Ep. 3: The public suicide squad

This episode comes with a giant content warning: We're talking about people who have ended their lives in extremely public fashions. We describe the circumstances and imagery involved in these stories in some detail. While we are not making light of these stories, if this kind of content is triggering to you in any way, we recommend steering clear. If you're not currently seeing a therapist, check out the resources linked at the bottom of these notes for finding low cost mental healthcare. We think you're worth keeping around, spooky friends.

Highlights:

Mark discusses the finer points of trepanation, the pseudoscience of drilling a hole in your skull
The reason for the episode: The Facebook Live streamed suicide of army veteran Ronnie McNutt goes viral on TikTok
We revisit the famous public suicides of R. Budd Dwyer and Christine Chubbuck, and the VHS vlog of Bjork stalker Ricardo López
We recommend Random Acts of Violence [Shudder], The Siren [Shudder], and Antrum [Amazon Prime]

Resources for finding affordable therapy in the United States:

How to Find An Affordable Therapist - Vice - This has very good information about figuring out what TYPE of therapists you might need, along with ideas for finding an affordable one
Low Cost Treatment - Anxiety & Depression Association of America
Open Counseling - A directory where you can put in your zipcode to find free and low cost therapists in your area