Now that it looks like we're getting out of the heat of summer, I’ll tell you some stories where people were not able to escape the heat, because we’re talking about spontaneous human combustion.

This episode’s songs are:

• Burning Down the House by Talking Heads
• Fire Water Burn by the Bloodhound Gang
• Heart Cooks Brain by Modest Mouse
• Sunny Side Up by Faith No More
• Burning by King Buffalo

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_human_combustion
• https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/weather/2026/09/10/summer-2026-heat-record/91673943007/
• https://allthatsinteresting.com/mary-reeser
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Mary_Reeser
• https://thehorrorcollection.com/spontaneous-human-combustion/
• https://www.mentalfloss.com/history/quick-7-seven-cases-spontaneous-human-combustion#inline-text-9
• https://destinationghost.com/curious-case-of-jack-angel/
• https://unsolved.com/gallery/spontaneous-combustion/
• https://www.history.com/articles/is-spontaneous-human-combustion-real

Sound mixing performed by Brother Jay from The Rule of Scary podcast - check that out if you’re a horror movie fan! And hey! Thank you for listening to my stories. Keep it weird out there.

To find song recommendations for this podcast, check out the Spotify Professional Weird playlist

• https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5jIkaamOZlCwtd2peUk9lF?si=0238d524a374492d

Email me at professionalweirdopodcast@gmail.com

Let's talk through a handful of cryptids. Are they real, or are they tall tales? Are they nightmares, or are they friends?

Songs with this episode:

• The Creature from the Black Leather Lagoon by The Cramps
• Hellhound by Son of Dave
• Monster by L7
• Coyote by Dope Lemon, and
• Unicorn by Gojira

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimothy_(raccoon)

https://www.geekwire.com/2026/jimothy-raids-the-corporate-pantry-amazon-adds-extra-200k-to-food-bank-gift-after-raccoon-art-auction/

https://magicalclan.com/facts-about-chupacabra/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolian_death_worm

https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Mongolian_Death_Worm

https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Thunderbird

https://www.historicmysteries.com/myths-legends/thunderbird/22913/

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/thunderbird-cryptid-ocker

https://www.history.com/articles/the-cardiff-giant-fools-the-nation-145-years-ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squonk

https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Grampus

https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Grootslang

https://oldfolklore.com/the-grootslang-of-the-south-african-caves/

https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Hellhounds

https://animalko.com/legendary-cryptids-that-turned-out-to-be-real/

Book Cryptid Creatures by Kelly Milner Halls

Sound mixing performed by Brother Jay from The Rule of Scary podcast - check that out if you’re a horror movie fan! And hey! Thank you for listening to my stories. Keep it weird out there.

To find song recommendations for this podcast, check out the Spotify Professional Weird playlist

• https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5jIkaamOZlCwtd2peUk9lF?si=0238d524a374492d

Email me at professionalweirdopodcast@gmail.com

We all make mistakes. But I'm betting we've never made mistakes like the ones in this episode.

Songs for this episode:

• 99 Red Balloons by Nena
• I’m Shipping Up to Boston by the Dropkick Murphys
• Stuck in the Middle With you by Stealers Wheel
• Whisky River by Willie Nelson
• Rabbit Run by IDLES
• Little Bunny Foo Foo by The Moldy Peaches

Sources:

https://beamazed.com/article/how-releasing-balloons-went-horribly-wrong-balloonfest-86

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balloonfest_%2786

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Molasses_Flood

https://www.history.com/articles/the-great-molasses-flood-of-1919

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin_whiskey_fire

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/offbeat/the-night-a-river-of-whiskey-ran-through-the-streets-of-dublin-1.2743517

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbits_in_Australia

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/how-european-rabbits-took-over-australia/

https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/rabbits-introduced

Sound mixing performed by Brother Jay from The Rule of Scary podcast - check that out if you’re a horror movie fan! And hey! Thank you for listening to my stories. Keep it weird out there.

To find song recommendations for this podcast, check out the Spotify Professional Weird playlist

• https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5jIkaamOZlCwtd2peUk9lF?si=0238d524a374492d

Email me at professionalweirdopodcast@gmail.com

In recent years scientists have been disappearing or dying. And it's not the first time in history that it's happened. Let's review what's happening.

This episodes songs are:

• What’s Happening? By the Byrds
• Dana Katherine Scully by Tacocat
• And Weird Science, by Oingo Boingo

Sources:

• https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/21/us/deaths-disappearances-scientists-investigation
• https://www.newsweek.com/wave-of-missing-or-dead-us-scientists-everything-we-know-11867967
• https://www.geo.tv/latest/661195-who-are-11-missing-deceased-us-scientists-heres-full-list
• https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/04/23/deaths-disappearances-of-us-scientists-see-the-list/89732321007/
• https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/scientists-missing-dead-fbi-nuclear-space-ufo-b2965352.html
• https://www.sott.net/article/505883-Another-one-Aerospace-defense-engineer-military-veteran-killed-in-plane-crash-with-family
• https://www.dailymail.com/sciencetech/article-15822391/missing-scientist-ingrid-coleen-lane-new-mexico.html
• https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/amy-eskridge-death-investigation-1794631
• https://nypost.com/2026/04/25/us-news/would-be-ufo-whistleblower-matthew-james-sullivan-died-of-accidental-drug-overdose/
• https://lamag.com/crimeinla/new-clues-in-monica-reza-case-surface-as-trump-launches-probe-into-missing-scientists/
• https://uapmurders.com/physics/Details/GEC_Marconi_Scientists/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEC-Marconi_scientist_deaths_conspiracy_theory

Sound mixing performed by Brother Jay from The Rule of Scary podcast - check that out if you’re a horror movie fan! And hey! Thank you for listening to my stories. Keep it weird out there.

To find song recommendations for this podcast, check out the Spotify Professional Weird playlist

• https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5jIkaamOZlCwtd2peUk9lF?si=0238d524a374492d

Email me at professionalweirdopodcast@gmail.com

Listener discretion is advised for this episode. We'll be talking about three murders in Illinois that went unsolved for over 20 years.

Today’s songs are:

• The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
• When the Levee Breaks by Led Zeppelin
• Until Then by Orcas

Sources:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/1997/03/13/convicted-killer-indicted-in-womans-78-slaying/

https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/10/19/jury-hears-confession-in-73-death/

https://www.wspynews.com/news/local/convicted-killer-of-female-oswego-teen-scheduled-for-parole-hearing/article_7358d85e-3f24-11ed-b044-737a6008aca4.html

https://www.boston25news.com/news/trending/dna-leads-suspect-49-year-old-cold-case-murder-illinois-teen-julie-ann-hanson/MLSEUH27PRHNTG3ULSZBFCIFKQ/

https://www.wspynews.com/news/local/naperville-cold-case-has-ties-to-oswego/article_9c426e8a-c5f7-11eb-9d6e-bbe7405a0e4f.html

https://www.kansascity.com/news/nation-world/national/article251900228.html

Sound mixing performed by Brother Jay from The Rule of Scary podcast - check that out if you’re a horror movie fan! And hey! Thank you for listening to my stories. Keep it weird out there.

To find song recommendations for this podcast, check out the Spotify Professional Weird playlist

• https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5jIkaamOZlCwtd2peUk9lF?si=0238d524a374492d

Email me at professionalweirdopodcast@gmail.com

We're celebrating one year of the podcast by revisiting "What Little Girls Are Made Of" but unlike Episode 2, this time we'll talk about women who did big things, but without killing someone!

Today’s songs are:

• Joyful Girl by Ani DiFranco
• The Waitress by Tori Amos
• You Don’t Own Me by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
• Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper (I mean, you knew this would eventually show up on the list, right?)
• And finally - Birthday! By… the Sugarcubes - I’m telling you, I just love it when stuff comes together.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamina_Fleming

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Love_Cohen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_13

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Abort_Guidance_System

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelly%27s_Leg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simone_Melchior

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Latour

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sally-ride

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250905-the-women-who-broke-nasas-glass-ceiling

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Ride

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Glessner_Lee

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutshell_Studies_of_Unexplained_Death

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecilia_Payne-Gaposchkin

https://www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2017/12/08/betty-robinson-fire-on-the-track

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Robinson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Buren_sisters

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrietta_Lacks

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/librarians-horseback-new-deal-book-delivery-wpa

Sound mixing performed by Brother Jay from The Rule of Scary podcast - check that out if you’re a horror movie fan! And hey! Thank you for listening to my stories. Keep it weird out there.

To find song recommendations for this podcast, check out the Spotify Professional Weird playlist

• https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5jIkaamOZlCwtd2peUk9lF?si=0238d524a374492d

Email me at professionalweirdopodcast@gmail.com

I've been discovering some surprises during genealogy research, including the Picts of Scotland, a mysterious group of people in the early Middle Ages.

Songs I recommend with today’s episode can be found on the Spotify playlist I made to accompany this podcast. For each episode I’ve done or will do, I’ve pulled together a few songs. The ones for this episode are:

• Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk by Rufus Wainwright
• Scottish Winds by Frightened Rabbit
• Blue by A Perfect Circle

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Sloane

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picts

http://www.musicalpassage.org/#explore

https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/the-picts-of-scotland-explained-3965400

https://clankerr.co.uk/the-fortress-in-the-forest-2/dand%20kerr%201480-1545-2.html

https://allthatsinteresting.com/picts

https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/why-did-the-picts-mysteriously-disappear-1470059

https://theconversation.com/dna-study-sheds-light-on-scotlands-picts-and-resolves-some-myths-about-them-204507

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictish_stone

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictish_Beast

Sound mixing performed by Brother Jay from The Rule of Scary podcast - check that out if you’re a horror movie fan! And hey! Thank you for listening to my stories. Keep it weird out there.

To find song recommendations for this podcast, check out the Spotify Professional Weird playlist

• https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5jIkaamOZlCwtd2peUk9lF?si=0238d524a374492d

Email me at professionalweirdopodcast@gmail.com

I love Bigfoot. Let's talk about him. Let's talk LIKE him - WHOOP! Let's talk about him talking.

Songs for today’s episode:

• Bigfoot by Autumn Orange
• Woods by Bon Iver
• Bigfoot by Mt. Joy
• Somebody’s Watching Me performed by SaxSquatch - that’s right, a guy in a costume who plays saxophone.
• Ratamahatta by Sepultura
• https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5jIkaamOZlCwtd2peUk9lF?si=0238d524a374492d

Sources:

https://www.southernstylesweettees.com/blog/june-7-1

https://strangeandtwisted.com/blogs/stories/bigfoot-the-primal-forest-guardian-or-just-a-tall-tale

https://bigfootbase.com/bigfoot-evidence/sounds/sierra-sounds

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patterson%E2%80%93Gimlin_film

https://www.pararational.com/other-names-for-bigfoot/

https://www.bigfootmap.com/

https://mapsquatch.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Sounds

https://bigfootbase.com/bigfoot-evidence/sounds/sierra-sounds

Sound mixing performed by Brother Jay from The Rule of Scary podcast - check that out if you’re a horror movie fan! And hey! Thank you for listening to my stories. Keep it weird out there.

To find song recommendations for this podcast, check out the Spotify Professional Weird playlist

• https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5jIkaamOZlCwtd2peUk9lF?si=0238d524a374492d

Email me at professionalweirdopodcast@gmail.com