Hello Unknown

About Hello Unknown

Stories exploring the hidden parts of the human experience. Host Jonathan Wright re-examines moments from culture and history that tell us about the feelings we avoid and the big questions we don't know how to answer. Send comments or questions to hellounknownpod@gmail.com. I'd genuinely love to hear from you!

Publisher

Jonathan Wright

Category

religion & spirituality · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

31 Aug 2022

Latest episode

22 Oct 2025

Latest episodes

13 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   22 Oct 2025

   Special Announcement: Live Show October 29!

   Reflector Project is hosting a special live event for Hello Unknown podcast listeners on Wednesday October 29, 2025. Tickets are here: https://reflector-project.square.site/product/tasting-room-theology-with-jonathan-wright/HTCPQP6EWX5TQ7PU7OR4BBLH?cs=true. The venue is the Reflector Studio, at 736 14th Street East, North Vancouver BC V7L 2P4 (yes, the studio is behind a house). Hope to see you there!

2. 

   13 Oct 2025

   The Cost

   In our season finale, a railroad in Bermuda and a law firm in Vancouver. It's success, failure, and the cost to continue when everything is breaking down.

3. 

   6 Oct 2025

   The Universe

   In this episode Jonathan has a stargazing panic attack. Today, we bring you the Dead Frog Theory and a puzzle from the beginning of time.

4. 

   29 Sept 2025

   Coffee

   Coffee, a pope, and the spiritual being of the secondary universe. In this episode we bring you the history of coffee and get really high on God.

5. 

   22 Sept 2025

   Thief-taker

   Is Jonathan literally the WORST HUMAN IMAGINABLE? We answer this question with the stories of an 18th century proto-Sherlock and a 21st century English major.

6. 

   15 Sept 2025

   For Keeps (A POGs Story)

   In March ’94, with POGs fever gripping his school, 11‑year‑old Chad spots the problem no one else can solve: the slammer. In this episode, the rise and fall of two POGs empires, and what it means to play for keeps.

7. 

   8 Sept 2025

   Wrong Colours

   In our first episode of season two: a Glasgow rivalry and god fans in Vancouver. Welcome back to Hello Unknown!

8. 

   26 Sept 2022

   Hawaiian Mall

   In the final episode of season 1, Jonathan Wright confronts the unknown, telling the stories of two Hawaiian malls: one in a pineapple cannery in Lahaina and the other in Jonathan’s mind. Sources Sarah Ruppenthal, "The Sweet and Sour History of the Pineapple in Hawai'i", Flux Hawai'i, https://fluxhawaii.com/hawaii-pineapple-the-sweet-and-sour-history-of-the-island-fruit/ Duane P. Bartholomew, Richard A. Hawkins, Johnny A. Lopez, "Hawaii Pineapple: The Rise and Fall of an Industry", HortScience, https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/47/10/article-p1390.xml Thos. G. Thrum, "Hawaiian Annual for 1927 - The Refernece Book of Information and Statistics Relating to the Territory of Hawaii", chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10524/32424/1927.pdf "Labor in the Territory of Hawaii 1939", United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/files/docs/publications/bls/bls_0687_1940.pdfhttps://www.google.com/search?q=labor+in+the+territory+of+hawaii+1939+bulletin+no+687&oq=labor+in+the+territory+of+hawaii+1939+bulletin+no+687&aqs=chrome..69i57.11412j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

9. 

   19 Sept 2022

   The 6th Dalai Lama

   A monk sees footprints in the snow. He follows the footprints, belonging to his teenaged religious leader, to the home of his forbidden lover. Buddhist Tibet explodes. In this episode Jonathan Wright tells the history of his favourite Dalai Lama and reads his old notebooks to try and answer the question of how we tell our life stories. Sources Mark Tatz, "Songs of the Sixth Dalai Lama", The Tibet Journal, https://www.jstor.org/stable/43300034 Geoffrey Waters, "White Crane: Love Songs of the Sixth Dalai Lama", White Pine Press, https://www.amazon.ca/White-Crane-Songs-Sixth-Dalai/dp/1893996824

10. 

    12 Sept 2022

    Good Lost/Bad Lost

    What do the TV Show Lost and Jonathan’s dating history have in common? In this episode Jonathan Wright watches the first 10 episodes and last 10 episodes of Lost (why??) and also delves into his extremely anxious dating history to answer the question of whether it might, sometimes, be good to get a little lost. Sources Chris DeVille, "Lost Was The Best Before It Was The Worst", Deadspin,  https://deadspin.com/lost-was-the-best-before-it-was-the-worst-1635804502 Jen Chaney, "No, They Weren’t Dead the Whole Time", Vulture,  https://www.vulture.com/article/lost-series-finale-oral-history-the-end.html

11. 

    6 Sept 2022

    Sleep to Dream Her

    You probably hate Dave Matthews Band. We don’t blame you. But Dave knows what it takes to create. In this episode Jonathan Wright tells the story of one particularly terrible DMB song and also bares his soul about what it took to write his novel. Sources David Fricke, "Everyday", Rolling Stone, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/everyday-251759/ Sal Cinquemani, "Review: Dave Matthews Band, Everyday", Slant, https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/dave-matthews-band-everyday/ Christopher John Farley, "And the Band Plays On...", Time, http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2047891,00.html David Browne, "Everyday", Entertainment Weekly, https://ew.com/article/2001/02/26/everyday/ David Marchese, "In Conversation: Dave Matthews", Vulture, https://www.vulture.com/2018/05/dave-matthews-in-conversation.html Ray Waddell, "An American Band", Billboard, https://books.google.ca/books?id=xg4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA32&lpg=PA32&dq=%22When+five+guys+in+Charlottesville,+Va.,+started+making+a+joyful+noise+in+1991,+the+Grateful+Dead+was+still+a%22%22&source=bl&ots=hq8dDrlpNk&sig=ACfU3U3xMEghVNqQurbRPTDenhCVEqKcRw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj3577K1JL6AhU4GjQIHdj1DPMQ6AF6BAgEEAM#v=onepage&q&f=false

12. 

    6 Sept 2022

    Windows

    In this episode Jonathan Wright confronts OCD and his fear of death, telling the stories of a lawyer who bounced against windows and a near-death experience for Jonathan’s son.

13. 

    31 Aug 2022

    Cheater

    In episode 1 Jonathan Wright tells the story of Enron and takes a trip to Vietnam to ask what Enron's disgraced CFO, and Jonathan, can learn from the spirit of the cheater. Sources Lauren Muskett, "First Person: Andy Fastow and Me", CFO Magazine, https://www.cfo.com/corporate-finance/2019/04/first-person-andy-fastow-and-me/ Sharron Watkins, "The corporate conscience", The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2003/jun/21/corporatefraud.enron Emily Primeaux, "Numbers manipulator describes Enron's descent", Fraud Magazine, https://www.fraud-magazine.com/article.aspx?id=4294991880

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.6 / 5

18 ratings

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Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.