Stuffed crust pizza. Grilled cheese burritos. How did so much cheese get into so many things? On today's episode, we peel back the curtain on the Dairy Industrial Complex — AKA Big Parma. 

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VERY SPECIAL CREDITS 
On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story each week. Follow Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.  

Today’s Episode Was Written and Hosted by Very Special Guest Stars Ben Bowlin and Alex French

Producer is Josh Fisher

Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs

Additional Editing by Mary Dooe

Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier

Original Music by Elise McCoy 

Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla  

Executive Producer is Jason English

Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Very Special Episodes, please leave us a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. You can reach the show at veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com. 

Stuffed crust pizza. Grilled cheese burritos. How did so much cheese get into so many things? On today's episode, we peel back the curtain on the Dairy Industrial Complex &mdash; AKA Big Parma.&nbsp;
* VERY SPECIAL CREDITS On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story each week. Follow Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.&nbsp; 
Today&rsquo;s Episode Was Written and Hosted by Very Special Guest Stars Ben Bowlin and Alex French
Producer is Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs
Additional Editing by Mary Dooe
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Original Music by Elise McCoy&nbsp;
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla &nbsp;
Executive Producer is Jason English
Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Very Special Episodes, please leave us a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. You can reach the show at <a href="mailto:veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com">veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com</a>.&nbsp;

On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story each week. Stranger-than-fiction tales about normal people in extraordinary situations. Stories that make you say, “this should be a movie.” Follow Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.

On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story each week. Stranger-than-fiction tales about normal people in extraordinary situations. Stories that make you say, “this should be a movie.” Follow Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.

Very Special Episodes

What would you do if a secret cabal of the nation’s most powerful people asked you to overthrow the President? Weirdly enough – it’s not a hypothetical. It almost happened to FDR in the 1930s, were it not for a very intense, very problematic Marine named Major General Smedley Butler. 



Join Ben Bowlin, Alex French, and a cast of historical characters brought to life by Joe Kinosian for a darkly comedic – and terrifying –​ retelling of one of the weirdest forgotten schemes in American history.

What would you do if a secret cabal of the nation’s most powerful people asked you to overthrow the President? Weirdly enough – it’s not a hypothetical. It almost happened to FDR in the 1930s, were it not for a very intense, very problematic Marine named Major General Smedley Butler. 
 
Join Ben Bowlin, Alex French, and a cast of historical characters brought to life by Joe Kinosian for a darkly comedic – and terrifying –​ retelling of one of the weirdest forgotten schemes in American history.

Let's Start a Coup!

George White ran the CIA brothel. He watched from a hidden room while men were dosed with LSD — and he convinced himself the fate of the nation depended on it.

Operation Midnight Climax

Onscreen, Bruce Willis dodged bullets and explosions in Die Hard and countless action films, making him the biggest movie star of the ‘90s. Offscreen, he dodged the tabloid press and became so determined to live a private life he moved to one of the smallest towns in Idaho. But he didn’t just want to live in Hailey — he wanted to transform it. Soon, this sleepy old mining town was home to a culture clash between Hollywood spectacle and small-town values, with real-life secret rooms, car chases, and betrayal worthy of a Willis thriller. Welcome to Haileywood. Host Dana Schwartz will be your guide.

Haileywood

Big Parma

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/52927e28-ec9e-4eef-85e2-b243003688b7/transcript

In 1987, long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a glimmer in Stan Lee's eye, Marvel promised a different kind of blockbuster: Spider-Man and Mary Jane would get married. Not just in the comics — in front of 51,000 screaming fans at Shea Stadium. And those fans were not happy about it.

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VERY SPECIAL CREDITS
Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Jake Rossen
Produced by Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Voice Actors: Katie Mattie, Chris Childs, and Josh Fisher
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Research and Fact Checking by Jake Rossen and Austin Thompson
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Very Special Episodes, please leave us a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. You can reach the show at veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com. 

In 1987, long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a glimmer in Stan Lee's eye, Marvel promised a different kind of blockbuster: Spider-Man and Mary Jane would get married. Not just in the comics — in front of 51,000 screaming fans at Shea Stadium. And those fans were not happy about it.
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VERY SPECIAL CREDITS Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English Written by Jake Rossen Produced by Josh Fisher Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier Voice Actors: Katie Mattie, Chris Childs, and Josh Fisher Original Music by <a href="http://www.elisemccoy.com">Elise McCoy</a> Research and Fact Checking by Jake Rossen and Austin Thompson Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla Executive Producer is Jason English
Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Very Special Episodes, please leave us a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. You can reach the show at veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com.

The Spider-Man Wedding

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/c3b6e28a-9192-4fb1-bbf7-b23c001af0b5/transcript

A waste management specialist unearths thousands of Atari games buried in a New Mexico landfill. As gaming historians rejoice, he plots to turn Atari’s unwanted trash into cash.

Note: This week's VSE is a bonus episode from the podcast The Legend of SwordQuest, hosted by Jamie Loftus and written by Jake Rossen. 

A waste management specialist unearths thousands of Atari games buried in a New Mexico landfill. As gaming historians rejoice, he plots to turn Atari’s unwanted trash into cash.
Note: This week's VSE is a bonus episode from the podcast The Legend of SwordQuest, hosted by Jamie Loftus and written by Jake Rossen.

The Landfill

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f5d13b87-3188-4345-8b17-b23401343e87/transcript

In 1981, 11-year-old Matt De Meritt got a phone call that would change his life. He wasn’t a child actor, or a performer of any kind. He was just a suburban kid enjoying his summer before he had to go back to school. But Matt had something no other kid had — something Steven Spielberg needed in order to embark on his most ambitious movie yet. 

Note: This episode contains discussions of suicide. Please take care while listening.

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VERY SPECIAL CREDITS
Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Jake Rossen
Produced by Josh Fisher
Story Editor is Marisa Brown
Editing and Sound Design by Mary Dooe, Jonathan Washington and Josh Fisher
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Voice Actors are Jess Krainchich and Juliet English
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Research and Fact Checking by Jake Rossen and Austin Thompson
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

Special thanks to Simon Brew. Check out the Film Stories podcast!

Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Very Special Episodes, please leave us a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. You can reach us at veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com. 

In 1981, 11-year-old Matt De Meritt got a phone call that would change his life. He wasn’t a child actor, or a performer of any kind. He was just a suburban kid enjoying his summer before he had to go back to school. But Matt had something no other kid had — something Steven Spielberg needed in order to embark on his most ambitious movie yet. 
Note: This episode contains discussions of suicide. Please take care while listening.
*
VERY SPECIAL CREDITS Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English Written by Jake Rossen Produced by Josh Fisher Story Editor is Marisa Brown Editing and Sound Design by Mary Dooe, Jonathan Washington and Josh Fisher Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier Voice Actors are Jess Krainchich and Juliet English Original Music by <a href="http://www.elisemccoy.com">Elise McCoy</a> Research and Fact Checking by Jake Rossen and Austin Thompson Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla Executive Producer is Jason English
Special thanks to Simon Brew. Check out the <a href="https://filmstories.co.uk/podcast-page/episodes/">Film Stories podcast!</a>
Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Very Special Episodes, please leave us a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. You can reach us at veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com.

E.T. and Me

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/725c800b-af8d-480b-bbd4-b22e000f946b/transcript

Big Parma

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