Side Stories: Stories with Friends II

Eddie fills in for Henry on this Side Stories episode, joined first by Sina Valy (of Fraudsters and Foreign Report) for a mix of morbid curiosities and grim updates, then by Amber Nelson for Epstein file drops and other odd deaths. Topics span the absurd—like drug-fueled Olympics and dead sloths—to heavier fare like Iran's regime brutality amid U.S.-Israel strikes.

Enhanced Games Launch in Vegas

The Enhanced Games, set for May 21-24 at a Las Vegas venue like the Cosmopolitan, mark the first Olympic-style event explicitly allowing performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), limited to FDA-approved ones like HGH, with no testing. Backed by Peter Thiel, Donald Trump Jr., and lawyer Aaron DeSouza (who aided Hulk Hogan's Gawker suit), it features swimming, track, weightlifting, and strongman events, plus a post-event concert by The Killers. Athletes train in the UAE and will compete categorized by chromosomal sex, despite the PEDs. Prizes include $25 million in total compensation—more than the clean Olympics offer most athletes—plus $1 million bonuses for world records. Valued at $1.2 billion via a public firm despite no TV deal and a 2,500-seat venue (streaming on YouTube), it draws skepticism over funding hype and safety risks, likened to Formula 1 crashes or SNL sketches of lifters ripping off limbs. Organizers pitch it as "excellence and American dominance," but critics see dystopi