Very Special Episodes
On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story each week. Stranger-than-fiction tales about normal people in extraordinary situations. Stories that make you say, “this should be a movie.” Follow us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.
Episodes
A bar fight and a stint on the lam transformed Samuel Clemens into Mark Twain — and changed the course of American literature. Settle in for Mark Twain's origin story.
*
Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, Jason English
Written by Zaron Burnett
Produced by Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design: Jonathan Washington and Josh Fisher
Mixing and Mastering: Baheed Frazier
Story Editor: Marisa Brown
Research and Fa...
The 1904 St. Louis Olympics featured the strangest sporting event in history. During the marathon, runners paused for naps, got chased by dogs, went apple picking, and doped with rat poison — all while being unwitting participants in a cruel scientific experiment.
*
Thanks for listening! Our next episode comes out Wednesday, June 26th.
*
Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, Jason English
Written by Lucas Reilly
Produced by...
Mykal Riley’s name isn’t mentioned alongside the likes of Steph Curry or Larry Bird. But neither of those guys can say they hit a three-pointer that literally saved thousands of lives.
*
VERY SPECIAL CREDITS
Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, Jason English
Written by Dave Roos
Produced by Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Original Music by Elise McCoy...
Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy was a French countess with a dubious claim to nobility and one brilliant idea: she was going to steal a diamond necklace from Louis XVI. After weaseling her way into court, Jeanne impersonates Marie Antoinette in a series of letters, starts a tabloid scandal, and inadvertently lights the fuse of the French Revolution.
*
On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story each week. ...
This week, we present a smattering of stories you might have missed. If you've inhaled all these, email us — veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com — and we'll recommend something else worth your time.
Operation Lunar Eclipse
Apple • Spotify • iHeart
Boat Trip
Apple • Spotify • iHeart
The Pledge
Apple • Spotify • iHeart
Old Man on Campus
Apple • Spotify • iHeart
Seed Wars
Apple • Spotify • iHeart
We're back with a new episode...
Martha's Vineyard once was a place you could gossip with neighbors, shop for supplies, or play a cutthroat game of cards — all without saying a word. That's because it had a thriving Deaf community. Residents, Deaf and hearing alike, communicated with a unique version of sign language that predates ASL. But it's mostly forgotten today.
Today we dig into Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language (MVSL) and the folks who are working to keep i...
Right now thousands of people are on a mathematical treasure hunt from the comfort of their home offices. Our own Zaron Burnett is one of them. Here's how you can join him — and compete for $50,000.
*
On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story each week. Follow us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.
Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, Jason English
Written by Lucas Reilly
Produced ...
In the 1870s, Palisade, NV was the meanest little town west of the Mississippi. Every week, newspapers announced another gunpowder-fueled cowboy showdown. Palisade put the wild in the “Wild West.”
But there was a lot more to the story that didn’t make the papers.
*
Very Special Episodes is a podcast with a simple premise: we tell one incredible story each week. Follow us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.
In the summer of 2016, the entire world was going crazy for a new mobile game. All these years later, it’s easy to forget the wildest part about Pokémon GO: the whole thing began as an April Fools’ joke.
*
Very Special Episodes is a new podcast where we tell one incredible story each week. Episodes usually go up on Wednesdays. We made an exception for April Fools' Day.
Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, Jason English
Writte...
A Superman fan in Illinois is horrified to discover his entire stockpile of memorabilia has gone missing. As police search for the thief, the collecting community delivers their own brand of justice.
*
Very Special Episodes is a new podcast with a simple premise: we tell one incredible story each week. Follow us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.
Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, Jason English
Written by Jake Ro...
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the main event. The greatest botany rivalry in history! It's Vavilov vs. Lysenko for the fate of the Soviet Union.
In the 1920s and '30s, Nikolai Vavilov was a big deal. He was studying seed genetics and learning how to prevent famines. Everyone wanted to work with him. Including a young kid named Trofim Lysenko.
Lysenko studied with Vavilov. They were friends. But years later, Lysenko turned on ...
Very Special Episodes is a new podcast hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English. Follow us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.
In 2011, after many delays, one of the most anticipated musicals in theater history finally opened on Broadway. The show was Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. The powerhouse creative team included an up-and-coming playwright, a MacArthur Genius, and Bono. But its downfall would be lo...
The biggest Nancy Drew mystery isn’t hidden in the plots of the books. It’s right there on the cover. If “Carolyn Keene” is a pseudonym, who really wrote the series? For 50 years, two women laid claim to that title. And in 1980, with help from an amateur detective, the truth came out in court.
*
Very Special Episodes is a new podcast where we tell one incredible story each week. Follow us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesda...
With help from "Leap Day Lady" Raenell Dawn, Dana Schwartz makes the case for making Leap Day a national holiday.
*
Very Special Episodes is a new podcast where we tell one incredible story each week. We're back with a full episode next Wednesday.
Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, Jason English
Written by Dave Roos
Produced by Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Josh Thane
Research and Fact-Checking by Austi...
In today's Episode, Dana, Zaron and Jason tackle a 130-year-old mystery. Although American schoolchildren still recite The Pledge every morning in nearly every classroom, we still aren't sure who actually wrote it. And all these years later, the long-accepted story is showing some cracks.
*
Very Special Episodes is a new podcast where we tell one incredible story each week. Follow us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.
After a middle-aged manual laborer goes back to school to turn his life around, he’s reborn as a college football standout. But as midlife crises go, this one is going to hurt.
(Portions of today's episode were recorded on Radio Row in Las Vegas before Super Bowl 58.)
*
Very Special Episodes is a new podcast where we tell one incredible story each week. Follow us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.
When a teenage astronomy fan is gifted a piece of the moon by NASA, he’s inadvertently pulled into the seedy underground moonrock trade. But don’t worry. With help from H. Ross Perot, NASA secret agents are on the case.
*
Very Special Episodes is a new podcast where we tell one incredible story every week. Stranger-than-fiction tales about normal people in extraordinary situations. Stories that make you say, “this should be a movie...
On the last day of filming in Nova Scotia, someone poisoned the cast and crew of James Cameron’s Titanic with PCP. Bedlam ensued on a tight-knit set. Everyone became a suspect. Almost three decades later, we unravel a ‘90s Hollywood mystery.
*
Very Special Episodes is a new podcast where we tell one incredible story every week. Stranger-than-fiction tales about normal people in extraordinary situations. Stories that make you say, “...
Welcome to Very Special Episodes, an anthology of outrageous stories pulled from history and pop culture. Each immersive tale feels like a movie. Very Special Episodes will have you telling your friends and co-workers, "I just heard the craziest story on a podcast."
Follow Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett and Jason English down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Popular Podcasts
The Podium: An NBC Olympic and Paralympic podcast. Join us for insider coverage during the intense competition at the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. In the run-up to the Opening Ceremony, we’ll bring you deep into the stories and events that have you know and those you'll be hard-pressed to forget.
In The Village will take you into the most exclusive areas of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games to explore the daily life of athletes, complete with all the funny, mundane and unexpected things you learn off the field of play. Join Elizabeth Beisel as she sits down with Olympians each day in Paris.
Listen to the latest news from the 2024 Olympics.
The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are here and have everyone talking. iHeartPodcasts is buzzing with content in honor of the 33rd Olympic Games and you can follow Paris Summer Games to stay up to date on all things Olympics. We’re bringing you episodes from a variety of iHeartPodcast shows to help you keep up with the action. Follow Paris Summer Games so you don’t miss any coverage of the 2024 Olympic Games, and if you like what you hear, be sure to follow each Podcast in the feed for more great content from iHeartPodcasts.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.