{"podcast":{"title":"The Dark Oak","slug":"the-dark-oak-6475930","podcast_index_feed_id":6475930,"rss_url":"https://feed.podbean.com/thedarkoakpodcast/feed.xml","website_url":"https://thedarkoakpodcast.podbean.com","image_url":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/16604225/Tree_6ms6ri.jpg","author":"Just Us Gals Productions","episode_count":100,"summary":"Attention all shiver-seekers! The Dark Oak is a weekly thrill and chill inducing mystery podcast. Every Wednesday, Stefanie and Cynthia will present to you a true tale of the supernatural, the macabre, historical crimes, cryptids, the unexplained and the downright spooky. To help ease your fears, we also include The Branch of Hope Foundation, which connects you to the human side of our cases by giving back to non-profit organizations related to the first episode of the month. If you enjoy guilt free listening and your interest falls somewhere between Bigfoot and Jack the Ripper, The Dark Oak has you covered. Throw in some real time reactions including gasps and laughs and you’ve got the perfect podcast. So grab your coffee, sweet tea or tall glass of wine and settle in for your shadowy adventure. The Dark Oak is waiting!","last_synced_at":"2026-07-09T00:18:57.004781+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-dark-oak-6475930"},"episode":{"title":"Episode 156: The Family That Couldn't Sleep - The Venetian Curse","slug":"episode-156-the-family-that-couldn-t-sleep-the-venetian-curse","published_at":"2026-06-03T12:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-dark-oak-6475930/episode-156-the-family-that-couldn-t-sleep-the-venetian-curse","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-dark-oak-6475930","url":"https://thedarkoakpodcast.podbean.com/e/episode-156-the-family-that-couldnt-sleep-the-venetian-curse/","audio_url":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/3mi8tavxcrv83pu9/The-Family-that-Couldn-t-Sleep.mp3","summary":"In the summer of 1983, a stylish Venetian man named Silvano stepped onto a cruise ship and felt his shirt suddenly soak with sweat for no reason. That single moment marked the beginning of a nightmare that would steal his sleep forever. For over 250 years, one Italian family had been haunted by a mysterious curse: a disease that slowly, relentlessly destroys the brain’s ability to sleep. Victims lie awake for months in a living hell of hallucinations and exhaustion, fully conscious as their bodies burn out and die. What began as a whispered “family disease” in 18th-century Venice was finally named Fatal Familial Insomnia — a prion disorder caused by nothing more than a single misfolded protein that turns the brain’s sleep switchboard into a graveyard of crumpled origami cranes. This is the haunting true story of a genetic curse that science still cannot stop, and the quiet courage of the families who choose to live in the shadow of knowing — or not knowing — their fate. Sources: Max, D.T. The Family That Couldn’t Sleep: A Medical Mystery. Random House, 2006.(The definitive book on the Venetian family’s 250-year saga and Silvano’s story.) Prion Alliance. “About Prion Alliance & Our Mission.” prionalliance.org.(Nonprofit founded by FFI patient-scientists Sonia Vallabh and Eric Minikel.) CJD Foundation. “Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI).” cjdfoundation.org/fatal-familial-insomnia-ffi.(Leading U.S. patient-support organization for all prion diseases.) Khan, Z. and Bollu, P.C. “Fatal Familial Insomnia.” In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing, 2024.(Most current peer-reviewed medical overview of FFI.) National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD). “Fatal Familial Insomnia.” rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/fatal-familial-insomnia.(Clear, fami…","meta_description":"In the summer of 1983, a stylish Venetian man named Silvano stepped onto a cruise ship and felt his shirt suddenly soak with sweat for no reason. That sin…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3542,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-dark-oak-6475930/episodes/episode-156-the-family-that-couldn-t-sleep-the-venetian-curse/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-dark-oak-6475930/episode-156-the-family-that-couldn-t-sleep-the-venetian-curse.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}