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The Compendium: An Assembly of Fascinating Things

Kyle Risi & Adam Cox, Bleav
  • 4.8 (100)
  • TRUE CRIME
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

A weekly variety podcast giving you just enough information on a topic to stand your ground at any social gathering. We explore stories from the realms of true crime, history, and incredible people.

  1. John Wayne Gacy: The Real Story Behind the Killer Clown

    MAY 18 • SUBSCRIBER EARLY ACCESS

    John Wayne Gacy: The Real Story Behind the Killer Clown

    John Wayne Gacy was never just a killer clown - he was a respected man hiding mass murder in plain sight. This episode unpacks the real story of John Wayne Gacy, beginning with Robert Piest’s disappearance and the police follow-up that finally cracked the case. We trace Gacy’s earlier assaults, the failures that let him keep offending, the bodies buried under his house, and why the “killer clown” label misses the far more frightening truth. Topics Include robert piest and the disappearance that broke the case the truth behind the killer clown myth john wayne gacy’s double life and public image police failures, parole failures, and missed warnings the crawl space discoveries, confessions, and trial

    1h 34m
  2. Murder in Room 1046: The Strange Death of Roland T Owen

    MAY 11 • SUBSCRIBER EARLY ACCESS

    Murder in Room 1046: The Strange Death of Roland T Owen

    In 1935, a young man using the name Roland T. Owen checked into room 1046 at the President Hotel in Kansas City. By the next day, he had been fatally attacked, and before he died, he insisted that nobody had harmed him. Later identified as Artemis Ogletree, he left behind false names, strange phone calls, missing clothes, and a trail of clues that still does not fully add up. In this episode, we examine the Room 1046 mystery, the President Hotel murder, and why one of America’s strangest cold cases remains unsolved. Topics Include The President Hotel in Kansas City in January 1935 Roland T. Owen and the false identity trail The note to Don and the name Louise The attack inside room 1046 Artemis Ogletree and the letters sent after death Why the Room 1046 case remains unsolved

    1h 18m
  3. Nepal Royal Massacre: The Prophecy Behind a Dynasty’s Downfall

    MAY 4 • SUBSCRIBER EARLY ACCESS

    Nepal Royal Massacre: The Prophecy Behind a Dynasty’s Downfall

    A prophecy. A royal family already under pressure. A forbidden relationship that nobody wanted to approve. Then, in June 2001, a routine family gathering inside Nepal’s royal complex ended in one of the most shocking palace massacres in modern history. In this episode of The Compendium, we trace the Nepal royal massacre through the older forces already tightening around it: the Shah dynasty’s founding legend, the strange grip of court astrology, the long shadow of the Rana family, and the growing conflict over Crown Prince Dipendra’s relationship with Devyani Rana. From there, we follow the royal dinner that turned into slaughter, the surreal decision to proclaim Dipendra king while he lay in a coma, and the public fury that erupted after the palace tried to frame the killings as an accident. This is the story of Prince Dipendra, the Nepalese royal massacre, and the night a monarchy stopped looking eternal and started looking breakable. Topics Include The Shah dynasty prophecy and the “tenth generation” curse Crown Prince Dipendra and Devyani Rana Royal astrology, status, and marriage politics The June 2001 family gathering inside the palace The massacre, the “accident” cover story, and Dipendra’s coma Succession, outrage, and the conspiracy theories that followed

    1h 12m
  4. Peter the Dolphin: A Love Story That Science Wasn’t Ready For

    APR 13 • SUBSCRIBER EARLY ACCESS

    Peter the Dolphin: A Love Story That Science Wasn’t Ready For

    Peter the Dolphin became the centre of a radical experiment that blurred science, intimacy, and ethics in ways no one was prepared for, thats right, this is a groomer story! In the 1960s, neuroscientist John C Lilly and researcher Margaret Lovatt set out to teach a dolphin to speak English inside a flooded house in the Caribbean. What followed was an intense, isolated experiment in dolphin communication that drew the attention of NASA and raised unsettling questions about boundaries, consent, and scientific obsession. As Dolphin House collapsed under funding cuts and ethical scrutiny, Peter’s fate would haunt everyone involved. Topics include The Dolphin House experiment and its unconventional design John C Lilly’s theories on dolphin communication and sensory deprivation Margaret Lovatt’s role and the emotional reality of long-term isolation Why NASA funded dolphin research during the space race What happened to Peter the dolphin after the experiment ended

    50 min
  5. Julia Child: Mastering The Art Of Being Loud, Brilliant, And Right

    APR 6 • SUBSCRIBER EARLY ACCESS

    Julia Child: Mastering The Art Of Being Loud, Brilliant, And Right

    Julia Child celebrated household name, started as a wartime OSS desk jockey who later conquered Le Cordon Bleu and American TV - loudly, brilliantly, and without apologising. Starting with Julie & Julia, we follow her late-in-life Paris awakening, the brutal Le Cordon Bleu learning curve, and the obsessive testing that became Mastering the Art of French Cooking. There’s OSS shark repellent, Paul Child’s steady love, and then the moment she turns a TV omelette into a second career. Suddenly it’s The French Chef - and dinner becomes comedy. Topics include Julie & Julia and what the film gets right (Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci) Le Cordon Bleu, French cuisine, and learning late Mastering the Art of French Cooking and why it mattered OSS shark repellent and the strangest pre-chef CV The French Chef, cooking show chaos, and the Dan Aykroyd SNL skit

    1h 22m
  6. H.H. Holmes: The Murder Castle True Story

    2D AGO

    H.H. Holmes: The Murder Castle True Story

    H.H. Holmes built the infamous Murder Castle during the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. This episode explores the true story behind the disappearances, the fraud, and how one of America’s first serial killers was finally caught. Using false identities, staged scams, and a building designed to confuse and trap, Holmes turned murder into a business model. As victims vanished and his schemes began to collapse, investigators uncovered a case of fraud, deception, and calculated killing that helped turn him into one of the most notorious figures in American crime history. Topics include the design and purpose of the Murder Castle Holmes’ life as Herman Mudgett insurance fraud, false identities, and calculated killings the role of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair how H.H. Holmes was finally caught Resources and Further Reading H.H. Holmes - Wikipedia The Devil in the White City - by Erik Larson American Horror Story: Hotel - Ryan Murphy Host & Show Info Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam CoxIntro Music: Alice in dark WonderlandCommunity & Calls to Action Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple PodcastsInstagram: @theCompendiumPodcastWebsite: thecompendiumpodcast.comSupport us: Sign up to PatreonCircus Job Board: Apply to join the CircusShare this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favourite takeaway. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    1h 13m
  7. Biosphere 2: The Grand Experiment That Could Not Breathe

    MAR 24

    Biosphere 2: The Grand Experiment That Could Not Breathe

    Biosphere 2 was meant to prove we could build a world from scratch. Instead, it became a fight to keep the air breathable and the story from turning toxic. In 1991, eight people sealed themselves inside a vast Arizona terrarium designed to test whether a closed ecosystem could sustain human life and one day help us survive on Mars. What followed was not just a biosphere experiment under glass, but a slow collision between science, survival, collapsing oxygen levels, and a press narrative determined to call it a joke. This week, we dig into what really happened inside Biosphere 2, why the project began to unravel, and whether it was ever the failure people still think it was. Topics include The Biosphere 2 experiment and its original Mars habitat ambitions Why oxygen levels dropped inside the sealed ecosystem The biospherians, food shortages, and life inside the dome How media coverage helped distort the story of Biosphere 2 Whether Biosphere 2 failed, or was misunderstood from the start Resources and Further Reading Biosphere 2 - Wikipedia Life under the bubble - Discover magazine The Human Experiment - by Jane Poynter Host & Show Info Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam CoxIntro Music: Alice in dark WonderlandCommunity & Calls to Action Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple PodcastsInstagram: @theCompendiumPodcastWebsite: thecompendiumpodcast.comSupport us: Sign up to PatreonCircus Job Board: Apply to join the CircusShare this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favourite takeaway. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    1h 36m
  8. Morgan Metzer: The True Story Behind Gaslit By My Husband

    MAR 17

    Morgan Metzer: The True Story Behind Gaslit By My Husband

    Morgan Metzer survived a home invasion that ended with a far darker truth: the man who came to save her may have known exactly what happened. On New Year's Eve in Canton, Georgia, a masked attacker entered a locked home, used intimate knowledge of the house, and left one woman bound, beaten, and terrified. The first person to find her was the ex-husband she still trusted, but the details of the night pointed somewhere far closer to home. This is a chilling story of gaslighting, coercive control, psychological abuse, and the case that later inspired Gaslit by My Husband. Topics include The New Year's Eve home invasion at the centre of Morgan Metzer's story How gaslighting and coercive control shaped the years before the attack The warning signs of psychological abuse hidden inside an old relationship The real case behind Gaslit by My Husband Resources and Further Reading Gaslit by My Husband: The Morgan Metzer Story - Stream on Paramount Georgia man who attacked - CBS News From hero to villain - CBS News Saved by Her Ex-Husband - People.com Host & Show Info Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam CoxIntro Music: Alice in dark WonderlandCommunity & Calls to Action Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple PodcastsInstagram: @theCompendiumPodcastWebsite: thecompendiumpodcast.comSupport us: Sign up to PatreonCircus Job Board: Apply to join the CircusShare this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favourite takeaway. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    48 min
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4.8
out of 5
100 Ratings

About

A weekly variety podcast giving you just enough information on a topic to stand your ground at any social gathering. We explore stories from the realms of true crime, history, and incredible people.

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