Culture

Ghosts, Serial Killers, and 3 Other Podcasts You Should Scare Up This Week

Treat your ears to something creepy this Halloween.
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This Halloween, scare off that creeper who sits too close on the subway car with tales of pickled victims, seances, and a pirate with a pedigree—plus, a spooooooooooky story of taxation without representation. We’ve got stories aplenty, from a McDonald’s in Waikiki to outer space to the fictional British village of Piffling Vale. Unwrap your favorite fun-sized candy bar and listen up.

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    PRX

    Offshore, “The Death of Kollin Elderts”

    PRX and Honolulu Civil Beat have partnered to give us mainlanders a glimpse into life on the islands beyond vacations and birth records. The first season takes listeners to a McDonald’s on Waikiki, where armed, off-duty federal agent Christopher Deedy shot and killed Native Hawaiian Kollin Elderts in 2011. It’s a look at race and policing, from a state with a long, unique history of racial tension. [Listen here.](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/offshore/id1161597030?mt=2)
  • In 1961, part of the Transit 4A satellite blew up in space, creating hundreds of pieces of space debris. A couple pieces of floating metal are no big deal in the vastness of outer space, right? Turns out, to travel through the galaxy safely---and, someday, to be an interplanetary tourist---we need to dispose of space trash safely, which is as hard as it sounds. Plus, find out just what a space archaeologist does.
  • Wooden Overcoats

    Wooden Overcoats, “The Ghost of Piffling Vale”

    The very funny, very British radio drama *Wooden Overcoats* is back for season two! At the two competing funeral homes in the village of Piffling Vale, siblings Rudyard and Antigone Funn have an enterprising solution for an unusual request---one that includes Whoopee cushions, a seance, and exorcising exercises, all narrated by Madeleine the mouse. [Listen here.](http://www.woodenovercoats.com/season-2)
  • Lore

    Lore, “Trick or Treat 2016”

    Celebrate Halloween right with *Lore*, the podcast that brings you true scary stories every week of the year. For the October 31 special, listen up to a story of how a pirate with a high-seas pedigree met his match in Millard Fillmore’s great-grandpa, and the chilling tale of Béla Kiss, a Hungarian serial killer---and vampire?---who pickled his 24 victims in gasoline drums. [Listen here.](http://www.lorepodcast.com/episodes/tt16b)
  • Slate

    Placemakers, “The Warrior on the Hill”

    Everyone’s thinking about who will move into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in January, but what about the votes of the people who already live in Washington, DC? As Americans prepare to vote across the country, *Placemakers*, which examines the people who shape the neighborhoods we live in, goes to the district without representation---or at least, without a vote. Meet Eleanor Holmes Norton, the non-voting delegate in the House of Representatives who for 13 terms has been fighting on behalf of DC’s 670,000 constituents. [Listen here.](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/placemakers/id1136272621?mt=2)
Charley Locke is a writer for WIRED covering culture and photography. ... Read more
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