Lorien, too tired for anything truly terrible, tells Katharine about a mysterious, anonymous, unsolvable set of puzzles.

Sources:

• ​⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada_3301⁠⁠
• ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steganography⁠⁠
• ​https://www.npr.org/2014/01/05/259959632/the-internets-cicada-a-mystery-without-an-answer⁠⁠
• ​https://web.archive.org/web/20131125232546/
• ​http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/10468112/The-internet-mystery-that-has-the-world-baffled.html⁠⁠
• ​https://www.fastcompany.com/3025785/meet-the-man-who-solved-the-mysterious-cicada-3301-puzzle⁠⁠https://web.archive.org/web/20150920023142/
• ​http://mentalfloss.com/article/31932/chasing-cicada-exploring-darkest-corridors-internet⁠⁠
• ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_reality_game⁠⁠
• ​https://web.archive.org/web/20170802043935/
• ​https://blog.threatstack.com/cicadas-security-part-2-when-a-verified-pgp-key-takes-you-on-a-trip-to-the-desert⁠⁠
• ​https://mashable.com/archive/us-navy-codebreaker-game⁠⁠
• ​https://apple.news/AMScMZtd3RAeKfsks16t3jA⁠⁠
• ​https://www.archive.vtmag.vt.edu/sum15/ology.html⁠⁠
• ​https://www.the-independent.com/tech/masonic-conspiracy-or-mi6-recruitment-tool-internet-mystery-cicada-3301-starts-up-again-9044049.html⁠⁠
• ​https://theface.com/life/cicada-3301-the-codebreakers-still-working-on-the-internets-strangest-mystery⁠⁠
• ​https://clevcode.org/cicada-3301/⁠
• ​https://www.truesec.com/hub/blog/dissecting-the-cicada⁠⁠
• ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ransomware_as_a_service⁠⁠
• ​https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/cicada-ransomware-what-you-need-know⁠⁠
• ​https://www.ibm.com/think/news/has-blackcat-returned-as-cicada3301⁠⁠
• ​https://www.rapid7.com/blog/post/2024/08/20/selling-ransomware-breaches-4-trends-spotted-on-the-ramp-forum/⁠⁠
• ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darknet
• ​https://vocal.media/history/cicada-3301-the-internet-s-greatest-mystery⁠⁠
• ​https://www.alaricstephen.com/main-featured/2016/9/18/the-cryptic-crossword-that-recruited-for-bletchley-park⁠
• ​https://www.schoolreaders.org/post/could-you-have-been-a-bletchley-park-codebreaker

Katharine teaches Lorien all about cracking and packing, monstrous political cartoons, and shapes. That's right, it's that sexiest of topics: Gerrymandering!

Sources:

• https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/gerrymandering-explained
• https://www.history.com/articles/gerrymandering-origins-voting
• https://www.npr.org/2025/10/21/nx-s1-5577000/north-carolina-redistricting-trump
• https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HSI-pf8MumE
• https://www.gilderlehrman.org/news/elbridge-gerry-and-original-gerrymander
• https://www.npr.org/2025/11/18/nx-s1-5604412/redistricting-midterm-election-texas
• https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/19/texas-redistricting-maps-supreme-court-whats-next/
• https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2025/11/17/indiana-legislative-leaders-dodge-discussing-redistricting-pressure/
• https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/utah-judge-rejects-republican-drawn-congressional-map-adopts-alternative-creating-democratic-leaning-district
• https://apnews.com/article/redistricting-gerrymandering-voting-maps-congress-trump-2ba53ae1f492f8e293f0fa261604e8c6

Lorien tells Katharine about a tragedy of gigantic proportions.

Sources:

• The Story of the Titanic: As Told by Its Survivors, Lawrence Beesley, Archibald Gracie, Commander Lightoller, Harold Bride, ed. Jack Winocour.
• https://www.history.com/articles/titanic
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic
• https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/titanic-tragedy-caused-by-fire-not-iceberg-claims-journalist/news-story/ef1bb657d02d64cd5f94cff4f361b4a7
• https://www.rd.com/list/titanic-survivors-what-happened-to-them-next/

Katharine tells Lorien about a seasonally appropriate phobia, and then grants her an honorary doctorate that they're sure is legit.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_clown_sightings#:~:text=The%202016%20clown%20sightings%20were,stunt%20for%20a%20horror%20film.
• https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21835-coulrophobia-fear-of-clowns
• https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-weird-reason-were-afraid-of-clowns/
• https://time.com/4518456/scary-clown-sighting-attack-craze/
• https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/oct/31/the-great-clown-panic-of-2016-a-volatile-mix-of-fear-and-contagion#:~:text=It%20began%20in%20the,for%20adults%20and%20children%20alike.
• https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/10/03/merrimack-college-lockdown-reports-blame-armed-clown-sightings/91511098/
• https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/clown-mask-prank-may-have-led-to-deadly-stabbing-of-teen/
• https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2016/09/nine_clown_arrests_so_far_in_a.html
• https://www.clickorlando.com/news/2016/11/02/man-recounts-halloween-night-attack-at-hands-of-costumed-mob/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy

It's October! So Lorien tells Katharine some theatre ghost stories.

Sources:

• https://www.shakespearetheatre.org/watch-listen/feeling-superstitious-ghost-lights-and-whistling-backstage/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_light_(theatre)#cite_note-1
• https://www.nida.edu.au/news/ghost-lights-asks-the-world-to-interact-and-keep-the-spirit-of-theatre-alive/
• https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/a-ghost-light-has-brightened-the-stage-for-more-than-a-month-at-the-royal/article_600d04b1-5859-54f9-a8ce-ac35da5f4483.html
• https://www.news-press.com/story/entertainment/2020/08/12/covid-florida-ghost-lights-keep-burning-at-theaters-in-fort-myers-naples-cape-coral/5500672002/
• https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/entertainment/article/leave-ghost-light-me-age-old-theatre-tradition-illuminating-sydneys-stages-during-coronavirus-era
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Amsterdam_Theatre
• https://www.wnyc.org/story/ghost-olive-thomas/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Thomas
• https://www.onstageblog.com/editorials/2020/3/25/the-history-of-the-ghost-light
• https://ny.curbed.com/2016/10/19/13333506/haunted-nyc-palace-theatre-broadway
• https://afterthefinalcurtain.net/2020/10/31/haunted-theatres/
• https://www.americantheatre.org/2019/10/31/5-tales-of-haunted-theatres-to-give-you-a-fright/
• https://www.americantheatre.org/2016/10/31/phantoms-of-the-theatre/
• https://www.cabq.gov/artsculture/kimo/history-of-the-kimo/kimo-history/ghost
• https://www.newspapers.com/article/albuquerque-journal/15197249/?locale=en-US
• https://www.legendsofamerica.com/nm-kimotheatre/
• https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/is-albuquerques-kimo-theatre-haunted/
• https://www.legendsofamerica.com/nm-kimotheatre/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KiMo_Theater
• https://www.reddit.com/r/Theatre/comments/1c8swcr/appeasing_the_theater_ghosts/

Katharine channels her inner Sarah Koenig to answer serious questions about a wild animal sighting.

Sources:

• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/gray-wolf
• https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/the-wolf-that-changed-america-wolf-wars-americas-campaign-to-eradicate-the-wolf/4312/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_Ellis_(wolf_researcher)
• https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=livewith.wolves#:~:text=Don't%20run%2C%20but%20act,using%20the%20wildlife%20encounter%20form.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDhIkoigl-Q
• https://wolf.org/wolf-info/factsvsfiction/are-wolves-dangerous-to-humans/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_attack#:~:text=Wolf%20attacks%20are%20injuries%20to,predatory%2C%20agonistic%2C%20and%20defensive.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenrir

Lorien takes Katharine back to the 1900s for a story of bad science, good journalism, and...soliciting blood at a child' s birthday party.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Wakefield
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancet_MMR_autism_fraud
• https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa021134
• https://www.thetimes.com/uk/science/article/revealed-mmr-research-scandal-7ncfntn8mjq
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8481583.stm
• https://briandeer.com/mmr/lancet-summary.htm
• https://www.democracynow.org/2025/1/31/andrew_wakefield_vaccine
• https://pauloffit.substack.com/p/the-rfk-jr-playbook
• https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/us/politics/rfk-science-vaccines.html
• https://www.brookings.edu/articles/rfk-jr-s-history-of-medical-misinformation-raises-concerns-over-hhs-nomination/
• https://www.nytimes.com/article/rfk-conspiracy-theories-fact-check.html
• https://ca.news.yahoo.com/rfk-jr-doesn-t-medical-142823533.html
• https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/history.html
• https://www.idsociety.org/ID-topics/infectious-disease/measles/know-the-facts
• https://www.statnews.com/2025/02/03/vaccine-autism-rfk-jr-how-science-proves-vaccines-do-not-cause-autism/
• https://apple.news/AV5bUl2rwQr-Y3oS_9JmG9Q
• https://apple.news/AkXiB-2SYSIax-BASG39_3w
• https://apple.news/AkXiB-2SYSIax-BASG39_3w
• https://www.startribune.com/cdc-leaders-who-resigned-said-rfk-jr-undermined-vaccine-science-risking-lives/601463373

Katharine has big concerns about tiny plastics.

Sources:

• https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/microplastics.html
• https://magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articles/microplastics-everywhere
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microplastics
• https://apple.news/AlNT07D-cT-K1KiKXlFz1Lw
• https://www.wired.com/story/this-startup-promises-to-clean-your-blood-of-microplastics-clarify-clinics/