)
Toren: 6/10
Fraser: 5/10

Meteor Man
Toren: 3/10

The Blob
Toren: 4/10
Kevin: 2/10
Joe: 4/10
Fraser: 4/10

Night of the Comet:
Toren: 5/10
Joe: 6/10

Tuberculosis

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:46:44 +0000

Tuberculosis! It’s not just for lungs any more! Almost Dr. Jenna Capyk joins Joe, Toren, and Kevin to talk about the disease infecting one-third of the world’s population. Learn why those infected with TB were once thought to be vampires, why the hunchback of Notre Dame may have had TB, and more!

Music: You Leave Me Breathless by Mildred Baily

Images

Links

That’s Science! – Almost Dr. Jenna’s blog!
List of tuberculosis victims

Electricity

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 07:42:41 +0000

Shock talk with special guest Derek Mack. We discuss the different kinds of burns and bodily harm caused by electricity, the war of the currents, macroshock vs microshock, electric eels, plus the usual news & pop culture. Note: “Lightning” and “Electric Chair” will be covered in subsequent episodes.

Music: “I’m Beginning to See the Light” by The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald

Images

Videos

Movies
The Prestige
Toren: 7/10
Kevin: 8/10
Joe: 7/10

The Running Man
Toren: 4/10
Kevin: 6/10
Joe: 5/10

Shocker
Kevin: 3/10

Frankenstein
Kevin: 1/10

Ernest Goes to Jail
Kevin: 6/10

Rats

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 04:02:04 +0000

Scurrying, skittering, and scampering into your ears, it’s the Caustic Soda rats episode! Toren, Joe, and Kevin look at the brown rat and black rat. Infanticide, rat-based murder and torture, and the “Ratamari Damacy” gruesomeness of “Rat Kings”, and rat-baiting!

Music: “Muskrat Ramble” by Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby.

Images

Videos

Movies

Willard (Remake)
Toren: 5/10

Ratatouille
Joe: 8/10
Toren: 8/10

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Joe: 7/10
Kevin: 7/10
Toren: 7/10

The Princess Bride
Joe: 10/10
Kevin: 9/10
Toren: 10/10

The Secret of NIMH
Kevin: 7/10
Toren: 7/10

The Sweet Hereafter
Kevin: 10/10
Toren: 7/10

Assassinations

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 09:42:52 +0000

Politically motivated murders! Hashshashin, Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln, the failed assassination of Teddy Roosevelt, the assassination that started World War I and more!

Music: “When That Man is Dead and Gone” by Glenn Miller

Images

Links

JFK Reloaded – Review and Download.

Movies

Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Kevin: 8/10
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 7/10

Taxi Driver
Kevin: 9/10
Toren: 8/10
Joe: 9/10

Dead Zone
Kevin: 7/10
Toren: 7/10

The Baker
Toren: 7/10

Bourne Identity
Kevin: 8/10
Toren: 8/10
Joe: 8/10

The Terminator
Kevin: 8/10
Toren: 8/10
Joe: 9/10

Mars Attacks!
Kevin: 7/10
Toren: 6/10
Joe: 6/10

In The Line Of Fire
Kevin: 7/10

Valkyrie
Kevin: 5/10

Inglourious Basterds
Kevin: 9/10
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 10/10

Milk
Kevin: 7/10
Joe: 6/10

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Toren: 6/10
Joe: 6/10

Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Kevin: 8/10
Toren: 7/10

Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Toren: 7/10

Fisticuffs

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 06:41:57 +0000

Lisa Gemino joins the Caustic Soda crew to talk about “punchy kicky stuff”. The one-inch punch, MMA, Houdini, Tinku, Krav-Maga, Panantukan, “buttons” and more!

Music: “Ain’t That A Kick In The Head” by Dean Martin

Images

Links

Tactical Fighting

Videos

Movies

Fight Club
Toren: 8/10
Joe: 10/10
Kevin: 10/10

Grosse Pointe Blank
Toren: 8/10
Joe: 8/10
Kevin: 9/10

Girl Fight
Kevin: 6/10

Raging Bull
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 10/10
Kevin: 10/10

Snatch
Toren: 8/10
Joe: 9/10
Kevin: 7/10

Spider-Man
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 7/10
Kevin: 9/10

Lethal Weapon
Toren: 5/10
Joe: 7/10
Kevin: 8/10

Enter the Dragon
Joe: 7/10
Kevin: 8/10

Above the Law
Joe: 5/10
Kevin: 5/10

Hard to Kill
Joe: 5/10
Kevin: 7/10

Marked for Death
Joe: 5/10
Kevin: 7/10

Bourne Identity
Toren: 8/10
Joe: 9/10
Kevin: 9/10

Drunken Master
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 7/10

Blood Sport
Joe: 6/10
Kevin: 6/10

Followups IV

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 06:31:24 +0000

Sagawa the cannibal, Bruno the bear, a slavery-based syphilis cure, Hitler’s death, and LSD cults and SQUIIIIDSSS INNNNNNN SPAAAAAAAAACE! It’s an entire episode full of caustic updates with special guest Johnstone Metzger!

Music: Papa’s In Bed With His Britches On by Cab Calloway.

Links

Ted Bundy

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 08:40:25 +0000

America’s most well-known serial killer-rapist-necrophile is Caustic Soda’s next Evil Man In History. Kevin, Toren, and Joe discuss Ted Bundy, the “sadistic sociopath who took pleasure from another human’s pain and the control he had over his victims, to the point of death, and even after.”

Music: “Protein” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Slime

Mon, 30 May 2011 06:55:26 +0000

Snottites, star jelly, caca de luna, hagfish slime, marine mucilage, sneeze modellers, snail slime cream, and all things slimy!

Our iRiff of “The Blob” is getting some last-minute polish. We’ll have it up soon!

Music: “The Thing” by Phil Harris

Images

Videos

Hagfish and the Disgusting Slime – The funniest videos clips are here

Movies

Ghostbusters
Toren: 10/10
Kevin: 8/10
Joe: 10/10

Ghostbusters 2
Toren: 7/10
Kevin: 5/10
Joe: 6/10

The Blob (1958)
Toren: 4/10
Kevin: 2/10
Joe: 4/10

The Blob (1988)
Toren: 3/10

Funerals

Mon, 23 May 2011 07:12:28 +0000

Caustic Soda puts the fun in funeral! Guest Arinn Dembo joins us to talk neanderthal cave burials, cremains, martyriums, slave sacrifice, wife-burning, The Great Death Pit, viking ship burials, Tibetan sky burial, corpse demons, the soothing rite of fire and much more!

Music: “My Grandfather’s Clock” – Sons of the Pioneers

Images

Videos

Six Feet Under Finale (SPOILERS!)

Links

Tibetan Sky Burial

Movies

Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan
Toren: 9/10
Joe: 9/10
Kevin: 8/10

Harold and Maude
Toren: 8/10
Kevin: 8/10

Get Low
Toren: 8/10
Kevin: 7/10

Four Weddings and A Funeral
Joe: 7/10
Kevin: 7/10

Tanks A Lot!

Tue, 17 May 2011 03:35:32 +0000

Toren, Joe, and Kevin are joined by Kerberos Productions‘ Martin Cirulis to talk about landships,or “tanks”. We’ll hear about Britain’s attempts to hide this new weapon from their enemy while simultaneously naming it, the best and worst tanks of World War II, and some of the weirdest, biggest, and coolest tanks ever designed.

Sorry for the lateness folks, technical difficulties!

Music: “My Tank” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Links

My Tank is Fight! book by Zack Parsons

Movies
Tank Girl
Kevin: 5/10
Joe: 6/10
Toren: 2/10

Tank
Toren: 5/10

A-Team
Kevin: 7/10
Toren: 5/10
Joe: 5/10

Kelly’s Heroes
Kevin: 7/10
Joe: 8/10

The Beast
Kevin: 8/10

Best Defense
Kevin: 1/10

Cults

Mon, 09 May 2011 17:24:34 +0000

Joe, Toren, and Kevin are joined by Rebecca Dart to talk about cults! We talk about Brother XII, who claimed to be the Egyptian god Osiris, Shoko Asahara and his sarin gas using cult “Aum Shinrikyo”, The Order of the Solar Temple, Heaven’s Gate and more weird groups of True Believers.

Music: Cultists on Board by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Also: We’ve added another free ringtone to the Downloads page — from last week’s Leprosy episode it’s our reaction to hearing about rats eating a leper’s fingers. Eeeeeuuuuuuwwwwww!

Images

Videos

Movie Reviews

Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom
Toren: 6/10
Kevin: 5/10
Joe: 6/10

Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Toren: 8/10
Kevin: 7/10
Joe: 7/10

Videodrome
Kevin: 6/10

Ghostbusters
Toren: 10/10
Kevin: 8/10
Joe: 10/10

Young Sherlock Holmes
Toren: 5/10
Kevin: 6/10
Joe: 5/10

Leprosy

Mon, 02 May 2011 15:56:15 +0000

Microbiologist Jenna Capyk joins Joe, Toren, and Kevin to talk about Hansen’s disease, also known as leprosy. What the heck is it? Does it cause your body parts to fall off? Are there any other animals that can get leprosy? What have we done in the past to keep lepers separate from society? All these questions and more are answered in this episode of Caustic Soda!

News update: Since recording a study strongly suggests that leprosy can transfer from armadillos to humans.

“Our research provides clear DNA evidence that the unique strain found in armadillos is the same as the one in certain humans,” said Stewart Cole, of the Global Health Institute in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Music: “Gimme Some Skin” The Andrews Sisters

Movies:

Ben Hur
Kevin: 10/10

Princess Mononoke
Toren: 8/10
Joe: 8/10

The Fog (John Carpenter)
Toren: 5/10

Kingdom of Heaven
Toren: 4/10
Joe: 4/10
Kevin: 5/10

Braveheart
Joe: 9/10
Kevin: 9/10

Jack The Ripper

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:28:52 +0000

Today Toren, Joe, and Kevin take a look at the most famous serial killer in history: London, England’s very own Jack the Ripper.

Music: Guy Lombardo “Annie Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”

Images

Videos

Links

On the Trail of Jack the Ripper (tour)

Movie Reviews

From Hell
Toren: 6/10
Kevin: 4/10
Joe: 4/10

Amazon Women on the Moon
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 7/10

Time After Time
Toren: 4/10
Joe: 6/10

Crocodilians

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 06:23:29 +0000

The science and history of the biggest and baddest man-eating, death-rolling crocodiles and alligators. Plus how to survive a crocodile attack and “Lesser of Two Evils:” would you rather be attacked by a crocodile or have an iron bar shot through your head?

Music: Fats Waller “Alligator Crawl”

Images

Links

Fisherman’s ‘inseperable relationship’ with crocodile.

Videos

Mudslide

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 06:01:30 +0000

Watch out, mysophobes! History’s worst mudslides, the world’s largest mud volcano, and man-made lakes that failed epically, All this plus how to survive a mudslide plus “Lesser of Two Evils”: would you rather be caught in a mudslide or have to eat a head made of frozen blood?

Music: “Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall” by The Ink Spots with Ella Fitzgerald

Images

Videos

Links

Movies

Romancing the Stone
Toren: 4/10
Joe: 6/10
Kevin: 7/10

Hitler

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 06:49:23 +0000

How did Hitler rise to power? Why did he hate the jews? What was the Night of Long Knives? Did Hitler invent blow-up dolls, fart during staff meetings and try to bring back Paganism? Who was the British soldier that refused to kill Hitler when he had the chance? Did der fuhrer’s micro-managing lead to Germany losing the war? Where is Hitler’s brain? Our well-read expert Chris “Green Ronin” Pramas guests to answer these burning questions. Gotterdammerung!

Apologies for some minor technological glitches on Skype.

MUSIC: “Der Alte Cowboy (The Last Round Up)” The Comedian Harmonists
(Note, read more about this fascinating German harmony ensemble and their fate when the Nazis rose to power on Wikipedia )

Images

Videos

Punching Hitler: view on myspace

Movies

Downfall (Der Untergang)
Toren: 8/10
Kevin: 8/10

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 8/10
Kevin: 7/10

Inglourious Basterds
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 9/10
Kevin: 9/10

Triumph of the Will
Kevin: 7/10

The Producers (1968)
Toren: 8/10

Valkyrie
Kevin: 6/10

Links

Followups / Year One Poll

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 09:39:41 +0000

Has it really been a year already? Kevin, Joe and Toren are joined by Australia’s Steve Parker for a look back at our first year of podcasting. We’ll see what your favorite episodes were, as well as the grossest, and hardest to get through and funniest bits as well as followups for Iraq War through Seven Deadly Sins.

Music: Skullcrusher Mountain by Jonathan Coulton

Images

Videos

Links

Southern Stand
Documenting Reality Guillotine Video (Warning: UGH)
Necronomicox
Captain Australia

Alcohol

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:06:07 +0000

Dr. Rob Tarzwell guests. Dipsomania, alcohol poisoning, drunken war elephants, weird and disgusting potables from around the world, sherry enemas PLUS the Caustic Soda drinking game!

Music:

Images

Videos

Movies
Arthur
Joe: 6/10

Leaving Las Vegas
Kevin: 9/10

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 5/10

Iron Man
Toren: 5/10
Kevin: 9/10
Joe: 8/10

Strange Brew
Toren: 6/10
Kevin: 6/10
Joe: 8/10

The Lost weekend
Toren: 8/10

Days of Wine and Roses
Toren: 7/10
Kevin: 8/10

Hoaxes

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 09:56:08 +0000

NOT A HOAX! Guest host Chris “Kerberos Productions” Stewart reveals the truth about Operation: Mincemeat and other WWII magic, Piltdown Man, Protocols of the Elders of Zion, The Cottingley Fairies, The Cardiff Giant, The War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast, Marie Toft’s Bunny Babies and more.

Music: “Whatchamacallit” by Esquivel

Images

Links

Space Robot Bonanza on SomethingAwful

Videos

Movies
Signs
Toren: 3/10
Joe: 3/10

War of the Worlds 1953
Toren: 8/10

War of the Worlds 2005
Toren: 5/10

2012
Toren: 3/10

Blizzard

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 06:43:44 +0000

The worst blizzards in history including The Storm of the Century, The Cleveland Superbomb, the Schoolhouse Blizzard of 1888, and The Great Die Up, Also, how to survive a blizzard plus some Iron Man villain.

Music: Leroy Anderson “Mah-Na Mah-Na”

Images

Videos

Chicago Blizzard Time Lapse.

Movies
The Day After Tomorrow
Toren: 5/10
Joe: 3/10

Whiteout
Toren: 5/10

John Carpenter’s The Thing
Toren: 9/10
Kevin: 8/10

The Thing From Another World:
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 7/10

The Shining
Toren: 8/10
Joe: 8/10
Kevin: 10/10

Dinosaurs

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 20:22:45 +0000

What were the biggest, baddest and weirdest dinosaurs? Did killer algae take them out? What’s the deal with brontosaurus? Was T-Rex a cannibal? Who fought in the ‘bone wars?’ What kind of car does Predator X eat? Answers to these questions may or may not appear in the “Dinosaur” episode of Caustic Soda. Plus early paleontological blunders!

Music: “Downtown (in the Cenozoic)” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets (Yes, the Cenozoic marked the end of the dinosaurs. Deal with it.)

Images

Movies

Land of the Lost
Toren: 6/10

Jurassic Park
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 7/10
Kevin: 9/10

The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Toren: 6/10
Joe: 5/10
Kevin: 6/10

Jurassic Park III
Toren: 4/10

Valley of Gwangi
Toren: 5/10

One Million Years BC
Toren: 3/10
Joe: 4/10
Kevin: 2/10

Killer Robots

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 20:50:53 +0000

Caustic Soda, robot fighters! We pit our powerful podcasting techniques against robotic threats like the biomass consuming EATR, firearm-wielding TALON and SWORDS, the frighteningly named Multiple Kill Vehicle and iRobot’s “Warrior” model. Also: Robots hitting people FOR SCIENCE, quadrocopters, The Terminator, Cylons, replicants, Westworld and many more robotic threats!

Music: Big Robot Dinosaur by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

This episode sponsored by Delta Green: Denied to the Enemy!

Images

Videos

Slavery

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 07:40:20 +0000

Slavery is alive and well in today’s world, and the CS crew pulls no punches. Slaves regaining their freedom in Aztec society, British slaves on the Barbary Coast, Somaly Mam’s escape from Cambodia, forced child labour on African cocoa farms, and of course a look at the Atlantic slave trade & slave ships. Also, a quick timeline of emancipation throughout the world.

Music: “Slave Ship” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Images

Links

http://www.afesip.org/
http://www.somaly.org/donate/make-a-donation
http://transfair.ca/ – logo to look for on the chocolate and coffee you buy

MOVIES

Amistad
Toren: 8/10
Kevin: 5/10
Joe: 8/10

Taken
Kevin: 7/10

Traffic
Toren: 7/10
Kevin: 7/10

Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
Toren: 6/10
Joe: 4/10

Spartacus
Kevin: 8/10
Joe: 7/10

Ben Hur
Kevin: 10/10

Born into Brothels
Kevin: 7/10

Blood

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 06:15:10 +0000

Guest Dr. Rob Tarzwell talks bloodletting, transfusions gone wrong, toxic shock, hemophilia, ebola, polycythemia, lymphoma and other blood disorders. Also, frozen heads made of blood and the Zero G Period!

Music: “Heartaches” Ted Weems

Images

Videos

Movies
Carrie
Kevin: 7/10
Toren: 7/10

Blade
Kevin: 8/10
Toren: 6/10
Joe: 7/10

The Shining
Kevin: 10/10
Toren: 8/10
Joe: 8/10

The Abominable Dr Phibes
Kevin: 1/10
Toren: 4/10

Followups II

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 07:17:57 +0000

The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets’ guitarist Warren BANKS! joins the crew to do another round of follow-ups and listener mail, including: Japanese cannibal checks himself out of mental institution; parasitological museum (a hot date spot); poisoning at a Chinese funeral; exploding hydrogen bombs in the Van Allen belt; an Aztec sword; the man with an iron bar in his head; using chickens to test airplane structural integrity; the Ika-Tako (squid/octopus) virus; honour killings in Turkey; gravedigging mishaps; gorilla pubic lice; and the Spaceship Zero roleplaying game!

Music: “Nobody Here But Us Chickens” by Louis Jordan

Images

Links

Rainbow Bomb Party

Seven Deadly Sins: Lust

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 05:11:42 +0000

The Caustic Soda crew talks about vagina dentata, cross-species mating attempts in the animal kingdom, Captain America with a burrito in his pants, the difference between men and womens’ sex drives, how many viagra it takes to kill a Moscow man, and the African penis trap.

Note: Toren mentioned an episode of The Stranger’s Savage Love podcast in which they talked about monogamy & plunger penis. The guest on that episode (#210) was author of “Sex At Dawn”, Christopher Ryan PhD.
Here’s a link: http://www.sexatdawn.com/page1/page45/page45.html

Music: Louis Armstrong “I Get Ideas”

Images

Video

Links

Sex Drive: How Do Men and Women Compare

Movies
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 8/10
Kevin: 7/10

Teeth
Toren: 7/10

Bound
Joe: 9/10
Kevin: 7/10

The Last Picture Show
Kevin: 8/10

Show girls
Joe: 2/10
Kevin: 1/10

The Accused
Joe: 7/10

Lolita
Toren: 7/10

Art

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 06:00:28 +0000

Supreme artist of the omniverse Chris Woods joins the crew to talk about murderabilia, Honore Fragonard’s flayed dancing babies, art as torture, Theodore Gericault’s severed heads, huge turd catastrophes, and macabre artists like Goya, Fuselli, HR Giger and Beksinski. Plus – was Jack the Ripper established artist Walter Sickert?

CORRECTION: Toren stated that Zdzisław Beksiński was shot, but here is what actually happened:
On 21 February 2005, Zdzisław Beksiński was found dead in his flat in Warsaw with 17 stab wounds on his body; two of the wounds were determined to have been fatal. Robert Kupiec (the teenage son of his longtime caretaker), who later pleaded guilty, and a friend were arrested shortly after the crime. On 9 November 2006 Robert Kupiec was condemned to 25 years in prison, and his accomplice, Łukasz Kupiec, to 5 years by the court of Warsaw. Before his death, Beksiński refused a small loan to Robert Kupiec (a few hundred złoty approximately $100).

Music: Mills Brothers “Funiculi Funicula”

Brought to you by Cthulhupalooza!

Images

Videos
(Spoiler alert for those who haven’t seen this Doctor Who episode)

Movies

Frida
Chris: 8/10

Lust for Life
Toren: 5/10
Kevin: 6/10
Chris: 6/10

Crumb
Toren: 7/10
Kevin: 7/10
Joe: 7/10
Chris: 9/10

Vincent and Theo
Chris: 6/10

Exit Through the Gift Shop
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 7/10

Goya’s Ghosts
Chris: 2/10

Pollock
Toren: 6/10
Kevin: 7/10
Chris: 8/10

Basquiat
Toren: 6/10
Kevin: 7/10
Chris: 6/10

The Agony and the Ecstacy
Chris: 5/10

Bonus Content – Body Worlds Book Contest Winner Announcement

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 18:15:25 +0000

Toren, Joe, and Kevin give a few shoutouts to the fans that entered our Body Worlds Book Contest and then make the draw to see who the lucky winner is!

Congratulations to Will Anderson from Wyoming! Your Body Worlds book is on its way!

Seven Deadly Sins: Envy

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 03:12:23 +0000

The science of schadenfreude! The Texas-Cheerleader-Murdering-Mom! Tonya Harding! Drug-induced fatal car accidents! All this plus exploding breast implants! In our 6th episode on the seven deadly sins, Caustic Soda looks at the green-eyed monster: Envy!

Music: Fred Astaire “Putting on the Ritz”

Images

Videos

Movie Reviews

Se7en
Toren: 8/10
Kevin: 8/10
Joe: 8/10

Blade Runner
Toren: 8/10
Kevin: 9/10
Joe: 10/10

Crime Scene Investigation

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 05:29:32 +0000

Author Don Debrandt gives his expert testimony on Crime Scene Investigation techniques such as body farms, anthropometry, dactyloscopy, entomology, and the ever-exciting forensic accounting division “Questionable Documents”.

Music: “It Must Be Swell to be Laying Out Dead” by Alex Bartha’s Hotel Traymore Orchestra

This podcast sponsored by ToyHutt.com.

Images

Videos

Movies
Silence of the Lambs
Toren: 8/10
Joe: 9/10
Kevin: 8/10

Star Wars: A New Hope
Toren: 9/10
Joe: 9/10
Kevin: 9/10

Catch Me If You Can
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 7/10
Kevin: 8/10

Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Joe: 6/10
Kevin: 7/10

Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 20:41:48 +0000

In our fifth (and extra-explicit) installment of The Seven Deadly Sins, we discuss road rage (and “Carma”), catharsis, destructotherapy, “going postal,” the true story of the Count of Monte Cristo, the Hulk, Christian Bale and other purveyors of WRATH!

Music: “Uuugh!” by Xavier Cugat

Images

Videos

American Psycho

Links

Cracked.com

Road rage stories from you – our listeners:

Chaz L I used to get horrilbe road rage years ago. I’d do the typical stuff like pull up beside a person, give em the bird while screaming obsensities and blasting my horn. I followed one guy home, smashed my car into his mailbox and sped off, but one day my speedometer broke. I couldn’t see how so slow(or fast) I was driving, and all my anger vanished. By the time I got it fixed my road rage had vanished. Yay!

Will A Not really a story, but a number of years ago, during the “freedom fries” era, I forced a dude off the road for having a “France sucks” sticker on his bumper. He wasn’t hurt, or anything, but it still probably wasn’t the coolest thing to do. He shook his fist at me in a “get off my lawn” sort of way, though, which made it awesome.

Adam J Best story i have for road rage is about my cousin. If he was cut up badly or really put in danger by the other driver he would follow them home and shout at them or if they got away he would drive down the same road at the same time for weeks looking for them.

Movies
American Psycho
Kevin: 10/10
Joe: 8/10

Raging Bull
Toren: 7/10
Kevin: 10/10
Joe: 9/10

Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan
Toren: 9/10
Kevin: 8/10
Joe: 9/10

Office Space
Toren: 7/10
Kevin: 8/10
Joe: 9/10

V for Vendetta
Toren: 7/10
Kevin: 10/10
Joe: 9/10

The Hulk
Toren: 6/10
Kevin: 5/10
Joe: 4/10

The Incredible Hulk
Toren: 6/10
Kevin: 7/10
Joe: 5/10

Goodfellas
Toren: 8/10
Kevin: 8/10
Joe: 10/10

Untouchables
Toren: 5/10
Kevin: 9/10
Joe: 8/10

Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
Kevin: 6/10
Joe: 7/10

Punisher (1989)
Toren: 3/10
Kevin: 1/10

Punisher (2004)
Toren: 5/10
Kevin: 7/10

A Very Caustic Christmas

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 07:23:36 +0000

Was the star of Bethlehem a supernova? What raunchy pagan festivals did Christianity co-opt for Jesus’ birthday? How many butchered children did Saint Nick resurrect, and who was St Nick’s demonic sidekick? Is Santa Claus just Odin One-Eye rebranded? Also, tragic reindeer death! Watch out deipnophobes – it’s the Christmas episode of Caustic Soda!

Music: John Kirby & His Orchestra “Bounce of the Sugar Plum Fairies”

Images

Videos

Movies

Bad Santa

The Nightmare Before Christmas
Toren: 9/10
Joe: 8/10
Kevin: 6/10

It’s A Wonderful Life
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 7/10
Kevin: 2/10

Scrooged
Toren: 6/10
Joe: 8/10
Kevin: 5/10

Gremlins
Toren: 6/10
Joe: 6/10
Kevin: 7/10

Die Hard
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 9/10
Kevin: 9/10

Elf
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 7/10

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Jim Carrey version)
Joe: 6/10
Kevin: 8/10

The Santa Clause
Kevin: 6/10

Seven Deadly Sins: Pride

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 08:17:55 +0000

Caustic Soda is PROUD to present our newest installment on the Seven Deadly Sins: Pride. We discuss body dysmorphic disorder, comorbidity,cankles, foot binding, stiletto heels & Morton’s neuroma, botched plastic surgery, liposuction death, and the Fonz vs The Situation.

Music: “In an 18th Century Drawing Room” Raymond Scott

This episode is brought to you by Jett’s Toy Hutt!

Images

Lesser of Two Evils: Attacked by a Grizzly bear, or have “foot binding” performed on your feet? What would you decide and why?

Movies
Zoolander
Toren:4/10
Joe: 7/10
Kevin: 5/10

Bears

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 05:33:28 +0000

Bears! Polar bears, grizzly bears, brown bears, black bears, panda bears and yes, we even talk about poohs! You’ll hear about bears eating faces, butchering families, and guarding marijuana grow-ops. So they’re not all bad.

Music: “When yuba plays the rhumba on the tuba” – Spike Jones

Images

Videos

Polar Bear Zoo Attack