So, like any This American Life producer who sniffs a story, Reed goes to Alabama. He goes to John’s house, which is only navigable by coordinates, not street names. John’s house has the only hedge maze in Alabama, an old clock repair shop, and about a million bustling projects fueled by his pent-up mental energy. At once, John's the Matilda whose intelligence was never acknowledged by Miss Honey; he’s the old woman in the mansion on the hill, the conspiracy theorist who sees a reality everyone around him is blind to. And he’s entrancing.