{"podcast":{"title":"The Box of Oddities","slug":"the-box-of-oddities-512437","podcast_index_feed_id":512437,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/ARML9966973519","website_url":"https://www.theboxofoddities.com/","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/efe03e02-6869-11ee-bf09-cf71efb55eff/image/0ba2683aa6e575c1f421dd0c1f11eeb9.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"John Elliott and Kat Walls","episode_count":940,"summary":"The Webby Award-winning “Box of Oddities\" is a podcast that delves into the strange and mysterious aspects of our world, exploring topics ranging from bizarre medical conditions to unsolved mysteries, and from paranormal phenomena to strange cultural practices from around the world. With a focus on oddities, curiosities, and the macabre, each episode is a journey into the unknown, where hosts Kat and Jethro Gilligan Toth share their love for unusual stories and inject their humor and commentary. From the strange history of medical practices to chilling true crime stories, to natural (and unnatural) events, \"The Box of Oddities\" satisfies your thirst for the weird and the unusual, offering an informative and entertaining look into the dark and mysterious corners of our world. JIMMY KIMMEL, ABC-TV says, \"Should you be the type who has an interest in weird stuff, this is a fun thing to allow in your head!\" “Truth is stranger than fiction, and the Box of Oddities is the strangest of all!” -SLUGGO, SIRIUS XM LITHIUM “Kat & Jethro wring humor from bizarre, macabre and perplexing places.” -BOSTON MAGAZINE","last_synced_at":"2026-06-12T14:18:43.319486+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-box-of-oddities-512437"},"episode":{"title":"The “Ball Cutter” Is Real (And It’s Worse Than You Think)","slug":"the-ball-cutter-is-real-and-it-s-worse-than-you-think","published_at":"2026-03-30T04:02:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-box-of-oddities-512437/the-ball-cutter-is-real-and-it-s-worse-than-you-think","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-box-of-oddities-512437","url":"https://tracking.swap.fm/track/YfZO4tERxneauNcW9Fgn/mgln.ai/e/211/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML3541465303.mp3?updated=1774822498","audio_url":"https://tracking.swap.fm/track/YfZO4tERxneauNcW9Fgn/mgln.ai/e/211/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML3541465303.mp3?updated=1774822498","summary":"What if the most terrifying creature in the water… isn’t hunting you—it’s just making a terrible mistake? In this episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat returns from a sun-soaked (and slightly overcooked) girls cruise, only to dive straight into a story that’s equal parts cryptid legend and biological nightmare. Along the murky banks of Papua New Guinea’s Sepik River, villagers whisper about a mysterious attacker known only as *“The Ball Cutter.”* Men wade into the water… and emerge in agony—or not at all. The bite marks? Disturbingly human. The attacks? Precise. Targeted. Unnervingly consistent. But what begins as folklore takes a sharp turn into reality when researchers uncover the truth behind the legend: a powerful, invasive fish with human-like teeth and a taste for… well… unfortunate confusion. It’s a story of ecology gone sideways, mistaken identity, and why you might want to think twice before taking a dip in unfamiliar waters. Then, in true Box of Oddities fashion, things take a turn—from terrifying to wildly hilarious—as Kat’s cruise companion Erica joins us for a Thing in the Middle you won’t forget. From bird-induced near-death hikes to dog-hunting in the Dominican Republic and a near-mutiny during a shark excursion, it’s a chaotic highlight reel of “Most Kat Things Ever.” And if that’s not enough, Kat brings us a jaw-dropping historical tale from the Caribbean: a hurricane, an earthquake, and a tsunami that literally picked up a U.S. naval warship and dropped it 300 feet inland. The unbelievable true story of the USS Monongahela and the 1867 disaster that reshaped an island—and possibly altered the course of U.S. history. *In this episode:* * The horrifying truth behind the “Ball Cutter” river attacks * A fish with human teeth and a very unfortunate diet * Cr…","meta_description":"What if the most terrifying creature in the water… isn’t hunting you—it’s just making a terrible mistake? In this episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat retu…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2138,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-box-of-oddities-512437/episodes/the-ball-cutter-is-real-and-it-s-worse-than-you-think/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-box-of-oddities-512437/the-ball-cutter-is-real-and-it-s-worse-than-you-think.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}