Madigan's Pubcast, EP29: "A Fake Heiress, Richard Simmons, & The Wu-Tang Saga"

Kathleen opens the show drinking a Rhinegeist Cheetah Lager from Cincinnati, telling her Termites stories of drinking in Cincy in the Mount Adams neighborhood.

A QUEST FOR RANCH: “Do you have any Ranch?!” In Kathleen’s search for the most delicious Ranch available she samples Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning, which she has been told is delicious on popcorn.

“BAD GOOD FOOD”: In her quest for new and delicious not-so-nutritious junk food, Kathleen samples Hot & Spicy Cheez-It crackers, which she won’t recommend. She then samples Hershey’s Kisses Tie Dye wrapped, and then moves on to describe tasting Burger King’s Fish Sandwich.

UPDATE ON KATHLEEN’S QUEEN’S COURT: In an update on her Queens, Kathleen tells listeners to follow Tanya Tucker’s Instagram account, as she has been posting from her home state of Texas amidst winter storm Uri. Kathleen loves Tanya’s animation and tenacity, and thinks she makes the best Texas skinny margarita on the planet.

Kathleen’s primary queen Dolly Parton has asked Tennessee lawmakers to withdraw a bill that would erect a statue of her on the capitol grounds in Nashville, noting that in the current state of the world she feels as though their attention could be better spent elsewhere, but appreciates the gesture. Dolly has also confirmed that she will appear in a cameo in her friends’ Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin’s Netflix show Grace and Frankie, which will reunite the trio onscreen for the first time since their 80’s smash “9 to 5.”

WHERE IS RICHARD SIMMONS: As a follow up to Episode 28 where Kathleen discusses the “Free Britney” movement supporting the release of Britney Spears from her father’s conservatorship, she moves on to ponder WHERE is 80’s fitness guru Richard Simmons? Simmons has been out of the public eye since 2014, and Kathleen discusses rumors as to why, including time to recover from a sex change procedure, extreme self-isolation or that he is being held against his will by his housekeeper.

FEDERAL RESERVE MAKES ROOM FOR DeFi: Kathleen is thrilled that the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis is formally reviewing Ethereum-based decentralized finance (DeFi.) The Fed’s report comes with warnings about smart contract security, scalability and other risk factors involved in this revolutionary type of investment, but also touts the exciting opportunities and potential that is on the horizon. Kathleen purchases more Ethereum via her Coinbase app, and relates the simplicity and high risk of Cryptocurrency investment to buying $20 scratch-off tickets.

ANIMALS MOST LIKELY TO KILL YOU BY STATE: Kathleen continues with the segment Animals Most Likely to Kill You (By State), as reported by the Center for Disease Control. If you live in New Hampshire watch out for dogs, New Mexico has an immense amount of deer accidents, and apparently New Jersey has an aggressive coyote issue.

FAKE HEIRESS: In support of her mild obsession regarding the motives of famous con artists, Kathleen discusses the known life of Anna Sorokin, a con woman who changed her. identity to Anna Delvey. Sorokin was born in Russia and raised in Germany, and through a series of conniving events ended up in NYC presenting herself as a rogue German heiress and conning numerous banks (including Citi Bank) and many wealthy and connected friends and acquaintances out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Kathleen reviews the interests of all parties connected to Delvey, and recommends listening to the BBC’s 6-episode podcast series “Fake Heiress.”

90-YEAR-OLD BUYS WSJ ADS TO GET AT&T’S ATTENTION: Kathleen laughs reading an article about 90-year-old North Hollywood resident Aaron Epstein, a loyal AT&T customer since 1960. Being frustrated with the speed of his internet service and getting nowhere with AT&T’s customer service, he spent $10K and placed two ads in the Wall Street Journal on Feb. 3 to vent his frustrations.

MATTRESS MACK: Kathleen has been following the activities of Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale for weeks now, both with his Super Bowl LV bet taking Tom Brady and his Bucs in the under, and last week as Winter Storm Uri swept Texas and the entire state lost power. McIngvale opened his furniture stores for Houstonians seeking shelter when shelters were overrun, and Kathleen (and her mom) can’t say enough about his generous spirit.

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK: Kathleen tells listeners to watch the full series of the HBO series “The Lady and The Dale” and pay attention to the LA reporter in the docuseries, Dick Carlson. She also HIGHLY recommends “Wu-Tang: An American Saga” on Hulu.

MYSTERY OF THE WEEK: Kathleen reviews the mystery of the South Dakota Attorney General, Jason Ravnsborg, who hit and killed a man with his car while returning from a Republican Party dinner and no other details have been released.