Here Be Monsters

HBM028: Jonathan's Cadaver Paintings

Jonathan Happ’s white lab coat and latex gloves make him look like a doctor when he stands in a room full of people. But he’s not a doctor…he’s an artist, and the people he shares this room with are all dead. In this episode, Jonathan takes a recorder into the University of Washington’s cadaver lab and reports on what he sees, and why he draws and paints images of the bodies. Sensitive listeners should note that this episode contains graphic (but mostly scientific) descriptions of the cada...

HBM027: Balancing Act

For thousands of years, Western Medicine thought it had itself figured out. Everything came in fours. There were four sensations, four fluids in the body, four kinds of people, and four elements making up the world. They were all related. There wasn’t one without the other. Everything was a balancing act, and it was called Humorism. In recent history, vaccines, sterilization, and other modern treatments have pushed Humorism out of the picture. But traditions ingrained in culture, science, a...

HBM026: John Comes Down The Birth Canal

It was 40-odd years before John Hanneman figured out what the night terrors of his youth represented. In this episode, John describes the first trauma he experienced in life—something we all share. And he explains how he overcame it to become the person he is today. Check out some pictures of John Hanneman over on the HBM's Facebook If John’s voice sounds familiar, you aren’t imagining it. John appeared on the show waaay back on Episode 3: John Dips Below where he talked about his experien...

HBM025: The Sasquatch of Pumpkintown VS Motley Crue Jon Bon Jovi

Homemade Bigfoot costumes can get you in a lot of trouble. And in gun-toting community of Pumpkintown, SC, a fake Bigfoot costume might get you killed too. But when the recession caused a local outfitter’s store sales to sag, it was a risk he was willing to take. In the episode, Ben Becker tells the story of a disgusting hound dog named “Motley Crue John Bon Jovi”, a tobacco-juice soaked Sasquatch suit, and the world’s worst hot sauce. Sharp listeners should note that no one fact-checked a...

HBM024: The Friendliest Town In Texas

Shoppingspree Clark showed up on the side of the road outside the “Friendliest Town in Texas” with nothing more than a sketchpad and the burnt-out ruin of the RV he’d just bought. Content Note: Explicit Content Coleman, Texas’ self-claimed title is true because it used to be on a billboard above the highway. And the people that live there are diverse, troubled, religious, unusual…and friendly. This episode contains many adult themes, including suicide, prejudice, and racism. There are als...

HBM023: The Near Destruction of Rey Jaguar [Extended Cut]

For lucha libre wrestlers, masks are everything. They wear them in the ring, they wear them to the grocery store, they wear them any time they appear in public. No one knows what face lies under that mask, so it makes sense that de-masking a Luchadore or Luchadora is highest taboo in the sport. In this episode, we travel to Seattle’s South Park neighborhood for Lucha Libre In The Park, a free wrestling event put on by Lucha Libre Volcanica. Costumes, yelling kids, exquisite masks, cross-dre...

HBM022: The Holy Ghost Fixes David's Brain

David Blackshire Key has been called a douchebag more times than he can count. It's probably because he used to wear big sunglasses--day and night, indoors and out. He wasn't a movie star, he just had brain cancer. Writer and radio producer Bridget Burnquist produced this show. One of his side-effects was a strange sensitivity to light called "photophobia". Even after doctors removed the tumor, his painful sensitivity continued. So he turned to his faith, looking for healing from a superna...

HBM021: Potential Energy

Season 2 of Here Be Monsters begins. The reasons why I bike at night are diverse. It’s partly because I don’t feel graceful anywhere else, it’s partly to run away and it’s partly out of persistent defiance of my failing vision. I recently biked out to a parking garage on the outskirts of Boulder, Colorado and remembered the most significant moment of my eighteenth year, a night that made everything I do now possible. The story involves electronic dance music, a laundromat, a bunch of swea...

HBM020: Without Name

HBM019: The Other One Percent

HBM018: How I Learned to Love Rejection (part 2)

HBM017: How I Learned to Love Rejection (part 1)

HBM016: 10,000 Juggalos

People Watching Magazine -- Available Now!

HBM015: Jacob Visits Saturn

HBM014: Andrea Quits NPR

The Operating System of Dictators

HBM013: Bridget Finds Loss

HBM012: How to Live and Die Until You're 80

HBM011: Puke Quits Trainriding

The Golden Age of Piracy

HBM010: The Time Travelers Convention

CONTEST: What the $&@# is that Bug?

HBM009: Captain Staudinger Flees Myanmar

HBM008: Chuck Gets Circumcised

HBM007: Placentophagy

HBM006: Clever Hans

HBM005: The Team Says "Hello"

HBM003: John Dips Below

HBM002: Of Maps and Monsters

HBM001: Prisoner's Cinema

HBM000: Hello There

Here Be Monsters is a podcast about strange and unusual and beautiful and sometimes dark things. Jeff Emtman started Here Be Monsters in 2012. Here are three things you should know about the show: You can listen to the episodes in any order you want, there’s no need to start from the beginning. Some of our oldest oldest episodes aren’t on the feed anymore, but you can hear them all on our website, HBMpodcast.com. If you listen to this show and you like it, please rate and review us on Ap...