Podcast Summary

And That's Why We Drink

Episode 475: Adventures in Lunacy and Birthday Butterfly Effects

Hosts: Christine Schiefer & Em Schulz
Date: March 22, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode is a delightful mix of personal stories, humorous banter, a deep dive into both paranormal and true crime topics, and their signature blend of murder and the supernatural. Christine shares unexpected healing moments from a Disney World trip, while Em takes listeners on a wild ride through the origins of "Ghost Adventures" and an infamous casino bombing. The overarching theme: life's unpredictability and the butterfly effect of small events sparking big outcomes.

Main Segments & Timestamps

1. Personal Updates & Comedy Tangents (03:02–11:53)

• Stats on a Flamingo Scroll: Christine and Em riff on reinventing baby announcement yard signs for adults, turning silly hypothetical questions about self-description into clever social commentary on boundaries (“I feel like the stats need to maybe be a little more threatening, maybe, or, like, a little more grandiose rather than, like, invitational.” – Christine, 08:39).
• Therapy Talk: Christine shares her journey with OCD and mental health advocacy (01:07–02:02).

2. Disney World & Reparenting (11:53–29:09)

• Christine’s Disney Trip & Healing (11:53–29:09)
  • Christine reflects on revisiting Disney World as an adult with her daughter, Leona, and the uncanny synchronicity that Leona was the exact same age (to the day) as Christine during her only previous trip.
  • Emotional “butterfly effect” moment: “...this, like, weird, nagging thought. I put my phone down, and I was like, check Leona’s age to the day. ... It was Wednesday when we were at Disney World.” (15:12–15:17)
  • Discussion of what it means to heal childhood wounds, “I think I was reparenting myself in the process, but it was a very lovely time.” (26:14)
  • Touching encounters with listeners and Disney cast members (esp. “Katie” on Runaway Railroad; 21:06–22:57).

Notable Quote

• “I feel like I am really growing a lot as a person and just saying, you know what? I’m just gonna go with the flow and hey, I fucking love Disney now.” – Christine (24:27)

3. Spooky Storytime: The Birth of Ghost Adventures (34:02–72:35)

Topic: The Goldfield Hotel, Part II & the Original 2004 Ghost Adventures Documentary

Paranormal History (34:02–47:11)

• Recap of the Goldfield Hotel legend (35:00–36:06): The notorious haunting and murder tied to chained Elizabeth.
• Introduction to the first "Ghost Adventures" documentary (36:28): “2004, a spring chicken of a 27 year old man ... He was 27. I think he had frosted tips." – Em (39:45–39:53).

The Documentary Deep Dive (47:12–63:14)

• The show’s roots: just Zach Baggins and Nick Groff, Aaron left before the key moments (47:11–48:27).
• Famous opening monologue: Ralph Waldo Emerson quote + "And I’ll prove it.” (41:32–42:11).
• Zach’s first paranormal encounter: haunted by a woman’s voice and appearance in his apartment (45:06–46:14).
• The breakthrough: Levitation and Possession during the investigation. First documented alleged brick-throwing by a ghost, and a caretaker's strange behavior ("possessed?").
  • “A brick literally levitates like, a foot off the ground and then flies at them.” – (57:26–58:00)
  • [Link to documentary segment with the flying brick at 56:26 in transcript]
• Authenticity debates over the footage and experts' conclusions.
• Iconic Zach reaction: “Okay, we hear you. ... And we don’t think you’re very nice, but—but we have no fear of you.” (54:59)
• The legacy: Spawned an entire series, inspired a generation of ghost hunting, and led to future investigations.

Notable Quotes

• “He just looks like a guy that came out of a Walgreens.” – Em on young Zach Baggins (40:15)
• “You want to just jump off a bridge? Don’t you want to—” – Christine (42:11, on Zach’s dramatic opening)

Butterfly Effect Tangent (67:17–72:27)

• Details how the Goldfield haunting connected Zach with the Constantinos (paranormal investigators later involved in true crime tragedy).
• Notable EVP in the documentary: “Thank you, but we’ve done it.” (69:23)

4. True Crime Spotlight: The Harvey’s Casino Bombing (76:23–122:27)

Storyteller: Christine

Major Plot Points

• The Setup: In 1980, a sophisticated bomb is planted in Harvey’s Resort Hotel in Lake Tahoe by a group of men, including abusive “mastermind” and gambling addict John Burgess Sr.
• The Device: Disguised as a copier and rigged with multiple anti-tamper features—so sensitive it could explode from less than a degree of tilt.
  • Christine on the absurd engineering: “He’s, like, a mastermind engineer. Let’s just give him that one credit. That one singular credit. He’s also a Nazi, but, you know.” (97:18)
• The Ransom: $3 million demanded, with convoluted instructions for a helicopter drop.
• The Public’s Reaction: Casino guests and locals evacuated; street turns into a carnival with T-shirt souvenirs sold.
  • T-shirts: “I got bombed at Lake Tahoe,” “I had a dynamite time at Lake Tahoe,” “I survived the bomb—Lake Tahoe, August 1980.”
• The Blast: Attempted police detonation fails; the bomb explodes, causing $18 million in damage but miraculously no deaths.
• Investigation: A local motel owner’s good memory and a series of blunders (tool marks, a speeding ticket, and an ex-girlfriend’s tip) crack the case.
• Aftermath: Burgess Sr. convicted and sentenced to life in prison; died in 1996.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “He literally cross examined his own sons in court. That’s fucking low.” – Christine (119:16)
• “We used to be a proper country when ... all the journalists were like ...and then this happened and this and this and this. ... Now there’s just not enough time to report the fun stuff.” – Em laments the loss of fun details in today’s news (107:55)
• “I had to go find about Ricky and ... the journalist wrote about it that day. ... The Internet’s like, and it was this type of bomb with this many screws. ... but I also want to know the T-shirt...souvenirs.” – Christine (106:13)

5. Lighthearted Closers & Listener Goodies (123:01–End)

• Trauma-bonding over graphic TV episodes and the generational “oh, no” reflex (123:01–123:44).
• Restaurant and amusement park nostalgia (Rainforest Cafe, Olive Garden, Kings Island ride auctions, Rainforest Cafe River Adventure details at 126:03–131:03).
• “If anybody can handle that for me, that would be super great.” – Em, asking for custom merch after discovering no Rainforest Cafe water ride tees exist (130:55).
• Friendly signoff and reminders about upcoming Friday the 13th. (133:28–133:34)

Memorable Quotes

• “The butterfly effect is crazy.” – Em (39:36)
• “I think I was reparenting myself in the process, but it was a very lovely time.” – Christine (26:14)
• “He just looks like a guy that came out of a Walgreens.” – Em, on young Zach (40:15)
• “A brick literally levitates like, a foot off the ground and then flies at them.” – Em (57:26)
• “I had a dynamite time at Lake Tahoe.” – Christine, on T-shirt slogans (104:40)
• “You have a Cricut machine and an Etsy account. I don’t know what we’re doing here.” – Christine (127:25)

Episode Vibe & Tone

• Conversational, irreverent, and warm—the hosts freely riff on absurdities, commiserate over parental and adulting anxieties, and maintain humor even through the darkest material.
• Deeply personal, especially in Christine's Disney anecdotes and the discussion of family history, reparenting, and the synchronicities of life.
• Nostalgic for 80s/90s pop culture, amusement parks, and old-school true crime reporting.
• Occasionally nerdy and affectionately teasing of the paranormal world.
• Listener-driven, with call-outs to fans, shared inside jokes, and humility about the podcast’s growth and community.

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:02 | Adult "baby shower" and stork signs bit, self-description stats | | 11:53 | Disney trip, healing moment, butterfly effect | | 20:35 | Mickey’s Runaway Railroad, magical listener encounter | | 34:02 | Transition to Goldfield Hotel recap, Ghost Adventures origin story | | 45:06 | Zach’s first haunting experience | | 56:26 | The famous flying brick scene (documentary linked in show notes) | | 69:23 | Notable EVP: “Thank you, but we’ve done it.” | | 76:23 | Harvey’s Casino bombing story begins | | 104:40 | Notable T-shirt souvenirs on bomb site | | 122:27 | End of casino bombing story, legal fallout | | 126:03 | Rainforest Cafe River Adventure & merch tangent | | 130:55 | Em requests fan-made River Adventure t-shirt | | 133:28 | Episode sign-off |

For New Listeners

Why you’d drink this week: For the hilarious takes on adult life, healing childhood wounds at Disney, getting spooked by nostalgic paranormal TV, and just trying to survive the absurdities of modern adulthood—with a big, weird, sometimes heartwarming community of listeners by your side.

Note: Ads, sponsor messages, and general intros/outros are omitted from this summary as per guidelines.