I’ve been working on this recommendation since Dunedin (September 2018). It is the second ever podcast that I’ve listened to consistently (Blue Babies Pink was the first), and in the 40 days since I started listening, I’ve consumed 21 episodes. They kept me company as I drove around Dunedin, and during my trips between Queenstown and Dunedin in October.

This recommendation came from another of my Wheaton friends who I reconnected with during my Roadtrip and my months in Montana. While we didn’t get to see each other in person, we had several phone conversations earlier this year. He does a lot of driving for his job, and this podcast helps keep him engaged and awake during long drives.

Recommendation #7 from Chris Lockman

Astonishing Legends Podcast by Scott Holbrook and Forrest Burgess

On the Astonishing Legends website, they declare that “their mission is to take a look at legendary strange and unusual events from throughout history and interview people who’ve had close encounters with the unexplained. They strive to bring you everything that’s entertaining about those stories and remind you that it’s ok to laugh at scary stories and respectfully, even the people that tell them.”

There are currently 124 episodes of this podcast. Beginning October 3, 2014 on iTunes, their current show schedule is “roughly three weeks of new shows and then one week off”. With the astonishing amount of content, as well as the promise of lots of new content each month, if you like this show, then you will have hours and hours, possibly even days, of content.

This is the first recommendation that I cannot wholeheartedly recommend. While the subject matter was interesting and engaging, many of the podcast episodes often seemed verbose and repetitive. Couple that with the fact that some shows took up 3-4 episodes (each between 1.5 to 2 hours), repetition was unavoidable. This does work in your favor during driving, however, because even if you miss a little bit, you will probably hear it AGAIN!

And that was the funniest discovery of Astonishing Legends. Used at the beginning of a sentence to make emphasis, both hosts use the word “again” ubiquitously. I even started a fun game in the car where I would count the number of times it was used in a typical episode. In one episode, I stopped counting after 40…

Again, I know, it’s a small thing, but for me, it started to distract me from what they were actually saying. 😉

But, if you are interested in unexplained phenomenon, then this podcast is right up your alley. I would recommend you start with episode 100 which is called “ARCapalooza”. In this episode, they interview some of the contributing members of the Astonishing Research Corp. The ARC are researchers who assist Scott and Forrest in finding details and information about the events they discuss on the show. There weren’t that many “agains” in this episode, and they actually mention several other episodes that might peak your interest. I would use it as a jumping off point for this podcast, and then you can follow any interesting trails you find.

Thanks for reading! Today’s song comes from my ReVivified playlist that is for this month (November 2018). The song talks about elements of darkness, which fits appropriately with the subject matter of Astonishing Legends. Because I do believe in a spiritual realm. I believe in the goodness of God, but I also believe in elements of darkness.