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Oct. 14, 2024 - ParaNaughtica
02:12:52
Episode 97. Most Shocking: Eight Deaths Caught on Live T.V.

CONTACT US: Email:        paranaughtica@gmail.com  Twitter:      @paranaughtica  Facebook:    The Paranaughtica PodcastContact Cricket:  Website:  ⁠⁠www.theindividuale.com⁠⁠ Twitter:  @IndividualethePATREON SUPPORT:       patreon.com/TheParanaughticaPodcast  We’ve got a special mash-up just for you!Today, we’ll be discussing EIGHT of the most shocking moments ever captured on Live Television. These eight moments have changed the landscape of broadcasting and left an indelible mark on society's mental health.The first is the ‘Eight Hostages’ situation out of Manila, Philippines.The second is the death of one of wrestling’s best, Owen Heart. The third is the death of political figure, Inejiro Asanuma.The fourth is the death of one of Spain’s most renowned ‘bull fighters’, Victor Barrio, who took the bull by the horn...literally.The fifth is of the death of Georgia’s Luge hopeful, Nodar Kumaritashvili, as he was nearing the end of his 26th practice run.The sixth is the double murder of Alison Parker and Adam Ward, a news anchor woman and the camera-man, during a live interview. The seventh is of news anchor-woman, Christine Chubbuck, as she gave her final story.And the eighth is of State Treasurer, Robert ‘Budd’ Dwyer, who called for a live-broadcast the day before he was to be sentenced for alleged criminal charges. These are but a handful of innumerable instances of when people’s lives were ended during live television broadcasts. We hope you enjoy.patreon.com/TheParanaughticaPodcast ***If you’d like to help out with a donation and you’re currently listening on Spotify, you can simply scroll down on the page and you’ll see a button to help us out with either a one-time donation or you can set up a monthly recurring donation.  You can also go to the Facebook page where we have a link to Ko-Fi and Pay-Pal if you'd like to help out the show. We would greatly appreciate it! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Time Text
*Mario plays* *Mario plays* *Mario plays* *Mario plays* *Mario plays* *Mario plays* *Mario plays* *Mario
*Mario plays* *Mario plays* *Mario plays*
Morbidly hilarious.
Morbidly hilarious, which is what this show is supposed to be about.
Morbidly hilarious stories.
Well, in that case, you gotta splice it, then.
You can splice it up.
You go half horror music, half Benny Hill soundtrack.
There you go.
Spin the wheel of different music choices and then that's the one you get.
Country, orchestra, fucking all sorts of shit.
So how it goes to everybody.
I hope that everybody has recovered from the hurricane that I am thankful to hear at least downgraded itself somewhat before landfall.
Yeah. So that was good to hear.
Was hoping.
It's crazy.
It's an uphill, intense storyline forever, and then it happens, and then it's nowhere in the news, and then it's just forgotten about.
I haven't seen anything in the news lately, other than a little bit of destruction.
But it was not as crazy and damaging as everyone thought it was going to be, right?
Yeah, it wasn't the dramatic devastation that they had in the other region that was just thoroughly blindsided by it.
Yeah, I do.
I mean, part of it's they got automatic infrastructure protections there because, yeah, hurricane given every year.
Yeah, you know it's going to hit Florida no matter what.
Like other places, it's a little less likely than you're going to the places where you usually go to ditch the hurricane.
Not 100% unlikely, but less.
Apparently there's a new hurricane coming through and it's kind of like...
Come from the east, go over Florida to the west, loop back around, come back up like a figure eight and go kind of like right in the same track that it was going in and come back.
It's their projection, little like graphic thing is pretty crazy.
And if that's the case, Florida is going to get hit pretty hard by this next hurricane.
It looks like they're steering it, you know, hard.
I mean, who knows?
I did think it was kind of funny that as everybody got suspicious, then the hurricane suddenly downgraded.
Yeah. Like, oh shit!
Oh shit!
But they did get rid of Disney really quick.
Not get rid of it, but they did do a lot of damage to Disney, which everybody's stoked about, saying they flooded the tunnels out, which flooded all the sex traffickers, because that's where they're hiding under Disney in the tunnels.
Which, hey, they probably are.
There probably are some that are doing that.
You know, who knows?
I mean, if they did get flooded out, that's not exactly any love lost there.
No. Although hopefully everyone made it out okay.
Hopefully everyone innocent.
Yes, hopefully everyone innocent at the very least made it out okay.
And the guilty perpetrators got stuck in the tunnels and drowned.
Man, I hope it just devastated underneath Disney.
I hope it just destroyed that place, dude.
Like, I hope that place goes down.
Like, Disney needs to go.
Yeah, it makes you wonder about that part where they call it the magic kingdom.
Hmm. Yeah.
I mean, think about the Orwellianism of it's called the happiest place on earth.
For who?
And the new motto is you will own nothing and be happy.
So then the question is, obviously you're not happy in that second scenario, so maybe not in the first one either.
And on the less creepy side, they already have a reputation of being the park of lions.
For real, dude.
Where you go to sit in line and have your spirit crushed, not by a catacomb, but by a sign telling you that you've got two hours to wait.
Fuck that place, dude.
I don't even know why people want to bring their kids there, dude.
I don't know, maybe Six Flags, but Disney World and Disneyland, those places are just garbage.
My folks floated the idea and then realized real quick that there were way cheaper places.
Like you say, Six Flags, Silverwood, little local places that have a much...
Much better deals.
Man, I was in Los Angeles and I went to Universal Studios.
And just a ticket for a day pass for like everything.
I mean, most of the stuff, like you can go take rides and all that stuff from this one ticket.
I don't know if it's a general ticket or what, but it was like $1,000, man.
Wow. And we had like a group of like seven people or something.
And it was all paid for.
I didn't pay for shit.
Oh, man.
And it was like...
This is ridiculous.
You go down City Walk, and I don't know, man.
It's an experience, but bro, $1,000.
And Disneyland, I don't know how much that is, but I know it's way overpriced.
Whereas at Disney World or Disneyland in Florida, I don't even know.
One of those two.
That's like one of those things.
I had a $1,000 bottle of wine once.
I would rather do that.
For the same reason, because it wasn't bought by me.
Yeah. Gala was dating at the time, got it as a birthday present from this dude who collected wines.
He's one of my lower-end wines.
It's only worth $1,000.
I don't even drink and I'd rather do that than go to Disneyland.
Honestly, it was an experience.
I would literally never pay that much.
Yeah, it tasted good.
Fruit juice, but then at the same time, he kept looking at it thinking that the thing in this glass is worth $300.
This is insanity.
I would never.
I would never.
I mean, the most expensive bottle I ever purchased is maybe like Hennessy.
The one above Hennessy is like a V or something.
I forget.
One of those cognacs.
It was like $80.
That was many years ago.
But yeah, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience where I could actually make the alcohol taste good.
And then I thought, for $3, I could have done the same with some nice Boone's Farm.
Yeah, dude.
Boone's Farm.
I don't miss that at all, though.
I'm so glad to have quit it.
Yeah. Like I said, I could have used a better reason.
I could have used a better reason.
But it was a good enough excuse.
You know what I liked?
You remember when they used to just peddle all those candy cigarettes to kids?
Remember all that shit?
You get the fake pack of cigarettes and they have candy cigarettes?
Those are way better.
Because you could pretend you were smoking and didn't actually have to suffer the negative side of it.
Yeah, but it's like teaching the kids to smoke.
It's crushing them.
And then you could chew the gum afterwards.
Yeah, that's why they got rid of them.
Because they realized, you know, this is probably...
Priming them to enjoy these.
Yeah, because I remember when I got some of those when I was a kid, I used to get those.
And looking back at it, you know, the adult...
Seeing their kid have a candy cigarette and acting like their parent.
Taking the drag and blowing it out.
And the family or the parents just laughing.
It's like, no, that's not good.
That's not good.
It's like child abuse.
Oh, they knew what they...
I mean, the candy cigarette manufacturers, they knew what they were doing.
They knew all the kids would blow through the end of it.
I mean, they even designed it with a little tiny pinhole in the end of it where when you blew on it, the excess...
The excess sugar would fly out, making it look like you blew out a puff of smoke.
It's insane.
So, yeah, that seemed entirely intentional.
And, you know, just like real cigarettes, after you blew out the puff of smoke and it was done smoking, well, now you needed another one.
I want to see who made candy cigarettes really quick.
I want to know who was behind this.
I don't know, probably the same one who did, like, the baby...
Kids' first plutonium.
Oh, yeah, dude.
Or uranium or whatever.
It had some kind of radioactive isotope you could buy in the 50s or 60s.
It came with a little mini Gager counter and, well, radioactive material for you to study.
Wow, dude.
So you could pretend you were Marie Curie, too, and die of cancer.
So it was definitely cigarette companies.
That we're behind the candy cigarettes.
I mean, that's kind of a given, right?
Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation was huge and pushed out candy cigarettes.
You've got to get them to develop the oral fixation that's then later replaced by the cigarette.
Yeah, I mean, it's the nipple first.
And it's a cigarette.
Well, you go for the candy cigarette and you'll notice their gum.
So you're constantly chewing on them.
So, yeah, that's why they opted for candy cigarettes to usually be chewing gum.
It's because then you'd have to chew on them constantly.
And, well, again, the chewing gum lost its flavor in a few seconds, so what would you need?
Another candy cigarette.
Chain smokers.
Perfect addiction cycle demonstration.
You're actually playing through the ritual of chain smoking.
Yep. As a kid and don't realize it.
Yep. It was a Hershey company that made the candies, candy cigarettes.
Yeah, well, I imagine that they would jump on that huge profit margin because, yeah, everybody's going to get them and think they're cute.
You know what's funny?
Because my parents, they would only smoke Marlboro's, which were like $50 for a carton back in the day.
You get like 12 packs or something, 10 packs maybe.
They would get one of those which would last them like a month or something.
And I must have been six or seven, and my friend and I, because my friend's dad smoked Rollies, he'd roll his own cigarettes.
And so my friend and I were like, well, let's give him a gift, you know?
And so we decided to take my parents' cigarettes, Marlboro's, open them up, take all the tobacco out of them, put it in like a can, and we were going to give that to our friend's dad as a gift, as a present.
My parents were so fucking pissed.
Oh my god.
I was about to say, that's so much money down the drain right there.
Yeah, we're talking early 90s, so that's like, you know, yeah, they were pissed.
That was a lot of money.
And I was like, I'm gonna get my ass beat for this!
And that was one thing that they didn't beat my ass for.
And I thought for, I was sure as hell gonna be like the worst beating.
The shock was too great.
Yeah. It was just nuts, dude.
I feel so bad looking back at that.
It's hilarious, you know?
Oh, I know.
I almost burnt our property down, too.
Yeah, see, that's a little more extreme.
Yeah. Yeah, that one was bad.
I got it.
He's probably just like, maybe you should have stuck to ruining our cigarette.
Yeah, I got my ass slapped for that one.
You know, I knew somebody who actually ate his mom's cigarettes when he was a kid.
Ate? Yes.
Like he liked them?
How? I don't know.
Like, wanted to eat them.
Like, wanted to eat the raw, burnt cigarette.
You know, would just get into them and wouldn't chew on them.
Wouldn't, like, swallow them, but would, like, nom on them.
It was nasty.
Like, mauled them.
You know, at a really young age.
So, yeah, it was nasty.
That is disgusting.
You. So, hey, you know, you could have done that.
No. Ugh.
Jesus. It's disgusting.
I mean, that was the era where you could send your kid to the convenience store to go buy a pack of cigarettes for you and just say, hey, my mom was here.
My mom sent me here to buy a pack and they'd ask you what kind and you'd tell them and they'd just give them to you, give you change.
Nothing at all strange about that.
Giving it to the seven-year-old.
Here's a playboy.
You want to grab a beer, too, son?
What do you need?
I got a hustler back here.
I know.
How many other age-restricted things do you have?
You need some throwing stars.
You want to register for a gun?
We got guns back here, too.
Jeez. That means business.
I've been a hell of a convenience store.
It's my type of fucking convenience store, man.
I mean, that sounds convenient to me.
Dude, your one-stop shop.
Your guns, your beer, your cigarettes, your porn, your food.
I always wondered if they actually, like, restrict that and you can't sell both guns and alcohol in the same place, like, area.
Oh. Because, like, when you do it at the store or at, you know, department stores, they're usually separated, like, as far as possible.
Malt, liquor, and guns.
But at the same time.
Did they ever restrict it?
Who freaking knows?
No. Probably not.
Someone just realized they'd be on the hook for it, so they just didn't do it.
It's probably the more likely scenario.
Speaking of disgusting, what's up with the Internet Archive?
Internet Archive is, well, temporarily down.
They got hacked.
People are complaining about how the anonymous hackers of the Internet Could go after any target and shut down anything, but instead they go after the Library of Alexandria of the Internet effectively.
And my first thought is I don't think those are just regular hackers, like the anonymous.
No, those anonymous white hat hackers don't do this.
No, they don't do this.
They don't do this.
The black hats, the government would do this.
It's not a logical target at all.
Yeah, why would a white hat hacker remove his ability to dig up dirt on the government?
That makes zero sense.
From a strategic standpoint, let alone anything else.
Yeah, it effectively pretty much rules it out where my theory is it has to be some kind of malicious actor because...
100%. Well, again, somebody doing it for good reasons would not hit this target.
And that says to me that somebody had to be compensated to hit this target.
This is not some labor of love by a dude with an internet connection and a VPN.
Yeah, so as of 10, 13, 24 at 4, 11pm, Internet Archive is still down.
They do have a Twitter handle you can follow at Internet Archive.
So that's pretty crazy that they would attack Internet Archive.
So something happened right before this went down, and I don't know, it was like a Trump speech or a Kamala speech.
It was some event, and then Internet Archive went down.
Yeah, I was wondering if it was just incidental or if it was a triggering point.
You've got to wonder why would they take it down at this point in time.
Well, I mean...
In the weeks coming up to the election, it'd be really useful to look up lies that have been deleted off the internet.
For real.
It's almost like they're prepping.
They're prepping for a big world event coming up before the election.
Yeah. I mean, if the Wayback Machine goes down, that would be the burning of Alexandria at that point.
I'm going to see.
I'm going to check this out.
Let's see if Wayback Machine is still up.
Imagine Wayback.
I was about to say, if Wayback and Internet Archive both went down, how many other...
Internet archiving sites even are there that are public.
It's not loading.
I was never sure if they were connected to the Internet Archive or not, but I thought Wayback was owned by somebody else.
It's not fucking loading.
So wait, is Wayback down and people are just slowly coming to this realization?
Because if so, yeah, that is the burning of Alexandria, especially if we don't get that info back.
Bro, wait, it's not...
Wayback machine is not opening.
It's not loading.
It keeps going to an error.
Does it say it's down and down detector?
No, I hear those, hmm, can't reach this page.
It took too long to respond.
Try checking the connection, checking the proxy and the firewall.
It's getting DDoSed, yes.
So this is not just simply an attack on the Internet Archive.
This is an attack on the collective memory of the Internet.
Yep, they are going after it.
That's nuts.
I'm going to go...
I've got to...
Check this out now.
So, how many people actually know this part?
I would recommend putting out an alert and letting people know that Wayback is also down, especially if Down Detector hasn't reported it yet.
Yeah, I'm going to...
Let me do this live on air here.
Yeah, I was going to say, go to downdetector.com and see if they've gotten a spike in down reports.
downdetector.com Which service are you having problems with?
What happens when downdetector.com goes down?
Yeah, what happens when...
Where do you go then?
It's like, who guards the guards themselves?
Nothing comes up for that one.
So there's no reported outage, but you can't get the page to load?
Let me try it.
Yeah, you try that.
I'm making a snippet so I can make this post about this shit really quick.
Wayback Machine, Internet Archive.
No, I don't want the Internet Archive of...
Oh wait, there we go.
Wayback Machine.
Oh wait, Internet Archive's Wayback Machine hacked.
So they hit the hook.
Wait, is that the same thing?
I thought Internet Archive and Wayback Machine were different.
So yeah, they're still down.
What? Man, this is nuts that they're doing this.
So I was confused because I always thought of them as separate entities.
I thought they were different.
I did too.
I thought Internet Archive and Wayback Machine were totally separate.
But apparently not.
So, yeah, they're down.
We'll return in days, not weeks, is the claim here, too.
I don't know about that.
I'll take Internet Archive.
Post has been made.
Isn't that something?
Yeah. I guess that's the part of Internet Archive that got hacked, was the Wayback Machine system.
Like I said, I thought they were a separate thing, but I guess they must...
Maybe they got absorbed?
I don't know.
Internet Archive.
It's also Open Library and Archive It are all part of...
Yeah, Wayback Machine is, I guess, just a part of the overall Internet Archive.
So, yeah, it's a really confusing story because this is a giant org that's got multiple organs.
And are the other parts up or are they down?
Those two other companies?
Yeah. If they're all part of the...
Internet Archive.
Openlibrary.org.
Something's happening.
Trying to do something.
Doesn't look like it's going to happen.
Yeah, that's down.
So it's the whole spectrum of them.
They're all getting shut down.
Yeah. Yeah, it's just confusing because Wayback Machine is the one everyone thinks of.
I guess unless people are talking about looking up certain old docs, and then they usually talk about Internet Archive.
Openlibrary.com is a domain that's available for sale.
So yeah, it's definitely org.
Yeah, it's down.
And the archiveit.org is down as well.
So the whole thing is down.
That's official.
So their entire infrastructure is down, even though it's really just...
Even though all these stories are really only emphasizing the Wayback Machine part of it, which is weird.
Hence the confusion.
Because, well, first off, I didn't think they were the same thing, but I guess they're basically a department, more or less.
And the whole thing is getting DDoSed.
But from what I'm reading, only the Wayback Machine is part of it.
That was the part that actually got data breached, because those are the email addresses and data that got leaked.
Yeah, Internet Archive says that people don't have to worry about that.
I would take that advice with a grain of salt.
Yeah, I mean, because Internet Archive on their Twitter account said that don't worry, your data is safe.
That's pinned to their account.
So I don't know if they have different, if that's just for Internet Archive or, because I don't know, do you sign up with using your email for shit?
Do you become a member of Internet Archive?
Unless you're actually contributing entries.
I don't think you have to really sign up just to look things up on it.
So I never bothered.
Yeah, I don't think I ever have.
I look shit up all the time.
I don't think I've ever put in information.
Yeah, I just looked up things.
I mean, I'm so illiterate on the site, I didn't know that it had two other sections that actually make up the overall Internet Archive umbrella.
Yeah. I just assumed it was its own thing.
Now we know, though.
Now we know.
So yeah, I wouldn't be part of this 31 million breached regardless, but I'm wondering why they can reassure people if they're already saying it was leaked.
If the info's already out there, then can you uncork the bottle?
I don't think so, dude.
It's already on the dark web, would be my guess.
Yeah, and once it's there, it's there.
Once it's there, it's there forever.
Because somebody is going to take that and download it.
And then if it ever disappears, it comes back up.
I mean, all this comes in the wake of that court loss where they lost a whole bunch of educational docs.
Or the right to them, rather.
No learning for free.
No learning for free!
Alright, let's move on to...
There's a third attempted assassination, they're saying, on Trump.
It's bigger and better.
And by that I mean it's smaller and much more underwhelming.
Yeah, and I'm just going to point out here that all these publications are saying that there's a third attempt on Trump's life, but FBI and law enforcement say, no, it was not an assassination attempt.
So this latest gaffe, if you want to call it, is Vem Miller, 49-year-old Las Vegas resident.
He was caught at a checkpoint about a quarter to a half a mile from that rally, Trump rally in Coachella Valley on Saturday.
Ooh, magazine.
Spooky. I mean, he had...
He had a press pass.
He was apparently Agent 47. Yes.
He was going to knock out one of the guards, leave him in the closet, dress up in their clothes.
Oh, man.
He's going to John Wick it straight to Trump.
Because I was thinking, there's nothing long range there.
I'm like, are you John Wick?
Are you just going to...
Take down targets on the way there as you're running at the stage, like you're Leonidas and 300.
What even is this story?
Jumping, diving, rolling, taking out all the Secret Service agents throughout the crowd, never hitting an innocent victim.
So he just got busted in his car before any of this stuff happened, which is a pretty flimsy...
Almost completely unbelievably stupid plot.
Yeah. To the point where it kind of sounds almost movie-like.
It does.
It sounds staged once again.
And yet they're actually calling this one a third attempt.
Only in publications.
Well, the thing is, if anything was going to be called a third attempt, it would have been that incident where a bunch of people got sick on stage.
Yeah, right.
I thought that was a third attempt.
I thought, yeah, that one just kind of disappeared and stopped getting talked about.
And that, for ladies and gentlemen, they thought it was a do-weapon.
Yeah. And it was supposed to be...
And it was being hyped up as a potential third attempt.
But everybody refused to call it that.
And it was so obscure and nebulous that it was hard to even think about.
And so then, of course...
Now they're just jumping straight to a guy gets pulled over in his car with guns, and he was definitely plotting because, yeah, the press passes indicate some, like, maybe intent, but, again, almost cartoonish levels of intent.
Definitely. Definitely.
But the Riverside County Sheriff, Chad Bianco, said this, quote, We probably stopped another assassination attempt.
End quote.
Give us funding.
Look what we did for him.
Give us money now.
He's going to have some more money for the department now.
We probably stopped another assassination attempt?
And then he scratches his head.
Like the I'm Ron Burgundy?
He's put a question mark at the end of the teleprompter.
Oh, man.
We probably stopped another assassination attempt.
I think.
Maybe. I mean, good for you.
Bravo, I guess.
I mean, at the very least, this version of this story actually mentioned that he came with press passes, which is a little bit more than just a guy gets pulled over with some guns in his car and he was definitely going to go make an assassination attempt.
I'm like, that's a bit too much of a bridge for me to walk across there.
Come on.
Yeah, dude.
Again, I want to emphasize that only publications, news outlets are saying this is a third attempt.
The FBI and law enforcement do not believe this was an assassination attempt on Trump.
Just want to note that.
Make that clear for everyone because only the Mockingbird Media is telling you these things when the FBI is telling you no.
It was not.
But again, we cannot trust the FBI either.
At least the one they called a second one was a guy with a long-range weapon.
Actual potential threat to pose.
Again, this is Agent 47 or Solid Snake here trying to sneak his way in.
I think he's going to pull it off a lot more like Al Bundy.
Poor Al.
So, don't think it's going to work out.
Poor Al Bundy.
But then, wasn't there another attack?
Oh, that's the Election Day attack.
That's what I wanted to mention.
So, this guy that was just arrested, this Vim Miller, was he just an agent?
Was he just sent in there to do this as a fake attempt?
To get the media to go crazy?
I mean, it sure as hell seems like it.
Because the guy that was arrested for the election day, the planned election day attack, what was his name again?
Nasir Ahmad Tawhidi.
He was arrested in Oklahoma City for planning, he was planning to do a terrorist attack on election day.
And when Cricket and I mentioned this when it broke last week, We were like, well, this guy probably was just a CIA agent, right?
And it turns out, indeed, this guy was a CIA agent.
It's been verified through, what is this?
The U.S. Department of Justice, that Nassar Ahmad Tawhidi, 27, worked for the government in Afghanistan.
For the CIA.
So we're going to need the CIA to come out and make an official statement that he's not a part of MKUltra so we can all feel a lot more reassured.
Yeah, dude.
I don't know how I'm going to feel safe until they make that statement.
I don't know how much people need before they realize the government is just full of shit, dude.
All these attacks on Trump are done by the government.
All of them.
All of them, the CIA and FBI, are involved in all of these attempts.
How much more evidence do you people need?
We've received actionable intelligence that we're planning on stuff, guys.
So be ready for it.
Yeah, and we're not talking to our listeners here, because our listeners understand how retarded all of this is.
But all the people out there that don't listen to the show, my God, how much more evidence do they need to just prove that the government is the terrorist organization?
They are the terrorist organization.
They're going to need to upgrade the terror alert to Blackwatch plaid a la Harvey Birdman so we can be as scared as possible while staring at that plaid terror alert.
You remember the terror alert warnings?
On Birdman?
I don't.
No, I mean, well, I remember the terror alert warnings.
They were making fun of the real life ones where it was like literally that there was terror alerts in the newspaper, like red, green, yellow, like fire danger.
Yeah, like the fire danger alerts.
They had an episode of Harvey Birdman where he like put surveillance all over the thing and just kept ramping up the terror alert so that he could install them in like the ladies' toilets and stuff.
Oh my God.
Like, nope, there's terrorists.
We need to be vigilant.
They need to go in the bathroom.
Fucking Harvey Birdman.
They made a female version.
Have you ever seen that one?
Birdwoman or something?
Lady Birdman?
Yeah, there's a lady Birdwoman.
I forget.
It's actually kind of funny and it's hard for me to say that because it's obviously like DEI feminist type shit.
But they say the dialogue is pretty fucking hilarious.
So I don't think it's DEI because they wouldn't be that funny.
So I don't know.
Well, I mean, they had the idea of a female version of the same hero predates DEI, too.
True. Just in general, you're always going to want to flip the gender and try and get another character out of it, because why the hell not?
Now you've got two characters where you once had one and you didn't have to write anything.
Early on, when Cartoon Network did the Adult Swim, early Adult Swim was just amazing.
Oh, yeah.
Freaking C-Lab 2021.
That was exactly what I was thinking of, dude.
That's so funny.
Those are my favorites.
Damn it.
God, how am I blanking on the name of the show?
Aquatoon Hunger Force.
Yeah, they were great.
Aquatoon Hunger Force is pretty good.
They went way too long, but God, they were so amazing those first five or six seasons.
Yeah, it eventually got really bad.
Like, absurdism only goes so long.
I was one of the few that actually liked Xavier Renegade Angel, which most people did not like that absurdist shit.
This is hilarious, dude.
Mirror.com.
Ah, where'd it go?
I deleted it.
I mean, from what I was reading in a couple of assessment things, people were saying that...
Now the WF is actually relatively common knowledge to the point where most normies know what that is.
The WEF?
Yeah, they have a 90-95% disapproval rating, which they're really kind of afraid of because, as I mentioned in the last episode, that's worse than AIDS.
There's actual deadly viruses that are more popular than them.
And so the thing is, you have to be concerned about the fact that They're so unpopular that at this point, their plans are going to fail.
Like, there's no, like, let's implement all this stuff because, well, who's got the confidence in it even working?
So, yeah, be distrusting of the boomerang and watch for that.
Because when things flip back, you can't just assume that you're winning.
And they're going to flip back.
They were inevitably going to, but it almost seems like they're kind of, like, hastening that.
With the ineptitude.
Yeah. Like, they're making it happen sooner and worse because they're just so bad at trying to delay it.
I mean, all this rollout of all these self-driving cars.
Robots now.
You see that.
And didn't he present all that shit in front of the WEF?
Which should raise some red flags.
Yep. Number 33. Yeah.
Android number 33. I'm like, that's convenient.
Come on, people.
Come on.
And again, I'm not talking to our audience here.
I'm talking to all the normies out there who haven't tuned in yet.
Well, yeah.
If you think that any one person's coming to save the day, I have terrible news for you.
It ain't happening!
They're not getting press coverage.
If any one person is going to save the day, that guy is not getting favorable press coverage.
That's the trick is back when people were insisting Trump was the Antichrist and they thought, well, I don't know because, see, the Antichrist isn't going to have hit pieces wrote on them.
Unless the entire point is for him to save the day from the prior system, which is now deemed the new evil.
Because right now, all that stuff, the horribleness is being deemed as good, when we all know it's awful.
But at some point, people are not going to accept that anymore.
And we have to be cautious about what we're handed to replace it.
Straight up.
Alright, on to the...
On to the much more hilarious and entertaining topic of random gruesome deaths caught live.
Today's episode is about the most shocking events caught on live television.
Deaths caught on tape.
Murders. Suicides.
Gruesome. Morbid shit.
Live television has been a staple of our entertainment and news consumption for decades.
It provides us with a sense of immediacy and allows us to experience events as they unfold in real time.
However, there are moments when live television captures something truly disturbing and horrifying.
Deaths and suicides.
These incidents are the first of their kind as they were never seen before on live television and shocked viewers around the world.
Throughout the years, There have been several instances where deaths and suicides were caught on live television.
One of the most notable examples is the case of Christine Chubbuck, a news reporter who committed suicide on live TV in 1974.
This incident was a wake-up call for many in the media industry as it highlighted the potential dangers of broadcasting live content without proper precautions in place.
Another disturbing incident was the death of Bud Dwyer, a politician who shot himself during a press conference in 1987.
Shout out to 1987.
The shocking footage of this suicide was broadcast live across the country, leaving viewers stunned and traumatized.
This event sparked a debate about the ethics of showing graphic content on live television and led to stricter regulations being put in place.
I'm really good to say, like, alright, next time somebody's going to kill themselves, you tell them to hold up for a second so we can cut the camera.
Turn the camera off.
He's gonna do it.
I mean, I know they eventually introduced the delay.
I just thought it was kind of silly.
Like, hey, you turn it off when somebody does something like that out of nowhere.
The ubiquity of live television means that we never know what we might see when we tune in.
Most of the time.
We are treated to entertaining shows, breaking news, but there's always a possibility that something disturbing and tragic could happen.
And maybe that's why we watch it.
Because we're waiting for...
Our boobs could pop out.
Our boobs might pop out.
Boobs! Look!
Yeah. I mean, there was that infamous wardrobe malfunction.
Yes. With Jackson, what was her name?
Janet Jackson?
Janet Jackson, yeah.
And the NSYNC dude.
That was totally set up on stage.
Everyone thought it was like a slip, but no.
That was on purpose.
I mean, he said he was going to get her naked by the end of the song, and then he accidentally pulls her boobah cover off.
And that thing was like Velcroed.
Shout out to Velcro.
But that thing was like Velcroed.
It was ready to be ripped off.
It was purposely put there like that.
I think most people know that by now.
But if you watched the replay, you missed it.
You had to see it the first time.
I think that's actually what prompted them to finally force a delay.
Because after that, there was like a 7 second delay because then things like that wouldn't necessarily get them fined by the FCC.
Yeah, yeah.
Because it's not as if they don't like the ratings.
They just don't like the fines.
I mean, honestly, if they could and the ratings and the FCC would let them, they'd have the same.
We would have topless broadcasts like they do in freaking like Eastern Europe.
Or a Swedish broadcast or some shit.
Yeah, I was going to say, Eastern Europe's got to like, no, not Sweden, uh, freaking somewhere else.
I just remember seeing a bunch of them and I'm like, see, this gets people interested in the news.
Eastern Europe does it all the time.
I don't know which country's exactly, like maybe Belarus or something, but yeah, topless weather women, which I remember being a kid and be like, why don't we have that here?
I would watch TV if we had that here.
You know, we didn't, I didn't watch the news.
Yes, tell me about the storm.
I'm very interested.
And all of this unpredictability adds to the allure of live television, but also serves as a reminder of the risks involved in broadcasting unscripted content.
But then again, you just never know what will happen.
And while it is important for broadcasters to exercise caution when airing live content and to have proper safeguards in place to prevent tragedies like deaths and suicides from being shown on television, and while these incidents may be difficult to watch, They also serve as a reminder of the fragility of life and the need to consider mental health and well-being.
Deaths and suicides caught on live television are a disturbing reminder of the unpredictable nature of live broadcasts, and these incidents were the first of their kind and shocked viewers around the world.
Our first one we will get to today is the eight hostages situation that occurred on August 23, 2010.
On August 23, 2010, An event unfolded in Manila, Philippines, that could only be described as an absurd theater of misfortune, one that would leave an indelible mark on the annals of botched police operations.
Picture this.
The sun shone brightly on the historic Reisel Park, where tourists basked under the tropical skies, blissfully unaware that a disgruntled former police officer was about to turn their day into an ultimate disaster.
Armed with an assault rifle, And his sentiments of being unfairly dismissed from the Philippine National Police, Rolando Mendoza, a 55-year-old with a flair for the dramatic, thought that he had discovered the perfect method for pleading his case, taking 25 innocents hostage.
Who wouldn't do that?
I would like to interject the theory.
Yeah, I was gonna say I'd like to interject the theory that Rolando Mendoza was probably fired for cause.
You're right.
For good reason.
There's a good reason for his dismissal.
He might have been a little bit unstable.
Just a tiny bit.
Mendoza literally boarded a tourist bus filled with 20 guests from Hong Kong, along with their charming Chinese tour guide and a quartet of Filipino guides who surely thought that they would rig out their friends with tales of a scenic day at the park.
Not the harrowing saga of a hostage crisis.
One has to admire Mendoza's audacity, mistaking a group of tourists for a courtroom jury, ready to acquit him based solely on the caliber of his weaponry.
After all, who doesn't think that waving a gun around might just change the minds of those who wronged one?
Especially when those witnesses are a diverse group of hapless tourists.
As Mendoza navigated the charming roads of Rizal Park...
One can only imagine the panic that ensued once the bus passengers realized that their guide had casually pulled out a deadly apparatus instead of offering to take their photo against the picturesque backdrop.
Of course, the hostages quickly discovered that their lives hinged not on safety protocols or the police's negotiation tactics but on the whims of a man who believed that his grievances would be addressed through the power of intimidation.
Enter the media.
Oh man, and they recorded all of this.
Yeah. I mean,
that's just pretty intense, right?
I mean, it would be high-quality television, as terrible as it is to say.
As the SWAT team readied its gear to spring into action, Mendoza's brother, a man who surely understood that familial ties could pierce through the darkness of an armed standoff, attempted to negotiate his brother's surrender.
Unfortunately, he came ill-equipped for the task.
His negotiation skills seemed more suitable to a street corner haggling than a hostage crisis diplomacy.
Perhaps, in an ironic twist worthy of a sitcom, he ended up getting arrested himself for weapons possession.
Yes, folks, when the situation could not become more absurd, Mendoza reacted like a dramatist, furiously flipping through his script, vowing to begin executing his hostages unless police set his brother free.
And he got his brother arrested in the first down, please.
Oh my god.
Yeah, dude.
So his brother must have brought a gun with him?
Or something.
Probably might have just had a weapon on him at the time.
Trying to help the situation.
More than likely didn't think they were going to make any big deal of it as he jumped in to try to help the situation.
Was unable to and then got promptly arrested after.
Fuck, man.
And so began the real tragedy of this farce.
A series of miscalculations and missteps that would eventually lead to a nightmarish conclusion.
Standard police training might have advised a multitude of strategies, but one could safely assume that none of them included the thought of allowing the clock to tick away while the crisis escalated.
Surely, the police must have believed in casualty-free resolutions, or perhaps they hoped that Mendoza would spontaneously come to his senses, recognize the folly of his ways, and walk out with his hands held high, declaring a ceasefire, giving himself up.
Then came the moment of reckoning.
After several hours of exchanging threats and psychodrama, Mendoza's restraint ran thin.
In a shocking display of one-upmanship, he executed Masase, the tour guide.
As the remaining hostages experienced a wave of panic that could be rivaled only by the worst horror movies, a few brave souls made a desperate attempt at heroism, only to find themselves met with Mendoza's rifle.
Round after round was unleashed, and it quickly became clear that Mendoza had chosen an unsavory path to justify his resolve.
One that led to the grim fate of his remaining captives.
Wait, how long did this pass in between this?
The whole thing lasted ten hours.
And then how long after he threatened...
So it was a total of ten hours the whole incident?
How long after he threatened to execute people did they sit there deciding to just not say anything?
Hours almost immediately like this plan was almost just happened immediately within one hour six of the hostages were released and then I
God, that's so awful.
How the hell did they not do anything this whole time?
That's a massive screw-up.
massive screw up.
In the midst of the chaos, the bus driver made a fateful decision to escape,
Yeah, this part's crazy.
In a move that could inspire a future crime drama script, he informed authorities that, quote, This breathtaking miscommunication could only have deepened the cold irony of the situation as police stormed the bus, ill-prepared and blundering, creating a cacophony of noise echoing through Rizzle Park.
Mendoza, who was still firing at the remaining passengers, hardly paused to consider the consequences of a raid that would make storming a castle look like a garden party.
The police, appearing somehow untrained at managing a hostage crisis, became a glaring embodiment of how not to handle such a volatile situation.
With each erroneous calculated move, they transformed a tragedy into a spectacle of blundering incompetence.
By the time the dust settled and the silence engulfed the scene, eight hostages had lost their lives.
Eight innocent victims caught in the crossfire of a neurotic police operation that recalled both comedy and tragedy.
With a twist of fate that would rattle even the hardest of hearts, the eight hostages incident served as both a painful reminder of the chaotic nature of human error and a glaring example of what poor crisis management could result in.
And so ended this episode in Manila, a horrifying reminder that sometimes it takes only one man's delusion and a gaggle of unprepared negotiators to turn an idyllic day into an unfathomable calamity.
The event became a cautionary tale, a spectacle of irony, where one man's quest for justification literally drove him to kill.
Wow. So, yeah, that's a pretty massive screw-up there.
I mean, how did they not just let the brother go?
They could have totally saved lives.
Their bold strategy of sitting around and waiting for the psychopath to put his gun down and give up is some of the most ridiculously stupid crap ever.
Fully. And by the way, Mendoza, he was also killed in that event.
He was definitely killed.
Once they rushed in and realized that, in fact, everyone was not, in fact, already dead.
Yeah. There's actually...
Let me see this.
There's footage of this so everyone can actually see.
Hostage taking kaninang umaga pa.
Ilang minuto lang matapos arestuin ng kanyang kapatid, nakatanggap tayo ng impormasyon.
Pero agad din namang bumalik, dalit naman ang kanister ng fear gas.
Naito unit siya sa loob ng bus.
Mula na magsimula ang putukan, walang nakikitang paggalaw sa loob ng bus na nakasara ang mga kortina.
Inaabot pa ng mahigit sampung minuto ang pagtatangka ng mga polis na wasakin ang salaming pintuan ng tourist bus hanggang sa bumuhos.
Fast forward here.
I mean, they really punched it up and hyped it.
This is insane.
Mayan-mayan pa nagsidatingin ng mga ambulansya mula sa iba't ibang units kabilang na.
Ang mga...
Tapos yung pagpasok ng pinakawaling tear gas canister ay nagpakawala nga ng sunod-sunod ng automatic gunfire.
Itong hostage taker.
At dito na natapos nga.
So what's why they deployed tear gas?
Yeah. Yeah,
anyway. You guys can go watch it if you want.
It's, uh, I don't know, somewhat dramatic, I guess, if you're into that sort of thing.
Morbidly interesting.
So let's move on to this next story.
This next one really talks about the heartstrings of those who were or are incalculable WWE fans.
Cricket, you're heavy into wrestling, right?
If I remember correctly, you're a huge fan of Brutus the Barber Beefcake, otherwise known as the deranged haircutting heel.
And you're a fan of Dump Matsumoto, the ghastly Japanese heel.
And Ricky Steamboat, graceful and furious.
And we can't forget Junkyard Dark, the working man's hero.
you
Well, aside from the kayfabe, there's one wrestling legend who will be missed among WWE diehards, but who will never be forgotten.
Owen Hart.
Owen Hart was many things to many people.
A professional wrestler with the then World Wrestling Federation, WWF, also known as WWE, Owen Hart was a beloved figure in the wrestling world.
He was the younger brother of Bret the Hitman Hart, who was arguably the more famous sibling.
But in the shadow of that formidable career, Owen carved out his own unique and endearing persona with his distinctive mix of athleticism, charisma, and comedy.
Owen brought joy to fans across the globe.
You know, it's...
Well, I guess I can save it for the end.
But, well, I'll say now.
His brother, the hitman, he also had a fall of his own.
I guess we can say that later.
Hailing from Calgary, Alberta, Owen belonged to the legendary Hart wrestling family, where grappling and showmanship was engraved in their very DNA.
As part of the renowned tag team group, the Hart Foundation, he showcased a tremendous talent for entertaining.
However... On May 23,
1999... Owen Hart was set to grace the ring again during one of his most anticipated wrestling events, the live pay-per-view spectacle named Over the Edge.
The excitement in the Kansas City arena that night was palpable.
Fans eagerly awaited his entrance, which promised to be nothing short of spectacular.
Owen's grand arrival would see him rappel down from the arena rafters, a breathtaking stunt that would undoubtedly leave the audience awestruck.
It was typical of Owen to go the extra mile for his fans, to turn every outing into an unforgettable experience, but little did anyone know that this night would take a harrowing turn, casting a long shadow over the wrestling world.
Oh yeah.
I didn't actually follow wrestling good, but I remember this story.
This was a tragic story.
It was very tragic.
Very tragic.
I never got into wrestling.
I remember in middle school...
There was this kid, Aaron.
I won't say his last name.
He was, you know, an accomplice.
A friend.
Not really a friend, but more of an accompli.
What do you call it?
Not really a friend, but...
Acquaintance. Acquaintance, yeah.
He was more of an acquaintance.
He was huge in wrestling and literally wore only wrestling shirts every day to school.
Every fucking day.
I'll bet it must have been like Kurt Cobain dying.
Yeah, this was horrible for him, I'm sure.
As the show nervously unfolded, a sense of anticipation enveloped the audience.
Enthusiastic cheers echoed through the venue and colorful signs waved in the air, capturing the energy of Owen's adoring fans.
But moments later, as Owen prepared for his superhero-like descent, excitement would morph into terror.
A malfunction occurred with Owen's harness leading to the unthinkable.
He plunged nearly 80 feet, 24 meters.
The amount of time it took for the audience to grasp what had happened felt painfully slow.
A hushed silence fell over the crowd, disbelief etched on their faces.
Owen had landed chest first on the top rope, with the impact brutally severing his aorta.
In a matter of moments, his vibrant energy, the very thing that had lit up the arena, was extinguished.
He bled to death within minutes, leaving fans and wrestlers alike in shock.
That's crazy.
I didn't know he bled out.
And probably a bit of confusion at first as to whether it was some kind of incredibly dedicated keyfabe that he was doing.
Yeah. Like, that's the thing.
It's not exactly...
It's unknown for wrestlers to do mock deaths in their dramatic performances and such.
Right. And do things that aren't in the script or whatever.
They kind of go off script and do something that no one knows.
Yeah, do unscripted stuff that they were actually set up to do, but nobody's ready for it.
Initially, I imagine part of the shock would just be sitting there thinking, is this real?
Is this...
This seems like a little bit too much of a performance.
You can imagine.
Yeah, you're sitting there like, what the fuck's really happened?
What's going on?
And then you just see like a blood pool around him.
Like, oh fuck.
Oh shit.
Yeah, it's like everybody's sitting there not knowing if they're supposed to cheer or gasp, all half silent.
Oof. Unprepared for such a tragedy, the audience was in a state of confusion and despair.
The live broadcasts moored from enthusiastic commentary to uncomfortable silence as television announcers attempted to redirect the mayhem.
Breaking the fourth wall, they straightaway informed viewers that the horrific fall was indeed not part of the scripted performance.
The realization settled in like a heavy fog, casting an undeniable paw over what had once been an electrifying evening.
Just to show you, they had to tell people.
Mm-hmm.
For wrestling fans, the reality of Owen Hart's death was an unbearable loss.
He had touched many lives in ways that transcended the ring.
He personified the heart of wrestling.
His generous spirit was felt by everyone from fellow wrestlers to audiences who cheered for him week after week.
For most, wrestling wasn't just a sport.
It was an escape.
A chance to root for the underdog and revel in the theatricality.
Owen's passing sent shockwaves through the wrestling community.
within the industry were not entirely unheard of, but Owen's untimely death ignited a fierce debate about the risks taken in pursuit of entertainment.
And again, yeah, his brother also fell not quite that high.
I think it was 16 feet from like a huge cage they built over the ring.
And he fell through like the top of the cage and landed down there.
Yeah. Pretty nuts.
There's another incident I saw a picture of back in 96
Where mankind took a spill during one of those Rage in the Cage events.
Yeah, I think that's the one.
Falling through a hole in the top of it.
That's the one, yeah.
So that's the thing.
Not only was it not...
Well, not only was everybody not entirely sure if it was Kefae until it was confirmed it wasn't.
But it's not even necessarily unprecedented that somebody have a fall and survive.
This was just particularly brutal, how this turned out.
80 feet, dude, oh!
That's a long ways, but the landing's what did him in, too.
The description of it's nasty.
The rope just...
So he...
The rope must have just...
It severed his aorta in his neck.
So how he fell, yeah, his neck hit that rope and just fucking severed it.
Yeah, split your main artery.
So he was almost decapitated!
Yeah, you got no chance.
I mean, it's better if you're going to bleed out in a matter of minutes, severing your main artery.
I mean, that's some serious blood pressure there.
That was a really big thing, though.
It broke into the mainstream news back when it originally happened.
No, it was huge.
It was all over the news.
And he most likely was knocked out, and so he didn't feel anything.
I mean, he fell 80 feet.
Yeah, that's it.
And was almost decapitated.
I mean, I don't know.
Some scholars take it in the fact that it was more than likely a peaceful passing, other than the horribleness.
It was at least not more painful than it needed to be.
We can only hope.
That's a bad one, dude.
Alright, so this next one comes to us from illustrious Japan, land of the rising sun.
Cricket, when you hear Japan...
What smells, tastes, sounds, and memories does it elicit for you?
Oh, I would say the living room of my mom's old house where I used to watch Toonami.
Okay. What was the smell?
That's definitely one.
It was linoleum.
Oh, the smell of linoleum.
The smell of linoleum.
Because that's when I first got into Japanese anime.
They had Saturday Japan anime.
Toonami was mostly anime back then.
I remember whenever Toonami came on, I tuned out.
I wasn't a Toonami fan.
I was all about Tenchi Muyo in particular.
I always liked the one-off ones that nobody else liked.
I didn't mind DBZ, but it wasn't my favorite.
I was always the one that was into the side series that nobody else had heard of.
Because I'm always like, oh yeah, I love anime.
Have you heard of Tenchi Muyo?
And everybody always just gives me a blank look to this day.
And I'm like, come on, it was literally on television when I was a kid.
It's not an uncommon thing.
Well, if you thought that choreographed wrestling is a high-octane event, then you best know firsthand that there's another area of high-octane.
In the high-octane world of politics, where words often have the power to sway the minds of millions, the life and untimely death of Inijiro Asunuma encapsulate the drama and tension of mid-20th century Japan.
As a member of the Japan Socialist Party, JSP, and a notable political figure, he left an indelible mark on the political landscape during a tumultuous period.
It was his shocking assassination on October 12, 1960, during a live television debate that cemented his story in the annals of history, both as a cautionary tale about political extremism and as a reflection of a fractured society.
Asunuma was born on December 27, 1898, on Mayakijima, a quiet volcanic island near Tokyo.
From the very beginning, his life was steeped in hardship.
Losing his mother during childbirth and then being orphaned at a young age after his father's demise set a tone for Asanuma's resilient spirit.
That's a hard start.
Very. That is a hard start.
Pursuing education with a passion, he graduated from Wasita University in 1923.
During his time at university, he became actively involved in leftist politics by joining the Farmer Labor Party.
And his dedication to workers' rights and advocacy for the downtrodden began to take shape.
Throughout the years, Asunuma's political career blossomed.
He aligned himself with various parties, ultimately co-founding the Japan Labor Farming Party in 1926.
His early years were marked by a shift in ideology.
From advocating against Japan's involvement in World War II, Asanuma transitioned into a prominent supporter of the war effort.
He claimed that the war was necessary for liberating Asia from Western imperialism.
However, these views were sharply revised in the wake of Japan's defeat as Asanuma emerged as a significant proponent.
Sure. An image that resonated deeply with the populace.
The post-war period saw him vehemently oppose any amendments to Article 9 of Japan's constitution, adamantly advocating for a non-militarized Japan, a position that threatened certain factions within the political establishment.
Something we all know very well here in the United States, with the government that operates and justifies its own existence through lies, deceit, threats, and even murder.
I mean, that's the Japanese military-industrial complex that you're stepping up with those up there.
And I mean, think about Imperial Japan and how gung-ho they were about war before that.
They were very, very bothered by the defeat and did not take it well.
Not take it well, dude.
Yeah, he was roughing some feathers, big time.
So yeah, when he's sitting there saying, hey, we should stay demilitarized, he was stepping on some pretty big toes.
I mean, that's just like here.
Who's the biggest weapons manufacturer that a government just loves?
Like Raytheon and Northrop...
Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Lockheed Martin.
So when these companies have a weapons deal...
And a politician opposes that deal, and they step on some toes, and that politician ends up dead somehow, under weird circumstances.
But it's always a suicide.
I mean, if there's any more dangerous person to oppose, it would be a guy whose job it is to manufacture firearms and explosives and weapons and instruments of death as a whole.
I mean, just from a logical standpoint, that's going to be the most dangerous person to try and work against.
Yeah. Yeah, Larry Frank, man.
Their industry is things that kill people.
So, if you're wondering if they might have some handy, yes!
In 1959, Asunuma made headlines when he visited the newly established People's Republic of China.
While there, he infamously labeled the United States as, quote, the shared enemy of China and Japan, end quote.
Ooh, that's heavy.
That's heavy.
His return to Japan, donned in a Mao suit, ignited a storm of controversy, drawing ire from various political factions, including fellow socialists.
Yet, this defiance only fueled his growing appeal among the Japanese populace while pushing right-wing extremism closer to the brink.
The fateful day of October 12, 1960 began like any other for Asunuma as he entered Hibiya Hall for a televised political debate.
The stakes were remarkably high, with the upcoming elections looming.
Man, this sounds really familiar.
The atmosphere was electric, with audiences at home tuned in, ready to engage with the political discourse.
Yet, what transpired was an event most couldn't fathom.
Amidst his speech, the sudden eruption of violence shattered the facade of civilized political spectating.
Atoya Yamaguchi.
A 17-year-old ultra-nationalist armed with a wakizashi.
With a wakizashi?
Is that what it is?
A wakizashi?
Yeah, a traditional samurai sword.
Nice. I have one.
I have one.
Really very blunt, but it exists.
Oyamaguchi had a sharp one, and he rushed the stage.
In a shocking flash, he plunged the blade into Asanuma's side, striking with deadly intent.
The broadcast captured the gut-wrenching moment in real time, embedding itself in the minds of viewers who witnessed the brutal act unfold before their eyes.
It's like a real-life scene out of a Kurosawa movie.
He would take his own life while in police custody a few weeks later.
Leaving behind a quakemire of questions and a nation staggering in shock.
So, this is a pattern.
This is a pattern that goes back a long time.
How do you do that?
Right? So this guy was activated, killed, and then terminated.
And this is in Japan.
So weird.
So weird.
That goes to show you that these weapons just get used by the powers of the day.
I mean, this assassination was pretty much striking directly against the communist infiltration of Japan, so it was being used for anti-communism back then.
So it's really just whoever's got the keys drives the car.
That's right.
The aftermath of Aston Newman's assassination shifted the tides of Japanese politics, reverberations that could far and wide.
Politicians and citizens alike mourn the loss of a man who had fought passionately for their causes.
Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda delivered an emotional eulogy, lauding Asunuma as the quintessential prince of the people, a speech-giving everyman, whose voice resonated through the streets of Japan.
Ikeda's heartfelt tribute underscored the impact of Asunuma's political philosophy and the ideas he stood for.
There's a famous photograph of Asunuma's assassination, taken by Yasushi Nagao, which later earned him a Pulitzer Prize.
This stark depiction encapsulated not only a man's brutal end, but mirrored the tension and fragility of society.
The visual became an emblem, illustrating the perils that accompanied political dissent.
See, anyone can go see this.
They can watch that live anywhere on YouTube.
Here, we can watch it right here.
I'm going to show you a clip.
Toe the party line or get impaled.
It's not exactly a new idea, is it guys?
Following Kent.
go.
I have no idea what he's saying.
He's like, I'm going to ban the carrying of samurai swords in public buildings.
and the dude's like, "Oh hell no!"
Not even an attempt at translation.
They know what people are here for.
Wait, wait, I'm hearing the shrieking.
People are starting to scream.
I think...
My guess is probably the guy is creating a disturbance as he starts to advance towards the crowd, or through the crowd.
Oh! Yep, yep.
I'm guessing they probably saw him and were like, there's a guy up there, he's got a sword.
Damn! That thing went all the way through his chest, bro.
I mean, he just gave him the mystery.
He straight up impaled him.
Holy hell.
He was running full speed and had his body anchored against the blade and it just went all the way in.
That was gnarly.
Straight into the side.
He strategically struck the point where it would not be blocked by ribcage.
Holy shit.
Oh! Yeah.
Oh! Yep, stabbed right behind the cage.
Or rather, through the ribcage.
Yeah, that was right through the ribcage.
Oh my god.
Yeah, he probably still wouldn't have gone all the way around it because it goes all the way to the back.
Horrible. That's so gnarly.
I remember that one from the whole Spirit Destiny theory where they pointed out that if he stabbed him in the side, it would get caught up by the ribcage still.
And they would have had to stab him through the front.
Oh, man.
So yeah, you guys can go watch that if you want.
It was gnarly.
It's only like a minute, 20 minutes.
And it really goes to show you how the difference between real life and Hollywood, it's so almost anticlimactic.
Because, you know, the real life version would have like a huge blood spray and some...
Freeze frame and temporary slowdown.
Confetti. Yeah, a little bit of confetti.
A little bit of bloodfetti.
Bloodfetti. But, no, in real life, it's a guy crashes into you at full speed while he's running at you, and you don't start bleeding until a second or two later.
With a motherfucking 20-inch blade, dude.
Spray is usually associated with that blood being knocked out of you.
Anyway, let's move on.
So, Cricket, I don't know your position on animal cruelty.
I assume you're against it in all its forms, but that's just my assumption.
I mean, yeah, they're living creatures, so we probably shouldn't mistreat them either.
Animal cruelty is horrible, man.
I fucking hate that shit.
Hate it.
In a lot of ways, it's worse than wronging people because, well, animals don't really have...
It just bothers the shit out of me.
I have those crushing videos.
People crushing kittens and puppies.
It's usually Asian countries that have this fetish.
It's a fetish, dude.
And they sit on them.
Jump up and sit on them and crush them.
And they film it and people get off on that shit.
It's called crushing videos or something.
And then there's the other one where they love abusing monkeys for some reason.
It's like a group of people have a psychological problem.
They have online groups and they abuse monkeys.
They love to abuse monkeys.
I don't get that shit.
That's messed up.
I mean, thankfully, outside of pockets like that, it's generally not very well accepted.
Most of the time when you hear these stories, they're usually accompanied with anything, waves of greater outrage than if it had been a person.
But then you go to the places where, well, those animals are effectively food, and no, they don't view them as worthy of kindness, which, again, I am very against that concept overall.
Part of being a spiritualist is knowing that hurting other things intentionally for no reason is bad.
That makes me sad.
And turning them to bring yourself pleasure is even worse.
It's such a weird range of emotions, dude.
It's sadness and anger and like...
I don't know, dude.
A person abusing an animal for pleasure?
Dude. There's a certain natural sense of revulsion because nature...
Nature, on a whole, despises that sort of action.
It goes against the same sort of natural sense of revulsion you get when you see a young thing getting harmed.
Like a baby animal getting abused is so much worse than an adult version because nature just naturally inclines itself to protecting the young.
Exactly, man.
Oh, even like insects.
You know?
Otherwise, nature would all die off.
It has to work that way.
Otherwise, well, the lions would eat all of the deer and then the lions and the deer both die.
Yeah. Then what happens?
Then the earth ends.
Like, when I see bullfighting, for example, I always root for the bull.
When I see those bull run things and people are like, throwing things at the bulls and having the bulls chase them, I'm like...
Gore that fucking person.
Gore that motherfucker.
In bullfighting, specifically, it's astounding that this is a sport in Spain.
And I love Spain.
Barcelona, you're beautiful.
You know, I mean, I don't know what it's like anymore, but...
Goddamn. I mean, there's some places where cows are viewed as food.
But you still don't want to beat them.
And then there's some places where they're viewed as even less than that.
And then there's the opposite side where they're viewed with absolute reference.
The Hindus see them as very...
As the womb of the gods.
Yeah, they hold them to high esteem.
And then we're like, we're going to eat those fuckers.
You know?
So you get the whole spectrum of...
Everything to total disregard for any kind of consideration of them even having feelings to considering them literally divine beings above yourself.
And so bullfighting...
And that's just cow.
Now do cats.
Cats, bro.
Don't fuck with cats.
Now, bullfighting, the beloved sport of Spain, where bulls are literally tortured to death in front of thousands of bloodthirsty spectators all cheering on the brutality unfolding before their eyes.
Again, I cheer for the bull.
And, like, it sucks.
And the bull is guaranteed to die.
That's the worst part about it.
So I don't think the bull ever makes it.
It has no choice.
And the bullfighter, like, it sucks when they die.
That's what you signed up for.
You know?
Sorry. The family, I feel bad for the family.
It has to deal with the death.
But the bullfighter, personally, I don't feel sorry for you.
I just don't.
It's tragic, but it's like NASCAR.
It's an inevitable danger of the profession where you signed on and definitely accepted that could happen to you.
Exactly. Like when a police officer gets shot.
Yeah. See, the whole reason Owen Hart's death was tragic was because you're not supposed to die doing a play wrestling match where you knock other big dudes on the ground and pretend you're beating on each other.
No one's supposed to die during that, so it was really tragic.
But in this case, yes, absolutely.
The bull is already expected to die, and the person very well could be anticipated to be killed, even along with the bull, because it's so random and chaotic.
Yep. And so that brings us to Victor Barrio Hernández, a Spanish bullfighter who became a symbol of both the allure and inherent dangers of the traditional Spanish spectacle.
Born on May 29, 1987.
Shout out to 1987.
In Sepulveda, Spain, Barrio's life was tragically cut short on July 9th, 2016, when he was gored by a bull they had named Lorenzo during a performance in Turrell.
At just 29 years of age, Barrio's death highlighted the extreme risks bullfighters face while also reigniting debates surrounding the ethics of bullfighting.
Barrio's early life was steeped in the culture of bullfighting, though he had no formal training when he first began.
Although some sources mention his attendance at the Esquera de la Macua de El Español in Segurvia.
I'm so sorry.
His initial experience came from learning at local farms.
You know, starting from the ground up.
That's awesome.
Remarkably, he did not face a bull until he was 20 years old.
Despite this late start, Barrio quickly gained recognition in the bullfighting world.
He made his debut as a Noviero on July 13, 2008, and quickly rose through the ranks, winning multiple awards, including the prestigious Golden Spike in Calaspara, in the title of Best Noviero at the Fiera da San Isidro in 2011.
I'm sorry, my Spanish for Portuguese is off.
Alright, sorry.
Well, he did at least get a decorated career out of it.
Oh yeah, nine years.
It's fast.
Like, he rose really quick.
Normally, it takes a lot longer.
There's football careers that get ended sooner than this.
True, true.
Now, let's fast forward to July 9th, 2016.
A fateful performance that would lead to Barrio's...
I'm so sorry I say it like that.
I just have to.
The fateful performance that would lead to Barrio's untimely demise occurred during the Vaquilla de Angel festival in Turiel.
Barrio was set to fight alongside two other bullfighters when he was assigned a formidable bull named Lorenzo, weighing in at an imposing 529 kilograms, or about 1,166 pounds.
Pretty heavy animal.
Half a ton.
In a tragic turn of events, Lorenzo delivered a lethal goring piercing into the side of Barrio's chest with its massive horns and fatally injuring him.
The severity of the goring ruptured his thoracic aorta and led to a rapid blood loss, claiming his life within mere moments.
Almost right where, uh, the opposite side of where, um, the Japanese guy was named.
Inohiro Asunuma.
Asunuma? Asunuma, yeah.
He was stabbed on the left side, and Victor Barrio was stabbed on the exact opposite side through the ribs by a bull.
Barrio's death was especially shocking as it marked the first fatality in Spanish bullfighting in over 30 years, drawing parallels to previous tragedies involving renowned bullfighters.
The distrusting event unfolded live on television, leaving audiences in disbelief and mourning.
I mean, 30 years is a pretty amazing track record, honestly.
True. It actually is.
Let me show you this.
30 years without a lethal goring.
We'll watch Victor Barrio get stabbed here.
Goes down.
Bull hits him.
He goes down.
Bull's right there next to him.
Bull literally stabs him with his horn.
Look at that.
And just goes in and stays in.
And throws him around and shit.
So that horn was inside of his body like fucking him up.
And then it lets him go to the other people.
What do you call those?
Clowns or something?
To get the bull away from the guy.
The TMZ-style drama music really sells it.
Yeah. It just gets shoved around.
That's so gnarly.
Look at his eyes.
That's the creepiest part.
Did you see that?
Yeah, his eyes are wide open.
And he's just staring at the ground.
Like, he's literally bleeding out, like, profusely right there.
Like, semi-conscious at that moment.
That's nasty.
Oh, bad stuff.
Bad stuff.
Victor Barrio, our hearts go out to the families, no doubt about it.
But, I mean, you sign up for something like that, you gotta expect the worst.
Be prepared for it.
And it happened.
And just because it doesn't happen for 30 years doesn't mean that it's never going to happen.
No. And now on to a legitimate sport where animals are not tortured to death.
The Great Luge!
You like luge, right, Cricket?
I would definitely say I prefer it to bullfighting.
Dude, it's actually something that, like, yeah, you don't really think about luge.
Until it's like the Olympics or whatever, and you're like, oh yeah, luge.
And luge is actually pretty crazy.
You go, like, I don't even know, 100 miles per hour down these ice tubes?
That shit's scary, dude.
It's like bobsledding, except even more dangerous.
Yeah, dude, and shout out to the Jamaican bobsled team.
Yeah, I just thought about it.
I think they've never won.
I thought of cool things.
Yeah, I don't think they've ever won anything.
The Jamaican bobsled team.
But they're like, everyone knows about them.
You know, they're huge.
I think they might have won an Oscar.
They could have won an Oscar.
That's true.
So, this brings us to Nodar Kumaratashvili.
I am sorry.
I cannot pronounce that name.
It's a Georgian.
He's Georgian.
Give that name a shot, Cricket.
What is it?
Oh, that?
Nodar Kumaratashvili.
Yes. Kumratashvili.
There you go.
That was good.
Kumratashvili. There it is.
Kumratashvili. There you go.
Nodar Kumratashvili.
I would just sound like Italian or something.
The frosty embrace of the Whistler Sliding Center was the stage for a tragedy that shattered dreams and sent ripples of grief to the athletic world and beyond.
Nodar Kumratashvili.
A talented Georgian luge athlete met an untimely death on February 12, 2010, on what was supposed to be a momentous day, with the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics looming in the background.
He was only 21 years old.
Born on November 25, 1988, in Barholmi, Georgia, Nordar was raised in a family steeped in the rich tradition of luge.
His grandfather...
Aleko Kumratashvili introduced the sport to Soviet Georgia, crafting its legacy with care and passion.
It was no mere activity for Nodar's family.
It was a celebration of life, an adventure that demanded courage and commitment.
His father and uncle were athletes who forged paths for future generations with his uncle Felix, eventually taking the reins as the head of the Georgian Luge Federation.
Fucking Federation, dude.
United Federation of Luge.
For Nodar embarking on his luge journey at the tender age of 13 was more than a pastime.
It was stepping into a legacy.
Emerging on the competitive scene, he made a name for himself amidst a formidable field of athletes, culminating in his qualification for the Olympics in Whistler after rigorous trials.
Ranked 44th in the world at the time of his tragic death.
He was the pride of Georgia, embodying not just individual ambition but also the hopes of a nation.
The Whistler Sliding Center was a marvel of engineering, promising thrilling speeds and dizzying turns.
On the bitter cold morning of February 12th, as the countdown for the Olympics rapid fire approached, the track, with its calculated risks, proved to be more than problematic.
In the chill of early February, Kumratashvili...
took to the track for what would become his last training run.
After 25 attempts, he faced the daunting challenge of the final curve, a tight, unyielding turn.
As he lost control, the sled catapulted into the air and crashed spectacularly into an unprotected steel support beam at an alarming speed of 89.2 miles per hour.
We're 143.6 kilometers per hour.
That's fast.
So fast, dude.
Right into the beam.
The moment stretched thin, silence shattered by the thud of tragedy.
Medics rushed to his side, their frantic efforts to resuscitate him, somber backdrop, with disbelief surging through the hearts of the onlookers and fellow athletes.
Glistening tracks turned into the purveyors of heartbreak.
Kumratashvili succumbed to his injuries, leaving an indelible mark on the Olympic community as the fourth athlete to perish during preparations for the Winter Games.
That's crazy.
So four people up to that point had died in just the training.
Just trying to get ready for the Games.
Not actually competing, mind you, but just practicing.
That's nuts.
It really illustrates the adage that...
I was always told when it came to doing recreational and exercise-related type stuff, the last run is always the one that gets you, because you're most tired, most worn out, and you think to yourself, I gotta do just one more, and I was always warned,
just skip the last run, because that's always the one where you injure yourself.
In this case, it ended tragically.
Yeah, there have been many times skateboarding where I'm like, dude, this next attempt, I don't know.
Sometimes you just gotta give up, or just go for it.
I don't know, man.
You know?
News of his death spread like wildfire, sending shockwaves not just through Georgia, but across the globe.
In the aftermath of his death, safety at the luge events became a pressing concern, after investigations deemed the track safe.
Emergency measures were implemented in Whistler.
Raising the walls beyond curve 16 and adjusting the track's ice profile to mitigate risks for future athletes.
Yet, it became clear that the need for dialogue over safety and athletic welfare must evolve.
For dialogue over safety and athlete welfare must evolve.
Alright. Let's watch this one.
The real question is, after this tragic incident, did they actually...
Fix anything, or did they just have a discussion?
Because so many times, that's what they say.
We need to have a discussion about greater safety, and that just ends up being the discussion.
That's it, right there.
Ooh, look at this.
I just want to slide down that without a sled, you know what I mean?
That'd be fun and stuff.
And probably not quite as fast or dangerous.
Oh, there it is, right there.
Oh! Oh, yeah.
The sheer whiplash of that, it would shred you.
I mean, that got ragdolled.
No chance.
No chance.
Born on December the 1st, 1988, in the Georgian town of Baccaramie.
Quite a unibrow there.
Let's watch this again.
Because there's a thud.
Listen for the thud.
That metallic thing.
So bad.
Definitely not a prolonged death.
It was instantly killed.
Still tragic, but just like with bull riding, you kind of accept those risks when you sign up, sadly.
Yikes. That is an extremely dangerous sport, and that really illustrates just how dangerous it can be.
Absolutely, Cricket.
Abso-fucking-lutely.
Yeah, I mean, that's...
That's a sport.
Okay, what's this next one here?
As I said in the movie, Cool Runnings, your bones do not break on the bobsled.
No, no, they shatter.
Millions of pieces.
Alright, this next televised tragedy is much more frightening as it involves a disgruntled man who was fired from his job and who took it upon himself to take matters into his own hands.
With the use of a handgun.
On a late summer morning in August of 2015, the small town of Moneta, Virginia, or Moneta, Virginia, became the setting for a tragedy that would shock the nation.
The atmosphere was typical of a weekday in a sleepy town, where many residents were just starting their day.
At the Roanoke CBS affiliate station, WDBJ7, on-air reporter Allison Parker, just 24 years old, And cameraman Adam Ward, 27, were preparing for what would be an ordinary live morning broadcast.
They were about to interview Vicki Gardner, the executive director of the local chamber of commerce, about the upcoming events celebrating the 50th anniversary of Smith Mountain Lake Reservoir.
It was a topic many in the community could engage with, yet not particularly riveting, perfectly fitting the early morning slot.
Typically watched by sleepy-eyed audiences sipping the coffee.
Speaking of that, let me sip this.
Little did they know, they were about to become must-be TV, apparently.
As they set the stage for the broadcast, no one could have foreseen the horrific events that would soon unfold.
The excitement of the interview was palpable, but tempered by the underlying feeling that the day would merely slide by without incident.
As Vicky began to speak about local attractions and community initiatives, the serene setting shattered abruptly.
Out of nowhere, a series of gunshots rang out, thrusting the morning into chaos.
Viewers would later hear the anguished screams of Allison and Vicky as the unmistakable sound of gunfire echoed through their screens.
Adam's camera, positioned to capture the live interview, fell to the ground.
For a fleeting moment, the lens caught an image of the assailant, a middle-aged man brandishing a handgun.
This man was Vester Lee Flanagan II.
A former employee of the station who had been fired two years prior for disruptive behavior.
Two years prior.
Jesus. I would speculate also with cause.
Also, he was let go with cause, yes.
In a matter of seconds, Flanagan unleashed a torrent of bullets firing 15 shots in total, most at close range.
The violence was sudden and brutal.
Allison was struck in the head and chest while Adam sustained injuries to his head and torso.
Tragically, both died at the scene, leaving the community and their families devastated.
Vicki Gardner was seriously injured but miraculously survived the onslaught.
Along with the camera that Adam was handling for the interview, Vester would also be holding a camera, a phone camera, as he carried out his attack, which gave the world audience a first-hand view of the attack.
With the handgun directly in front of the camera lens.
So people can go watch that too.
They have two angles.
The one from the shooter, first person, and the one from Adam holding the actual studio camera.
You got two versions.
It's pretty horrific.
So he wanted to record it.
Oh yeah, he recorded it.
He recorded it with his phone camera with the gun in front.
Like he was holding the camera up with the gun in front of the camera.
First person view.
Yeah, in fact, he wanted to make sure that if the news broadcast didn't capture him, that he would anyways.
The aftermath of the shooting painted a chilling picture of modern violence.
Less than two hours later, Vester Flanagan confessed his act of hatred, not through a media interview or direct contact, but by sending a fax.
His confession did not mention remorse, but rather served as a manifesto of his grievances.
Vengeance and anger cascaded through his words, and within hours, he became a fugitive.
Sent a fax, dude.
How old school is that?
16 pages.
Wow, he faxed his grievances.
I could just imagine that.
If they were confused, hmm, I wonder if this guy who shot us 15 times is upset with us.
Oh wait, we're getting a fax.
Oh shit, not 16. 23 pages.
Oh, he's mad.
23 pages.
He's 23 pages worth of mad.
He's very mad.
23 pages of madness.
I mean, that is a long, angry letter.
Yeah. I
mean, they could have made the credible argument that it would have led to extremely sweet samurai sword assassinations, but...
No, we don't ever take a fun route with anything.
Flanagan, who had within him an explosive cocktail of grievances that were growing for two fucking years, had left warning signs that, in hindsight, appeared distressingly clear.
His social media post leading to the attack showcased an individual consumed by bitterness.
He publicly voiced his anger, expressing feelings of racial discrimination and harassment that he claimed to have experienced in his workplace.
Factors that he suggested fueled his decision to exact revenge.
In the 23-page fax sent to news organizations that morning, Flanagan detailed his rage stating that his actions were partly inspired by the Charleston church shooting that had occurred earlier that year.
What's really weird is that his actions were supposedly inspired by the Charleston church shooting?
Yeah. Did that church shooting...
Garner that person a lot of sympathy afterwards?
Because I'm pretty sure it didn't.
Absolutely not.
And the Charleston shooting, that was like, what, the white kid ran in there into a black church, right?
Well, that was, uh...
And killed, like...
I was thinking, wasn't that, uh...
Was that Buffalo?
Or was that Christchurch?
God, I don't know.
Oh, man.
Charleston church shooting.
I don't remember exactly which church shooting that was.
But I don't remember there being.
Dylan Storm Roof.
Oh, so that was the Dylan Roof shooting.
Was there a lot of outpouring of support for that guy?
Because last time I saw it, outside of neo-Nazi circles, I did not see any sympathy for that.
Only from the neo-Nazis that he was part of.
Yes, and the people that are violently going to be okay with killing anyone, they consider their enemies.
Yeah. The exact people that he would already have support.
Exactly. And Dylan Storm.
He lost everyone else.
Dylan Roof.
The Charleston church shooting.
He killed nine people.
He went to the Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
He killed nine people that were there.
Yeah, I remember his picture.
And that's what just reminded me.
Because he has that stupid bowl cut.
Hairdue. Yeah, total white supremacist.
So I guess the only way that this could make some kind of logical sense is that this guy is effectively announcing that he's engaging in a counter-race war.
Right, and I don't know that...
And making his strike back.
That's the only way that would even make sense, as twisted as the logic is.
They do still operate at some level under some kind of logic that generally follows some kind of consistency, if only to them.
And I'm pretty sure Flanagan's white.
And everyone he killed was white.
So then it's just more I'm being oppressed race for?
I want to see a picture of him.
Oh, he's black, dude.
Oh, okay, that's what I was thinking.
So yeah, he would be arguing a counter-race war narrative if he's referencing the Charleston shooting, that he's effectively striking back against it.
Yeah, for real, you're right.
I thought he was white.
I didn't even see a picture of him until now, but he is...
Vester Lee Flanagan is a black dude, and he killed a bunch of white people.
So yeah, okay.
The racism at the workplace makes sense.
I get it.
So the racism at the workplace thing, and then...
Him referencing Charleston isn't saying that he has sympathies.
He's saying that he's striking back in the same way that Dylan did.
Yeah. Good catch on that, dude.
Psychos, in some way, even though they would completely oppose each other on every level, understand each other.
That's like the conspiracy community, dude.
They all just bicker and fight, but they're all on the same team.
I hate it.
Oh yeah, it happens all the time.
Everybody knows that the government's lying, but some people think they might be lying in this way, and others think they might be lying in this way, and that's wrong.
Yeah, dude.
It's such a mess, dude.
You could just accept that you know they're lying and let's figure out which way they're lying.
Can everyone come to an agreement on things?
I don't think so.
I just don't think everyone will come to an agreement.
I mean, the government lies would probably be the easiest thing to come into an agreement on because I don't really...
Oh, yeah.
I can't really think of anybody, even like the most hardcore, I'm 17 times boosted with my mask on and my car alone types that would honestly say the government never.
Right. Yeah, even those guys don't believe them that much.
Yeah, exactly.
That's perfectly put.
That's true.
Like, I'll drink the Kool-Aid, but I won't drink the bottle that's explicitly labeled poison with the skull on it.
The top shelf.
Just the Kool-Aid, that's the same thing.
I need at least some illusion that I'm not poisoning myself here.
Yeah. Alright, so this next story...
It's literally the first of its kind for live television.
And one that nobody would ever have expected to have happened.
And it's certainly one of the most shocking moments ever to be broadcast live.
Other than like the JFK assassination.
But I'm not even going to mention that.
Well, I already did.
But we don't need to mention the JFK assassination in this one.
We don't need to talk about that.
But that was shocking.
And that would have been like 10 years before this.
Yeah, the difference is, well, external actors.
Right, right.
Yeah, this is a very isolated incident here.
So on July 15, 1974, television experienced a moment that would etch itself into the annals of media history.
On that fateful day, Christine Shubbuck, a 29-year-old news reporter for WXLT-TV in Sarasota, Florida, 11 years after the assassination of JFK,
she claimed a grim, equally tragic distinction as the first person ever to die by suicide on live television.
Capturing the attention of a stunned audience and triggering conversations that continue to resonate to this day.
Christine Chubbuck's early life was marked by both promise and struggle.
Born in Hudson, Ohio on August 24, 1944, she was the daughter of George Fairbanks Chubbuck and Marguerite.
Oh, man.
Oh, man.
Ain't no party like a spinster party.
A bunch of spinsters, dude.
Dateless Wonder Club.
Alright. She pursued studies in theater arts and later transitioned to a degree in broadcasting at Boston University.
From an early age, Christine displayed a passion for storytelling, yet her life was overshadowed by personal demons, particularly concerning her mental health and relationships.
Yeah, this is really depressing.
Christine grappled with depression.
Her struggles with mental health were not just fleeting feelings, they were profound and debilitating.
She spoke to her family at length about her struggles with depression and suicidal tendencies, though she did not inform them of her intent to die by suicide on live television.
She had attempted to overdose on drugs in 1970 and frequently made references to that event, which raised red flags.
And Christine had been seen a psychiatrist up until several weeks before her death.
Christine also often opened up about her inability to form romantic connections.
Her yearning for love and acceptance became a recurring theme, reflecting a profound discontent with her life and circumstances.
Christine often confided to her mother and friends that she was still a virgin as she approached her 30th birthday.
I feel like the least sad part of this is when she...
Good God.
As she entered the workforce, Christine's passion for news...
It's like the dateless wonder part.
At least she had friends.
She did have friends.
She was part of the club.
I'm like, that's pretty much the one positive here.
She did have some friends.
In the most depressing type of group club thing.
Man. Yes.
I'm like, I feel horrible for her, dude.
This is horrible stuff.
As she entered the workforce, Christine's passion for news journalism was a source of pride.
It also became a backdrop for her turmoil.
Starting her career at WVIZ in Cleveland, and later working at various stations, including a cable television firm in Sarasota, she found her niche at WXL-TTV.
Initially hired as a reporter, she was soon given the task of hosting a community affairs talk show, Sun Coast Digest.
The program was dedicated to local issues and often featured interviews with community leaders and volunteers.
Christine approached her work with earnestness and dedication.
Her attempts to give a voice to the lost segments of society conveyed a sincere desire to make a difference, yet her internal struggles often collided with the demands of her job.
I mean, somebody like that would make a perfect empath because they've struggled their whole life to make connections with people.
So they're going to be more...
Receptive to other people who struggle with this name.
More connected, dude.
At WXLT, Christine's colleagues noticed a shift in her demeanor.
She confided to news editor Rob Smith about having purchased a gun, joking, joking that she might take her own life on air.
Oof. Unbeknownst to her colleagues, this dark humor was not just an attempt at levity.
It was indicative of her deteriorating mental state.
The following week, when faced with technical difficulties during a live broadcast, Christine made a decision that would reverberate through the history of television.
Okay.
Opening her final segment with a calm demeanor, she began with standard news stories, providing seemingly ordinary coverage of the day's events.
Yet the atmosphere shifted when she addressed local news of a restaurant shooting.
The accompanying film reel failed to play, and instead of continuing with the usual format, Christine unexpectedly launched into a haunting monologue.
And I don't know if I have this.
I do have this.
So let's...
Let's play this now, I guess.
Sarasota police report the finding of an 18-year-old, a man by the name of David Wynn, in the parking lot of Friendly Cavern on 27th Street.
Wynn had an apparent stab wound in the chest.
He was reported to witnesses as instructed by James Whitworth during a fight.
Police charged Whitworth with aggravated assault.
Wynn is in satisfactory condition at Sarasota Memorial Hospital.
The second attempt at oral robbery in a week has involved more enforcement officers from both Sarasota and Manatee County.
Last week, teenage gunmen held up the highway bar and, after a shootout in high-speed automobile chase, held with family hostage and finally were nabbed by Sarasota Sheriff's deputies.
Early Sunday morning, the beef and bottle restaurant, north of Sarasota Bradenton Airport on U.S. 41, was the site of an attempted armed robbery and shooting.
TV40 Newsman Bob Peterson was on the scene shortly after it began, and he filed this report.
I'm sorry.
For those of you who saw Late Night Weekend News Watch last night, we did have a film report and a commentary by Bob Peterson.
Unfortunately, we had technical difficulties and cannot thank you now, however, watch.
News watch tonight at 5:30 and we'll have that story for you then.
As of this morning, Foster, Grace Foster, who was shot in that incident, is in satisfactory condition at Sarasota Memorial Hospital.
In keeping with the WXLT practice of presenting the most immediate and complete reports of local blood and guts news, TV40 presents what is believed to be a television first.
in living color, exclusive coverage of an attempted suicide.
The End
Sorry. Yeah, after just saying those words, just pulls out the gun and shoots herself, bro.
So, matter of fact, she reported it with the exact same level of just deadpan that she was describing the robbery right beforehand.
Yeah, that quote.
Like, no emotion there.
None whatsoever.
Like, no fighting tears.
No struggling to hold anything back.
Just, I'm done shooting myself now.
Pow! And within a second, Rocky and Bullwinkle, like, time for something you'll really enjoy.
And she just blows herself away.
Like, what the hell even was that?
Like, that's a...
Yeah, it's a...
It just seems like she was making some kind of like almost meta commentary on how TV is essentially serving as this meat grinder of just monetizing all these blood and guts and vicious events as just mundane.
I mean, the story she was talking about, four different people almost died.
And no emotion.
Yeah, she hated it.
Yeah, it's like she was almost disgusted by it.
And just pick that moment to finally just be done reporting that shit.
Like, damn.
Makes you wonder how often she, like, had the gun with her at the desk.
Unless this was just that day she chose to do it.
Yeah, like, was this pre-planned, or did she just have it with her all this time, just for the moment where she finally just decides, to hell, I'm with it.
I'm gonna be the news instead of reporting it today.
Good lord.
It's just so cold.
Dude, her quote.
So cold.
Her quote is this.
Let's just read this again.
And then boom.
And it's almost like she was using it as a replacement.
Because the audience was disappointed by the fact that they didn't get any shooting footage from the robbery attempt.
Or at least she perceived that they'd be disappointed there wasn't a video.
So, this video, there's video of her sitting at the desk and saying that, but you will not find a video of the actual suicide.
And now, there is a clip out there that people say is her death.
It's not.
It's part of a movie that they made about her death.
They, whoever made the movie.
So, the clip you see out there is a fake clip.
It's not the real one.
And it looks completely fake anyway.
I don't know anyone who would even think that's real.
Urban legends emerged, suggesting that her tragic act had inspired the 1976 film Network, where an anchor threatened to kill himself on live television.
However, the reality of her life and untimely death stands apart as a poignant reminder of the silent battles fought by many individuals behind public facades.
The network is amazing.
Peter, uh...
Is it Peter Falk?
How was it?
I was about to say...
Yeah, I was gonna say, uh...
It was Howard Beale.
Being the...
I mean, if you think about it, the movie ends with, uh...
Someone dying for ratings.
So I could see the inspiration.
And yeah, there's a threat of suicide in it.
Damn, who the fuck was the main actor in that movie, dude?
Was there?
I don't remember.
The beginning of the show.
Peter Finch.
God damn it, that's the name I'm looking for.
The main actor.
Peter Finch.
That's what we use for the intro to the show.
Famous for the phrase, I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore.
Yep. It's a great fucking rant.
That's why I used it.
Amazing rant.
Yeah, I was about to say, I remember the rant from the show.
Intro. His rant about how our water is not fit to...
Drink and our air is not fit to breathe is true to this day.
Food's not fit to eat.
Yeah, it's true.
I want you to get mad!
God damn it!
Get mad!
Yeah, dude.
That's why I use it.
I want you guys to fucking get mad.
Yell out your windows.
That's what I'm fucking talking about, bro.
Get mad, people.
Well, let's move on to the final story, huh?
Let's get on to this final show here.
This is a very famous one, and it's fucking scarred in my memory.
Budwire. So, the state capitol building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is a splendid structure with grand columns and a dome that pierces the sky.
It is there, on a gray morning, that a tragic and shocking event unfolded.
One that would sear itself into the memories of those who witnessed it.
And those who witnessed it afterward on video.
It's just...
It's just so, like, vivid.
Still does.
The date was January 22nd, 1987.
Shout out again to 1987.
Yes, shout out to 1987.
Fuck. Robert Bud Dwyer, once a rising star in Pennsylvania politics, stepped into the spotlight one last time.
This time, with an unsettling purpose.
Dwyer was born on November 21st, 1939, in St. Charles, Missouri.
With bright eyes and an eagerness to learn, he pursued an education that would serve him well in politics.
Graduating from Allegheny College in Pennsylvania with a degree in political science and accounting, he seemed destined for a life in public service.
By the mid-1960s, Dwyer's political career was underway.
As a Republican, he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1964 and later won a Senate seat representing the 50th district.
His ascent continued as he became the 70th state treasurer of Pennsylvania in 1981, a role he held with fervor until the clouds of scandal loomed overhead.
During Dwyer's tenure, the public works of Pennsylvania found themselves in an unfortunate situation.
They had overpaid federal taxes due to errors in state withholding practices that predated his administration.
The state was confronted with the daunting task of calculating refunds and a multi-million dollar recovery contract was needed.
In 1986, Dwyer was convicted of accepting a bribe in a scheme involving Computer Technology Associates, a California company, which landed him 11 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, perjury, and interstate transport in aid of racketeering.
He faced a potential sentence of 55 years.
The very air of victory that Dwyer had breathed during his earlier years in office was now rancid with despair and betrayal.
The day before his scheduled sentencing, a wave of hopelessness crashed over him.
Dwyer arranged a press conference that many anticipated would be an emotional farewell, perhaps even a resignation.
As he entered the press room, he was flanked by his aides.
A palpable tension gripped the atmosphere.
Reporters gathered with their pens.
Poised. Waiting for a statement that would likely address his conviction.
Yet, few could have predicted the catastrophic turn the event would take.
In a crowd of journalists and cameras, Dwyer began to speak, his voice shaky and tense.
He expressed his unwavering belief in his innocence, lamenting what he described as a miscarriage of justice, which happens far too often, in my opinion.
As he continued, The gathered reporters were left hanging on every word, anticipating a plea or an apology.
Instead, a note of agitation began to creep into his speech.
Dwyer began to assert claims of conspiracy against him, naming the U.S. Attorney and FBI as architects of his undoing.
Hmm. I am not surprised.
And I probably, actually, I do believe him.
As the press conference unfolded, Dwyer's demeanor shifted.
With his eyes darting and a visible battle waging within him, he smoothly transitioned from feelings of anger and injustice to something menacing.
After delivering a heavily loaded emotional statement, he surprisingly produced a.357 Magnum revolver from an envelope he had been holding.
A gasp echoed through the room, and frantic whispers filled the air as the weight of the situation settled in.
The world outside the Capitol continued to function.
Unbeknownst to many, events inside would shake the very core of Pennsylvania politics and society.
As the press room turned into a scene of chaos, Dwyer asked those present to leave if they felt that they could not handle the unfolding drama.
Despite the pleas from aides and reporters alike, he remained resolute.
He was trapped in his own despair, driven to a decision that no one could have anticipated.
With a gun rusting against his mouth, Dwyer uttered a chilling farewell.
Words that, much like the events of that day, would echo through time.
A deafening bang shattered the tension.
He pulled the trigger, and in an instant, his life was extinguished.
His final act was witnessed live by countless viewers across the state.
Blood poured from his mouth and his nose.
A visceral manifestation of his pain and regrets, and the culmination...
In the days and years that followed, the aftermath of Dwyer's death resembled a grim tapestry woven from shock, horror, and grief.
His suicide captured the attention of the nation, sparking debates about the ethics of politics, the pressures faced by public officials, and the grim realities of corruption.
The graphic footage of Dwyer's final moments, a tragic climax to a life riddled with controversy, Wow.
Wow.
I guess.
Man. This one's going to be a rough one.
I've seen it a few times, and it's just...
I hate it.
I don't watch that shit anymore.
I used to, and it got to me.
You know what I mean?
It hurts.
I'm telling you.
It degrades the soul over time.
Yeah. It's like being a mortician.
Yeah. Eventually, you just find yourself numbed by death.
I definitely did, and I realized this is not the dramatized version, like the made-for-TV-movie version.
I participated successfully in eight primary elections, eight general elections, and one election for delegate to the Republican National Convention, which was my personal bicentennial project.
And I'm on the last page now, and I don't have enough to pass up, but Duke, I'll leave this here, and you can make copies for the people there if there's a few extra copies here right now.
I thank the good Lord for giving me 47 years of exciting challenges, stimulating experiences, many happy occasions, and most of all, the finest wife and children any man could ever desire.
Now my life has changed for no apparent reason.
People who call and write are exasperated and feel helpless.
They know I'm innocent and want to help.
But in this nation, the world's greatest democracy, there is nothing they can do to prevent me from being punished for a crime they know I did not commit.
Some who have called have said I am a modern-day Joe.
Judge Muir is also noted for his medieval sentences.
I paid the maximum sentence of 55 years in prison on a $300,000 fine for being innocent.
Judge Muir has already told the press that he, quote, felt invigorated when we were found guilty, and he plans to imprison me as a deterrent to other public officials.
But it wouldn't be a deterrent because every public official who knows me knows that I am innocent.
It wouldn't be a legitimate punishment because I've done nothing wrong.
Since I'm a victim of political persecution, my prison would simply be an American Gulag.
I ask those that believe in me to continue to extend friendship and prayer to my family, to work untiringly for the creation of a true justice system here in the United States, and to press on with the efforts to vindicate me, so that my family and their future families are not tainted by this injustice that has been perpetrated on me.
We were confident that right and truth would prevail, and I would be acquitted, and we would devote the rest of our lives working to create a justice system here in the United States.
The Gilding verdict has strengthened that resolve.
But as we've discussed our plans to expose the worth of our legal system, people have said, why bother?
No one cares.
You'll look foolish.
60 Minutes, 2020, the American Civil Liberties Union, Jack Anderson, and others have been publicizing cases like yours for years, and it doesn't bother anyone.
at this point in time.
Bob, we'll see here.
Yes. Bob.
Where's Greg?
Can you come up here?
Where's Don Johnson?
Can you come up, Don?
Greg, where are you?
I'm right here.
Hang on to that right for the moment.
Don, there's some things for you to do.
There's another in here for Joanne.
Okay. When I...
No, no, no.
Please leave the room as well.
Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go.
That's him talking.
Oh, God.
Oh! Oh, Jesus.
Okay, I gotta stop.
I gotta...
I can't.
I can't.
So fucking brutal.
I don't believe...
I can't believe I used to, like, watch that shit.
Not, like, fetishly or anything.
Morbid curiosity.
Curiosity, dude.
Like, LiveLeak and all that.
Yeah, LiveLeak.
It all started with, what was it?
Rotten.com.
Yeah, Rotten.com.
And then they had LiveLeak, which was like the action version, which had more video shares in it and was even worse.
Yeah, and that turned to all war coverage and shit.
I don't even know what it is now, but it changed over time.
It's not what it used to be.
I know that.
It used to be all these really nasty cartel videos and stuff.
It was awesome.
Yeah, it used to be the worst shit.
It's pretty tame nowadays.
The Young News Channel, bestgore.com.
Yeah, a few of them.
Most of them are gone now.
I mean, it's good.
I mean, people monetize that shit.
They still do.
Yeah. The best gore guy, he was a Canadian dude running that site.
They actually arrested him and imprisoned him for a few years.
For stuff that was related to that website.
Because he was saying...
Because crimes...
Like, videos of crimes...
Like, first-person crimes were happening.
And they were, like, cartel stuff.
And they were posting that stuff on his site.
And so they were saying he was responsible for that stuff being aired out.
Like, they tried to get him involved.
Well, they arrested him.
Put him in prison.
Well, you know, they don't have 230 protections up there.
True. That's true.
The Article 230 that would have protected him in America doesn't exist up there.
So yeah, he got hemmed up for posting violent content.
That site's down.
It's been down for quite a few years now.
The Young News Channel, the YNC, that's still up and running.
You guys want to check that out.
I mean, as of like a year ago.
As is the fighting version.
World star.
World star.
Last time I checked, WorldStar was still up.
The channel, it's just pretty much nothing but people getting knocked out over and over again.
Well, that's what Twitter is now, dude.
I just see videos of like...
Maybe because I'm part of...
I follow a couple of those fight channel things.
WorldStar, probably.
Just people in the streets getting fights.
I saw one of a dude who just coughed a bunch after taking a hit of weed and the dude yelled Worldstar and put it up.
Fuck. I just saw one too.
He's in a head shop and he took a big hit and he fucking passed out and fell into one of those big display cases.
Fucked it up.
Oh god, yeah.
So apparently there's a whole genre of people passing out on weed on Worldstar.
It's becoming a thing.
It's like Galaxy Gas.
It's like, now you gotta take the biggest hit of weed and pass out from it.
That's like the new challenge or something.
Well, you know, it's a way to make a relatively not dangerous drug into a dangerous one.
Yes. Yeah, what are you guys doing, man?
Stop doing that.
We just need practice and a little bit of effort and ingenuity.
You're a responsible marijuana user.
That's all I gotta say.
Yeah, don't smoke so much you pass out and smash a glass case.
Yeah, dude.
That's bad.
Bad stuff.
I've done that and it hurts like hell.
You did that?
Not the glass case part, but the passing out and slamming your head into the wall.
Oh, shit.
Man, as kids...
Came a few inches away from hammering a nail into my head doing it.
Ugh. As kids, I don't know if you ever got into it, but like middle school time, we do the...
Wall hits, I think.
Yeah, wall hits.
You breathe in and out really fast to get kind of lightheaded, and then you take a deep breath, and someone just presses on your chest really hard against the wall, and you pass out.
That was like a thing.
And we did it.
And it was dumb as fuck.
Yeah, I can think of all kinds of dangerous shit I did as a kid like that.
Good times.
I never did the dusters.
I never did the duster hits.
Never did that.
You ever do that shit?
I tried it once.
Very unpleasant, honestly.
Probably. I mean, every inhalant is your body treating you like you're dying.
That one was treating it like you're dying, and also you're poisoned while you're dying.
I've done the whipped cream ones.
What is that stuff?
Nitrous? Yeah, see, the nitrous oxide is what people thought it was going to be like, and it's like, no, it's a million times worse.
So gross.
Of course now, you can just buy that as a product.
Galaxy gas.
Don't even need the pretense of owning your own restaurant and needing to recharge a bunch of whipped cream containers.
But for some reason, we need 80 more of them this week.
What can I say?
Our customers freaking love that whipped cream.
They always buy extra whipped cream.
Whipped cream to go.
I don't know.
It's weird.
Anyway, this is just a handful of...
I might need 40 reloads of it.
So anyway, this was just a mashup of a few incidences of deaths caught on live television.
Some purposeful, some not.
Plenty out there, especially just cameras, like not necessarily news, but just people firsthand with their phones.
There's a lot of footage of firsthand accounts of crazy shit death suicides that we'll probably do episodes on later.
Oh yeah, real and fake.
I was going to say all kinds of stuff, real and fake.
Yeah, we'll probably do an episode on the real stuff later.
I'm going to say the Owen Hart one.
You'd think that would be the one that you'd actually be able to find a clip of.
No, that's been scrubbed.
Since it was so publicized.
It's been scrubbed, dude.
I know, and it was so publicized.
I mean, how much more of a broadcast clip can you think of that's been completely memory-holed like that?
I mean, it's probably out there somewhere, you know?
But I couldn't find it in my brief moment of trying to find it.
I didn't take too much time, but here you go.
I'm going to share this.
Okay, can you see?
Yeah, I got it.
Okay. Damn.
That was the news channel angle.
I didn't even catch the flash of the guy as it went up on the door.
I'm guessing he was inside that door frame.
I guess so.
There's another video.
I didn't get it.
I could probably find out.
That's supposedly when he showed up on the actual broadcast was during that like half second.
Yeah, it showed him for a little bit.
And you can't see it because it only shows him like waist down for like a brief second.
But he's holding his phone up.
And it might have only been during the fall that it actually captured him too.
Yeah, it did.
But yeah, I didn't get the other view of him holding the camera view.
I didn't go get that one.
I just didn't want to go to any of those sites.
Those nasty sites.
I didn't want to do that.
The other ones were just right there.
I should get such great spam emails afterwards.
Oh, yeah.
I don't know why the other ones were really easy to find, but I didn't want to go to nasty sites to get those other ones.
So let's finish this out.
Live television has been a questionable cornerstone of our entertainment and news consumption for decades.
The appeal of experiencing high-impact events in real-time adds a thrilling immediacy that few mediums can replicate.
As these tragic incidents unfolded on screen, they shed light on the important ethical responsibility.
Fuck that.
I was about to say, like, the ethical responsibility.
Me, I'm of the opinion that if somebody killed themselves on the air, you'd be responsible to show it, not hide it and claim it never happened.
True. This is real life.
Uncensored. Well, I can't imagine most people watching the news are expecting shit like that to happen, obviously.
But anyway, people, thank you for listening in.
It's another awesome episode.
Pretty gruesome, grotesque, morbid, dark.
That's what the show is.
Follow us on Twitter, at Paranautica, or X, however you want to pronounce it, at Paranautica.
Email us, Paranautica at gmail.com.
Reach out, say hi, say fuck you.
Say your show sucks, say I love your show.
Give us five-star ratings.
Write some reviews.
Do all that stuff.
Like, share, subscribe.
All of it.
Do it.
Do that stuff.
Do it.
And don't believe what you see on TV until you get the coroner report.
Anyway, take care.
Take care of yourselves.
Take care of one another.
Until next time.
Cheers. North
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