The Hidden Zoo

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Join Blake and Don as they dig into the world of cryptozoology in order to make fun of the ridiculous creatures people claim to have seen around the world.

The Hidden Zoo


    • Aug 14, 2021 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 51m AVG DURATION
    • 106 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from The Hidden Zoo

    Episode 104 - Whaler, Whaler, Wally Gator

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2021 70:36


    Blake is on a movie again, so Don is joined by former co-host Ryan! Back again! Our subject is a Nebraska Lake monster with a very...interesting physiology. Also, trans rights are human rights! Further Reading https://history.nebraska.gov/blog/flashback-friday-nebraskas-lake-monster-giganticus-brutervious https://history.nebraska.gov/blog/chadrons-petrified-man https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Alkali_Lake_Monster https://web.archive.org/web/20200821025456/http://magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/2014/04/throwback-thursday-monster/ https://books.google.com/books?id=dqPfdfE1LNkC&pg=PA104&lpg=PA104&dq=John+G.+Maher+hoaxes&source=bl&ots=Vn05jJ_NTs&sig=ACfU3U2kgG3yJTM5-JgMNYi53u0w4_iUcg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjR3NrjranyAhWRKM0KHdi0D6UQ6AF6BAgIEAM#v=onepage&q=John%20G.%20Maher%20hoaxes&f=false

    Episode 103 - Get a Rope

    Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2021 57:33


    This week, Don convinces Blake to download a bad app called Paranormal Map so he can troll the other users. And he also tells the tale of the Altamaha-ha, a river cryptid from Georgia. Also, violent 90s salsa commercials!

    Episode 102: Mammal Teeth

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2021 60:26


    This week, Blake and Don review/ridicule a deeply mediocre cryptid movie: Legendary, starring Dolph Lundgren and some other people. It's free on Amazon Prime video if you, too, want to spent two hours watching a bunch of interchangeable characters chase a humongous lizard. Also, a quick review of the Hulu documentary Sasquatch!

    Episode 101 - Get Your Tribal Band, Graduate, and Go See Creed

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 7, 2021 57:09


    This week Blake brings a seriously fascinating cryptid that is in more military history books than it is cryptozoology books, by a wide margin: the Rock Ape. Also, Rambo!

    Episode 100 - Nazi Monkey

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2021 95:42


    This week Blake and Don are joined by special guest Garrison Davis (@hungrybowtie on Twitter) of Behind the Bastards and Uprising: A Guide from Portland to discuss a cryptid they have been dancing around since the very beginning of this show. That's right, we're finally giving the full show treatment to that creepy MFer DeLoys' Ape, and hoo boy does it take a turn at about the halfway point. Also, lots of Star Wars bookending the creepy monkey on a box! Further Reading https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2016/01/31/de-loys-ape-was-a-well-played-anthropological-fraud/?sh=585a1674d257 https://books.google.com/books?id=R_om6jVeaiAC&pg=PA79#v=onepage&q&f=false https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/de-loys-8217-ape-and-what-to-do-with-it/ https://bigfootbase.com/blog/geologists-odd-ape-history-de-loys-ape https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Dey_Loy%27s_Ape https://allcryptid.fandom.com/wiki/De_Loys%27_Ape http://historyofgeology.fieldofscience.com/2011/02/de-loys-ape.html

    Episode 99 - Too Hot to Handle, Too Cold to Hold

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2021 83:21


    This week Don's research gets away from him, so he runs Blake through another AI Dungeon! Sorry for two so close together, but this one goes whackadoo. We promise you'll like it.

    Episode 98 - Bigbury

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 23, 2021 50:07


    This week, Blake is back! He tells us a bit about the movie he worked on and then goes into detail about the cadborosaurus, a Canadian sea monster. Also, ficus plants!

    Episode 96 - Clearly Sasquatches Should be Power Rangers

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2021 54:29


    This week Don and his friend Cameron play an AI Dungeon that begins with an Albert Ostman-inspired scenario and quickly goes sideways. And violent. And a little psychotic.

    Episode 96 - Keep on Basque Truckin'

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 8, 2021 60:49


    This week, Don invites his old friend Aaron to guest host and they discuss life, the universe, and Octo-Squatch. Don and Aaron do incredibly cool science shows that teach science while also blowing things up! Find them on http://www.explosionsinc.com. They don't swear this much during a science show, unless you request it. Also, a short history of the Basque region! Further Reading https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Octo-squatch https://www.cryptopia.us/site/2015/01/octo-squatch-spain/ https://non-aliencreatures.fandom.com/wiki/Octo-Squatch https://thecreaturecodex.tumblr.com/post/176000643182/octosquatch

    Episode 95 - Only the Squatchiest

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2021 70:59


    This week Don and special guest Jeff wax nostalgic about their shared hometown, discuss shitty rust belt economies, and then cover the Ohio Grassman, Ohio's very own sasquatch. Also, Bruce Springsteen!

    Episode 94 - Mansion, Nunnery, Prison, Asylum

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 25, 2021 55:36


    This week Don and special guest host Sean (Blake is still shooting a movie) discuss Star Wars (of course) and then dig into the wonderful world of the Michigan Melonheads. Also, the death of Wolverine!

    Episode 93 - Butter Beast's Big Beautiful Bodacious Bubble Butt

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 12, 2021 43:50


    This week, Don tells Blake all about a beast from Kentucky, the Beast of the Land Between the Lakes! It's very silly. Also, Blake has a big Hollywood job!

    Episode 92 - Amy Good Gorilla

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2020 65:09


    We are back after a bit of a hiatus to learn about the agog we, an African cryptid, but mostly we talk about great ape language and cognition and the 1995 cinema classic Congo. Also, corvids!

    Episode 91 - Half Man, Half Goat, Half Man

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 3, 2020 76:33


    This week we talk about the new season of The Mandalorian (of course)! Then a quick DC-area cryptid, and then Blake navigates the Amazon looking for DeLoy's Ape in another AI Dungeon! It gets sexy, then it just gets weird.

    Episode 90 - Stalin's Yetis by Arthur Dyatlov, Winner of the Caldecot Medal

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2020 56:45


    It's time for another Halloween special! in 2018 we told you about cryptids that legitimately creeped us out, and this year we do the same! Kind of! Really, they're more cryptid-adjacent. Also, Tomb Raider!

    Episode 89 - Your Time Life Operator

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2020 73:54


    This week Blake has been digging through his collection of Time Life hardbacks...And he found the one about cryptids! We meander through the pages of a classic cryptozoology book. Also, we try to make a Will Smith rap about Jaws!

    Episode 88 - Randy Sparxxxxxx

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2020 72:49


    This week, Don tells Blake the tale of the Tennessee Wildman! Which turns out to not be much of a tale, but man does the one guy who claims to have seen it have a pathetic paranormal research group. Also, labor uprisings!

    Episode 87 - Budget Reynolds

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 15, 2020 63:11


    This week we discuss a phenomenal bigfoot horror movie called Night of the Demon! It's available on Prime Video, it has lots of cheap blood and mayhem, some nudity, rampant breaking and entering by Bigfoot hunters, and all sorts of other insanity. Watch it! Watch it now! Also, bulbous organic alien spaceships!

    Episode 86 - Dutch Angles

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 31, 2020 45:46


    This week we review a very bad movie that you can watch on Amazon Prime Video this very moment: Rise of the Chupacabras! Strap in, kids, cause it ain't good.

    Episode 85 - Deli 5

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2020 38:30


    This week Blake tells Don about the Monkey Man of Delhi, and we speculate about generational naming conventions in the Star Wars universe. Also, an accidentally racist Wolverine comic!

    Episode 84 - Cryptid Fanfic: The Legendary Journeys

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2020 112:37


    This week we are proud to present our second virtual Gen Con 2020 panel, in which we stage dramatic readings of cryptid erotica! The show is always tagged explicit, but this one is ESPECIALLY explicit. Thanks to guests Denise, Jon, and Tom.

    Episode 83 - Mythical Monsters and Folktale Fauna Live at Virtual Gen Con 2020

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2020 120:41


    This week we are coming to you with a recording of the Facebook lifestream we did for Gen Con 2020! It's a survey of why we think cryptozoology is silly and some of the silliest cryptids we've covered in the years we've been doing this show. Blake and Don are joined by friends of the show Denise, Jon, Josh, and Tom.

    Episode 82 - Monghost

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2020 50:42


    This week Blake and Don are back to their old tricks, with the story of Gef the talking mongoose from the Isle of Man. Also, and update from the Centre of Excellence!

    Episode 81 - Hitler Zombies?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2020 53:18


    Blake is back! As promised, it's time for a Blake-centric AI Dungeon, and he's on a mission from Bigfoot in...TEAM BARF TEAM ACTIVATE!

    Episode 80 - Murder, Mystery, and Mothmen

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2020 56:38


    This week Blake is out of town, so Don got his blessing to invite his friend Julia to guest on the show, and he takes her on a wild ride through our old friend AI Dungeon! She and Mothman have a surprisingly compelling adventure!

    Episode 79 - Bigfoot: Alien Ghost?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2020 68:20


    This week Blake and Don are joined by returning guests Tom and John to discuss the Amazon Prime documentary "The Bigfoot Alien Connection Reveled." It is somehow more ridiculous than it sounds. Also, updates from Don's cryptozoology class!

    Episode 78 - Stop Strumming Your Bass, Danny

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2020 66:55


    This week Blake and Don tear the hell out of the 2012 Asylum Films production "Bigfoot," starring Danny Bonaduce. Also, updates from the Centre for Excellence!

    Episode 77: P is for Pants

    Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2020 38:49


    This week Blake and Don are joined by returning guest Denise to discuss the Fresno Nightcrawler, the world's creepiest pair of pants! Also, Don signs up for an online course in cryptozoology!

    Episode 76 - Spocamel

    Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2020 48:32


    This week Blake and Don offer a lake monster double feature with Ogopogo and Igopogo, Canadian lake monster with silly names. Also, they invent a small town cryptid for Spokane and discuss Star Wars blasters.

    Episode 75 - Ducktales, A-Woo-Hoo

    Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2020 43:34


    This week, Don and Blake discuss a couple of cryptic-adjacent weird stories: the disappearance of the USS Cyclops and Indrid Cold. Also, the dark, racist history of Duckburg!

    Episode 74 - All The Squatch News You Can Use

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2020 59:26


    This week Blake and Don are joined by their friend Alexe, last heard telling us about the Grootslang, and they surprise her with silly Bigfoot news. Also, weird stuff from Catholic school!

    Episode 73 - 5/5 Sasquatches

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2020 51:07


    This week Blake and Don give a full SPOILERiffic review of Max Brooks' upcoming sasquatch-centric novel "Devolution." SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS! Also, jobs we had as kids and weird crimes!

    Episode 72 - Peepers

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 7, 2020 36:27


    This week Don brings Blake the tale of the Albatwitch, a Pennsylvania cryptid that likes to steal apples. Also, history!

    Episode 71 - Butt Cameras

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 30, 2020 55:49


    This week, we dig into SPOILERS for Tiger King because we just can't stop talking about it, and then we cover three more fake diseases in another Pandemic Special! Do you hate windmills and love having your bones cracked? Then this episode is not for you!

    Episode 70 - Bawitaba

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2020 33:36


    This week we spend a whole lot of time discussing Tiger King and laughing our asses off about it. Then we do a Pandemic Special: diseases that people think exist but really don't. Skin fibers!

    Episode 69.5 - Yowie on Ice

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2020 63:21


    This week, in the back half of our epic two-parter, we finish off the list of the 69 sexiest cryptids! Also, we get confused about sorftcore erotic manga!

    Episode 69 - Dudes!

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 24, 2020 62:20


    It is our long-awaited 69th episode spectacular, coming to you in two parts! In part one, Blake gives us a spoiler-free review of an upcoming Max Brooks novel about squatches, and we cover the first half of our list of the 69 sexiest cryptids known to mankind.

    Episode 68 - Squatchnapped

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 3, 2020 48:32


    This week Don tells Blake the story of Albert Ostman, who claimed, in 1957, to have been kidnapped by sasquatches in British Columbia in 1924. We hear his own words, because it was just easier than summarizing them. Plus we get to hear his odd fascination with assigning the squatches clothing measurements.

    Episode 67 - I'm Not Gonna Say It's Yetis, But It's Yetis

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2020 42:58


    This week Blake and Don discuss the strange lack of mysterious disappearances attributed to cryptids after learning that some weirdos think the Dyatlov Pass incident was all Yetis. Then we have a lightning round of which cryptid caused which mysterious disappearance!

    Episode 66 - This One Weird Trick Will Make You An Owlman - Cryptids Hate It!

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 20, 2020 34:36


    This week Blake takes in the story of the Owlman, a beast from Cornwall whose story is inextricable from that of Tony "Doc" Shiels, a magician/artist/cryptozoologist/probable charlatan/guy who hangs out with naked witches. Also, CATS! Further Reading Owlman Pictures Thought Catalog - 12 Facts About Owlman Fortean Wiki - Owlman Crytpid Wiki - Owlman Magonia Magazine - Monstrous Tales

    Episode 65 - Bigfoot Justice

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 13, 2020 52:51


    This week Don makes up for his lack of a real animal in the Elephant Humanoid episode, and then he takes Blake on a neural network generated adventure courtesy of AI Dungeon! Blake has to hunt down Bigfoot and bring him to justice, with help from an ornery AI dungeon master. Check out AI Dungeon! https://www.aidungeon.io/

    Episode 64 - Jizz Wailin'

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2019 39:48


    This week Don covers the Elephant Humanoid, which is, surprisingly, not actually exactly what it sounds like. And, of course, we talk about Star Wars, but we also go off on tangents about DB Cooper and Ghostbusters! Further Reading CryptidWiki - Elephant Humanoid Mysterious Universe - The Strange Elephant Humanoids of Australia

    Episode 63 - Orang Batman

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2019 35:42


    This week Blake tells us about the Orang Bati, a giant bat cryptid from Indonesia, who is somehow distinct from the Ahool, another giant bat cryptid from Indonesia. Also, more Star Wars and a survey of New Zealand Cryptids!

    Episode 62 - Hair Breadth Escapes of Railroad Employees and Passengers

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2019 47:06


    This week Don tells Blake the tale of the Crawfordsville Monster, which is, believe it or not, a monster from Crawfordsville, Indiana. It was only seen once before, but has the distinction of being the first cryptid we have covered with official D20 system stats. Also, Star Wars! Further Reading Hoosier State Chronicles - The Crawfordsville Monster Anomalies -1891, September 5: The Crawfordsville Monster The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 10 September, 1891 Indianapolis Journal, 7 September 1891 The Crawfordsville Monster's official D20 Modern stats

    Episode 61 - Go Fouke Yourself

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2019 46:48


    This week Blake regales us with the tale of the Fouke Monster, source of the Boggy Creek film series. Also, The Mandalorian. SPOILERS! The video we talk about up top: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stISzPngwh4&feature=emb_logo

    Episode 60 - Bigfoot Conference Roundup

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 5, 2019 74:28


    This week we are back with a double dose of Bigfoot conferences! We have special guest Emma, who happened to attend the Arkansas Paranormal Conference the week before Don attended the Bigfoot Toledo and Paranormal Conference. We cover them both, and have a lot to say about a speaker who talked at both of them while wearing a weird hat. Also, Epstein didn't kill himself. Bigfoot did it.

    Episode 59 - Impossible Burger

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2019 30:21


    This week we're back in the saddle with a cryptid. A ghostly cryptid. It's from New Jersey, and it's just plain silly...And also possibly real.

    Episode 58 - Space Mummies

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2019 49:52


    We are back! Don and Blake return after a long hiatus to cover some life stories and bigfoot news that they missed. Topics include the FBI, Bigfoot in North Carolina, Skunk Ape III, and Bigfoot conferences. Also, Sindey Poitier! He is still alive!

    Episode 57 - Always a King or Queen in Narnia: Garden Hermit's Greatest Hits

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2019 60:03


    This week we tackle the yeti and learn all about how bumbles bounce and Jimmy Stewart's side hustle as a cryptid smuggler. Also, we invent a C.S. Lewis-based prog rock band while exploring weird European traditions.

    Episode 56 - Two-Stroke Terror

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2019 54:14


    This week Don tells Blake about the batsquatch, which is exactly what it sounds like. Somehow we completely miss the opportunity to talk yet more about Bigfoot Nixon Batman. Also, car repair! Further reading Mysterious Universe - Bizarre Encounters with the Batsquatch  Batsquatch on Cryptidwiki Washington Bigfoot - Legend of Batsquatch  The Batsquatch of Mt. Saint Helens

    Episode 55 - The Man Who Killed Don Quixote and Hitler and The Bigfoot but Mostly Just Hitler And the Bigfoot (A Film Review)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2019 48:46


    This week we recap the vacation we went on together, including a tale of an extraordinarily dumb man. We then give a review of The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot, which was weird. Next episode whenever we have time, as Blake is working on a movie in Seattle. Woohoo!

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