Episode

WT: Last-Minute Massage

Published Feb 17, 2023, 9:34 PM

The episode opens with Andrew talking about how his work at OpenAI makes him more cautious about commenting on outside stories, then moves into a run of stories about elaborate pranks and public misdirection. Andrew recounts two balloon-based stunts from his past: putting a motorcycle inside a balloon for an A&E segment and, earlier, faking a UFO over a Florida school field with a lit balloon, which drew curious bystanders, radio calls, and a sheriff's helicopter before they fled and hid. The conversation then shifts to the long-running Hollandale, Florida outhouse prank, with the hosts reading a news account about an outhouse dropped at the post office every Halloween for years, sometimes in a custom White House shape. From there they discuss what makes a prank feel like performance art, compare old high-effort deception to modern prank videos, and talk about travel as an experience, including a British Rail tavern car and United's former men-only Chicago Executive flight. Later the episode covers a World War II bomb found in Yarmouth, England, then turns to the LAPD bomb squad incident in South Los Angeles where illegal fireworks were packed into a containment vessel despite warnings and the blast damaged vehicles, properties, and injured people. The final stretch becomes the picks segment, where the hosts discuss a book about flying cars and gyrocopters, Bryce recommends Midnight Suns, Brian recommends The Modern Rogue's thermite car episode, Andrew recommends The English,