Timesuck with Dan Cummins
by Dan Cummins
Latest episode
532 - The Cult of the Church with No Name
532 - The Cult of the Church with No Name
About this podcast
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!)
Episodes
The newest 50 of 632 episodes
- 532 - The Cult of the Church with No Name · 2 h 36 minFor over a century, a secretive religious movement known as the Two by Twos has operated without churches, a central headquarters, or even an official name, demanding…
- 531 - The Wineville Chicken Coop Murders · 2 h 43 minIn 1928, a remote California chicken ranch became the center of one of the most horrifying murder investigations in early 20th century American history, exposing the sadistic…
- 530 - Killed By A Co-Star: The Daniella Perez Story · 2 h 19 minIn 1992, rising Brazilian television star Daniella Perez was brutally murdered by the very actor playing her romantic interest on one of the country's most popular telenovelas…
- Short Suck 68: The Zanesville Massacre/ Lions, Tigers, and Bears… Oh, Sh**!! · 1 h 5 minIn October of 2011, the quiet Ohio town of Zanesville descended into chaos when dozens of lions, tigers, bears, and other dangerous exotic animals were suddenly unleashed upon…
- 529 - Lou Pearlman: Boy Bands, Blimps, and a $300 Million Scam · 2 h 50 minLou Pearlman helped launch two of the biggest boy bands of the 1990s, the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, while secretly building a massive empire of lies, exploitation, and financial…
- 528 - The Atlanta Child Murders (2 of 2) · 2 h 28 minAs the Atlanta Child Murders continue, investigators finally begin uncovering physical evidence that could lead them to the person responsible—and a mysterious splash beneath a…
- Short Suck 67: The Failed Execution of Christa Pike · 1 h 12 minJust last week, on September 30th, 2026, Tennessee tried to execute convicted murderer Christa Pike—twice—and somehow, she survived. This Short Suck, before deciding whether Pike…
- 527 - The Atlanta Child Murders (1 of 2) · 2 h 13 minBetween 1979 and 1981, thirty Black children, teenagers, and young adults all disappeared from the streets of Atlanta, triggering one of the largest and most terrifying serial…
- 526 - Anthony Bourdain: Hungry for Everything · 2 h 40 minAnthony Bourdain went from a heroin-addicted line cook bouncing between chaotic New York kitchens to a bestselling author and beloved world traveler who changed the way millions…
- Short Suck 66: Locusta of Gaul: The World’s First Serial Killer? · 47 minLong before forensic science could expose a killer, poison was one of ancient Rome’s deadliest—and hardest to detect—weapons, and few were said to wield it better than the…
- 525 - The Franklin Conspiracy: Satanic Panic or a Real Cover-Up? · 3 h 18 minWhen a massive financial scandal erupted in Omaha in the late 1980s, allegations soon followed that politically connected power players were involved in something far darker: an…
- 524 - Bible John: Glasgow's Dancing Killer · 2 h 18 minIn late 1960s Glasgow, three women went out dancing at the legendary Barrowland Ballroom.... and never made it home alive. Their murders were linked to a mysterious stranger who…
- Short Suck 65: The Lady With the Lamp: Florence Nightingale’s War on Death · 51 minFlorence Nightingale didn’t just become the world’s most famous nurse - she helped revolutionize modern medicine, battling horrific hospital conditions, deadly disease…
- 523 - The Immortality Industry: Silicon Valley’s War on Death · 2 h 36 minWhat if aging isn’t inevitable...and death is a problem science might someday solve? From groundbreaking longevity research to Silicon Valley billionaires, rogue biohackers…
- 522 - The Mary Kay Opportunity! The Dark Truth About MLMs · 2 h 52 minMary Kay Ash turned a $5,000 investment into a cosmetics empire that promised generations of women financial independence, recognition, and—if they climbed high enough—that…
- Short Suck 64: The Skunk Ape · 60 minToday we journey deep into the swamps of Florida to investigate the legend of the Skunk Ape, Bigfoot’s smaller, stinkier, swamp-dwelling cousin. From centuries-old sightings and…
- 521 - The Serpent: Serial Killer Charles Sobhraj · 2 h 53 minLong before Catch Me If You Can made Frank Abagnale famous, another master con man was crisscrossing the globe under countless stolen identities and leaving a trail of bodies…
- 520 - Mother of Frankenstein: Mary Shelley · 2 h 32 minMary Shelley didn't just create Frankenstein - she helped invent modern science fiction while forever changing the landscape of horror. This episode, we explore her remarkable…
- Short Suck 63: The Children's Crusade: Faith, Folly, and 30,000 Kids · 59 minIn 1212, thousands of children set out across Europe believing God would part the Mediterranean and lead them peacefully to Jerusalem. (Spoiler alert: God didn't.) Their…
- 519 - Death Before Divorce: The Kouri Richins Case · 2 h 14 minWhen Utah realtor and children's author Kouri Richins reported her husband dead after what appeared to be a tragic medical emergency, investigators eventually uncovered…
- 518 - San Ysidro McDonald's Massacre · 2 h 37 minFrom the troubled life of James Huberty to the horrifying events inside a San Ysidro McDonald's on July 18th, 1984, we explore how one of America's first modern mass shootings…
- 517 - The Buffalo River Cult: Murder, Prophecy, and... a Ghost Girl?? · 2 h 49 minIn 1978, a fanatical doomsday cult disappeared into the Arkansas Ozarks believing the end of the world was arriving fast... which it did (for them), after they were arrested for…
- Short Suck 62: From Mom-and-Pop to Mega-Corporations: The Transformation of America’s Food Industry · 1 h 7 minHow did a nation built on local farms and family businesses become dependent on a handful of massive corporations for most of its (now mostly processed) food? In this week's…
- 516 - Murder at 100 MPH: The Mackenzie Shirilla Case · 2 h 21 minA quiet Ohio suburb is shattered when a 17-year-old girl, Mackenzie Shirilla, drives nearly 100 miles per hour into a brick wall, killing her boyfriend and a close friend while…
- 515 - Fort Hood: Murders, Mysteries, and Silence · 2 h 31 minFor years, Fort Hood has been plagued by an unsettling string of murders, disappearances, suspicious deaths, and allegations of institutional failure that have left grieving…
- Short Suck 61: Why Are Nordic People So.... Happy? · 1 h 5 minFor over a decade, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Sweden have consistently ranked among the happiest nations on Earth—but why? We dig into the research behind the World…
- 514 - Carl Tanzler: Romantic... Necrophiliac? · 2 h 58 minIn Key West, Florida during the Great Depression, an obsessed German radiology technician, Carl Tanzler, became convinced that a dying young woman named Elena de Hoyos was his…
- 513 - The Dark Strangler: Serial Killer Earle Nelson · 2 h 26 minFor at least sixteen months in the 1920s, Earle Nelson terrorized North America, murdering at least twenty-two women while drifting from city to city under false identities…
- Short Suck 60: The Mystery of the Yuba County Five · 1 h 0 minIn February of 1978, five friends left a college basketball game in Northern California and seemingly vanished into thin air. Months later, four of them were found dead deep in…
- 512 - The Stonewall Riots · 2 h 41 minOn June 28th, 1969, New York City police expected another routine raid on a gay bar. Instead, they found a community that had finally had enough. This week, we explore the long…
- 511 - The 1991 Austin Yogurt Shop Murders · 2 h 36 minOn a December night in 1991, four teenage girls gathered at an Austin frozen yogurt shop for what should have been an ordinary evening of work, pizza, friendship, and weekend…
- Short Suck 59: The Alligator Man aka The Butcher of Elmendorf · 50 minLong before serial killers became podcast and true crime doc celebrities in the US, there was Joe Ball: a bootlegger, bar owner, womanizer, and suspected murderer who kept a pit…
- 510 - Black Death: The Bizarre Kidnapping of Chloe Ayling · 2 h 21 minA young British glamour model flies to Milan for what she believes is a routine photo shoot in 2017 — and vanishes into one of the strangest kidnapping cases in modern true crime…
- 509 - 13 Hours of Terror: The 2020 Nova Scotia Massacre · 2 h 19 minIn April of 2020, while the rest of the world fixated on the terrifying early days of the Covid pandemic, a 51-year-old denturist in rural Nova Scotia launched one of the…
- 508 - John of God: Ghosts, Grift, and Psychic Surgery · 2 h 28 minFor decades, hundreds of thousands of desperate people (maybe even millions) traveled to rural Brazil seeking miracles from João Teixeira de Faria — better known as “John of God”…
- Short Suck 58: Roaring! Spinning! Winning! The Rise of the Big Wheel · 59 minBefore helmets, hoverboards, and helicopter parenting… there was the Big Wheel. Louis Marx and Company turned a low-slung plastic tricycle into one of the most iconic - and…
- 507 - Finding The Lost City of Z: Percy Fawcett's Suicide Mission · 3 h 12 minWhat began as a search for a mythical city hidden deep within the Amazon became an obsession that consumed famed British explorer Percy Fawcett. In 1925, convinced that an…
- 506 - The Charmer: Serial Killer George Russell · 3 h 7 minBig episode today! There were just too many interesting details out there about George Russell to cut out. Such a strange, unique, and ultimately terrible human being who is…
- Short Suck #57: Return to the Land: The Ravenden Experiment · 1 h 9 minDeep in the Ozarks, outside a tiny Arkansas town, a group of white nationalists believe they’ve found a legal loophole to resurrect segregation in America. They call it Return to…
- 505 - Drowned by the Horizon: Japan’s 2011 Tsunami Nightmare · 2 h 17 minOn March 11th, 2011, the ground beneath Japan didn’t just shake—it unraveled, releasing one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded. Minutes later, the ocean rose in…
- 504 - Blizzard of Lies: The Karen Read Murder Trials · 2 h 44 minA blizzard, a body in the snow, and a case that’s divided a town—and the internet. In this episode, we break down the mysterious death of Boston police officer John O’Keefe and…
- Short Suck #56: Triple Axel, Triple Chaos: The Rise and Fall of Tonya Harding · 1 h 6 minTonya Harding went from landing one of the hardest moves in figure skating history to being at the center of a real-life “what the hell were you thinking?” crime. This episode…
- 503 - Lemurians, Lizard People, and Lies: Ramtha’s School Exposed · 2 h 50 minA purple, 35,000-year-old warrior from Atlantis shows up in a woman’s kitchen… and somehow turns her into a millionaire. Totally normal. Today’s Timesuck unpacks the wild, weird…
- 502 - Help Me Before I Kill: The Chilling Story of Eddie Cole · 2 h 37 minMost serial killers hide what they are. Eddie Cole did the opposite—he flat-out told people he wanted to rape and kill women, and begged for help before it was too late. Somehow…
- Short Suck #55: Stolen History: The British Museum Debate · 1 h 1 minThe British Museum is one of the world’s greatest treasure houses—home to over eight million artifacts spanning human history. But behind its incredible collection lies a…
- 501 - The Ant Hill Kids: Most Brutal Cult Ever? · 3 h 1 minRoch Thériault promised his followers healing, purpose, and a closer connection to God — but what he built in the wilderness of Canada became something far, FAR more sinister. As…
- 500 - Blowing Through the Mushroom Murders · 2 h 34 minThe 500th episode! And for the 500th straight week of Timesuck, I will not be in my right mind (but is it ever right?). I'll also be sharing the story of the 2023 Leongatha…
- Short Suck #54: Lip, Dip, and Die! The Radium Girls · 60 minToday we explore the horrifying true story of the Radium Girls — young women told to “lip, dip, and paint” with radioactive dial paint while their employers hid the deadly…
- 499 - The Cosmic Teacher: Rudolf Steiner and the Occult Roots of Waldorf Schools · 3 h 7 minRudolf Steiner founded the Waldorf education movement more than a century ago, inspiring thousands of schools around the world with a philosophy centered on creativity…
- 498 - Mr. Cruel · 1 h 56 minFor years, a calm, calculating predator stalked the suburbs of Melbourne, leaving behind almost no evidence — only terrified families and a growing legend known as "Mr. Cruel."…
