We Can Be Weirdos

"In lockdown I went fairy hunting every day"Elf Lyons is an award-winning comedian, clown, theatre practitioner, teacher, writer and podcaster. Elf Lyons has gained a cult reputation as one of the most innovative performers on the UK comedy and theatre scene. Her work has included re-enactments of classical ballets, musicals about the economy, immersive horror shows and even lectures at venues such as the Barbican on the Surrealist movement.You can get in touch with Dan Schreiber on Twitter and Instagram (@Schreiberland). In his bio, you'll find the link to our Discord channel - a global community of likeminded weirdos!

Map collector Frank Jacobs joins Dan to explore the lost (and, probably, very fictional) continent of 'Lemuria'. Plus, fake towns that become real, mistakes on maps that could save the earth and how a few grains of rice caused a diplomatic incident between North Korea, South Korea and Japan. You can find Frank's strangest maps on Twitter @VeryStrangeMaps, and you can buy his book Strange Maps: An Atlas of Cartographic Curiosities.You can get in touch with Dan Schreiber on Twitter and Instagram (@Schreiberland). In his bio, you'll find the link to our Discord channel - a global community of likeminded weirdos!

"They came to believe Slenderman was sending his army after them"Kathleen Hale, originally from Wisconsin, writes about crime and social media. Her fourth book, SLENDERMAN, was nominated for an Edgar Prize and won the 2023 Midland Writers Award for Non Fiction. It tells the story behind the Slenderman stabbings in Wisconsin, USA, which shocked the local community and the world. The violence of Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weiser, the two twelve-year-old girls who attempted to stab their classmate to death, was extreme, but what seemed even more frightening was that they had done so under the influence of an internet meme, the so-called 'Slenderman'.Warning: This episode contains strong language and descriptions of violence, which may not be suitable for all listeners, especially younger weirdos. You can get in touch with Dan Schreiber on Twitter and Instagram (@Schreiberland). In his bio, you'll find the link to our Discord channel - a global community of likeminded weirdos!

Dr Kate Devlin is a Reader in Artificial Intelligence & Society in the Department of Digital Humanities, King's College London. Will Artificial Intelligence doom us all? Are sex robots actually a thing? And should we feel empathy towards a pair of mechanical buttocks?You can pick up Dr Kate's book, Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots, wherever you like to buy your books. You can get in touch with Dan Schreiber on Twitter and Instagram (@Schreiberland). In his bio, you'll find the link to our Discord channel - a global community of likeminded weirdos!

"There can't be zombies if flies exist"Dr Erica McAlister is the Natural History Museum's Senior Curator of Diptera and Siphonaptera (A.K.A Flys and fleas!) overseeing a collection of nearly 4 million specimens. Erica has presented a Radio 4 series on Insects (Who's the Pest) and her books include The Secret Life of Flies, A Bug's World, and her upcoming title Metamorphosis: How Insects Are Changing Our World. You can get in touch with Dan Schreiber on Twitter and Instagram (@Schreiberland). In his bio, you'll find the link to our Discord channel - a global community of likeminded weirdos!

Dan Schreiber, an intrepid academic delving into historical mysteries, joins the discussion on the notorious Cerne Abbas Giant. They unravel surprising connections to Greek mythology and reveal its Mid-Medieval roots. The conversation highlights how social media fuels academic engagement and community collaboration. They also explore cultural misunderstandings surrounding the giant, its ties to fertility rituals, and its evolving interpretations through the ages. Finally, Schreiber connects these giants to literature, inviting listeners to share their own experiences.

"I do a lot of chat with the cosmos"Shaun Keaveny is one of Britain's best loved radio DJs. He is formerly of BBC Radio 6 Music and is now the host of Shaun Keaveny's Daily Grind, "It's a bit like a daily radio show but it's a podcast. It’s disorientating, but it’s also reassuring!". Shaun has also hosted several music podcasts including The Line-Up with Shaun Keaveny, Shaun Keaveny's Creative Cul-de-Sac and Your Place or Mine?. You may also have seen him on TV, covering Glastonbury Festival for the BBC and Isle of Wight Festival for Sky Arts.You can get in touch with Dan Schreiber on Twitter and Instagram (@Schreiberland). In his bio, you'll find the link to our Discord channel - a global community of likeminded weirdos!

To celebrate the birth of We Can Be Weirdos in 2023, Dan looks back at some of the strangest unexplainable experiences a.k.a. 'Soft Rocks' from guests past. This includes Dan Aykroyd, Sara Pascoe and Danny Robins. Thank you to everyone who has listened this year, make sure you come back for more weirdness in 2024! The Rough Corner returns on January 9th, and main episodes continue as (un)usual. Next up, radio legend Shaun Keaveny on January 4th. You can get in touch with Dan Schreiber on Twitter and Instagram (@Schreiberland). In his bio, you'll find the link to our Discord channel - a global community of likeminded weirdos!

"Graffiti is all around us... it's addictive"Dr Madeleine (Maddy) Pelling is an historian, writer and broadcaster. Her first book, Writing on the Wall: Graffiti, Rebellion and the Making of Eighteenth-Century Britain, is out in March 2024. Maddy is co-host of History Hit's After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds and the Paranormal, and is a regular on TV and her words appear in The Guardian, The Independent, BBC History Magazine and History Today.You can get in touch with Dan Schreiber on Twitter and Instagram (@Schreiberland). In his bio, you'll find the link to our Discord channel - a global community of likeminded weirdos!

The moon is amazing! And underrated. Many of us know that the Moon pulls on our oceans, driving the tides, but did you know that it is the very reason we are here? Or that it was essential to the development of science and religion? Acclaimed journalist and author Rebecca Boyle takes Dan on a dazzling tour of our moon, and explains the ancient lunar origins of the 12 days of Christmas. Rebecca's book - Our Moon: How earth's celestial companion transformed the planet, guided evolution, and made us who we are - is available in the UK from January 18th. You can get in touch with Dan Schreiber on Twitter and Instagram (@Schreiberland). In his bio, you'll find the link to our Discord channel - a global community of likeminded weirdos!