Scandal Sheet

COLD OPEN: Interview With A Vampiress

Video Version: https://bit.ly/4oCV2Ia

As part of our Halloween special, host Thad is able to interview a 200+ year old vampiress! She is part of a coven run by her over protective uncle, Count Dracula – the OG vampire.

COMPLETE EPISODE COMING BEFORE HALLOWEEN NIGHT !! We drill deep into the origins of vampires for your spooky pleasure.

The cold open features the talents of co-host Anuradha, composer and actor, John Hoekstra, and Thad. Co-host, Anuradha can be found at her Instagram accounts: @anuradhaduz_food and @artist_anuradhachhibber. John on You Tube https://shorturl.at/i1Q8h SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/user-363005792

And find us on Patreon at patreon.com/ScandalSheet with bonus content for premium subscribers. We’d love to have your generous support for only the price of one Starbuck’s coffee per month. Please reach out to us at  scandalsheetpod.com@gmail.com, find us on Facebook as 'Scandal Sheet' or on X at @scandal_sheet. We’d love to hear from you!

NY Mets’ Heartbreaking Season

GREAT VIDEO VERSION: https://bit.ly/4nlN4SZ

With the second highest payroll in the MLB and an amazing roster of talent, the NEW YORK METS were positioned for history. They started the 2025 baseball season with the best record in the entire MLB -- and in all team history. But then in June…something happened. What? WHAT? We are again joined by our 6-year baseball commentators and favorite New Yorkers – THE METS MOB! They are here to explain the unexplainable, yell at one another, and cry on each other’s shoulders. You’ll both laugh and cry listening …

The Mets Mob consists of: 5 time, NYC Super Lawyer, David Grover; Handsome Rob from Upper East Side of Manhattan; and Leonardo from Manhattan, NYC radio WFAN personality and host of the motorcycle podcast Arrive Alive, arrivealive.com, available on all listening platforms.

David’s amazing law firm is Grover and Fensterstock. You can reach him at 1-866-99-LAWYER (866-995-2993), https://gfpc.us/ or email to DGrover@GroverFen.com. Mention this podcast for additional discounts.

Co-host, Anuradha was unable to join us for this particular session but find here at Instagram accounts: @anuradhaduz_food and @artist_anuradhachhibber.

You can now find us on Patreon at patreon.com/ScandalSheet with bonus content for premium subscribers. We’d love to have your generous support for only the price of one Starbuck’s coffee per month. Please reach out to us at  scandalsheetpod.com@gmail.com, find us on Facebook as 'Scandal Sheet' or on X at @scandal_sheet. We’d love to hear from you!

 

Robert Redford Memoriam / “All The President’s Men”- Watergate Scandal

Video: https://bit.ly/3VEvFth

Actor icon, movie producer and director, and founder of the famous Sundance Festival, Robert Redford, passed away very recently, at age 89, after 60+ years of amazing professional work in the cinematic industry. In addition to his $1B+ career box office receipts, he won numerous Oscars and other major awards and helped kickstart the careers of many dozens of – then - unknown indie filmmakers like Quentin Taratino, Steve Soderbourgh, Richard Linklater, Rian Johnson and many others, too numerous to list here.

Redford practiced a double, contradictory life. While continuing to work within the Hollywood system throughout his career (to finance his indie activities?), Redford also legitimized independent filmmaking for all time and -as much as any one person could- re-shaped how American movies were both made - and the neglected topics they dramatized.

In this episode, Anuradha and I initially discuss Mr. Redford’s overall career and then we replay a famous past episode of this pod where we discuss the Watergate Scandal – and concurrently – Redford’s very first maiden, movie producing effort, “All The President’s Men”, which became an unlikely bock office hit and won 4 Oscars.

Find our co-host, Anuradha’s Instagram accounts: @anuradhaduz_food and @artist_anuradhachhibber.

Find us on Patreon at patreon.com/ScandalSheet with bonus content for premium subscribers. We’d love to have your generous support for only the price of one Starbuck’s coffee per month. Also, please reach out to us at scandalsheetpod@gmail.com, find us on Facebook as 'Scandal Sheet' or on X at @scandal_sheet. We’d love to hear from you!

DIS–ASTER! Disneyland Opening Day S**T Show

Fantastic Video Version: https://youtu.be/soCk-nSTo6I

Many Americans don’t know this…but back in 1955, the Disney corporation was only a modestly profitable animation movie company. They had a couple of hits – but that was it. But, then, the founder, Walt Disney, decided to pour all his movie profits into something that had never been done before – a permanent, around the year, live action amusement park, which he called Disneyland (named after himself, of course). It was a giant financial risk for him that could have easily sunk his entire company, if it failed. Today, WE TAKE YOU BACK to the disastrous opening day of Disneyland, 60 years ago, in the summer of 1955. Can anyone possibly laugh this much? Watch and find out. We had fun recording it.

We are delighted to welcome back professional video producer and cultural commentator, JOSEPH LONG, who has appeared in previous popular episodes.

This incorporates the previously published “Disney On Ice – WE FOUND HIM !!!” comical cold open, starring Anuradha and Thad. Find our co-host, Anuradha’s Instagram accounts: @anuradhaduz_food and @artist_anuradhachhibber.

Find us on Patreon at patreon.com/ScandalSheet with bonus content for premium subscribers. We’d love to have your generous support for only the price of one Starbuck’s coffee per month. Also, please reach out to us at scandalsheetpod@gmail.com, find us on Facebook as 'Scandal Sheet' or on X at @scandal_sheet. We’d love to hear from you!

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COLD OPEN: Disney On Ice – WE FOUND HIM !!

Amazing Video Version: https://bit.ly/45VPiTC

Since legendary entrepreneur Walt Disney’s untimely death in 1966, there has been a persistent conspiracy theory that says, just before he died, he had himself cryogenically frozen until such time as there was a cure for his cancer. No evidence has ever been produced...until now. Our intrepid co-host, ANURADHA, was able to locate his nitrogen chamber and revive Mr. Disney. The truth can now finally be told!

This is the hilarious cold open for our episode on the disastrous opening day of Disneyland in 1955. Coming soon!

Chili Madness!! – Summer Cooking, Part 2

Great Video Version: https://bit.ly/45N0yQP

The summer ain’t over yet folks! And there’s a lotta cookin’ and eatin’ left to do. In this part 2 of or summer cooking special we celebrate the 15 years Thad’s daughter and their friends competed semi-professionally in chili cook-offs in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC. We were invited to the World Championship only once but frequently placed – and sometimes made some prize money to boot. Lot’s of cooking fun along way.

There have been many amazing contributors to our efforts over the years but featured in this video (because we had video) are Thad’s daughter Kassia, co-chef Joe Duffus, Rebecca Hogue, Susan Jekielek, and Brian Hellems.

You can make our award-winning chilis at home --

Recipe for “Rage Against The Cuisine – Green”: https://bit.ly/4fIYnlF (Joe)

Recipe for “Rage Against The Cuisine – Red”: https://bit.ly/4lwCBTy (Thad)

The featured new song, “Joe And Thad Oughta Open a Restaurant” can be heard in its entirety here: https://bit.ly/3V9jWSZ

Find us on Patreon at patreon.com/ScandalSheet with bonus content for premium subscribers. We’d love to have your generous support for only the price of one Starbuck’s coffee per month. Also, please reach out to us at scandalsheetpod@gmail.com, find us on Facebook as 'Scandal Sheet' or on X at @scandal_sheet. We’d love to hear from you!

80th Anniversary Of Hiroshima Bombing – First Nuclear Bomb

This is a terribly sad anniversary, in any way you perceive it – especially for people of any faith tradition, like myself. We’re replaying an episode from 2023 recorded on the occasion of the Academy Award-winning movie, “Oppenheimer”. It features my son-in-law, Dylan Cuellar, who was born and grew up in New Mexico, near Los Alamos, where the first several nuclear bombs were invented. Also, my daughter Kassia, Dylan’s wife, who had a rare opportunity to explore the original Trinity test site, where the first bomb test occurred. It seems more relevant now.

The facts: on the morning of AUGUST 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped the first fission uranium atom bomb from a US-made B-29 on Hiroshima in Japan. It killed 85,000+ people almost instantly. 150,000+ would die weeks and months later from radiation sickness. 98% of the deaths were civilians and not uniformed soldiers. In fairness, radiation sickness was not understood by either the U.S. physicists who built the bomb or the supervising generals at the time. A second plutonium bomb was dropped on Nagasaki 3 days later, with similar, catastrophic results.

FDR died only weeks before the Nazi Germany surrender. Vice President HARRY TRUMAN hurriedly became the new President, knowing very little of the top-secret investments – like the atom bomb – that were in the works. Unlike FDR, Truman was a religious man, a life-long practicing Baptist. When eventually presented with these previously unknown facts, he faced a terrible choice between his own Christian faith and what most of his advisors believed was necessary to finally end the 7 year war that had already killed 55 million people (conservatively). His choice was controversial then – as it is now. The reality was the Japanese DID FINALLY SURRENDER only days after the 2 nuclear bombs were dropped on their cities. But - was it really worth the terrible body count? Although - on the other hand - how many more would have died on both sides if the Allies had staged a D-Day style amphibious invasion of Japan, as was planned? Casualty estimates for everyone were much, much worse in that scenario.

When Truman did his nightly prayers to God, as he did for 50+ years, what did God say to him? Or, did he say anything at all? A soul-crushing, lose-lose choice no single person should ever have to make....but it was done…

It’s not up to your Scandal Sheet friends to tell you what’s what. Just to present facts that are available to us. You guys call it yourself. I think we all agree that we appreciate that horrible war ended and, while there have been other wars on the planet since, none have reached the size and scale of WW2. Let us know you thoughts at scandalsheetpod@gmail.com.

“Jaws” At 50 – We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat – COMPLETE EPISODE

Enjoy the Video Version: https://bit.ly/4m1fOQN

This episode marries the previously released teaser with our in-depth conversation between Anuradha, myself, and frequent guest, professional composer/movie critic, JOHN HOEKSTRA. 56 minutes of informative and hilarious entertainment.

 Today, we think of the movie “Jaws” as a blockbuster game-changer in movie history. But back in 1973-1975, it appeared to be the biggest financial disaster in cinema history to producing company Universal Studios and many Hollywood insiders. Directed by a talented, but inexperienced and unknown filmmaker, Steven Spielberg, it appeared to be a runaway train leading the studio to eventual bankruptcy. The initial shooting schedule swelled from 55 days to 159 days. And the budget soared from $3.5 million to $12 million. Almost everything went wrong. Spielberg, an age 24 TV director, had no idea what he was doing on a project of this massive scale. They started with no useable script and they spent $1.5 million on a mechanical shark that mostly didn’t work while shooting. Also, there was drug and alcohol addiction among the major actors. How could the production of this movie possibly be worse? (Universal executives picked a very bad year to stop sniffing glue*.) And yes, it eventually became the most successful film of all time to that date – BUT HOW THE HECK DID THAT HAPPEN? We tell you the REAL story behind the scenes.

Our music is composed, preformed and produced by the genius John Hoekstra. You Tube https://shorturl.at/i1Q8h SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/user-363005792

Longtime actors for the pod join us for the cold open. Leonardo from Manhattan – please look up his podcast: arrivealivepodcast.com. And my co-host, Anuradha. Find here Instagram accounts: @anuradhaduz_food and @artist_anuradhachhibber.

* Extra points to anyone that gets that 1980 Paramount joke. Send responses to scandalsheetpod.com.

Find us on Patreon at patreon.com/ScandalSheet with bonus content for premium subscribers. We’d love to have your generous support for only the price of one Starbuck’s coffee per month. Also, please reach out to us at scandalsheetpod@gmail.com, find us on Facebook as 'Scandal Sheet' or on X at @scandal_sheet. We’d love to hear from you!

TEASER COLD OPEN: “Jaws” At 50 – You Call THIS A Movie ??!!

WATCH THE GREAT VIDEO VERSION: https://bit.ly/456frNy

In advance of our full episode we offer this previously unknown and behind-the-scenes glimpse into 1970’s Hollywood movie politics. We dramatize a confrontation between two historical people, Sidney Sheinberg. President and CEO of both Universal Studios and the parent company, MCA, and Verna Fields, an unbelievably talented editor, that would influence how films were crafted going forward. Despite their adversarial relationship during “Jaws”, Sheinberg would eventually make Fields his head of production for all Universal Studios - a job never held by a woman before.

We tell you what you don’t know!

Longtime actors for the pod join us for this cold open. Leonardo from Manhattan – please look up his podcast: arrivealivepodcast.com. And my co-host, Anuradha. Find her Instagram accounts: @anuradhaduz_food and @artist_anuradhachhibber.

Find us on Patreon at patreon.com/ScandalSheet with bonus content for premium subscribers. We’d love to have your generous support for only the price of one Starbuck’s coffee per month. Also, please reach out to us at scandalsheetpod@gmail.com, find us on Facebook as 'Scandal Sheet' or on X at @scandal_sheet. We’d love to hear from you!

BONUS - "Superman" Preview, ft. ‘Handsome Rob’ From The Upper East Side

Watch the Video Version: https://youtu.be/yAMYgCPjrd8

Despite its apparent opening weekend success, one person who has a very different view of this movie is a frequent guest of this podcast and a founding member of the Mets Mob, a popular baseball commentary trio in NYC. We are delighted to welcome back ROB (aka "Handsome Rob") from the Upper East Side of the Big Apple.

Find us on Patreon at patreon.com/ScandalSheet with bonus content for premium subscribers. We’d love to have your generous support for only the price of one Starbuck’s coffee per month. Also, please reach out to us at scandalsheetpod@gmail.com, find us on Facebook as 'Scandal Sheet' or on X at @scandal_sheet. We’d love to hear from you!