Ninjas Are Butterflies | Episode 181

Title: King Arthur's Tomb, Ancient Roman Dictators & Creole Cryptids
Date: February 13, 2026
Hosts: Josh Hooper, Andy DeNoon, Lil, Corey, Kelsey

Episode Overview

In this lively episode, the Ninjas Are Butterflies crew embarks on a wild ride through history, folklore, and modern mysteries. The hosts explore the legend of King Arthur's lost tomb, the tale of a Roman dictator who gave up power, and a chilling cryptid lurking in Louisiana's swamps. Along the way, they tackle contemporary topics like the World Economic Forum, TikTok censorship, and advances in technology, never missing a beat of banter, conspiracy, or comedic tangential discussion.

Main Themes

• Enigmatic Tombs and Lost Legends: Exploration of King Arthur’s supposed grave and the mysterious occurrences around Glastonbury.
• Historical Leaders & Leadership: The story of Cincinnatus, the humble dictator who chose cabbage over power.
• Cryptids & Swamp Monsters: Folklore from Louisiana’s porous wetlands and firsthand encounters.
• Contemporary Controversies: Social media censorship, geopolitical boycotts, and new technology regulation.
• Life, Love, & Laughter: The irreverent, conspiratorial style of the show, blending history, current events, and daily life.

Detailed Discussion & Timestamps

1. The Warm-up & Tangents (01:01–10:00)

• Episode intro and quick banter: Hosts riff on podcast milestones (over 180 episodes!), childhood Speedos, wedding memories, and fruit vs. veggie juicing.
• Food and culture:
  • Kelsey, on juicing:
    “Eat your fruit and juice your vegetables because you need so many vegetables. It's more efficient to juice them. But you should eat your fruit.” [05:15]
  • Raw vegetables debate: The crew riffs on Chinese nutrition philosophy.
  • Josh, quoting a Chinese colleague:
    “Raw plants, he said, still carry their defense chemicals. Plants evolve to survive being eaten. Cooking disarms them.” [06:03]

Memorable Moment

Lil: “That's good, because I literally don't eat raw vegetables ever.” [07:58]

2. Love & Garters, Family Memories (12:00–16:00)

• Valentine's Day Stories, Marriage & Garters:
  The hosts talk about wedding traditions, odd garter tosses, and family names.

• Granny debate:
  Tongue-in-cheek discussion on whether grandmothers deserve love, spiraling into the story of an infamous serial killer dubbed "The Granny Killer."

  • Josh, fake outrage:
    “Do grannies deserve love? Yes, they deserve Gary David Love, the Australian serial killer better known as the Granny Killer.” [15:34]

Notable Quote

Lil to Kelsey:
“How about you don't answer a question like that?” [15:28]

3. Health, Food, and Anthony Bourdain (24:32–27:27)

• Kitchen Confidential insights:
  • Kelsey shares Bourdain’s restaurant horror stories (e.g., why not to order mussels if you don’t know the chef personally).
  • Ratatouille admiration—Bourdain’s favorite food film.

Notable Quote

Lil: “Bourdain says, if you watch the chefs in Gusteau’s restaurant in Ratatouille, they have burn marks on their arms… stuff like that they cared about.” [26:35]

4. Politics, Boycotts & Trump (29:09–34:20)

• World Cup boycotts:
  Several European countries consider boycotting the US-based Cup “because of Trump,” prompting dialogue on the hypocrisy compared to the Qatar Cup.
• Debate on the refusal of NATO/European states to join US peace initiatives.

Notable Exchange

Josh: “We went to the Olympics when Hitler was the freaking guy.” [30:47]
Lil: “And we beat him and he looked like a fool. He was on Meth.” [30:54]

5. Geopolitics & Conspiracies (36:11–38:51)

• Conspiracies around nuclear history:
  Hosts discuss internet theories that the Hiroshima/Nagasaki nuclear bombings didn’t actually happen as reported.
• Information distrust:
  Corey: “Such a disturbing thought that we have so much information now that we can believe none of it.” [37:44]
• Upcoming guest teaser:
  Josh: “That’s why I’m excited to have the Jesse guy on…about the psyops.” [37:51]

6. The Saudi “Line”—Failed Mega Projects (39:14–40:26)

• Discussion on Saudi Arabia’s much-hyped “Line” mega-city, now apparently scaled back to a mere data center.
• The hosts lament the failed utopian vision.

7. Artemis 2 & Podcast Immortality (41:04–42:42)

• The Ninjas Are Butterflies podcast name will orbit the moon on Artemis 2—via flash drive.
• Kelsey: “That’s significant.” [42:42]
• Corey: “If it crashes on the moon and then aliens find the hard drive…” [42:45]

8. Tech, Control & Dystopia (43:12–48:39)

• US bill enabling remote car shut-off:
  Discussion of new legislation allowing government or law enforcement to remotely disable vehicles. Raises privacy/freedom concerns.
  • Kelsey: “If they get a little greedy and they shut off everybody's car…” [44:14]
  • Lil: “That’s like, alarm systems…that’s crazy.” [46:28]
• Electric vehicles, range anxiety, and the hosts’ skepticism about EV adoption.

9. Social Media Censorship & TikTok (55:24–60:05)

• TikTok’s new censorship rules:
  Discussion of an Oracle executive tripling hate-speech bans and collaborating with watchdog groups.

  • Corey: “Am I not allowed to negatively…defend someone who’s not a Christian? Their right to be able to say, I do not agree with the Christian narrative?” [57:28]

10. World Economic Forum & Robots (61:02–62:26)

• Elon Musk’s vision: Every human gets an “Optimus” robot, more robots than people on Earth.
• Kelsey: “Don’t like that.” [62:11]

11. COVID & Social Experiments (63:27–66:03)

• WEF describes COVID-19 as “the test of social responsibility.”
• The crew reflects on pandemic restrictions, data confusion, and the experience of living through “big SCs” (societal changes/conspiracies).

Notable Quote:

Josh: “COVID 19 was the test of social responsibility.” [63:27]
Kelsey: “So they're saying this, like, just getting the vaccine was a social responsibility, but it's like, when are they gonna acknowledge that people are getting hurt by this vaccine?” [65:12]

12. History, Holidays & Lunar Phenomena (70:11–74:44)

• March 3rd: upcoming blood moon/lunar eclipse synchronous with the Jewish holiday Purim.
• Kelsey: “So much of the lunar phenomena always falls on a Jewish holiday.” [73:41]

13. Cryptid Corner — Honey Island Swamp Monster (76:57–84:44)

• The Tale: Two hunters explore Honey Island Swamp in Louisiana, encounter a silent, amber-eyed, seven-foot cryptid with webbed toes. Years later they return, find hog carcasses, and cast bizarre tracks. Another old-timer claims frequent sightings—then disappears himself.
  • Corey: "He never came back. That's it. Never found his boat. Never found him." [82:06]
• The hosts riff on swamp ape lore and regional differences from Bigfoot.

14. King Arthur’s Tomb and Glastonbury Mystique (84:56–92:20)

• Main Story: Monks in 1191 supposedly discover King Arthur’s and Guinevere’s remains in Glastonbury, complete with a literal inscription. The tomb is lost in the 1500s during Henry VIII’s anti-monastery purge.
  • Josh: “Here lies buried the famous King Arthur in the isle of Avalon.” [85:23]
• Deeper Mysticism:
  • Glastonbury’s ties to Joseph of Arimathea (of biblical fame) and the Holy Grail legend.
  • The “thorny tree” – a Middle Eastern species growing in Glastonbury.
• Lil: “That is cool. And it still stands today?” [90:32]

15. The Story of Cincinnatus: The Dictator Who Quit (93:12–97:16)

• Legend: Lucius Cincinnatus, a humble farmer, is summoned to save Rome—a dictator with absolute power who, in 16 days, rescues the city, then resigns and returns to his cabbages. He does this twice.

  • Lil: “He just left, abdicated, and went back to be a farmer... just an absolute legend.” [96:27]

• Named as the inspiration for Cincinnati, Ohio, and for the American view of George Washington.

  • Corey: “He either missed his cabbages or preferred his cabbages…” [97:20]

16. Closing Shenanigans (99:02–End)

• Promos for Patreon, Discord, and merch. Jokes about the team forming a dictatorship.

• The show teases more tomb mysteries for the Patreon episode.

  • Lil: “Who would make the best dictator and tell us why? Yes, we might pin your comment.” [100:07]

Notable Quotes (with timestamps)

• Josh (on Chinese food culture): “Raw plants, he said, still carry their defense chemicals. Plants evolve to survive being eaten. Cooking disarms them.” [06:03]
• Lil (on cryptid footprints): “They found footprints all surrounding the thing, three toed and webbed.” [77:57]
• Corey (on Cincinnatus): “He either missed his cabbages or preferred his cabbages…” [97:20]
• Josh (on King Arthur): “Here lies buried the famous King Arthur in the isle of Avalon.” [85:23]
• Kelsey (on vaccine side-effects): “When are they gonna acknowledge that people are getting hurt by this vaccine?” [65:12]
• Corey (on information overload): “Such a disturbing thought that we have so much information now that we can believe none of it.” [37:44]

Key Takeaways

• The show blends deep dives into weird history and myth with satirical current-event commentary.
• Chronicles of King Arthur and Cincinnatus serve as metaphors for modern-day skepticism and yearning for true leadership.
• The Honey Island Swamp Monster legend encapsulates the American love for the mysterious and unexplained.
• The crew remains endearingly skeptical of power—be it technological, governmental, or social—and always finds the humor, no matter the topic.
• Behind the outlandish stories and laughter, the hosts nudge listeners to think: about what stories we believe, why, and who gets to tell them.

For the full experience, listen in for wild side tangents, rapid-fire bits, and the irreverent tone that’s become the show’s hallmark.