Onscreen, Bruce Willis dodged bullets and explosions in Die Hard and countless action films, making him the biggest movie star of the ‘90s. Offscreen, he dodged the tabloid press and became so determined to live a private life he moved to one of the smallest towns in Idaho. But he didn’t just want to live in Hailey — he wanted to transform it. Soon, this sleepy old mining town was home to a culture clash between Hollywood spectacle and small-town values, with real-life secret rooms, car chases, and betrayal worthy of a Willis thriller. Welcome to Haileywood. Host Dana Schwartz will be your guide.
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2024-10-23 | In 1834, the Three Kichis were on a routine journey to deliver rice to Tokyo. But when a typhoon interfered, they were swept out into the Pacific for 5,000 miles — and became the first Japanese people in the Pacific Northwest. But that was only a singl... |
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2024-10-17 | An unreleased SwordQuest game suddenly surfaces online; the fate of the missing prizes undergoes fresh scrutiny by gaming historians.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. |
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2024-10-16 | In late 1998, a furry, nonsense-babbling creature arrived on the toy scene. The Furby could squeal, snore, sneeze, and … learn to speak English? Immediately upon release, thousands were backordered. Fights broke out in stores. The early internet lit up... |
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2024-10-10 | Years after SwordQuest came to an abrupt and disappointing end, a gamer makes a surprising discovery in a Brooklyn thrift shop.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. |
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2024-10-03 | Atari’s financial problems force the company to issue an ultimatum to SwordQuest players—one that may involve a top-secret gaming tournament closed to the public.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. |
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2024-09-26 | SwordQuest players discover that being video game rock stars comes at a price. Meanwhile, delays in the contest raise suspicions among contestants that Atari may not intend to see it through to the end—and that the prizes may not even exist at all.See ... |
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2024-09-19 | Expert gamers are invited to an all-expenses paid trip to California for the first round of Atari’s SwordQuest contest and a chance at the first treasure: a $25,000 medallion. The problem? Solving the game’s central puzzle will prove nearly impossible.... |
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2024-09-12 | In the early 1980s, Atari is one of the biggest entertainment brands in the world and seeks to promote the biggest video game contest to date, promising $150,000 in prizes. But what starts out as a promising adventure quickly devolves into chaos.See om... |
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2024-07-31 | In the first half of the 20th century, athletes weren't the only ones competing for Olympic glory. Today's episode takes us back to an era when artists, poets, and even city planners battled for medals — and the messy in-fighting that threatened to tea... |
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2024-06-26 | A bar fight and a stint on the lam transformed Samuel Clemens into Mark Twain — and changed the course of American literature. Settle in for Mark Twain's origin story. * Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, Jason EnglishWritten by Zaron BurnettPro... |
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