Very Special Episodes
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About This Podcast
On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story each week. Stranger-than-fiction tales about normal people in extraordinary situations. Stories that make you say, “this should be a movie.” Follow Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.
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Recent Episodes
S1E82 The White Death
In the winter of 1939, Finland faced overwhelming odds. The Soviet Union was invading with hundreds of thousands of troops. Standing in their way was an unlikely defender: a shy farmer and expert…
S1E81 Children of the Moon
Emma has never felt the sun on her skin. Born with a rare condition that makes UV light dangerous, she lives by sunscreen, meters, and moonlight. But she’s also part of a community finding…
S1E80 The Other James Bond
When Ian Fleming needed a name for the secret agent at the center of his new novel, he stole one from the cover of a birdwatching book. The real James Bond wasn’t a martini-drinking spy, but a shy…
S1E79 The Mysterious Death of Andy the Sneaker-Wearing Goose [Re-Release]
Gene Fleming and his pet goose Andy made headlines around the world. They brought out the best in the people of Hastings, Nebraska. But amid all this attention, Andy also brought out the worst. And…
S1E78 Dock Ellis: High and Outside
In June 1970, Dock Ellis of the Pittsburgh Pirates somehow tossed a no-hitter while tripping on acid. The LSD stunt made him a legend, but it overshadowed a much deeper story: a man who spent the…
S1E77 The Family Who Vanished Into Siberia for Over 40 Years
In 1978, Soviet geologists flying over Siberia spotted something impossible: a family living in total isolation, untouched for decades by the modern world. But when outsiders finally reached their…
S1E76 A Very Special Mini-Mailbag
Time for another mailbag episode! This week Dana, Zaron, and Jason answer pressing listener questions on yearbook quotes, hidden talents, and ads they'd read for free. Plus they plan a Very Special…
S1E75 Marilyn, Hamilton + John Wilkes Booth's Statue: NYC History Hiding in Plain Sight
Today's episode is a tour of New York’s secret history with a very special guest! Greg Young of the beloved Bowery Boys podcast joins us to prove the world is a very interesting place, if you just…
S1E74 The Unintended Insanity of the 1994 Caribbean Cup (w/John Green and Daniel Alarcón of The Away End)
Today we're sharing an excerpt from a new soccer podcast, The Away End with John Green and Daniel Alarcón. In a recent episode they covered the 1994 Caribbean Cup, which felt very Very Special…
S1E73 Bar Trivia: How a Staten Island Pub Made College Hoops History
Long before the NCAA Basketball Tournament became a billion-dollar business, there was a massive betting pool run out of a neighborhood bar on Staten Island. The Irish pub’s $10 game handed out…
S1E72 Richard Nixon and the Magic Suitcase
In honor of April Fools' Day, Zaron Burnett digs into a persistent legend surrounding VSE regular Richard Nixon. With a little help from his pops, Zaron ventures into smoky clubs to unpack a bizarre…
S1E71 10 Minutes to Live: Hawaii's Text Message Fiasco of 2018
On a quiet morning in Hawaii, cell phones across the islands lit up with a text message that felt impossible — a ballistic missile was inbound, and this was not a drill. For 38 minutes, hundreds of…
S1E70 Zero Gravity: The Zambian Space Program
In the 1960s, a newly independent Zambia entered the space race with a bold — and baffling — plan. Led by self-declared “Minister of Space” Edward Nkoloso, a team of would-be astronauts trained in…
S1E69 Movie Mystery: The 2000 Oscars Heist
In 2000, weeks before the Academy Awards ceremony, 55 Oscars vanished during shipment to Los Angeles. The disappearance triggered a frantic search. Then, in a twist worthy of a movie plot, a man…
S1E68 The Galápagos Murders
In 1929, a pair of European lovers abandoned civilization for a remote island in the Galápagos. Their utopian experiment made headlines around the world. But within a few years, several residents had…
S1E67 Taking On Water
For 20 years, Canadian sailor Lawrence Lemieux chased perfection on the water. He slept in vans. He drained his savings. He dedicated his life to a single goal: standing on an Olympic podium. At the…
S1E66 The Olympic Prison
In the winter of 1980, the world turned its eyes to Lake Placid, New York, host of the Winter Olympics. But behind the pageantry, another structure loomed in the Adirondack woods. Built to house…
S1E65 Breaking the Olympics
Elizabeth Swaney fulfilled her childhood dream of becoming an Olympian, defying all odds. But it wasn’t supernatural athletic ability that got her there. And by the time she made it to the 2018…
S1E64 Meet the Steagles
During World War II, football itself was at risk. The Steagles—a hybrid of the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers—were a desperate wartime experiment. With rosters drained by the draft, the…
S1E63 JFK's Forgotten Summer [Best of 2025]
Eighty years ago, a young John F. Kennedy took a summer job as a journalist for Hearst newspapers, filing dispatches in the final days of World War II. Even the most seasoned JFK scholars often…
Frequently Asked Questions
Very Special Episodes has published 84 episodes since January 2024, covering topics in Documentary, Education.
Very Special Episodes is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 42m.
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