Last Podcast On The Left – Side Stories: 'Tis The Season (Dec 11, 2025)

Hosts: Henry Zebrowski, Ed Larson
Episode Theme:
A darkly comedic rundown of the week’s grisly true crime stories, holiday horrors, and odd news items, told through the hosts’ distinctive irreverent banter. This episode explores infamous family annihilators, bizarre crimes, the strangeness of the holiday season, and listener interactions, all with the LPOTL signature blend of shock, humor, and empathy.

Table of Contents

• Rat Pack Revelations & Vegas Talk (01:19)
• Morgan Geyser/Slenderman Update & Mental Health (06:05)
• Dubai Crypto Scammer Body in Concrete (12:37)
• Stamford, CT Nazi Standoff (14:09)
• Family Annihilators: Arkansas & Christmas Horrors (25:09)
• Wild Survival & Hiking Stories (26:05)
• International Negligence – The Austrian Peak (33:13)
• Grisly Crimes: Family Murder & Fetal Abduction (40:29)
• Listener Emails: Death Fetish & BDSM Safety (62:13)
• Bizarre News: Fabergé Egg Theft; Severed Feet in Socks (48:09, 56:02)
• End-of-Year Safety PSA: Attic Smoke Detectors (69:59)
• Notable Quotes
• Listener Segment, Plugs, and Goodbyes (60:29, 67:17)

Rat Pack Revelations & Vegas Talk

(01:19 – 05:47)

• Henry and Ed reminisce about their Vegas trip.
• Hilarious digression on Paul Anka, Frank Sinatra’s anatomy, and Joey Bishop as an “androgynous, trans icon.”
  • “Paul Anka also confirmed Joey Bishop had a vagina.” – Henry (01:34)
• Ed tells a possibly dubious story about Dean Martin buying his mother 10 scotches at a show, to Henry’s disbelief.
• Vegas lauded as “the only honest city in the Union.”
• Brief mention of the hosts’ ongoing live shows and almost-sold-out dates.

Morgan Geyser/Slenderman Update & Mental Health

(06:05 – 12:07)

• Update and listener feedback on their past coverage of Morgan Geyser (Slenderman stabbing).
• Henry explains, with info from a mental health worker, why delusional thinking isn’t forcibly fought in halfway houses; rather, therapy seeks grounding and harm reduction.
  • “The presence of a delusion doesn’t define risk, behavior does.” – Henry (10:46)
• The hosts joke morbidly about methods of preventing violence (amputating fingers) and Bruce Lee lore.
• Quote about therapy: “You can’t just say the delusions aren’t real because it makes them like kind of inversely dig in more.” – Henry (08:19)

Dubai Crypto Scammer Body in Concrete

(12:37 – 14:08)

• Dubai’s “crypto scammer” murder update: the victim was dismembered, encased in concrete.
• Henry riffs on archaeologists finding the body: “In ancient times, they used to make people into a salad…” (13:07)
• Commentary on the inevitability of getting caught committing fraud.

Stamford, CT Nazi Standoff

(14:09 – 25:00)

• A man in Connecticut, facing eviction, dons a homemade Nazi uniform, has a standoff with police, and ultimately takes his own life.
  • “No matter how bad things happen to you financially in the real estate world, there’s no reason to go Nazi over it.” – Henry (15:23)
• Ed and Henry riff on the absurdity of homemade Nazi outfits, Connecticut/NorCal demographics, and the standoff’s tactics (including drones and negotiations).
• The scene is mined for both dark absurdity and tragic outcomes.
  • “He put a gun in his mouth and blew his brains out.” – Henry (20:43)
• Henry delivers a comedic analogy: “They did put just a tater tot hot dish on the front stoop to get him to come out.” (18:00)

Family Annihilators: Arkansas & Christmas Horrors

(25:09 – 26:05, 28:05 – 34:14)

• Ed brings up recent Christmas season family annihilator crimes, including an Arkansas case nearly identical to infamous killer Ronnie Gene Simmons.
• Discussion of the thematic recurrence of such violence around holidays.

Wild Survival & Hiking Stories

(26:05 – 28:05, 33:13 – 34:14)

• Story of a hiker who survived being trapped in quicksand—rescuers used drones to locate him.
• Henry: “We were told as kids that quicksand was gonna be a thing.” (26:28)
• Cautionary tales about misadventures in nature segue into a critical, comic account of a Utah father charged after dragging his children up a mountain during a storm:
  • “This is a once in a lifetime adventure! …We’re gonna kiss God in the mouth.” – Henry (28:56)
  • The 8-year-old is left to care for siblings as the youngest nearly dies, prompting the hosts to skewer the father’s reasoning.

International Negligence – The Austrian Peak

(33:13 – 36:34)

• A man in Austria is charged with manslaughter after leaving his ill-equipped girlfriend atop the nation’s tallest peak—she froze to death.
  • Henry: “He’s very sorry about how things turned out.” (34:25)
• The hosts lampoon poor decision-making and offer pop culture riffs.

Grisly Crimes: Family Murder & Fetal Abduction

(40:29 – 43:32)

• Coverage of a particularly disturbing case: a woman and her husband kill her pregnant adult daughter to steal the unborn baby, who also dies.
• “They decided to become evil personified…” – Henry (39:31)
• The hosts discuss the lack of motive, the horrifying nature of the crime, and the pointless search for answers in senseless cases:
  • “The reason why we try to pick it apart is because we do try to find some semblance... turns out a lot of times, once you find them out, it doesn’t help.” – Henry (42:03)

Listener Emails: Death Fetish & BDSM Safety

(62:13 – 66:05)

• Listener email unpacks “death play” (autoassassinophilia) in the kink/BDSM community.
• The writer details their own edge play and stresses safety and consent: “A consensual BDSM encounter requires a way out and check-ins, even if that check-in is ‘yo, you still alive?’” (65:19)
• Ed and Henry share experiences and reaffirm the importance of communication—“Nitrous is safer than choking” (65:44)—while joking about their own vanilla status.

Bizarre News: Fabergé Egg Theft; Severed Feet in Socks

(48:09 – 56:02)

• Bizarre anecdote: Man swallows a pricey mini Fabergé egg to steal it; the store still charges full price post-recovery, which infuriates Henry.
  • “You mean to fucking tell me… you’re still charging me for that Fabergé egg that has come out of another person’s asshole?” – Henry (49:09)
• Tangent about label durability, gastrointestinal resilience.
• Shocking story: Widow receives her late husband’s belongings after he fell overboard—his feet remain attached in his socks.
  • “She put her hand in the socks, and it was just… meat at the bottom.” – Henry (56:39)

End-of-Year Safety PSA: Attic Smoke Detectors

(69:59 – 71:58)

• Ed shares a personal story: Chelsea Riggs, a friend, lost her house to an attic fire—reminding listeners to install smoke detectors in attics.
  • “Put a smoke detector in your attic… Make it an easy Christmas gift for yourself.” – Ed (70:28)
• Reflection on insufficient safety nets in America, GoFundMe culture, and the fragility of security.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Bruce Lee’s curse: “He was cursed because he gave away his ancient Chinese secrets.” – Henry (11:55)
• On attempted murder release ages: “23, that’s pretty much a boilerplate like age in which something like this happens.” – Henry (10:46)
• On drones in police standoffs:
  “The drones come in. He shot out all the drones—which is the funnest way to die.” – Henry (20:18)
• On Christmas season crime:
  “It's Christmas season. As we're heading into the holidays, you notice the stories do tend to get more grizzly.” – Henry (40:50)
• Ed on being a vanilla lover:
  “I'm extremely vanilla too… It's newly revolutionary to just have standard sex with your wife.” (66:26)
• On Fabergé egg as a product/concept:
  “Fabergé eggs are the single most useless thing I could possibly imagine.” – Henry (50:24)

Listener Segment, Plugs, and Goodbyes

(60:29, 67:17)

• Listener “stinger” submissions are featured with enthusiasm (“Very Rob Zombie-esque.” – Henry, 60:44).
• The “Tanner” from Love On The Spectrum emails, resulting in a side-tracked riff on family voting dynamics and reality TV.
• Final words include stand-up gig plugs, YouTube show announcements, a GoFundMe for Riggs family, and mutual reminders to “take care of yourselves” during the holidays.
• PSA: Put smoke detectors in your attic (70:28).

Tone and Style

• Language: Candid, off-the-cuff, irreverently dark, with affectionate ribbing and gallows humor.
• Delivery: Loosely structured, conversational, digression-heavy but always returning to the horrific heart of each story.
• Ethos: A blend of empathy for victims, comic riffing on the absurdity of evil, and a dash of sincere public service (especially regarding mental health and fire safety).

This episode covers a gamut of contemporary horror and black comedy, mixing gut-wrenching stories with therapeutic laughter and reminders to cherish safety, sanity, and the dark absurdity of the human season.