The Tipsy Exchange

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The Dancing Plague of 1518: When Dancing Became Deadly | The Tipsy Exchange Feb 22, 2022

Show notes

What's your favorite dance scene in a movie? Pulp Fiction's twist contest? The Office wedding march? That unhinged Ex Machina routine? Dancing is joy, cardio, and endorphins. Well, except for that one Zumba class. We don't talk about that one. But what if dancing was the enemy?

This week, Berly takes us back to Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries, when "dancing mania" swept through towns and villages. Crowds of people, sometimes thousands at a time, danced uncontrollably until they collapsed. There's a bridge that couldn't take the boogie, a group of kids who danced their way between two towns, and outbreaks that spread across country after country. Then comes the big one: in the summer of 1518, one woman stepped into the streets of Strasbourg and started dancing. She didn't stop for days. Soon, others joined her. The city's solution to the problem? Let's just say it was not what we expected. We have questions about the band.

So what caused it? A saint's curse? Something in the bread? The world's longest peer pressure event? We walk through the theories, from the one historians favor to a surprisingly modern case of mass hysteria that proves this kind of thing didn't end in the Middle Ages. Along the way, we have a chat about patron saints, a strong Fleabag detour (Hot Priest, we're still not over it), and a theory about the dancers that's… a little kinky.

This week's toast: Bob Marley reminds us to forget our troubles, sorrows, sickness, and weakness, and just dance. We close the episode with a toast to Frau Troffea and her legendary dance-a-thon. Cheers!

Tell us what you think! Which theory do you buy: curse, ergot, or mass hysteria? What's your all-time favorite movie dance scene? And the most important question: how long could you dance before collapsing? Our answer is about five minutes. Tell us in the comments!

Please drink responsibly.

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The Tipsy Exchange is a comedy podcast where besties Berly and LA pour a drink, raise a toast, and dive into true crime, mysteries, the paranormal, and pop culture, with plenty of tangents along the way. It's like happy hour with your funniest friends. Leave us a review, send us your topic and toast ideas on Twitter and Instagram, and follow the show at thetipsyexchange.com. Cheers!

The 2022 Andy Nominations: Our Most Crush-Worthy Celebrity Men | The Tipsy Exchange Feb 08, 2022

Show notes

They're baaack! Paul Rudd may have won People's Sexiest Man Alive, but let's be honest, our honor is way better. People just says "you're sexy." We have criteria. Welcome to the 2022 Andy Nominations!

If you're new here: it all started with Spartacus star Andy Whitfield. Back before the internet told us everything about everyone, we decided he rescued puppies, read to children, and would never do anything shady. Andy would never. From that beautiful delusion came the Andy factor: a man who's attractive, nice, delightful, and yes, yummy. Before we get to this year's nominees, we honor the man who started it all with a sweet story from someone who knew him.

This year, each host nominates three men. LA brings an Oscar winner with a very calm, very soothing energy (and a surprising college athlete past), an Aussie god who is basically the perfect specimen of a man, and a sitcom sweetheart who turned out to be a sneaky, sexy action star. Berly brings the one she's been obsessed with forever (his haters are wrong and she hates them), a former Spider-Man who is finally getting the love he deserves, and a Star Wars pilot whose hair deserves its own award.

Along the way, you'll hear about SNL sketches, a very delightful Alan Rickman impression, a red carpet moment that broke the internet, and a pandemic web series that gave us all some much-needed good news. You'll also get what may be the most unhinged pickup line we've ever uttered on this podcast. We regret nothing.

This week's toast: Cheers to Andy Whitfield, the man who started it all. Andy forever.

Vote for your favorite! Head to our website and cast your vote for the 2022 Andy. Then tell us in the comments who we missed. Who has the Andy factor on your list? And if one of our nominees doesn't deserve it, how dare you. You don't even know Andy.

Please drink responsibly.

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John Titor and the Man from 3036: Time Travelers or Trolls? | The Tipsy Exchange Jan 25, 2022

Show notes

Remember when we got sidetracked in our Tennant vs. Tenet episode talking about people who claimed to be from the future? Well, we couldn't let it go. This week, Berly and LA investigate self-proclaimed time travelers. Are they visitors from the future, or just some very committed trolls?

Berly kicks things off with a viral TikToker who claimed that by 2027, humanity would be extinct. Then she moves on to the OG of internet time travelers, John Titor. In 2000, he appeared on message boards claiming to be a soldier from 2036 on a mission to 1975. He shared blueprints, blurry photos of his time machine, a list of very specific predictions, and some truly disappointing news about the state of future science. Then he vanished, leaving behind one final piece of advice that sounds a lot like something your dad would say. Why are people still obsessed with him 20 years later? And how many of his predictions came true? You'll have to listen.

Then LA brings a documentary she found while "lurking" on Amazon, about a mysterious man with no fingerprints on record anywhere, who says he came from the year 3036. His vision of the future includes pods, chips, a very long blackout, and a nickname for our current era that's a little too accurate. And the way his story ends? Chills.

Along the way, there's a Conan O'Brien appreciation break, a Gattaca rewatch recommendation, and some thoughts on Sebastian Stan's latest transformation (Pam & Tommy, anyone?). There's also a teaser for our Lord of the Rings episode later this season, plus an unexpected investment strategy for surviving the future: candles.

This week's toast: We skipped the toast this week. Maybe it's waiting for us in 3036?

Tell us what you think! Real time travelers or internet trolls? If you could travel through time, would you go to the past or the future? And if you are from the future, please tell us which stocks to buy. Drop it all in the comments.

Please drink responsibly.

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The Lost Episode: Tim Burton's Batman (1989) Retrospective | The Tipsy Exchange Nov 16, 2021

Show notes

Tell us something, friend. Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight? We haven't. But we did dig up something almost as dangerous: our very first recording, ever.

Before The Tipsy Exchange was The Tipsy Exchange, Berly and LA got inspired (and tipsy) watching BuzzFeed Unsolved and decided they could totally do a podcast. The original plan? A drunken watch-along of Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns. It was a disaster. Editing it nearly broke us. But we kept the recording, and now, for the first time, you can hear it. Welcome to the lost episode.

Before we roll the tape, we catch up on what's changed since then, including Michael Keaton's rumored return to the cowl in The Flash and a Kurt Russell remake we will not be paying to see. Then it's back in time for a deep dive into Batman (1989). We'll tell you about the young comic fan who fought for years to get a dark Batman made when the studio only cared about Superman, and the casting choice that had fans so furious they sent 50,000 letters of protest. There's also the actress Keaton reportedly vetoed (and why), the reels that were stolen right off the set, and the Tim Burton threequel we never got. Plus, a surprising actor who was once in the running to play Batman. We can't picture it either.

Along the way, we coin a very important film term, capeography, and ask the question that still haunts us years later: what is the deal with that giant bowl of popcorn? Watch the movie again and you'll see it. Once you notice it, you can't stop noticing it.

This week's toast: A nostalgic cheers to Batman, Tim Burton, and Michael Keaton's cape, which deserves its own billing. Cheers!

A note on audio: This was our very first recording, so it's rough around the edges. We were rookies, and it shows. Be kind. We've grown!

Tell us what you think! Who's your favorite Batman: Keaton, Bale, Kilmer, Affleck, Pattinson, or (we won't judge) Clooney? Did the popcorn disturb you too? Would you watch a Burton-Keaton Batman 3 if they made it today? Tell us in the comments. And if you enjoyed hearing where it all began, please leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast app. It really helps new listeners find the show.

Please drink responsibly.

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The Curious Cases of Shanti Devi and Dorothy Eady: Real Stories of Reincarnation? | The Tipsy Exchange Nov 02, 2021

Show notes

What if you've been here before? This week, Berly and LA explore reincarnation, the idea that a soul can be reborn in a new body. The definition is so simple, it's our toast.

First, a little background. We discuss the professor who spent decades collecting thousands of children's past-life memories from around the world, and why some of them are so hard to explain away. We also argue about whether vegetables are real (Berly says they aren't; Google it). And we get a reminder that Berly's family will never, ever let her live down "Juneau."

Then we each bring a case. LA tells the story of Shanti Devi, a little girl in 1930s India who told her mother, "You're not my real mama," and then started describing a husband, a home, and a life in a city she'd never visited. When people finally tested her memories, the results were uncanny. (LA would like to apologize in advance for her pronunciations.)

Berly tells the story of Dorothy Eady, a British girl who took a nasty fall as a toddler, woke up a different person, and spent the rest of her life insisting she belonged to ancient Egypt. She didn't just talk about it; she built a whole career around it. And some of what she knew is very hard to explain.

So, do your hosts believe? You'll hear where we land, plus why neither of us wants to come back as a germ, why life as a tiger is less appealing than it sounds, and a creepy Nicole Kidman movie that we both found deeply oogie.

This week's toast: The definition of reincarnation: "The rebirth of a soul in a new body." Simple. To the point. Cheers!

Tell us what you think! Do you believe in reincarnation? Have you ever had a déjà vu moment you couldn't explain, or a kid who said something eerily specific about "before"? Tell us in the comments. We want to hear it. And if this episode got you thinking, please leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast app. It really helps new listeners find the show. In this life and the next.

Please drink responsibly.

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The Legend of Sawney Bean: Scotland's Cannibal Clan | The Tipsy Exchange Oct 19, 2021

Show notes

Halloween is almost here, and your hosts are getting in the spirit! First, a trip down memory lane: a friend's legendary Game of Thrones costume that won a year of free beer, and the Workaholics group costume Berly and LA wore before anyone knew who the Workaholics were. We're still proud. Nobody recognized us. Worth it.

Then it's time for our quarterly true crime episode, and LA is taking us somewhere new: 15th-century Scotland (Hello, McAvoy. Hello, McGregor.). Meet Sawney Bean, a man whose legend makes Hannibal Lecter look downright polite. He and his wife moved into a seaside cave, and they didn't exactly open a bed and breakfast. Over two decades, travelers along the Scottish roads kept disappearing, body parts kept washing up on shore, and the Bean family kept… growing. A lot. In ways we'd rather not describe. By the time a king and 400 men showed up at the cave, what they found was straight out of a horror movie. Which, as it turns out, is exactly what it inspired. You'll find out which one at the end.

Along the way, you'll hear why Berly can't take a Stephen Fry audiobook seriously (thanks, 18th-century vocabulary), a heartfelt appreciation for Hannibal's very charged dynamics, a horror movie whose sound effects still haunt LA, and a reminder that Kurt Russell can still get it. Even as Santa.

Content warning: This episode discusses cannibalism, incest, murder, and graphic historical executions. Please take care while listening. Maybe not over dinner.

This week's toast: We forgot to open with one (again!), so we closed with words of wisdom from Dr. Hannibal Lecter himself: "Whenever feasible, one should always try to eat the rude." Cheers!

Tell us what you think! Do you think the Sawney Bean legend is true, or just a really good Scottish horror story? What's the best Halloween costume you've ever worn? Tell us in the comments. Bonus points if nobody recognized you either. And if you enjoyed this spooky season true crime, please leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast app. It really helps new listeners find the show.

Please drink responsibly.

Sources: https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Sawney-Bean-Scotlands-most-famous-cannibal/

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Jefferson, Texas: A Night in the Most Haunted Town in Texas | The Tipsy Exchange Oct 05, 2021

Show notes

Happy October! To kick off spooky season, Berly and LA hit the road for their first on-location episode in Jefferson, Texas, often called the most haunted town in the state. And yes, we spent the night in a haunted hotel. Recorded on location, in the dark, a little tipsy. What could go wrong?

First, a travel guide. Jefferson is a tiny East Texas town, about a three-hour drive from Dallas, that's packed with history. We'll tell you about a free museum run by a surveyor who kept us talking for 30 minutes (we never got his name), streets lined with antiques, a cute general store, and a barbecue joint whose brisket and sweet potato fries Berly would drive back for. Pro tip: don't go in August. There is no shade. None.

Then we get spooky. We share our ghost tour experience, which came with way more people than expected and one extremely unsettling kid on a bike. (We have a suggestion for how the tour should use him.) Next, we take you inside two historic haunted hotels with completely opposite vibes. One of them would rather you didn't mention the ghosts. The other has a room full of antiques, a creepy doll, and a YouTube channel full of evidence. And we're staying in the room where a famous director reportedly got his luggage thrown back at him. By a chair.

So did anything happen overnight? Let's just say an ice run went sideways, our camera setup failed us, and one of us felt something that may or may not have been ghostly company in the bed. We come back the next morning to report everything. You be the judge.

This week's toast: Two toasts for a road trip episode! We start with a Tom T. Hall line raising a glass to the people who wave and smile along the way. Then we end the trip by toasting yesterday's dreams and drunken toasts, which are today's ghosts. Cheers!

Tell us what you think! Have you been to Jefferson, Texas? Stayed in a haunted hotel? Had your own ghostly experience in a creaky old room? Tell us in the comments. And if you enjoyed tagging along on our road trip, please leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast app. It really helps new listeners find the show. And the ghosts, apparently.

Please drink responsibly.

Visit https://theexcelsiorhouse.com/ or https://www.historicjefferson.com/ for more information on the two main features of this episode.

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Tennant vs. Tenet: Time Travel Science in Doctor Who and Christopher Nolan's Tenet | The Tipsy Exchange Aug 24, 2021

Show notes

Tennant versus Tenet: one is a Time Lord, the other is a Christopher Nolan movie that requires at least three viewings. This week, Berly and LA attempt a scientific discussion about time travel. We want to stress the word "attempt."

Berly takes on Doctor Who and the real science behind traveling through time. Why do some particles seem to age more slowly? What happens if one twin goes to space and the other stays home? (Berly already has her petty comeback ready.) Why is it so much harder to go back in time than forward? And could a wormhole ever be stretched open wide enough for a TARDIS? Some explanations came with very helpful hand gestures that you unfortunately can't see.

Then LA tackles Tenet. What are those turnstiles actually doing, and why is it a little suspicious where the movie claims one is hidden? She also explains the real physics theory that inspired Nolan's inversion concept, and why that backwards fight scene took twice the choreography. Then she tries to make antimatter make sense. It… mostly works.

We also have to mention the sidebars. There's a man who claimed he came from the future, a very suspicious Dairy Queen Blizzard, a campaign for the next Doctor, a Sherlock watching assignment LA will complete, a show we know is bad but can't stop watching, and the real reason your hosts want to move to Switzerland (Switzerland is in Sweden… right? Err… oops). Plus, Berly's new comfort-height toilet. You're welcome.

By the end of the episode, we're both begging our favorite Forbes science writer to come explain it all to us properly. JV Chamary, if you're listening, please call us.

This week's toast: From The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, courtesy of Ford Prefect: "Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so." Don't forget your towel. Cheers!

Tell us what you think! Scientists and Whovians, how'd we do? Can you explain time travel better than we did? (Please. We're begging.) Who should be the next Doctor? And how many times did it take you to understand Tenet? Tell us in the comments. And if this episode made your brain hurt in a good way, please leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast app. It really helps new listeners find the show.

Please drink responsibly.

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True Crime: The 1914 Taliesin Murders at Frank Lloyd Wright's Home | The Tipsy Exchange Aug 10, 2021

Show notes

It's time for our quarterly true crime episode! LA promised this one would be different from our first (you remember Ronald Gene Simmons). This time there's American history involved, and a name you probably know from architecture class, not murder podcasts.

Frank Lloyd Wright is arguably the most famous American architect of the last century (Berly thought he was one of the airplane guys; he is not). LA walks us through the scandal that led Wright to build Taliesin, his Wisconsin home, and the staff who lived and worked there. Then, on one August day in 1914, everything went horribly wrong. What happened at lunch that day, and why? LA pieces together the tension that built up to it, the chaos that followed, and the questions that remain more than a century later.

We also have to talk about the sidebars. There's the legendary horror director who shares a nickname with a key figure in this story, Berly's girl crush on Jessica Chastain (is it narcissism if she looks like you?), and a post-pandemic patience rant we suspect a lot of you will relate to. Plus, Berly has a new strategy for ending relationships that she picked up from this case. It's… not advisable.

And if you're an architecture fan, LA's got some Frank Lloyd Wright recommendations for you, including a very stylish set of cocktail glasses.

Content warning: This episode discusses a mass murder, including the deaths of children, and a suicide attempt. Please take care while listening.

This week's toast: We forgot to open with one (again), so we closed with this: Here's to mental health. We hope you're able to reach out and get the help you need, when you need it. And there's no shame in that. Cheers.

Tell us what you think! Had you ever heard of the Taliesin murders? Do you have a lesser-known true crime story we should cover next quarter? Tell us in the comments. And if you're here for true crime with a side of tipsy tangents, please leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast app. It really helps new listeners find the show.

Please drink responsibly.

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Historical References in Game of Thrones: The Real History Behind Westeros | The Tipsy Exchange Jul 27, 2021

Show notes

Game of Thrones premiered 10 years ago (happy Iron Anniversary!), and your hosts have some things to say. First, a hot take: maybe the final seasons weren't that bad? Berly and LA make their case, and they fully expect you to fight them on it in the comments.

Then we dig into the real history that inspired George R.R. Martin. LA brings a few surprising real-world parallels. There's a legendary kidnapping with roots in ancient Rome, a battle at Blackwater Bay with a very real precedent, and a knight with an iron hand whose catchphrase would make Bender from Futurama proud.

Berly tackles the big one: England's Wars of the Roses, the most referenced historical event in all of Game of Thrones. Who was the real-life Joffrey? Which medieval queen gave Cersei a run for her money? And who were the real Ned Stark, Robb Stark, Roose Bolton, and Daenerys? Some of the parallels are so close it's almost suspicious. The rest are a bloody good history lesson (Spoiler: history had its own Red Wedding energy.)

Along the way, there are sidebars about the greatest scene-stealer in Westeros, what Joffrey's actor has been up to, a Game of Thrones cast member with Hollywood royalty in her family tree, and a deeply sincere appreciation for Robert Downey Jr.'s… posture. Plus, a first look at the cast of House of the Dragon.

This week's toast: A double toast! First, Melisandre: "The night is dark and full of terrors." Then the ever-wise Ser Davos Seaworth, who reminds us that nothing f*cks you harder than time. Ain't that the truth. Cheers!

Tell us what you think! Were the final seasons really that bad? Which historical parallel surprised you the most? Are you excited for House of the Dragon? Tell us in the comments. We know you have opinions. And if you enjoyed this history lesson, please leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast app. It really helps new listeners find the show. The Tipsy Exchange remembers.

Please drink responsibly.

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