Timesuck with Dan Cummins
Episodes
351 - Pizza Bomber: The Mysterious Death of Brian Wells
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On August 28, 2003, a 46 year-old pizza delivery man named Brian Douglas Wells robbed a PNC Bank near his hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania, with a bomb ...
350 - The Hillside Stranglers
29 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Between October 1977 and February 1978, with a nickname originating from the fact that many of the victims' bodies were discovered in the hills surrou...
349 - The 1928 Banana Massacre
22 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know that American banana corporations turned almost all of Central America into US satellite states in the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
348 - The Fountain Cult
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We've covered a lot Los Angeles area cults from the 1960s and 70s, but as it turns out, there were cults in LA long before that. Lots and lots of cult...
347 - The Lonely Hearts Killers
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the late 1940s, troubled lovers Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck, ran a scam using dating services commonly known as Lonely Hearts Clubs to con an...
346 - The 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens
01 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On May 18, 1980, at 8:32 AM local time, a major explosive eruption took place at a volcano in southwest Washington State. After months of earthquakes ...
345 - The Prospect Killer: Terry Blair
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Terry Blair. The Prospect Killer. Before he became a serial killer in the Prospect Avenue neighborhood of Kansas City in 2004, his mother, brother, an...
344 - Bible Belt Strangler/Redhead Murders
17 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today we look into a series of murders, mostly occurring in the mid-1980s, in the southeastern US. The bodies of unidentified women kept being found a...
343 - The Irish Mob
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today we dig into the origins and the history of America's Irish Mob. We begin centuries ago in Ireland, when a series of oppressive, discriminatory...
342 - The Kirtland Cult Killings and Jeffrey Lundgren: 2 of 2
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The conclusion of the the craziest cult story I had never heard of. This week, things, incredibly, get even weirder and darker than last week. More ...
341 - The Kirtland Cult Killings and Jeffrey Lundgren: 1 of 2
27 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The craziest cult story I had never heard of. Jeffrey Lundgren was a cult leader and a mass leader before being caught, imprisoned, and executed. What...
340 - The Skull and Bones aka The Brotherhood of Death
20 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Skull and Bones has been shrouded in mystery ever since it was founded nearly two centuries ago now, back in 1832. All members take an oath promising ...
339 - The Death Angels
13 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Zebra Murders were a series of racially motivated attacks and murders committed in San Francisco, California, by some so-called "Death Angels." Fr...
338 - Three Mile Island Nuclear Disaster
06 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Early in the morning of March 28th, 1979, equipment failures and a stuck open relief valve prevented the removal of heat from Pennsylvania's Three Mil...
337 - Heist! The $600 Million Gardner Museum Robbery
27 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On March 18th, 1990 two men disguised as Boston police officers entered the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and overpowered the two security guards on...
336 - The Night Witches
20 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On October 8th, 1941, with Stalingrad surrounded, Leningrad besieged, and the Nazis making new gains on Russian territory every day, Joseph Stalin ord...
335 - Leopold and Loeb: The Perfect Murder
13 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What is the the Perfect Murder? It's what two affluent and academically brilliant young Chicagoans, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, wanted to pull ...
334 - The Tiananmen Square Massacre and Protests
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, China in 1989 is one of the most important, noteworthy tragedies in modern Chinese history. It was the big...
333 - The Sullivanians: Therapy Sex Cult
30 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1960s, a strange new cult emerged in Manhattan's Upper West Side out of the Sullivan Institute. A cult created by shady "therapist" Saul Newton...
332 - Patrick Kearney: The Trash Bag Killer
23 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we investigate the life and crimes of one of the Freeway Killers. Patrick Kearney, the Trash Bag Killer, was convicted for 21 murders, confe...
331 - Julius Caesar: Roman Daddy Dictator
16 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today we dig into the life of Julius Caesar and the final days of the Roman Republic. How was Caesar and what was Rome when he lived there? How did he...
330 - Amanda Knox and the Murder of Meredith Kercher
09 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What do you think you know about Amanda Knox? Do you think she was a sex-crazed party girl who got away with the murder of Meredith Kercher in Italy i...
329 - Dungeons and Dragons: Satanic Tool or Harmless Game?
02 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today we dig into the history of Dungeons and Dragons and look at what influences Gary Gygax and others drew from to create such an immersive and addi...
328 - The Inspiration of Helen Keller and the 2022 Bad Magic Year End Wrap
26 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We take a look this week at the incredibly inspirational life of Helen Keller. She accomplished SO much despite completely losing her sight and abilit...
327 - Josef Mengele: Nazi Angel of Death (Happy Holidays)
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Josef Mengele was a great guy! Just very misunderstood. Wait, no. I'm thinking of someone else. Josef Mengele was a MONSTER. His complete and total la...
326 - Herb Baumeister: Serial Killing Leads to a Haunting?
12 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Herb Baumeister was VERY likely the I-70 Strangler, killing a suspected nine boys and men between 1980 and 1990. And then, over the next six years, he...
325 - IHOPKC: Cult or Cult Incubator?
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Evangelical End Times pastor Mike Bickle founded the International House of Prayer in 1999, later renamed IHOPKC, in Kansas City after saying God had ...
324 - The Mouse Utopia Experiments
28 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Strange and thought provoking episode today! In the 1940s, 50s, and early 60s, animal behavior researcher John B Calhoun ran a number of experiments o...
323 - Devastation in Asia: WW2 (Part 2 of 2)
21 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Pacific War may have been even more brutal than the War in Europe. Imperial Japan had a ferocious fighting force, they despised their enemies unli...
322 - Europe’s Darkest Hour: WW2 (Part 1 of 2)
14 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Another whopper of a topic that could not be more action packed. WW2. Going over the war in Europe today - as much as we can in roughly three hours. T...
321 - Blood on the Reservation: MMIW
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
So much to go over in under three hours! Why are indigenous women on reservations in the US being killed at a rate ten times the national average? Why...
320 - Cannibal Cop
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On October 25, 2012, NYPD Office Gilberto Valle was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping after his estranged wife Kathleen had tu...
319 - The Bloody Harpes
24 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How much do you know about America's first documented serial killers, The Bloody Harpes? Micajah and Wiley Harpe went on a crazy murder spree out on t...
318 - Bloods and Crips - America's Deadliest Gang Rivalry
17 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today we cover the formation of the infamous Bloods and Crips gang rivalry. How did it get started? Why did it begin in South Central Los Angeles in t...
317 - The Casanova Killer: Paul John Knowles
10 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For four months in 1974, 28 year old Paul John Knowles went on a reckless murder spree across the United States that claimed the lives of at least 18 ...
316 - Bayer AG: The Most EVIL Corporation in the World?
03 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Is Bayer AG really EVIL? Or have they, like a lot of companies done both really good things - like marketing aspirin and other valuable medicine aroun...
315 - The MRTCG: One of the World's Deadliest Doomsday Cults
26 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The name The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God might not sound familiar, but in the world of cults, it should be. Only one c...
314 - George Motherf*cking Carlin: Best To Ever Do It
19 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Get ready to meet one of my comedy heroes, but only if you can handle a LOT of profanity. George Carlin, following the path of his mentor, Lenny Bruce...
313 - The Bayou Strangler - Serial Killer Ronald Dominique
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ronald Dominique confessed to raping and murdering 23 boys and men between the ages of 16 and 46 between 1997 and 2006 across six Louisiana parishes. ...
312 - The Catholic Church's Long History of Sex Scandals
05 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Emotional episode today! At least for me. We examine the Catholic Church's long history of sex scandals, including extremely troublesome recent cove...
311 - The Murder of Dee Dee Blanchard: Did She Have It Coming?
29 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In June of 2015, 48-year-old Dee Dee Blanchard was murdered in cold blood. Her murderer snuck into her bedroom at night and stabbed her in her sleep.....
310 - The Many Lives of Clark Rockefeller
22 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Long before German con artist Anna Sorokin aka Anna Delvey captured America's attention thanks to the popular Netflix series, Inventing Anna, another ...
309 - The Scorecard Killer: Randy Kraft
15 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Randy Kraft might just be the most brutal and prolific serial killer you've never heard of. Convicted of sixteen murders, prosecutors felt they had ...
308 - Black Lords, Power Crystals, and Suicides - The Cult of Conscious Development
08 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The story of this little known cult is WILD. Was the cult leader, Terri Hoffman, capable of some kind of actual mind control? It honestly feels possib...
307 - Crikey! The Croc Hunter Steve Irwin
01 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Steve Irwin, better known as the Crocodile Hunter, was a wildlife enthusiast and conservationist, owner of the Australia zoo, and a TV icon loved all ...
306 - The Sex Slave Murders: Gerald and Charlene Gallegos
25 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As a couple, Gerald and Charlene Gallego turned their dark sexual desires into a murderous rampage that left at least ten young people dead in Calif...
305 - Edward Snowden: Hero, Traitor, or Both?
18 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Off and on from 2006 to 2012, Snowden had worked as a CIA analyst, a subcontractor for the NSA, and several other positions that gave him access to cl...
304 - Super Predator Peter Nygard and an interview with Chris Hansen
11 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Rare interview on the Suck today! Chris Hansen from To Catch a Predator, and his new podcast Predators I've Caught with Chris Hansen. I ask him about ...
303 - Mysterious Disappearances...
04 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
So many of us have thought about disappearing and starting a new life somewhere else. It's a common psychological phenomenon. When life feels too over...
302 - Alive! The 1972 Andes Flight Disaster
27 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1972, the 45 passengers and crew of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 faced extreme weather, avalanches, a variety of injuries, sickness, sun blindnes...
301 - The DC Sniper Attacks: A Cult of Two
20 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In October of 2002, the DC Snipers terrorized residents of Washington DC, Virginia, and Maryland for three weeks. During that time, people lived in co...
300 - Bass Reeves on Acid: Trippin’ in the Wild West
13 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
LSD is a powerful, mind-bending drug. Only a crazy person would try and tell a coherent and compelling two-hour-plus historical narrative while frying...
299 - The Ripper Crew: Chicago's Satanic Serial Killers
06 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Brace yourself for this one. If you can't handle graphic depictions of sexual abuse directed in the most obscene and ridiculous ways towards breasts, ...
298 - Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh: The Cult Leader Who Built a City in Oregon
30 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. Such a good example of that with this week's episode. In 2018, I watched a fascinating docuseries on Net...
297 - The Holocaust 2 of 2: Fallout, Atonement, and Denial
23 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Apologies for my weak voice today! Remnant of a second bout with Covid. Had to drink several cups of hot tea and honey, and take numerous breaks to at...
296 - The Holocaust 1 of 2: Build Up and Atrocities
16 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As early as 1933, Hitler and the Nazis - the National Socialist German Worker’s Party - began passing a series of discriminatory laws against Jews—...
295 - The Dating Game Killer
09 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Rodney Alcala - the Dating Game Killer. Not as well known, but just as vicious as any other killer we've ever covered here. Between 1968 and 1979, R...
294 - Vladimir Putin
02 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Vladimir Putin. Who is the former KGB officer who has led Russia since 2000? Is he a friend of a foe of the West? Was he legitimately elected to offic...
293 - Jeffrey Epstein Suicide Conspiracies: Part 2 of 2
25 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After laying out so much of what we know about Epstein last week, this week we get more speculative and we examine multiple conspiracies regarding Eps...
292 - Jeffrey Epstein Suicide Conspiracies: Part 1 of 2
18 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We know that Jeffrey Epstein was born on January 20th, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York City. We also know he died on August 10th, 2019 (or late the evening...
291 - The CIA, Smuggling Drugs, and Fighting Communism: The Story of Air America
11 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Fascinating stuff today! I knew almost nothing about Air America - the CIA's secret airline - before this week's research. Today, we go over the his...
290 - Amish Killer Edward Gingerich
04 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Long before he brutally murdered his wife Katie - crushing her head and disemboweling her on March 18th, 1993 - Ed was really struggling with his me...
289 - Robert Yates: Serial Killing "Family Man"
28 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Robert Lee Yates often described himself as a "family man." And he was a family man. He was a married father of five. Married to the mother of his chi...
288 - Doctor Death: Jack Kevorkian and the Right to Die Debate
21 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Death! How comfortable are you thinking about it? Talking about? What rights should be afforded to you when it's your time to "meet your maker?" Jac...
287 - Raëlism: UFO Sex Cult?
14 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know that Jesus was half-alien? And so was Buddha? And Muhammed, Joseph Smith, Moses, Abraham, and many other proclaimed prophets throughout...
286 - Betty White: Much More Than a Golden Girl
07 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On December 31st, 2021, Hollywood legend and literally the most well-liked living person in America at one point, Betty White, passed away in her home...
285 - The 2017 Las Vegas Shooting and Conspiracies Surrounding It
28 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On the night of October 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock opened fire on a crowd attending the final night of the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival on La...
284 - The Amish Life: Quaint or Terrible?
21 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A lot to unpack today! Who are the Amish? Why do they dress and live like it's still the 17th century? How are they related to Mennonites? What interp...
283 - A Descent Into Madness: The 1980 New Mexico Prison Riot
14 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
At 1:40AM on February 2nd, 1980, a group of inmates at the New Mexico State Penitentiary attacked three guards doing their nightly count. What followe...
282 - Attila the Hun: Evil or Slandered?
07 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Attila the Hun! Does his name conjure up images of savagery in your mind? Of a bloodthirsty warrior-king who ruthlessly tortured and killed his enemie...
281 - Arthur Shawcross: The Genesee River Killer
31 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Arthur Shawcross was born on June 6th, 1945 in Kittery, Maine and he would grow up to terrorize the people of Watertown and Rochester, both in New Yor...
280 - The Murder of Laci Peterson - Who Really Killed Her?
24 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Did Scott Peterson REALLY kill Laci Peterson? Did you know that zero direct evidence tied him to these crimes? And a lot of the circumstantial evidenc...
279 - Celtic Mythology
17 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Get ready for a brain buster. Or at least prepare to witness my brain being busted. Celtic mythology is... tricky to understand. And no one understand...
278 - Sex, Silverware, and Immortality: The Oneida Community Cult
10 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know that if lots of people have lots of unprotected sex and the men never ejaculate you can help Jesus create his kingdom on Earth? No? W...
277 - Prostitution: The History and Morality of Sex Work
03 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What, EXACTLY, is “prostitution”? How is it defined? Are prostitute and sex worker interchangeable terms? Why are most prostitutes women? Why are ...
276 - Robert MF'n Smalls and Year End Recap
27 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Robert Smalls! He was born a slave in Beaufort, South Carolina in 1839. Then he'd pull off a daring sea-faring escape to the Union during the Civil ...
275 - Appalachian Cryptids
20 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Flatwoods Monster. The Whirling Whimpus. Devil Dogs and Sheepsquatch. The Virginia Moonshine Man-Possum, GreenBrier Skink-Skank, the Tiddle-Whis...
274 - The Ken and Barbie Killers
13 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In early 1992, young married couple Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka seemed to have a lot going for them. They'd just gotten married, Paul was making g...
273 - The Hells Angels
06 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know that Hunter S Thompson of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas fame was one of the first people to bring national attention to the Hells Angels...
272 - The Opioid Epidemic
29 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Covering a lot of ground today! Going over the history of human opioid usage - the opium poppy is one helluva plant. What different types of opiates a...
271 - The Menendez Brothers: Parent Killing Sociopaths? Victims? Both?
22 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I had a lot of fun on this one taking a nostalgic look at US culture in 1989 and 1993. Also found the story of Lyle and Erik Menendez incredibly inter...
270: Boone Helm the Kentucky Cannibal: One the Wild West's Wildest Outlaws
15 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Levi Boone Helm. The Kentucky Cannibal. Born in 1828 in Kentucky, and hanged in Montana Territory in 1864, this guy was mayhem on legs. He spent nearl...
269 - Japan's Deadliest Doomsday Cult: Aum Shinrikyo
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Aum Shinrikyo was a Japanese doomsday cult led by psychotic madman Shoko Asahara, a man who claimed to be Jesus who was nicknamed the Japanese Charle...
268 - The Dark History of Nursery Rhymes
01 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Who put the rock-a-bye-baby up in the tree branch, and why? Seems irresponsible. When it was raining and pouring, why didn't the old man get out of be...
267 - Doctor Satan: The Insane Story of Serial Killer Marcel Petiot
25 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Halloween! This episode feels appropriately dark enough for Halloween week. French serial killer Marcel Petiot was an evil genius. A master mani...
266 - The Oregon Trail
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Oregon Trail was 2,100 plus mile journey from Independence, Missouri all the way to Oregon City, Oregon. And along this trail and its offshoots, b...
265 - The Dolphin Point Experiment: LSD, Aliens, NASA, and Dolphin Sex
11 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Oh boy. This is an especially weird one. Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction. In the summer of 1965, John C. Lilly, a medic and neuroscien...
264 - Alcatraz: Prison Escapes, Infamous Inmates, and More
04 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today we head to The Rock, America's Devil Island - Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. So much prison-related info and history to go over today! I'll shar...
263 - The Freeway Killer William Bonin and His Death Van
27 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
William Bonin is a little known serial killer who died via lethal injection in 1996 in San Quentin, after sitting on California's death row for over a...
262 - The Jehovah's Witnesses: Doomsday Cult
20 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I'm guessing you know of the Jehovah's Witnesses. You've heard of them. Maybe you've noticed their "Kingdom Halls." Maybe they've knocked on your door...
261 - The Grim Sleeper Serial Killer and the Southside Slayer murders
13 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lonnie David Franklin Jr. was but one of the numerous prolific serial killers preying on sex workers in South Central Los Angeles in the 1980s. And th...
260 - Robin Williams: A Wonderful Mind's Rise and Fall
06 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Robin Williams knew how to make people feel deeply. He could give you a belly laugh - or a cathartic cry. He knew how to entertain you in a way that o...
259 - Lady Diana: The People's Princess's Life, Death, and Conspiracies
30 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Let's get royal, Meatsacks! Born a minor aristocrat, Diana Spencer grew up to become one of the most famous people of all time. For years, she was the...
258 - Celebrity Cloning Conspiracies
23 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Oh boy. Did you know that some people think that Avril Lavigne, Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Eminem, some guy named Donald Marshall, and many other celeb...
257 - The Dexter Killer Mark Twitchell
16 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mark Twitchell really wanted to become a serial killer. In 2008, after discovering the Showtime series, Dexter, it had become his latest obsession. Th...
256 - Cult! Cult! Cult! The Aggressive Christianity Mission Training Corps
09 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A very recent Christian militant cult, the Aggressive Christianity Mission Training Corps was founded in the late 1970s by married couple Lila and Jim...
255 - Ancient Aliens and Ancient Sumerians
02 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lot to unpack in this one! Today we are blending history, aliens, and conspiracy. We'll be talking about the Ancient Sumerians - quite possibly the wo...
254 - Jodi Arias and the Murder of Travis Alexander
26 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Remember Jodi Arias? Remember why her trial back in 2013 captivated so many and made so many headlines? I'd forgotten. But I sure remember now. Most ...
253 - Hammer Happy Serial Killer Peter Kürten, the "Vampire of Dusseldorf"
19 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This guy. Killing mainly in 1929 when he was 46, the final year of his freedom, Peter Kürten would be charged with nine brutal murders and seven atte...
252 - Aliens, Sexual Abuse, Disco, Racism, and ... Egyptians? The Nuwaubian Nation of Moors Cult
12 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
So much WTF!?! coming at you today. Wow. Dwight York is a maniac. And a terrible writer. And only a good disco/r&b vocalist if you compare him to othe...