Stay ConnectedWhat started as a promotion for a new Atari game would become one of the most controversial moments in ‘80s pop culture, with a central mystery that’s consumed fans for decades: what happened to the missing SwordQuest prizes?
To unlock the biggest mystery in video game history, host Jamie Loftus is going on a treasure hunt 40 years in the making.
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In 1983, a cherubic, homely doll triggered something close to national hysteria. Parents fought in store aisles. Shelves were stripped bare. Even the New York mafia found itself selling children’s toys.
Cabbage Patch Kids went from handmade curiosities to the most coveted object in America — igniting riots, corporate battles, and a moral panic that stretched from suburban malls to federal courtrooms. All in a single Christmas season.
And the frenzy didn’t end when the Kids disappeared from shelves. In an unexpected twist decades later, these dolls would get more care and attention than they ever had before.
Previously on VSE: The Furby Files
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Very special thanks to all our guests! You can hear more of Larry Mazza’s story in his book The Life, available on Amazon.
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Today's episode is a production of iHeartPodcasts and School of Humans.
Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Jake Rossen
Senior Producer is Josh Fisher
Story Editor is Virginia Prescott
Editing and Sound Design by Jonathan Washington
Additional Editing by Mary Dooe
Mixing and Mastering by Josh Fisher
From School of Humans, producers are Emilia Brock and Edeliz Perez
Research and Fact-Checking by Jake Rossen, Virginia Prescott, and Austin Thompson
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Social Clips by Yarberry Media
Executive Producers are Virginia Prescott and Jason English
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In 1979, the world watched as NASA’s 77-ton space station made its fiery plunge back to Earth. When Skylab broke apart over a sleepy Australian town, the falling debris set off a global media frenzy. This is the story of the night the sky actually fell — and the teenager who became an improbable hero.
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On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story each week. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Today's episode is a production of iHeartPodcasts and School of Humans.
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During its first 50 seasons, Saturday Night Live has welcomed legendary actors, superstar athletes, and notable politicians. But for one memorable night in 1977, Lorne Michaels turned the show over to an 80-year-old amateur.
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On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story each week. Follow Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday. Search 'Very Special Episodes' wherever you listen to podcasts.
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A waste management specialist unearths thousands of Atari games buried in a New Mexico landfill. As gaming historians rejoice, he plots to turn Atari’s unwanted trash into cash.
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After decades of speculation, a mysterious source emerges that may solve the mystery of the missing SwordQuest treasures once and for all.
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The trail to find the missing SwordQuest treasures leads back to one of the most controversial figures in Atari history.
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An unreleased SwordQuest game suddenly surfaces online; the fate of the missing prizes undergoes fresh scrutiny by gaming historians.
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Years after SwordQuest came to an abrupt and disappointing end, a gamer makes a surprising discovery in a Brooklyn thrift shop.
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Atari’s financial problems force the company to issue an ultimatum to SwordQuest players—one that may involve a top-secret gaming tournament closed to the public.
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SwordQuest players discover that being video game rock stars comes at a price. Meanwhile, delays in the contest raise suspicions among contestants that Atari may not intend to see it through to the end—and that the prizes may not even exist at all.
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Expert gamers are invited to an all-expenses paid trip to California for the first round of Atari’s SwordQuest contest and a chance at the first treasure: a $25,000 medallion. The problem? Solving the game’s central puzzle will prove nearly impossible.
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In the early 1980s, Atari is one of the biggest entertainment brands in the world and seeks to promote the biggest video game contest to date, promising $150,000 in prizes. But what starts out as a promising adventure quickly devolves into chaos.
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