Episode 690: FYRE: The Failed Festival

Explicit content warning

11/02/22 • 92 min

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the infamous Fyre Festival. This aborted music festival was supposed to happen on Pablo Escobar’s private island and headlined by Blink 182 and celebrity chefs. It ended up being a disaster where guests lived in rained-out FEMA tents and ate slices of wilted cheese on wheat bread. There was no power, no water, no Wi-Fi, no food, no toilets. Quite simply, there was no festival; hundreds found out too late and were stranded there. So, what crime did the organizer, Billy McFarland, end up facing? How was this caused by the social ills of media influencers? How did 18 trucks of Evian water lead to a blowjob scandal? How as Ja Rule involved? Listen, laugh, learn. Visit Our Sources: https://www.billboard.com/pro/fyre-festival-founder-billy-mcfarland-out-prison-new-venture/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fyre_Festival https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnises https://www.businessinsider.com/fyre-festival-expectations-vs-reality-2017-4 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_McFarland_(fraudster) https://www.thedailybeast.com/fyre-festival-fraudster-billy-mcfarland-busted-by-prison-guards?via=twitter_page https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/billy-mcfarland-now Netflix: FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened

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Episode 689: Beer: Liquid Civilization

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk beer. The history of beer is no less than the history of human civilization. Archaeologists and historians can track most major human innovations back to the need to make better beer. Its history is thousands of years old, and people think everything from the wheel to money and agriculture all come from a desire for people to have this fizzy goodness. It fed the Egyptians, pleased the Babylonians, and helped fuel the industrial revolution. If you want to have a cold one, or just hear us talk about it, give this one a listen. Visit Our Sources: https://www.history.com/news/who-invented-beer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_beer https://www.salon.com/2017/04/26/heres-a-timeline-that-explains-how-beer-went-from-brilliant-mistake-to-hipsterific_partner/ https://www.ranker.com/list/how-beer-changed-history/steve-wright https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/beer-facts-beer-facts-to-make-you-sound-smarter-at-parties https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2018/01/craft-beer-industry/550850/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2018/10/17/beer-consumption-these-americas-26-top-selling-beers/38104743/

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Episode 691: Hall and Mills: Murder Most Foul

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk about one of the most sensationalized murders of the 1920s, the Hall-Mills murder. In September of 1922, Dude Passerby and his girlfriend stumbled upon the bodies of Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills. Hall was the local pastor, and Mills was in the church choir. But the details got crazy. First, the entire congregation knew of the affair. Second, Hall was married to an older heiress of the Johnson & Johnson company and thought to be a gold digger. One of Hearst’s newspapers whipped the nation into a frenzy over this murder, and the trial was one of legend. There was the Pig Woman who testified from her hospital bed. There were steamy love letters read to the crowd. But who did authorities think did the murder? Why did some people think it was the KKK? What made police rethink the case forty years later? Listen, laugh, learn. Visit Our Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall%E2%80%93Mills_murder_case https://www.northjersey.com/story/entertainment/books/2022/09/14/hall-mills-murders-case-location-nj-100-years/66060247007/ Audio Clip: https://www.nbfpl.org/local-history/hall-mills-murder-radio-broadcast https://www.nytimes.com/1964/02/02/archives/was-the-murderer-in-the-jury-box-the-minister-and-the-choir-singer.html https://www.grunge.com/853673/the-tragic-details-of-the-hall-mills-murders/ https://www.communitynews.org/princetoninfo/artsandentertainment/off-the-presses-blood-and-ink/article_e5c245ae-4f0c-11ed-addf-73e1c5335d3b.html