I Read a Thing

Chairman Mao Zedong is a case study in good intentions going straight to hell when power and narcissism combine. In yet another episode of "This Old Narcissist", we look at the rise of the Communist Party in the People's Republic of China and how sparrows are clearly the harbingers of all bad luck so we should destroy them. Fan mail, hate mail, entries from your dream diary...we want them all! Email questions, comments, and topic suggestions to info@ireadathing.com or visit us at...

Have you ever wondered why Terms of Service tend to be long-winded and confusing or who decided it was a good idea to insult users by suggesting they don't like being informed if they decline updates on a news site? Join us on an infuriating deep dive into the deceptive stupidity running every single website you frequent and why we are under surveillance even when we think we've opted out of tracking. Fan mail, hate mail, entries from your dream diary...we want them all! Email questions,...

What do you get when you combine the aggression of rugby, an insatiable lust for money, and a story-hungry media? Well, you get the !RETRACTED! Lancet study that launched a thousand anti-vax campaigns. Join us on a deep dive into the murky waters of fraudulent medical science and solid investigative journalism into the man once hailed by his own Head of Medicine as a "wanker and a fraud", Andrew Wakefield! Fan mail, hate mail, entries from your dream diary...we want them all! Email...

Lloyd L. Gaines had already made national headlines at the age of 28 when he, with the help of the NAACP (National Association for the advancement of Colored People), triumphed in a landmark civil rights case against the University of Missouri where the Supreme Court ordered U of M's Law School to admit him despite their strict segregation policies. During the course of the multiple trials leading to the Supreme Court ruling, Lloyd attended various rallies and speaking engagements at the...

No medical training? NO PROBLEM. All you need to treat sick, malnourished, and dying children is a stethoscope and a dream (and a direct order from God.) In this deep-dive, we will explore the troubling world of white savior missionaries, more Mister (well, Ms.) Doctors, and how to get away with medically treating children when you are a homeschooled kid with no college education. Fan mail, hate mail, entries from your dream diary...we want them all! Email questions, comments, and topic...

Take a break from your ennui to listen to topics that make us cry when we're high...on life, obviously. This uplifting and totally wholesome episode isn't exactly a deep dive but we're getting into plastics, recycling, singularities, and multiverses. It's all meaningless, let's cry together...lol. Fan mail, hate mail, entries from your dream diary...we want them all! Email questions, comments, and topic suggestions to info@ireadathing.com or visit us at ireadathing.com. You can also...

Joseph Smith was a simple man. He liked unlimited power, cronies that kissed his ass, women he could trick into marrying him, and doctors he could coerce into giving those women abortions; a real Live-Lie-Love kind of guy. In this episode, we talk about what made Joe take his magical mystery tour to several different midwest American cities and how he managed to get God to co-author a stock options agreement for his mansion. Fan mail, hate mail, entries from your dream diary...we want them...

Sex, Drugs, and MONEY! No, this isn't an episode about -insert relevant rock-n-roll star name-, this is all about the freaky founder of the Latter Day Saints, AKA Mormons. This episode covers Joseph Smith's unlikely beginnings as a prophet, his family drama, and his healthy appreciation for hallucinogenic mushrooms. Fan mail, hate mail, entries from your dream diary...we want them all! Email questions, comments, and topic suggestions to info@ireadathing.com or visit us at ireadathing.com....

What do lightbulbs, fireflies, and the long-buried bones of the Radium Girls all have in common? That's right, they all glow! Join us on a deep dive that will cement your distaste for capitalism and make you really glad you live in a time where it's not common to have highly radioactive materials in your household goods. Fan mail, hate mail, entries from your dream diary...we want them all! Email questions, comments, and topic suggestions to info@ireadathing.com or visit us at...

Have you ever looked at a Flat Earther and thought "how could they level up this craziness?" WELCOME TO BLOOD OVER INTENT, MOTHER-TRUCKERS! In this deep dive, we talk about the CLEARLY NOT A MURDER CULT starting up in Oregon, James Cameron as God, Covid in the Matrix, and the Reptilian overlords hiding the truth about the Garden of Eden. Fan mail, hate mail, entries from your dream diary...we want them all! Email questions, comments, and topic suggestions to info@ireadathing.com or visit us...

Have you ever looked at a baby, puppy, or object and thought "YOU'RE SO CUTE I'M GONNA BASH YOUR HEAD IN"? No? Just us? Moving right along. In today's deep dive we cover the evolutionary purpose behind cuteness aggression and why it (probably) won't make you literally eat a baby. Fan mail, hate mail, entries from your dream diary...we want them all! Email questions, comments, and topic suggestions to info@ireadathing.com or visit us at ireadathing.com. You can also subscribe and message us...

Saucy Jack loved three things in life: long walks, vulnerable women, and world domination. Join us on a deep dive of some of the most insane (and plausible) theories on the identity of Jack the Ripper, the psychological impact of murder mysteries, and the depressing anti-vice history of Whitechapel that brought worldwide notoriety to this serial killer. Fan mail, hate mail, entries from your dream diary...we want them all! Email questions, comments, and topic suggestions to...

In a world where mentally ill people demanded bodily autonomy and women had opinions about things, one man dared to dream. In this deep dive we'll discuss the storied history of the men who thought taking out frontal lobes was a good solution to everything from schizophrenia to toddler tantrums. Fan mail, hate mail, entries from your dream diary...we want them all! Email questions, comments, and topic suggestions to info@ireadathing.com or visit us at ireadathing.com. You can also subscribe...

From the man who brought you tree-phones, the OG Spotify, and started the first Air Force AS A SIDE HUSTLE just to make you feel lazy...make way for Muzak. The company that became a genre and ruffled a lot of feathers with their made-to-ignore bland creations. Fan mail, hate mail, entries from your dream diary...we want them all! Email questions, comments, and topic suggestions to info@ireadathing.com or visit us at ireadathing.com. You can also subscribe and message us on Facebook,...

Do you believe the spirits of the dead can speak to you through white noise? Do you want to find a special Paranormal Pal? In this deep dive episode, we listen to spooky EVPs (Electronic Voice Phenomena) and try to figure out if Jolie's house is haunted. Fan mail, hate mail, entries from your dream diary...we want them all! Email questions, comments, and topic suggestions to info@ireadathing.com or visit us at ireadathing.com. You can also subscribe and message us on Facebook, Twitter,...

It's Spooky Season, bitches! In honor of Halloween we decided to use this episode to fuck around, errrr, record some true scary stories including everything from witches hating Muzak executives to EVPs that will make your butt clench up. WELCOME TO SEASON TWO!!! Fan mail, hate mail, entries from your dream diary...we want them all! Email questions, comments, and topic suggestions to info@ireadathing.com or visit us at ireadathing.com. You can also subscribe and message us on Facebook,...

Domestication Syndrome is not what happens when you move in with your new partner and stop shaving your legs. Join us for a shallow dive into the basics of domestication including why we can't ride zebras and how some people think we humans domesticated ourselves. Fan mail, hate mail, entries from your dream diary...we want them all! Email questions, comments, and topic suggestions to info@ireadathing.com or visit us at ireadathing.com. You can also subscribe and message us on Facebook,...

This one took forever to release because of extreme technical f@!kery, but here it is. Let's do a super shallow dive on Ghislaine Maxwell, notorious partner of Jeffrey Epstein, who famously had a super secret island where he'd "hire" underaged "massage therapists" for himself and his famous friends. We will also discuss why aluminum foil won't hide your cell phone, Karen. Fan mail, hate mail, entries from your dream diary...we want them all! Email questions, comments, and topic suggestions...

Just a little teaser trailer...or a warning. Fan mail, hate mail, entries from your dream diary...we want them all! Email questions, comments, and topic suggestions to info@ireadathing.com or visit us at ireadathing.com. You can also subscribe and message us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Music: "A Magical Journey Through Space" by Leonell Cassio, licensed under a Creative Commons License. --- Send in a voice message:...

America in the 1950s was a special time full of Elvis Presley, The Golden Age of Television, and LSD brainwashing initiatives covertly run by the CIA. Join us on a deep dive of MK Ultra that will make you question any remaining American pride you may have. Fan mail, hate mail, entries from your dream diary...we want them all! Email questions, comments, and topic suggestions to info@ireadathing.com or visit us at ireadathing.com. You can also subscribe and message us on Facebook, Twitter,...