

Timesuck with Dan Cummins
Dan Cummins
Jump down new rabbit holes with Timesuck, the weekly podcast that takes you on a fascinating and bizarre journey through history’s darkest corners, most shocking conspiracies, and wildest true stories. Hosted by acclaimed standup comedian and storyteller Dan Cummins, each episode blends dark humor with deep research to uncover hidden truths about infamous historical figures, unsolved mysteries, notorious serial killers, and more. If you crave the weird, the wild, and the unexpected, Timesuck is your next obsession!
And check out the Short Sucks, a new series of 40-60 minute episodes two Fridays a month. These bite-sized stories are perfect for when you want a quick dose of Timesuck (or need more addictive content to consume while you’re waiting for your next Timesuck!)
And check out the Short Sucks, a new series of 40-60 minute episodes two Fridays a month. These bite-sized stories are perfect for when you want a quick dose of Timesuck (or need more addictive content to consume while you’re waiting for your next Timesuck!)
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 9, 2021 • 2h 56min
256 - Cult! Cult! Cult! The Aggressive Christianity Mission Training Corps
A very recent Christian militant cult, the Aggressive Christianity Mission Training Corps was founded in the late 1970s by married couple Lila and Jim Green. Lila would later change her name to Deborah, after the biblical prophetess of the God of the Israelites and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible. And she ruled her cult with an iron fist. And then, after decades of keeping her cult members continually worried about the devil and engaging in strange rituals like giving birth to spirit babies to become soldiers in god's army, Jim, Deb, and their son-in-law Peter Green were finally arrested on various charges of abuse, including sexual abuse of children. Today we explore the rise and fall of this sad, hateful little organization, and examine the popular fundamentalist, evangelical christianity it was born out of, on another cult! cult! cult! edition of Timesuck. We're donating $15,000 this month to The Wildland Firefighter Foundation. Since 1999, the Foundation has also provided emergency support services to the families of firefighters, seriously injured or killed in the line of duty. Families left behind, many with young children, often find themselves with few resources, and the Foundation steps in to help.
Go to https://wffoundation.org/ to learn more.
Watch the Suck on YouTube: https://youtu.be/TjnNkFsyhDcMerch - https://badmagicmerch.com/ Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v
Want to join the Cult of the Curious private Facebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult of the Curious" in order to locate whatever current page hasn't been put in FB Jail :)
For all merch related questions/problems: store@badmagicproductions.com (copy and paste)
Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcast
Wanna become a Space Lizard? We're over 10,000 strong! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcast
Sign up through Patreon and for $5 a month you get to listen to the Secret Suck, which will drop Thursdays at Noon, PST. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch. You get to vote on two Monday topics each month via the app. And you get the download link for my new comedy album, Feel the Heat. Check the Patreon posts to find out how to download the new album and take advantage of other benefits.

Aug 2, 2021 • 2h 38min
255 - Ancient Aliens and Ancient Sumerians
Lot to unpack in this one! Today we are blending history, aliens, and conspiracy. We'll be talking about the Ancient Sumerians - quite possibly the world's first civilization. Who were they and what "firsts" did they contribute to human civilization? Why did their culture flourish so long ago? We'll go over one of the oldest, if not the oldest written story in the world - the epic of Gilgamesh. And then, we'll look into how Ancient Sumerians connects to Ancient Aliens/Astronaut Theory. What is this theory based in? Expertise and verified historical research? Or science fiction?
We're donating over $14,000 this month to The Wildland Firefighter Foundation. Since 1999, the Foundation has also provided emergency support services to the families of firefighters, seriously injured or killed in the line of duty. Families left behind, many with young children, often find themselves with few resources, and the Foundation steps in to help.
Go to https://wffoundation.org/ to learn more.
Watch the Suck on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BuAjeehokFAMerch - https://badmagicmerch.com/ Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v
Want to join the Cult of the Curious private Facebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult of the Curious" in order to locate whatever current page hasn't been put in FB Jail :)
For all merch related questions/problems: store@badmagicproductions.com (copy and paste)
Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcast
Wanna become a Space Lizard? We're over 10,000 strong! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcast
Sign up through Patreon and for $5 a month you get to listen to the Secret Suck, which will drop Thursdays at Noon, PST. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch. You get to vote on two Monday topics each month via the app. And you get the download link for my new comedy album, Feel the Heat. Check the Patreon posts to find out how to download the new album and take advantage of other benefits.

Jul 26, 2021 • 2h 24min
254 - Jodi Arias and the Murder of Travis Alexander
Remember Jodi Arias? Remember why her trial back in 2013 captivated so many and made so many headlines? I'd forgotten. But I sure remember now. Most people have either dated someone like Jodi, or known someone who has, or... been that person. The girl who just doesn't seem to understand the difference between someone just wanting to hook up with her, and someone actually caring about her. The girl who refuses to go away and gets a little scary after a breakup. And most of us have either dated someone like Travis, or known someone who has, or... been that person as well. The guy who keeps stringing along with some girl who he has no intention of ever having a serious relationship with even though that's what she clearly wants. A guy who keeps toying with a girl's emotions and using her for sex instead of letting her move on. What's that saying? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? Travis scorned Jodi one too many times... and man did he face some fury. Jodi turned out to not just be a crazy ex-girlfriend, but a murderous one. Today's tale is a cautionary one. Careful whose emotions you are messing with!
Thank you Space Lizards for helping us give $14,400 to https://supportsurfside.org/ - a hardship fund just established by the Miami Heat basketball team to help those impacted by the devastating building collapse in Surfside, Florida.
Watch the Suck on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Ghtv5JwG1NUMerch - https://badmagicmerch.com/ Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v
Want to join the Cult of the Curious private Facebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult of the Curious" in order to locate whatever current page hasn't been put in FB Jail :)
For all merch related questions/problems: store@badmagicproductions.com (copy and paste)
Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcast
Wanna become a Space Lizard? We're over 10,000 strong! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcast
Sign up through Patreon and for $5 a month you get to listen to the Secret Suck, which will drop Thursdays at Noon, PST. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch. You get to vote on two Monday topics each month via the app. And you get the download link for my new comedy album, Feel the Heat. Check the Patreon posts to find out how to download the new album and take advantage of other benefits.

Jul 19, 2021 • 2h 4min
253 - Hammer Happy Serial Killer Peter Kürten, the "Vampire of Dusseldorf"
This guy. Killing mainly in 1929 when he was 46, the final year of his freedom, Peter Kürten would be charged with nine brutal murders and seven attempted murders in 1930, and then executed 1931. Over the course of his depraved life, he'd be sent to prison over and over, for theft, breaking and entering, fraud, army desertion, arson, rape, and then eventually, murder. Dubbed the "Vampire of Dusseldorf" the year before he was caught, this German monster was a sexual sadist who raped and killed women and children, ejaculating at the sight of their blood. He also sometimes killed the occasional man, becoming sexually aroused at the sight of their blood as well. After killing his victims, he was aroused by the press the crimes received, by revisiting the crime scene and talking to investigators, and also be visiting their gravesites later. All of that turned him on. His own execution turned him on. Dogs and farm animals turned him on. It's another strange and dark journey on another twisted true crime edition of Timesuck.
Thank you Space Lizards for helping us give $14,400 to https://supportsurfside.org/ - a hardship fund just established by the Miami Heat basketball team to help those impacted by the devastating building collapse in Surfside, Florida.
Watch the Suck on YouTube: https://youtu.be/D2lnAp7s6bwMerch - https://badmagicmerch.com/ Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v
Want to join the Cult of the Curious private Facebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult of the Curious" in order to locate whatever current page hasn't been put in FB Jail :)
For all merch related questions/problems: store@badmagicproductions.com (copy and paste)
Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcast
Wanna become a Space Lizard? We're over 10,000 strong! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcast
Sign up through Patreon and for $5 a month you get to listen to the Secret Suck, which will drop Thursdays at Noon, PST. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch. You get to vote on two Monday topics each month via the app. And you get the download link for my new comedy album, Feel the Heat. Check the Patreon posts to find out how to download the new album and take advantage of other benefits.

Jul 12, 2021 • 2h 48min
252 - Aliens, Sexual Abuse, Disco, Racism, and ... Egyptians? The Nuwaubian Nation of Moors Cult
So much WTF!?! coming at you today. Wow. Dwight York is a maniac. And a terrible writer. And only a good disco/r&b vocalist if you compare him to other cult leaders who also have dabbled in music. But somehow this two-bit con man strung together around two hundred pamphlets full of his very confusing and constantly changing theology, or "factology" as he'd call it. The only message that remained the same as Dwight shifted his teachings from being based in Islam to Christianity to American Indian mythology to extraterrestrial, conspiratorial, Heaven's Gate-ish teachings, to Egyptian lore - was a consistent focus on black supremacy. And the only action of Dwight's that remained constant over the course of two plus decades of running his cult, was the sexual abuse of his followers. Dwight York, now incarcerated in Colorado's ADX Florence "supermax" prison, was a sexual predator who preyed on victims as young as four. He somehow convinced a few hundred followers to build a massive Egyptian-themed cult compound for him in Georgia, the third compound he'd build after the first in Brooklyn and the second in upstate New York. Today's tale is a wild one. Cult! Cult! Cult!
Thank you Space Lizards for helping us give $14,400 to https://supportsurfside.org/ - a hardship fund just established by the Miami Heat basketball team to help those impacted by the devastating building collapse in Surfside, Florida.
Watch the Suck on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1yKKB6-sSt8Merch - https://badmagicmerch.com/ Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v
Want to join the Cult of the Curious private Facebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult of the Curious" in order to locate whatever current page hasn't been put in FB Jail :)
For all merch related questions/problems: store@badmagicproductions.com (copy and paste)
Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcast
Wanna become a Space Lizard? We're over 10,000 strong! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcast
Sign up through Patreon and for $5 a month you get to listen to the Secret Suck, which will drop Thursdays at Noon, PST. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch. You get to vote on two Monday topics each month via the app. And you get the download link for my new comedy album, Feel the Heat. Check the Patreon posts to find out how to download the new album and take advantage of other benefits.

Jul 5, 2021 • 2h 16min
251 - The Real Inglorious Basterds: Operation Greenup
Operation Greenup was a covert OSS operation carried out by a special group of men many have called the “real life Inglorious Basterds,” a reference to the 2009 Quentin Tarantino film in which a group of US Jewish soldiers plot to assassinate high-up Nazi leaders. Two Jewish refugees living in Brooklyn - Frederick Mayer and Hans Wynberg, and Franz Weber, a Wehrmacht lieutenant and Allied POW who has belatedly come to his senses about the tyrannical, antisemitic, sociopathic nature of Adolf Hitler - parachute behind enemy lines to, amongst other intel objectives, gather intelligence regarding a mythical alpine fortress the Nazis may have built to extend WW2 by six months. Today's story reads like a movie - but all this bravery and espionage really happened. Hail Nimrod!
Thank you Space Lizards for helping us give over $14,000 - I’ll know the exact figure next week - to https://supportsurfside.org/ - a hardship fund just established by the Miami Heat basketball team to help those impacted by the devastating building collapse in Surfside, Florida.
Watch the Suck on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RLZKjQmei3EMerch - https://badmagicmerch.com/ Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v
Want to join the Cult of the Curious private Facebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult of the Curious" in order to locate whatever current page hasn't been put in FB Jail :)
For all merch related questions/problems: store@badmagicproductions.com (copy and paste)
Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcast
Wanna become a Space Lizard? We're over 10,000 strong! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcast
Sign up through Patreon and for $5 a month you get to listen to the Secret Suck, which will drop Thursdays at Noon, PST. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch. You get to vote on two Monday topics each month via the app. And you get the download link for my new comedy album, Feel the Heat. Check the Patreon posts to find out how to download the new album and take advantage of other benefits.

Jun 28, 2021 • 2h 29min
250 - Serial Killing Sex-Crazed Couple: Fred and Rose West
My God. This story is so over-the-top, it's hard to accept as true. But sadly, it did happen. For roughly two decades, Fred and Rose West were the patriarch and matriarch of torture, sadism, incest, and death at their horrific British home at 25 Cromwell Street in Gloucester, England. Both Fred and Rose were raised in preposterously incestuous homes where sexual abuse was normalized. They also both grew up in households of regular physical violence. This, plus some head injuries and a whole bunch of bad choices would lead to both becoming sex-crazed, abusive parents themselves. Together, as a couple, they seemed to push each other's violent and sexually experimental natures further than either ever would have ventured alone. Their strange pairing led to a true house of horrors in Gloucester in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s. This one has to be heard to be believed. The first Bad Magic Productions June charity we are proud to donate $7,050 towards is Trinity Stables. They run a specialty program in Georgia called Stable Moments, a weekly mentorship program that utilizes equine-assisted learning to achieve life skills that better prepare foster and adopted kids for healthy transitions into adulthood. To find out more, please visit: https://www.trinitystables.net/The second Bad Magic Productions June charity we are proud to donate $7,050 towards is Vintage Pet Rescue, a Rhode Island-based nonprofit committed to rescuing “vintage” aka senior pets from shelters and assisting their owners who can no longer care for their vintage pets. To find out more, please visit: https://www.vintagepetrescue.org/
Watch the Suck on YouTube: https://youtu.be/47dqR0tllM4Merch - https://badmagicmerch.com/ Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v
Want to join the Cult of the Curious private Facebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult of the Curious" in order to locate whatever current page hasn't been put in FB Jail :)
For all merch related questions/problems: store@badmagicproductions.com (copy and paste)
Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcast
Wanna become a Space Lizard? We're over 10,000 strong! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcast
Sign up through Patreon and for $5 a month you get to listen to the Secret Suck, which will drop Thursdays at Noon, PST. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch. You get to vote on two Monday topics each month via the app. And you get the download link for my new comedy album, Feel the Heat. Check the Patreon posts to find out how to download the new album and take advantage of other benefits.

Jun 21, 2021 • 2h 27min
249 - H.P. Lovecraft, the Cthulhu Mythos, and the Horror You Love Today
H.P. Lovecraft, a cornerstone of horror literature, profoundly shaped the genre with his cosmic monsters and eerie tales. In this discussion, the guest illuminates Lovecraft's influence on modern classics like 'Stranger Things' and Stephen King's works. The conversation dives into Lovecraft's troubled life, his unique fear-based storytelling, and the enduring Cthulhu mythos. It also addresses the tension between his genius and personal controversies, prompting reflection on how we engage with his legacy today.

Jun 14, 2021 • 2h 27min
248 - P.T. Barnum and His "Human Curiosities"
Big episode for a big, complex topic today. PT Barnum has been called the The Greatest Showman on Earth. And he certainly was the most famous promoter of the 19th century. He brought entertainment to millions, and millions loved him for it. He also stirred up a fair amount of controversy and many in the modern day have not looked back kindly on him. He often lied to his audience about the nature of his acts - and his acts were often people with physical abnormalities or deformities. Did he exploit them for profit? Yes. Without a doubt. But did he also provide for them a means to make life-changing and empowering income? He did. Does that justify the exploitation? That's up to you to decide. PT Barnum continues to entertain (and probably offend) today, on Timesuck. Hail Nimrod! The first Bad Magic Productions June charity we are proud to donate $7,050 towards is Trinity Stables. They run a speciality program in Georgia called Stable Moments, a weekly mentorship program that utilizes equine-assisted learning to achieve life skills that better prepare foster and adopted kids for healthy transitions into adulthood. To find out more, please visit: https://www.trinitystables.net/The second Bad Magic Productions June charity we are proud to donate $7,050 towards is Vintage Pet Rescue, a Rhode Island-based nonprofit committed to rescuing “vintage” aka senior pets from shelters and assisting their owners who can no longer care for their vintage pets. To find out more, please visit: https://www.vintagepetrescue.org/
Watch the Suck on YouTube: https://youtu.be/oRomYgWK-dgMerch - https://badmagicmerch.com/ Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v
Want to join the Cult of the Curious private Facebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult of the Curious" in order to locate whatever current page hasn't been put in FB Jail :)
For all merch related questions/problems: store@badmagicproductions.com (copy and paste)
Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcast
Wanna become a Space Lizard? We're over 10,000 strong! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcast
Sign up through Patreon and for $5 a month you get to listen to the Secret Suck, which will drop Thursdays at Noon, PST. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch. You get to vote on two Monday topics each month via the app. And you get the download link for my new comedy album, Feel the Heat. Check the Patreon posts to find out how to download the new album and take advantage of other benefits.

Jun 7, 2021 • 2h 29min
247 - The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The Great Pyramid of Giza. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Colossus of Rhodes. The Lighthouse of Alexandria. The Temple of Artemis. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. These are just SOME of the wonders we go over today. Get ready to want to explore the world. We are so surrounded by so many impressive man-made monuments. And also so much natural beauty - we also look at the seven natural wonders of the world today. And we look at the new seven wonders of the world. And at even more wonders. We also examine a lot of strange theories some questionable folk on the internet have postulated about many of these wonders in numerous Idiots of the Internet segments. Enjoy all this wonder! June charity TBD as of this recording date.
Watch the Suck on YouTube: https://youtu.be/X42vSfTEGbUMerch - https://badmagicmerch.com/ Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v
Want to join the Cult of the Curious private Facebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult of the Curious" in order to locate whatever current page hasn't been put in FB Jail :)
For all merch related questions/problems: store@badmagicproductions.com (copy and paste)
Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcast
Wanna become a Space Lizard? We're over 10,000 strong! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcast
Sign up through Patreon and for $5 a month you get to listen to the Secret Suck, which will drop Thursdays at Noon, PST. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch. You get to vote on two Monday topics each month via the app. And you get the download link for my new comedy album, Feel the Heat. Check the Patreon posts to find out how to download the new album and take advantage of other benefits.