#146 The Chicken Man, Thick Nickels, and a Dart Prodigy
Best of 7/6/2025
This week we are listening to Barry McGuire, let’s get into it:
Read of the Week
The Legend of the Chicken Man Who Inspired a Rock Song
Everyone knows (or should know) the opening line from Atlantic City that goes “Well, they blew up the Chicken Man in Philly last night.” Apparently the Chicken Man was a real mobster named Philip Testa.
“The nickname “Chicken Man”? Oh, that came from his legitimate poultry business. He had distribution companies, because what’s more American than legit business?
At first, it was just a cute family nickname. But then other crime families, those lovable folks, decided it was hilarious to mock him about his poultry and call him the “Chicken Man” to make fun of his “weaker” image. Cluck, cluck.
But behind the feathers, Testa was smart and discreet. His legit business helped him stay under the radar while he slowly became Philly’s top crime boss, proving that sometimes being a “good guy” with a chicken farm pays off better than chaos and violence.”
Podcast of the Week
Tim Ferriss’ bestseller The 4-Hour Workweek inspired millions to rethink their approach to work, but implementing his ideas are wildly unrealistic. Tim does a follow up to his book with a podcast showcasing real world examples of people who used his framework successfully.
Twitter Thread of the Week
Image of the Week
Interesting Find
The internet is full of odd websites, but this is one of the strangest. Theodore makes thnickels - nickels that are 10x thicker than a normal nickel. He claims to have started doing this after throwing nickels at two would-be thieves and they didn’t have enough mass to prevent the robbery.
What I’m Reading
Wheelmen - Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O’Connell
With the Tour de France happening this month, it feel right to finally give this one a read.
From the Archives
This article is from April, but we’ll count it as old enough for the archives. Stepfanie Tyler writes about how in the age of AI, having taste is more important than mere intelligence as content is everywhere.