The News Junkie: Interviews

David Riedman is the creator of the K-12 school shooting database and a man with a deep insight on how school shooters take shape. Riedman joins the show to talk about all of the surprising things he has discovered in this trove of data about an admittedly macabre topic. He will make you question some of the ideas you may have on why and how these school shootings happen. Most importantly, he has some very important ideas on how to make it stop.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A researcher wanted to find out what life was like in the sewer system and his results have been featured in newspapers around the world, including the New York Times. What kind of animals live in and travel through the sewers? What is life actually like down there? Ph.D. student Alan Ivory takes the plunge and tells us his sewer secrets.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're a fan of the Insidious horror movie series, you might have been excited to hear they launched a stage show and a national tour. People who bought tickets were promised '90 minutes of immersive horror' but they got one of the worst stage shows of all time. Here's how it all went wrong.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Devin Perkins was driving down the road with a carful of friends when Thomas Petry purposefully swerved into oncoming traffic to hit his vehicle, causing a fatal accident. Three of his friends died in the crash and Devin was severely injured. The State Attorney decided to file charges against Devin Perkins because he was speeding at the time of the crash. He now faces life in prison. Is Devin Perkins a victim or a criminal? His mother helps us unravel this shocking story of nuance crashing into the Justice System.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nathan Tape is the director of a new movie called Off Ramp that centers around a pair of Juggalos attempting to make their way to The Gathering. All sorts of hijinks get in the way in this really well written indie movie and the two lead characters pull off the herculean task of making Juggalos seem just like the rest of us. How much did it cost to make Off Ramp? What tricks did Nathan use to save money and put out an incredibly high quality product? We ask all this and more and encourage you to give the movie a watch.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Daniel Sharkey is a hard-working 17 year-old who was busy mowing lawns for his summer business when he was struck by lightning. He joins us live from the hospital to tell his story. What does it feel like to get struck by lightning? How far did the strike make him fly up into the air? Did he gain any super powers? All your 'struck by lightning' questions are answered in this chat.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jackass legend Steve-O joins the show to show off his insane new tattoo and talk about a very special show he's working on right now. He's shirtless on his tour bus and he's chatting it up with Shawn, Sabrina and C-Lane about all the strange things happening in his life right now. Was it easier to get famous before YouTube? Is he going to get a boob job? We learn a lot about a very interesting and unique talent in this great interview.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joey Rosati answered a phone call while shopping at Costco and quickly got wrapped up in one of the most involved phone scams of all time. The best way to avoid being scammed for 10's of thousands of dollars is to learn from other people's mistakes. Joey is tech savvy and skeptical yet he was moments away from sending $10,000 to a man who claimed to the the Sheriff.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Delian Asparouhov calls himself the 'world's first space drugs and arms dealer' and we're here to find out why. We talk about lab grown meat, drugs in space, crazy new tech projects and a prank he pulled at MIT that ended in his arrest.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joe DiMeo was just a teenager when he crashed his Dodge Challenger in New Jersey. He woke up four months later and underwent dozens of surgeries including a face transplant and two hand transplants. What is it like to look in the mirror and see yourself in a brand new face? What are the things he struggles with after the procedure? We ask all the questions you've been dying to ask to a man who stays optimistic despite all the trauma he's been through.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.