Loose Units: The Podcast

Why are highway patrol officers called Cockroaches? And are old people really more dangerous at driving than young ones? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eric Bana and Jane Harper drop by to talk about the spectacular new crime drama THE DRY, based on Jane's bestselling novel! It's out January1st, and you absolutely have to see it. If you loved Loose Units and Electric Blue, it's going to really float your boat. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Young John, fresh off a thrilling car chase, now has to get down to routine, sh*t-kicking police work. But things get interesting when a prisoner insists on showing John his tattoo... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An old woman stops John in the street, and suddenly, a decades-old murder mystery unfolds at his feet. An incredible, unexpected story from John is in store this week on Loose Ends! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How does a scrawny 21 year old cop haul a 100kg prisoner into the back of a sedan with a crowd watching? And what happens when someone gets thrown through a plate glass window and almost gets skinned in the process? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John, Paul and Tegan get together for a very special look at Red Host Australian Christmas, and to talk about the challenges of telling a story about bushfire season in regional Victoria., Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Loose Units, Castaway Studios and Tegan Higginbotham proudly present Red Hot Australian Christmas, a hilarious and touching 45-minute Christmas audio play based in Gippsland, Victoria. It’s Christmas in Australia, and Victoria is in the grip of an unprecedented heatwave.   As the mercury rises across the state, the threat of fire plays heavily on the minds of many. But for a stubborn few, Christmas is – first and foremost – a time for family, feasting, and forced frivolity. And as far as they’re concerned, the fires can go and get f**ked.  One such believer is grizzled country Grandmother Heather Kelly, who has finally managed to get her entire family under one roof in Maffra, Gippsland. But before Heather even has time to interrogate her children about their failing love lives, the family receive a fire evacuation order. Code Red – they have to leave.  With danger pressing in on them, the Kelly family pack Christmas into the back of a caravan and flee for their lives. But as night rolls into day and the fires begin to surround them, Heather has to face up to the fact that she could be about to lose much, much more than her Christmas.   Starring (in alphabetical order):Michala Banas, Eddie Baroo, Michelle Brasier, Bev Killick, Jackson Tozer, Paul Verhoeven, Kirsty Webeck. With special guests, Georgia Love and John Verhoeven.   Written and directed by Tegan Higginbotham Audio production by Paul Verhoeven Proudly recorded on Wurundjeri land.  All proceeds going to Stand by Support – dedicated to supporting individuals and communities across Australia bereaved or impacted by suicide.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul and John discuss how to dissolve a body in lye, whether social workers can become cops, AND they reveal the single biggest thing to happen on this podcast EVER. Next Tuesday is going to be EPIC! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21 year old John, green as hell, steps out of his first car chase and is confronted with a terrible choice. Shots are fired, suspects are fleeing, and before long, John undertakes his very first high-pressure arrest. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a series of rapid fire questions from listeners, the boys field a somewhat epic and troubling tale from a UK listener involving a stalker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John and Paul contend with John's first - and worst - mentor on the force: Len Beater. This week on Loose Units, the boys look at working the Sylvester Switch, pining after unrequited love, and being buddied-up with a maniac-in-the-making. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul and John discuss the corrections officers, and the inherent squiggliness of prison as a concept. They also dive into John's weird, potentially stupid way of keeping track of things. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Loose Units: Origins, find out what it was like for 20 year old John Verhoeven to enter a room full of dead bodies on slabs. Paul and John delve into the imapct of seeing dead bodies, talk about how brains are removed from skulls, and John mocks the very idea of bringing lunchboxes to work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A listener sends in a question about ADHD and autism, and suddenly, Paul and John have a talk decades in the making. This episode of Loose Units delves into father and son issues, depression, anxiety, guilt, ADHD and medication. It's also the first time Paul and John have ever aired these issues face-to-face. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A young John gets smashed in the face during training for flipping a fellow cadet! A very angry man threatens to cave his skull in if he doesn't shoot straight! This week on Loose Units: Origins, the boys take a look at John's search for a mentor whilst learning to become a police officer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What begins as an exploration into touch-typing mishaps soon devolves into DRUGS. More specifically, a listener tells a harrowing story of a near-miss when a cop enters their grow-house, and John gets invited into a very well-lit, very green Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John is 21, and two police arrive at his door... but there's weed growing in the bathroom. Is John's police career about to disappear in a puff of smoke? Also: did you know that John almost ended up investing in a drug ring? Neither did Paul! It's a jam-packed and super stressful episode of Loose Units: Origins, and this week, we're looking at Chapter 2. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is it safe to eat - or snort - the ashes of a cremated loved one? Are John's antiques stories as thrilling as he suspects? AND ARE THOSE SIRENS OUTSIDE? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're going right back to the eighties. In the book Loose Units, Paul told fanciful, fantastical versions of John's adventures as a cop in North Sydney in the early 1980s. Now, he and John go chapter-by-chapter and break down the stories behind the stories. This week, why did John actually join the police force? Why didn't his family want him to enrol? And how the hell did he pass the entrance exam anyway? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A listener sends in a truly incredible story which floors John and Paul. They also discuss whether creamtoriums have chimneys, if bodies get burnt with their clothes in, and what happens when you burn weed and are standing down-wind. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is it. The end of Loose Units: Dead Serious. What pushed John to leave the funeral industry? What was the straw that finally broke the camel’s back? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul and John take a look at the new Netflix true crime feature, American Murder: The Family Next Door. Warning: this episode contains SPOILERS. Also, it was recorded while Paul was moving house, so apologies for the audio quality! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A body, wrapped in plastic. An unjust set of laws. And trapped in the middle, an ex-cop and ex-firefighter struggling with a terrible decision. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John forgets that Paul almost drowned, the boys discover that Australian forensics experts are the reason the heist from National Treasure even exists, and a trapped demon escapes it's salty prison. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A mysterious box full of human remains. A grieving mother. A strange request... and a terrible moment for John, who realises he's going to have to do something truly questionable to salvage this situation. Find out the story behind one of the most tragic chapters from Electric Blue in this harrowing and honest episode of Loose Units. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John attends a seance, a folk band gets waterlogged at a funeral, and Paul tells John all about the legendary Inuit Sh*t Knife. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John begins to work with an embalmer who performs emergency surgery on a corpse with one of John's most prized possessions. But what will said embalmer use to settle a debt? And what does UNDEAD SEX DUNGEON allude to? All will become clear on this truly twisted episode of Loose Units: Dead Serious. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Icelandic witches, weird zombie rituals, and pants made from dead people. It’s a super-grisly Icelandic folklore edition of Loose Ends! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A cemetery the size of a suburb, a procession of a hundred cars following you, a dead body in the back, and wife of the departed running out of oxygen. What could possibly go wrong? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can you smother a person to death, then get water into their lungs to make it look like a drowning? And why on Earth would you WANT to? It's time for a violent, speculative and hilarious episode of Loose Ends! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A nervous, inept minister who has crossed paths with young John before nearly does something truly terrible. That’s right: the Anglican minster who flings holy water and rocks up at the Catholic masses to wreak havoc is back, and this time… there’s a body on the line. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John tells Paul about how to sort through a garbage bag full of pulverized dead person to find something you can actually fingerprint. It's time for a bloody, soupy, and very loose Father's Day episode of Loose Ends! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John walks Paul through his worst day as a funeral director. A dead child, a secret stash of holy water, and several staggering funeral mistakes add up to make this a truly unforgettable day for young John. TRIGGER WARNING: Deceased children, SIDS. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John and Paul revisit a tale involving Roger Rogerson, Sallie-Ann Huckstepp and penile rigor mortis. An accident on the Sydney Harbour Bridge leads to an unlikely meeting, and John's secret passion takes centre stage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Finally, John goes supernatural. From a mysterious stranger who appears under the Verhoeven's house, to a dead person spontaneously sitting upright and making a horrifying sound, this is the first time Loose Units has gone paranormal. Its about to get seriously spooky, folks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's launch week for Electric Blue, so John and Paul discuss the release and the impending Zoom launch party! John talks the qualifications needed to join forensics, but he also tells Paul about what is involved putting make-up on dead people (and shaving them, too). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To celebrate today's release of Electric Blue, Paul's new book based on John's real cases, John revisits a case which didn't make it into the book. A body has been found under deeply suspicious and odd circumstances, and John is sent in to figure out what happened. Strange fluid on the ceiling, sex toys everywhere, and something that just doesn't add up.All the various outlets selling Electric Blue, in hard copy, ebook and audiobook, are right here: https://bit.ly/2Y913Tg Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when John's Dad helps him carry a coffin at a potential mafia funeral? Can you cook popcorn inside a body being cremated? And what is the single strangest story from John's childhood, one which will haunt Paul FOREVER? It's time for Loose Ends! Also, get ready for the Electric Blue online launch party, 22nd of August! Tickets go on sale next week! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does embalming involve? Making the dead look alive, and keeping them preserved, seems like a subtle art. But as John learned one very odd day at the funeral home, it was a lot stranger, more complex and more visceral than he'd ever have suspected. It's time for an in-depth look at embalming, people. Strap in. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Loose Ends, John ends up in court embroiled in an art forgery case. No, seriously. He and Paul also discuss whether you'll be ending up with other people mixed in with your ashes after cremations, and there's some pretty odd talk about elves. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sure, John is an emergency services jack-of-all-trades. But what happened the first time he was trusted to conduct a funeral? The wheels fell off, that's what. Paul pries from his Dad an embarrasing tale of funerary woe, and then he and John discuss National Missing Persons Week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when you scatter the wrong ashes? Do teddy bears get cremated with their owners? And what's it like to carry your Dad's ashes around with you? It's time for another episode of Loose Ends! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The death of a familiar character from Loose Units (the book) sees John fast-tracked from cleaning hearses to actively helping. But what was it like to be an ex-cop working at a cop's funeral? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Loose Ends, John and Paul discuss live-streaming funerals, how double plots work, and how sports fans might want their ashes used after they pass away. John also tells Paul what is apparently one of his finest jokes. Does it land? You be the judge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, John and Paul discuss the funeral of John's Dad, Henk Verhoeven. What is it actually like to deal with a death in the family when you're the one helping organise it? They also discuss how to talk (or not talk) to people who've just lost someone.You can pre-order Electric Blue, the sequel to Loose Units, right now at Booktopia: https://t.co/YygJeGMVWB?amp=1 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's Loose Ends, John and Paul discuss the passing of Henk, John's father. They then burrow into a treasure trove of brilliant and hilarious funeral stories from their wonderful listeners, before weighing up whether or not Costco coffins and caskets are a bargain or a bust. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, there's an actual death in the family, which John and Paul discuss on the show. Then, John tells Paul about hearses, Paul makes some truly dumb jokes about his or hearse, and we begin our journey into John's time running a funeral home in the nineties. It's a fascinating, weird and heartbreaking episode of Loose Units: Dead Serious. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of Loose Ends, John and Paul tease the coming season, hear a chilling tale from a listener’s first encounter with a dead body, and discuss the perils of minimalism. Then, John tells the legitimately horrifying story of his worst injury ever, and Paul and John announce a donation to a truly wonderful charity.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A brand new season of Loose Units is here. This season, John talks to Paul about his time running a funeral home, and in our first episode, you'll hear about the very first time John saw a dead body. You'll also hear about a funeral that almost goes very, very wrong.If you want to ask John and Paul any questions, you can head to facebook.com/looseunits and send a message. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Loose Ends, John and Paul discuss volunteer work, mental health care for emergency service workers, cops who won't take their helmets off... and John is finally forced to say The V Word. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.