Auld Lang Syne Weirdos!

It's time to say goodbye to 2022 AND season 6 of our show!  I know I know, that's a huge bummer BUT we still have a Christmas/New Years special AND you can join our patreon at www.patreon.com/keepitweirdpodcast to get ahold of all of our BONUS episodes AND you can check out our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/keepitweirdpodcast where we have a ton of bonus material! 

Before that though it's time for a 2022 YEAR IN REVIEW where we leave no stone unturned on all the strangest, coolest, wildest, scariest, grossest things that happened this year that we haven't talked about on the show yet.

Ashley is bringing us the year's most fascinating ARCHAEOLOGICAL finds- The golden city of Luxor, The Endurance ship, Saqqara's necropolis, a brand new Egyptian Queen and even an ancient Roman fast food restaurant! 

Lauren's main drag this week is TRUE CRIME- We touch on the Idaho College murders and give updates to the Delphi murders, Gabby Petito's family, the Murdochs, Bobby Durst, Lori Vallow, and even our old friend (or foe??) Adnan Syed!

We cover some things we learned on TikTok this year and some CRAZY discoveries in the world of SCIENCE!  This episode really has it all.

You can also WATCH this episode on YouTube if you like seeing our faces and want to support our channel!

Okay, kids.  This is Ashley and Lauren signing off.  We'll see you in 2023!

Welcome to the SUNSHINE STATE, weirdos! 

Home of Mickey Mouse, gators, oranges and the infamous Florida Man!  And we have a Florida Man with us today to help show us around his home state.  WAYNE MCCARTY from Florida Men on Florida Man joins us as we take a look at some of the strangest stories we could find from the strangest state in our country.

Ashley is bringing us the story of a CANNIBAL FOG that's rumored to have roamed the state for CENTURIES and a small town near Daytona Beach that is also known as the psychic capital of the world! 

Lauren is, of course, bringing the CRIME and boy did she have a lot to pick from.  She starts off with the story of Kolby Parker who killed his grandfather... for his ears?!  And finishes our episode with a collection of hilarious Florida Men who were arrested for very silly crimes.

Wayne is bringing some tales submitted by listeners of their show that you may not hear literally anywhere else!  An urban legend of a roughed up deer that serves as a bad omen for anyone who sees it and a decade old journal of descending madness found in an abandoned cabin in the Ocala National Forest.

THIS EPISODE IS ALSO AVAILABLE IN VIDEO FORM ON YOUTUBE so please head over and check it out there!  

It's time to strap on those safety goggles again, Weirdos, because we're doing SCIENCE MAGIC again this week with more ALCHEMY!

This time around Lauren and Ashley are going back through time and highlighting some famous (and not so famous) alchemists who changed the world... for better or for worse.

Ashley brings us Mr Gravity himself Sir Isaac Newton- a secret alchemist and occultist who used this mysterious magical science in a lot of his research that helped him develop theories we STILL use today.  Along with honorable mentions Doctor Sex Magic Aleister Crowley and even, believe it or not, Joseph Smith- the founder of the LDS church.

Lauren is all about the ladies, taking it back to ancient Egypt and studying the works of Mary the Jewess and her student Cleopatra the Alchemist (not to be confused with the other Cleopatra) and how without them our skin would be awfully saggy and happy hours would be awfully boring.

Don't forget to follow us on social media @keepitweirdcast and please consider donating to our Patreon at www.patreon.com/keepitweirdpodcast to help us produce the show!

Eureka, Weirdos!

We've discovered a new obsession!  A fascinating and sometimes SEXY spiritual science called ALCHEMY!! 

This is part one of our alchemy series and like the thousands of female alchemists before us we are rushing for those test tubes.

Ashley starts us off with an introduction to alchemy.  What is it?  Where did it start?  How did it go from an attempt to turn metals into better metals to a spiritual journey of trying to turn yourself into a better person?  To live eternally?? What does sex have to do with any of it?

Lauren is teaching us all about the coveted Philosopher's Stone!  Was it a stone?  Why does everyone want it?  Has anyone ever actually found it? What does Harry Potter have to do with any of this?  

We explore the humble beginnings of The Great Work and marvel over the many, MANY amazing discoveries and inventions that we have today thanks to the pursuit of this wacky magical pasttime.

Next week in part two we are going to be discussing several KEY PLAYERS throughout the history of alchemy, their contributions and whether they achieved their Magnum Opus.

Consequences, ok?  This episode is all about consequences.

Hi Weirdos! Welcome to another HELTER SKELTER- the episodes with no theme or topic in sight.  This was SUPPOSED to be a paranormal investigation but SOMEBODY didn't show up. (The ghosts.  The ghosts didn't show up)

In our Helter Skelter episodes we each bring a handful of strange things/happenings/and goings on in the world to scream, cry and laugh about.

This week Ashley is bringing a few short clips from the paranormal investigation episode that never was, a brand new conspiracy theory and a handful of TV, Movie and documentary recommendations for fellow weird lovers.

Lauren is bringing us a story about an animal attack that actually may shed some light on a very famous true crime case and a new PSA from our lovely friends at the National Park Services.  

So sit back, relax and put your strange shoes on because we're heading out into the weird wide world! 

Happy Halloween Boils & Ghouls!

As usual we are bringing you some SPOOKY SCARY STORIES to send chills down your spine and to raise your electricity bill for all the LIGHTS you'll have to keep on!  It's time for LISTENER GHOST STORIES!! 

This week we have ghosts, djinn, alien abductions, murders, and even a mysterious phone call... from beyond??  But most importantly... this week we have Handsome Joe.  That's right for the FIRST TIME ever we are welcoming a guest into the SACRED SPACE that is Listener Ghost Stories and who better to invite in than the loud, angry, handsome personality we all know and love.

We thought it would be fun to try and creep Joey out this week and boy did we ever succeed.  He gasps, he grunts, he screams and he even kicks a woman in the face... eh you'll just have to listen to find out.

As usual LGS are best when listening through a set of HEADPHONES and WARNING: there are sound effects that may be jarring so if you are listening and driving or slicing or operating heavy machinery-- be aware.

The music in the episode is provided by Vivek Abishek, White Bat Audio and Kevin Macleod.

It's time to get comfy, cozy AND cool with some seriously DARK cults!

This week Ashley is BUSY GETTING MARRIED so Lauren is joined by a very special surprise guest-- our resident CULT expert and fashionista- you remember him best from the Queen Mary investigation- TYLER SCHUELKE! 

This week Lauren and Tyler have some VERY disturbing, creepy, crawly, sick and twisted CULTS.  Lauren brings us a somewhat well known man, with a possibly less well known cult.  Henry Lee Lucas, also known as The Confession Killer, who CLAIMED to have taken the lives of over 3,000 people was ALSO involved with a cult that... may have never existed?  It's kind of like ANTIFA.. a lot of people have stories to tell.. but theres no... actual.. proof.

And Tyler bring us the story of the Cult of the Black Jesus out of Papua New Guinea!  It never had an official name but the leader, Steven Tari, referred to himself as black Jesus.. so what else would we call it?  This monster was a Lutheran bible student who not only said he was Christ, but murdered, raped many women he kept as sex slaves, and was even accused of cannibalism before his grisly end... but I'll let Tyler give you the creepy deets.

They wrap up the episode with a really compelling conversation about the value of a show like Netflix's DAHMER but also the cringeworthy-ness of people who treat serial killers like celebrities.

Double, Double TOIL and TROUBLE!  Fire burn and cauldron bubble!

Here at Keep It Weird we are a BIG FAN of witches!  And we know that witchcraft isn't EVIL and witches don't worship the DEVIL. But sometimes... witches can be scary. Witches CAN be wicked.  And sometimes witches can even KILL.

This week we are joined by our resident green witch and curator of WITCHY WEDNESDAYS- our friend Laura Lareau!  The three of us each bring an infamous witch from history who gave brooms and black cats a bad rap.  Whether thats because the hexxed and cursed like THE BELL WITCH, held black masses like LA VOISIN or simply told a terrible tale and peed in a cake like TITUBA!

Dont forget to participate in our SOCIAL MEDIA HALLOWEEN GIVEAWAYS!! All you have to do is like and comment on our horror movie posts on Instagram and Facebook, tag us in your Spooky Season Festivities (whatever they may be!) or join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/keepitweirdpodcast!

You get points for every comment, like, tag and donation and at the end of the month we'll tally them up and you can win FREE MERCH, a SIGNED copy of The Feminine Macabre Volume 2 or even a ZOOM PARTY with Ashley and Lauren!

Happy Spooky Season Weirdos!

To kick off our favorite month we thought we'd break down all the things we LOVE about fall, the aspects of spooky season we think are OVERRATED, our favorite fall movies, some hidden gem horror you may not have seen, we answer listener questions AND we do a little Halloween Trivia!

This episode IS a video ON our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/keepitweirdpodcast. It was a blast to record, it's so nice to get some face-time with each other now that we live SO FAR away from each other! You can definitely expect more video episodes from us in the future so make sure you give this one some LOVE! 

This is definitely an episode that is begging to be WATCHED so if you CAN- watch the full episode on YouTube - there are gags you can't see and clips from all the movies we discuss. 

We hope your month is incredibly spoopy so far, we've got so many more tricks and treats to go! Follow us on social media @keepitweirdcast to participate in our HALLOWEEN GIVEAWAYS, tag us in your photos this month anytime you do something festive, and JOIN OUR PATREON for a HANDFUL of points!

Happy Haunting!

Hey Weirdos!

Wow, six years huh?  That's a long time, a lot of episodes and a TON of topics.  In those six years new information has come to light, DNA evidence has given us some answers, robots have evolved and in some cases-- scary situations got even scarier.

This week Ashley and Lauren are revisiting six stories that they shared on past episodes that have NEW information!

We get to find the identity of multiple Jane Does AND the famous Somerton Man (Taman Shud case) we check in on SOPHIA the robot to see what the heck her android ass has been up to, we hear from scientists who prove that a very famous theory in the Dytlov Pass Incident COULD be possible and we check in to see if the United States military has started taking sexual assault cases a little more seriously (Spoiler alert: they haven't.)

This episode was a lot of fun, it was really cool to revisit old stories we shared on the show and finally get some answers... and in some cases... even more questions

Join us next week as we FALL into OCTOBER 

Let's all go to the lobby, weirdos!

This week is ALL ABOUT MOVIES!! A fun Crossover episode with our podcast from another broadcast- Movies that Made Us Gay!

Movies that Made Us Gay is ALL about the films we watched growing up that contributed to who we became as adults.  So it's only appropriate that we take the time to celebrate the movies that made us WEIRD!

This week Lauren is joined by Scott and Pete as they revisit three 80's movies that in some way contributed to the strange individuals they grew into.

Pete starts us off with 1989's UHF starring Weird Al Yankovich, Scott is bringing us 1981's Roar - a film that had more problems on set than you could possibly imagine, and Lauren is taking about Parents (1989) which marked possibly the first- but definitely not the last- time that Randy Quaid scared the crap out of us.

Grab your popcorn, put on your coziest socks and pop that tape into that old dusty VHS player- it's time to get WEIRD!

Grab your bamboo sticks, weirdos!

It's time for another episode for the LADIES!  This is part two of our WOMEN IN HISTORY series where we cover stories about women that we didn't hear about in our history or social studies courses that PROBABLY should have been covered.

Joined once again by Miss Patreon herself- Amy Hanselmann- this week Lauren is starting us off with some FEMALE VIGILANTES!  It's not often that you see women taking revenge on a large scale such as this and why we had never heard of these bad bitches is beyond me.  First up is Diana the Bus Driver Hunter out of Juarez Mexico and yes you did hear that right.  Sick and tired of all of the attacks on women in her city she took it upon herself to fight back in the deadliest way and made men on public transportation think twice about putting their hands on a woman. 

And we learn about the Gulabi Gang out of Northern India; a fierce group of women wearing HOT HOT PINK saris and carrying bamboo sticks (they hurt worse than they sound, just ask Ashley) to hunt down men who have participated in domestic abuse, child marriages, and ensuring that women and children's human rights are protected and provided.

And Ashley brings us home with the incredible story of Mileva Maric, a Serbian physicist and mathematician who you've never heard of-- but you've ABSOLUTELY heard of her work.  She was the first wife, and truly the other half, of Albert Einstein. She turned in the papers.. but why was it only her husband's name written at the top? 

Guten Tag, weirdos.  Are you ready to burn your bra and kill some Nazis?

This week we are revisiting our hit series from 2020 - the SNACK PACK IS BACK as we learn about some AMAZING WOMEN from history that our history books just forgot to mention.

Ashley and Lauren are joined by Keep It Beard host AMY HANSELMANN as we discover some ladies who changed the world.  This week we're focusing on some badass bitches from WWII- Truus and Freddie Oversteegen who, for lack of a better term, seduced Nazis and traitors to their death in the Netherlands.  They joined forces with the famous "girl with the red hair" Hannie Schaft- a skilled assassin who was brutally tortured and put to death after spending years on Hitlers "most wanted" list.

And Amy brings us the story of Irena Sendler-- who saved TWICE AS MANY jews from death than Oskar Schindler, and yet, has no mainstream movie.  Irena did whatever she had to do to protect Jewish people, and especially Jewish children, from the Nazi forces- saving over 2,500.

We hope this series educates you and INSPIRES you to be a troublemaker and do what is right, even in the face of certain death.  Raise badass women who all grow up to know Hannie Schaft's last words to her executioner: "I shoot better."

Everybody get off your feet!  Cause we got the Meat!

Anyway hey kids.  We've got the meats.  Welcome to part two of our EVOLUTION series!! There's less wackos, less drugs, and no Joe.  But wait-- let me tell you why you SHOULD listen!

This week Ashley starts us off by telling us where white people came from.  Ok... rough start... Lauren teaches us about a VERY plausible theory involving our evolving diets and what it may have done to our growing brains, we discuss the ways evolution can still be seen in the human body today, and we shed some light on what we may look like in the future.... See... I told you it was good.

Tune in to find out more about how we've changed in the last few MILLION years, why it's sillier to be racist than you initially thought, and why our grannies may have saved the human species.

DISCLAIMER: ARBYS DID NOT SPONSOR THIS EPISODE.  NEITHER DID THE GOGOS.  WE JUST ENJOY GOOD MUSIC AND ROAST BEEF.

Mmmmm Pudding Bones...

It's time to EVOLVE, weirdos!  This is part ONE of our series on evolution and naturally we had to invite Mr. Anthropology minor himself HANDSOME JOE on the show to come teach us about some of the things he learned when he was hard at work NOT earning a degree in anthropology.

This week Joe starts us off discussing a major SOCIAL evolution that made us the human beings we are today.  The AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION!  I know it sounds boring... and maybe it is... but not when Joe is teaching it.  How did we go from primitive humans to the Tesla driving, avocado toast munching, kama sutra reading beings we are today?

Ashley takes over to tell us her absolute FAVORITE theory of evolution- the grooviest theory we've got-- known as the Stoned Ape theory.  Scientists are still searching for the answers to what on Earth (or beyond) enabled our species to enhance our intelligence and consciousness further than any other species on the planet?  Could it be... DRUGS?!

And Lauren finishes the episode by teaching us some other totally plausible and not at all baseless theories on evolution that unfortunately come from our religious friends known as creationists.  Stay tuned for this section if you REALLY want to hear Joe lose his cool, just make sure you turn the volume down juuuuuuuust a skosh. 

Take me to your leader..

Oof, wrong time for that wouldn't you say?  Mmmm our leaders are busy can we take you to our favorite musical artist instead?  This week we are fired up for another EXTRATERRESTRIAL EXTRAVAGANZA as we continue our discussion on ALIEN INVASIONS!! 

Only this time around we are posing the question-- what if they are already here?  What if we're so busy looking for their ships in the sky that we don't even notice they've slipped in through the back door.  Or maybe through the ocean?

Ashley kicks us off this week by teaching us about STARSEEDS! Extraterrestrial SOULS that have incarnated on earth to help with mankind's spiritual evolution.  Lauren dives deep, DEEP into the depths of the ocean to look for secret alien bases.  The girls discuss what an alien would actually LOOK like if they were already here with us.  And we finish it off on a REAL BUMMER, as Lauren shares with us what some famous scientists, physicists, and of course- psychics- have to say about when and if the aliens are coming...

We come in peace, weirdos.

We're revisiting one of our all time favorite topics this week.  This is PART ONE of another two part EXTRATERRESTRIAL EXTRAVAGANZA. 

This time we are focusing on the idea of INVASION.  We've seen it in a hundred movies, presented in a hundred different ways-- are any of them accurate?  Will they show up guns-a-blazin' turning us individually into ash?  Will they sneak in in the middle of the night? Will they come with a message of peace and gifts of technology?  Or will they slowly take over our bodies one by one and by the time any of us realize something is very wrong its far too late and everywhere we turn will be infiltrated to the point where we are completely alone and left with no friends, no options, no hope.  Jeez, got a little dark there.

Lauren starts us off by touching on different sci-fi alien tropes as we discuss our opinions on their likelihood and Ashley takes the reigns to present a real life phenomenon that presents us with EVEN MORE QUESTIONS about their intentions.  Women and men being abducted all over the world and claiming that aliens took their DNA for experiments.  What are they doing with it? Are they creating alien-human hybrids?  Why?

Join us this week AND next as we try and find out what ET had to say when he phoned home.

This fall on House Haunters!

Ashley Casseday and Lauren Ogle are taking their talents to the HOME IMPROVEMENT realm and taking their SPIRITS with them!

Wouldnt that be a great show?  Hey kids, welcome to one of your all time favorite episodes LISTENER GHOST STORIES!! 

This week Ashley and Lauren are sharing EIGHT creepy tales sent in by YOU; we've got ghosts, bogeymen, alien abductions, strange creatures and SO many haunted houses.  Where are y'all FINDING these haunted homes?!

As usual with LGS episodes, they are best enjoyed with a set of headphones so you can hear ALL the creepy little details in the sound effects and scores.  The first four stories are scored by our usual composer Vivek Abishek.  Others include Fesliyan Studios and Megan McDuffee.

Alright, lock your doors, turn out your lights and make sure your feet are tucked in to your covers... it's time to get scared.

Hey Weirdos!

Welcome to our first full YouTube episode! (Only this is the audio version.  Hit up our YouTube channel if you'd rather WATCH this episode-- it's full of photos, clips, and most importantly- our faces!) And just as a treat for those of you who DID already watch the YouTube version-- this one includes ALL the clips that got cut.

This week we are answering YOUR questions for another edition of ASK A WEIRDO!! We're sharing our favorite Halloween memories, discussing what kind of ghost we would be, decide which millionaire we would eat, share what books we are reading and we even SWITCH BODIES. We don't switch bodies but we definitely talk about what we would do if we did.

Thank you all SO MUCH for the questions you sent in.  Now be prepared to get scared; next week we have LISTENER GHOST STORIES!! 

Hello, Dark Passengers,

Welcome to PART TWO of our defendable criminals series!  We've been taking a look at people who have committed crimes that are... totally understandable??

We are joined once again by the amazin TREVIN from SERIOUSLY SINISTER as we go a *tad* darker this week with Lauren at the helm.  Lauren tells us the tale of the Alaskan Avenger! Jason Vulkovich was a very angry man and had every right to be but was he justified in multiple assaults?  Do we think he's served enough time?  Does his case set a dangerous precedent for future men and women hellbent on revenge?

Dont worry, we lighten it up a bit after that as Trevin SLIDES into our DMs and Ashley sends a selfie to the police.

Tell us what you think about our six evil-doers.  Are they justified?  Do you understand them?  Or do you disagree with us completely?

Sometimes right and wrong isn't so cut and dry...

Hey kids,

welcome to a different kind of true crime episode!  Usually when we discuss true crime we think "HOW?! HOW could someone do this?" "WHY? WHY would someone do this?!!"  This week we think... "I mean... I kind of get it"

Join Ashley, Lauren and special guest TREVIN from Seriously Sinister: A True PETTY Crime Podcast" as they look into crimes with likable criminals and totally understandable actions.

Ashley starts this two part series off with the story of Clark Olofsson, Sweden's most successful bank robber and celebrity criminal???  This hottie was sentenced and escaped jail so many times we lost count and it leaves us questioning whether someone can be SO GOOD at crime we should just let them do it.

And Trevin is bringing us our only LADY of the series-- an Australian woman named Esra Ogru- a fantastic saleswoman, accomplished scientist, and MAJOR LEAGUE Scammer! Does she deserve to work in biotech again?  Are the lives she saved more important than the money she stole?  

Find out our thoughts and much more and stay tuned for part two next week where Lauren takes us down a much darker path....

M-O-O-N, that spells WEIRDO!

Beep Beep, Weirdos, it's finally time to head into the Dead Zone and talk about Stephen King!

This week Ashley & Lauren are joined by one of the hosts of "The Losers Club: A Stephen King Podcast" - RANDALL COLBURN!

In what is essentially a love letter from us to Stephen; this week we are discussing our favorite characters, stories and movies and trying to get to the bottom of why we love him so much, what makes him such a special writer and how the hell he's got so many different stories up in that brain of his.

From The Shining to Dreamcatcher & Derry to Castle Rock we're diving into the darkness and the creativity of the "shine"iest author of all time.

Blessed be, witches!

Welcome to our first official witchcraft AMA with our resident green witch Laura Lareau!

This week we are answering a ton of questions sent in by YOU the listener on how to be a better witch.  Ashley, Lauren and Laura cover several aspects of their craft, we find out how they became witches, how they feel about calling themselves witches, and even how to hide... or flaunt... your inner witch bitch.

If you want to know how to cook a witchy meal, how to cleanse or charge your crystals, how to set up a space for magic, or one ingredient you should NEVER.. EVER... use in a spell-- this episode has an answer for you!

If you have a question about the craft, what it means to be a witch or how you can make YOURSELF a force to be reckoned with - email keepitweirdpodcast @ gmail.com with the subject line WITCHCRAFT so we can save it for our next AMA

Call in the spirits, wherever they are at!

It's finally here!  Our paranormal investigation of the LEMP MANSION in St Louis MO!

Our lovely friend, past guest and deep sea expert MELANIE VARTABEDIAN accompanied me.. who are we kidding... TOOK me to stay at this historical landmark in Benton Park to see if we could speak to any ghosts.  And believe it or not... we did.

After listening to our Lemp Family history episode "The Burden of Brew" grab a set of headphones so you can hear all the creaks, mysterious sounds, creepy laughs and bumps in the night that we captured on audio from our two night stay in the "cursed" Lemp Mansion...

Come in, come in!

Welcome to LEMP MANSION!  Built in 1868 and still standing in St Louis MO only blocks away from what remains of the LEMP BREWERY.  Both buildings are rich with history, scandal, tragedy and secrets-- and we got to stay there.

This episode is ALL about the Lemp family.  William J. Lemp and his wife Julia, along with their eight children- Billy, Louis, Frederick, Charles, Hilda, Edwin and Elsa- deserve to be remembered for who they were- flawed people who loved each other, loved to party and loved their home.

"The curse of the Lemp Mansion" is something I'd heard about my whole life- but was there any truth to it?  Was the home, family or brewery really cursed?  Or is life just freaking hard sometimes?

Take a listen to this episode to get the WHOLE SCOOP on this family as well as some of the rumors (substantiated & unsubstantiated) surrounding them before you listen to "Spirits, Spectres & Solitude": our paranormal investigation that took place inside the home.