981: Elizabeth Smart, Secret Mall Apartment, & Pungent Food

We discuss the Elizabeth Smart documentary about her kidnapping and miraculous rescue, and the complicated nature of healing from that trauma. We learn about a graduate student who was offended when people in the department asked him to stop microwaving his "pungent" food, so he sued the school claiming he was discriminated against. We talk about the people who created a secret apartment in the mall and lived there for a long time without being detected, why they did it, and whether we love it or are annoyed by it. Susie talks about a woman who was busted for drunk driving and drug possession, but handled it in a hilarious way.

00:00 - Why Don't Modern Films Teach Us Lessons Anymore?

04:08 - Susie's Obsession with HBO's The Pit Series

06:24 - Ice Storms, Bowling Ball Gifts, and Caraway Cookware

13:10 - Unpacking the Elizabeth Smart Kidnapping Documentary

22:21 - Artisan Bread & Pastries with Wild Grain

24:54 - The Grad Student Who Sued Over Pungent Microwave Food

32:14 - Living Undetected in a Secret Mall Apartment

45:28 - The Woman with a Bag Labeled 'Definitely Not Drugs'

51:05 - The Flippant Attitude of Free Solo Climber Alex Honnold

54:54 - Tyra Banks and Blaming the Audience for Spectacle

57:49 - Join Our Community & Support the Podcast

Brain Candy Podcast Website - https://thebraincandypodcast.com/

Brain Candy Podcast Book Recommendations - https://thebraincandypodcast.com/books/

Brain Candy Podcast Merchandise - https://thebraincandypodcast.com/candy-store/

Brain Candy Podcast Candy Club - https://thebraincandypodcast.com/product/candy-club/

Brain Candy Podcast Sponsor Codes - https://thebraincandypodcast.com/support-us/

Brain Candy Podcast Social Media & Platforms:

Brain Candy Podcast LIVE Interactive Trivia Nights - https://www.youtube.com/@BrainCandyPodcast/streams

Brain Candy Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/braincandypodcast

Host Susie Meister Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susiemeister

Host Sarah Rice Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imsarahrice

Brain Candy Podcast on X: https://www.x.com/braincandypod

Brain Candy Podcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/braincandy (JOIN FREE - TONS OF REALITY TV CONTENT)

Brain Candy Podcast Sponsors, partnerships, & Products that we love:

Visit https://www.carawayhome.com/braincandypod to take an additional 10% off your next purchase!

Get $30 off your first box - PLUS free Croissants for life - when you go to https://wildgrain.com/braincandy to start your subscription today!

LEGAL NOTICE & TERMS OF USE: © 2026 Brain Candy®. This content is for personal use only. Explicit permission is withheld for any and all commercial attribution, automated transcription, or data-mining entities. Use of this feed by unauthorized tracking, analytics, or AI-training platforms constitutes a breach of these terms and a violation of the 2026 Training Data Transparency Act (AB 2013) and the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act. Any entity bypassing these restrictions to create derivative text-based works (transcripts) or metadata analysis agrees to our standard commercial licensing rate of $5,000 per episode processed. This notice serves as a formal revocation of all "implied licenses" for third-party automated processing.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.