6. Could Speed Rubik’s Cubing Change Your Life?

With Pokemon cards going for tens of thousands of dollars, and the world in an uproar to "catch 'em all," we need to get to the bottom of this new obsession. And to do that, I'm going to learn about Pokemon, try to win against a very scary nine-year-old, interview the owner of the world's largest Pokemon collection, and get trained by the North American Pokemon champion! This is a wild, obsession-filled ride you won't want to miss! 

🌘Get the OBSESSED shadow episodes: https://www.patreon.com/OBSESSED
📸Follow me and the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cliffordstumme/
🐥Follow me and the show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CliffordStumme
📬Email me: clifford@popsongprofessor.com

Thank you to all my guests and contributors!

• Andy, Gabe, and Danny! 
• Isaiah Bradner: https://www.twitch.tv/BradnerBlastoise & Faded Town Podcast
• Gary Haase (King Pokemon): https://www.instagram.com/realkingpokemon/ & https://www.youtube.com/user/garyis2000 & https://aokifoundation.org/pokemon/
• Sean Barker
• Brandon from Target
• My brother, Jake, for transition music: https://www.instagram.com/jakeolivermusic/
• Xalma M. for artwork design

Tons of people are quitting social media, and the rest of us having been asking, "Why?" Don't we all need to be on social media in the Digital Age? Well, maybe not. In this episode, we ask, "Why the obsession?" And I try cutting social media for myself, and at the end of my experiment, I make a big decision about my own social media. 

• Josh Taylor: https://www.youtube.com/user/blimeycow 
• Jordan Greene: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc7LiE7HX2jN2Z0g9ZxZ8YA
• Joshua's band, The Consolation: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KkJDuTR0YvtmLtEGp3VC5?si=iqCy4hzQRy2BrkqYE4tt_Q 
• Lucy Allan: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClDXrPu_2mBf_UaxW8sPC2A 
• Makenzie Thacker
• Dr. Sylvia Frejd: https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Invasion-Technology-Shaping-Relationships/dp/0801015294 
• My brother, Jake, for transition music: https://www.instagram.com/jakeolivermusic/
• Xalma M. for artwork design

In this episode, I come face-to-face with a fear I haven't felt since high school: role-play. After a semi-tragic high school experience, I'm afraid of playing pretend with others, and as a result Dungeons and Dragons may be my hardest challenge yet. But that won't keep me from finding out why 13 million people worldwide are obsessed with this game!

🌘Get the OBSESSED shadow episodes: https://www.patreon.com/OBSESSED
📸Follow me and the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cliffordstumme/
🐥Follow me and the show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CliffordStumme
📬Email me: clifford@popsongprofessor.com

Thank you to all my guests and contributors!

• Kate for all of her loads of help and time!
• Seth for being an amazing DM!
• Jake for joining our party
• Caoimhe for telling me about Livvy and helping me build Spyro 
• My mom, Cindy, for helping with background research
• My wife, April, for being on
• My brother, Jake, for transition music and for helping with background research research: https://www.instagram.com/jakeolivermusic/
• Xalma M. for artwork design

• Sandro Monetti, author of Confessions of a Hollywood Insider
  • Website: http://sandromonetti.com/
  • Confessions of a Hollywood Insider: https://tinyurl.com/3jy27wxa 
• Jan
  • Monarchs in the Hunter: https://www.facebook.com/Monarchs-in-the-Hunter-180673395424262 
• Anita
  • Her granddaughter's school video about her: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp5LXEBBEDo&ab_channel=anitaatkinson 
• Emma (Courtesy of Claire)
• Leah
• My wife, April
• My brother, Jake, for transition music: https://www.instagram.com/jakeolivermusic/
• Xalma M. for artwork design

Speed Rubik's cubing? Really? On the surface, there's not much to this hobby but a weird obsession with a fifty-year-old toy, but does it go deeper? Well, yes, surprise. It does. And this episode, I'm going to try speedcubing out for myself and interview some real A-list speedcubers who have the inside scoop!

🌘Get the OBSESSED shadow episodes: https://www.patreon.com/OBSESSED
📸Follow me and the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cliffordstumme/
🐥Follow me and the show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CliffordStumme
📬Email me: clifford@popsongprofessor.com

MOYU RS3 M 2020 Speed Cube: https://www.thecubicle.com/products/moyu-rs3-m-2020?_pos=1&_psq=rs3%2A%20OR%20body%3A%22rs3%22&_ss=e&_v=1.0

Thank you to all my guests and contributors!

• Feliks Zemdegs
  • YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/fazrulz1
• Phil Yu
  • The Cubicle Store: https://www.thecubicle.com/ 
  • Phil's Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/thecubiclestream/video/942027202 
• Eric
• Max
• Julius
• Cube Dragon
• Brenda
• James
• My wife, April, for being on
• My brother, Jake, for transition music: https://www.instagram.com/jakeolivermusic/
• Xalma M. for artwork design

I don't get true crime. But apparently a lot of people love it, so it's our sworn duty to check it out and see why. On today's show, we dive deep into true crime podcasts, and we talk to the people who love them. Get ready to hear from a real life true crime podcaster, a guest from a previous show, and my wife April who would prefer "nice, safe, happy" crimes.

🌘Get the OBSESSED shadow episodes: https://www.patreon.com/OBSESSED
📸Follow me and the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cliffordstumme/
🐥Follow me and the show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CliffordStumme
📬Email me: clifford@popsongprofessor.com

Thank you to all my guests and contributors!

• Dana Poll: https://www.truecrimepi.com/ 
• Henry
• Gabbi
• Stephanie
• Mercy
• My neighbor Caleb for doing an early listen through
• My wife, April, for being on and giving it a listen through
• My brother, Jake, for transition music: https://www.instagram.com/jakeolivermusic/
• Xalma M. for artwork design

Check out the other podcasts mentioned in the show: 

• True Crime P.I.
• Serial
• The Vanished
• Unraveled
• Your Own Backyard
• CounterClock
• Morbid: A True Crime Podcast
• True Crime Daily
• Paper Ghosts
• Last Podcast on the Left

Note: The clips used from other shows were used under the auspices of fair use. Not only are the clips readily available for free on the Internet, but they have been used as promotional material there and are here used for commentary and review, are insubstantial in size, and provide no competition for the market of the greater pieces they were taken from. It is believed that they are here used legally and ethically. 

Apparently Taylor Swift is a big thing? When I started this podcast, I didn't think I'd be researching why an individual inspired obsession, but it makes perfect sense because Taylor Swift has tens of thousands of truly obsessed fans. What makes Taylor so great? What obsessed things have fans done? Those questions and more on today's episode!

🌘Get the OBSESSED shadow episodes: https://www.patreon.com/OBSESSED
📸Follow me and the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cliffordstumme/
🐥Follow me and the show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CliffordStumme

Thank you to all my guests and contributors!

• Interviewees: Mohib, Beth, Shantelle, Oriya, Iggy, Anne, Stephanie, Jonathan, Alexa, Corinna, Toni, Scepafall,  
  • Kelsey: https://fearlesswonderstruckswift.tumblr.com/ 
  • Julie: https://twitter.com/xiajulie 
  • Joelle: https://www.instagram.com/joelle.in.daylight/ 
  • Abigail (Peak Curiosity Podcast): https://www.buzzsprout.com/1240667
  • Hannah: https://twitter.com/sippingaugust 
• My neighbor Caleb for doing an early listen through
• My wife, April, for helping me rewrite the script at the last minute when I realized my first version sucked
• My brother, Jake, for transition music: https://www.instagram.com/jakeolivermusic/
• Xalma M. for artwork design

Note: The two clips from Miss Americana  and The Jimmy Kimmel Show were used in light of fair use. Not only are the clips readily available for free on the Internet, but they have been used as promotional material there and are here used for commentary and review, are insubstantial in size, and provide no competition for the market of the greater pieces they were taken from. It is believed that they are here used legally and ethically. 

There's a level of obsession that surrounds barbecue that I can't explain. But rather than wonder, I'm diving in head first. We're going to interview people who are obsessed with barbecue, and I'm going to try meat smoking out for myself. In this episode, I report how it's going along the way, and I answer the question, "Why is barbecue worth being obsessed over?"

🌘Get the OBSESSED shadow episodes: https://www.patreon.com/OBSESSED
📸Follow me and the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cliffordstumme/
🐥Follow me and the show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CliffordStumme

Thank you to all my guests and contributors!

• Ken from County Smoak: https://www.countysmoak.com/ 
• Mom and Dad
• My wife, April
• Mark and Myles from North Carolina
• Tucker with the homemade kit
• My brother, Jake, for transition music: https://www.instagram.com/jakeolivermusic/
• Xalma M. for artwork design

This game officially died in 2007, but collectors all over the world still pay thousands of dollars to complete their collections. What's up with that? We're going to find out as we interview the collectors themselves. Plus, I'm going to enter an online tournament and see how I match up to their impressive skills playing the game. We're going to find out why this game inspires obsession.

🌘Get the OBSESSED shadow episodes: https://www.patreon.com/OBSESSED
📸Follow me and the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cliffordstumme/
🐥Follow me and the show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CliffordStumme

Thank you to all my guests and contributors!

• Jake, my friend and fellow enthusiast
• Charlie, collector and upcoming Instagram comedian/influencer: https://www.instagram.com/charles_irving/ 
• Marcin, Gempukku designer: https://www.youtube.com/GempukkuStudio 
• Mark, card designer
• Mathieu Brochu, first world champion
• Patrick Sullivan, famous and successful professional player of the game
• My brother, Jake, for transition music: https://www.instagram.com/jakeolivermusic/
• Xalma M. for artwork design

Join me as I interview rappers to find out why rapping inspires so much obsession. And then I'll try it out for myself and see what my wife, April, and a professional rapper think so I can figure it out from the inside!

🌘Get the OBSESSED shadow episodes: https://www.patreon.com/OBSESSED
📸Follow me and the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cliffordstumme/
🐥Follow me and the show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CliffordStumme

Thank you to all my guests and contributors!

• MINERVA: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzEIr-xv5kfETBGlD2LNgXQ 
• My wife, April
• Sum: https://www.sum-killa.com/about & https://www.youtube.com/user/Sumkilla 
• MJK: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Aa3UJyWEHaxA9oeoWVR4u?si=cWh5hbbXRY2ggxw8kd3OIg 
• M4X: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgaZvRU-Dje_EKqGD0y8yNg 
• Miller Mills: https://soundcloud.com/millermills 
• Prof. Riddiman: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdSuKogXJOZld5Dzw_9285w
• Orest
• My brother, Jake, for transition music: https://www.instagram.com/jakeolivermusic/
• Xalma M. for artwork design