In this episode Alex and Kelly pull over to the side of the road to examine one of the most visible victims of the digital age: the toll booth collector. Once a fixture of the American commute—the gatekeeper of the interstate who traded small talk for quarters—the human in the booth is rapidly becoming a ghost.

We explore the "pointlessness" of the manual role in an era where stopping a 4,000-pound vehicle to hand over a piece of paper is not just a bottleneck, but a major source of carbon emissions and highway accidents.

Join us as we explore the death of the toll plaza and what it tells us about our relentless pursuit of friction-less living. It’s a journey through the history of the highway, the rise of E-ZPass, and the quiet disappearance of the people who used to stand between us and the horizon.

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Dirt Nap City is the podcast about the most interesting dead people in history.
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Someday we'll all live in Dirt Nap City, so you should probably go ahead and meet the neighbors!

Join us this week as we journey into the complex, compelling world of Johnny Cash, the towering figure who remains one of American music's most influential icons. We'll explore how his roots in the hardscrabble cotton fields of Dyess, Arkansas, shaped the man and the musician. From a childhood marked by the devastating loss of his older brother Jack, the seeds of Cash's lifelong fascination with morality, sin, and redemption were sown.

We trace the arc of his life through his tumultuous marriages—from his first wife, Vivian Liberto, to his legendary, enduring partnership with June Carter Cash. Theirs was a relationship that became a cornerstone of his later career and personal stability, famously intertwined with the struggle against his demons.

A major theme of Cash's life was his highly public battle with drug and alcohol dependency. We discuss how his addiction fueled his darkest periods but also contributed to his fierce, unpredictable energy and the raw authenticity of his music. This tumultuous period cemented his iconic "outlaw image", a moniker he cultivated with his defiant performances, including his seminal live albums recorded at Folsom and San Quentin prisons.

Yet, beyond the darkness and the defiance, we reveal Cash's profound legacy as a champion of the underdog. He consistently used his platform to advocate for the marginalized, the poor, and the incarcerated, giving voice to those forgotten by society. His unflinching honesty, unwavering faith, and deep empathy for the common man are what truly defined the enduring legend of the Man in Black.

Drop us a quick text and we’ll reply in the next episode!

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Dirt Nap City is the podcast about the most interesting dead people in history.
Subscribe and listen to learn about people you've heard of, but don't know much about.
Someday we'll all live in Dirt Nap City, so you should probably go ahead and meet the neighbors!

Get ready to cozy up by the fire, maybe with a mug of wassail, as your favorite word nerds, Alex and Kelly, dive into the frost-covered origins of the word that gives us the "Yuletide" season. In this special Christmas episode, we're not just celebrating—we're excavating the deep, fascinating history of "Yule", tracing its roots back through Old English gēol and the Old Norse jól, a midwinter festival that predates the Christian Christmas by centuries. Prepare for a linguistic journey that takes us far from silent nights and into the noisy, fiery celebrations of the ancient Germanic and Nordic peoples!

Drop us a quick text and we’ll reply in the next episode!

Support the show

Dirt Nap City is the podcast about the most interesting dead people in history.
Subscribe and listen to learn about people you've heard of, but don't know much about.
Someday we'll all live in Dirt Nap City, so you should probably go ahead and meet the neighbors!