Podcast Summary: And That's Why We Drink

Episode 446: Erratic Earthquake Cocktails and Ghostly Gay Icons
Hosts: Christine Schiefer & Em Schulz
Air Date: August 24, 2025

Episode Overview

In this lively and meandering episode, Christine and Em riff on everything from millennial mom fashion and awkward social encounters to the realities of pet parenthood, culminating in their signature blend of supernatural and true crime stories. Em dives into the bizarre cryptid case of Sam the Sandown Clown—a surreal, colorful being that might be a ghost, alien, or something conjured from a child’s wildest imagination. Christine follows up with the tangled real-life tale of the "Phantom of Heilbronn," a mysterious string of crimes across Europe seemingly tied together by one woman’s DNA—until it’s revealed to be a wild forensic error of legendary proportions.

Major Discussion Segments & Highlights

1. Personal Banter: Fashion & Making Friends

Timestamps: 04:10 - 20:32

• Christine discusses the “uniform” of millennial moms at preschool drop-off, feeling out of place among trendier parents, and embracing authenticity over impressing others.
  • “I would often put a lot of pressure on myself about that kind of thing, and I would say...that kind of thing happens when you're not trying for it to happen, right?...Why not be as authentically myself as possible, even sometimes if it's embarrassing?” (05:51)
• Em shares stories about striking up drive-by compliments with strangers (including a “fluffy-haired” man), contrasting Christine’s social anxiety and dread of unexpected human interaction.
• The two riff on the weirdness and pressure of adult friendships and chance encounters, with Christine lamenting her social limitations and Em extolling the joys of awkward openness.

Memorable Quote:

• Em: “Sometimes I just decide I want to be a friend...If it's weird, you're already walking away. So who cares.” (10:28)

2. Why Do We Drink This Week?

Timestamps: 20:32 - 39:39

• Christine’s reason: Navigating shifting friendship dynamics as her (and her friends’) lives change, especially now that she has more “mom friends” to share parenting experiences. She also recounts an upsetting recent experience witnessing a car accident without a phone to call for help.
• Em’s reason: The challenges of new pet parenthood and impending visits from family, leading to anxiety about changing routines and the need to constantly accommodate the dog.
• Both reflect on life changes, responsibilities, and how having pets (or kids) fundamentally alters spontaneity.

Notable Quote:

• Em: “Having a dog is more of a headache than not having a dog. That's...That's what they say. I love him, and he's very sweet...but not when I want to do something and he needs to be prioritized. I don't feel like prioritizing him sometimes.” (29:29)

3. Cocktail Corner and The “Live Earthquake” Moment

Timestamps: 32:50 – 41:55

• Em quizzes Christine about her current favorite cocktails (Negroni, Aperol Spritz), inspired by a family debate over Em’s mother’s drink of choice (Cosmo with orange vodka and Cointreau).
• Mid-cocktail chat, a minor earthquake hits on Em’s end—captured in real-time—creating palpable tension and classic podcast chaos.
  • Em: “Earthquake. Holy— You’re okay, Hank. Okay. For now. We're okay.” (38:01)
• The hosts joke about podcasting through disasters and the surreal experience of broadcasting panic.

4. Main Paranormal Story: Sam the Sandown Clown

Timestamps: 46:20 – 1:01:03

• Em recounts the peculiar cryptid case from Sandown, Isle of Wight, 1973, where two children encounter an impossibly odd being—“Sam”—described as 7ft tall, with a round oversized head, painted geometric face, three-fingered blue-gloved hands, frilly clothes, and surreal behavior.
  • Sam communicates via a booming microphone and written words, inviting the children into a windowless metal hut and performing strange “magic tricks” for them (like passing berries through his face).
• Discussion of whether this was a real encounter (alien/ghost/cryptid), a figment of children’s imaginations, or the misinterpretation of real events, with plausible references to Dr. Seuss and magic tricks (“all colors Sam”/“Alakazam”).
• Christine expresses genuine distress at the story’s eeriness and the odd compassion it elicits.
  • Christine: “I just believe children. Like, I don't go into it going, oh, it's a bunch of kids. I don't believe it. I'm already freaked out by this.” (58:35)
• They collect possible explanations: a psychic screen memory, a play on Sam-I-Am, or a classic childhood tall tale. The hosts riff on how cryptid and alien encounters often borrow from cultural references and what that says about human fear and creative self-soothing.

Standout Moment:

• Em: “All Color Sam sounds like, if you say it fast, ‘alakazam’...And the weirdest thing that Sam did was a disappearing, reappearing berry, which is a magic trick.” (100:10)

5. True Crime Spotlight: The Phantom of Heilbronn (“Woman Without a Face”)

Timestamps: 1:04:50 – End

• Christine presents the convoluted mystery: Between 1993 and 2007, a mysterious woman’s DNA appeared at over 40 crime scenes in Germany, Austria, and France—from murders and heroin needles in woods to gemstone heists and burglaries.
• For years, investigators built the legend of a prolific, near-mythic criminal: the “Phantom.”
• The trail ultimately leads to an astounding reveal: the automation of forensic cotton swabs at a factory led to her (a Polish grandmother working on the production line) DNA being present on swabs distributed to police. This costly, years-long wild goose chase exposes flaws in forensic protocols and the dangers of overreliance on “infallible” science.
  • Christine: “It was this little old lady...They were buying these swabs that already had some old lady's DNA on them...Her DNA would occasionally get picked up.” (138:06)
• The case prompted international standards for DNA-free forensic supplies and a recalibration of the way courts and law enforcement regard DNA as evidence.

Quote:

• Christine: “They spent millions of euros...dozens of diverted investigations and man hours spent on chasing a ghost—literal phantom. It was just this little grandma.” (141:00)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• Em on drive-by compliments: "If it's weird, you're already walking away. So who cares." (10:32)
• Christine on authenticity: “Why not be as authentically myself as possible, even sometimes if it's embarrassing.” (05:51)
• Christine on the Phantom case: "It was this random lady's DNA showing up at completely unrelated scenes because they bought these swabs from that plant." (139:22)
• Earthquake interruption:
  • Em: "Earthquake. Holy— You're okay, Hank. Okay. For now. We're okay." (38:01)
• Em, on pet parenting: "Having a dog is more of a headache than not." (29:29)
• Christine, on DNA evidence: "Maybe DNA is not like the end all, be all answer...DNA can accidentally end up somewhere." (147:58)

Episode Mood & Tone

The episode balances classic ATWWD energy—rambling, intimate, occasionally chaotic banter—with genuinely spooky and intriguing storytelling. The hosts frequently break for gentle self-mockery, side tangents on everything from domestic life to fashion to the existential dread of earthquakes and alien abductions, all filtered through their relatable dynamic.

Key Takeaways

• Sam the Sandown Clown remains one of the weirdest, most ambiguous cryptid/alien tales, exemplifying childhood imagination, 1970s social context, and humanity's need to explain the unexplainable.
• The Phantom of Heilbronn case is a cautionary tale about overconfidence in forensic technology and the ripple effects a simple procedural oversight can have, both in terms of justice and public myth.
• The hosts’ willingness to linger on the comic (and cosmic) absurdities of life is as much the purpose of the show as the stories themselves.
• Real-life oddities—whether they’re earthquake interruptions, pet woes, or DNA scandals—are at least as wild as the ghosts and murderers that populate the show’s stories, and maybe as telling about what haunts us.

For Further Listening

Stick around for the next Yappy Hour (Patreon) where Christine and Em promise to draft their ideal alien abduction contracts, and more candid, unfiltered nonsense and comfort storytelling from this beloved podcast pair.

And that’s why we drink!