Step into a roadside conversation that reads like a tall tale: Montana still treats placing livestock on train tracks to derail a train as a felony — five years in prison and up to $50,000 in fines — a relic of 1800s sabotage fears that somehow survived into modern ordinances. The narrator's shock and dark humor guide you through the statute’s odd specificity and the imagined absurdity behind it.

From towns that ban frisbee golf after dark to Helena’s prohibition on throwing objects across the street (snowballs included), the episode stitches together human stories and legal quirks, showing how local rules often reveal more about a community than about crime. By the time Nebraska drifts into the mix, you’ll be laughing at the specificity and wondering which curious law will turn up next.

Step into a realm where the modern symphony of connectivity fades away, and the profound silence of the cosmos takes center stage. In this episode of Time Tellers, we venture into the heart of the National Radio Quiet Zone, a place where silence isn't just golden—it's enforced. Journey with us as we explore 13,000 square miles of tranquility, nestled in the hills of West Virginia and Virginia, where every whisper could hold the secrets of the universe.

Discover the captivating blend of science and secrecy in this sanctuary for cosmic exploration, centered around the majestic Green Bank Telescope—the world's largest steerable radio telescope. Here, even the faintest rogue signal can interfere with celestial discoveries, reminding us of the delicate dance between technology and tranquility.

Amidst the quiet, stories echo of scientific endeavors, local legends about rebellious microwaves, and the thrill of potential alien signals. Yet, the tranquility of the Quiet Zone poses questions about modern communication, societal divides, and the value of silence.

Join us as we pull back the curtain on this hidden corner of America, where silence is not only a tool for discovery, but a luxury that challenges the rhythm of the modern world. Could the secrets of the universe be waiting in the most silent corners of our planet? Tune in to find out.

It is early morning in Chicago: buses hiss, coffee shops unlock, and a sign at Adams and Michigan invites us to “Begin Historic Route 66.” We cut west through traffic, suburbs and farmland, meeting enormous fiberglass spacemen, neon towers, and the ordinary people whose lives the highway carried. Each stop—from the Gemini Giant to the bend in the Chain of Rocks Bridge, from Miramec Caverns to the Rainbow Bridge and a blue whale in Oklahoma—adds a personal scene to a 2,400‑mile story.

As the road moves from Illinois into the Ozarks, across a sliver of Kansas and deep into Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle, we encounter labor towns, oil towns, tribal lands, Black travel history, folk art, and modern roadside art like Cadillac Ranch. Route 66 is at once practical and mythical: a network of service stations that kept people moving, and a stage for advertising, legend, and reinvention. We stop for the famous, the strange, and the forgotten—and for the communities that depend on passing tires.

By the midpoint at Adrian, the highway becomes a mirror: what lies behind is as meaningful as what lies ahead. Glenrio’s empty buildings warn how quickly prosperity can vanish when traffic changes. This episode drives the Mother Road as both road trip and history lesson—inviting listeners to feel the miles, hear the neon, and meet the people who keep these places alive. Join us for part two as we continue into New Mexico, Arizona, and the Mojave, and follow the road all the way to the Pacific.

The following episode of Time Tellers is for educational and informational purposes only. While we strive for historical accuracy, interpretations and perspectives may vary. Some topics discussed may include sensitive or graphic content. Listener discretion is advised. The views expressed in this episode do not necessarily reflect those of the host, producers, or affiliates. We encourage listeners to conduct their own research and engage critically with the material.

At midnight behind the courthouse, two comedians confess they brought rope, a dolly, and an arsenal of bad jokes to tackle one big question: should monuments to problematic figures stay on their pedestals or come down? The episode opens like a heist—only instead of bank vaults there are bronze men in capes and the tools are satire and stubbornness.

They walk you through the uneasy history carved into public squares: who erected these statues, why, and how those choices echo through generations. With sharp humor and vivid asides—a plan to replace tyrants with giant bunnies, clown wigs on confederate generals, and Yelp-style plaques—they invite listeners to feel the stakes: symbols that celebrate cruelty hurt communities, while museums can turn those same artifacts into lessons.

Equal parts provocation and consolation, this episode blends history, outrage, and levity into a clear call for conversation. By the end you’ll laugh, bristle, and maybe imagine a downtown lined with heroes you’ve never seen—then decide whether to bring rope, a petition, or a giant pasta noodle.

What do you do if your neighbor's bull keeps rampaging through town? In Missouri, castrate it. Legally. In this episode we open on a neighborly nightmare—a loose, dangerous bull, a three‑day reign of chaos, and an old statute that lets three neighbors agree to castrate a bull, boar, or ram over one year old after notifying the owner. It sounds like folklore, but the law is real, very old, and still on the books.

Then we swerve into traffic-law absurdities: a statute making it illegal to lean out and honk someone else’s car horn—specifically swinging upon a motor vehicle to sound the horn—written for pranksters and chaos agents. We chase myths too, like the rumor that Missouri bans driving with an uncaged bear, separating the common-sense guesses from the actual code.

By the end you’ll laugh, wince, and be surprised at how seriously some places once took runaway livestock and late-night hijinks. We close by heading west to Montana, teasing trains, cows, and frisbee-golf curfews—because once you start, the strange laws keep piling up.

Imagine walking into a diner and ordering a 64-ounce soda — legally yours, thanks to a Mississippi law born out of a feud over New York’s soda limits. This episode peels back the oddball statutes that let you guzzle a bucket of cola, ban certain obscene bumper stickers, and once criminalized public swearing near the vulnerable.

We tell the stories behind each statute: the politician or cultural clash that put it on the books, the courtroom and civic battles that tested it, and the surprising ways these laws have been enforced — or quietly ignored. From a law still on the books defending your right to supersize, to a decal ban enforced only when things get graphic or personal, to a swearing ban that survived for more than a century before finally being repealed in 2013, these are laws that read like the setup to a joke but happened for real.

Join us as we trace the quirks of Mississippi’s legal landscape, laugh at the strange consequences, and tease what Missouri brings next — because sometimes truth is stranger, and funnier, than fiction.

Follow the thunderous footsteps of Big Boy 4014 as a 1.2 million-pound steam giant becomes a moving time capsule—linking the dreams of 1862, the urgency of 1941, and the celebrations of 2026. We ride the whistle from Cheyenne to Philadelphia, feeling the boiler’s heartbeat, the human hands that made it run, and the towns that stop to watch history pass.

Through short, vivid scenes—rooftop vigils, steam-filled crossings, reunions with sister engines—this episode stitches together engineering, wartime urgency, and the messy, powerful sweep of American movement. Listen for the whistle; it calls us to gather, remember, and reckon with the stories the rails carry.

Ever imagined running after a greased pig at the county fair? In Minnesota, that slapstick dream collides with the law — greased pig contests and turkey scrambles can actually be misdemeanors under animal-cruelty statutes. This episode opens with a laugh, then sharpens into a real legal bite as we trace why protecting animals turns fairground stunts into crimes.

We pivot to local legend: a quirky tale that Minnesotans can’t cross into Wisconsin with a chicken on their head. It’s probably apocryphal, but the image sticks — and so does the wider question of how folklore fills the gaps where statutes don’t. Then we kick up the dust on muddy tires: is there really a law against dirtying the road? We unpack debris-discharge rules, how they’re enforced in farm country, and what’s headline-worthy versus what’s practical.

By the end, the verdicts land — some statutes are real, some stories are urban legend, and most enforcement depends on place and people. Stay tuned: Mississippi’s strange soda-sticker and speech quirks are up next.