Merlin’s Barn Podcast

Sourtoe cocktail, breakfast horrors, odd skeletons and the cat AND rat distribution system.

Enjoy the short promo video.

The trip begins for real as merlin and crew work against a deadline to cross the United States and meet the convoy in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. They experience various states, deal with breakdowns, rescue a fellow Jeeper from Canada, cache a firearm in the oilfields and finish up in Crosby North Dakota meeting a a WW2 vet who drove the Alcan on the 50th anniversary in a WW2 truck. This is just the first stage of the adventure! if you want even more photos and more of the story you can find the book with over 200 color photos...

Wow, it’s episode 30! And we have much much more for you.

Rolling for the Stans Part 2! We roll dice and work our way through another round of Matt’s stories from working in the various stan countries. Learn about how to make the Afghan army wave, the glorious (seriously!) subways of Tashkent, Soviet truck building, Embassy nerf wars, insanely hot foods and more! Tune in on Tuesday to any fine podcast purveyors.

The gang discuss roadtrip stories as a lead in to Merlin’s Alaska or Rust vintage Jeep Journey. Merlin describes how the Alaska or Rust plan eveolved, how he was invited to join, and how a series of breakdowns almost kept him from going. Saved in the end by hours of work, good friends and a donation by an amazing auto repair shop, this is the beginning of the Alaska or Rust Story. This is the first of a series of episodes covering a 28 day 13,000 mile journey that will upload once a month.

The book is available he...

It’s our first “Rolling for the ‘Stans” episode. Matt has been to every central Asian nation’s capitol from Ashgabat to Nur Sultan with stories from every one of them.

With Matt, Tasia, Merlin and Nicole as studio audience.

In honor of Spooky Season Tasia and Merlin chat with the wonderful Beck, the unofficial witch of Hanover PA, about their store, their path, and the ridiculousness of some recent issues that we call “The Hanover Witch Hunt”. A fantastic interview, you will enjoy listening to Pennsylvania's only legal tarot reader, Beck.

I bet the clues from last week make sense now!!!! Enjoy the episode.

This is an OLD recording, maybe 11 months ago Matt did a deep dive on pumpkin floods and we saved it for Spooky Season. It’s a shorter one, sound quality is not as good, but it’s darned fun! We will make up for it in the next episode which is an absolutely awesome full length interview with Beck of the Serpent’s Key. Until then, enjoy being overwhelmed by pumpkins!!

This week it’s all about pushing the limits of pushing a wheelbarrow. Download to listen in as we discuss the history of pedestrianism, exhibition walking and wheelbarrow sports. It’s a wild one with chloroform, a pet wolf, poisoned beer, lamentations on the state of the fair and even hair sculpture.

Merlin begins his summer break with a trip to New England to spend time with his parents and nephews……. aaaaaand returns in time for an almost week long power outage where he goes through generator after generator. Met Ed LIES!!!!!! Matt consoles Merlin while learning about swanboats.

Substation fire in Adams County (second substation down!)

Solving problems with a massive WW2 Generator. Thanks Paul!!!!

The swanboats in Boston. Much nicer than power outages

Louis Scholz, an inventor, a WW2 scientist, a man who worked on the Manhattan project. This episode explores high speed photography, glowing trees, radiation and Merlin’s hatred of cars designed by committee.

Merlin shares a personal connection to a local and unheard of eccentric scientist and inventor. In the pre-show meeting Matt discovers he too has a connection to the story.

The prior post of the episode has a blip at the end where the exit music overruns the conversation. This version you get the WHOLE episode!!!!

Join Matt, Cody and Merlin to hear about the wonders of Southbend Indiana, and why the Studebaker Electric Fountain should have been prevented.

Stranger danger, a trip to Southbend, the strange constant reincarnation of the Studebaker Electric Fountain, and Moriarty the Mifflinburg Monkey.

Hear how Matt accidentally made a 'Train Garden', some history of why these are so quintessentially Baltimore and Nicole tells stories of childhood Christmas parties in South Baltimore with crab garland. (We apologize that this is our OLD sound before we upgraded the microphones.)

Merlin chats with Randy Gaulke of Knee Deep in History about exploring the Western Front and guiding tours of the battlefields.

To find out more about Randy and his tours visit

https://kneedeepintohistory.com

m

Hear from Merlin, Tasia and Matt about not only the Idaho Beaver drop, but learn about Geronimo the beaver veteran of many jumps and much more!

Matt tells Merlin and Tasia of his adventures in Fall of 2024 in Oxford when he want walking down a tow path and was sucked happily into the world of Canals, Canalboats, and ended up going for a ride.

Where Merlin originally read about it: https://www.americanheritage.com/red-ghost

This was a story Merlin read as a child, and it stuck with him. Now that our recording quality is great, Merlin spent hours doing primary source research to bring you this deep dive into the story of the Red Ghost that goes beyond the original 1961 American Heritage article. Enjoy!!!

We had another wonderful Defenestration Day party. Silly hats, a dead coffeemaker thrown through a window and given a Viking funeral. This is all normal around the barn. Listen to Episode 16 if you are confused!

Matt, Nicole and Merlin tell stories of the barn parties. The time everyone showed up as Merlin. The mini Jeep shows, the Christmas parties and most of all the annual Defenestration party. Put on your silliest hat, grab your favorite coffee mug, take a selfie and send it to us so everyone can participate.

Matt and Merlin discuss the time Merlin ended up on a reality show called “Family Guns.” Merlin and his shop staff restored a WW2 Jeep in 5 weeks for the show. Hear about the reality tv experience, lost palaces in Nepal, ancient weapons stashes, and the fantastic crew of International Military Antiques. To see more about the legendary antique weapons cache discussed in the show follow this link for the documentary Treasure Is Where You Find It

Matt returns from finding one of the last Toys-R-Us stores in Manilla, along with a surprise! Discussion ensues around the time a sheet of ice and snow clove the chimney from the barn and Matt lead the rescue mission. Tune in for some more barn lore.

This was a fun episode. 1904 was perhaps the weirdest Olympics ever, and the marathon was insane. Hitchhikers, poison, starvation diets, runners carried over the line...... and then there is Felix Carvajal, dead man running. Matt did a deep dive on perhaps the strangest story of all the marathon runners.

Join John and Merlin for this celebration of our improved sound. John, a true Wisconsinite, brings some insight to Matt’s experiences in Wisconsin. From Cheese laws to cheese smuggling and ice fishing the conversation turns to prohibition, rum running and the tale of King Ruby who ran a small town in Appalachia in the 1930s.

This episode began with Matt taking a deep dive into Pykrete, project Habbakuk of WW2 and ice ships. Pykrete was featured on one of the Mythbusters Alaska Specials where they successfully built and sailed an ice boat. Merlin took another step diving deeper into the world and ideas of Geoffrey Pyke. The discussion lead as far afield as Montessori schools (a Tasia specialty) and Golf Spies in the 1930s. Jump in and join a ramble through the world around Pykrete.

We did find a silver lining in the Xenia trip when we traveled to Dayton and visited the Air Force Museum where we received a surprise personal tour from the director. It was Off The Moose! The journey home epitomized sketchy and was quite the adventure. Tasia and Merlin finish the story

Tasia and Merlin reflect on a journey to Xenia Ohio in 2021. It was Peewee Martin’s 100th birthday jumpfest. The last reunion of the 101st airborne veterans celebrated with reenactors jumping from WW2 Aircraft. A life experience that had many hurdles just getting there, and surviving once we arrived. You can only laugh, that’s what we did!!

Matt and Merlin bring to you the things in house walls. A friend who found a room, then a rare pre-war German camera. A roll of film locked away, perhaps the grassy knoll? Bathrooms hidden in walls and more. What lies behind your old medicine cabinet? Tune in to find out!

This week’s episode takes us to Sparta, Wisconsin where Matt discovers the somewhat horrifying birthplace of so many roadside fiberglass sculptures. Tasia & Merlin introduce us to Mr. Ed’s Elephant Museum & Candy Emporium. Tune in as we explore roadside America attractions of the past and present. We even discuss Muffler Men/Paul Bunyan sculptures and Uniroyal Girls. Weirdly elephants keep appearing in this episode. We didn’t plan it that way. It just happened. So if you are an elephant fan, you are in luck!

Follow along with Merlin as he tries to keep up with Matt, his ball of red yarn and box of thumbtacks. From Russian-American linguists of WW2 to forest fire management to pre-colonial shipbuilding, an imported fungus and thrice recycled wood becoming a picture frame. But there's more, lots more; there's sword swallowers, a turn of the century cupboard and even wood rats!

American Chestnut Trees:

The American Chestnut Foundation

https://tacf.org

James Krenov:

https://www.thekrenovfoundation.org

Pickled Punks art:

Pickled Punks

...

Merlin tells stories of adventures in keeping his old beetles and Buses running, and times he has had to prove his own existence. There will surely be a follow up to this episode with more old VW stories from friends and family as well.

A continuation of Episode 3: Places we call home. Matt, Merlin and Tasia discuss the wonder of a place called Sideshow Gelato. This is a bittersweet episode. Near Lincoln Square in Chicago you must visit them soon, Sideshow closes at the end of December.

Join Merlin, Matt and Tasia as we discuss pubs, diners, shops and more that were and are homes away from home. Please drop us an email to share your stories of favorite places that we can revisit in another episode. Episode 4 will continue this discussion and focus on Sideshow Gelato in Chicago. 4 will air Dec 3rd.

Hear about the Morse museum of Warren NH, why Warren has a rocket in the center of town, plus other New England stories such as the Sheriff who could never decide what car to drive, and how a hotel was lost in a lake.

The Morse Museum Story

Redstone Missile Warren NH

A ramble about our connections with tools, and characters we have met who keep the old ways going. From the Amish to two old men and a sawmill.