1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:04,840 Speaker 1: This episode includes stories of domestic violence. Listener, discretion is advised. 2 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:15,480 Speaker 1: Death rarely stops a showman, quite the opposite. Sometimes it 3 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:19,600 Speaker 1: actually encourages them. You've heard about a few sideshow stars 4 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:22,800 Speaker 1: who were put on stage after they died, like Jumbo 5 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:26,720 Speaker 1: the Elephant or Julia Pastrana and her child. But recently 6 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:29,479 Speaker 1: it was some of the smallest oddities that caused a 7 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 1: big scandal. Pickled punks, as they were known, had long 8 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 1: been a sideshow standard, but by the nineteen seventies people 9 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:41,320 Speaker 1: were reconsidering the attraction of formal the hide suspended fetuses 10 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:44,239 Speaker 1: in a jar. The times were changing. You see, a 11 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:47,199 Speaker 1: cultural shift was happening, and you only had to look 12 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: towards Gibson Town, Florida for proof. Sideshow performers have been 13 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:54,480 Speaker 1: flocking to Give Town, as they call it, for decades. 14 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:57,800 Speaker 1: It had been a small bit of coastal town southeast 15 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: of Tampa, home to fisherman and a small lumber company. 16 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 1: Grace and Eddie LeMay were the first carnival folk to 17 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: visit in nine, a trip spent camping and fishing. They 18 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:12,280 Speaker 1: told their friends a lot of them actually, and by 19 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 1: nineteen forty five the town had grown by hundreds of residents, 20 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:19,560 Speaker 1: many of which were from the side show. These new 21 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:23,760 Speaker 1: arrivals would change the DNA of the town. Special zoning 22 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:27,080 Speaker 1: laws allowed them to house and train elephants and lions 23 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: in their gardens. The post office had a counter low 24 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:32,600 Speaker 1: enough for people with dwarf is um. The bar had 25 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 1: chairs built perfectly sized for the comfort of large ladies 26 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 1: and giants alike. Gibson Town had the air of a 27 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: family reunion. When performers settled back in after a long 28 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 1: season on the circuit, tongues would wag, beer would flow, 29 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: and babies and business deals would be made. Gibson Town 30 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 1: was their winter wonderland. It was home a refuge from 31 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: the prime eyes of the outside world. But as the 32 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: era of the American side show began to sunset, conflict 33 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 1: began to arise between two worlds, those on the inside 34 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 1: and those on the outside. The lights of the town 35 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:13,960 Speaker 1: began to dim and the cracks began to show. The 36 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,960 Speaker 1: broader world was beginning to question, reject, and outlaw much 37 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,640 Speaker 1: of what had been part and parcel of the side show. 38 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 1: Elements that had in decades past drawn huge crowds willing 39 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:28,119 Speaker 1: to part with their hard earned money the cultural institution 40 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:31,680 Speaker 1: was fading, and those dollars were becoming more difficult to 41 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:35,800 Speaker 1: come by. It was at this moment, amidst all of 42 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,399 Speaker 1: this change, that the pickled Punks took center stage as 43 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 1: a flashpoint for national controversy. You see, back in the day, 44 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 1: it wasn't uncommon to find jarred human body parts in 45 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:50,680 Speaker 1: curiosity cabinets. There was still little known about the body 46 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 1: for so long, and hungry minds wanted to know its secrets. 47 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:57,680 Speaker 1: Over time, these jars made the leap from private settings 48 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:01,639 Speaker 1: and into the hands of the public for tentilation and consumption, 49 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 1: and of course, for profits. But by the nineteen seventies, 50 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:10,400 Speaker 1: several states had passed legislation banning transportation of human remains 51 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 1: across state lines. Soon laws were on the books that 52 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: eventually outlawed even the possession of them. And this is 53 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 1: where we find legendary showman and Gibson Town resident Ward Hall. 54 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:24,480 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy seven, he was operating what he liked 55 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 1: to call the Freak Baby Show, and it was exactly 56 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: what you might imagine it to be. For seventy five cents, 57 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:36,120 Speaker 1: visitors had the pleasure of viewing malformed, jarred fetuses uh 58 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: fish baby, a frog, boy and girl, a cyclopse baby, 59 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: Siamese twins. You get the idea. There were warnings attached 60 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 1: to each one suggesting that the abnormalities were a result 61 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 1: of the mother's moral failings, and it billed itself as 62 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:55,640 Speaker 1: a nonprofit educational exhibit to boot Wards collection was being 63 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 1: exhibited at a county fair in Illinois by his partner C. M. Christ, 64 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 1: but the law would intervene. Police rated the exhibits and 65 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 1: confiscated the punks. CM was arrested on charges of illegal 66 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 1: possession of human remains and was questioned about where he 67 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: had gotten them and who they were. He would later 68 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 1: be acquitted, citing that a similar exhibit had appeared at 69 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:19,920 Speaker 1: the Chicago World's Fair in nineteen thirty three. But while 70 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 1: CM was set free, the punks remained in police custody. 71 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:27,039 Speaker 1: Just a few weeks later, in several hundred miles to 72 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:31,560 Speaker 1: the south, local police rated Wards storage facilities in Gibson Town. 73 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 1: They found two punks that had not previously been confiscated 74 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 1: in Illinois, so a warrant was issued for his arrest. 75 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:42,560 Speaker 1: According to newspaper articles from the time, a total of 76 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:47,159 Speaker 1: and I quote thirteen unborn babies and embryos floating in 77 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:50,840 Speaker 1: jars of for malde hyde were discovered and confiscated at 78 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 1: his property, which the article described as a carnival man's backyard. 79 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:58,719 Speaker 1: He was able to get the charges dropped, but similar 80 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:02,720 Speaker 1: raids kicked off across the country. As these exhibits were 81 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:07,080 Speaker 1: forced to close, people found themselves without livelihoods. One seized 82 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:10,040 Speaker 1: collection was estimated to be worth well over one hundred 83 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 1: thousand dollars. It was just getting harder and harder to 84 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:16,480 Speaker 1: make a living in the side show. By the end 85 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:18,880 Speaker 1: of that year, the issue was put to a close, 86 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:23,320 Speaker 1: well sort of. On a November day, and under a 87 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 1: blue sky, a single vault was opened. People stood somberly 88 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:31,440 Speaker 1: in black in the thick of that quiet, Tiny foam 89 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:35,240 Speaker 1: caskets were lowered into the ground a funeral for these 90 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 1: so called carnival babies. The reverend presiding proclaimed that with 91 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,719 Speaker 1: the burial, and I quote, we also bury the idea 92 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:47,359 Speaker 1: that human life should be a grotesque spectacle, that human 93 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 1: life is cheap or to be exploited. Ironic then that 94 00:05:51,839 --> 00:05:56,040 Speaker 1: the funeral itself was meant to be a spectacle. You see, 95 00:05:56,080 --> 00:06:00,160 Speaker 1: the event was photographed and highly publicized in national newspapers. 96 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:03,799 Speaker 1: They got a lot of lawmakers talking. Even in shutting 97 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:07,159 Speaker 1: down these exhibits, it seems a glimpse of such specimens, 98 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:11,120 Speaker 1: or at least their caskets, still attracted a lot of attention, 99 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: for better or for worse from the American public. It 100 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:19,800 Speaker 1: seems that despite the very public outcry, we still couldn't help. 101 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:26,159 Speaker 1: But look, I'm Aaron Manky and welcome to the side show. 102 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:39,720 Speaker 1: Grady Styles was perched on his bar stool, content he 103 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:43,159 Speaker 1: had killed a man and gotten away with it. In fact, 104 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: it seems that he had gotten away with a lot 105 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:48,000 Speaker 1: in his life. He drained his glass down his throat 106 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:52,000 Speaker 1: and felt his body grow warm. Grady had nowhere to be. 107 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: He had no where he wanted to be. Really, He 108 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:57,760 Speaker 1: signaled for a fresh round with his claw, and the 109 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:02,120 Speaker 1: bartender poured him another stiff drink. The other bar flies 110 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:05,039 Speaker 1: didn't like him much. He was a mean drunk, but 111 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:08,640 Speaker 1: he was also a legend. As famous as he was infamous, 112 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:12,040 Speaker 1: he had a reputation that reached far beyond Florida's stormy 113 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 1: spring skies and bleak expanse of US Route forty one, 114 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:20,360 Speaker 1: Gibson Town, where we find Grady Here was once a 115 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 1: spectacle itself, but by the nineteen nineties GiB Town had 116 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:27,240 Speaker 1: faded in grade along with many of its stars. And 117 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 1: it wasn't just that some had faded, some had been 118 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 1: overshadowed by darkness. Grady Styles Jr. Had been born into 119 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:39,400 Speaker 1: a sideshow family in nineteen thirty seven. His body was 120 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:43,239 Speaker 1: home to extrodactyl ly, a rare congenital deformity that fused 121 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 1: his fingers into claws and gave him truncated legs that 122 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:49,840 Speaker 1: ended at his knees. You see, the Styles could trace 123 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:52,920 Speaker 1: their claws back generations and had become something of a 124 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:57,560 Speaker 1: sideshow circuit legend. And for his family, more offspring meant 125 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:02,320 Speaker 1: more dollars. The Lobster Family, as they were known, moved 126 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:05,840 Speaker 1: to the Gibson Town area in n around the same time. 127 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: Young Grady left school to join the family act. But 128 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:12,520 Speaker 1: his role on stage as Lobster Boy wasn't much. He 129 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 1: just sat in a chair and waved his claws as 130 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:18,400 Speaker 1: spectators when they came to see him. It's hard to 131 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:22,480 Speaker 1: know exactly what made Grady mean, what turned him. Maybe 132 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:25,119 Speaker 1: he was ostracized when he was small until he found 133 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:28,040 Speaker 1: home in Gibb Town. There, he was just like any 134 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: other sideshow kid, and his family was just like everyone else. 135 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:34,559 Speaker 1: He often got around in a wheelchair, but just as 136 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:37,400 Speaker 1: easily used his upper body strength to move across the 137 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:41,600 Speaker 1: floor at an alarming speed. He grew strong and dextrous, 138 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 1: rough housing with his friends, charming the girls, and even 139 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:48,840 Speaker 1: learning to fire a pistol. And like check Off, Grady 140 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:52,080 Speaker 1: always liked his guns, a passion that would come back 141 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:55,640 Speaker 1: to haunt him. He got married a few times and 142 00:08:55,679 --> 00:08:58,680 Speaker 1: started a family with one of those wives. His marriage 143 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:02,200 Speaker 1: to marry Teresa had always been volatile. He ruled his 144 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:05,800 Speaker 1: house with an iron claw. His wife and his children 145 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:07,960 Speaker 1: were often on the receiving end of his rage, though 146 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:11,439 Speaker 1: so when his eldest daughter, Donna announced at fifteen that 147 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:15,240 Speaker 1: she was pregnant and marrying her bow, Grady had some 148 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:20,079 Speaker 1: opinions and an idea. The day before their wedding and 149 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:24,079 Speaker 1: twelve whiskey doubles later, Grady invited his future son in 150 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:27,479 Speaker 1: law Jack into the house for a chat. Jack obliged 151 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:31,920 Speaker 1: the last decision he would ever make. Donna was the 152 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:34,240 Speaker 1: first to hear the shots ring out in a moment 153 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:37,560 Speaker 1: Jack was stumbling out of the house, blood pouring from 154 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:41,840 Speaker 1: his chest, and fell down right in the doorway. Grady 155 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:46,080 Speaker 1: had shot him. Donna ran to him and looked up 156 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 1: to find Grady gloating. I told you I would, he said, 157 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:53,480 Speaker 1: and then Donna screamed. To his credit, Grady waited patiently 158 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:56,840 Speaker 1: for the police to arrive take me. I'm ready, he 159 00:09:56,920 --> 00:10:01,000 Speaker 1: told them, surrendering his wrists and his gun to them. 160 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:03,640 Speaker 1: He went to trial, and there he readily admitted to 161 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:06,800 Speaker 1: his deed. He carried no remorse for him. This was 162 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:11,040 Speaker 1: wholly inactive practicality. He simply didn't want his daughter marrying 163 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:15,679 Speaker 1: that guy. The jury deliberated for three hours, and after 164 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:19,760 Speaker 1: that Grady was sentenced to only fifteen years probation. You see, 165 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:22,800 Speaker 1: the authorities believe that because of Grady's compounding set of 166 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:27,600 Speaker 1: physical conditions cirrhosis from drinking and physema from smoking, and 167 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:31,040 Speaker 1: his ectrodactually he wouldn't be able to receive the adequate 168 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:34,960 Speaker 1: care behind bars. They thought keeping him locked up would 169 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:39,280 Speaker 1: be cruel. He quickly skipped down and took the money 170 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:41,360 Speaker 1: that he owed to his lawyer and used it to 171 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:44,280 Speaker 1: assemble his own ten in one side show. But he 172 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 1: wouldn't be gone for long. All side show roads lead 173 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:50,080 Speaker 1: back to GiB Town, after all, and that's exactly how 174 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:53,280 Speaker 1: he found himself atop his familiar bar stool on that 175 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:57,000 Speaker 1: humid May night. With this tab running up and the 176 00:10:57,080 --> 00:10:59,920 Speaker 1: night winding down, Grady closed out and took his leave. 177 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:03,320 Speaker 1: He headed home to his brown trailer on Inglewood Drive, 178 00:11:03,679 --> 00:11:06,760 Speaker 1: his family's least favorite time of the day. They would 179 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:10,800 Speaker 1: never truly grow accustomed to his inevitable drunk arrival. He 180 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:14,120 Speaker 1: and Mary Teresa had been divorced at one time the 181 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:17,080 Speaker 1: abuse had become too much, but at this point they 182 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:19,520 Speaker 1: were one year into their second marriage to each other. 183 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:23,240 Speaker 1: Grady had promised to change. You see, he had managed 184 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:26,240 Speaker 1: to charm her again. He had been on his best behavior, 185 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:29,600 Speaker 1: and she hoped that these changes were real. But old 186 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:32,920 Speaker 1: habits die hard, as they say, and within two weeks 187 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:37,440 Speaker 1: of their new union, Grady had turned back into a 188 00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:49,800 Speaker 1: monster m It's not every day that someone gets cut 189 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:53,640 Speaker 1: up and reassembled, but Mary Teresa Herzog lived for it. 190 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:56,720 Speaker 1: She got her side show start as a ticket seller, 191 00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:00,320 Speaker 1: but soon graduated to the Zigzag Girl act, where she'd 192 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:03,880 Speaker 1: while audiences by getting sliced up into thirds. But this 193 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:07,400 Speaker 1: was harmless fun, after all an illusion. There was not 194 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:12,079 Speaker 1: a drop of bloodshed nor any band aids needed. It 195 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 1: was off stage, though, away from the bright lights and 196 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:18,320 Speaker 1: the carnival barkers, that she took on her most fearsome role. 197 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:21,320 Speaker 1: She was a wife. You see, to be a woman 198 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:25,760 Speaker 1: is a very dangerous thing. The statistics tell us as much. 199 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:28,480 Speaker 1: Current studies say that one in four women will be 200 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:31,360 Speaker 1: the victims of severe physical violence at the hands of 201 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:35,559 Speaker 1: their intimate partner, one in five will experience sexual violence, 202 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:39,040 Speaker 1: one in seven will be stocked, and studies tell us 203 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:41,360 Speaker 1: that the presence of a gun in a domestic violent 204 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:47,520 Speaker 1: situation increases the risk of homicide by five That isn't 205 00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:50,440 Speaker 1: to say that people who aren't women don't experience abuse. 206 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:53,320 Speaker 1: They do, but the majority of the world's social and 207 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:57,200 Speaker 1: economic systems have long favored cis men with female partners, 208 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:01,840 Speaker 1: putting women who pair with men into vulnerable situations. We 209 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:05,040 Speaker 1: can trace the precedent for men's physical domination over women 210 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:07,880 Speaker 1: back to Hammarabi, back to the Koran, back to the 211 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:11,640 Speaker 1: Roman Empire, back to Old English common law that suggested 212 00:13:11,679 --> 00:13:15,640 Speaker 1: a lane of hands as a corrective measure. Historically, there 213 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:18,040 Speaker 1: have been a lot of rules that have spelled out 214 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:20,360 Speaker 1: what was allowed to go on in the home and 215 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:23,280 Speaker 1: what was going on and Married Teresa's home had been 216 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:27,480 Speaker 1: for years. It was something people knew but only whispered about. 217 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 1: She had been wooed by the Lobster Boy one spring 218 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 1: day in Trenton, New Jersey, back in nineteen fifty nine. 219 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:37,680 Speaker 1: Sparks flew, and their lives were set on a course 220 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:41,199 Speaker 1: from which they would never turn back. If their trailer 221 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:45,280 Speaker 1: was Gradi's castle, it was married Teresa's prison. It was 222 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:48,000 Speaker 1: here she both labored to raise a family and to 223 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:52,240 Speaker 1: protect them from their father. She loved him fiercely at times, 224 00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:55,440 Speaker 1: and we can wonder if he loved her too. What 225 00:13:55,559 --> 00:13:58,040 Speaker 1: we do know is that he wanted to control her, 226 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:01,959 Speaker 1: a desire exercise through his use of fists and threats 227 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:05,079 Speaker 1: to kill again. But this time he threatened that it 228 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:08,400 Speaker 1: would be her. So when Grady ambled home from the 229 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:13,440 Speaker 1: bar that night sufficiently inebriated and agitated, Mary, Teresa and 230 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:18,199 Speaker 1: their daughter Cathy found themselves directly in his line of fire. Kathy, 231 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:22,480 Speaker 1: also born with extrodacty ly and seven months pregnant, had 232 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:25,800 Speaker 1: long positioned herself as the protector of her mother. She 233 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:28,520 Speaker 1: wouldn't have continued to stay with the sideshow if not 234 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:32,840 Speaker 1: for the need to keep her mother safe. Unprovoked, Grady 235 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:37,280 Speaker 1: flew into a whiskey soaked rage. He started beating Mary Teresa. 236 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:41,080 Speaker 1: Kathy tried to intervene from her wheelchair, yelling that her 237 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:44,760 Speaker 1: father preferred the bottle to his family, and then he 238 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:49,120 Speaker 1: turned his anger on her. Grady started in on her heart, 239 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:52,560 Speaker 1: pummeling her in the arms, the jaw, and eventually knocking 240 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,080 Speaker 1: her around so much that she fell from her chair. 241 00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:59,200 Speaker 1: The fleshy thuds knocked the wind from Cathy's lungs and 242 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:02,080 Speaker 1: felt like hammer is coming down on her bones. The 243 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:06,280 Speaker 1: pain was white and blinding, the shocks reverberating through her 244 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:10,040 Speaker 1: entire skeleton. She fought back, of course, but nothing could 245 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:14,160 Speaker 1: be done until Grady decided that he was finished. Kathy 246 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:17,360 Speaker 1: barely slept after the attack that night. She didn't say 247 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:21,200 Speaker 1: anything about the pain until she started hemorrhaging. The next morning. 248 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:24,640 Speaker 1: She rushed to the hospital. Kathy told the doctor who 249 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:28,320 Speaker 1: performed her emergency c section that she had simply fallen 250 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:32,240 Speaker 1: out of her wheelchair. Did he believe her Probably not. 251 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:36,920 Speaker 1: The baby's placenta had separated from the umbilical cord and 252 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:39,560 Speaker 1: Cathy's water had broken as a result of the violence. 253 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:44,280 Speaker 1: Baby Misty came into the world on May six, and 254 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 1: she was healthy, and she too was born with lobster claws. 255 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:52,520 Speaker 1: It's hard to know exactly when Mary Teresa decided that 256 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:55,560 Speaker 1: enough was enough. What we do know, though, is that 257 00:15:55,600 --> 00:15:58,240 Speaker 1: there was an immense amount of courage and strength that 258 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:00,160 Speaker 1: it took on the part of both of these him 259 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:02,440 Speaker 1: in to stand up for each other in the face 260 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:06,600 Speaker 1: of such terror. After decades of torment, of living in 261 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:10,520 Speaker 1: a vortex of violence, with bloodshed just as likely as tears, 262 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:14,800 Speaker 1: Mary Teresa knew at some point that this had to end, 263 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:19,000 Speaker 1: and she didn't want to be the one who went first. 264 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:34,240 Speaker 1: It all culminated on a fairly normal day, as the 265 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:37,640 Speaker 1: most pivotal moments of our lives often due. It was 266 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:40,320 Speaker 1: November and the Styles family was back home in give 267 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:42,800 Speaker 1: Town and ready to settle in for a quiet winter. 268 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:46,800 Speaker 1: Mary Teresa and her teenage son Glenn, decided to make 269 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:49,520 Speaker 1: an evening visit to Kathy and Misty, who are living 270 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:52,240 Speaker 1: just across the way. The child was too, by now 271 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:55,760 Speaker 1: small and mighty, toddling around and just beginning to come 272 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 1: up with her own opinions about life. They were all 273 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:02,320 Speaker 1: together in Cathy's trailer when the sound of gunshots split 274 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:05,119 Speaker 1: the night for just a few moments. The crickets and 275 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:09,720 Speaker 1: bullfrogs were stunned into silence. Everyone looked at each other, 276 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:12,800 Speaker 1: their pulses quickening. There was a chill in the air 277 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:16,280 Speaker 1: where there hadn't been before. Some quick thinking neighbors called 278 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 1: the cops. Mary, Teresa, and Glenn ran back in the 279 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:24,639 Speaker 1: direction of the sounds. Their home. The trailer's sliding glass 280 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:27,280 Speaker 1: door was a jar. In light from the living room 281 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:30,800 Speaker 1: spilled onto the concrete outside. The stench of whiskey and 282 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:33,960 Speaker 1: cigarettes lay thick, a smell that was now mingled with 283 00:17:34,119 --> 00:17:38,399 Speaker 1: the acrid, metallic odor of blood and brain matter. And there, 284 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:43,000 Speaker 1: slumped over in his brown armchair was Grady Styles Jr. 285 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:47,040 Speaker 1: Dead from not one but three gunshot wounds to the head. 286 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:49,920 Speaker 1: His reign of terror had finally come to an end, 287 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:53,919 Speaker 1: and he had gone out wearing only his boxer briefs. 288 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:58,520 Speaker 1: All was quiet in the house. The police arrived, quickly, 289 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:02,840 Speaker 1: securing the perimeter and confirming that Grady Jr. Was in fact, very, 290 00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:07,280 Speaker 1: very dead. Then they began interviewing everyone in the immediate vicinity. 291 00:18:07,359 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 1: They deduced that nothing was stolen and there was no 292 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,280 Speaker 1: sign of a struggle. A neighbor said that he had 293 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:15,480 Speaker 1: seen a shadowy figure run from the trailer shortly after 294 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:18,600 Speaker 1: hearing the gun go off. How far could the perpetrator 295 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:23,600 Speaker 1: have gotten on foot? Mary, Teresa, Glenn, and Cathy stood 296 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:28,959 Speaker 1: obediently and answered questions, but the police thought something was off. Oddly, 297 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:32,080 Speaker 1: they all seemed fine, so fine in fact, that the 298 00:18:32,119 --> 00:18:36,639 Speaker 1: detectives took notice. Yes, shock does interesting things to a person, 299 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:40,960 Speaker 1: but this just felt a little strange. It wasn't long 300 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:43,000 Speaker 1: until members of the family were brought down to the 301 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:46,439 Speaker 1: station for more official questioning. Glenn was the first to 302 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:48,879 Speaker 1: take a lie detector test about the whole affair, and 303 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:52,040 Speaker 1: with the childlike innocence, was eager to do. Well, then 304 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:55,240 Speaker 1: can you blame him? When the detectives revealed that he 305 00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:58,639 Speaker 1: had failed some questions, mostly those referring to his knowledge 306 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:02,480 Speaker 1: about Grady's killing, he crumbled. They soon wore him down 307 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:05,200 Speaker 1: and he signed away his rights to have a lawyer present, 308 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:09,960 Speaker 1: and then the confession came spilling out. He talked about 309 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:13,000 Speaker 1: Gradie's abuse of his mom, how he was always threatening 310 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:15,760 Speaker 1: to kill her and get it over with. They just 311 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:19,440 Speaker 1: couldn't take it any longer. Mary Teresa had devised away 312 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:23,440 Speaker 1: to finally teach him a lesson. Gradie the third, who 313 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:25,680 Speaker 1: was asleep in the back bedroom of the trailer when 314 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:28,560 Speaker 1: all of this took place, later stated that his mother's 315 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:31,600 Speaker 1: only intention was to hire someone to scare his father, 316 00:19:32,119 --> 00:19:34,679 Speaker 1: or maybe just rough him up a little. What we 317 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:37,639 Speaker 1: know now, though, was that Chris Wyant, a neighborhood punk, 318 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:42,639 Speaker 1: took the job for a cool fifteen hundred dollars. Mary Teresa, Glenn, 319 00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:45,720 Speaker 1: and Chris all got their separate days in court in 320 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:48,919 Speaker 1: January of n It was ruled that Chris was guilty 321 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:52,320 Speaker 1: of conspiracy in the first degree and murder in the second. 322 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:56,600 Speaker 1: Mary Teresa's trial began that July, with heart wrenching testimony 323 00:19:56,720 --> 00:20:00,239 Speaker 1: spilling into the pages of the newspaper. My husban been 324 00:20:00,359 --> 00:20:03,600 Speaker 1: was going to kill my family, she testified, I believe 325 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:07,280 Speaker 1: that from the bottom of my heart. Her attorney attempted 326 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:10,680 Speaker 1: to use the battered spouse defense, a position never before 327 00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:14,840 Speaker 1: tried in Florida in a murder for higher case. Tears 328 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:17,280 Speaker 1: rolled down her cheeks as she was sentenced to twelve 329 00:20:17,359 --> 00:20:21,120 Speaker 1: years in prison. On first degree murder charges. Glenn, who 330 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:24,360 Speaker 1: was on trial for hiring Chris, received a life sentence. 331 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:28,760 Speaker 1: I wish I could tell you something different. We all 332 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:31,560 Speaker 1: love a happy ending, a story that can tie neatly 333 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:34,920 Speaker 1: into a bow, but this isn't one of those. It 334 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:38,639 Speaker 1: was probably never going to be one. This situation was 335 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:42,120 Speaker 1: one of true horror. But maybe in what happened, we 336 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:45,840 Speaker 1: find the lesser of all the evils. Through the death 337 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:48,840 Speaker 1: of one of them, there would be something a bit 338 00:20:48,920 --> 00:21:01,480 Speaker 1: closer to peace for everyone else. The same year that 339 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:04,479 Speaker 1: all of this happened, President Bill Clinton signed the Violence 340 00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:07,879 Speaker 1: Against Women Act into law. It allocated over one point 341 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:11,919 Speaker 1: six billion dollars towards the investigation and prosecution of violent 342 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:14,879 Speaker 1: crimes against women. The initiative was the result of the 343 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:19,400 Speaker 1: feminist movement's collective grassroots efforts, work that had spanned decades. 344 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:25,120 Speaker 1: Even still, disconcerting attitudes towards domestic violence have long determined 345 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:28,000 Speaker 1: how we govern ourselves within the walls of our homes. 346 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:31,000 Speaker 1: Some may want to leave, but can't for any number 347 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:35,840 Speaker 1: of reasons of dependency, stubborn commitment, cultural pressure, or just 348 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:39,600 Speaker 1: plain fear. Community leaders and police officers have been known 349 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:43,680 Speaker 1: to counsel people to try to make abusive situations work, 350 00:21:44,119 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 1: even though the lives at hand might be in imminent danger. 351 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:51,000 Speaker 1: The Violence Against Women Act signaled the beginning of a 352 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:54,720 Speaker 1: shift in society. But as we know, gargantuan ships take 353 00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:57,879 Speaker 1: a long time to change course in rough waters, and 354 00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:00,400 Speaker 1: we are still so far from our desk a nation. 355 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:05,480 Speaker 1: Grady Styles Jr. Was buried in the local showman cemetery. 356 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:08,439 Speaker 1: The story goes that he was so widely disliked that 357 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:10,840 Speaker 1: they had a hard time finding anyone who was willing 358 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:13,280 Speaker 1: to be a pall bearer. That's in the fact that 359 00:22:13,359 --> 00:22:16,480 Speaker 1: a large part of his family was being tried for murder. 360 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:20,600 Speaker 1: And when pall bearers were finally located, the story tells 361 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:22,879 Speaker 1: us that the concession was that they would only do 362 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:25,399 Speaker 1: the job if they could handle it with a little 363 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:28,760 Speaker 1: bit of flare, with lobster claw mittens on their hands. 364 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:32,399 Speaker 1: To be precise, A bouquet of flowers sat atop his 365 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:36,080 Speaker 1: coffin a pretty site amidst this final inflection point of 366 00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:39,879 Speaker 1: a decade's long tragedy, and anyone present, whether they be 367 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,679 Speaker 1: mourner or gawker, would have been able to see the 368 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:54,959 Speaker 1: words printed across their banner from your loving wife. This 369 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:57,600 Speaker 1: was a heavy story. I think I can speak for 370 00:22:57,640 --> 00:22:59,320 Speaker 1: all of us here at grim and Mild when I 371 00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:02,119 Speaker 1: say that this episode has us hugging our families a 372 00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:05,160 Speaker 1: little bit closer today. If you are someone you love 373 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:08,600 Speaker 1: is struggling at home right now, we've included resource links 374 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:12,720 Speaker 1: in the episode description. Now I have something new for you, 375 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:16,879 Speaker 1: something different, a look at what's ahead coming from the 376 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:20,119 Speaker 1: contemporary world of the Side Show with my co producers 377 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:23,640 Speaker 1: Robin Miniter and Taylor Haggerdorn. Stick around through this brief 378 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:36,399 Speaker 1: sponsor break to hear all about it. Wow, that was 379 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:40,199 Speaker 1: a doozy of an episode. He really was. You know, 380 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:43,320 Speaker 1: we've encountered some dark stories over the course of the season, 381 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,919 Speaker 1: and it's really easy to remove ourselves from them, you know, 382 00:23:48,119 --> 00:23:51,000 Speaker 1: just to think that they are tales of yesteryear, that 383 00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:54,440 Speaker 1: these things took place a long time ago, maybe back 384 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:57,399 Speaker 1: at a time where we weren't so knowledgeable or we 385 00:23:57,400 --> 00:23:59,960 Speaker 1: weren't so enlightened. But in meeting Grady and a say 386 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:03,120 Speaker 1: only we can understand that we really aren't that far 387 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:06,399 Speaker 1: removed from this history. None of this took place that 388 00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:09,159 Speaker 1: long ago, and the Side Show might be harder to 389 00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:14,080 Speaker 1: find these days. But it's ghosts, it's still lingers. You're right, 390 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:18,560 Speaker 1: well said, but I would move that beyond being a 391 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 1: ghost right into this very real, very present force. It 392 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:25,560 Speaker 1: really surprised me. I think it surprised you too. You know, 393 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:28,600 Speaker 1: when we started this, it was chronological, and we had 394 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:30,720 Speaker 1: to start with Barnum, right, We had to reckon with this, 395 00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:33,719 Speaker 1: and I certainly didn't predict that we'd end up with 396 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:37,600 Speaker 1: this new and yet similar kind of darkness with Grady. 397 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:40,399 Speaker 1: But the Grady in the nineties wasn't the end of 398 00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:43,520 Speaker 1: the side your story. That's right, you know. That brings 399 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:46,439 Speaker 1: us right up to the present. And I actually have 400 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:50,639 Speaker 1: one more Grady Styles adjacent story for our listeners. You 401 00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:55,680 Speaker 1: want to hear it, absolutely please? All right? So Styles 402 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:59,640 Speaker 1: family legacy still felt in Gibsonton, you know, people are 403 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:03,960 Speaker 1: not and to forget what happened that easily. However, today 404 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:06,439 Speaker 1: I've been Philly in a place that's far removed from 405 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:09,840 Speaker 1: give town and time and place. Uh. There's a gal 406 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:13,760 Speaker 1: named Kim Kelly who remembers the infamous side show Lobster 407 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:16,760 Speaker 1: Boy in her own way. When I was looking back 408 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:19,119 Speaker 1: through history trying to find other people that were, you know, 409 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:21,800 Speaker 1: lobster boys, lobster girls all rose kind of lead to 410 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:25,080 Speaker 1: gratty styles. So Kim she had a personal reason to 411 00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:29,320 Speaker 1: go looking. She's a writer, she's an organizer, and she 412 00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:32,520 Speaker 1: just happens to be someone else who was born with extrodectilly. 413 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:35,119 Speaker 1: So for her, that means some of her fingers on 414 00:25:35,119 --> 00:25:37,920 Speaker 1: one hand are fused together. But growing up she knew 415 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:40,800 Speaker 1: that her handmade her a little bit different, but actually 416 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:43,199 Speaker 1: it didn't make that much difference in her life. And 417 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:45,800 Speaker 1: she'll tell you this. Once I learned how to paint 418 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:48,479 Speaker 1: my nails like it's fine, and I'm still pretty good 419 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:50,080 Speaker 1: a painting my nails as long as I have you know, 420 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:53,720 Speaker 1: cute tip with polished mover. But everyone needs that. She 421 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:57,000 Speaker 1: walked through life pretty nonplused, and so much so that 422 00:25:57,040 --> 00:25:59,679 Speaker 1: she didn't just not care about what people thought, but 423 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:04,119 Speaker 1: she actively embraced things that were pretty offbeat, and she 424 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:06,520 Speaker 1: feels she's always had the confidence just to do her 425 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:09,160 Speaker 1: own thing, especially when I was like a cute little 426 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:11,600 Speaker 1: fourteen year old girl, too much eyeliner and like long 427 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:14,240 Speaker 1: blonde hair, Like I think there are other things that 428 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:17,360 Speaker 1: stood out to people more than like me, missing fingers. 429 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:20,280 Speaker 1: But not too long ago something happened that made her 430 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:26,320 Speaker 1: see her limb difference in an entirely new way. Who interesting, 431 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:30,439 Speaker 1: tell me more? Okay, so a few years ago, she 432 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:32,640 Speaker 1: thought she was just headed out on another job, just 433 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:35,919 Speaker 1: another writing assignment, as she want to do well. What 434 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:38,119 Speaker 1: she found when she got there ended up being something 435 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:42,240 Speaker 1: far more profound. I wrote the story, and I, you know, 436 00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:44,760 Speaker 1: interviewed people, and you know I didn't. I did the work, 437 00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:49,120 Speaker 1: but it became much more of a personal journey. Such 438 00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:51,840 Speaker 1: a silly word. But they had switched from professional to 439 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:57,120 Speaker 1: personal real quick. And so because of this, and for 440 00:26:57,240 --> 00:26:59,639 Speaker 1: many other reasons, she's going to be a guest on 441 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:03,920 Speaker 1: our next and last episode. I mean, actually have one 442 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:09,280 Speaker 1: more person we want to introduce to our cool cat listeners, right, yes, ma'am. 443 00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:12,480 Speaker 1: So we'll get to meet our new friend, Dr Bob Thompson. 444 00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:16,680 Speaker 1: By day, he's a mass media scholar at Syracuse University. 445 00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:19,320 Speaker 1: I will confess right now that I have watched The 446 00:27:19,359 --> 00:27:22,520 Speaker 1: Bachelor from the very beginning, and I will also confess 447 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:26,080 Speaker 1: that I get some pleasure out of watching that heinous 448 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 1: little odd men. But by night he's watching more TV 449 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:34,040 Speaker 1: than anyone I've ever met, including you, Robin, and I 450 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:36,719 Speaker 1: know that because you have my Hulu passwords. Thank you 451 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:42,800 Speaker 1: for that. But that said jabs aside, So Taylor, what 452 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:44,920 Speaker 1: does TV have to do with the side show anyways? 453 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:47,520 Speaker 1: Well that's a damn good question, isn't it. I mean, 454 00:27:47,560 --> 00:27:51,439 Speaker 1: I'm in the business of asking questions. You are, and 455 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:54,359 Speaker 1: you're in look because you will soon find out that 456 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:59,119 Speaker 1: Bob Thompson has all sorts of answers for us. Interesting. 457 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:03,320 Speaker 1: We've got this really powerful, too som in store for 458 00:28:03,359 --> 00:28:07,199 Speaker 1: the listeners, don't we. Do you think they're curious enough 459 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:09,800 Speaker 1: to stick around for one last episode? Well, as you 460 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:13,320 Speaker 1: could also say, certain intellectual curiosity can kill a lot 461 00:28:13,359 --> 00:28:17,280 Speaker 1: more than cats. Stop it. We can't scare them away. 462 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:20,720 Speaker 1: I was just telling them how excited I was, so 463 00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:24,480 Speaker 1: nothing to be. You're here, listen, listen. We're actually doing 464 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:27,840 Speaker 1: exactly what all the sideshow goers used to do. Following 465 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:30,480 Speaker 1: our noses, We're moving closer, you know, within a safe 466 00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:35,040 Speaker 1: distance to our curiosity. So you know, it's time to 467 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:37,320 Speaker 1: get up close and personal with some of our lingering 468 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:41,560 Speaker 1: questions about where the side show is headed next. All right, 469 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:46,240 Speaker 1: I'm sold. Let's go right on while see you back 470 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:49,840 Speaker 1: here in two weeks, same time, same place, for one 471 00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:56,160 Speaker 1: last look at the side show. Side Show was written 472 00:28:56,200 --> 00:29:00,000 Speaker 1: by Robin Minat with narration by me Aaron Mankey Reese. 473 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:03,080 Speaker 1: Search for the series was by Robin Mineter, Taylor Haggard, RN, 474 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:07,560 Speaker 1: and Sam Alberty, with production assistants from Josh Than, Jesse Funk, 475 00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:11,280 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. Grim and Mile Presents was 476 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:14,200 Speaker 1: created in partnership with I Heart Radio. You can learn 477 00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:16,720 Speaker 1: more about this show and everything else from Grim and 478 00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:20,560 Speaker 1: mild Over at Grim and mild dot com and, as always, 479 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:59,720 Speaker 1: thanks for listening. M