Sofa King Podcast

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we tell the unique tale of Koko the gorilla. Koko was born in captivity in San Francisco and became world famous for her use of sign language. She was said to have the vocabulary of a five year old child, and she showed complex emotions, memories, and even a sense of humor through her use of language. She even taught another gorilla sign language, and the two of them made up their own signs. Koko was depressed after her mate died, and they brought in none other Robin Williams to cheer her up; they became fast friends. So, what do the haters say about Koko’s language? What intelligence tests did she pass? What did she name her pet cats and the bird she hated? Listen, laugh, learn.   Visit Our Sources: https://www.koko.org/about/gorilla-koko/ https://daily.jstor.org/the-legacy-of-koko-the-gorilla/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koko_(gorilla) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/gorillas-koko-sign-language-culture-animals https://faroutm

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the Guru of Popular Music, Rick Rubin. This music producer took on mythological status by launching Def Jam records out of his dorm room in New York and pioneering hip hop alongside Russel Simmons. But his story doesn’t end there. Over the past 40 years, he has won endless Grammy awards in the genres of hard rock, rap, and country. Every strange (but amazing crossover) from Jonny Cash covering “Hurt” to Run DMC teaming up with Aerosmith were all thanks to Rubin. He may look like a hippie guru who only wants you to get in touch with your inner self—but that’s only because that’s exactly what he is. Visit our Sources: https://www.openculture.com/2021/12/rick-rubin-the-invisibility-of-hip-hops-greatest-producer.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Rubin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Rubin_production_discography https://www.cbsnews.com/video/rick-rubin-60-minutes-video-2023-01-15/ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/rick-rubin-my-lif

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the worst music festival ever: Woodstock 99. This was supposed to be the return to peace and love, but it turned out to be a cash grab of a festival filled with sexual assault, mob violence, and riots. It was hosted on an old, polluted air force base where the temperatures reached 100 degrees on the hot tarmac; there was no water; there were no hotels; and the vibe was violent and hostile the entire time. So who planed this train wreck? What happened when people saw crimes occur? Why did it end being a swamp of muddy ground and backed up sewage? Listen, laugh, learn.   Visit Our Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_%2799 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfund https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/19-worst-things-about-woodstock-99-176052/ https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/documentaries/trainwreck-woodstock-99-true-story/ https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a40769147/woodstock-99-true-story/

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the queen of Appalachia, Dolly Parton. She is a legend of country music with a fifty year career. From “Jolene” to “I Will Always Love You,” she has written and recorded some of the most important country songs ever. But that wasn’t enough. She starred in smash movies like 9 to 5 in the 1980s, created the mega-hit theme park Dollywood, is a massive philanthropist, and is so open minded about other races and the LGBTQ+ community that she still gets threats from the KKK. If you want to hear about one of the most uplifting human beings on the planet, this is the one for you. Visit Our Sources: https://www.biography.com/musicians/dolly-parton https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_Parton https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/dolly-parton https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/61219/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-dolly-parton https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/singers/dolly-parton-net-worth/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doll

On this Classic episode of The Sofa King Podcast, we climb the Mount Everest of podcast topics to look for the tales and truths behind the Yeti. The Yeti, the Abominable Snowman, the Mi-Go, the Yeren; these are all apparently the same creature: a humanoid beast with feet like a man (smaller than a “Bigfoot”) who has been seen in the Himalayan mountains for centuries. Their gods and mythology tie back to this creature, and sightings and folk lore amount local Sherpas are vibrant and updated. So why should anyone care about a mythological beast called a Yeti? Well, for one thing, a lot of pretty high rolling explorers saw them, claimed to saw them, or brought back evidence of them. Sir Edmund Hillary went on multiple expeditions to find this creature and even brought back evidence. Over the past hundred years, public calls have gone out to find proof. From oil millionaire Tom Slick to a British newspaper and even Oxford University, they all sent people or paid for evidence surrounding this. The Chinese governm

On this Classic episode of The Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the self-improvement mogul, Tony Robbins. He’s the six foot seven inch motivational speaker who is worth $480 million dollars and holds seminars that cost between two and eight thousand dollars. Tony Robbins was born Anthony J. Mahavoric on February 29, 1960. His father left them, and his mother was abusive to point of chasing him around the house with a kitchen knife, so at age 17, he set out on his own and was such an amazing salesperson that he was in his own apartment and living a better life than he did with his mom in a matter of months. Robbins was an amazingly driven teen, becoming a sports writer by sheer force of will and quickly becoming a top salesperson for another motivational speaker. By the time he was an adult, he had studied psychology and hypnotism (never formally educated), and he started his own motivational industry. His companies are now worth over $5 billion, and he was the king of the late night infomercial during the 19

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk about The Man with No Name—Clint Eastwood. Eastwood is the ultimate Hollywood star. He started with the smash hit TV show Rawhide, went on to define The Spaghetti Western, and made some of the best films in the history of cinema. He did action, he did comedy, he did drama. He acted, and he won Oscar after Oscar as a director. Get the behind the scenes on America’s favorite tough man and give this one a listen.   Visit Our Sources: https://www.biography.com/actor/clint-eastwood https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clint_Eastwood https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/80551/15-facts-about-clint-eastwood-make-your-day https://www.factinate.com/people/42-sharp-shooting-facts-clint-eastwood/ https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/actors/clint-eastwood-net-worth/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=933hKyKNPFQ

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we take a look at one of the more bizarre stories in video games—The Tale of Tetris. It is a story of mass piracy, Soviet Secrecy, and murder! Everyone knows this brick stacking game, and most of us have been addicted to it at some point or another. But the story of its spread and development is wild. It was created by Alexey Pajitnov for a group run by the Soviet Union. A colleague named Vladimir Pokhilko first recognized its addictive quality and was brought in. After most of the world was playing it (illegally), Pajitnoz and Pokhilko used its success to move to the US and work on new software, but Pohkilko and his family died to hammer assaults and knife attacks. Maybe a murder-suicide, maybe a Russian mafia hit job? You decide. Listen, laugh, learn.   Visit Our Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris https://murderpedia.org/male.P/p/pokhilko-vladimir.htm https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/tetris-game-facts/ https://decider.com/2022/12/05/the-

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we head down under and talk about the baddest Bushranger of them all, Ben Hall. Ben Hall was an epic outlaw of the outback. After his wife left him, he took up with a bad crowd of criminals and soon became the leader of one of the most notorious gangs of the Australian Old West. In just a handful of years, they racked up over 100 robberies. Even better, they did crimes to mock the police and make the citizens like them. At one point, the put an entire town on lock down, put the cops in their own cell, and had a three day all-expense paid dance party in the saloon. His death was as grand as his life, and if you like cowboy times or Aussies, this is the one for you! Visit Our Sources: https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/stories/ben-hall-australian-bushranger https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hall-ben-1507 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Hall_(bushranger) https://aguidetoaustralianbushranging.com/2017/11/08/the-mourning-of-may-5th-the-death-of-ben-hall/ https:/

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we look at the towering career of the one and only Shaquille O’Neill. The man is a legend on the court. He was a four-time champion, multiple MVP, won an Olympic Gold metal, and had plenty of beefs with other sports personalities. He was dominant on the Lakers but won championships on other teams as well. But let’s not forget the fun stuff, like is video game Shaq-Fu, his rap albums, his role as a genie named Kazaam, and his reality shows. This man is a sports and pop-culture legend and worthy of an hour of the three of us rambling. Visit Our Sources: https://www.biography.com/athlete/shaquille-oneal https://www.britannica.com/biography/Shaquille-ONeal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaquille_O%27Neal https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/574854/shaq-facts-shaquille-oneal https://www.discoverwalks.com/blog/united-states/top-10-facts-about-shaquille-oneal/ https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-athletes/nba/shaquille-oneal-net-worth/

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we remember, remember the 5th of November and talk about the Gunpowder Plot of Guy Fawkes. If you’re from the UK, this is probably a story you are familiar with. In America, we really only heard about it from the movie and comic book V for Vendetta. Either way, it is a wild story about a soldier (and terrorist?) who tried to blow up Parliament with 36 barrels of gunpowder, assassinate the king, and put someone else on the throne. The tale ends in torture and death of the conspirators, but to this day, a feast and bonfire still exist in many parts of the UK to celebrate this odd occasion.   Visit Our Sources: https://archive.pinupmagazine.org/articles/article-guy-fawkes-mask-v-for-vendetta https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes https://www.britannica.com/biography/Guy-Fawkes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes_Night https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/633067/guy-fawkes-night-facts https://potw.org/archive/potw405.html

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk about an American tragedy—the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The date was March 25, 1911, and a sweatshop in the garment district of New York caught fire. At first, it was thought to be a cigarette in a scrap bin, but the tangle of boxes, oiled down floor, and lack of fire equipment turned it into disaster. The fire escape buckled from the crush of people, the elevator stopped working because so many burning bodies were on top of the car, and the fire fighters couldn’t get to their hoses because they were piled with corpses who jumped from ten stories above. What fate befell the factory owners? How did they make things even worse for the fire, and what corruption did they do before the fire? Listen, laugh, learn.   Visit Our Sources: https://www.history.com/topics/early-20th-century-us/triangle-shirtwaist-fire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire https://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/ https://www.osha.gov/aboutosha/40-y

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the films, crash, and rebound of Mel Gibson. Gibson’s career was pure gold in the 80s and 90s. He was the star of two mega-franchises, Mad Max and Lethal Weapon. He was able to do drama, action, romance, and comedy, and he even started winning Oscars for directing such films and Braveheart and the Passion of the Christ. But he hit a hard snag when anti-Semitic rants and alleged abuse of his ex-girlfriend surfaced. Somehow, he avoided getting cancelled and went to win even more awards with films like Hacksaw Ridge. He is a mainstay of Hollywood, and even after saying the worst things imaginable, his career still thrives.   Visit Our Sources: https://www.biography.com/actor/mel-gibson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Gibson https://variety.com/2020/film/news/mel-gibson-controversies-career-1234696080/ https://superstarsbio.com/bios/mel-gibson/ https://www.factinate.com/people/33-wacky-facts-mel-gibson/ https://www.10-facts-about.com/mel-gibson/id/

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk about bats. Yes, they get a bad rap since a few species are vampires and drink the blood of horses and cattle. But they are an amazing creature, as helpful to human society as bees are, and aren’t really a threat. In fact, they weren’t considered evil or a menace until Bram Stoker used them in Dracula, where they were permanently married to Halloween and all things dark. These crazy critters use sonar to hunt, live in sophisticated colonies, pollinate, regulate pests, and silently help human society in many ways. They are a tourist attraction in Austin, and their poop is worth its weight in gold! Visit Our Sources: https://www.si.edu/spotlight/bats/batfacts https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/bats https://www.doi.gov/blog/13-facts-about-bats https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/arizona/stories-in-arizona/top-10-bat-facts/ https://www.nwf.org/garden-for-wildlife/cover/bui

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk about a unique group called the Bajau people. They are a group of sea nomads who have genetically evolved to be the perfect sea-goers. Their bodies have adapted to hold their breath insane amounts of time and regulate oxygen in ways no other human can. Some have held their breath for as long as 13 minutes and have dived as deep as 200 feet with no ill effects. They live on boats and coral reefs, call no nation their home, and some spend 60% of their day underwater. Their ancient legends about “The wave that eats people” let them survive the great Tsunami with no casualties. If you want to hear about the real-life Waterworld, give this one a listen. Visit our Sources: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43823885 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sama-Bajau https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/bajau-sea-nomads-free-diving-spleen-science https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/04/bajau-sea-nomads-diving-evolution-spleen/558359/ h

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the Godfather of Soul, Mister James Brown! James Brown is arguably the most influential artist on the birth of soul, funk, and hip hop. Everyone from Justin Timberlake to Public Enemy to Kanye West say they would not be in music if not for James. He was born in the backwoods on a turpentine plantation and then after both his parents abandoned him, he moved in to his aunt’s brothel. He fell into jail, but upon his release he was obsessed with making history as an artist, and he did so. He defined several generations of black music, single-handedly averted a riot in Boston the day MLK was assassinated, and has the most sampled drum beat in all of hip-hop history. If you want to get down with your bad self, this is the one for you.     Visit Our Sources: Documentary: Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown https://www.biography.com/musician/james-brown https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Brown https://www.notablebiographies.com/Br-Ca/Brow

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we discuss the myth, facts, science and searches for Noah’s Ark. This ancient myth tells of the global flood and Noah creating a boat that could carry all of life for 40 days and drop it safely ashore when the flood died down. Cool story, bro, but do you even science? We start this one talking about the hard physics and facts of what would go into making and maintaining such a craft, and then we go into the many, many expeditions to find it. For hundreds of years, humans have tried to find this ancient craft, and some of their stories are wild.   Visit Our Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/100428-noahs-ark-found-in-turkey-science-religion-culture https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/has-the-location-of-noahs-ark-finally-been-proven-using-3d-scans-680890 https://ncse.ngo/impossible-voyage-noahs-ark https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL9eo9QaJb4

On this episode of Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the life and laughs of Will Ferrell. This juggernaut has made some of the greatest comedies of all times and helped to launch the careers of many other comedians. He started as a Groundling and soon moved to Saturday Night Live; it was a time when ratings were at their all-time low, and Lorne Michaels himself thinks Will Ferrell was the only thing that brought it back to life. He left it to make movies like Anchorman, Old School, Elf, and Talladega Nights. But he also co-founded Funny or Die through which he produced things like Between Two Ferns and Drunk History. His life has taught us one key lesson: stay classy, Sofa King Podcast!   Visit Our Sources: https://www.biography.com/actor/will-ferrell https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002071/bio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Ferrell https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/john-william-ferrell-3179.php https://wealthygorilla.com/will-ferrell-net-worth/ https://www.factinate.com/people/43-facts-will-fer

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk about one of the most sensationalized murders of the 1920s, the Hall-Mills murder. In September of 1922, Dude Passerby and his girlfriend stumbled upon the bodies of Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills. Hall was the local pastor, and Mills was in the church choir. But the details got crazy. First, the entire congregation knew of the affair. Second, Hall was married to an older heiress of the Johnson & Johnson company and thought to be a gold digger. One of Hearst’s newspapers whipped the nation into a frenzy over this murder, and the trial was one of legend. There was the Pig Woman who testified from her hospital bed. There were steamy love letters read to the crowd. But who did authorities think did the murder? Why did some people think it was the KKK? What made police rethink the case forty years later? Listen, laugh, learn.   Visit Our Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall%E2%80%93Mills_murder_case https://www.northjersey.com/story/entertainment/books/2

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the infamous Fyre Festival. This aborted music festival was supposed to happen on Pablo Escobar’s private island and headlined by Blink 182 and celebrity chefs. It ended up being a disaster where guests lived in rained-out FEMA tents and ate slices of wilted cheese on wheat bread. There was no power, no water, no Wi-Fi, no food, no toilets. Quite simply, there was no festival; hundreds found out too late and were stranded there. So, what crime did the organizer, Billy McFarland, end up facing? How was this caused by the social ills of media influencers? How did 18 trucks of Evian water lead to a blowjob scandal? How as Ja Rule involved? Listen, laugh, learn.   Visit Our Sources: https://www.billboard.com/pro/fyre-festival-founder-billy-mcfarland-out-prison-new-venture/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fyre_Festival https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnises https://www.businessinsider.com/fyre-festival-expectations-vs-reality-2017-4 https://