HBM081:​ ​Kinnikinnick​ ​Nick​ ​VS​ ​The​ ​Bear

Boy Scout Leadership Camp was a bad fit for Jeff Emtman. He was a meek 13 year old who didn’t eat meat and talked to animals with his mind.

Regardless, Jeff wound up in the dry forests of Eastern Washington, with a group of other boys and a young scout leader, Nick, whose leadership style was...let’s just call it “eclectic".

Nick was rarely around, and when he did show up, he’d impart scouting wisdom on building giant towers, making drug paraphernalia, and pooping in the woods. It was Nick’s lesson on plant identification that earned him the nickname“Kinnikinnick Nick”. He brow beat the virtues of smoking the dried leaves Bearberry, a plant that grew wild across camp. He claimed the plant an intoxicant similar to LSD. Nick also sold weed.

As the camp’s middle management wisened to Nick’s dealings, they slowly sowed the seeds of conspiracy into the minds of the Jeff and the other campers. And the middle management prepared for a late-night sting.

Jeff Emtman produced this episode, along with help from Bethany Denton and Nick White.

Our new HBM t-shirts are here! Designed by HBM Listener Adam Fein, and screen printed by Restless Prints of Seattle.