EP 08 The modern postal system is something we take for granted—until something goes wrong. And when it does, as many of us have experienced, it can range from mildly inconvenient to utterly baffling. This podcast episode delves into the sometimes absurd realities of sending packages across borders and the strange encounters we have with authorities along the way.
The episode begins with a relatable anecdote about being stopped at an early morning police checkpoint. At 4 AM on a Tuesday, our host found himself facing a sobriety check, which seemed like overkill given the time and day. This interaction highlights something many of us feel—the occasional sense that law enforcement resources aren’t always deployed in ways that make sense. The conversation touches on how these interactions can quickly become uncomfortable when authority figures seem determined to find something wrong, even when there’s nothing to find.
But the real meat of the discussion centers around international shipping nightmares. Our host shares a particularly frustrating experience trying to send a custom-made diorama of his parents’ home from overseas back to Canada. Despite careful packaging and proper documentation, the package ended up in a “secured facility” in Scarborough, Ontario. When contacting Canada Post, he was told they had three massive warehouse facilities—described as something out of the final scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark—and they couldn’t even narrow down which facility his package might be in. The postal worker gave them until August 8th to search for it, with no guarantees they would find it at all.
This story parallels another troubling account about the host’s academic credentials. While working in the Middle East, he needed his original university degrees for verification. When his mother sent them via certified mail to the UAE, they mysteriously vanished at the post office, despite tracking confirmation showing they had arrived. Later, when working in Kuwait, he had replacement degrees sent directly from his universities—only for those to disappear at the Kuwait post office as well. This pattern suggests an uncomfortable reality about mail theft in certain regions, particularly of valuable documents that could potentially be misused.
The conversation then shifts to the world of professional athletics and drug testing. They discuss the “whereabouts failure” that led to Canadian swimmer Penny Oleksiak’s suspension. Athletes at the highest levels are required to constantly update anti-doping agencies about their location so they can be tested randomly throughout the year. However, as our hosts point out, these tests aren’t truly random. There’s a pattern of testing following exceptional performances, suggesting authorities target athletes when they show sudden improvements.
The hosts share some eye-opening stories about athletes going to extreme lengths to avoid testing, including UFC fighter Jon Jones allegedly hiding under a ring for hours to avoid USADA testers. They also touch on the widespread nature of performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports, referencing historical examples like the Ben Johnson scandal and Lance Armstrong’s case. Perhaps most shocking is their claim that when SMU tested over 100 football players for steroids in the early 90s, every single player failed—and the results were buried.
The episode concludes with the sobering reality that in many sports, especially at the highest levels, those who win aren’t necessarily the ones who don’t use performance enhancers—they’re the ones who are better at not getting caught. This perspective challenges our idealized view of athletic competition while acknowledging the complex realities of modern sports.
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YOU WOOD THINK? 
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