Something Offbeat

Have you heard of the Senior Assassin game? It's not a video game, it's a sometimes-dangerous real-life trend that pops up every year around graduation time, and we'll learn about it in this episode. We'll also take a look at the new website for UFO and UAP sightings established by the government that looks straight out of the X-Files. Then, we'll hear about research that linked working long hours with obesity. Is a four-day work week the answer, or is the Biblical diet a better route to a healthy lifestyle? We'll learn all about both proposals on this roundup. Featuring audio from the Mid-Morning Mike Check out of KRLD 1080 in Dallas, KYW Newsradio in Philadelphia, WWJ Newsradio in Detroit, the Dana & Parks Show out of Kansas City and the Adam & Jordana Show out of WCCO News Talk in the Twin Cities.

Mike and Austin have more on scammers making a buck of the Henta scare. Plus Texas throws Ole Miss under the bus over their academic standards. They love their Dodgers, except on game day.

Plus Mike and Austin talk about the Americans on the Hantavirus cruise finally return home. Iran peace plan rejected. 2-Way with CBS Military Analyst Jeff McCausland. Oklahoma's hero HS principal speaks out.

The story of a woman who had artificial intelligence plan her European vacation and how dolphins have been used in warfare. Featuring audio from: The Dave Glover Show out of KMOX in St. Louis, the Dana & Parks Show out of KMBZ in Kansas City.

We'll get a look into a somewhat secret tradition – The Jazz Fest triathlon – and hear about this year's hunting season. Mushroom hunting, that is. Featuring audio from Scoot out of WWL in New Orleans and WWJ Newsradio in Detroit.

This week, we're starting off in the world of tech with the story of a woman who had artificial intelligence plan her European vacation and how dolphins have been used in warfare. Then, we'll get a look into a somewhat secret tradition – The JazzFest triathlon – and hear about this year's hunting season. Mushroom hunting, that is. Featuring audio from: The Dave Glover Show out of KMX in St. Louis, the Dana & Parks Show out of KMBZ in Kansas City, Scoot out of WWL in New Orleans and WWJ Newsradio in Detroit.

We're going to look in how to book a hot tub boat this summer – yeah that's a boat with a hot tub on it. After that, we'll end the show in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's garage. Featuring audio from the Adam and Jordana Show out of WCCO News Talk in the Twin Cities and Own the Road with Kelli and Bob out of KRLD 1080 in Dallas.

We're checking in on the fate of the nickel. Is it on track to disappear just like the penny? Then, we're headed to a Rainforest Café to hear about a surprise visitor who appeared in its crocodile pool. Featuring audio from the Dana and Parks Show out of KMBZ in Kansas City, WWJ Newsradio in Detroit.

This week, we're checking in on the fate of the nickel. Is it on track to disappear just like the penny? Then, we're headed to a Rainforest Café to hear about a surprise visitor who appeared in its crocodile pool. From there, we're going to look in how to book a hot tub boat this summer – yeah that's a boat with a hot tub on it. After that, we'll end the show in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's garage. Now, that's not where you park, but where you can personally rock out on instruments tucked away on the second floor of the museum. Featuring audio from the Dana and Parks Show out of KMBZ in Kansas City, WWJ Newsradio in Detroit, the Adam and Jordana Show out of WCCO News Talk in the Twin Cities and Own the Road with Kelli and Bob out of KRLD 1080 in Dallas.

Here's an "offbite" from our Something Offbeat episode last week. We're getting a little eerie this week with tales of hauntings and infestations. We'll dive into a study that reveals how many Americans believe they have psychic abilities and we'll learn how to avoid being possessed by invasive plants. Featuring audio from the Dana & Parks Show out of KMBZ in Kansas City and WWJ Newsradio in Detroit.

Here's an "offbite" from last week's Something Offbeat episode. We're getting a little eerie this week with tales of hauntings and infestations. These include actor Val Kilmer's artificial intelligence-fueled return in a new film, and an interview with the grandson of paranormal investigators who inspired the Amityville Horror and Conjuring franchises. Featuring audio from: WWL Radio in New Orleans and Paranormal 360 out of WCCO News Talk in the Twin Cities.

We're getting a little eerie this week with tales of hauntings and infestations. These include actor Val Kilmer's artificial intelligence-fueled return in a new film, and an interview with the grandson of paranormal investigators who inspired the Amityville Horror and Conjuring franchises. We'll also dive into a study that reveals how many Americans believe they have psychic abilities and we'll learn how to avoid being possessed by invasive plants. Featuring audio from: WWL Radio in New Orleans, Paranormal 360 out of WCCO News Talk in the Twin Cities, the Dana & Parks Show out of KMBZ in Kansas City and WWJ Newsradio in Detroit.

Today, we're putting on some sparkly slippers and travelling over the rainbow to the land of Oz. In this episode, we'll get a preview of a boots on the ground from Audacy podcasters who visited the Oz museum in Wamego, Kansas. Before we do that, well also hear about “zombie fish” that sound like they would be more at home in one of Baum's tales than in real life and a modern-day invention that's making us think of the “Emerald Glasses” featured in the first Oz book. And of course, our Oz-themed journey wouldn't be complete without a tornado. Featuring audio from the Dana & Parks show out of KMBZ in Kansas City, WWJ Newsradio in Detroit, KCBS Radio in the Bay Area and Own the Road with Kelli and Bob out of KRLD 1080 in Dallas.

This week, things are getting a little intense. We have a playdate with snakes, spiders and bullfrogs, a discussion about flatulence research, questions about robot doctors and a peek into the world of black market fish. Featuring audio from KCBS Radio in the Bay Area, The Dave Glover Show out of KMOX in St. Louis, the Dana & Parks Show out of Audacy station KMBZ in Kansas City and Tommy Tucker out of WWL in New Orleans.

This week, we're talking about traditions, from wacky spring rituals like April Fool's Day and Dyngus Day to funeral bread, New York's little-known history of fairies and a tradition in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, that recently resulted in a court battle over bird poop. Featuring audio from Tommy Tucker out of WWL in New Orleans, KRLD 1080 out of Dallas, WBEN out of Buffalo and to the Adam & Jordana show and Paranormal 360, both out of WCCO News Talk in the Twin Cities.

This week, we're covering reports whether artificial intelligence can replace cowboys, expensive refrigerators that make their owners watch advertisements, Elon Musk's Boring Company and its plans to construct tunnels under New Orleans and what you might not know about graffiti. Featuring audio from KCBS Radio's Bloomberg Tech and Business report in the Bay area, Tommy Tucker and WWL in New Orleans, the Adam & Jordana Show from WCCO in the Twin Cities and The Dave Glover Show out of KMOX in St. Louis.

This week, we cover the story of more than 80 students from a Minnesota high school choir who were trapped in Califronia when their flight was canceled due to a blizzard, whether Shakespeare's works should be taught to young students, how the Savannah Bananas are changing up baseball and meteorites falling on Ohio. Featuring audio from Drivetime with DeRusha out of WCCO News Talk in the Twin Cities, the Dana & Parks show out of KMBZ in Kansas City, Newell Normand out of WWL in New Orleans and Marty Griffin out of KDKA in Pittsburgh.

This week, we'll explore the sometimes-treacherous travel habits of baby cows in the Pittsburgh area and of salamanders in the Detroit area. In human transportation news, we'll hear a lawmaker in Minnesota explain why she took a bike to the hospital to have her baby. Then, to send us out, Georg Papp of Outhouse Americana in Colchester, Conn., is going to explain why he's dedicated to preserving the history of a vintage way to use the loo. He says that outhouses reveal more about culture than we might realize… Featuring audio from Drivetime with DeRusha out of WCCO News Talk in the Twin Cities, The Big K Morning Show out of KDKA in Pittsburgh, WWJ Newsradio out of Detroit and Own the Road with Kelli and Bob out of KRLD in Dallas.

This week, we're getting nostalgic. We're headed to a photography museum, a toy museum, retro pizza joints and more. We'll also sit in on an interview with Jon Taffer of the long-running series "Bar Rescue", now entering its 10th season. Featuring audio from Own the Road with Kelly and Bob out of KRLD 1080 in Dallas, the Dana & Parks show out of KMBZ in Kansas City, Drivetime with DeRusha out of WCCO News Talk in Minneapolis and KNX News in Los Angeles.

This week, we're diving into one of our favorite topics, aliens. While extraterrestrial life is often thought of as a sort of fringe topic, two U.S. presidents have recently been talking about them, so we had to get in on the fun. We're also going to get a bit darker than usual this week with some talk about death. Featuring audio from WWJ Newsradio, Tommy Tucker out of WWL and the Dana & Parks Show out of KMBZ.

On this week's agenda, we've got a surprise Great White shark sighting from WWL Radio in Louisiana and exploration about what's going on in our brain when we hesitate from KCBS Radio in San Francisco. Then, we'll listen in on a discussion of the dawn of the Fire Horse year with the Lunar New Year this week from the Dana and Parks Show out of KMBZ in Kansas City and take a trip to the Old Farmer's Almanac headquarters with Own the Road with Kelli and Bob out of KRLD 1080 in Dallas.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you face-planted on an escalator while trying to catch a flight? This week, we'll look into the data on escalator mishaps with the Dana & Parks podcast out of KMBZ in Kansas City. We're also going to hear from an expert who spoke to KCBS Radio on the Bay Area about why another location for possible escalator wipeouts – malls – are disappearing all over the country. Another thing that's disappearing? Sex, according to multiple studies. We'll hear more about that from Chad Hartman out of WCCO in Minneapolis, as well as a concerning uptick in heart attacks from an expert who spoke to WWJ Newsradio in Detroit.

This is a roundup of weird news from Audacy's Something Offbeat podcast, Olympics 2026 edition. We're checking in with reporter Sloane Martin, who is covering the sport in Milan who has been brushing up on her research to de-mystify curling. We'll also peek into the dark side of what awaits some Olympic champions once they win their medals, debunk a myth about catching colds and hear about the highest marathon on Earth. Featuring audio from WCCO News Talk, Dana & Parks from KMBZ, Scoor at WWL and WWJ Newsrdio.

This week, we're going to go down the rabbit hole in New Orleans with the Magical Krewe of MadHatters. While that krewe is focused more on beautiful costumes and rocking parade floats for Mardi Gras than rabbits running around checking their pocket watch like in the Alice in Wonderland tales they take their name from, another time of watch is looming over us. A clock, to be more precise. The Doomsday Clock. We'll also head to the West Coast, where a mountain lion trapped in a San Francisco alley was freaking out residents this week. To round out the show, hear a more… esoteric sighting of an alleged sasquatch. Featuring audio from: The Dave Glover Show out of KMOX, KCBS Radio, WWL Radio and WWJ Newsradio.

This week we're going up, past chairlifts, past aurora borealis and into space to get the latest on a long-running search for extraterrestrial life. On the way there, we'll also check in on the rare solar storm that impacted Earth this week, people getting stuck on those chairlifts and a conspiracy theory about gravity. Featuring reports from KCBS Radio in the Bay Area, the Dave Glover Show out of KMOX in St. Louis and the Adam & Jordana Show out of WCCO News Talk in the Twin Cities.

This week, we're diving into not one but two weird animal stories, as well as chemtrails, a scientist dubbed doctor Frankenstein, a man wreaking havoc with a sword and how to become a real-life storm-chaser. Featuring segments from the Dave Glover Show out of KMOX in St. Louis, WWJ Newsradio in Detroit, the Scoot Show and the Tommy Tucker shows out of WWL in New Orleans, the Dana & Parks Show out of KMBZ in Kansas City and KNX News out of Los Angeles.

This week, we've got some expert insight on whether we can make it back to moon by 2028, a marriage proposal attempt that turned into something straight out of a sitcom, and some stories about sandwiches. With dispatches from the Dana & Parks show out of KMBZ in Kansas City, Tommy Tucker out of WWL in New Orleans, WWJ Newsradio in Detroit, The Dave Glover Show out of KMOX in St. Louis and the Adam & Jordana Show out of WCCO in the Twin Cities.

These are the weirdest animal stories we covered in 2025.

There were the weirdest viral stories we covered in 2025.

Here's the weirdest space stories we covered in 2025.

We're rounding up the weirdest stories of 2025. In this episode, the top of the top -- Colossal Biosciences' work to bring back extinct animals, the rapture that never came and a possible break in the D.B. Cooper case.

Something Offbeat host Mike Rogers interviews a man from Kentucky about becoming the world's stone skimming champion and about a scandal at the competition in Scotland.

This week, we've got a conversation about cemeteries where you wouldn't expect them from KMBZ's Dan & Parks in Kansas City, opinions about the little-known delicacy that is soft shell shrimp from Scoot at WWL in New Orleans, and a surprise sighting of a mythical creature from The Dave Glover Show out of KMOX in St. Louis. But first, we're headed to WCCO News Talk Minneapolis, Minnesota, where they've got potty problems.

Mike Rogers interviews a grad student from Scotland who has been trying a different sport every week.

Host Mike Rogers interviews Annalisa Nash Fernandez to discuss how the future of fast food might play out and what companies should keep their eye on to keep appealing to customers.

This week, we cover the story of a mom and seven of her children who went on a 2,300 paddle adventure on the Mississippi River; a reason why you might want to get six, maybe seven, Frosties, and fashion from queer sheep wool.

This week, we're starting with an ancient discovery, then looking forward at a few things. Those things are: the possibility of bars in Kansas City opening from 6 a.m. to 5 a.m., the future of endangered animals and how to avoid being a jerk during upcoming holiday celebrations.

"Something Offbeat" host Mike Rogers interviews dives into the origins of this massive collection of Crocs.

This week, we're tackling three questions. The first question: How much can humans actually be genetically engineered? The second question: Are people kinder or meaner than they were 20 years ago? And the third… do you want to jam with a 1,000-person rock band? You might have a chance to in January. Featuring audio from KCBS' Bay Area All Local, WCCO's Chad Hartman and WWL's Scoot.

We're starting off today's show up in space, then making our way back down to Earth with moon water, where we'll have to deal with rat infested cities and robots. A full schedule! Special thanks to WWJ Newsradio in Detroit, The Dave Glover Show out of KMOX in St. Louis, the Dana & Parks Show out of KMBZ in Kansas City and A New Morning out of WBEN in Buffalo.

Happy Halloween Offbesties, and welcome to a spooky edition of Something Offbeat's weird news roundups. Today, we're focused on, you guessed it, Halloween headlines, from adult-o-ween to the changing face of Satanic Panic to pumpkin mishaps and freaky magicians.

This week, our stories have a bit of a theme. They're all about feeling a rush – from that stomach-dropping sensation you get while riding a roller coaster to the joy of perfectly shucking an oyster to… some more questionable ways to live on the edge. With audio from Scoot and Tommy Tucker from WWL in New Orleans, the Dana & Parks Show from KMBZ in Kansas City and the Dave Glover Show from KMOX in St. Louis.