Optophobia

Solar Driftwood
  • 5.0 (29)
  • IMPROV
  • WEEKLY SERIES
Optophobia

Optophobia is the fear of opening one’s eyes. Our show is dedicated to encouraging you — our listeners — to move beyond that fear. To solve riddles they don’t want us to unriddle. To investigate supposedly ironclad truths. To unearth evidence, buried for so long they believed it would stay buried. Each season we tackle a new investigation into what is often dismissively called a “conspiracy theory,” and each week a new guest weighs in. Are you bored by the lies? Open your eyes.

See All

  1. EPISODE 1

    S4Ep1 | Some Dreamers of the Bloody Dream

    Meet our Season 4 cohosts: Lydia Coffeematé worked on the "Relentless" set as a personal assistant to one of its producers. Jeffrey Dalmer works at the last Hollywood Video where he slips "Relentless" DVDs into the bags of unsuspecting customers...at the behest of a mysterious "they."

    32 min

  2. EPISODE 2

    S4Ep2 | MISSING: Tracy + Judds Nelson, Apatow and Judy (R.I.P.)

    Dan Hammer, a community theater actor from upstate New York who told the harrowing tale of his fiancee Tracy's mysterious disappearance in Season 1, has decided to try and remake "Relentless" in a way that "feels more real" by filming it entirely in his mother's house, basement and backyard.

    35 min

  3. EPISODE 3

    S4Ep3 | Never Time the Markets

    Lance Bloomberg's father was a big influence on his son. There was the fascination with money and finance that Lance inherited, and there was also the violence. Beaten regularly as a child with an abacus, Lance would eventually teeter between a career in financial analysis and serial murder. Seeing "Relentless" nearly sealed the deal.

    30 min

  4. EPISODE 4

    S4Ep4 | Deadlike Rasta

    Buffalo, NY musician Brad Meglin was playing Black Sabbath covers with his band The Buffalo Soldiers in 1988, when William Lustig inexplicably got up on stage, mid-song, and asked Brad to compose music “that would make people want to kill” for his coming movie, “Relentless.”

    34 min

  5. EPISODE 5

    S4Ep5 | 31 Flavors and a Kick in the Crotch

    Baskin-Robbins greeter Alicia Nicely was just minding her own business, trying on a fitted purple sweatshirt at Gap, when she was attacked by a "Relentless"-inspired wanna-be serial killer. As happens in these situations, the attacker — Sarah Pinch — couldn't close the deal. But might there be an army of Sarah Pinches out there, stalking America's retail dressing rooms?

    32 min

  6. EPISODE 6

    S4Ep6 | Little Bulbs, Big Dreams

    Around the time Darrell Klep first saw "Relentless" in the late 1980s, he also began his career as a farmer. Eventually, he started working weekend farmer's markets, following his customers and sitting in his car outside their homes. Creepy? Yes. Coincidence? Probably not.

    32 min

  7. EPISODE 7

    S4Ep7 | With the Intent to Cause Mischief

    Growing up on the road alongside her saleswoman mom, Jeri Jones believed she had a serene, peace-loving nature. But then, at 15, she watched "Relentless" and a something savage began stirring inside her. Armed with common household implements as agents of mischief and with a Rolodex she found while Dumpster diving as a guide, her rampage began.

    32 min

  8. EPISODE 8

    S4Ep8 | The Thong Song, SisQó and We

    Some "Relentless"-inspired would-be serial killers have been celebrities. When Marrissa Horn, a tea shop owner from L.A. began dating SisQó, she had no idea that a visit to Victoria's Secret together would inspire the R&B legend's greatest hit, nor that he might try to use the song as a murder weapon.

    32 min

  9. EPISODE 9

    S4Ep9 | The Snack Aisle Strangler

    With O'Boisies, Pizzarias, and Tato Skins, flavor architect Rosemary Caraway was winning awards in the 1980s for her work on the Keebler Company’s savory line of snacks. But when the company began favoring its sweet line instead, the “Relentless”-inspired Snack Aisle Strangler struck.

    32 min

  10. EPISODE 10

    S4Ep10 | Hollywood Video® Loses a Legend

    In the Season 4 finale, co-hosts Lydia CoffeeMaté and Jeffrey Dalmer discuss what we've learned after a deep dive into the story behind the 1989 Judd Nelson serial killer film, "Relentless." In airing his theory about "Relentless" director William Lustig's connection to mind control program MK-Ultra, Dalmer puts himself in the CIA's crosshairs, with dire results.

    33 min

  11. SEASON 4 TRAILER

    Season 4: "Relentless" | Trailer

    The 1989 Judd Nelson movie “Relentless” seemed like just another bad slasher flick. But director William Lustig included subliminal messages intended to inspire real life, would-be serial killers to begin their sprees.

    3 min
See All Season 4 (11)

Trailers

5
out of 5
29 Ratings

About

Optophobia is the fear of opening one’s eyes. Our show is dedicated to encouraging you — our listeners — to move beyond that fear. To solve riddles they don’t want us to unriddle. To investigate supposedly ironclad truths. To unearth evidence, buried for so long they believed it would stay buried. Each season we tackle a new investigation into what is often dismissively called a “conspiracy theory,” and each week a new guest weighs in. Are you bored by the lies? Open your eyes.

Information

  • Creator
    Solar Driftwood
  • Episodes
    46
  • Seasons
    4
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Solar Driftwood
  • Show Website
    Optophobia

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada