On part 2 of this week's episode, we talk with former New Yorker Cartoon Editor and current Cartoon Editor at Air Mail Magazine, Bob Mankoff. Bob talks about the New Yorker and CartoonStock caption contests, A.I., dream cartoons and something new that he's been working on with Robert Nowak (former manager of the New Yorker contest crowdsource votin…

Joseph Bowers is considered the first prisoner to try escaping Alcatraz, but was killed during his attempt. The next to attempt it was a pair of conspiring inmates named Ted Cole and Ralph Roe. Both men had long rap sheets and were known escape risks -- including from high security facilities. As a last resort, each was sentenced to time at the mos…

Larry Wood, the all time New Yorker cartoon caption contest winner, author and CartoonStock caption contest judge, joins us to talk about the current New Yorker contests, our favorite cartoons from this week’s issue of the New Yorker and the latest CartoonStock contest. There were some great captions for what we thought was a tough cartoon to work …

Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt were sentenced in July of 2008 to life in prison for the murders of Paul Vados and Kenneth McDavid. The women, who were both in their 70s, appeared to be in the business of rescuing down-on-their-luck men in Los Angeles, but it was a deadly ruse. Instead, theymanipulated their marks with offers of free food and ho…

On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview humorist, Al Mullen. Al his written humor pieces for The New Yorker, McSweeney's and other publications. He is also the creator and publisher of Public Transportation Magazine (PTM). PTM is a very funny eight page Zine that can only be found on New York public transportation. Past issues have included …

Federal prosecutor Daniel Wenner described the case as, “the bloodiest, most violent betrayal of the badge this city has ever seen.” Two decorated New York City police detectives, Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito, committed various illegal activities on behalf of the Five Families of the American Mafia, spanning from the mid-1980s to 1990. This…

On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview Cartoonist, Hartley Lin. Hartley has been contributing to the New Yorker since 2018. He has been creating his on comic book, "Pope Hats" since 2009. In 2019, His graphic novel, "Young Frances" was published with positive reviews. The New York Times stated: “It’s a testament to his vision that a book wi…

Ray and Faye Copeland were husband and wife serial killers and the oldest couple ever sentenced to death in the United States. Their known victims include at least five farmhands -- more men are still considered missing and likely also murdered, though their remains have not been found. This is a story about nearly a dozen hired laborers who disapp…

The podcast celebrates No Guest August (a holiday that we just made up) this week! It's just us talking about the contests and our favorite cartoons from the current issue of the New Yorker. Completely organic with no added filler or additives. We do get a bit fried talking about the current contest, but we recover nicely with only Beth losing trac…

Train robberies are often thought of as a 19th century problem, like when Jesse James and his gang of outlaws famously pulled off the world's first robbery of a moving train, on July 21, 1873, in Iowa. And, of course, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, who liked to rob banks and trains -- and famously blew up the a Union Pacific Railroad train the…

New Yorker cartoonist, Drew Dernavich, joins us on the podcast this week. It's been over a year since Drew has joined the podcast. His last appearance was the ill-fated 100th Anniversary episode that is unlistenable due to technical problems (the problem being that none of us knew how to properly use a professional podcast studio). Drew talks about…

One of Truman Capote's most famously told anecdotes about his childhood involves his running away with his neighbor, Martha Seabrook, when he was about 10 years old and she, roughly 15. They made a break to a town near where they lived, but were returned home in a day or two. Thirteen years later, Martha met Raymond Fernandez and became one half of…

Larry Wood, the All Time New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest Winner, Author and CartoonStock Caption Contest Judge, joins us to talk about the current New Yorker contests, our favorite cartoons from this week’s issue of the New Yorker and the latest CartoonStock contest. Some great discussions on winning the contests and Paul challenges the listener…

Welcome to the final episode of our season exploring worthless and often dangerous remedies that were promoted as good for whatever may ail you – and, by extension, the patent medicine salesmen, a bunch of quacks and rip-off artists, who advertised and peddled those fraudulent goods. We went into this season assuming the worst; and … it was pretty …

Welcome to a brand new season of Criminalia, where we'll be talking about criminal duos. Partners in crime. Now, your partner in crime could be platonic; others may be romantic. They're someone who has your back no matter what. This season's partners in crime wait outside in the getaway car. They plot and commit illegal acts with you.In this season…

On part 2 of this week's episode, we talk with Liza Donnelly about producing a documentary based on her book, Very Funny Ladies. The documentary will be called, "Women Laughing" and is currently in the development phase. Liza has started a Kickstarter to help fund it and is nearly to her goal of $50,000. You can help out by going to her Kickstarter…

In the Victorian era, the menstrual cycle was considered a disease. A Victorian era woman going through menopause was considered to be emotionally unstable, and a physician would likely have prescribed bloodletting to treat its symptoms. He also would have advised her against reading novels, going to parties, and dancing. If you were a 45- to 50-ye…

On part 2 of this week's episode, we talk with authors Phil Witte and Rex Hesner about their book, "Funny Stuff: How Great Cartoonists Make Great Cartoons". Phil Witte is a long time cartoonist with cartoons published in The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Reader’s Digest, and regional magazines, as well as British publications, such as Private Eye,…

Known as tonics, cocaine wines were a hit when introduced in the late 1800s -- Angelo Mariani, a wealthy chemist from the island of Corsica, formulated his popular version, Vin Mariani -- in 1863. Cocaine wine is exactly what you think it is – a concoction of cocaine and wine -- and, it had an incredible fan base that included – spoiler alert – TWO…

In the mid-1890s, Harry Kramer’s Sterling Remedy Co. introduced a product called, Cascarets Candy Cathartic. Cascarets were just laxatives, but the product blew away the competition. And a lot of that had to do with how it was marketed (a stroke of brilliance): Harry advertised the product as candy – and historians believe he may have been the firs…

Larry Wood, the All Time New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest winner, joins us once again to talk about the current New Yorker contest, our favorite cartoons from this week’s issue of the New Yorker and the latest CartoonStock contest. You can email us at the below email address and Larry will send you a signed copy of this new book. Or you can buy a…

Talking about the United Society of True Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing – a religious group commonly known as Shakers -- doesn't mean this is an episode about religion. They were disciplined and hard-working, and they were also innovative -- a good combination of characteristics that helped them finance their communal lives in a few success…

On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview Cartoonist, Tyson Cole. Tyson is a fairly new contributor to the New Yorker, but his cartoons have been published in many other magazines such as Saturday Evening Post, Reader’s Digest, Yahoo!, The American Bystander, Weekly Humorist, the Funny Times, and the Cole Family Christmas Newsletter. He has be…

Daffy's Elixir was one of the most popular patent medicines in Britain -- and it sold for nearly 300 years, which is amazing considering these types of products were often a flash in a pan. But what makes this product different than others we’ve talked about this snake oil season, other than its longevity, is that its ingredients list wasn’t kept s…