What happens when the person you’re searching for answers from may never give them?

The visit with Dan continues as he unpacks his complicated relationship with his dad, an unsettling fishing trip, and the questions that still hang in the air. Dan reflects on seeing his father as “two different people”: the man he remembers from childhood and the feeble old man who may be carrying secrets to the grave. If he didn’t do anything, why won’t he just say no?

The conversation turns to what compelled that pivotal meeting in the first place and whether their shared connection to Shirley was the only reason it happened at all.

From there, the episode shifts into deeply personal territory: memories of Shirley’s devout religious activity, her relentless church involvement, and her habit of charitably bringing strangers into their home. What begins as nostalgic storytelling spirals into one of the most shocking (and darkly comedic) stories of the season involving a rescued teenage boy, a jar of peanut butter, and a moment no one could ever unsee.

In this behind-the-scenes episode, Amanda and Josh prompt Dan to trade case files for kitchen stories. He shares cooking disasters and teenage rebellion as they unpack the lighter and darker moments that didn’t always make it into the main narrative.

What starts with a simple question about Shirley’s cooking, spirals into unforgettable stories: Hamburger Helper on repeat, Frosted Flakes for dinner, and a hilariously horrifying fish served whole: eyes, fins, and all. There’s the one redeeming “crescent ring” meal, but mostly it’s a portrait of family life that feels chaotic, funny, and painfully real.

From there, the stories get wilder. A 15-year-old joyride in a white Monte Carlo, A rooftop stash of beer cans discovered months after a secret pool party. Groundings, old BMWs, Pintos, and growing up in Arizona with flat roofs and big consequences. These moments of teenage mischief offer a rare glimpse of normalcy inside a family story that is anything but simple.

But the episode doesn’t stay light. The conversation turns to Mount Lemmon, the attack, the arrest, and the haunting “I could have gotten away with it” claim. They also dig into the emotional fallout of divorce, unresolved love, and the complicated marriage that followed.

This episode balances humor and heartbreak, nostalgia and trauma, showing how even in the shadow of violence, there were school snowball fights, cliff dives in Sabino Canyon, and complicated attempts at love.

It’s messy. It’s human. And it’s another layer of the story we thought we already knew.

In this deeply personal and wide-ranging episode, Josh and Amanda sit down with Dan Skaggs to unpack what it was really like growing up inside Shirley’s world, and in the orbit of his father, Stephen Skaggs. What begins as memories of adolescence in Alaska and Arizona quickly unfolds into a raw account of family dynamics, delinquency, survival, and the long tail of unanswered questions.

Dan reflects on being a troubled teenager, forced into unpaid work and church by Shirley while his father was incarcerated, his complicated bond with stepbrother Eddie, and the petty crimes that shaped his early years. From stolen bikes and shoplifting to small-town boredom in Alaska, Dan paints a vivid picture of youth, recklessness, and influence, while also offering rare insight into Shirley as a disciplinarian, protector, and deeply complicated presence in his life.

As the conversation deepens, the focus turns darker. Dan revisits the day his father was arrested, the fear that followed, death threats, break-in attempts, police searches and the lifelong impact of growing up adjacent to a violent crime that still haunts victims’ families today. He wrestles openly with doubt, loyalty, and hindsight, questioning what he didn’t see, what law enforcement may have mishandled, and whether the truth about other unsolved cases will ever fully surface.

This episode is not about easy answers. It’s about memory, accountability, and the unbearable weight of “what if.” Above all, it’s about the human cost of silence and why telling Shirley’s story, even now, still matters.

This bonus episode marks a moment years in the making. We finally sit down with Dan Skaggs, Shirley’s stepson, to discuss his complicated journey toward closure with his father, Stephen Skaggs. Stephen was arrested in 1986 after attacking two women on Mt. Lemmon and is widely known as the prime suspect in the Joan Marie Archer cold case. Dan reflects on growing up with this reality, the unanswered questions that still linger, and how these events continue to impact not only his life, but the Archer family’s search for peace.

This episode is about more than a case file. It’s about grief, truth, and the painful space between knowing and never fully knowing.

Josh and Amanda discuss more of the forensics tied to the Alaska cases and how Shirley was able to exist within her reality. Parallels are discussed from the book Butcher Baker and more questions are raised about FBI involvement. The gang flies to St. Louis for a long awaited interview.

A deep dive into the wounds of the trail from Colorado to Alaska. Josh and Amanda discuss the day they sat with Eddie to hear his stories for the first time. It's an unforgettable visit that proves to be one of the most meaningful tell all moments of the Shirley You Can’t Be Serious Podcast.

The story, behind the backstory: In episode 2, Shirley's childhood is revealed and a few details emerge about her choices. Josh and Amanda share about uncovering clues, discovering new mysteries and a new twist that may keep Shirley even more in the family.

The pace is slowed down to uncover more parts of the Mt. Lemmon story. The layers are also peeled back to reveal how the six month production took place.