Paranormal radio · since 2002
Stay up late with the unexplained.
Vampires, UFOs, time travelers and cursed books. J. Scott and Trent Lackey have been chasing the strange since college radio, and the tapes are still rolling.
Now reading
The Historian, chapter by chapter
From the vault · 2002–2014 broadcasts
The most-played tapes
Our story
It started on a college radio station in Greensboro.
J. Scott’s World of the Unexplained first aired in 2002 on WQFS, Guilford College’s station, as a run of recorded interviews with paranormal authors and researchers.
After law school, Scott brought it back as a live call-in show with his kindergarten friend Trent Lackey, with Chuck Browder and Dee Clements running production. Those 2006–2009 tapes are now online, and the four of them are back making a video show.
Series guide · Ultimate Guide
The Historian
Elizabeth Kostova’s 2005 novel follows three generations of historians hunting the real Vlad the Impaler across Cold War Europe. It runs nearly 700 pages and about 80 chapters, and Sony bought the film rights and shelved them. So there’s no movie to compare it to. We read it chapter by chapter and chase down the real history and folklore behind each one.
Series guide · Ultimate Guide · 2025–2026
Salem’s Lot: the book and all three films
A full year of weekly episodes covering Stephen King’s 1975 novel one chapter at a time, set against the 1979 miniseries, the 2004 remake and the 2024 film. Thirty-eight episodes, from the prologue to the final thoughts.
WOTU Kickstand · since 2025
Short deep dives into strange stories
Researched explainers on the mysteries in the news and the legends close to home, plus the occasional movie review. Shorter than our book series, and every one stands on its own.
The Vault · original broadcasts
Interviews from the original show
Every full-length show we’ve put online: the 2002 WQFS tapes, the 2006–2009 call-in years and the 2014 reunion. Researchers, authors, actors, witnesses, a few people you’ll have to hear to believe, and plenty of nights when the guest never showed.
Our story
Four friends, one radio show, twenty-odd years
The show began in 2002 at Guilford College’s radio station as J. Scott’s World of the Unexplained, a set of recorded interviews with paranormal authors and researchers.
After college and law school, Scott wanted to bring it back as a live show with call-in guests. He partnered with Trent Lackey, a friend since kindergarten, and recruited college friend Chuck Browder and high-school friend Dee Clements to handle production.
That version ran from 2006 to 2009 before everyone scattered, with a short reunion run in 2014. In 2022 Scott started uploading the archived episodes to YouTube. People kept watching, and that brought the team back for a new video show.
The crew
J. Scott
Host
Into the paranormal since childhood. A lawyer who speaks some French, a Chihuahua enthusiast and a Ric Flair fan. He has known Trent since kindergarten.
Trent Lackey
Co-host
Got hooked on the unexplained reading about monsters in elementary school. Speaks Russian. Wants a beard and cannot grow one.
Chuck Browder
Production
Classical guitarist trained at the North Carolina School of the Arts. Co-hosted the political talk show Third Rail from 2007 to 2009 and now runs a music shop in Greensboro.
Dee Clements
Production
Gaming with Scott and Trent since middle school. Loves sci-fi and paranormal films, though certain visual effects get to him. Speaks fluent GenX.
New episodes every week.
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