On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we look at MTV. This little upstart cable channel first aired in 1981with very little content but a big dream. It fulfilled those dreams and then some. There would be no 1980s culture without MTV. The music, the fashion, the videos, all of it was first seen here. It low-key launched the careers of people like Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Spike Jonez, and John Stewart. It gave us Madonna’s sexy lace, Prince’s swagger, hair metal, music news, and Beavis and Butthead. This one will be a walk down memory lane and an exploration of one of the greatest cultural juggernauts of the past forty years. Visit Our Sources: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mtv-launches https://www.mtvpress.com/networks/mtv-history https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTV https://theconversation.com/40-years-of-mtv-the-channel-that-shaped-popular-culture-as-we-know-it-165365 https://www.everything80spodcast.com/the-history-of-mtv/ https://watchmojo.com/video/id/9782 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Concert_Hall Videos before MTV The Very First Two Hours of MTV.
On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the king of the chase scene, Burt Reynolds. Reynolds gave us classic movies such as Smokey and the Bandit, Cannonball Run, and Hooper and became an icon and sex symbol for decades. From the disturbing Deliverance to the porn-heavy Boogie Nights, he ended having a wide range as an actor. He fell off the scene for a while and had a resurgence and Oscar nomination in the late 90s. What director did he hate working with? What did Marlon Brando say about Burt Reynolds? Why did he turn down the role of James Bond when Sean Connery quit the franchise? Listen, laugh, learn. Visit Our Sources: https://www.biography.com/actor/burt-reynolds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burt_Reynolds https://burtreynolds.com/ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/burt-reynolds-dead-deliverance-boogie-nights-star-was-82-831093/ https://dos.myflorida.com/cultural/programs/florida-artists-hall-of-fame/burt-reynolds/ https://fanbuzz...
On this episode of The Sofa King Podcast, we talk about one of the greatest actors of all time, Christopher Lee. This legend played Dracula and was in little known film series such as James Bond, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars. What’s more impressive is that in WWII he became a spy, a Nazi hunter, and a member of the infamous SOE—The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. After he mastered spy craft and acting, he also mastered thrash metal music, becoming the oldest musician to ever break the Billboard Top Twenty with his song “Jingle Hell.” You know his face and his rolls, but you don’t know Christopher Lee and his crazy back story. Visit Our Sources: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/11/christopher-lee https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/christopher-lee-3395.php https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Lee https://gizmodo.com/22-incredible-facts-about-the-life-and-career-of-sir-ch-1710917366 https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Christopher_Lee
On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall. This wall was both a symbolic and physical barrier between Soviet and Western ideals for over 30 years. After WWII, Germany was divided into four parts, each run by a different nation. Berlin was divided as well, and it served as the most important border-crossing and battle ground for the Cold War. After thousands of citizens fled the Soviet-let East, they built The Berlin Wall which divided the city in two. Hundreds were killed as guards had orders to shoot to kill, but eventually, the wall came down. What accidental press conference helped destroy the wall? Who was Harald Jager, and what part did he play? What does a mine field, archery, and fake planes have to do with one family’s escape? Listen, laugh, learn. Visit Our Sources: History Channel’s Take https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-was-the-berlin-wall-and-how-did-it-fall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_the_Berl...
On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we look at the wonderful world of ants. Experts suggest that there are up to ten quadrillion ants alive on the planet, roughly 25% of all life on earth. They are highly organized, intelligent, social, and…creepy. They talk to each other via sound and pheromones. Ants grow crops, they go to war, and they even farm aphids to milk them for honeydew. Their size, scale, venom, and strength is wildly divergent. Their nests and colonies are so complex that they baffle architects, so they are sure to baffle the three of us. If you want to hear if Brent thinks they are machines, give this one a listen! Visit Our Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/animals/insects/ant-facts/ https://www.toptenreviews.com/the-worlds-most-dangerous-ants https://canyouactually.com/researchers-poured-10-tons-of-cement-into-this-ant-metropolis-then-dug-it-up/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eusociality Aphids and Honeydew Ant Co...
On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about Satan. It only made logical sense for our 666th episode to talk about Lucifer, the Prince of Lies. So where do his origins begin? As with most Christian beliefs, he starts pre-Christianity as a series of malevolent gods and human adversaries who merge to one supernatural baddie. He is never physically described in the Bible, and he is not even said to be the actual snake that tempts Adam and Eve. The modern idea of a giant red, horned beast with a tale comes from centuries of Christian evolution, not much of which is canonical. But he remains one of the most important beings in human mythology, a figure of evil and deceit, bent to topple god and destroy all that’s good. And he’s not even running for president… Visit Our Sources: https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/history-of-the-devil https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satan https://www.livescience.com/56341-where-did-satan-come-from.html https://www.washingtonpo...
This is one of the largest public government retractions and alleged cover-ups that exist in the realm of conspiracy theory. The actual facts are that a press release came out from the US Air Force on July 8, 1947, claiming a “flying saucer” crashed thirty miles outside of Roswell. Then, on July 9, the Air Force changed their story and infamously said it was a weather balloon. The story pretty much died down from there until 1978 when UFOlogist and author, Stanton Fieldman, reopened the case and gave it national attention. So what really happened on the sheep ranch outside of Roswell? Was it as the first witness William “Mac” Brazel claimed with his simple description of a debris field? Was it what the later alleged witnesses claimed—wild stories of metal with memory, substances that couldn’t be broken or burned, and a mysterious light-weight I-Beam that had purple unidentified glyphs scrawled on it? Why did the Air force change their story? What is Project Mogul, and why migh...
On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we look at the truly gonzo life of the one and only Hunter S Thompson. Thompson was a journalist who became famous for his crazed drug-fueled antics and anti-authority stance. Born in Louisville, Kentucky to a middle class family, his father died while he was a teenager, and his mother was left very poor and became an alcoholic. During this time, Thompson started writing, and he had such a skill for it, he was allowed to join an elite writing group normally left for the wealthy. He also fell in with a bad crowd and started experimenting with drugs and started committing crimes ranging from shoplifting to vandalism to robbery. The robbery landed him in jail, and the judge said he could go to prison or join the military. Thompson decided on the Air Force. He career there was short, and he was discharged in two years for lack of discipline and subordinating other airmen. Once out, he began his career as a journalist, working as a copy boy for T...
On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about Sputnik. Sputnik was the first man-made satellite to ever orbit the earth, and it started the Space Race and made the Cold War grow even hotter. It was designed by the Soviet Union using a system of interlocking governmental agencies. Sputnik was far ahead of its time, and it freaked America (and the rest of the world) out. The response was the formation of NASA and DARPA and the race to the moon. Why was public reaction positive, even for most Americans? How did a dog turn the tide on the Soviet win? What impact did it have on the world? Listen, laugh, learn. Visit Our Sources: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/sputnik-launched https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/sputnik https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1 https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/online-documents/sputnik-and-space-race https://www.space.com/17563-sputnik.html https://history.nasa.gov/sputnik-timeline.html Cool Sputnik Video
On this episode of The Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the Grandfather of Glam, David Bowie. He was hands down one of the most important artists of his life time, experimenting with every new style of music and instrument out there. He was one of the main influencers on the androgyny of the 1980s, and his most famous persona, Ziggy Stardust, was a creature that made fun of itself. He was an often obsessed artists who would create a bizarre musical character and inhabit it on and off stage (even hiding his urine from wizards at one point. Honestly.). Listen to this one as we talk about one of the greatest singer songwriters of all time. Visit Our Sources: https://www.biography.com/musician/david-bowie https://www.davidbowie.com/about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bowie https://stacker.com/stories/13641/david-bowie-life-story-you-may-not-know https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/522704/15-fascinating-facts-about-david-bowie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thin_White_Duke#Contr...