We Aren't Really Strangers (GET INTO OUR VAN)

Going Down The Rabbit Hole (Responsibly)

We have opinions about conspiracy theories, and Tyson wore his Illuminati shirt for the occasion.  This week, we are running through a stack of conspiracy theories — mainstream, weird, plausible, and deeply unhinged — and rating each one on a scale of Nah, Hmm, Actually Though, and I Need to Lie Down. With a special bonus category Tyson invented on the spot: I Just Really Want This to Be True. Before we get into the bingo, we spend some time on the bigger question of why conspiracy theories are so compelling in the first place. Having grown up inside a high-control religious group, we recognize the machinery of them more than most. The need to feel like you have special knowledge nobody else does. The us-versus-them certainty. The way any evidence against the theory somehow becomes proof of how deep it goes. These are familiar concepts, and they make us both more skeptical and more curious than the average person.  Then we get into it. The Simpsons predicting the future. The moon landing (hell nah…just stop). The JFK assassination…although Umbrella Academy did clear that one up. 9/11 as an inside job. Chemtrails, which turns out to be more documented than Kaina expected. The Illuminati, the lizard people, and Denver International Airport, which we both agree, leaned into it brilliantly. Government alien cover-ups and the congressional hearings that made this one significantly less fringe. COVID19 and vaccines. 5G towers, which Tyson dismantles completely and correctly using electromagnetic wave science so we can all sleep better at night. Epstein didn't kill himself (obviously). The Wayfair furniture listings and how Jeffrey Epstein’s emails give it more weight. Birds aren't real. Chuck E. Cheese pizza. Zuckerberg as a lizard person (compelling evidence: his face). We close with the ones that stopped being conspiracy theories because they turned out to be true: COINTELPRO, MKUltra, Operation Mockingbird, the tobacco industry's cancer cover-up, and Purdue Pharma's very intentional opioid crisis. The pattern we keep coming back to: the theories that turn out to be true almost always involve money and power protecting themselves. The ones that don't tend to require increasingly elaborate explanations for why there's no evidence. Moral of the story: never let your certainty get too strong. Approach everything with curiosity, not your self-righteous ego. Mainstream media is failing us and a lot of what fills the gap is garbage, but some of it isn't. And just remember folks, if the government could – they would, and they probably are. Comment your favorite conspiracy theories below. We want to know. ⚠️ CONTENT NOTE/TW: This episode contains discussion of child abuse networks and related conspiracy theories.  ---------------------------------------- * Intro Music: Synthetic Prayer by JKN Music * Fan Art: Willow Roxas | Ekath Art * Tune into future episodes on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts!  * Follow Kaina on TikTok @cosmerecat for more Cosmic Donut Holes content! * Business email: cosmicdonutholes@gmail.com [cosmicdonutholes@gmail.com]

Homeschooled Losers Tell All

Picture this: a 15-year-old girl walks into a high school cafeteria for the first time, sees everyone already deep in their friend groups, and quietly takes her lunch to the bathroom instead. That girl was Kaina. And yes, we're blaming homeschooling…at least partially. This week we're doing something we've never actually sat down and done before: comparing notes on what our homeschooling experiences were really like, why they were so wildly different from each other, and what the long tail of that looks like 10-15 years later. Tyson had engaged parents, a solid curriculum, science kits, Lincoln Logs, and regular homeschool co-op meetups. Kaina had a computer, unsupervised hours, and quickly discovered that if you get about 80% of the answers right, nobody notices you cheated. The gap between those two outcomes tells you almost everything you need to know about what homeschooling actually is: a mirror of whoever's running it. We get into the cult years: how joining a high-control religious group at young ages respectively transformed homeschooling from an educational choice into an instrument of sheltering. The books disappeared, music had to be pre-approved, birthday parties were a hard no. We also dig into why, despite all of that, Kaina still wants to homeschool her own kids someday, and what doing it “right” would actually require. Then we turn to the public school system, which is not exactly offering a compelling alternative right now. We cover the data: 30% of 12th graders who can't demonstrate basic reading proficiency, teacher burnout at record highs, seven hours a month lost to behavioral management instead of instruction, a dwindling Department of Education that is becoming a political weapon. Neither option is clean. So what do you actually do? Moral of the story: both options kind of suck in different ways. But intentional parenting is the variable that matters most in either one. Do your research, unpack your own stuff before you pass it to your kids, and for the love of everything — tell them why. ⚠️ CONTENT NOTE: This episode contains candid discussion of growing up in a high-control religious group, disordered eating, and the long-term effects of sheltered upbringings. Discussed openly and honestly, not gratuitously. ---------------------------------------- 📚 RESOURCES MENTIONED: * Barbara Oakley: Learning How to Learn [https://barbaraoakley.com/] * StarTalk Podcast [http://startalkmedia.com/] with Neil deGrasse Tyson (fluid dynamics / parenting bit) * Intro Music: Synthetic Prayer by JKN Music * Fan Art: Dominik Broniek | Steve Argyle * Tune into future episodes on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts!  * Follow Kaina on TikTok @cosmerecat for more Cosmic Donut Holes content! * Business email: cosmicdonutholes@gmail.com [cosmicdonutholes@gmail.com]

A PARADE OF HORRIBLES: First Read Brain Dump

⚠️ FULL SPOILER WARNING: If you haven't finished Book 8: A Parade of Horribles, SCRAM. SKERDADDLE. We’ll see you after you've recovered. Still here? Good….NOW WTF WAS THAT?! After the early access version Dungeon Crawler Carl Book VIII on Matt Dinniman's Patreon left us reeling, we decided to open up the recording studio, pull up our Kindle highlights, and just…ramble at each other in a state of delirious awe for an hour while we recount all the best (and craziest) moments. This is not our deep, intelligent, fully theorized breakdown — that one is coming — this is the book hangover episode. The "wait, I forgot THAT happened?!" episode. The "oh god, thanks for reminding us this is a tragedy Matt” episode. We cover the chaos from Donut absolutely dismantling Chandra in chapter one (she will never recover), to the Scolopendra twist that had us screaming at our Kindles, to the glorious ending that was classic Carl & Donut. We dig into the Eris coin and why Mordecai's prophecies have us stressed, revisit Dong and Corcunda's final charge (RIP), mourn the group getting smaller, make fun of the Maestro, try and mostly fail to pronounce Chachi's full name, and spiral into the early workings of theories for the next two books.  We also shout out the Soundbooth Theater Audio Immersion Tunnel experience for anyone who thinks the regular audiobooks can't be topped (they can, go listen), remember why the karaoke bar fight scene is peak DCC, and make our best guesses about what the Ascendancy Battles on Floor 12 are going to look like. Also, don't pirate Matt's books, you absolute jerks. His Patreon link is below — give the man his well deserved coins. SPOILER WARNING: All the spoilers. Every single one. For all eight books. * Matt Dinniman's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/dinniman [https://www.patreon.com/dinniman] * Intro Music: Synthetic Prayer by JKN Music * Fan Art: phantom_nisnow on Instagram (DCC) & Andrew Mar (DCC) * Tune into future episodes on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts!  * Follow Kaina on TikTok @cosmerecat for more Cosmic Donut Holes content! * Business email: cosmicdonutholes@gmail.com [cosmicdonutholes@gmail.com] ---------------------------------------- Note: This episode is a candid, humorous exploration of storytelling, pop culture, and two people attempting accents they have no business attempting. Viewer discretion is advised for explicit language, mature themes, and crimes against the Russian language.

We Went in Blind and One of Us Found Satan

We gave each other books. We couldn't read the back cover. We couldn't Google it. We just had to start reading and trust the other person completely. This is either a beautiful act of sibling love or a war crime, depending on the book. Tyson handed Kaina The Descent by Jeff Long, which is a 1999 horror-thriller-sci-fi hybrid that begs the question: what if hell was literally underground, humanity found it, and then did exactly what you'd expect humanity to do about it? Kaina handed Tyson One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig, a romantasy with one of the most elegantly balanced magic systems we've ever read, a nightmare that lives in someone's head, and poetry that actually earns its place in the story. We break down both books — what surprised us, what we loved, what hit differently than expected — and Kaina reflects on why reading a book literally about Satan and the subterranean underworld lands completely differently after deconstructing the hell mythology you grew up afraid of. (Spoiler: it was a lot more fun that way.) We also get into why One Dark Window's magic system is doing something genuinely special with the idea of cost and balance, and why both of us would absolutely read more from these authors. Plus: Tyson reports live from Berlin's May Day celebrations, we spiral into a conversation about community, individualism, and why more Americans need to leave America for a little while, the secret garden theory of creative projects, a digital detox that proved nobody was paying attention anyway, and the AI chatbot episode of John Oliver that had us feeling things. We're also announcing the Book Club Blind Date as an official recurring format. Next time, we'll announce the books ahead of time so you can read along with us. ⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: We discuss plot points from The Descent by Jeff Long and One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig, including somewhat significant reveals. If you haven't finished either and want to go in as blind as we did, you've got about 18 minutes of initial yapping before we get into it. * Intro Music: Synthetic Prayer by JKN Music * Fan Art: Annie Doyon on Substack | Clay Storks on Tumblr * Tune into future episodes on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts!  * Follow Kaina on TikTok @cosmerecat for more Cosmic Donut Holes content! * Business email: cosmicdonutholes@gmail.com [cosmicdonutholes@gmail.com] ---------------------------------------- Note: This episode is a candid, humorous exploration of storytelling, pop culture, and two people attempting accents they have no business attempting. Viewer discretion is advised for explicit language, mature themes, and crimes against the Russian language.

We Aren't Really Strangers (GET INTO OUR VAN)

In true Cosmic Donut Holes fashion, this episode is unhinged, unplanned, and unscripted. It's sweet. It's us. Now…get in the van. This episode starts strong with Kaina getting a phone call mid-recording that sends her into orbit — she's leaving the hellscape that is rural Louisiana. From there, it's the kind of hang we live for: A debrief of Tyson's weekend at Filthy Dirty Southern Fusion (a birthday party for festival organizers that involved a lot of butts), a crown vs. a roast beef sandwich, and the saga of trying to socialize post-acid on zero sleep while a friend informs you that you sound like "a caveman who's just encountered humanity for the first time." Then Kaina pulls out the We're Not Really Strangers card game — and we learn things. Who Tyson thinks Kaina's celebrity crush is (valiant guess). Whether plants thrive or die in Kaina's care (for the love of God never ask her to babysit your plants). Who ate lunch in a bathroom freshman year of high school, and why Zooey Deschanel in Yes Man is apparently someone's entire personality. We also somehow end up in a full Game of Thrones autopsy, a Valyrian language detour, and how you too can play video games at school. You’re welcome. SPOILER WARNING: Brief discussion of Game of Thrones ending (you've been warned since 2019, honestly). * Matt Dinniman's Patreon (go read Book 8 early access RIGHT MEOW): https://www.patreon.com/dinniman [https://www.patreon.com/dinniman] * Intro Music: Synthetic Prayer by JKN Music * Fan Art: @thedoodlemancer on TikTok * Tune into future episodes on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts!  * Follow Kaina on TikTok @cosmerecat for more Cosmic Donut Holes content! * Business email: cosmicdonutholes@gmail.com [cosmicdonutholes@gmail.com] ---------------------------------------- Note: This episode is a candid, humorous exploration of storytelling, pop culture, and two people attempting accents they have no business attempting. Viewer discretion is advised for explicit language, mature themes, and crimes against the Russian language.