In 1973, NASA gifted a piece of the moon to a teenage astronomy fan, inadvertently pulling him into the seedy underground moonrock trade.

Hello VSE friends! We published a new episode on Monday, so we're playing a rerun in our regular Wednesday slot. 'Operation Lunar Eclipse' is one of our early favorites and originally ran in February 2024. Questions or comments? You can reach us at veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com.  

 

In 1973, NASA gifted a piece of the moon to a teenage astronomy fan, inadvertently pulling him into the seedy underground moonrock trade.
Hello VSE friends! We published a new episode on Monday, so we're playing a rerun in our regular Wednesday slot. 'Operation Lunar Eclipse' is one of our early favorites and originally ran in February 2024. Questions or comments? You can reach us at <a href="mailto:veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com">veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com</a>. &nbsp;
&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

Operation Lunar Eclipse [Re-Release]

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/0ca08ef7-764d-40ce-ab3d-b2d600e5f8f0/transcript

Jackie Gleason of The Honeymooners was obsessed with UFOs. Obsessed! Lucky for him, his golfing buddy just happened to be the leader of the free world — with access to a secret facility in Florida that Gleason said held all the answers he'd been seeking. 

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Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and Jason English
Written by Zaron Burnett
Produced by Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Jonathan Washington and Josh Fisher
Mixing and Mastering by Josh Fisher
Additional Editing by Mary Dooe
Voice Actors are Elizabeth Dutton, Katie Mattie, Josh Fisher, and Jonathan Washington
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

Got a question or comment, or an even weirder Nixon legend we should chase down? You can reach us at veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com. 

Jackie Gleason of&nbsp;The Honeymooners was obsessed with UFOs. Obsessed! Lucky for him, his golfing buddy just happened to be the leader of the free world &mdash; with access to a secret facility in Florida that Gleason said held all the answers he'd been seeking.&nbsp;
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Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and Jason English Written by Zaron Burnett Produced by Josh Fisher Editing and Sound Design by Jonathan Washington and Josh Fisher Mixing and Mastering by Josh Fisher Additional Editing by Mary Dooe Voice Actors are Elizabeth Dutton, Katie Mattie, Josh Fisher, and Jonathan Washington Original Music by Elise McCoy Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla Executive Producer is Jason English
Got a question or comment, or an even weirder Nixon legend we should chase down? You can reach us at <a href="mailto:veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com">veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com</a>.&nbsp;

Richard Nixon's Alien Adventure

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/263cdf58-b494-463e-b4bc-b300001f793f/transcript

In 2009, a 10-year-old from Arizona flew to Los Angeles to compete on a new game show offering child prodigies the chance to win $500,000. But almost immediately, he could tell something was off. The experience had a profound impact on his life — and confounds legal scholars to this day.

Plus Dana takes us behind the scenes of her appearance on Jeopardy!, and Jason explains how his two-year-old daughter wound up answering trivia questions on The Rachael Ray Show. 

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Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Jake Rossen
Produced by Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Jonathan Washington
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Additional Editing by Mary Dooe
Research and Fact-Checking by Jake Rossen and Austin Thompson
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

Got a question or comment, or want to invite Zaron to compete on your game show? You can reach us at veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com.

In 2009, a 10-year-old from Arizona flew to Los Angeles to compete on a new game show offering child prodigies the chance to win $500,000. But almost immediately, he could tell something was off. The experience had a profound impact on his life &mdash; and confounds legal scholars to this day.
Plus Dana takes us behind the scenes of her appearance on Jeopardy!, and Jason explains how his two-year-old daughter wound up answering trivia questions on The Rachael Ray Show.&nbsp;
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Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English Written by Jake Rossen Produced by Josh Fisher Editing and Sound Design by Jonathan Washington Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier Additional Editing by Mary Dooe Research and Fact-Checking by Jake Rossen and Austin Thompson Original Music by Elise McCoy Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla Executive Producer is Jason English
Got a question or comment, or want to invite Zaron to compete on your game show? You can reach us at <a href="mailto:veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com">veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com</a>.

Hemidemisemiquaver: A Modern Quiz Show Scandal

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/ecc80721-2d14-4282-8c93-b2f80128306d/transcript

During one of the most delicate periods for international relations, the United States sent Bob Hope to China with the ultimate wingman. Together, the two icons would play an unexpected role in bridging a massive cultural divide.

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Very Special Thanks to our translator, Yixio Ren! 

Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Dylan Heuer
Produced by Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Story Editor is Aaron Edwards
Additional Editing by Mary Dooe
Research and Fact-Checking by Dylan Heuer, Aaron Edwards, and Austin Thompson
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

You can email the show at veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com. 

During one of the most delicate periods for international relations, the United States sent Bob Hope to China with the ultimate wingman. Together, the two icons would play an unexpected role in bridging a massive cultural divide.
*
Very Special Thanks to our translator, Yixio Ren!&nbsp;
Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English Written by Dylan Heuer Produced by Josh Fisher Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier Story Editor is Aaron Edwards Additional Editing by Mary Dooe Research and Fact-Checking by Dylan Heuer, Aaron Edwards, and Austin Thompson Original Music by Elise McCoy Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla Executive Producer is Jason English
You can email the show at <a href="mailto:veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com">veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com</a>.&nbsp;

Big Bird Goes to China

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/d06bad82-5235-41f6-9bd7-b2f20037d48b/transcript

Operation Lunar Eclipse [Re-Release]

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