How did a 7-ton statue of Vladimir Lenin—a symbol of Soviet communism—end up in Seattle’s artsy, free-spirited Fremont neighborhood? In this listener-requested episode, Shea and Jody uncover the bizarre journey of Fremont’s Lenin statue, from a scrapyard in post-Communist Europe to its quirky life as a holiday-themed, drag-clad Seattle oddity.
They dive into the statue's Cold War origins, the eccentric American who brought it to the U.S., and the ongoing debate: Is it art, satire, or an accidental shrine to tyranny? Expect laughter, social commentary, wild hypotheticals, and a heartfelt nod to Fremont’s fading weirdness.
📍 Chapters
00:00 – Welcome to Summer Silly Season
02:15 – Listener Request from Brian of Spirits and Monsters of Old Seattle
03:20 – Who Sculpted Lenin (and Why It Took 10 Years)
06:05 – From Poprad to the Scrapyard: Lenin's Fall
09:25 – Enter Lou Carpenter: The English Teacher Who Bought Lenin
13:55 – Issaquah Says “Nope”
15:10 – A Tragic Car Crash and a Statue with No Home
18:40 – Fremont to the Rescue
21:10 – Yes, It’s Still For Sale (for $300,000!)
23:30 – Dressing Lenin: From Jack-o’-Lanterns to Drag
26:45 – Art or Offense? Slavic Americans Weigh In
29:15 – When the Mayor Got Involved
32:40 – Can You Mock History Without Glorifying It?
35:00 – Final Thoughts: Quirky Art, Political Satire, or Both?
37:00 – Patreon Shoutouts, Sexy Bigfoot, and Thank Yous
🔗 Links
🌐 Website: www.rainydayarabbitholes.com
💰 Support the show: www.rainydayarabbitholes.com/support
🎧 Bonus Content & Merch: Patreon
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!