Have you ever wanted to build your own submarine? I admit, I was a little shocked to find out how many men and women—but mostly men—who feel almost obsessively compelled to sink into the deep sea. Despite the 2023 fatal implosion of Stockton Rush's much more highly funded submarine, Titan, these amateur backyard enthusiasts are willing to take the risk. Why?In SUBMERSED, author Matthew Gavin Frank explores the origins of this compulsion, from the diving bells of Aristotle and Alexander the Great to the Confederate H. L. Hunley, which became the first submersible to sink an enemy warship before itself being sunk during the Civil War. The deeper he plunges, however, the more the obsession seems to dovetail with more threatening traits. Following the grisly murder of journalist Kim Wall at the hands of eccentric entrepreneur Peter Madsen aboard his DIY midget submarine, Frank finds himself reckoning with obsession's darkest extremes. Weaving together elements of true crime, history, and the physical and mental side effects of sinking to great depth, Frank attempts to get to the bottom of this niche compulsion. Join us to explore the unexpected overlaps between the desire to descend -- and a penchant for unspeakable violence.

Episode was recorded live January 22, 2026.

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Jessica McCann is an award-winning historical novelist and has worked as a professional writer and journalist for more than 35 years. One of her earliest assignments as a freelance writer was covering a new surgical radiation technique for destroying brain tumors, during which she donned scrubs and observed inside the operating room. Since then, her reporting and creative nonfiction has appeared in dozens of magazines, including Business Week, The Writer, Phoenix, Raising Arizona Kids and ASU Research.

McCann’s debut novel, All Different Kinds of Free, was awarded the Freedom in Fiction Prize. Her second, Peculiar Savage Beauty, was named Arizona Book of the Year and shortlisted for the international Rubery Book Award. Bitter Thaw, McCann’s most recent release, was named 2023 Best Indie Book by Shelf Unbound magazine and received the Gold Award for Historical Fiction from Foreword INDIES.

In all her writing, McCann shares stories of ordinary people overcoming adversity to accomplish extraordinary things. Layered themes of nature, forgiveness, community, acceptance, and perseverance are another hallmark of her work.

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You’ve seen the movies. But did you know that zombies are in fact all around us? Insect zombies, that is. In Rise of the Zombie Bugs, Mindy Weisberger explores the eerie yet fascinating phenomenon of real-life zombification. The truth is stranger than fiction: these parasites reproduce by rewriting their victims' neurochemistry, transforming them into the "walking dead": armies of cicadas, spiders, and other hosts that helplessly follow a zombifier's commands, living only to serve the parasite's needs until death's sweet release (and often beyond).

We’ll chat live with the author about the evolutionary intricacies behind zombie ants, mind-controlled beetles, and the fungi and viruses that reprogram behavior from Brazilian rainforests to European meadows. It’s weird. It’s macabre. It’s right up our peculiar little alley. Come ask the hard questions, like why is a bug's world full of zombies, why are arthropods so susceptible to this zombification, and could the creators of zombie bugs ever evolve to do the same to people? It's a must-read for anyone curious about the true terrors lurking in nature's undergrowth and the unnerving beauty of evolution's darker side.

Music for tonight's Comedy Sketch provided by:Shockwave Drift by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US

Episode was recorded live January 8, 2026.

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