Timesuck with Dan Cummins

Dan Cummins

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!)

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611 episodes
Updated Monday
Explicit

Episodes611

Newest first

April 24 · 1 hr 6 min
Short Suck #56: Triple Axel, Triple Chaos: The Rise and Fall of Tonya Harding
Tonya 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 unpacks her rough upbringing, explosive relationships, and the unbelievably sloppy plot that turned Olympic dreams into tabloid infamy. Talent, dysfunction, and absolute chaos—this story's got it all.
April 20 · 2 hr 50 min
503 - Lemurians, Lizard People, and Lies: Ramtha’s School Exposed
A 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, and wildly profitable story of JZ Knight, Ramtha, and the New Age empire based in Yelm, Washington that asks: what if enlightenment… was just really confident nonsense?
April 13 · 2 hr 37 min
502 - Help Me Before I Kill: The Chilling Story of Eddie Cole
Most 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, again and again, he was released back into the world. Today’s Timesuck dives into one of the most frustrating true crime cases imaginable: a killer who warned everyone… and still wasn’t stopped.
April 10 · 1 hr 1 min
Short Suck #55: Stolen History: The British Museum Debate
The 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 complicated legacy of empire, conquest, and controversy that raises a difficult question: who should really own the past?
April 6 · 3 hr 1 min
501 - The Ant Hill Kids: Most Brutal Cult Ever?
Roch 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 his control tightened, faith twisted into fear, and “treatment” became torture. This is the story of the Ant Hill Kids. A story of how belief, isolation, and absolute power created one of the most disturbing cults in modern history.
March 30 · 2 hr 34 min
500 - Blowing Through the Mushroom Murders
The 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, Australia Mushroom Murders, when four family members all became violently ill after eating a lunch prepared by Erin Patterson. A meal laced with death cap mushrooms. This case riveted Australia like few others in recent memory. Listen to find out why!
March 27 · 59 min
Short Suck #54: Lip, Dip, and Die! The Radium Girls
Today 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 consequences. What began as a factory job seen as glamorous and high-paying turned into one of the most grotesque workplace poisoning scandals in American history, leaving behind shattered bodies, corporate lies, and a legal battle that helped change worker safety forever.
March 23 · 3 hr 7 min
499 - The Cosmic Teacher: Rudolf Steiner and the Occult Roots of Waldorf Schools
Rudolf Steiner founded the Waldorf education movement more than a century ago, inspiring thousands of schools around the world with a philosophy centered on creativity, imagination, and holistic learning! But... behind that influential educational system was a man who also claimed clairvoyant insight into Atlantis, reincarnation, and unseen cosmic beings guiding human evolution. Today we dive into the strange life, ambitious ideas, and enduring legacy of the mystic philosopher who blended occult
March 16 · 1 hr 56 min
498 - Mr. Cruel
For 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." Decades later, his crimes remain unsolved, and the questions surrounding Karmein Chan’s murder still haunt Australia. This week on Timesuck, we examine one of the most chilling unidentified offenders in Australian history. Is he still out there? Or did he die after being arrested for other, similar crimes?
March 13 · 1 hr 1 min
Short Suck #53: Icaria!: France’s Failed Communist Utopia in America
In the mid-1800s, long before the Soviet Union or Maoist China, a French political dreamer named Étienne Cabet tried to build a communist utopia... in the heart of America. What followed was a bizarre, ambitious, and often comically disastrous experiment involving disease, deception, authoritarian hypocrisy, failed frontier settlements, buying an abandoned Mormon town, and one of the strangest forgotten social movements in U.S. history.
March 9 · 2 hr 34 min
497 - The Real Lawrence of Arabia
** NOTE! THIS EPISODE WAS RECORDED BEFORE THE RECENT ATTACKS ON IRAN. (That's why I don't mention it) ** World War I turned allies into enemies and enemies into unlikely partners — and no one embodied that chaos more than Lawrence of Arabia. Was he a heroic bridge between cultures, or a brilliant pawn in Britain’s imperial game? This week’s Timesuck explores the daring raids, political deception, and lasting consequences of one man’s role in the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
March 2 · 2 hr 10 min
496 - Sex Strike Nation: The Rise of South Korea’s 4B Movement
This week on Timesuck, we dive into the 4B Movement - a radical feminist movement that originated in South Korea and centers on four simple rules: no sex with men, no dating men, no marriage, and no children. Why are some Korean women reacting to by taking such extreme measures? We’ll explore how this movement formed, why it's resonated, and how this controversial movement leapt from Korean internet forums all the way to the U.S.
February 27 · 57 min
Short Suck #52: Protected Predator: The Johnson City Scandal
A serial predator drugs women, keeps a list of victims, and somehow keeps slipping through the cracks — while the people meant to stop him sure do appear to keep looking the other way. This week, we follow one relentless prosecutor as she pulls at a thread that unravels disturbing alleged corruption, institutional failure, and a justice system that seems more interested in protecting itself than protecting victims.
February 23 · 2 hr 57 min
495 - The Watts Family Murders
When a wife and two young children vanish, the internet’s favorite theory shows up fast: it’s always the husband. This week on Timesuck, we dig into the horrifying Chris Watts case - a story of appearances, assumptions, so, SO many Thrive supplements, and a seemingly normal man whose life imploded in the most unthinkable way.
February 16 · 2 hr 26 min
494 - Nothing Is Over! Ned Kelly and the Most Insane Shootout in Australian History
He was Australia’s most infamous bushranger - a working-class rebel to some, a violent murderer to others. This week on Timesuck, we dive into the brutal, myth-soaked life of Ned Kelly, his war with the police, and the armored showdown that sealed his place in history.
February 13 · 1 hr 1 min
Short Suck #51: Greatest Slave Rebellion in History: The Haitian Revolution
In this Short Suck, we dive into the Haitian Revolution - the only truly successful large-scale slave revolt in human history - where the enslaved people of Saint-Domingue rose up, burned France's “cash machine” to the ground, and then fought France, Spain, and Britain for more than a decade to create Haiti. It’s a brutal, twisty, holy shit how do we not already know this story full of battlefield genius, betrayals, and legendary speeches.
February 9 · 2 hr 38 min
493 - The Gloriavale Cult: Hell Disguised as Heaven
In this episode of Timesuck, we’re heading to New Zealand to explore Gloriavale - a so-called “Heaven on Earth” founded by charismatic preacher Neville Cooper, where obedience to God somehow turned into obedience to one very, VERY creepy man. What began as a utopian Christian commune devolved into total control, forced labor, and a lot of creepy sexual stuff. And this community is still there.
February 2 · 2 hr 49 min
492 - The Moors Murders
From 1963 to 1965, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley carried out one of the most disturbing crime sprees in British history, abducting, torturing, and murdering children in and around Manchester before burying them out on the bleak, desolate moors. We break down the psychology, partnership, and pure moral rot behind the Moors Murders—and examine how two people fed each other’s darkness until it consumed innocent lives and horrified an entire nation.
January 26 · 2 hr 50 min
491 - The Good, the Bad, and Corporate Greed: American Healthcare Explained
Whoo BOY! This week's episode is packed with info and stats. How did the US healthcare system get so expensive and complicated? Is it still better than some form of universal care? Throwing a lot of history and stats at you today, and comparing our model to the healthcare models of some other countries to show that there are other ways. Ways far cheaper for the average citizen that work as well as ours. So... why don't we change?
January 23 · 1 hr 3 min
Short Suck #50: Presumed Guilty: The Duke Lacrosse Scandal
In this week's Short Suck, we revisit the 2006 Duke Lacrosse scandal—the case that felt like an open-and-shut story of privilege and violence… until the facts started falling apart, the DNA didn’t match, and the real rot turned out to be the rush to convict. It’s a brutal look at how media narratives, campus outrage, and a DA chasing votes can turn “everyone knows what happened” into one of the most infamous examples of what happens when due process gets trampled.

Timesuck with Dan Cummins

Short Suck #56: Triple Axel, Triple Chaos: The Rise and Fall of Tonya Harding

503 - Lemurians, Lizard People, and Lies: Ramtha’s School Exposed

502 - Help Me Before I Kill: The Chilling Story of Eddie Cole

Short Suck #55: Stolen History: The British Museum Debate

501 - The Ant Hill Kids: Most Brutal Cult Ever?

500 - Blowing Through the Mushroom Murders

Short Suck #54: Lip, Dip, and Die! The Radium Girls

499 - The Cosmic Teacher: Rudolf Steiner and the Occult Roots of Waldorf Schools

498 - Mr. Cruel

Short Suck #53: Icaria!: France’s Failed Communist Utopia in America

497 - The Real Lawrence of Arabia

496 - Sex Strike Nation: The Rise of South Korea’s 4B Movement

Short Suck #52: Protected Predator: The Johnson City Scandal

495 - The Watts Family Murders

494 - Nothing Is Over! Ned Kelly and the Most Insane Shootout in Australian History

Short Suck #51: Greatest Slave Rebellion in History: The Haitian Revolution

493 - The Gloriavale Cult: Hell Disguised as Heaven

492 - The Moors Murders

491 - The Good, the Bad, and Corporate Greed: American Healthcare Explained

Short Suck #50: Presumed Guilty: The Duke Lacrosse Scandal