Ghana’s most influential witch doctor has claimed he is responsible for the knee injury that is threatening Cristiano Ronaldo’s participation at the World Cup. Nana Kwaku Bonsam — whose name translates literally as “Devil of Wednesday” — predicted in February that the Real Madrid forward would be forced to miss this summer’s tournament in Brazil with injury. A statement from …

Join #FOWLERNATION!! http://bit.ly/SubscribeFowlerNation Become a Patron! http://Patreon.com/FowlerShow Surely, you’ve seen our recent work on anthropodermic bibliopegy, the early modern practice of binding books in human skin? No? Well, a quick refresher: some books, since the 16th century but before our own time, were bound in human skin. Why? “The confessions of criminals were occasionally bound in the skin of the …

The FBI is investigating threats against the parents of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the latest development in a case that has put the spotlight on the circumstances surrounding his capture in Afghanistan and release by the Taliban. “We are working jointly with our state and local partners and taking each threat seriously,” FBI Special Agent William Facer told CNN in …

That’s the strategy of one (ex?) Republican hopeful for the House of Representatives. Republican Scott Fistler, who ran in 2012 as a write-in candidate and, since he was a write-in candidate and all, lost. He has since changed his name and party in hopes of winning this time around. He also lost last year in a race for a position …

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) stood firmly against a campaign finance bill aimed at stemming the tide of so-called dark money currently flowing into U.S. elections. Cruz claimed that attempts to regulate the amount of money that can be anonymously contributed to campaigns and Political Action Committees (PACs) amounts to an attack on …

George Jung, the notorious “cocaine cowboy” portrayed by Johnny Depp in Blow, has been released from prison after serving 20 years. Jung, now 71, got into the coke game in the mid-’70s after being arrested for dealing marijuana and linking up in prison with Pablo Escobar’s Medellín cartel. Eventually, he began working directly with Escobar to supply a rumored 89 …

At least some words will not get lost in translation. Sex workers in Brazil are in gearing up for an influx of foreigners for the upcoming World Cup by brushing up on their inglês during once-a-week classes. More than 600,000 foreign tourists are expected in the South American country for the four-week tournament, which kicks off June 12 in Sao …