About The Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Jackalope
The Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Jackalope is a secret society devoted to sharing strange stories and amazing facts. No topic is off limits -- if it's interesting or entertaining, we'll do an episode about it.
#125: The Balloon Doggies Demanded It [why I hate Jeff Koons]
Jeff Koons is, without a doubt, the quintessential artist of our age: as bland and reassuring as a bowl of oatmeal, about as deep as a puddle, and more concerned about how much his work sells for than what it says. A hater's guide.
https://order-of-the-jackalope.com/the-balloon-doggies-demanded-it
Key sources for this episode include Don Thompson's The $12 Million Stuffed Shark; Jed Perl's "The Cult of Jeff Koons"; Hans Werner Holzwarth's Koons monograph; Norman Rosenthal's Jeff Koons: Conversations with Norman Rosenthal; Robert Hughes's American Visions; and so many gallery catalogues, including the ones for his 2000 Easyfun-Ethereal exhibition, his 2002 Kunsthaus Bregenz exhibition, his 2014 Whitney Retrospective, and the Tate Modern's 2009 "Pop Life" exhibition.
Photo by Neil R. (Cropped every so slightly from original)
The Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Jackalope is a secret society devoted to the idea that that which is least known is best to know. Each episode we share a strange story or amazing fact, and no topic is off limits -- if it's interesting or entertaining, we'll cover about it!
Email: jackalope@order-of-the-jackalope.com
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/order-of-the-jackalope.com
Discord: https://discord.gg/uEVrmKZzq2
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@orderjackalope
31 Aug 2026
#124: Skeedadded and gone to Hell [Pithole]
For a long time it was just a hole in the ground. Then, for twelve months, it was the fifth-largest city in Pennsylvania and the biggest oil field in the world. And then, just as abruptly, it was a hole inthe ground again.
https://order-of-the-jackalope.com/skeedaddled-and-gone-to-hell
Key sources for this episode include Brian Black's Petrolia: The Landscape of America's First Oil Boom; Ernest C. Miller's Pennsylvania's Oil Industry; John J. McLaurin's Sketches in Crude Oil; the autobiography of Ida M. Tarbell; and most importantly, William C Darragh's Pithole: The Vanished City.
The Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Jackalope is a secret society devoted to the idea that that which is least known is best to know. Each episode we share a strange story or amazing fact, and no topic is off limits -- if it's interesting or entertaining, we'll cover about it!
Email: jackalope@order-of-the-jackalope.com
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/order-of-the-jackalope.com
Discord: https://discord.gg/uEVrmKZzq2
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@orderjackalope
17 Aug 2026
How Much Chocolate is In Your Chocolate?
Welcome to the Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Chocolope, where I dive into topics too nerdy for a Chocolate Snobs episode and too chocolate-oriented for an Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Jackalope entry. Today, we ask: "How much chocolate is in your chocolate?"
https://order-of-the-jackalope.com/how-much-chocolate/
https://chocolate-snobs.com
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
32,234
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.7 / 5
13 ratings
Spotify
4.5 / 5
10 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 77 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
85
Social presence
91
YouTube
76
Engagement
51
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