And That's Why We Drink

Episode 451: Labubu Covens and Immortal Butt Portals

Hosts: Christine Schiefer & Em Schulz
Date: September 28, 2025

Episode Overview

In this heartfelt and engaging episode, Christine returns from a transformative trip to Egypt, sharing tales of spiritual awakening, new friendships, and questionable portals of the butt variety. The hosts then dive into their signature blend of true crime and the paranormal: Em unpacks the bizarre historical mystery of Ellen Sadler, "The Sleeping Girl of Turville," while Christine presents the emotional and infuriating hate crime case of Blaze Bernstein. The episode weaves humor, catharsis, rage, and empathy as the hosts reflect on topics from queer identity and hate, to the power of seeing the world, and the strange magic of losing things to mysterious forces.

Main Segments

1. Christine's Transformational Egypt Trip (03:33–28:28)

• Christine recounts her life-changing journey to Egypt, organized by her psychic friend Nicole and filled with 17 women from around the world. Despite initial social anxiety, Christine sought spiritual growth and intentionally trusted the universe ("I'm on this road here—just trust the universe. I've always wanted to go to Egypt." [05:14])
• Adventures & mishaps:
  • Mild food poisoning, missing a hot air balloon ride ("I got to not go on the hot air balloon ride, which was a privilege for me." [06:35])
  • Heat, long bus rides, discomfort, but a resolve to “not complain, just go with it." [06:42]
• Unique spiritual experiences:
  • Group meditations, palm readings, astrology, past life regression, journaling, and healing focus ("We did a lot of meditating... trading [skills] on the bus.” [07:38])
  • Letting go of family drama and seeing positive changes occur in her absence ("Without my meddling, you're all healing and improving without me involved!" [08:31])
  • Embracing the idea of "raising the frequency” and quantum positivity.
• Cross-cultural reflections:
  • Facing sexism, poverty upfront, and a guide’s insight: “The West has all this, too, it’s just hidden differently…” [09:23]
• Favorite moments:
  • Meditating between the paws of the Sphinx at 3am ("We got to sit—and this is not a joke—between the paws of the Sphinx at 3am, just our group." [10:57])
  • Witnessing a UFO above the Sphinx ("Something come out from behind a star and do like a little loop around the star..." [11:15])
  • Losing and finding objects in weird ways, sparking jokes about “butt portals” and supernatural lost-and-found incidents [14:49–18:22]
• Notable quote:
  • "I'm all about now, like, raising the frequency, right? I've watched a lot of this quantum physics shit, and I'm like, sure, if we're all just making ourselves better, then the world will be better." [08:54]

Labubu Covens and Immortal Butt Portals (15:47–28:15)

• Christine and her friends notice items going missing and reappearing from strange pockets and places, fostering inside jokes about “butt portals” and more ("It fell out of my ass." – Christine [14:51])
• Christine brings her daughter’s beloved Labubu plush on the trip, leading to a “Labubu circle” and playful talk of forming a mystical “coven.”

2. Personal Catch-ups and Pet Angst (28:28–42:36)

• Em is prepping for travel to Philadelphia and Delaware for a friends’ reunion and to check off another state on their “50 states by 35” bucket list.
• Both hosts discuss the trials of boarding Em's dog Hank, separation anxiety, pet daycare drama, encounters with a backyard mouse/rat (“It ran directly at me!” [33:49]), and local wildlife including bold urban coyotes and skunks (“Hank could absolutely not survive… his favorite thing to do is run towards danger.” [36:11])

3. Paranormal/True Crime Story #1: The Sleeping Girl of Turville—Ellen Sadler (42:36–79:21)

Timeline:

• Intro (42:36): “Here's a story for you, Christine, and I think you'll like this one...”
• Story proper (43:11+): Ellen Sadler, born 1860 in Turville, Buckinghamshire, England, suddenly falls into a mysterious “sleep” at age 11 in 1871, after persistent headaches, swelling, and a hospital stay.
• The nine-year sleep (49:28): Ellen enters a fetal position and “doesn’t wake up”—for nine years ("Nine years." [49:29])
• Scientific and public fascination:
  • She is cared for by her impoverished family, fed through a chipped tooth, doesn't move, and shows only slight signs of life.
  • Becomes a global curiosity, with odd medical investigations and tourism; people collect her hair, leave donations [55:10–56:18].
  • Official suspicion arises after a nearby case of Munchausen by proxy and a fear Ellen's family may be exploiting her.
• Her miraculous awakening (64:28):
  • Ellen wakes up at age 21, unaware of any time passing, having missed her mother's death by just five months
  • Physically recovers, lives a relatively normal life, marries, and dies in her 50s.
  • Modern medical speculation: severe narcolepsy, epilepsy, or coma, with some suspecting Munchausen by proxy by her mother (“She recovered a little too quickly, like, without her body having atrophied…” [74:45])
  • Her cottage, “Sleepy Cottage,” is now famous, featured in BBC’s Vicar of Dibley. [76:05]
• Notable Moments:
  • “Imagine waking up and now you’re nine years older and have no hair.” – Em [56:07]
  • “Christine, this is the chick that slept forever?” – Em [42:49]
  • “As the town crier, imagine you got to spread the news she woke up!” [77:22]
• Reflection and humor:
  • Discussion of queer history, town criers, and the nature of medical mysteries.
  • Quote: “Nine years. And at first everyone thought she was dead because, duh… but she just kept being warm.” – Em [49:40]

4. True Crime Story #2: The Hate Crime Murder of Blaze Bernstein (87:20–171:28)

Timeline

• Blaze Bernstein is a talented, creative gay Jewish college student home for break in Orange County, California, 2018 [87:20–103:22]
• Goes missing after leaving with Sam Woodward, a socially awkward former schoolmate who belonged to a neo-Nazi organization—Blaze’s worried family cracks his Snapchat, discovering Sam’s identity and contacting him [106:23–109:54]
• Investigation reveals:
  • Sam’s story is suspicious: he claims Blaze met a mysterious third person in the park, which no one can verify.
  • Blaze is found a week later, brutally murdered (stabbed 24+ times) in a shallow grave; Sam is seen cleaning his car and is arrested.
• Deeper context:
  • Sam’s involvement in “Atomwaffen Division,” an online neo-Nazi terrorist group targeting LGBTQ and Jewish people [128:52–133:16]
  • Evidence of Sam’s premeditation and extensive homophobic/violent correspondence—he targeted and terrorized queer men using dating apps (“Sam’s Diary of Hate” [142:29])
• Courtroom & verdict:
  • Sam’s defense attempts to argue he was closeted and acted in panic, but the evidence is overwhelming.
  • The jury finds Sam guilty of first-degree murder and a hate crime.
  • Blaze’s family, including a Holocaust-surviving grandmother, chooses not to confront Sam: “He’s a footnote in history.” [163:19]
• Quotes & Emotional Beats:
  • “They claimed Sam’s father used homophobic slurs... A lot of dads do this shit people. It doesn’t make you stab somebody 24 times. Sorry.” – Christine [139:46]
  • “If someone is that obsessed with gay people, you’re the one thinking about queer people this much!” – Em [146:21]
  • “Blaze’s memory and spirit will live on in every kind deed done in his honor.” – Christine [166:38]
  • “It’s not too late to fix the world.” – Blaze’s mom, Jean [167:10]
• Host Reflection:
  • Rage, gallows humor, and direct challenging of bigotry (“Homophobes are gay. Nazis are bad. And that’s kind of…” – Christine [175:21])
  • Painfully honest discussion about queer identity, family legacy, and speaking out against inherited shame (“I think part of my life mission is to call that out and get it out and work on that.” – Christine [176:12])

Notable Running Jokes & Moments

• “Butt portals” and the supernatural movement of objects (“It fell out of my ass.” [14:51])
• Labubu covens (“We did like a little Labubu circle where we put him in the middle, and were like, Labu-boo!” [28:15])
• Town crier impressions, riffing on telling 19th-century villagers Ellen Sadler has finally woken up (“Hear ye, hear ye!” [77:22])
• Extended rants on the toxicity of closeted hate, Republican hypocrisy, Nazis, and inherited ancestral trauma—all with signature irreverence and catharsis.

Story Timestamps

• Main Egypt recap / spiritual travel & Labubu coven: 03:33–28:28
• Pet drama & local wildlife: 28:28–42:36
• “Sleeping Girl” Ellen Sadler story begins: 42:36
• Medical mystery / public spectacle: 49:28–79:21
• Blaze Bernstein story begins: 87:20
• Investigation & trial: 106:23–171:28

Summative Highlights

• Travel, healing, and the supernatural: Christine’s Egypt trip is both magical and comically weird, featuring everything from UFOs to “immortal butt portals,” with a serious undertone of self-reflection and intention to live with greater compassion.
• Queerness, bigotry, and resistance: Both main stories orbit the realities of being queer, queerphobia, and the persistent need to claim one’s truth in a world that often pushes back. Em and Christine share pointed, powerful insights and laughter in the face of hate.
• History, mystery, and meaning: The story of Ellen Sadler connects the eerie with the unexplained, and leads to philosophical questions about illness, exploitation, and the role of community.
• Head-on condemnation of hate: Christine’s story calls out the dark reality of hate-driven violence, resolutely urging listeners to act, speak, and love in resistance.
• Quotes:
  • “Look inward! Whatever my problem is, is my problem. Nobody else’s… this is crazy-making.” – Christine [160:10]
  • “Homophobes are gay. Nazis are bad. And that’s kind of…” – Christine [175:21]
  • “It’s well intentioned. And that’s why we drink.” – Em [179:09]

For Listeners

Even if you haven't listened, this episode will provide a heady mix of spiritual growth and dark realities, from past-life regressions in the shadow of the Pyramids to the infuriating persistence of queerphobia and the endurance of hope. The hosts’ mix of vulnerability, wit, and righteous rage makes for a cathartic, deeply human listen—easily a representative episode of ATWWD’s “murder and the paranormal finally meet.”

Skip the intros. Skip the ads. But don’t miss a moment between 03:33 and 171:28 for stories you’ll be thinking about for days.