Episode 93 - Ego Gains

On this episode we max out the update meter with a rat-snake rescue, a sticky Arby’s medical trial homemade dungeon-crawler merch, and a lazy river powered mostly by beer. Then we stop optimizing long enough to ask whether “maxxing,” narcissism, and the cult of the individual are actually making us better—or just giving us endless new reasons to believe we’re not good enough. So accept yourself exactly as you are—unless you actually know how to get taller, live forever, and secure ShadowMaxxing.com before somebody else does.

Across America, there are artifacts that have withstood the test of time, heat, neglect, and questionable refrigeration. They're found in truck stops, convenience stores, and dusty gas stations. Scientists can't explain them. Historians ignore them. Tonight, we're investigating one of civilization's greatest enigmas: weird meat.We recorded this episode over six years ago, decided it wasn't quite done, and left it to age gracefully on the roller dog machine. This month, we're too busy to record a new episode, so we're finally snapping into this unaired, not-so-Slim Jim from June 4, 2020. Much like a spicy Big Bite, this episode is unedited, unfiltered, and probably a little stale.

This month, Against All Oddities enters the silicon séance room to ask a troubling question: what happens when humanity's accumulated occult knowledge starts talking back? We explore AI as oracle, guru, summoner, and brainwave tuner. Can large language models become intermediaries between ourselves and whatever else is out there, or is it a bad idea to trust a chaotic-neutral actor trained on the entirety of human knowledge? Obviously, this topic was always going to get us talking about the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. With only minor spoilers, we unabashedly stan the Dungeon Crawler Carl series and discuss the plight of Carl, Donut, and an absurd apocalypse that may have become an unexpectedly useful lens for understanding our algorithmic future.

Tonight, we’re leaving behind the safety of the present and dialing directly into a future that nobody asked for… but somehow still subscribed to.In this episode, Nate channels a version of himself from fifteen years in the future, a weary survivor in a bleak world of nonstop ads, disappointing alien disclosure, Gronk brain implants, llama meat shortages, and humanity quietly discovering that Soylent Green may have been less of a warning and more of a business model. So power down your implants, ignore the targeted advertisements beaming directly into your subconscious, and join us for a glimpse into the strange, stupid dystopia waiting just around the corner.

Welcome to against all oddities the podcast about three brothers coming to terms with the oddly true and the truthfully odd. Tonight, we’re drifting past the comfort of sleep and into the space where your body shuts down but your mind stays wide awake, yes that’s right we’re talking sleep paralysis, night terrors,  sleep disorders and the question of whether this is just a malfunction… or a doorway your brain accidentally left open.So even if this topic terrifies you, stick around because right at that edge, when fear peaks and your control slips, there might just be another way through, not by fighting it, but by following it.Because maybe, just maybe, the paralysis  isn’t a trap but a door. This is against all odditiesVideo reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdtV5LeAJFk

Tonight, we’re tuning past the obvious and diving into the invisible highways all around us, ham radios bouncing signals off the ionosphere, mysterious number stations whispering coded messages to no one (or everyone), and the strange science that lets your voice travel farther than your horse ever could. We’ll get into the magic that is radio… which is really just physics… which is really just magic we agreed to measure.Because once you start thinking about frequency… things get weird.We’re talking consciousness as a signal, brains as receivers, and whether reality itself might just be one big cosmic broadcast you accidentally tuned into. We also visit the legend of the Max Headroom hack, the eerie persistence of number stations, and Extremely low frequency hallucinations. So grab your tinfoil hat and put it on tight because where the signal is strong, the explanations are weak, and if you hear something strange coming through the static… it might be meant for you.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjeUuakHsLwhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXz6ghbfd2Uhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz5ZUCmR2Wchttps://bldgblog.com/2013/01/project-sanguine-and-the-dead-hand/

In this episode, we enter America’s most haunted culinary dojo, the American hibachi, AKA the Waffle House. A place where your meal is prepared inches from your face all while someone sitting next to you is having coffee with their sleep paralysis demon.We share true stories from our past and uncover evidence that each Waffle House may actually be a tiny wormhole in the space-time continuum.We also put our friend Kory from The World Is My Burrito through a high-stakes Waffle House quiz, and talk about Waffle House songs that should not exist.So grab some of that coffee that’s been on the burner since the Clinton administration, take a seat at the grill of destiny, and prepare yourself for the most smothered-and-covered episode we’ve ever done.

Today, we’re talking about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse—War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death. You know, the original disaster influencers. We’re digging into where these guys came from, what they were supposed to warn us about, and why, thousands of years later, they’re still wildly relevant in our modern hellscape of plagues, tyranny, war, and that low-grade sense of doom you feel every time you open  your phone.

Our annual holiday tradition returns—where we celebrate joy, goodwill, and the art of the curse.This year is extra special as we finally get an update—and a conclusion—to one of our earliest Curse-mas stories: Mary the ghost, first discussed during the 2022Tim kicks things off by unpacking the unsettling world of cursed furniture, proving once again that the real danger of the holiday season isn’t a drunk uncle—it’s antiques. Nate reminds us of Mary Lewyd, while Chris dives into the infamous Bucksport, Maine grave, the Martyr of Greenwood Cemetery, and how to dig up the bones of your ancestors to help stop the bad luck.So grab a drink, dim the lights, and settle in—because nothing says Christmas like generational doom. This is against all oddities

On this episode, Nate returns to the mountain, aka the Monroe institute, to revisit those storied halls like a monk in an EEG headset, listening to frequencies designed to nudge his awareness just a smidge outside the factory settings. We also dig into Lifelines, Monroe’s method for talking with the dead, along with bilocation, astral shenanigans, and a dash of remote viewing because why not.So settle in, tune up your brainwaves, and maybe keep one foot tethered to this plane of existence. Because we’re heading back into the place where consciousness gets stretchy, time gets weird, and apparently the dead still check their messages.