That Time Anthony Weiner's Sexts Destroyed a Few Political Careers
Has anyone been so aptly named as Anthony Weiner? Of course, we only know just how apropos his name is because he kept his dick in his pants (or gray briefs) but couldn't keep his dick pics on his phone. Instead, he flung them far and wide, from his Twitter account (he was a U.S. Congressman at the time!) to ladies he met online as Carlos Danger to, ultimately, underage girls across the country. How did a Democratic political star flame out so thoroughly and so often? What does any of this have to do with Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign? And why is Kasey so surprised that Mark is attracted to Anthony Weiner? Welcome back to Shocking! Lurid! Tawdry!, where things are getting a little more cringe in Season 2. Logo: Jessica Balaschak Music: Caveman of Los Angeles by Party Store Music
1 Feb 202239min
That Time Charles Lindbergh Managed to Make Us Forget a Few Key Personality Traits
Sure, we all know Lucky Lindy's record-breaking flight across the Atlantic. And we all know the tragic story of his oldest son's kidnapping. But did you know that Lindbergh was both a eugenicist and a Nazi sympathizer, who accepted a medal from Hermann Göring shortly after Kristallnacht? And did you know that he had not on, not two, but three secret families in Europe, two of them with sisters? Probably not, because even the biographer who earned a Pulitzer Prize for his book on Charles Lindbergh didn't know about them. So how did Lindbergh go from American pariah to beloved cultural icon again? Well, you can thank Jimmy Stewart for that. Join hosts Kasey Howe and Mark Peikert for the Season 1 finale as they take you on a tour of a life so over-the-top and riddled with bad behavior it takes both of them to tackle it all. And, not for the last time, find yourself muttering, "Poor Anne." Logo: Jessica Balaschak Music: Caveman of Los Angeles by Party Store Music
28 Dec 202157min
That Time the Media Declared We're in a War on Christmas
We hear it every year around the holidays: By saying "holidays," we're declaring war on Christmas! But this isn't just a free floating conspiracy theory—there was an actual event that launched a thousand flakes of infuriated spittle. How exactly are in a war on Christmas? And why? Well, that's both more complicated than you'd think and also not at all complicated. Kasey Howe walks Mark through why people think America is starting to hate the day of Jesus's birth. Logo: Jessica Balaschak Music: Caveman of Los Angeles by Party Store Music
21 Dec 202140min
That Time Hilaria Baldwin Had a 'Decade-Long Grift'
The date was December 21, 2020. That's when a Twitter user tweeted, "You have to admire Hilaria Baldwin's commitment to her decade long grift where she impersonates a Spanish person." And the floodgates opened. The former Hola Magazine cover star turned out to be... well, a white girl named Hillary from Boston. How did this last for 10 years? What was the fallout? And what possible explanation could there have been? Mark breaks the "nothing from the last 10 years" rule of the podcast to lead Kasey by the hand through the ups and downs and "Dios mio!" moments of the story. Logo: Jessica Balaschak Music: Caveman of Los Angeles by Party Store Music
14 Dec 202132min
That Time Nelson Rockefeller Had a Very Stressful 48 Hours
Welcome a very special guest to the podcast this week, when Ellie MacPherson brings her zest, brio, and eye for the hilarious detail to the story of one governor of New York, his two wives, and 10 children. Yes, it's the Nelson Rockefeller story, including a particularly rough 48 hours in the early '60s that found him possibly torpedoing his political career for love, and one of his children disappearing in Papua New Guinea. If you love Ellie as much as we do, then be sure to check out her cabaret act Happy Birthday, Mr. President at Manhattan's Feinstein's/54 Below this coming President's Day. And follow her on Instagram! For tickets:https://54below.com/events/ellie-macpherson-happy-birthday-mr-president Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellmac5/ Logo: Jessica Balaschak | Music: Caveman of Los Angeles by Party Store Music
7 Dec 202134min
That Time Mary McCarthy Got Off 1 Good Zinger About Lillian Hellman
When Mary McCarthy said of Lillian Hellman, "Every word she writes is a lie, including 'and' and 'the,'" Lillian Hellman laughed. Then she sued McCarthy for $2.2 million. But that wasn't the end of it. This tossed off zinger on The Dick Cavett Show has resulted in a Broadway play with music, another stage play, and enough articles and think pieces to constitute a content farm. What is it about this lawsuit and these two writers that fascinates people more than 40 years later? Why are we still talking about Hellman v. McCarthy? Well, because it's a damn good line for one. But as Mark points out this week, there's a lot that one can bring to this feud. And everyone has. Logo: Jessica Balaschak Music: Caveman of Los Angeles by Party Store Music
30 Nov 202128min
That Time President Grover Cleveland Had a Secret Son
As "Let's go Brandon" has shown, Americans love a good eff you slogan when it comes to our politicians. But that didn't start at NASCAR. Let's go all the way back to the 1884 presidential election, when Grover Cleveland's disgusting past (involving sexual assault, committing the woman to an insane asylum, and a son) came back to bite him in the ass on the election trail as people started chanting, "Ma Ma Where's My Pa." Logo: Jessica Balaschak Music: Caveman of Los Angeles by Party Store Music
23 Nov 202140min
That Time Brenda Frazier Became Famous for Having a Party
"I got through Brenda Frazier, and I'm here." —Follies Brenda Frazier was born in 1921 and became one of the era’s infamous Poor Little Rich Girls. But the thing that set her apart from Doris Duke, Barbara Hutton, and Gloria Vanderbilt is that she didn’t have a successful second act. Even Gloria Vanderbilt had jeans! In fact, the only reason we still know Brenda Frazier is that she went to night clubs a lot and threw a party. Her debutante party was so extreme, so over the top, that she’s still a Name people recognize. Walter Winchell coined "celebutante" to describe her. She was on the cover of Life Magazine. And her coming out party was so extreme and over-the-top and publicized that she spent the rest of her life under its shadow. As this Diane Arbus photo can attest. https://www.artsy.net/artwork/diane-arbus-brenda-diana-duff-frazier-1938-debutante-of-the-year-at-home-3 Today we investigate what led up to that party, the insane custody battle over Brenda, and the decades-long repercussions of being America's Queen of Cafe Society. Logo: Jessica Balaschak Music: Caveman of Los Angeles by Party Store Music
16 Nov 202132min
