Arson

Allan Newell rejoins the hosts with his firefighter helmet on to discuss the seven motives of arsonists, Herostratus, the Happy Land Fire, the Clarence Roberts mystery, the Sydney Ghost Train Fire, the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, Operation Backfire, the Pillow Pyro, the Mary Pang Warehouse Fire, and more!

Music: “I’m Playing with Fire” by Jack Jackson

Charity O’ The Week: BurnFund.org

Images

7 Responses

  1. Great episode! We have this “arson tradition” in Sweden every year, the traditional burning of the Gävle goat. Basically this big ass goat made of staw and wood and traditionally it gets burnt down during the holiday season. Even with security, surveillance etc it is somewhat of a sport to burn it down and bets are placed every year regarding how long it will remain standing. He, the Gävle goat, also has his own Twitter.

    Yes, we are nuts in Sweden. 🙂

    You guys are awesome! Love the show, keep it up!

  2. I think most Australians (and probably many others) believe there’s a special level of Hell reserved for arsonists. Known fire bugs are actively watched by police over the summer to make sure they don’t set any fires, just because they’re so damn destructive around here as bushfires.

    Great episode, guys, and welcome back Allan. Don’t forget you were the guest of honour on the Cold War episodes too. 🙂

    And thanks for using my outro. 🙂

  3. Oh, a question for you: one of the ways I immediately thought of arson occurring was in sectarian violence, as you said people burning down churches and mosques, etc, as a hate crime. Does that just fit into the vandalism category?

  4. I’m surprised you guys didn’t mention Milton, the creepy stapler guy, from the movie Office Space! He fits your description of an arsonist perfectly.