Episode 79: The Catcher In The Rye

This is from the brilliant mind of Ryan. This book is classic of modern American literature. Ryan hates it. Parks loved it as moody teenager, as did millions others. This falls into a category of influential works that really get away from its creator. Author JD Salinger became increasingly reclusive after Catcher’s success. Mark David Chapman had a copy of the book in his possession when he murdered John Lennon!

Episode 78: WCW Vs. David Arquette

This week Ryan is joined by Mike Connelly of Noisextra to discuss the now defunct pro-wrestling giant, WCW. WCW was a powerhouse that dominated the Monday night wars of the mid 1990’s. That was until the inclusion of actor David Arquette. Both the company and Arquette suffered due to what is considered to be the most controversial win in this history of the business. Even if you are not a fan of wrestling, there is something here for you.

Special Woodstock 99 Anniversary Megamix

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Woodstock 99 just turned 23 years old! To celebrate the event, Parks created a special megamix of his favorite Woodstock 99 moments. WDUMP is a special Patreon exclusive show made by Culture Dumps. But since we are in a festive mood, we are going to share this episode with the public! If you enjoy this type of bonus content, please please please be encouraged to sign up for Patreon to get all the extra culture dumps goodies

Episode 77: Super Size Me

This week on Culture Dumps we explore one of the most popular documentaries of all time, “Super Size Me.” Was Morgan Spurlock just blowing off steam or did his experiment truly influence the fast food market? Ryan is joined by Eric D of MethSyndicate once again to dive deeply into the genre defining film. Also, the Filet of Fish is bomb and Spurlock is kind of a creep.

Episode 76: Olean/Olestra

Olean is the brand name of the fat substitute Olestra. The product would add no fat or extra calories to food products, without losing any of the taste! The miracle oil took off in the mid 90s, during a wave of other “low fat” and “fat free” products. Most notable was the Wow! chips brand during this time. However, just as Olean fever started to take off, a very undesirable side effect, was noticed. Welcome to our most literal episode of Culture Dumps yet.

Episode 75: Planet Hollywood

Planet Hollywood was part of a trend of themed restaurants that really had a peak in the 90s. Patrons could enjoy the feeling of eating on a movie set, while also admiring Hollywood memorabilia on display. With several A-list endorsements, the restaurant quickly became a huge success. The problem was, they took it too far too quick. That, and the food was terrible. On this episode we examine how the most profitable theme restaurant became the biggest joke in the food biz. Ryan is joined by Eric D of MethSyndicate.

Special Episode: Tonya Revisited

Parks is joined by his two friends (Leeza and Hayley) who were both competitive figure skaters. This bonus episode is a fascinating deep dive into the intensely competitive world of figure skating. Leeza and Hayley also shared how the Tonya Harding incident affected the skating community. They also dish on some pretty wild stories from their skating days. A couple bombshell revelations!!! Listen for some in depth insight on one of sporting’s biggest scandals.

Episode 73: Tonya Harding Part 2

We reach the inevitable conclusion on the Tonya Harding saga. The Nancy Kerrigan attack is what most people know Tonya for. We trace the steps to this infamous event, from her abusive relationship with Jeff Gillooly to his crew of wannabe criminal goons. Tonya really did get mixed up with the wrong crowd here. We delve into Nancy Kerrigan and cultural aftermath of the attack. Plus we cover what Tonya Harding has been up to recently. In a good twist of fate, she is still skating and pretty damn happy.