Ripley Radio

Following five years and 200 original shows, the Ripley Radio Oddcast is ceasing production, with this star-studded episode. The archive of all 200 shows will remain available on www.ripleyoddcast.com. Executive producer and co-host Tim O’Brien says the show is going out on top, with listenership and downloads topping 900,000 annually. In this week’s grand finale, hosts Ralf with an F, Tim, Ripley archivists Edward Meyer and Angela Johnson are joined by long-time correspondents Chad Lewis, Jodi Pliszka, Florida TV reporter Scott Fais, Ripley’s cartoonist John Graziano, and the executive editor of Huffington Post’s Crime and Weird News coverage Buck Wolf. It’s a truly raucous close to five years of weirdness. A few of the weird things this illustrious weird news dream team chats about on the August 11 episode of Ripley Radio include: Ralf finds Aladdin, an entire town, for sale in Wyoming for only $1.5 million; we hear of a swarm of Mayflies that was so dense that it showed up on weather radar as a

The Museum of Morbid Anatomy in Brooklyn, N.Y., was the sight of a book launch party for Ward Hall – King of the Sideshow!, a biography written by Ripley’s Tim O’Brien. The party was thrown by Huffington Post’s executive editor, Buck Wolf, who joins us this week on Ripley Radio and tells us why he and his staff wanted to host this big sideshow party. Additional Weird and Wonderful stories on the August 4 edition of Ripley Radio: A man known as the Big Tomato talks with Ralf about his efforts to save a 185-foot tall ketchup bottle; Chad Lewis acquaints us with some funky roadside motels, including one in the shape of a huge dog; Jodi Pliszka reports that leaving contact lenses in for too long can cause bacteria that will eat your cornea and cause blindness; Ripley’s official illustrator, John Graziano gives us a glimpse of some of the cartoons that will appear in September newspapers across the world; and “Florida on a Tankful” TV reporter Scott Fais takes us to a small community where hundreds of freaks

The largest boulder in the world is seven stories tall and lies within the Mojave Desert. Over the years, people from all over, including a few from Venus have visited what is now called Giant Rock. Barbara Harris is a local historian who knows more about that hunk of granite than anyone. She talks with Tim this week on Ripley Radio, the official radio program of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and explains why aliens love this place. Over in Arizona, there’s a bookstore owner who works in the nude, except for a well-placed sock. Chad Lewis takes us road trippin’ to the store and then to a 27-foot statue that celebrates hoboes. Additional weird and wacky stories on the July 28 episode of Ripley Radio include: Author Jacopa della Quercia visits and explains the weird, strange and steam punk plot of his new historical novel, The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy; Ralf tells us about a 90 year old man in England who was fined $8.000 for an overdue library book, which he checked out 61 years ago; Ch

Where do UFO aficionados go for vacation? This year, a record number of them will be heading to Joshua Tree, Calif., to attend the second Contact in the Desert conference which is promoting a stellar lineup of speakers and events. Barbara Harris, one of the featured speakers, visits with Tim this week and tells us all about the much-anticipated confab. Tim also talks with author Denise Alvarado about her new book, The Voodoo Doll Spellbook, and learns a little about the Voodoo culture and that all Voodoo spells are not necessarily bad. Additional wonderfully weird, wacky and unbelievable stories you’ll hear on the July 21 episode of Ripley Radio include: Angela provides an update and some very strange facts about Google’s quest to develop a driverless car; Ralf explains how a man was able to drive half-way across the country before realizing that the elderly lady sitting in the passenger’s seat was dead; Chad Lewis takes us roadtrippin’ to Wisconsin where we meet Chatty Belle, a dairy cow behemoth; and hig

It’s hard to imagine a high-ranking dart thrower with no fingers. Add to that the fact that he has only one good eye and it becomes totally unbelievable! Canadian dart master Wayne Chapman joins us this week and talks about his incredible skills. We go road trippin’ with Chad Lewis to Oregon this week on Ripley Radio, the official program of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, and we learn of a unique trap created to capture bigfoot, and then we stop off at Bigfoot Tavern for a sandwich and a beer. Additional incredible, strange and weird stories on the July 14 episode of Ripley Radio include: Toad Detour, a program near Philadelphia in which the city and the neighbors cooperate to close down the highway for certain hours during the year, to allow toads to cross from a forest to a reservoir for mating purposes, and then six weeks later when all the little toads come hoping back across the road to get to the forest. The lady in charge explains the hows and whys of this intriguing story; Angela reports that a new st

Ripley Radio, the official radio program of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! has gone to the dogs, because dogs, in their own cute way can be quite strange at time. This week, we’ll hear of an accident in which a Chihuahua was driving one of the cars. We’ll also hear about Sally, a small dog from Fort Lauderdale who fell 15 stories down a shaft and walked away with only minor cuts and bruises. But boy, was she upset reports Dr. Spencer Ratnoff, the vet who treated her. Additional weird and wacky stories on the July 7 episode of Ripley Radio include: There’s an ultimate Elvis Presley fan that has turned his home into a private museum in honor of the rock and roll king. Graceland Too, with no official affiliation with the real Graceland in Memphis, is open to the public. Chad Lewis says all you need to do is knock on the door anytime and the owner will be glad to give you a tour; do you use Instagram? If you do and you are in London, you can post a food photo and get a free meal. Angela tells us all about it and a

Bears of all kind have been making headlines this summer but the latest weird bear story from New Hampshire may be the best yet. It seems a bear broke into a parked car and stole the car stereo. This week on Ripley Radio, we talk with Sargent George Walker, the trooper who investigated the crime. Whiskey flavored bacon coming from whiskey flavored pigs? Believe It or Not! it could happen. We’ll have a chat with Scott Bush, the president of the Templeton Rye Distillery and he’ll tell us about his plans. Additional Weird and Wacky Stories on the June 20 Episode of Ripley Radio, the official radio show of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, include: In honor of July 4, Angela takes a look at some very unusual facts, myths, and stories about our National Holiday; Ralf tells us what city in the world has people taking the most selfies; we hear about the bizarre charges connected with what could be the largest law suit in the history of mankind; and Chad Lewis takes us road trippin’ to Indiana where we visit some very s

You can’t tie up your alligator to a fire hydrant after 9 p.m. in Detroit, and you are not allowed to honk your car horn in front of a sandwich shop after 9 p.m. in this Southwestern US city. Weird laws are still on the books, and often enforced. We’ll be talking about these and other bizarre laws on this week’s Ripley Radio, the official radio show of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Allowing bed bugs to craw over your arm and randomly bite you is the latest craze in strange tattooing methods. We talk with Mat Camper, who says those who volunteer for the free “tattooing” are actually helping advance science. Believe It or Not! Additional Bizarre, Strange and Wonderful Topics discussed on the June 23 Episode of Ripley Radio: We hear about a policeman who was attacked by a falling oak tree during a routine traffic stop and it was all caught on video. Chad Lewis takes us to Oklahoma on his weekly road trip where we stay at an RV park that also features a drive-in movie theater on the premises and then we take a

Among the greatest conspiracies that you may not know about is the Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy. That’s also the name of a new book. It’s author, Jacopo della Quercia joins us this week on Ripley Radio, the official radio show of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and tells us his story is based on true historical facts, but that he added some very quirky fictional twists. We also hear about a church whose pastor moved its Sunday services to a strip club in town because he wanted to better reach the underserved Christians in the area. Additional weird, strange and unusual stories you’ll hear on the June 9 episode of Ripley Radio: Chad Lewis takes us road trippin’ to Kansas where we visit the home of the original piggy bank; we talk with a lady who found $40,000 of cash in a used sofa she bought at a Salvation Army Thrift Shop and find out whether she returned it or kept it and why she made that decision; Angela looks at some of the amazing inventions that young kids have made over the years; and

A bear with a jar stuck on his head in the Canadian city of Sudbury was rescued by officials after it blindly walked into a police cruiser! Was it the REAL Winnie the Pooh? This week on Ripley Radio, the official radio show of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, talks with a constable who helped the young bear. The overwhelming fear of needles and blood is discussed this week by Sara Latta in the third installment in her series on strange and weird phobias. Additional bizarre, weird but totally true stories discussed on the May 26 episode of Ripley Radio include: Ralf talks with a TV reporter who uncovered a heroin selling ring taking place from the intensive care ward of the local hospital; Chad Lewis takes us road trippin’ again this week to Colorado where one can watch a drive-in movie from their motel room and where one can climb the steps of an official alien-watching platform where they can be amongst the first to spot a spacecraft speeding toward Earth; Angela reports on a new study that shows that latheri

Fire officials in Waterville, Maine were confronted with a blazing fire in a truck in the Wal-Mart parking lot and upon arrival were quite surprised at the cargo contained in that truck! Fire chief David La Fountain joins us this week on Ripley Radio, the official radio show of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, and explains. Sara Latta, author of Scared Stiff, a book about the top 50 phobias, tells us all about the fears associated with spiders and snakes. Additional weird but true stories on the June 2 episode of Ripley Radio include: Chad Lewis takes us road trippin’ to Nebraska where we visit the home town of late night king Johnny Carson and a Klown Doll museum with more than 7,000 dolls; TV reporter Nick La Grange shares a feel-good story about an auto theft in Evansville, Ind. It’s bizarre but touching; Angela shares a few interesting secrets behind some of the iconic scenes of your favorite movies; We hear of a man whose last name is Cocaine. Why is he on Ripley Radio? He got busted for illegal drugs; a

Butch Patrick, better known as Eddie Munster on the iconic TV series, The Munsters, visits us this week on Ripley Radio, the official radio show of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, and tells us about his plans to restore his haunted ancestral home in Macon, Mo. Author Sara Latta joins us again this week and explains the phobias of cats and the number 13. Additional Bizarre, Strange and Weird Stories on the May 19 Edition of Ripley Radio include: Our expert on the charms of Roadside America, Chad Lewis takes us road trippin’ again this week as we visit The Bridges of West Virginia; We hear that five children born this year so far have the name of ZZYZX and that a California town has the same name; Ripley’s archivist Edward Meyer reports on one of Ripley’s newest, and strangest acquisitions ever, a cow magnet. Once a farmer gets it into the cow’s stomach, it protects the bovine by collecting all the extraneous metal objects he eats during his life; Student Walker Harnden has just broken the record for the highes

Two volunteers who have trained for a trip to Mars in simulated environments in the U.S., talk with Ripley Radio, the official broadcast program of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, about their time isolated in these environs. We start off four-week series on bizarre phobias and on road trippin’ to offbeat and strange roadside attractions. Additional weird, crazy, strange and wacky stories on the May 12 Edition of Ripley Radio includes: Sara Latta, author of Scared Stiff – Everything you need to know about 50 famous phobias, delves into the bizarre phobias centered on clowns and dolls; Chad Lewis takes us on a road trip to Chicago where he discovers a person can walk from the beginning to the end of the famous Route 66, in less than 30 seconds; we hear from a Portland, Ore., man who has created a web-enabled cat toy that allows anyone anywhere to interact with live cats at several humane societies across the country; Ripley archivist Edward Meyer informs us that he has actually stood on (a piece of) Mars; and R

Richard Reames grows boats and chairs! He plants trees in a pattern, waters and waits as they grow into what he wants them to be. He visits Ripley Radio, the official radio show of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! this week and tells us how, and why, he does this. Chad Lewis takes us on a road trip to Southern Wisconsin, where he discovers the Garden of Eden. Additional weird, crazy, strange and wacky stories on the May 5 Edition of Ripley Radio includes: Skidmore College is offering a summer course based on Miley Cyrus. Ralf finds out it’s much more than a class on popular culture when he talks with the assistant professor who will be teaching it; Angela reports on a new cell phone fit for the spies amongst us – it self-destructs if tampered with; Chad Lewis tells the tale of a mansion that purportedly grew and shrank on its own, and nobody could figure out how it did it; In her Weird Medical Malady Minute, Jodi Pliszka informs us if the doctor can’t figure out what’s ailing you, check out what alien objects

Margot Adler has read more than 270 books and in return, she has written a book about that experience, Vampires are Us, and brewmaster Justin Low is making beer with goat brains! We talk with both this week, on the April 28 edition of Ripley Radio, the official broadcast program of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Additional weird, crazy, strange and wacky stories on this week’s show includes: Sara Latta shares a few of the most bizarre phobias that she writes about in her new book, Scared Stiff, when she talks with Tim; Chad Lewis takes us back on the highway with a couple ideas for May road trips – to a Bonnie & Clyde Festival and to the world famous Pun-off; Florida broadcaster Scott Fais recalls the night he spent in a haunted mansion in St. Augustine; Angela reveals that there was a city named Vulcan, long before the Star Trek series began; and Ripley archivist Edward Meyer gets excited while telling us about the newest heads he has acquired for our already huge skull collection. Focus provides th

Brittany Walsh shot an arrow at David Letterman and he loved it! Her “stupid human trick” was the hit of the night. This week on Ripley Radio, she tells us all about that night and how she hit her target, standing on her hands and shooting the bow with her feet! We also hear about a new revolution in tasting! A company has created an aromafork, a utensil that provides different flavors and smells to your food. The product goes on sale this summer. Additional Weird, Wacky, and Strange Stories on the April 21 episode of Ripley Radio, the official radio program of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!: The apartment where President Barack Obama lived while attending Law School at Columbia University in New York City, is now a Bed and Breakfast and can be rented by the night; hikers going up Mt. Everest must now bring back an additional 17 pounds of trash, or be fined. Angela tells us it’s all a part of a major clean-up of the mountain; Chad Lewis takes us on a couple interesting road trips. First we go to a town in P

Amelia Earhart to fly solo around the world! Big news then, big news now and Ripley Radio this week talks with the “new” Earhart as she plans her 28,000 mile journey. The 31-year old tells Ralf that with the name her parents gave her, she was destined to be a pilot. Most of us never have a near-death experience, but Brooklyn’s Robert Kopecky has had three and he tells Tim that each one was different and each taught him a different lesson. He shares those lessons with us and talks about his new book, “How to Survive Life and Death.” Additional Weird, Wacky, and Strange Stories on the April 14 Episode of Ripley Radio, the official radio program of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!: On Wednesday, April 16, Mezco Toyz, the creators of the popular Living Dead Dolls will be displaying a time capsule full of product from the 16-year history of the doll series at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in Times Square, New York City. The capsule coffin will be interred and opened in 66.6 years. We hear more about this crazy pub

Presidential conspiracies go back to the first assignation of a U.S. president. This week on Ripley Radio, the official broadcast program of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, historian James Taylor reveals that John Wilkes Booth, the actor who killed Abraham Lincoln, may not have been caught as thought and went on to live a long life and then a long second life on carnival and circus sideshows as a mummified exhibit. We also hear about MIT students who have created a way for a person to feel the sensations of the book that they are reading. It is truly a literary breakthrough! Other Weird, Wacky and Strange Stories you will Hear on the April 7 Episode of Ripley Radio: Ripley archivist Edward Meyer picks up where James Taylor left off and explains that the body of John Wilkes Booth is actually hidden in a barn in Maryland and its owner has offered to sell it to Ripley’s on two different occasions. Edward explains why he hasn’t purchased it and why he doesn’t think it is genuine; Chad Lewis takes us on a road tr

Ripley’s has the world’s greatest collection of shrunken heads, but we also have a couple very rare shrunken torsos and dozens of mummified body parts in the archives. James Taylor’s series on mummies continues this week on Ripley Radio, the official broadcast program of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and Ripley archivist Edward Meyer joins in the dialogue of the mysteries of Dr. Struve’s shrunken bodies. Jodi Pliszka reports on a weird medical malady in which a person can’t stop giving things away. She calls it pathological generosity. Additional Weird, Wacky, and Strange Stories you’ll hear on the March 31 Edition of Ripley Radio: Alaska has its Iditarod and Brooklyn, N.Y. has its Idiotarod, a sport in which involves pushing people around in shopping carts. The former thinks the New Yorker’s are infringing on their brand and have issued a warning; Chad Lewis takes us on a road trip to Austin, Minn. where we visit the famous Spam Museum; Ralf tells the story of how 90 cows in Germany raised the roof of the

It’s springtime at Ripley Radio, the official radio program of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, and that means more unbelievable baseball oddities and April Fool’s Day pranks. We talk with our favorite weird baseball mogul, Mike Veeck and he tells us of his plans to feature bobble legs, instead of bobble heads, this summer in honor of his father’s peg leg. We also hear from the manager of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs about his team’s bacon-themed uniforms and the scratch and sniff bacon t-shirts in the team’s gift shop. He also announces that he won the best minor league promotion of the season last year with his men’s room urinal video games. Additional Weird and Wacky Stories you’ll Hear on the March 24 Edition of Ripley Radio: Sideshow historian James Taylor begins a three-week series on contemporary mummies by telling the tale of Elmer McCurdy who was passed around amongst exhibitors until he ended up in an amusement park dark ride with his owners thinking he was made of paper Mache, until the day his arm