Free Daily Podcast Summary
The Box of Oddities: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Kat & Jethro Gilligan Toth
The Webby Award-winning “Box of Oddities” is a podcast that delves into the strange and mysterious aspects of our world, exploring topics ranging from bizarre medical conditions to unsolved mysteries, and from paranormal phenomena to strange cultural practices from around the world. With a focus on oddities, curiosities, and the macabre, each episode is a journey into the unknown, where hosts Kat and Jethro Gilligan Toth share their love for unusual stories and inject their humor and commentary. From the strange history of medical practices to chilling true crime stories, to natural (and unnatural) events, "The Box of Oddities" satisfies your thirst for the weird and the unusual, offering an informative and entertaining look into the dark and mysterious corners of our world. JIMMY KIMMEL, ABC-TV says, "Should you be the type who has an interest in weird stuff, this is a fun thing to allow in your head!"
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 3 days ago20 min
Inbox Of Oddities #100
Halloween is creeping closer, and the Inbox is filling up with teeth, doppelgängers, bizarre coincidences, pet opossums, and the kind of heartfelt notes that make Kat and JG question whether they deserve any of you. This week: a listener wakes from wisdom-tooth surgery determined to show Kat and JG her teeth, a mysterious ambulance/fire-alarm “Boo Effect,” a license plate coincidence involving the word Gordita, and a pet opossum named Myrtle with absolutely no survival instincts. Plus, a listener suggestion sends the hosts down a dark historical path toward Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries. And, of course, the ninth annual Box of Oddities Halloween special is coming. Have a spooky story? Record it and send it to curator@theboxofoddities.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 5 days ago31 min
Ghosts in Your DNA
There are ghosts in your DNA—entire lost populations whose names, languages, and worlds vanished, yet whose genetic fingerprints are still moving through people alive today. Then: the deeply unsettling truth about seeds that have sprouted in human lungs, ears, and other places nature never intended a garden to grow. In this episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro explore ancient “ghost populations,” Neanderthals, Denisovans, and the 7,100-year-old woman whose DNA revealed a hidden branch of human history. Plus, they meet the unfortunate people who discovered that sometimes “it went down the wrong pipe” can become a very literal medical nightmare. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 1 weeks ago42 min
The Missing Head Behind David Attenborough’s Pub
A forgotten 1952 Pan Am crash helped shape the safety briefing you hear on every flight—and now, 74 years later, the Clipper Endeavor has been found 2,000 feet beneath the Atlantic. Then: a skull discovered during a renovation connected to David Attenborough leads back to one of Victorian London’s most gruesome unsolved-for-131-years murder mysteries. A lost airliner, a missing head, and the very specific reason you should never inflate your life vest inside the plane. This is Box of Oddities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 1 weeks ago26 min
Inbox Of Oddities #99
On this Inbox of Oddities, Kat and Jethro open the mailbag for a wonderfully strange collection of listener stories: gargoyle-like creatures watching from a grandmother’s curtain rod, an eerie phone call from a man who may have been dead, a child who seemed to know far too much about the “lady upstairs,” and an unexpected bathroom encounter with Monkees legend Mickey Dolenz. They also reflect on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, hear a powerful reminder that bravery can mean doing the thing even while you’re afraid, and put out the call for your true spooky stories for the ninth annual Box of Oddities Halloween special. It’s paranormal encounters, weird celebrity pee lore, anxiety, mysterious USB drives, and the magnificent freak family—just the way an Inbox should be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 1 weeks ago33 min
The Psychology of Going Nowhere
A young woman boards an elevated train in 1907, reaches her stop…and simply cannot make herself leave. Her strange case of “nervousness” becomes a newspaper curiosity, but more than a century later, it feels startlingly familiar. Then, why do lost people so often make the one choice most likely to keep them lost? From the forests of Nova Scotia to the Sahara Desert, we explore the unnerving ways panic can scramble your internal compass. The Box of Oddities: where history gets weird, the brain gets stranger, and sometimes the best thing you can do is stay put. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 2 weeks ago44 min
Odd Jobs, Bad Science, and Three Generations of Horror
In this classic episode, we celebrate Labor Day by looking at the most unusual jobs. Some people get paid to break into buildings, test mattresses, cuddle strangers, or bring horses into therapy sessions. Then there’s the far darker side of deciding who is “fit” for society: the true story of Carrie Buck, a young woman institutionalized and sterilized against her will in a Supreme Court case whose legacy still haunts America. It’s strange work, terrible pseudoscience, and the kind of history that should never be forgotten. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 2 weeks ago26 min
Inbox Of Oddities #98
This week’s Inbox of Oddities is full of the kinds of stories that make you wonder whether the universe is gently trying to get your attention. From a beloved dog who may have kept watch long after he was gone, to a grandmother’s promise delivered through a stubborn patch of flowers, the Freak Family shares paranormal experiences, unexpected kindness, rescued pups, healing, and a reminder that sometimes we get the chance to be somebody else’s Santa. Plus, Jethro and Kat put out the call for your true scary stories for the ninth annual Box of Oddities Halloween Special. Record your experience on your phone and send it to curator@theboxofoddities.com—you may hear it in this year’s spooky celebration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 2 weeks ago39 min
Freaks, Feathers, and Yellow Fever
A sideshow performer known as Koo-Koo the Bird Girl becomes one of the most unforgettable faces in Tod Browning’s 1932 film Freaks—yet the real Minnie Woolsey remains almost a mystery. We trace the strange, sad, and surprisingly human story behind the feathers, enormous glasses, and a few seconds of dancing that outlived nearly everything else known about her. Then: a young doctor named Stubbins Ffirth sets out to prove that yellow fever isn’t contagious by conducting one of history’s most stomach-turning medical experiments on himself. Plus, cow muffin bingo, lawnmower races, frog jumping, crab beauty pageants, and other wonderfully odd Labor Day traditions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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About The Box of Oddities
The Webby Award-winning “Box of Oddities” is a podcast that delves into the strange and mysterious aspects of our world, exploring topics ranging from bizarre medical conditions to unsolved mysteries, and from paranormal phenomena to strange cultural practices from around the world. With a focus on oddities, curiosities, and the macabre, each episode is a journey into the unknown, where hosts Kat and Jethro Gilligan Toth share their love for unusual stories and inject their humor and commentary. From the strange history of medical practices to chilling true crime stories, to natural (and unnatural) events, "The Box of Oddities" satisfies your thirst for the weird and the unusual, offering an informative and entertaining look into the dark and mysterious corners of our world. JIMMY KIMMEL, ABC-TV says, "Should you be the type who has an interest in weird stuff, this is a fun thing to allow in your head!"
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