The Anxiety Encyclopedia

Lorien Megill and Katharine McNally
  • 5.0 (16)
  • COMEDY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Co-hosts Lorien and Katharine talk about what's making them anxious, from bears to Botox and everything in between.

  1. 3D AGO

    144. G is for Greenland

    Lorien gives Katharine a quick and dirty history lesson on the largest island in the world for...absolutely no specific reason at all... Sources: Sources: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/trump-administration-mulls-payments-sway-greenlanders-join-us-2026-01-08/https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-advisers-discussing-options-acquiring-greenland-us-military-is-always-an-2026-01-06/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/trump-administration-mulls-payments-sway-greenlanders-join-us-2026-01-08/https://apnews.com/article/denmark-us-trump-greenland-talks-1b783621cbbbc1218986151be9c6836chttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposed_United_States_acquisition_of_Greenland#:~:text=During World War II, the,persuade the US to leave.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposed_United_States_acquisition_of_Greenland#cite_note-clingendael20202-73https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_the_Red's_Landhttps://www.norden.org/en/information/facts-about-greenlandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Greenlandhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/10/denmark-pm-says-sorry-to-greenland-inuits-taken-for-heartless-social-experimenthttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18249474#:~:text=982 - Greenland discovered by the,Age as temperatures fall significantly.https://www.britannica.com/place/Greenland/Historyhttps://japan.um.dk/en/about-denmark/greenland/history-and-culturehttps://www.historyextra.com/period/general-history/who-owns-greenland-history-explained/https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2025/02/through-indigenous-eyes-the-colonial-history-of-greenland-and-why-it-mattershttps://apple.news/ALJhys51gS6eo8NSJkb5uPw

    58 min

  2. JAN 20

    143. F is for Flooding

    Katharine tells Lorien about types of flooding; Lorien (kind of) tells Katharine the plot of the 2006 movie Flushed Away. Sources: https://www.weather.gov/phi/FlashFloodingDefinition https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-are-two-types-floods  https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2024/the-dangers-of-floodwater https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/many-effects-flooding/ https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/august-25/yangtze-river-peaks-in-china https://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/natural-disasters/hurricane-katrina.htm https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/07/the-deadliest-floods-in-u-s-history/ https://www.weather.gov/safety/flood-watch-warning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Pacific_Northwest_floods https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/may-31/the-johnstown-flood https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/great-mississippi-river-flood-1927 https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/13/us/camp-mystic-flooding-texas

    54 min

  3. JAN 6

    142. A is for Anxiety Potpourri

    Like a raccoon stealing shiny trash or a squirrel collecting nuts for the winter, Lorien has been collecting small anxieties to sustain her through the winter months. Sources:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colloidhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quicksandhttps://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2005/09/29/1471116.htmhttps://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2010/08/terra_infirma.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_quicksandhttps://westsidesalvage.com/grain-entrapment/https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Archimedes-principle/599600https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-quicksand-and-how-to-escape-it-4163374https://wildlandtrekking.com/blog/is-quicksand-real/https://ksltv.com/local-news/hiker-rescued-after-hours-stuck-in-quicksand-in-arches-national-park/855476https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil_nuthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selenium#Toxicityhttps://www.mdlinx.com/article/a-popular-nut-with-a-dangerous-toxin/11MiGRAzCC4OCfxOUU3wjLhttps://www.mdlinx.com/article/a-popular-nut-with-a-dangerous-toxin/11MiGRAzCC4OCfxOUU3wjL#LFC_Sourceshttps://www.cdc.gov/angiostrongylus/about/index.htmlhttps://www.news-medical.net/health/Rat-Lungworm-Disease-in-Hawaii.aspxhttps://www.biisc.org/pest/rlw/https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2023/12/18/stressed-snails-rat-lungworm/https://health.hawaii.gov/news/newsroom/rat-lungworm-disease-detected-on-kauaʻi/https://health.hawaii.gov/news/newsroom/rat-lungworm-disease-detected-on-kauaʻi/https://www.usf.edu/health/public-health/news/2024/cc-ladder-safety-march-2024.aspxhttps://www.americanladderinstitute.org/page/NationalLadderSafetyMonthLadderAccidentsintheHomeArePreventablehttps://www.americanladderinstitute.org/page/BasicLadderSafetyhttps://rosenjustice.com/blog/common-fall-from-ladder-injuries/#Statistics_on_Ladder_Accidentshttps://www.ehstoday.com/safety/news/55262291/ladder-incidents-have-decreasedhttps://blog.ansi.org/ansi/common-causes-ladder-incidents/#:~:text=Missing the last step and,and top of the ladder.https://www.readersdigest.in/features/story-i-survived-falling-in-quicksand-127478https://people.com/i-survived-getting-partially-swallowed-by-quicksand-on-the-beach-8667623

    54 min

  4. 12/23/2025

    141. D is for Donner Party

    Katharine tells Lorien a story all about how important it is to stay on schedule and have a supply list. Sources https://www.history.com/articles/10-things-you-should-know-about-the-donner-party  https://www.nps.gov/cali/learn/historyculture/donner-reed-party.htm  https://www.britannica.com/topic/Donner-party  https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/donner-party-cannibalism-nation-west  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donner_Party

    1h 8m

  5. 12/09/2025

    140. C is for Cicada 3301

    Lorien, too tired for anything truly terrible, tells Katharine about a mysterious, anonymous, unsolvable set of puzzles. Sources:  ​⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada_3301⁠⁠​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steganography⁠⁠​https://www.npr.org/2014/01/05/259959632/the-internets-cicada-a-mystery-without-an-answer⁠⁠​https://web.archive.org/web/20131125232546/​http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/10468112/The-internet-mystery-that-has-the-world-baffled.html⁠⁠​https://www.fastcompany.com/3025785/meet-the-man-who-solved-the-mysterious-cicada-3301-puzzle⁠⁠https://web.archive.org/web/20150920023142/​http://mentalfloss.com/article/31932/chasing-cicada-exploring-darkest-corridors-internet⁠⁠​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_reality_game⁠⁠​https://web.archive.org/web/20170802043935/​https://blog.threatstack.com/cicadas-security-part-2-when-a-verified-pgp-key-takes-you-on-a-trip-to-the-desert⁠⁠​https://mashable.com/archive/us-navy-codebreaker-game⁠⁠​https://apple.news/AMScMZtd3RAeKfsks16t3jA⁠⁠​https://www.archive.vtmag.vt.edu/sum15/ology.html⁠⁠​https://www.the-independent.com/tech/masonic-conspiracy-or-mi6-recruitment-tool-internet-mystery-cicada-3301-starts-up-again-9044049.html⁠⁠​https://theface.com/life/cicada-3301-the-codebreakers-still-working-on-the-internets-strangest-mystery⁠⁠​https://clevcode.org/cicada-3301/⁠​https://www.truesec.com/hub/blog/dissecting-the-cicada⁠⁠​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ransomware_as_a_service⁠⁠​https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/cicada-ransomware-what-you-need-know⁠⁠​https://www.ibm.com/think/news/has-blackcat-returned-as-cicada3301⁠⁠​https://www.rapid7.com/blog/post/2024/08/20/selling-ransomware-breaches-4-trends-spotted-on-the-ramp-forum/⁠⁠​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darknet​https://vocal.media/history/cicada-3301-the-internet-s-greatest-mystery⁠⁠​https://www.alaricstephen.com/main-featured/2016/9/18/the-cryptic-crossword-that-recruited-for-bletchley-park⁠​https://www.schoolreaders.org/post/could-you-have-been-a-bletchley-park-codebreaker

    52 min

  6. 11/25/2025

    139. G is for Gerrymandering

    Katharine teaches Lorien all about cracking and packing, monstrous political cartoons, and shapes. That's right, it's that sexiest of topics: Gerrymandering! Sources: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/gerrymandering-explained https://www.history.com/articles/gerrymandering-origins-voting https://www.npr.org/2025/10/21/nx-s1-5577000/north-carolina-redistricting-trump https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HSI-pf8MumE https://www.gilderlehrman.org/news/elbridge-gerry-and-original-gerrymander https://www.npr.org/2025/11/18/nx-s1-5604412/redistricting-midterm-election-texas https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/19/texas-redistricting-maps-supreme-court-whats-next/ https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2025/11/17/indiana-legislative-leaders-dodge-discussing-redistricting-pressure/ https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/utah-judge-rejects-republican-drawn-congressional-map-adopts-alternative-creating-democratic-leaning-district https://apnews.com/article/redistricting-gerrymandering-voting-maps-congress-trump-2ba53ae1f492f8e293f0fa261604e8c6

    46 min

  7. 11/11/2025

    138. T is for Titanic

    Lorien tells Katharine about a tragedy of gigantic proportions. Sources: The Story of the Titanic: As Told by Its Survivors, Lawrence Beesley, Archibald Gracie, Commander Lightoller, Harold Bride, ed. Jack Winocour.https://www.history.com/articles/titanichttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanichttps://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/titanic-tragedy-caused-by-fire-not-iceberg-claims-journalist/news-story/ef1bb657d02d64cd5f94cff4f361b4a7https://www.rd.com/list/titanic-survivors-what-happened-to-them-next/

    1h 20m

  8. 10/28/2025

    137. K is for Killer Clowns

    Katharine tells Lorien about a seasonally appropriate phobia, and then grants her an honorary doctorate that they're sure is legit. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_clown_sightings#:~:text=The%202016%20clown%20sightings%20were,stunt%20for%20a%20horror%20film. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21835-coulrophobia-fear-of-clowns https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-weird-reason-were-afraid-of-clowns/ https://time.com/4518456/scary-clown-sighting-attack-craze/ https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/oct/31/the-great-clown-panic-of-2016-a-volatile-mix-of-fear-and-contagion#:~:text=It%20began%20in%20the,for%20adults%20and%20children%20alike. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/10/03/merrimack-college-lockdown-reports-blame-armed-clown-sightings/91511098/ https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/clown-mask-prank-may-have-led-to-deadly-stabbing-of-teen/ https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2016/09/nine_clown_arrests_so_far_in_a.html https://www.clickorlando.com/news/2016/11/02/man-recounts-halloween-night-attack-at-hands-of-costumed-mob/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy

    1h 2m
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About

Co-hosts Lorien and Katharine talk about what's making them anxious, from bears to Botox and everything in between.

Information

  • Creator
    Lorien Megill and Katharine McNally
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    147
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Lorien Megill and Katharine McNally
  • Show Website
    The Anxiety Encyclopedia