Whatever Happened To Pizza At Mcdonald's?

Brian announces that all McDonald’s locations must stop serving pizza, including the Pomeroy store. Brian discusses his Lymphoma and various illnesses, resulting in a hiatus from the IJP, which he suspects might have something to do with his investigation. Brian discusses a “testy” call with the Pomeroy location asking why McDonald’s is requiring them to stop selling pizza and wonders if he is responsible.

Brian describes a listener who sent photographic evidence of what he believes to be cornmeal on the Pomeroy crust. Brian calls the Pomeroy location under an alias to inquire. The employee says that the dusting on the crust is parmesan and is not the same as the original recipe.

Brian continues discussing his personalized healing program with his angel guide. Brian expresses that people he encounters in his investigation are getting in his way. The angel guide suggests that Brian might be holding onto frustration due to being abandoned by his birth parents. She goes on to describe the various practices and activities that Brian will experience throughout his retreat. After nearly committing to the retreat, Brian learns that it will cost $2,394, hangs up the phone, and ends his quest to destress.

Brian is contacted by an angel guide and discusses his IJP. Brian tells the practitioner that he is in a relationship with his work before delving into his childhood, beliefs, living habits, and goals for the retreat.

Brian seeks to go on a spiritual retreat in order to combat stress from his IJP. The employee suggests that Brian spend time talking one-on-one with an angel guide so that the program can create an experience tailored to his needs.

Brian considers that the Pomeroy pizza might be part of a series of deceptive acts due to its crusts’ lack of cornmeal. Brian calls various cornmeal suppliers to inquire if they sold cornmeal to McDonald’s when the franchise sold pizza.

Brian suggests that McDonald’s might not be wholly responsible for the removal of pizza from the menu. Brian considers the possibility that McDonald’s has nothing to benefit from ceasing to serve pizza and investigates a possible third party actor.

Pomeroy, Ohio and saw a sign on the door asking that customers refrain from taking photos or videos out of respect for the employees. The sign was not there during Brian’s visit, and Josh worries that the McDonald’s corporation is looking at the location more closely after Brian’s trip. Next, Brian plays a voicemail from Allen who apologizes for bullying customers who ordered pizza as a high schooler and wonders if McDonald’s was bullied into taking pizza off the menu. The next caller, Steven, tells Brian that he has not tried the pizza and is sorry to disappoint Brian but would be willing to sign an affidavit saying he would try McDonald’s pizza if it was brought back to the menu. Brian begins calling McDonald’s locations as part of a $9 giveaway. Another caller remembers trying deep dish pizza from the kid’s menu at a McDonald’s in Wisconsin. Brian refrains from further traumatizing the guest on air but later calls deep dish pizza soup. The next voicemail comes from Robert hypothesizing that McDonald’s migh

Brian announces a live call-in episode for listeners to share their experiences with McDonald’s pizza. Brian also says listeners can call (323) 319-JERK if they are unavailable to call in live. Brian also announces that the IJP has moved to a new hosting service: Spreaker.

A preview of our second donors-only Q&A bonus episode.

Brian addresses the Twitter controversy over calling his project a podcast and decides to refer to it as an investigative journalism program (IJP). Brian hypothesizes that people are either suppressing their memories of McDonald’s pizza as a coping mechanism or have never lived in a time where the pizza existed. Brian calls AARP, attempting to target an age group who might remember McDonald’s pizza. The AARP employee agrees to submit her written interest in reading an article about whatever happened to pizza at McDonalds.

Brian uses his investigative expertise to look into Trump’s decision to fire FBI director James Comey. He starts by traveling to Washington D.C. to visit the White House and get a comment from Trump himself. Brian approaches a secret service agent and is told he needs an appointment to enter the White House. Brian learns that Trump is abroad on a diplomatic trip which he calls suspicious given the timing of his own trip. Brian turns to nearby pamphleteers for eye witness accounts, one of whom loves Russia. The man encourages Brian to investigate scripture instead.

Brian discusses paranormal expert Dr. Hines’ accomplishments before learning about remote viewing and accessing the subconscious mind by creating ideograms. Brian walks around LA to clear his head and asks people on the street what his drawing resembles. Canvassers Tommy and Chris say that they see a drawing of pepperoni pizza and the McDonald’s symbol. Brian puts the Willow investigation on hold to look into Trump’s firing of FBI director James Comey and his involvement with the Russian government.

Brian finds a free training video for remote viewing on YouTube but first researches the dangers of psychic abilities. Brian calls the prayer hotline worrying that psychic powers will put him in spiritual danger. The prayer hotline employee lets Brian know that he is safe from demonic forces.

Brian pauses his pizza investigation to look into the missing copy of Willow. Brian learns about “remote viewing:” a technique used to obtain information from afar using the mind. Brian calls a remote viewing expert for a training session. The employee encourages Brian to sign up for his course but Brian expresses concerns about the cost. Brian advertises the podcast’s new website pizzaatmcds.blogspot.com.

Brian went to his library to look up McDonald’s Pizza in the encyclopedia but found no results. Discouraged, he decided to take time for self-care. Brian chose to watch Willow to take his mind off the investigation but ends up with Warriors of Virtue when he cannot find the copy of Willow. Brian follows up with the library to find out if they filed a police report.

A preview of our donors-only Q&A bonus episode.

Brian continues the investigation into Bowe Bergdahl and suggests that he might have to disguise himself and travel to Pakistan to investigate first hand. Brian calls Lucy’s to acquire a disguise costume to look like an Afghan local. Brian worries about cultural appropriation and the employee reassures him that she will find something appropriate but recommends that he comes into the store. Brian asks the employee if she remembers pizza at McDonald’s, but she is from Venezuela and does not remember seeing McDonald’s in the region until the nineties.

Brian discusses the pros and cons of being an independent journalist before deciding to call the New York Times to ask for a job. He is directed to the careers website. Brian asks if anyone is currently covering the fast food beat. Brian’s call is transferred multiple times, and he ultimately leaves a message with the editor of the dining section. Brian then calls the dining department of the LA Times, suggests that he has interest from the NY Times, and is told the paper is not looking for freelance writers.

Brian turns to the Internet to verify the information he was given by the McDonald’s customer service representative, when he discovers a KFC (Kabul Fried Chicken) location in Kabul that sells pizza. This leads Brian to doubt McDonald’s claim that pizza was not a feasible menu item for fast food chains. Brian contacts a person who has eaten the pizza at Kabul Fried Chicken. The anonymous woman suggests that KFC is not like U.S. fast food chains because the pizza takes 20-30 minutes to make. Brian concludes the episode asking listeners to support him on Patreon, saying that once the podcast reaches 250 patrons he will begin releasing episodes twice weekly.