15Minutes2Kill

D.J. Swales

"In the hunt for a serial killer nicknamed the Gay Slayer, the U.K.’s top crime show outed me to the entire country. Then doubled-down, comparing me to a gay teenage street prostitute." Those are the words of your host, D. J. Swales, night walker of the Dark Earth and possibly reformed prostitute. Author, podcaster, and human tumbleweed, D. J. fled the bloody Northern Ireland conflict as a child, then kept on going. Since that wet night on a ferry to Liverpool, D. J. drifted across 120 countries and 45 US states. But he'll always see the world through the lens of what he calls Belfast Gothic. D. J. kept travel journals all his writing life. Most of them burned with his home in Seoul, South Korea. A dozen more disappeared in the red dust of West Texas. But their curious, kamikaze, and bookish spirit lives on in 15minutes2kill. If the 15minutes2kill podcast was a happy hour cocktail in a Times Square dive joint, and author D.J. Swales was your bartender, what would the recipe be? Well, first the glass would be salted with Angela’s Ashes, then sweetened with syrup of Rotten Mango. Mixers would be Morbid, The X-Files, and The Amazing Race. David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs would deejay in the corner. Empty barstools would be occupied by the ghouls of Times Square-past, courtesy of Tales from the Crypt and Most Haunted. Chasers, if required, would be flaming shots of Baby Reindeer, Crazy Rich Asians, and Encyclopedia Britannica. And if you slam back the Youtube version of this cocktail, you can expect calligraphy to flow like margaritas in Cancun. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

  1. EP 1| An Invitation to the Night | 15Minutes2Kill | Dark Travel Journals, True Crime, and Creatures of Shadow | An Unmissable Journey into Darkness Around the World

    1 DAY AGO

    EP 1| An Invitation to the Night | 15Minutes2Kill | Dark Travel Journals, True Crime, and Creatures of Shadow | An Unmissable Journey into Darkness Around the World

    Welcome, Drifters! Ready to explore the Dark Earth in a whole new way? "In the hunt for a serial killer nicknamed the Gay Slayer, the U.K.’s top crime show outed me to the entire country. They then doubled-down, comparing me to a gay teenage street prostitute. Everyone has their own path to the world of true crime. That was mine. . ." Author D. J. Swales, international tumbleweed of 120 countries and 45 U.S. states, invites you to explore the Dark Earth. Discover a new perspective on true crime, dark travel journals, serial killers, twisted history, mysteries, cryptids, and terrifying folklore. When D. J.'s travel journals burned in Seoul, he wrote new ones. Enjoy all your favourite dark themes in these dark encounters from the open road. From the dangerous world of London rent boys, to familiar places seen from dark paths on countless midnight walks. Rediscover the Dark Earth through the eyes of someone who has lived it, his only company a large sassy suitcase called Letitia. Join D. J. Swales, night walker of the Dark Earth and possibly reformed prostitute. Author, podcaster, and human tumbleweed, D. J. fled the bloody Northern Ireland conflict as a child, then kept on going. Since that wet night on a ferry to Liverpool, D. J. drifted across six continents running from the dark, yet strangely drawn to it. But he'll always see the world through the lens of what he calls Belfast Gothic. D. J. kept travel journals all his writing life. Most of them burned with his home in South Korea. A dozen more disappeared in the red dust of West Texas. But their curious, kamikaze, and bookish spirit lives on in 15minutes2kill. So, for the true crime and dark podcast lovers out there. . . if 15minutes2kill podcast was a happy hour cocktail in a Times Square dive joint–and I was your bartender, backed up by Mister Ballen–what would the recipe be? Well, first I’d salt your glass with Angela’s Ashes, then sweeten it with syrup of Rotten Mango. I’d serve it RedHanded with the poison of your choice, my mixers would be Crime Junkie, Morbid, The X-Files, and The Amazing Race.  David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs would be deejaying in the corner. If you had Second Sight, you’d see none of the barstools are actually empty. They’re all occupied by the ghouls of Times Square-past, as guests of Most Haunted and Tales from the Crypt.  Chasers, if required, will be flaming shots of Baby Reindeer, Crazy Rich Asians, and Encyclopedia Britannica.  And if you slam back the Youtube version of this cocktail, you can expect calligraphy to flow like margaritas in Cancun. More calligraphy than even the diaries of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, my fellow calligraphy geek and the first self-made millionaire in the royal family. Enjoy 15Minutes2Kill, but don't miss Letters to Kody – the lighter sister podcast to this one. An antidote to the dark. Please follow both. Letters to Kody is a charming travel podcast of luck, love, and humble happenstance on the open road. All episodes of Letters to Kody are dedicated to a young friend who yearned to see the world beyond the beauty of Kentucky. He never got the chance. Kody’s life ended on his way to work at Walmart, at the age of twenty-three. TRIGGER WARNING. 15minutes2kill contains all kinds of violence and abuse– of both recent and historical varieties. Not only inflicted on adults, but sometimes children and animals. Adult listeners only please. To help guide your listening I’ll label episodes as either dark travel, true crime, hauntings, myths, dark history, etc, etc.  Now I need to get something out of the way before we go any further. I’ve been told to make a disclaimer for my own protection.. You’ve heard it all before, but for legal reasons, I declare the following: All events and people described in this podcast are fictitious. Any similarity to any person living or dead is merely coincidental. This is all a creation of the addled mind of author D. J. Swales. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    31 min

About

"In the hunt for a serial killer nicknamed the Gay Slayer, the U.K.’s top crime show outed me to the entire country. Then doubled-down, comparing me to a gay teenage street prostitute." Those are the words of your host, D. J. Swales, night walker of the Dark Earth and possibly reformed prostitute. Author, podcaster, and human tumbleweed, D. J. fled the bloody Northern Ireland conflict as a child, then kept on going. Since that wet night on a ferry to Liverpool, D. J. drifted across 120 countries and 45 US states. But he'll always see the world through the lens of what he calls Belfast Gothic. D. J. kept travel journals all his writing life. Most of them burned with his home in Seoul, South Korea. A dozen more disappeared in the red dust of West Texas. But their curious, kamikaze, and bookish spirit lives on in 15minutes2kill. If the 15minutes2kill podcast was a happy hour cocktail in a Times Square dive joint, and author D.J. Swales was your bartender, what would the recipe be? Well, first the glass would be salted with Angela’s Ashes, then sweetened with syrup of Rotten Mango. Mixers would be Morbid, The X-Files, and The Amazing Race. David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs would deejay in the corner. Empty barstools would be occupied by the ghouls of Times Square-past, courtesy of Tales from the Crypt and Most Haunted. Chasers, if required, would be flaming shots of Baby Reindeer, Crazy Rich Asians, and Encyclopedia Britannica. And if you slam back the Youtube version of this cocktail, you can expect calligraphy to flow like margaritas in Cancun. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.