Author: Ryan Lichten

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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.

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Episode 72: Tonya Harding Part 1

Tonya Harding is a renowned and accomplished figure skater and a two-time Olympian for her achievements on the ice. She was the first American skater to successfully land a triple Axel in competition. However, she is known primarily for her connection to the infamous 1994 attack on fellow skater Nancy Kerrigan. This attack was one of the biggest sporting controversies in the 90s. In part 1, we examine her tumultuous upbringing. Often skating was her escape from a never ending torrent of abuse from her family and her lovers. We discuss a revealing 1986 documentary called “Sharp Edges.” Lace up for Tonya!

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Episode 70: Siegfried and Roy

In this episode we welcome Parks back and cover the most successful magicians of all time. Siegfried and Roy came from less than humble backgrounds and dominated the Las Vegas entertainment scene. Performing a total of over 30,000 shows during their career, the duo brought a level of showmanship to magic that the world had never before seen. Oh! And one of them almost got eaten by a damn tiger.

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Episode 69: Thomas Kinkade

Thomas Kinkade, aka the “Painter of Light” was the most successful commercial artist of his time. At the peak of his popularity it was estimated that one in 20 American homes owned a Kinkade print or product. His whimsical portraits of cottages, lighthouses, Christmas imagery, and overall kitschy shit raked in millions upon millions of dollars, but, underneath the veil of wholesomeness, existed some very non-whimsical demons… Ryan is joined by friend Kailyn Sciberras.

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Episode 68: Bo Derek

Bo Derek’s appearance in the 1979 film “10” made her an instant star. Running down the beach in a bikini with her hair in braids, the scene was parodied many times and turn Derek in an 80s sex symbol. Her screen time in the movie is relatively short, yet the resulting celebrity status was huge. She starred in a series of 80s movies, directed by her then husband John Derek. These movies contain a combination of terrible acting and a lot of nudity. She has won multiple Golden Raspberry awards for worst acting. The peak of this Bo Derek mania is the 1984 movie “Bolero,” a truly bizarre piece of cinematography.

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Episode 67: Adam and OJ

This is a double header episode. We bring back our friend Adam Papagan to discuss his career as a tour guide and founder of Cool LA Tours and we also seize the opportunity to test his vast knowledge of the most publicized trial of all time, the OJ Simpson Trial. Ryan and Adam take you step by step through the OJ case in true dumps style.

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Episode 66: McDonald’s “Hot Coffee” Lawsuit

The term “frivolous lawsuit” gets thrown around quite a bit, however, the number one go-to example of a frivolous lawsuit was not frivolous at all. In 1992 a 79-year-old woman spilt some of her McDonald’s coffee onto her lap causing third degree burns of six percent of her body. The media completely flubbed the story and painted the woman as a shady grifter who was attempting to scam the Golden Arches out of millions of dollars. We crack open this case file to prove that, yes, the coffee was too damn hot!

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Episode 65: Heroin Chic

Heroin Chic is the term used for the rise of nihilistic, drug influenced pop culture in the early 1990’s. While most of the trend was gravely misunderstood, there were some long lasting negative effects that are worth reviewing in our special dump way. Music, film, and fashion are all involved. PLUS we will hear first hand from our return guest Dinah Rankin (aka @beautifulsupermodelgenius) about the realities of modeling and the indie sleaze movement that is creeping its way back into the mainstream.

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