Mass for Shut-ins: The Gin and Tacos Podcast

The President of the United States, a man who claims to possess unimaginable wealth, somehow cannot get a suit that fits him. Why? The reasons have more to do with his personality than you might thin…

The filibuster has an interesting history in the U.S. Senate, but the term itself has an even more convoluted story. It involves, separately, both pirates AND mercenaries.

Minicasts are short (approx…

Story: Brother, have you seen my Vermeer? The crazy secret life of stolen art masterpieces. For more information on the Isabella Stewart Gardner heist covered in this podcast, check out Master Thiev…

Most people under 50 only know Steve Allen, if at all, as the answer to the trivia question, "Who was the first host of the Tonight Show?" Those who remember his normie comedy stylings would hardly c…

Story: THE MAN WHO SAVED THE WHALES - The true story of Abraham Gesner, the obscure Canadian geologist whose big discovery in 1846 made whaling unprofitable just as most whale species were on the bri…

A brief look at the ORIGINAL Mass for Shut-ins - not this podcast, but the 1962-1992 public service broadcast on WGN-TV out of Chicago.

I have discovered that the reference was not nearly as recogniz…

Story: THE RED SQUARE PILOT - The true story of Mathias Rust, the German teen who took his tiny Cessna 172 and invaded the Soviet Union with it. Late Cold War hijinks. May have very slightly hastened…

The terrifying tones of the Emergency Broadcast / Alert System are a lot more interesting than you think. And since you think they're not interesting at all, I have a very low bar to clear.

Minicasts…

Story: THE STAMP THAT MAILED A CANAL - How a 10-centavo Nicaraguan postage stamp turned the Nicaragua Canal into the Panama Canal in 1902. The tale combines all of your favorites: Gilded Age corrupt-…

Story: THE ROGUE TYPESETTER who terrorized Victorian London. The mystery of the Harcourt Interpolation. Easily the most exciting moment in the history of type compositing. 

Guest: SSgt. Katie Schmid,…

Story: DEATH BY UMBRELLA: The Georgi Markov story. A tale of intrigue and covert operations from the late Cold War that John Le Carre couldn't have scripted any better. 

Guest: Mike Konczal (@rortybo…

Guest: 12-time Jeopardy! Champion Seth Wilson

Topic: How you, yes YOU, can boost voter turnout

Story: How to have a picnic in the Korean DMZ (and why it's at the 38th Parallel) 

Cocktail of the Month…

Episode 001

Topic: A history of impeachment and why it matters now

Story: US Postal Service Missile Mail

Cocktail: Corpse Reviver #2

Performance: Author Andrew Bentley reads "Erosion!"

Guest: Helen C…