Madigan's Pubcast, Episode 8: "Super Pigs, Doll Island, & Russian Jesus"

Kathleen opens the show teasing a forthcoming message from the Grand Termite, drinking a Natural Light tallboy with her peanut snack of the same flavoring and reminiscing about saving up Planters Points as a child to get a free Mr. Peanut plush toy. She is excited about her new Busch Light Dog Brew dog bowl, and will put it to good use when Ron White’s dog Mustard visits again.

“GAS STATION” FOOD: Kathleen finds Natural Light Planter’s Peanuts, a limited edition snack celebrating Mr. Peanut’s 21st birthday which she has paired with her Natty Light beer. As a follow up to Episode 7, she describes the 64 oz. limited edition Old Bay Seasoning Old Bay Hot Sauce that has arrived and she she can’t wait to add to basically everything. Kathleen then delightedly describes the newly released Fudge Brownie M&M’s, which Ron White has polished off on a recent stay at her home.

Kathleen reads a Dolly Parton quote involving beauty and an amusement park.

FANTASY FOOTBALL: Kathleen describes the Fantasy Football league that she’s participating in with a few friends, and the antics produced by a group of fun people who love football but have never managed a Fantasy team.

CRACKER BARREL BREAKING NEWS: Kathleen is thrilled to hear that Cracker Barrel is adding beer, wine, and mimosas to their menu, including to-go mimosas in some locations. She describes Lewis Black’s extreme love for Cracker Barrel, which is the reason why Kathleen gave him a gift certificate for his birthday. She discloses that he’s probably the only person in NYC that has the store’s famous rocking chairs on his porch.

LINDA RONSTADT DOCUMENTARY: Kathleen has always been a big fan of Linda Ronstadt’s music, and is thrilled that a follow up to the 2019 Ronstadt documentary “The Sound of My Voice,” is being released. The new documentary “Linda and the Mockingbirds” documents the singer’s 2019 trip to Mexico with Bay Area performing arts group Los Cenzontles and Jackson Browne.

SUPER PIGS: As a good midwestern person, Kathleen loves pork (specifically bacon or a thin St. Louis pork steak.) She’s fascinated to find out that there are approx. 9 million feral pigs across the US and Canada, and scientists are extremely concerned about the malignant growth of this population. Scientists are referring to the reproduction of these pigs as the “Pig Bomb,” and numbers are rapidly rising due to the fact that these feral pigs can reproduce at just three months old.

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK: Kathleen reviews “The Keepers” on Netflix and gives props to a few women who were students at the Catholic high school in Baltimore where the docuseries takes place where their most beloved nun and teacher is murdered. Kathleen talks about the nuns that she grew up with, and how she is thankful for the positive interactions that she had with them in grade school including a few incidents where Sister Barb caught Kathleen listening to St. Louis Cardinals games on her transistor radio while in Math class.

She’s also working her way through “The Vow” docuseries on HBO Max. The nine-part series focuses on the cult/multilevel-marketing scheme NXIVM, which underneath its self-help veneer, was primarily a sex-trafficking ring for its leaders. Kathleen says that she would never be motivated to follow a cult that is based in Albany because of the intensely cold climate, and would also never follow a leader who couldn’t come up with a name better than “Keith.” Keith pitches Albany as “the new Rome” to potential followers, and although Kathleen always has fun in Albany she disagrees that it resembles Rome. To support her opinion, she tells the brief story of her trip to Rome and Paris with her mom, as was detailed on Comedy Central’s “This Is Not Happening.”

RUSSIAN JESUS: Kathleen makes note of a developing story involving an ex-traffic cop in Siberia who proclaims that he’s Jesus. Sergei Torop, known to his followers as Vissarion the Teacher, or the Jesus of Siberia, has said he experienced an "awakening" when he lost his job in 1989 as the atheist Communist regime was fast unravelling. In 1991, he founded what is now the Church of the Last Testament in a Siberian forest. Followers of Vissarion adhere to a jumble of creeds that draw from Russian Orthodox rites and environmentally friendly values. Kathleen reads from a 2008 article interviewing Vissarion, and provides her colorful commentary regarding his visions and intentions.

MYSTERY OF THE WEEK: Kathleen discusses Mexico’s creepiest tourist destination, the Island of the Dolls. Dolls of various styles and colors are found throughout the island, originally placed by the former owner of the island, Don Julian Santana Barrera. Julian believed that dolls helped to chase away the spirit of a girl drowned years ago. The island is still accessible to visitors who dare to travel to its haunted shores.