Today, Graham Media Group dropped the second season of its popular “Mismatch” podcast series, hosted by longtime TV reporter and anchor Roger Weber.
The series features stories about the incompatible, the unsuitable, and the out of step. "More often than not, interesting stories feature a mismatch," Weber said.
Episode descriptions:
The Original Siamese Twins
As conjoined twins, Chang and Eng Bunker’s lives were astonishing. Their adventure -- beginning in 1811 in what is now Thailand, and ending in America -- was completely out of line with what anybody could have expected.
The Artificial Heart That Led to a 40-Year Feud
Dr. Michael DeBakey and Dr. Denton Cooley were two of the most prominent surgeons in the world. They were pioneers in the first open-heart operations. But Cooley triggered a 40-year feud when he took an artificial heart from DeBakey’s lab and implanted it in a patient.
The Religious Colony Promising Everlasting Life
In 1903, Benjamin and Mary Purnell founded the House of David, a religious colony in Benton Harbor, Michigan. It grew to more than 1,000 members who vowed to give up meat, alcohol and sex in exchange for everlasting life. The colony would go on to make major contributions in the fields of technology, entertainment and sports before becoming embroiled in scandal.
I'm Never Using My Smartphone Again
Let's face it. Most of us are addicted to our phones and the apps that populate them. This is a story of one former addict quitting her iPhone and social media cold turkey.
A Box Full of Letters and a Family's Tragic End
Tim Mallad is the unlikely discoverer and steadfast keeper of a stranger’s story. One family’s tragedy grabbed him and wouldn't let go. For the story to finally emerge, 70 years later, strange things had to happen. This story is about Tim’s purchase of a piece of junk furniture in Detroit, his chance meeting with a Hollywood star and his unlikely decision when he was in his 20s to keep an old woman's fading letters.
Jose Feliciano's Anthem Encore
It was 1968. The assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy had already shaken Americans to the core. About 300 American soldiers were being killed each week in Vietnam and protesters were beaten near the Democratic National Convention. In that wrenching year, the nation needed a time-out. The 1968 World Series would provide that break. About 53,000 fans jammed Tiger Stadium, hoping their team could rally after trailing the Cardinals 3-1. Before the first pitch of Game 5, they removed their hats and rose from their seats to hear the most memorable and controversial performance of the national anthem in the history of American sports.
Teddy Roosevelt’s Gutsy, Crazy, Journey
After having lost a presidential re-election bid, TR traveled to Brazil with his son to undertake an adventure in one of the most unexplored and intimidating tributaries of the Amazon.
Go to MismatchPodcast.com, or download the podcast through Apple, Google, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or Overcast.
"Mismatch" is produced in partnership with WDIV-TV, one of Graham Media Group's seven TV stations. Joining forces with Weber is Zak Rosen, Graham Media Group’s Director of Podcasting, a Detroit-based audio producer who has worked with NPR, the BBC, Michigan Radio, WDET, Gimlet, Panoply and his own wife on their podcast, “Pregnant Pause with Zak and Shira.”
“We have wonderful storytellers at all of our stations and the tremendous success from our first season of ‘Mismatch’ bears that out,” said Emily Barr, president and CEO of Graham Media Group. “With the ever-expanding interest in podcasts, we’re looking forward to sharing more real-life stories from our local communities that we know our listeners will find fascinating.”
