Going Deep with Chad and JT - Things You Don’t Need To Know

Episode Date: February 18, 2021

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Hey everyone, what's going on? Do not stop listening because we're bringing you something a little different today, but we promise that it's gonna be legit We want to tell you guys about a new podcast that we think you're really gonna love. It's called things you don't need to know It's hosted by the legend Ari Kagan If you don't know him, he's basically self-described as a nobody that his studio really gambled on. But we're just telling you guys straight up right now that he's a legit dude. And he brings the stoke. And he will bring the stoke to you in a different way with this new podcast.

A little more about Ari. He's a self-taught student of useless information. He's now found the perfect useless information delivery system a podcast what that was a good joke um anyways in every episode he searches for answers to questions he never even thought to ask things like what does it take to invent a food is it possible to beat the house at a casino what does a pickup artist do and And more importantly, how do they live with themselves? Big quesh. We are going to play you a clip right now, and I hope you guys enjoy it. In this clip, we find young Ari attempting to sell his soul.

Not metaphorically, but along the way he'll uncover some fascinating info about the history of soul-based transactions. Will he sell his soul? I don't know. What happens when you sell your soul? I don't know. What happens when you sell your soul? I don't know. All I know is the movie Bedazzled usually happens to you, but maybe that won't happen to Ari. Maybe it will happen to Ari. You're going to have to find out, because maybe he's going to meet Elizabeth Hurley as the devil,

or maybe something completely different is going to happen. I'm going to leave that to you guys to listen to and check it out. So take a listen and find out. Have you ever wanted something so bad that you'd do anything for it? Maybe it's fame, fortune, a particular skill. Maybe it's just paying rent this month. What about understanding the meaning of life? Being welcomed by society, a spot on the 30 under 30 or the FinTech 50 or the Forbes 400 or the India 100 or the Just 100, America's best corporate citizens. Or maybe you just want to understand why there are more Forbes lists than people. Whatever your conquest may be, to have what you desire requires hard work, discipline,

and staying true to yourself. Or you could just sell your soul. My name's Ari Kagan, and on today's episode of Things You Don't Need to Know, we're doing exactly that. So grab your stolen hotel Bible, because today, we're buying and selling souls. The first thing I wanted to look into was if anyone had actually done it. And technically, yes. On February 3rd, 2006, former minister Jim Henderson purchased Hemant Mehta's soul

on eBay for $504, which if you ask me is a little low. Which brings me to another point, and this is going to be a bit of a tangent, so just hear me out. Why is it that politicians sell out for so little? Like, come on! You took $25,000 to destroy thousands of acres of land? Do you have any idea how much money the company building the pipeline is making? Billions! And you thought that $25,000 was a fair deal? I don't know. If I was a politician, I definitely wouldn't be taking bribes that low. Making a deal with the devil can be traced back to 16th century Europe. One of the legend's first publications was the 1587 short story, The History of Dr. Johann Faustus. It's

most likely based on the life of Johann Georg Faust, who was a magician, alchemist, and astrologer, which begs the question, David Blaine? More on that later. As the story goes, and I'm summarizing here, Dr. Faustus signed a deal with the devil for all the knowledge his brain could handle in exchange for his eternal soul, which the devil would acquire after 24 years. 24 years symbolizing 24 hours in a day, which is what the 24 years would feel like in comparison to eternity. This detail intends to prove just how bad a deal Faust got. So Faust is using his magical abilities to impress people, crowds, royalty, he even once summons Alexander the Great, but, much like me after spending $35 on a one hour

session at the trampoline park, he's starting to regret his deal. He thinks about repenting, but every time he tries, either his own mind won't let him, or a scary demon appears and tells him not to. As the deadline draws closer, he regrets it more and more. But at this point, it's too late. And on the final minute of the final day of the final year, demons grab his body and drag him down to hell.

So what can we learn from this story? Well, the thing that jumps out to me is that Satan is a really good negotiator. So if you're going to sell your soul to... Is it a him now? Hold on. Okay, so according to most spiritual texts, Satan is indeed a man. It does not appear that anyone is arguing against that. So for the sake of today's episode, Satan's pronouns are he and him. Anyway, so if the devil makes an offer for your soul, unless you're Rick Harrison,

you're getting the short end of the stick. As time went by, the legend grew, and more people were added to the list of those who allegedly made a deal with the devil. In 1782, Niccolò Pagliani started lessons as a violinist. By age 11, he was performing, and at 15, he went on a world tour. It was because of his incredible talent at such a young age, people questioned if he was working with the devil, which was only reinforced by him telling a priest to leave his deathbed. Skipping ahead 100 years to Robert Johnson, someone who was said to have no musical talent whatsoever and eventually become one of the most famous blues musicians in history, once wrote a song about going to a crossroads of two major highways

and making a deal with the devil. He died at only 27 years old, most likely after being poisoned by a married woman's husband who he was having an affair with. Bob Dylan's song Crossroads tells a similar story, many people believing it's the same crossroads Robert Johnson traded his soul for a successful music career many years before. The list of celebrities who have reportedly sold their soul to the devil includes David Bowie,

Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Lil Uzi, Kanye West, and anyone else who's displayed significant skill and talked of demons. And it's through these stories that the legend continues. In my research, I found a majority of people who sold their souls work in entertainment. Could selling your soul be an allegory for anything more than the devil himself? No, absolutely not. So knowing this, I will try to sell my soul under the condition that I'm an atheist, and that if the devil appears, I will prove myself wrong, and not do the deal, because if the devil is real,

God must also be real, and therefore I've completed the greatest piece of journalism ever, get a raise, and won't need to sell my soul. Genius plan, I know. So I grabbed my kazoo and headed out to the nearest crossroads. All right, I've been out here for about 20 minutes now. About five minutes ago, some dude walked by with one of those, I think it's called a scythe. But he was just a farmer cutting down some wheat. So, no sign of the devil. Not surprised. Disappointed, but not surprised. So I went home, and I tried the other demon conjuring things.

Demon, I summon thee. Satan, I summon thee in exchange. I have a very good soul. Give you my soul in exchange for years of being able to play the kazoo properly. Accept this soul in exchange for... None of these things worked. I was kind of running out of hope on selling my soul to the devil. There was only one last thing to try. My name is Dex Desjardins. My first participation in the Satanic Temple was as co-founder of the Albany, New York chapter.

So you're the guy who can help me sell my soul. All right, dudes, what happens next? Well, you don't have to sell your soul to find out depending on the terms and conditions of your preferred podcast app but what you need to do to listen to the rest of this is search for things you don't need to know wherever fine podcasts are found and make sure to subscribe to get access to new episodes every thursday we hope you really enjoy this dudes and uh yeah stay stoked and talk to you later