In the Beginning, There Was Nietzsche (1992-1995)
In June 1992, Shaun Harford Duke and Adam Benjamin Callaway started a small podcast program called The Skiffy and Fanty Show. Originally designed as a weekly discussion of pop culture, the show quickly evolved into a network covering current events in a wide range of fields, from niche interests such as politics and fashion to mainstream topics such as science fiction literature and pottery. Shaun and Adam spent much of their first year developing their unique hosting style, honing their interviewing skills, and designing new programming to meet the needs of the nation.
The Skiffy and Fanty Show faced its first major explosion of popularity one year later. In August 1993, Congress approved and President Clinton signed a public broadcast law called the Telecommunications Act, known colloquially as the Kowal Initiative after Illinois Senator Robin Kowal. The law granted unique protections and rules for Internet-based programming and ushered in an era of public access podcasting. The Skiffy and Fanty Show was one of the first alternative media programs to be accepted in the Federal Communication Commission’s new Department of Public Broadcasting, which merged the FCC’s regulatory authority with the formerly private Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In addition to The Skiffy and Fanty Show, the DPB brought onboard visionary online programming such as Mister Smith’s Magic School Bus (formerly Mister Smith’s Neighborhood of Appropriate Affairs, which was changed after a 1994 study found that children could not remember the title), Philadelphia Week, DPB NewsHour, Walnut Street, and Gillian Childer’s French Chef.
Following the Kowal Initiative, Shaun and Adam decided to bring on new hosts to expand their programming. The first to enter the fray was Shaun’s childhood classmate, Jen “Ghost” Zink, who initially hosted the Talkers subcast before its cancellation and replacement by the Spiritual Film Buffs, which she also hosted.
By June 1994, Jen had graduated to a full co-host, taking over for Adam on a more frequent basis. At the time, Adam’s frequent absences were explained by a messy divorce with philistine and billionaire Kate Ferdinand, but as time passed, it became clear that Adam was in fact suffering from a mysterious illness. In the days immediately following Thanksgiving in 1994, Shaun and Jen could no longer hide the fact that the beloved founder of the network was gravely ill, and on December 23rd, 1994, Adam passed away due to complications from pneumonia. He was cremated on December 24th, 1994, and his remains were scattered over an oil field in Texas, as requested in his will.
Naturally, the podcast went on hiatus before pressure from the DPB forced Shaun and Jen to return to production. These early years were mired in controversy. While the hosts adjusted remarkably well to the loss of Adam, producing nearly 300 hours of content, the show was mired in controversy throughout 1995. The DPB received numerous cryptic messages from a figure named d00rmaus, and the show’s phone lines were occasionally overwhelmed by distorted voice messages or disgruntled listeners concerned about Adam’s surprising demise. One such message is reproduced here with permission from the DPB and the National Bureau of Investigations:
The Left Hand cannot be trusted. Our next transmission will be on February 1st, 2019. To find the location, you must decipher the following encrypted link:
yfdoaskdiasfknm.nht/eeafsrctynZ
We used a cipher type and cipher key phrase (no spaces) based on the real historical setting of the clue hidden in the above message.
Stay vigilant.
Some fans of The Skiffy and Fanty Show attempted to decipher the message and return to the link at the specified time, but to date, no messages have been found. Both the NBI and the National Center for Cryptographic Research could not determine the origin or purpose for the messages, though they did conclude that they were likely a prank and not a direct threat. On December 23, 1995, most of the national agencies either closed the case entirely or placed it away with other unsolved mysteries.
Despite the controversy, 1995 was an incredible year for The Skiffy and Fanty Show, and it would foreshadow several years of incredible accomplishments in a period some refer to as the Golden Age of Binge-amin Button…