The Shallow End

What happens when criminals and thrill-seekers make spectacularly bad decisions?

In this classic episode of The Shallow End, an 82-year-old grandmother in Rochester, New York, proves that appearances can be dangerously misleading when a late-night home invader discovers she's an award-winning champion powerlifter. Armed with whatever she can get her hands on, Willie Murphy delivers a lesson he'll never forget.

Then, we head to Italy, where a tourist ignores warning signs, climbs a restricted trail on Mount Vesuvius, drops his phone into the crater... and decides it's worth risking his life to get it back. The result is a rescue operation, an arrest, and another reminder that social media isn't always worth the photo.

Along the way, JG and Lindsay talk about Pompeii, the terrifying power of Vesuvius, selfie-related accidents, earthquake myths, and why making good decisions is harder than it should be.

In this episode:

Willie Murphy's incredible home invasion story

The champion bodybuilder grandmother who fought back

A Mount Vesuvius selfie gone horribly wrong

The destruction of Pompeii and the volcano's ongoing danger

Selfie accidents and the risks people take for social media

Earthquake stories, myths, and near-disasters

If you enjoy unbelievable true stories, strange news, dark humor, and people making astonishingly poor life choices, dive into The Shallow End.

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This week on The Shallow End, one innocent armadillo proves that sometimes nature really does fight back. After a Texas homeowner decides the best way to deal with a wandering armadillo is with a .38 revolver, the laws of physics intervene in spectacular fashion, leaving him with a shattered jaw, a helicopter ride, and one of the strangest wildlife stories ever reported.

Then it's off to Mississippi, where police stop a car creeping through town at an unusually slow speed—only to discover the driver is completely naked. What begins as an awkward traffic stop quickly spirals into an investigation involving marijuana, illegally modified firearms, multiple law enforcement agencies, and the timeless reminder that if you're going to break the law, breaking several at once is rarely the best strategy.

Along the way, the boys swap stories about emergency room visits, stubborn pets, locked cars, and the kinds of everyday mishaps that somehow become family legends. It's another collection of bizarre true stories, spectacularly bad decisions, and the kind of real-life absurdity that proves you could never make this stuff up.

In this episode:

The Texas armadillo shooting that ricocheted into internet legend

Why one bullet changed a homeowner's life forever

A naked driver, marijuana, and illegal firearm modifications in Mississippi

Listener stories involving dogs, locked vehicles, and accidental chaos

True news, dark humor, and the wonderfully ridiculous side of everyday life

If you love strange headlines, unbelievable true stories, odd news, and comedy podcasts that find the humor hiding in real life, dive into The Shallow End.
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A simple photo of dinner turned into a financial nightmare after one woman accidentally shared a restaurant QR code online—and internet trolls responded. It's one of the strangest examples yet of how everyday technology can go spectacularly wrong.

Then, a heartbreaking crime takes an unexpected turn. After a thief steals the cash from two young siblings' lemonade stand, their community rallies in an extraordinary display of generosity, transforming a $40 loss into an example of proving that kindness can sometimes overwhelm cruelty.

Along the way, JG and Jethro discuss bizarre online scams, food photography gone wrong, Chinese restaurant traditions, the surprising origin of "Husband and Wife Lung Slices," and why humanity still manages to restore your faith in people when you least expect it.

If you enjoy weird news, unbelievable true stories, bizarre internet fails, hilarious conversations, and uplifting real-life moments, you'll love this episode of The Shallow End.

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Some people make mistakes. Others commit to them.

This week on The Shallow End, JG and Jethro dive into two unbelievable true stories where one bad decision somehow keeps getting worse. First, a Florida traffic stop takes an astonishing turn when a routine arrest leads to an X-ray scanner, a mysterious "anomaly," and one of the most creative excuses police have heard in years. Then it's off to New York City, where the Knicks' championship celebration produces an unlikely viral celebrity after a woman allegedly steals a commemorative city trash can—in broad daylight, on camera, and even rides the subway with it.

Along the way, the guys swap stories about Fred Willard's improvisational genius, laugh over patriotic misunderstandings in Scotland, and ask the important questions: How does someone think any of this is going to work?

It's another collection of real news that's stranger than fiction, proving once again that the shallow end of the gene pool is always open.

In this episode:

Florida traffic stop turns into a bizarre cocaine arrest

The New York Knicks championship trash can theft

Viral videos, body cams, and spectacularly poor judgment

Fred Willard, Christopher Guest, and the art of improv

Listener mail from Scotland and more

If you enjoy bizarre true news, strange crime stories, dark humor, and people making spectacularly questionable life choices, you'll feel right at home in The Shallow End.
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From people who think Spain is in South America to someone convinced milk isn't dairy, this episode of The Shallow End dives headfirst into some of the funniest—and most bewildering—examples of internet ignorance ever posted online. Are Americans really getting dumber, or are social media algorithms simply rewarding spectacular confidence?

Then it's off to Florida, where a heated pickleball dispute ends with a bloodied player, felony charges, and a nurse accused of attacking someone with a pickleball paddle after an argument over a game. It's one of those true news stories that somehow gets stranger the more details you learn.

Plus, a listener shares an unforgettable middle-school stunt involving a Huffy bicycle, three flights of concrete stairs, disappearing pants, horrified river rafters, and an injury hidden from his parents for six weeks.

If you enjoy bizarre true news, unbelievable real-life stories, dry humor, and the kind of conversations that make you wonder how humanity has survived this long, you've found your people.

In this episode:


Hilarious examples of viral internet misinformation


Geography, history, and cultural misconceptions


The shocking Florida pickleball assault case


A painfully funny bicycle crash from a listener


The usual questionable life advice from Schnebly & Toth

Subscribe to The Shallow End for weekly true stories, strange news, listener disasters, and comedy from two lifelong radio friends who firmly believe reality is weirder than fiction.
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