Last Podcast On The Left: Side Stories – "The Bone Collector"

Date: January 14, 2026
Hosts: Henry Zebrowski and Eddie Pepitone

Episode Overview

This Side Stories episode of "Last Podcast On The Left," titled "The Bone Collector," sees Henry and Eddie plunge deep into the bizarre, macabre, and at times darkly hilarious side of recent news and oddities. Their main focus: a Pennsylvania man's grave-robbing escapades and the wider moral and legal debates about what we do with the dead. Along the way, the hosts touch on infamous figures passing away, government overreach, horrific child abuse cases, and—true to form—a slew of wild digressions, from alien amusement parks to dog sex dolls. The tone is punchy, irreverent, and unfiltered, with moments of genuine outrage and existential humor.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Health Hysteria & Ham Causes Cancer

Timestamps: 03:47–06:30

• The episode opens with banter about "new smells" on the internet, specifically the infection-related "BBL smell" associated with Brazilian butt lifts, blending gross-out humor and mock concern.
• The conversation pivots when Eddie laments, "People are starting to say that ham causes cancer" (03:52).
• Both ridicule the panic, describing ham's well-known faults: nitrates, fat, “pork that could sit on the counter,” but claim mortality isn’t a deterrent to enjoying life.
• Notable Quote:
  • Eddie: "Cancer's got a bad rap too. I say eat the ham, invite in the cancer, enjoy your life." (04:42)
• They joke about requiring an age restriction to buy ham, likening it to tobacco (05:57).

2. RIP to “Difficult Men” – Scott Adams & Erich von Däniken

Timestamps: 07:36–13:38

• The passing of Scott Adams (Dilbert creator, described as “a racist and a piece of shit”) and Erich Von Däniken (author, "Chariots of the Gods") sparks a discussion on “difficult” cultural figures.
• Henry recounts how von Däniken gave "permission to be difficult" and shaped alternative history/alien mythos, noting the roots of Ancient Aliens-style thinking.
• Eddie shares incredulity at the “expertise” of such figures and their lasting influence.
• Notable Quotes:
  • Henry: "Both of these 'experts' took mythological writings very literally." (09:57)
  • Eddie: "So close. I feel like an alien amusement park should be awesome, dude." (13:08)
• Discussion meanders to the lack of real-life “carnival” energy in UFO conventions and nostalgia for quirky restaurants.

3. Main Story: The Pennsylvania Bone Collector

Timestamps: 16:20–28:35

• Hundreds of listeners sent in the story of Jonathan Gerlach, the "Lancaster Bone Collector," arrested for grave-robbing, with a home full of bones (over 150,000 pieces).
• Eddie and Henry alternate between finding humor in the absurdity and grappling with the seriousness.
• Notable Quotes:
  • Henry: “He had two mummified small children in his bag. Three skulls and other bones.” (18:13)
  • Eddie: "I think that stealing a child's bones and body is fucked up just because the parents have to deal with it all over again." (20:54)
• Both question the harsh charges and million-dollar bail when compared to graver crimes.
• They tease legal gray areas: Does anyone truly "own" old bones? Eddie proposes a cartoonish rule: “If a bone is in the ground for 96 years, free game.” (25:38) – likening it to intellectual property.
• Henry: “My main issue is going after the baby's graves... removing old, old bones not attached to any living family, that feels different.” (21:15)
• Moral, legal, and emotional lines are debated throughout this segment.

4. True Crime Comparisons: Andrea Yates & Paul Allen Perez

Timestamps: 27:11–35:05

• Henry brings up Andrea Yates, who killed her children in a well-publicized case, to illustrate the inconsistency in bail amounts and moral outrage: “She was only on like $750,000 bail. This guy that stole all these body parts… it's not like he's rich.” (28:23)
• Eddie recounts the newly uncovered case of Paul Allen Perez, convicted for killing five of his infants over a decade. The discovery: a bow-fisherman finds a long-missing child’s body in a cooler (32:05).
• Discussion covers child endangerment laws, victim-blaming, systemic failures, and misogyny in prosecution.
• Notable Quote:
  • Eddie: “Lock up this Yates. That's all I'm trying to say.” (34:53)

5. Government Overreach & Sonic Weapons: Venezuela Extraction

Timestamps: 36:05–42:47

• Henry reports on the U.S. government's recent extraction of Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro. He describes how American special forces used EMPs and experimental “sonic weapons” to incapacitate an elite guard instantly.
• Ominous warning to listeners: U.S. military technological superiority is overwhelming, and civilian “resistance” fantasies are naive.
• Notable Quotes:
  • Henry: “I just want to remind... that's the stuff they're allowing us to even see.” (42:09)
  • Eddie (on activists): “You can't even beat the cops, much less the fucking military.” (42:47)
• The segment critiques imperial overreach, with Eddie griping about the lack of aliens in "Andor" (37:16) as comic relief.

6. Rabbit Holes: Epstein, CSAM & Disinformation

Timestamps: 45:40–55:05

• Update segment on Jeffrey Epstein and disturbing child abuse allegations.
• Henry shares a convoluted, questionable tale from an Iraq War vet accusing high-level figures (Trump, Epstein) of snuff films—but Henry expresses skepticism, noting accusations veer into MKUltra/“schizoid fantasy” territory.
• Notable Quotes:
  • Henry: “My brain understands now... it has to be a network. The only individual pedophile is the family member or... the local, like weird screwy character.” (49:13)
  • Eddie: "CSAM means child sexual abuse material." (49:37)
• They critically address the nature of child abuse networks, the limits of “official” information releases, and the role of deliberate disinformation muddying public understanding.

7. Existential Ennui... With Dog Sex Dolls

Timestamps: 56:26–61:47

• The hosts close with a story about “dog sex dolls”—literal canine sex toys marketed to reduce humping.
• Both are appalled, reading from the product site and riffing on its absurdity and disturbing implications.
• Notable Quotes:
  • Henry: “If you get a dog sex toy, I'm calling the fucking police.” (59:51)
  • Eddie: "Anyone who really needs dogs to have their genitals intact... should be investigated." (61:06)
• This playful horror at modernity masks a running theme: humanity’s casual crossing of moral boundaries, for profit or perversion.

8. Odds & Ends, Listener Mail, and Upcoming Gigs

Timestamps: 62:16–71:11

• A brief aside to the recent local murder of a dentist and his wife, with a personal touch: Henry and Eddie reminiscing about the German sausage house in Columbus, Ohio, near the crime scene.
• Notable Quote:
  • Henry: “That's our town. Don't fuck with our German town like that – Schmidt Sausage House.” (65:16)
• Listener mail and plugs for upcoming live dates in Philly, Urbana, Lexington, Rochester, London (ON), and San Francisco. Eddie mentions his wife Julie is crushing live comedy (70:39).
• The mood lightens just a touch in the closing moments.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Cancer's got a bad rap too. I say eat the ham, invite in the cancer, enjoy your life.” (Eddie, 04:42)
• “If a bone is in the ground for 96 years, free game.” (Eddie, 25:38)
• “You can't even beat the cops, much less the fucking military.” (Eddie, 42:47)
• “If you get a dog sex toy, I'm calling the fucking police.” (Henry, 59:51)
• “My main issue is going after the baby's graves... removing old, old bones not attached to any living family, that feels different.” (Henry, 21:15)

Important Segment Timestamps

• New "BBL smell," Ham/Cancer banter: 01:24–06:30
• Obituaries for Adams & Von Däniken, alternative history: 07:36–13:38
• Bone Collector case, grave robbing legal/moral debates: 16:20–28:35
• Comparisons: Andrea Yates & Paul Allen Perez: 27:11–35:05
• US military/sonic weapons in Venezuela: 36:05–42:47
• Epstein/CSAM/Disinformation discussion: 45:40–55:05
• Dog sex dolls segment: 56:26–61:47
• Ohio murder, sausage house nostalgia, closing plugs: 62:16–71:11

Tone & Language

Henry and Eddie’s signature blend of gallows humor, banter, and offbeat philosophical musing runs through the episode. They toggle between open disgust, bemused fascination, and moral ambiguity, at times punctuating dark observations with absurdist jokes, at others, getting sharply serious about the horrors that cross their desk.

Final Summary

"Side Stories: The Bone Collector" is a full-tilt, darkly comic romp through the week’s grimmest headlines and strangest news, driven by Henry and Eddie’s thoughtful irreverence. Their discussions invite us to ponder our relationship with death, the arbitrariness of law, our ever-expanding toolkits for both harm and absurdity, and what it means to try to find justice—or even humor—in a bleak, confounding world. If you missed the episode, this summary should give you the flavor, content, and key moments—without the... advertisements or the dog sex toys (hopefully) in your Amazon cart.