Very Special Episodes

When two of the most influential figures in film become the personal hostages of Kim Jong Il, they have two objectives: to elevate North Korean cinema on the world stage, and to plot their daring escape.
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We're hard at work on our next season of new VSEs. If you've already heard this one, email us — veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com — and we'll recommend something else you can listen to instead!
Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Adrien Behn and edited by Carmen Borca-Carrillo at Acast Creative Studios
Produced by Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs
Mixing and Mastering by Chris Childs
Additional Editing by Mary Dooe
Fact-Checking by Austin Thompson
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English
SOURCES + FURTHER READING/LISTENING/VIEWING
A Kim Jong-Il Production, by Paul Fisher
The Observant, by Ravi Mangla
Michelle Cho, assistant professor, University of Toronto
"Are You There Godzilla? It's Me, Kim Jong Il" [Ridiculous Crime podcast]
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, U.S. State Department
Big Brother: North Korea's Forgotten Prince [An iHeart Original Podcast]
"Kim Jong Il, the Director he Kidnapped, and the Awful Godzilla Film They Made Together" [Mental Floss Magazine]
The Korean War [PBS]
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Velvalee Dickinson ran a doll shop on Madison Avenue that catered to wealthy collectors. But in one of the strangest espionage cases of World War II, Dickinson's clients had no idea she was using correspondence about doll orders to transmit coded U.S. military intelligence to the Japanese.
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We're hard at work on our next season of new VSEs. If you've already heard this one, email us — veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com — and we'll recommend something else you can listen to this week!
Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Joe Pompeo
Produced by Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Jonathan Washington and Josh Fisher
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Research and Fact-Checking by Joe Pompeo and Austin Thompson
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English
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Hello, Very Special listeners! Today we're dipping into the archives of Zaron's other podcast, Ridiculous Crime, to share a tale of dog excellence from World Cup history.
In 1966, England hosted the FIFA World Cup, an incredible honor and landmark moment for English football. Just one problem: someone made off with the cup itself just weeks before the start of play. How can you have a global tournament with no prize? How can England save face? Enter Pickles, the pooch with a nose for sirloin and purloined goods.
Check out Ridiculous Crime wherever you're getting your podcasts these days. Thanks to Zaron, Elizabeth, and Producer Dave for letting us share this one!

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Thanks to her McDonald’s fortune, Joan Kroc was one of the world’s wealthiest people. And she was determined to die nearly broke.
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Special thanks to our guests Lisa Napoli, Dick Starmann, and Stephanie Bergsma. Go check out Lisa's excellent book Ray & Joan.
Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Jake Rossen
Senior Producer is Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs
Additional Editing by Mary Dooe
Mixing and Mastering by Josh Fisher
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English
You can always reach us at veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Comic Sans is a punchline. A design crime. Cultural shorthand for bad taste. But the notorious font's legacy isn't one of failure. Because Comic Sans succeeded in ways its critics never saw coming.
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Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Bess Lovejoy
Senior Producer is Josh Fisher
Story Editor is Virginia Prescott
Editing and Sound Design by Jesse Nighswonger
Mixing and Mastering by Josh Fisher
Research and Fact-Checking by Austin Thompson and Bess Lovejoy
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English
Today's episode was produced in partnership with School of Humans. For School of Humans, Producers are Emilia Brock and Edeliz Perez. Executive Producer is Virginia Prescott.
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