Optophobia
Solar Driftwood
All episodes
Best episodes
Seasons
Top 10 Optophobia Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Optophobia episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Optophobia for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Optophobia episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
S1Ep6 | The Farmer's Almanac Connection
Optophobia
10/28/19 • 29 min
In 1975, Gary Belt and his brother were stationed at Kagnew when Gary’s brother was beamed in the face with a space laser from the STONEHOUSE antennas. Gary, now a ghost writer at the Farmer’s Almanac, believes the content of his brother’s brain was the first of thousands that STONEHOUSE sucked into a mysterious black box, a massive database we now call ... The Internet.
***
Credits:
Kevin Mahoney played Gary Belt. Kevin performs with Madeline, a Washington Improv Theater house ensemble. Follow him on Instagram at @kev_mahoney.
Liz Sanders played Debra. Liz also performs with Madeline.
Produced by Tim Townsend.
Theme music by Bart Warshaw.
Cover art by Claire Smalley.
Website by Chance Griffin.
02/10/20 • 32 min
Martina Kratchlekov has worked in the New York City subway system since she was 16, and along the way she picked up information about its permanent residents: the Mole People. In the 20th century, the elite class of this underground society used parliamentary procedure and ranked-choice voting, according to Kratchlekov. Its leaders have since tunneled west to run the Deep State.
***
Credits:
Molly Graham played Martina Kratchlekov. Molly performs around DC in iMusical (@imusical_improv) and The Quitters (@thequittersdc). You can also catch her onstage with Story District (@storydistrict)
Jamal Newman played Clifford Hanger. Jamal performs with Lena Dunham and NIXON. You can follow him on Instagram and Twitter at @hell0newman, and find him at jamalnewman.com.
Produced by Tim Townsend.
Theme music by Bart Warshaw.
Cover art by Claire Smalley.
Website by Chance Griffin.
02/24/20 • 30 min
Bodies are washing ashore along the banks of the Potomac, each with a mysterious "SUFTDS" painted in red across their chests. Washington News Paper reporter Sacha Miller has a theory: some Deep State residents are sending their children to the surface to save them. But there are others in the Deep State who would do anything to keep those children silent.
***
Credits:
Adam Levine played Sacha Miller. Adam performs improv whenever he can, wherever he can. Find him posting things probably only he finds funny on Facebook. Reach out to him at [email protected] if you want to be notified about his shows.
Jamal Newman played Clifford Hanger. Jamal performs with Lena Dunham and NIXON. You can follow him on Instagram and Twitter at @hell0newman, and find him at jamalnewman.com.
Produced by Tim Townsend.
Theme music by Bart Warshaw.
Cover art by Claire Smalley.
Website by Chance Griffin.
S2Ep5 | Doggie Shitnose 2020
Optophobia
03/02/20 • 33 min
Even Deep State bureaucrats need the occasional morale boost. But after an hour-long, Propofol-nourished elevator ride, employee engagement consultant Vikki Ganders was as surprised as anyone to find herself leading trust fall, rope course and rap circle exercises in the 51st state.
***
Credits:
Clare Mulligan played Vikki Ganders. Clare performs with Hellcat at Washington Improv Theater. Follow her on Twitter at @kuhlayer.
Liz Sanders played Muriel Wolland. Liz performs with Madeline, a Washington Improv Theater house ensemble.
Produced by Tim Townsend.
Theme music by Bart Warshaw.
Cover art by Claire Smalley.
Website by Chance Griffin.
S3Ep1 | Ramona, Queen of Sexla
Optophobia
07/20/20 • 29 min
He may have been fired as a top sales associate at Tesla, but Casper Geronimo didn't let that stop his adult film career. In fact, it only enhanced his popularity and gave him a deeper understanding of Elon Musk, who has unleashed Covfefe-19 on this planet as part of a plan to return to his own.
***
Credits:
Patrick Slevin played Casper Geronimo. Patrick performs with Madeline, a Washington Improv Theater house ensemble. Follow him on Instagram at @pfslevin.
Jamal Newman played Ginno Rommero. Jamal performs with Lena Dunham and NIXON. You can follow him on Instagram and Twitter at @hell0newman, and find him at jamalnewman.com.
Produced by Tim Townsend.
Theme music by Bart Warshaw.
Cover art by Claire Smalley.
Website by Chance Griffin.
02/22/21 • 32 min
Growing up on the road alongside her saleswoman mom, Jeri Jones believed she had a serene, peace-loving nature. But then, at 15, she watched "Relentless" and a something savage began stirring inside her. Armed with common household implements as agents of mischief and with a Rolodex she found while Dumpster diving as a guide, her rampage began.
***
Credits:
Jenny Koch played Jeri Jones. Jenny performs with Washington, D.C. improv teams The Quitters and The Lodge.
Erin Murray played Lydia CoffeeMaté. Erin performs with Madeline, a Washington Improv Theater house ensemble, and The Lodge. Follow her on Instagram at @eurniebmurray.
Produced by Tim Townsend.
Theme music by Bart Warshaw.
Cover art by Claire Smalley.
Website by Chance Griffin.
Website artwork by Nicole Bennett.
S4Ep8 | The Thong Song, SisQó and We
Optophobia
03/01/21 • 31 min
Some "Relentless"-inspired would-be serial killers have been celebrities. When Marrissa Horn, a tea shop owner from L.A. began dating SisQó, she had no idea that a visit to Victoria's Secret together would inspire the R&B legend's greatest hit, nor that he might try to use the song as a murder weapon.
***
Credits:
Andrea Quach played Marrissa Horn. Andrea is a member of The Quitters and Washington Improv Theater ensemble team The Lineup. Follow her on Instagram @andy___q.
Jamal Newman played Jeffrey Dalmer. Jamal performs with Lena Dunham and NIXON. You can follow him on Instagram and Twitter at @hell0newman, and find him at jamalnewman.com.
Produced by Tim Townsend.
Theme music by Bart Warshaw.
Cover art by Claire Smalley.
Website by Chance Griffin.
Website artwork by Nicole Bennett.
S1Ep1 | Meet Season One's Co-hosts
Optophobia
09/30/19 • 31 min
We introduce the show's Season One co-hosts: Hassan Gray, a Verizon Fios sales analyst and host of the "Not My Problem" podcast & Debra, former host of the syndicated radio program "Debra," and author of "I Can't Go for Mind Control (No Can Do): Hall, Oates and the Soviet Roots of Blue-Eyed Soul" available in free-thinking bookstores everywhere.
---
Credits:
Liz Sanders played Debra. Liz performs with Madeline, a Washington Improv Theater house ensemble.
Jamal Newman played Hasaan Gray. Jamal performs with Lena Dunham and NIXON. You can follow him on Instagram and Twitter at @hell0newman, and find him at jamalnewman.com.
Produced by Tim Townsend.
Theme music by Bart Warshaw.
Cover art by Claire Smalley.
Website by Chance Griffin.
09/30/19 • 33 min
Our guest this week, Theodore Kettle, grew up in the privileged world of 1980s international diplomacy. As the son of the UK ambassador in Addis Ababa, Kettle stumbled upon a hard-partying music scene in east Africa's Great Rift Valley, considered the "cradle of humankind," where he lost his virginity to a Russian-speaking beauty named Olga. Or did he?
---
Credits:
Saleh Karaman played Theodore Kettle. Saleh performs with Nox and Colossus, usually at the Washington Improv Theater. Follow him on Instagram at @cirquedusalad.
Liz Sanders played Debra. Liz performs with Madeline, a Washington Improv Theater house ensemble.
Produced by Tim Townsend.
Theme music by Bart Warshaw.
Cover art by Claire Smalley.
Website by Chance Griffin.
Introducing: Optophobia
Optophobia
09/04/19 • 2 min
In 1965, the U.S. Army Security Agency began a secret U.S. intelligence project on a shuttered military base in the Horn of Africa called Kagnew Station. The project — codenamed STONEHOUSE — included two 15-story parabolic antennas that made for optimal for stable military radio communications during the Cold War. Declassified Defense Department documents show, however, that for the next decade the true purpose of STONEHOUSE was to intercept Soviet space research data. But is that all the U.S. was keeping secret at Kagnew Station?
The world is demonstrably not the way it’s portrayed to us. On this podcast, we’re in search of facts obscured by a web of “official” narratives pushed by shady organizations intent on attaining obscure, malevolent goals.
Each season, we’ll tackle a new investigation into what many dismissively call a “conspiracy theory.” Our co-hosts are experts on each season’s investigation. And every week, a new guest — scientists, historians, ex-dictators, intelligence officers and everyday people — will join us to discuss their startling, often groundbreaking, research.
Our first stop: Kagnew Station outside of Asmara, Eritrea and about 50 miles from the Red Sea.
See you there, on September 30.
CREDITS:
Featuring the vocal pizzazz of Liz Sanders, Jamal Newman, Erin Murray, Eva Lewis, Saleh Karaman and Kristina Martinez
Music by Bart Warshaw
Cover art by Claire Smalley
Show more best episodes
Show more best episodes
FAQ
How many episodes does Optophobia have?
Optophobia currently has 46 episodes available.
What topics does Optophobia cover?
The podcast is about Improv, Comedy, Podcasts, Conspiracy Theory, Conspiracy and Comedy Interviews.
What is the most popular episode on Optophobia?
The episode title 'S1Ep1 | Meet Season One's Co-hosts' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Optophobia?
The average episode length on Optophobia is 29 minutes.
How often are episodes of Optophobia released?
Episodes of Optophobia are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Optophobia?
The first episode of Optophobia was released on Sep 4, 2019.
Show more FAQ
Show more FAQ