It's Fandemonium! This week Dana, Zaron, and Jason respond to listener emails. They tell their Very Special origin stories, pick their favorite episodes, cast the movie version of the podcast, and preview the exciting stories coming this winter.

Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving Friday! And you can always reach us at veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, hundreds of starving dogs were trapped inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. For years, Oregon-based veterinarian Dr. Jenn Betz had been their lifeline. Now, with Putin’s troops occupying the site, she had only one thought: How do I get back there?

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Today's episode is a production of iHeartPodcasts and School of Humans.

Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Lucas Reilly
Senior Producer is Josh Fisher
Story Editor is Virginia Prescott
Editing and Sound Design by Jesse Nighswonger
Mixing and Mastering by Jesse Nighswonger
From School of Humans, producers are Emilia Brock, Edeliz Perez and Gabbie Watts
Research and Fact-Checking by Lucas Reilly and Austin Thompson
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Social Clips by Yarberry Media
Executive Producers are Virginia Prescott and Jason English

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1989, Boris Yeltsin walked into a Houston supermarket — and walked out ready to end an empire. What he saw in Texas that day would shake the foundations of the Soviet Union.

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On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story each week. Follow us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.

Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Dave Roos
Senior Producer is Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Jonathan Washington
Additional Editing by Mary Dooe
Mixing and Mastering by Josh Fisher
Research and Fact-Checking by Dave Roos and Austin Thompson
Voice Actor is Tom Antonellis
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Social Clips by Yarberry Media
Executive Producer is Jason English

Special thanks to composer Evan Mack for letting us play a clip of “Make Your Move,” from his original opera Yeltsin in Texas. Learn more at evanmack.com.

And thanks to Yelena Biberman for sharing her story. Check out her excellent podcast How to Kill a Superpower.

We've got a mailbag episode coming later this month. Got a question for Dana, Zaron, or Jason? Email us at veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.