The Crash Program
Season One of the Crash Program is "Devils and Dirtbags," an investigation of the child molesting Catholic priests of Springfield, Massachusetts. Season Two, "Tough Island," is a dramatic and comedic audio version of Crash's memoir of living and working Maine's most remote uninhabited island when he was a much younger man. Season Three is Disinfomaniacs with Andy O'Brien (and occasionally Nathan Bernard) where they take a closer look at chuds, Christian-Nationalists and other weirdos in Maine. www.crashbarry.com
Episodes
Father X, Part 2
Father X — as of August 2025 — is dead. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, though, the now-deceased priest was alive and busy molesting altar boys while pretending to be a Holy Man. This episode of “Unholy Fathers” explains how X was eventually d…
Father X, Part 1
This episode is the first of four featuring the very bad Catholic priest I call “Father X” who served at St. Matthew’s Church in Indian Orchard in the mid-1980s. Yesterday I googled him and discovered the former “holy man” died about a mont…
The Angry Drunkard Priest
Compared to the murderer Father Richard Lavigne, Father Charles Sullivan almost seems like a nice guy. But he wasn’t. This is the first of two episodes detailing the life and times of a priest who was arrested on his way to kill the Bishop,…
Unholy Fathers, E 3
For decades after he brutally beat Danny Croteau to death, Father Richard Lavigne served as a Catholic priest while continuing to rape young boys. In this episode, Lavigne is arrested for molesting two brothers, but a Massachusetts judge g…
Unholy Fathers, E 2
In this second episode of Season One of Devils and Dirtbags, we learn of a bizarre Catholic cult on the Connecticut and Massachusetts border that had some pretty weird sexual/spiritual practices. Also, “Mark Baxter,” who experienced years o…
Unholy Fathers, E-1
Father Richard Lavigne was the lone suspect in the vicious killing of a 13-year-old altar boy on April 14, 1972 on the banks of the Chicopee River in western Massachusetts. Despite plenty of circumstantial evidence, there was no eyewitness.…
The Sad But True Story of Sally The World's Largest Sardine
Tonight is the 20th annual lowering of a sardine from the roof of an art museum in Eastport, Maine’s easternmost city. (Lubec is the easternmost town.) A lot of people don’t know this, but the now-famous sardine lowering tradition was inven…
Disinfomaniacs Episode 14, No Hugs for Chuds, Part 2
Things are getting weird out there. in these days leading to the 2024 election, in Maine and across the country, hard right extremists are trying to destroy democracy. In this episode, we discuss strategies on how to fight the fash, startin…
Disinfomaniacs Episode 13: The Pre-Obituary of Eliot Cutler
CONTENT WARNING: In this episode of Disinfomaniacs, Crash and Andy discuss Maine millionaire and wannabe gov Eliot Cutler and his arrest and jail sentence for possessing child sex abuse material. Then Crash explains how a flawed assessment …
Disinfomaniacs Episode 12: Maine lawmaker’s fishy tale about rogue wave capsizing lobster boat & his rescue by God and angels
Crash takes a deep dive on why the fishy tale by GOP leader of the Maine House of Representatives of a rogue wave, angels and God is scientifically impossible. Also, Crash discusses the sternman's serious injuries due to Billy Bob Faulkingh…
Disinfomaniacs Episode 11: vice-chair of Moms for Liberty Maine chapter allegedly groomed, with drugs & violence, an underage teenager he impregnated.
CW: This episode deals with allegations of sexual abuse, as well as domestic violence, grooming and discusses of heroin addiction. Listener be warned. You'll hear Justin Whynot, the vice-chair of the local Moms for Liberty chapter (and cand…
Disinfomaniacs Episode 10: Good News, Bad News and Really Sad News
In this episode we cover Hammer-the-chud-cult leader's recent decision about his land in Springfield, Maine and Shawn McB (the creepy dude from Trans-Panic in Maine, Parts 1 and 2) and his run for town council in Hampden Maine. But most imp…
Disinfomaniacs Episode 9: (Trans-Panic in Maine, Part 3)
CW: Lots of bad language and anti-LGBTQ rantings by a lunatic. NSFW or for kids.  In this episode, we show a real life example of the trickle down impact of the hateful rhetoric being spewed by right-wing media influencers. Crash interviews…
Disinfomaniacs Episode 8 (The Curse of Boneface, Hammer Part 4)
In this episode, we tell the saga of Boneface, a Florida con-artist who duped Hammer (the neo-nazi setting up a compound in Maine) into believing he was an Ukrainian Freedom Fighter who fought and killed Russians alongside Azov Brigade. Thi…
Disinfomaniacs Episode 7 (Trans-Panic in Maine, Part 2)
Part 2 of our on-going series provides a close look at the folks and groups promoting transphobia Down East. Shawn McBreairty's lawyer, for instance, who has argued that laws regarding 'child sexual abuse content' be loosened. Or the convic…
Disinfomaniacs Episode 6 (Trans-Panic in Maine, Part 1)
School board meetings in Maine are getting pretty crazy. Long gone are the days when debate and discussion were focused on budgets, discipline policies and Maine school funding formula. Lately, thanks to the talking points furnished by far-…
Disinfomaniacs Episode 5 (Hammer Part 3)
We continue our discussion about the neo-Nazi in Springfield, Maine named Chris Pohlhaus, aka Hammer. Details include his plans to join the Ukraine war and to lead a huge march in Florida. Also we discuss Allegash Brewing and Planet Fitness…
Season 3: Disinfomaniacs Episode 4 (Hammer, Part 2)
In Part Two of this two-parter, we continue our reporting on Chris Pohlhaus, aka Hammer, the Wotan-and-Hitler worshiping chud planning to turn 10 acres in Springfield, Maine into a tiny home community for his so-called "Blood Gang." This ep…
Season 3: Disinfomaniacs Episode 3 (Hammer Part 1)
This is Part One of the story of a neo-Nazi influencer and itinerant tattooist Chris Pohlhaus aka “Hammer” who has plans to build a “tiny house compound” for neo-Nazis and their families, in Maine, on 10 acres of land he owns in a little to…
Season 3: A conversation with Dave Gutter
Crash interviews his pal, Maine rock icon (and Grammy-winning songwriter) Dave Gutter, after they both smoked a bunch of OG Kush. Topics included Dave's musical relationships with David Bowie, Aaron Neville and Eric Krasno. Also, stories fr…
Season 3: Disinfomaniacs Episode 2
In the second episode of Disinfomaniacs, we take a deep dive into the group of Christian Nationalists who staged a coup d'etat on January 28 and seized control of the executive committee of the Maine Republican Party. Andy O'Brien explains …
Season 3: Coastie- salty tales from a drunken sailor fighting the war on drugs
Coastie is the prequel to Crash Barry's Tough Island.During Coastie, you’ll sail from the Gulf of Maine to the Gulf of Mexico aboard a 210 foot Coast Guard cutter, during the late 1980s drug war and war on Haitian refugees and witness the m…
Season 3: In Memoriam: Maine Storyteller John McDonald
Crash and John McDonald were pals for a quarter century, first working together in talk radio back in the mid-1990s. John died on Dec. 20, 2022. This is Crash's tribute to him, one Maine storyteller to another. Get full access to The Crash …
Season 3: Disinfomaniacs Episode 1
Disinfomaniacs is a podcast about the liars, grifters and fascist charlatans intent on destroying democracy and, ultimately, civilization. Crash Barry, Nathan Bernard and Andy O'Brien report how propaganda trickles down to negatively impact…
Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 14 The Finale
In the series finale, Crash returns to Matinicus, twice. Also, Mary-Margaret confronts Crash again, 20 years later.  Get full access to The Crash Report at www.crashbarry.com/subscribe
Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 13
In this penultimate chapter, Crash hitchhikes to Portland and gets a sweet lift. Also, we learn how radio ruined the island. And Crash shaves his beard and moves off Matinicus, headed to the University of Southern Maine.  Get full access t…
Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 12
While camping with Alice on an even more remote Maine island, Crash is introduced to Carlos Castaneda. Then Crash’s parents visit Matinicus.  Also, a scary Halloween tale of gunfire and whiskey. Get full access to The Crash Report at www.cr…
Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 11
A tragedy strikes the sheep living on Wheaton Island and a perfect Matinicus wedding where Captain Edwin and Crash show up wearing the same outfit. Content warning: this episode contains the death of animals and domestic abuse. Get full ac…
Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 10
CONTENT WARNING: This chapter contains cats, poetry and a bizarre suicide. Also, Crash's wife sings a sonnet by Edna St. Vincent Millay.  Get full access to The Crash Report at www.crashbarry.com/subscribe
Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 9
One of Crash’s partying pals decides to return to church, only to experience God’s wrath. Thanks to Captain Edward and Nan, (and some psychedelics) Crash’s life gets better.  Get full access to The Crash Report at www.crashbarry.com/subscr…
Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 8
Crash and Captain Donald have a disagreement, Crash ends up working on a presidential campaign and someone Crash loves, dies. Get full access to The Crash Report at www.crashbarry.com/subscribe
Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 7
Crash realizes he can’t pass the Able-Bodied Seaman’s drug test, Mary-Margaret gets in trouble and so does Captain Donald.    Get full access to The Crash Report at www.crashbarry.com/subscribe
Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 6
The “Perfect Storm of 1991” strikes outer Penobscot Bay, Crash almost dies (a couple of times) and the story of the January 1992 sinking of the tugboat Harkness during a winter gale. Luckily, Captain Vance Bunker, a true hero, willingly hea…
Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 5
Crash trades cigarettes with some Russian sailors, scratches Captain Donald’s truck and almost gets stranded on a deserted island.    Get full access to The Crash Report at www.crashbarry.com/subscribe
Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 4
Crash wrestles with a cougar, Captain Donald rescues mariners-in-distress and a flock of puffins surround a shipwreck.  Get full access to The Crash Report at www.crashbarry.com/subscribe
Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 3
In Chapter 3 of Tough Island, Knox County Sheriff’s Deputy Jerold Day gets run off the island and Crash almost crashes Captain Donald’s boat. Plus, an underwater graveyard and how to dispose of an old vehicle or an ancient washing machine, …
Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 2
In Chapter 2, Crash moves into his room in Captain Donald’s fishhouse. Also, he goes for a motorcycle ride. And we meet Deputy Jerold Day, the first cop to ever live on Matinicus, Maine's most remote inhabited island. Get full access to The…
Season 2: Tough Island Chapter 1
After getting out of the U.S. Coast Guard in 1991, Crash moves to Matinicus, Maine's most remote inhabited island to work as a sternman aboard a lobster boat, The Dotted Eye. And he meets his new boss, Captain Donald, and his wife, Mary-Mar…
A taste of Tough Island, Maine: Chapter 2
Here's a little taste of Crash Barry's new podcast Tough Island, Maine retelling the story of the only police officer ever to live on Matinicus, Maine's most remote inhabited island. And Knox County Sheriff's Deputy Jerold Day was NOT a goo…
Chapter One of Tough Island, Maine
Crash Barry's new podcast is totally different than Devils and Dirtbags. Tough Island, Maine tells of Crash's misadventures of working aboard a lobster boat and living on a remote island when he was a much younger man. Here's the first epis…