Coming Down

It's been a while, so let's check in. We missed all of you a ton. Everything is still weird but we're ok. How are you?    Nathan and Matthew explain just what the hell they've been up to for the better part of the last fiscal year (spoiler: it involves dessert). And announce a more realistic production schedule for the podcast moving forward.   Stories include tales of horror in movie theaters and a brief dissertation on the evolution of cartoons  

Most of us who have enjoyed cannabis know someone who has at some point in their life had a bad time with edibles. Turns out making candy out of a drug that makes you feel hungry has some downsides. Who knew? In this guest episode our friend Isaiah tells us the story of his unfortunate first time with edibles.

The Friday after Thanksgiving is a great night to throw a rave. A lot of people are in town visiting family for the holiday and might be looking for something to do. In November of 1999, Matthew's friends in Bend made it happen.

The cliche that high school will be the "best years of your life" is a cruel farce that has been debunked left and right, yet it still persists. Those years are unquestionably important and formative, but ask anyone (especially teenagers) about their high school experience and most will tell you that shit is pretty rough. Nathan's run through the gantlet certainly fits that description.

According to population data from 2016, the ratio of people to horses in the United States at that time was 46:1. If we limit the scope to just Wyoming, however, there were five people for every horse. That's a hell of a lot of horses. Our guest Jeremy tells the story of how his hometown got its fake name.

Enjoy another round of hypothetical questions!

Several years and hundreds of beers later, we've actually hit Episode 100! And though we had grand plans to celebrate our centennial, current events dictate a more limited scope. So we are saving the live show with pyrotechnics and lasers for a later date and trying something a little different from our usual fare. Tonight we're going to get a little bit steamy with a look into the sexual awakening of your hosts.

As we discussed in Episode 88, most kids have a shoplifting phase at some point when they're growing up. Some get stung right away and give up, others run with it until they fly too close to the sun. Our friend Dan and his schoolmates in Evanston found the third path.

The human mind is truly a wonder to behold. Capable of incredible feats of logic and creativity, as well as ludicrous flights of fancy. But it's also terribly fragile, and it's a tragic cliche that sometimes those who burn the brightest also crash the hardest. Matthew tells the story of one of his friends who might have flown too close to the sun.

At first glance, playing a show on a commercial chicken farm doesn't sound like an ideal choice of venue. But when you're first starting out, any place with a stage and a PA system is a step above playing shows in backyards and basements. Sometimes you just gotta go where the people are, even if it's Tom Brown's Poultry Farm.

In the summer between sophomore and junior year in high school, Matthew is invited to join a Catholic service mission to Tijuana. Sensing an opportunity for unsupervised shenanigans in a foreign country, he does all the fundraising and gets on the bus. Taco stands, beaches, other kids there with no parents - what could go wrong?

In a turn of events that is becoming more and more commonplace these days, Nathan and Rikki got the ‘rona, despite constant vigilance and full vaccination. In this special episode, Nathan gives us the scoop on how things went for them over the two weeks they were dealing with the virus. Afterward, Matthew tells the tale of his bout with scarlet fever back in the day.

Hating winter weather as a grown-up is understandable, especially in the northern latitudes. With ice storms, atmospheric rivers, polar vortexes and other awesome sounding meteorological jargon, living in the winter presents some grim challenges. But all that doom and gloom aside, there are moments in the winter that have their own unique magic, and today we'd like to celebrate those times.

It's not every day one finds a team of coworkers that they get along with outside of work, let alone people one considers family. Once in a great while, that perfect storm comes along and it's amazing while it lasts. It really only takes one person to fuck it up though.

The average person's knowledge of gambling strategy can be boiled down to the iconic chorus of noted sage and rotisserie king Kenny Rogers' timeless epic:   You've got to know when to hold 'em Know when to fold 'em Know when to walk away And know when to run   But today's guest is not your average person. Our friend Jesse knows a thing or two about card games and strategy, and he decided to put his knowledge to the test with his crack team of fellow nerds on the blackjack table in Vegas.

Cutting someone out of your life is never easy. Oftentimes it's difficult to even admit that you have a toxic relationship, let alone do anything about it. It becomes exponentially harder when you share an emotional bond with that person. Especially when it's one of your parents. Strap in for a long one, folks. This one's about Nathan's dad.

In 1930, John Maynard Keynes predicted that by 2001, technology would have advanced enough to reduce the work week to 15 hours in developed nations. There's every reason to believe he was right, but it didn't happen. Rather than freeing the populace from work, the free market has instead created pointless jobs that diminish our labor, damage our self esteem and keep people locked in poverty.

Work is bullshit. The notion that everyone needs to be employed in order to justify their reason to exist is categorically false, a lie perpetuated by capitalist dogma. The truth is, our employers need our labor far more than we need them. Right now there's a lot of people who are taking their power back from shitty jobs, and we salute this movement.

Most kids at some time or another choose to test the boundaries of our theft laws. Some get caught right away and learn their lesson early, while others may have allegedly gone on a minor crime spree. Either way, once you get clipped for using your five-finger discount, the good times always come crashing to a halt. The consequences, however, can vary wildly.   In the juvenile justice system of 1990s Bend Oregon, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: The police, who ostensibly investigate crime, and peer jurors, a panel of shitty kids who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories.

By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes. -Vi Satanism, witchcraft, occult. These mysterious, often misunderstood terms inspire powerful feelings in humans. Most of us are taught from a young age to fear and mistrust these concepts and anyone promoting them. When we encounter locations in the wild connected to these practices, one never knows what one will find. Or who... Welcome to our second Halloween spook-tacular!

Whether you're building an in-home ossuary or just trying to find a preserved insect display to tie together your decor, an oddities shop is likely your destination. This bizarre backroom industry has been quietly burgeoning in the last decade - from expos to Etsy and everything in between. In this guest episode, Nathan's good friends Will and Cheyenne give us a rundown of their experiences on the road with their homegrown business Atomic Folk Art.

We get surly in another round of hypothetical questions!

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." -Juliet Capulet   We all know people with common names. Matthew went to high school with two Jeremy Johnsons who lived across the street from each other. Matthew himself hangs out with three other Matts on the regular. But even so, it's rare that one is confused for a perfect stranger on the basis of name alone. Welcome to Matthew's personal Twilight Zone episode.

Not everyone is proud of the things they've done for money. Many of us have had to walk a long, strange road to get where we are now. Here's a few stories from the trenches out there on the fringe.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

We're back for another round of hypotheticals! Enjoy!

Little league sports in most communities scarcely amount to more than the Parks and Rec department running a daycare service. A few kids with natural athleticism may find their time to shine, but for many of us, youth sports was the first time we truly knew shame and the sting of failure. Surprising even themselves with this idea, Nathan and Matthew have decided to share their shame with you. Enjoy.

We're back once again with another bite size installment. Still keeping it light and hoping things aren't too heavy for all of you out there listening. Kick back with us for a few and take a load off.

Everyone could use a little break right now, so we won't belabor the obvious here. If you are reading this in 2020 you already know the score. Feel free to stop here and rest before continuing on. We'll do our best to help you take a load off. We are giving away merch with any donation to: blacklivesmatter.com aclu.org actblue.com We send you a package with a shirt, coasters, stickers and buttons as well as match $10 to any donation of $20 or more!

Sailing the ocean on a tiny vessel made of wood takes courage. Braving the briny depths on a sailboat captained by a teenager requires real brass balls or the whim of a madman. This week our guest Jesse takes a ride on one such nightmare craft. Somehow he and his fellow crew mates manage to weather what seems to be the perfect storm. But their innocence was lost at sea that day.

It has been suggested that any given person has only six degrees of social separation between them and anyone else in the world. If you’ve ever played “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” you are clear on the concept. One fine drunken evening, when he was far, far away from home, Nathan found a way to grandfather himself in on one of his favorite Hollywood names.

Some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.   A few of those men were teenagers who found ridiculous ways to surprise, confound, and inspire their instructors and fellow students. From stink bombs to improvised robotics, Matthew and his high school compatriots pulled a series of silly pranks that left a mark on their school long after they were gone.

It's time for another round of hypothetical questions! 

When life offers one something exotic and illegal, the suggested tendency is to take it as far as it will go. On the day that Matthew was allegedly gifted with a dangerous and exciting means of warping his mind, he swiftly made a plan and got cracking. There were definitely a few bumps along the road, but at the end of the day, he was offered a glimpse of what he had been searching for.

By sheer coincidence we have a tale this week that is relevant to current events. This week Nathan tells the story of the time when he was a plague carrier. Though the pathogen that causes his illness was once widespread and sometimes deadly, it has been mostly contained in the US in the last decade through immunization. That's encouraging right? So let's all kick back with a bottle of hand sanitizer and enjoy the end of days!

As the northern hemisphere slowly rotates past the equinox into the first fledgling vestiges of springtime, the islands subtly tip toward a climatic shift that is only hinted in the gradual cessation of the daily rain. Our heroes chose to make another move into the wettest segment of the island. Fruit in abundance on the trees, blooms of every size, shape, and color, and people of exceeding friendliness and generosity. One wonders what could have possibly motivated them to leave.

After celebrating Christmas in Haiku, our two intrepid adventurers make their way eastward to the coastal bohemian town of Paia. While camping in the beach side forest there, they discover the joys of Hawaiian gas station grub and the finest jojos in the known universe. Mushrooms, whales, drum circles, and psychedelic-fueled body surfing await in part two of our tropical island getaway.

Hawaii has been called paradise by many. That rings true for our heroes as they embark on a life changing excursion to one of the smaller islands. With no plan and only their wits about them, they sling hippie wares to make a buck, learn the rules of the road when it comes to hitchhiking, and discover just how much ants love honey.

Psychological trauma occurs when one experiences a deeply distressing or disturbing event that overwhelms the individual's ability to cope. This causes feelings of helplessness, diminishes their sense of self and hampers their ability to integrate the emotions associated with the experience. In this week's episode, Nathan walks us through the worst night of his life and the messy aftermath.

Another round of hypotheticals with a special guest!

The Ganges River is an incredibly important waterway for India. It provides food and drinking water, a place to bathe and do laundry, a means of transportation and - perhaps most importantly - its banks are an ancient sacred site for several religions. There you can find humans and animals alike descending to the waters amid holy men and hash smokers. Our guest takes the plunge this week in our final chapter.

Navigating the roads of India sounds like a psychedelic nightmare. You must contend with livestock, wild animals, improvised paving, crowds of people and an armada of questionable vehicles operating without rules, all sporting a vivid rainbow of eye catching colors. And our friend is barreling what amounts to a two-stroke tricycle with a canopy directly through all of that mess. It's a miracle that he survived with his sanity intact.

India. Ancient, vast, populous. Home to a kaleidoscopic multitude of creeds, philosophies and ways of life. Just getting there seems like an adventure unto itself, let alone figuring out how to navigate the utterly foreign geography. Throw in a crazy cross country travel plan in questionable vehicles. Now we're in an overseas stoner comedy. In part one, our guest explains how and why he got there and did that.

As a teenager, going to shows is like walking a tightrope with a drunk monkey on your back. The tension between having a good time with your friends and not getting busted for the inevitable debauchery that ensues is very real. Especially when you have to ride in the car with Mom for an hour each way.

Another installment of our hypothetical series! Enjoy!

Though the uninitiated might assume that all psychedelics essentially do the same thing, anyone who has been there will tell you that each has their own distinct flavor. In fact, some are definitely better than others at producing certain desirable effects. This is why after doing cartwheels down the razor's edge of sanity on acid all through that first night (allegedly), Nathan and Rikki not only knew they were due for a change of internal scenery - they knew just how to get there. Allegedly.

This podcast, henceforth referred to as Coming Down, is for entertainment purposes only. Any and all actions of persons mentioned, whether living or dead, may be exaggerated or fictional accounts. Any alleged illegal activities be they past, present, or future are hereby vigorously denied. With that in mind, here's part one of Nathan and Rikki's trip to Desert Days.

The first year of college is a heady time. Not only are you navigating a minefield of sex, drugs, and alcohol, you also have to show up for class and maintain a passing grade if you want to continue. Finding a familiar face in the crowd is a welcome respite from the constant churn of campus life. What does one do, then, when it is discovered that this familiar face is a facade for legitimate terror? This week our guest Kevin gives us the rundown on how he made it into the FBI's case files.

The Pacific Crest Trail is a scenic 2653 mile long hiking and equestrian trail that threads the spine of the Western US through the Sierra and Cascade mountain ranges. Popular with thru-hikers, the journey is usually four to six months for full traversal. Our buddy Mark decided he was up for the challenge, and he gives us the scoop on how he managed uninterrupted footsteps through a summer rife with wildfires.

Hello and welcome to our second annual Halloween Spooktacular! Unfortunately we don't have a Halloween story this year so we are starting a new tradition of airing holiday episodes on unrelated holidays. Enjoy this week's double 4th of July episode! SPOOKY.

This week we are airing the seventh episode of what was our Patreon exclusive series: Hypotheticals. In this series we explore the manifold solutions to some of life's most difficult hypothetical conundrums. Enjoy!