An African in Greenland (Entry 022.JB3132)
In which a young man from French Togoland survives a snake attack and embarks on a lifelong quest to see the Arctic, and John loses a large rooster. Certificate #36809.
Jul 13, 2021•2 hr 31 min
Omnibus
Every week, Ken Jennings and John Roderick add a new entry to the OMNIBUS, an encyclopedic reference work of strange-but-true stories that they are compiling as a time capsule for future generations.
Episodes
Wuppertal Schwebebahn (Entry 1448.DE0227)
In which a German industrial town builds a unique new type of suspension railway that fails to catch on worldwide, and Ken disses the Eiffel Tower. Certificate #36460.
Jul 08, 2021•1 hr 10 min
Goat Glands (Entry 536.AC0409)
In which a Midwestern quack becomes a radio tycoon (and almost governor of Kansas) by extolling the virtues of animal testicles, and John eats cheese out of a pocket. Certificate #42674.
Jul 06, 2021•1 hr
Erdos-Bacon-Sabbath (Entry 423.JB3104)
In which we are introduced to the most exclusive cinema-musico-academic club on earth, and Ken volunteers to provide a guest rap. Certificate #32655.
Jul 01, 2021•1 hr 20 min
The Zaire Space Program (Entry 1455.PS11516)
In which a maverick German engineer tries to give an African dictator his very own space program, and John reminds us that astronauts are often quite short. Certificate #48059.
Jun 29, 2021•1 hr 15 min
The 1871 Whaling Disaster (Entry 399.1T0119)
In which a city-sized segment of the world's whaling fleet is trapped together in Arctic ice off Alaska, and Ken blames the horrors of the industrial world on whale ghosts. Certificate #31403.
Jun 24, 2021•1 hr 19 min
James Frazier Reed (Entry 1044.EZ0510)
In which one pioneer's midlife crisis leads him to a brush with Donner Party death and then prosperity in gold rush California, and John is tempted to murder a bassist with a whip handle. Certificate #51638.
Jun 22, 2021•1 hr 10 min
The Erika Typewriter (Entry 424.JB0412)
In which contraband East German equipment helps create an underground publishing movement in the Soviet Union, and Ken's favorite typeface is now tainted. Certificate #37914.
Jun 17, 2021•1 hr 16 min
Four-Leaf Clovers (Entry 495.JE3623)
In which a rare recessive plant gene produces a persistent superstition and a cutthroat collectors' competition, and John will never mock Allah. Certificate #12598.
Jun 15, 2021•1 hr
The Panorama of the Monumental Grandeur of the Mississippi Valley (Entry 895.NU2406)
In which very, very large oil paintings become the 19th-century precursor of the modern movie theater, and Ken has never seen the sun rise by choice. Certificate #14751.
Jun 10, 2021•1 hr 10 min
Left Behind (Entry 709.1T0416)
In which some controversial Bible theology sells 65 million apocalypse thriller books and even shapes American foreign policy, and John can identify sinners on a plane. Certificate #40618.
Jun 08, 2021•1 hr 22 min
Nudie Suits (Entry 850.EX2631)
In which a Ukrainian-born tailor brings the first outrageous stage wear to the American music scene--but in country and western, not glam rock--and Ken is unsure about his sky-blue pants. Certificate #27201.
Jun 03, 2021•1 hr 2 min
Officials General (Entry 861.MK0640)
In which English inherits some "postpositive adjectives" from the Norman Conquest that continue to confuse high-ranking federal officials to this day, and John thinks companies should have one vice president tops. Certificate #18999.
Jun 01, 2021•1 hr 19 min
Interrobang (Entry 655.LK2040)
In which a series of typographic attempts to improve on the exclamation point and question mark are doomed to failure, and Ken is unable to justify the existence of the backslash. Certificate #22311.
May 27, 2021•1 hr 19 min
Mister Rogers's Operas (Entry 795.RO1502)
In which America's most beloved television host and moral exemplar composes a series of now-mostly-forgotten children's operas, and John thinks Star Wars is what ends childhood. Certificate #29242.
May 25, 2021•2 hr 34 min
Concordski (Entry 258.JE4606)
In which the Soviet Union attempts to close its "Concorde gap" with the West by developing its own terrible supersonic passenger jet, and John is okay with pilots showing off as long as they're in a bar. Certificate #36689.
May 20, 2021•1 hr 3 min
Olestra (Entry 864.LV0723)
In which Procter & Gamble spends almost thirty years trying to bring its fat substitute to market, only to see it vanish from the public memory almost immediately, and Ken just wants to eat devil's food cake. Certificate #51232.
May 18, 2021•1 hr 7 min
The Worst Poet in History (Entry 1445.PR2622)
In which Scottish mill-worker William McGonagall becomes notorious for his utterly sincere but terrible poetry, and John plans to instigate a sex riot. Certificate #44448.
May 13, 2021•1 hr 6 min
The Back of a Napkin (Entry 090.LK1920)
In which we study the long history of inspirations getting jotted down on scrap paper, and Ken learns he's too lively to be a rock musician. Certificate #44181.
May 11, 2021•1 hr 15 min
Dagen H (Entry 313.EZ2116)
In which Sweden literally changes directions overnight, and John feels that the samurai spirit is all in the details. Certificate #30932.
May 06, 2021•1 hr 14 min
Cholitas (Entry 218.1C1110)
In which a poltitical revolution in Bolivia produces a new wave of visibility for the nation's hat-wearing indigenous women, and Ken wonders which communist dictators were cuddly. Certificate #16179.
May 04, 2021•1 hr 8 min
Drywall (Entry 384.LV1442)
In which a new gypsum miracle product takes more than a century to replace lath-and-plaster walls in home construction, and John thinks lizards have ears. Certificate #35059.
Apr 29, 2021•47 min
America's Joan of Arc (Entry 040.2S1412)
In which a now-forgotten Quaker teenager becomes the most fiery and most famous woman orator of her time, and Ken has no idea if Norman Schwarzkopf is alive or dead. Certificate #44568.
Apr 27, 2021•1 hr 24 min
The Bottle Conjuror (Entry 145.PS11983)
In which an aristocrat's private bet about gullible audiences leads to a 1749 theater riot, and John thinks Dick Cheney should have a podcast. Certificate #16793.
Apr 22, 2021•1 hr 9 min
Mother Earth's Plantasia (Entry 810.1CH1633)
In which the Moog synthesizer and the "plant consciousness" movement of the 1970s produce a rare collector's item for lovers of weird music, and Ken refuses to buy his children reptiles. Certificate #27581.
Apr 20, 2021•1 hr 12 min
The Tan Suit Controversy (Entry 1277.EZ3403)
In which the president wears beige to an August 2014 press conference, suddenly creating three or four new kinds of political discourse, each worse than the last. Certificate #35844.
Apr 15, 2021•1 hr 18 min
Magic Eye (Entry 747.PR0425)
In which we trace two centuries of people being briefly interested in three-dimensional images, and John gets a bad case of "Intellivision thumb." Certificate #27012.
Apr 13, 2021•1 hr 16 min
Rasputin (Entry 1031.MT2411)
In which a Siberian mystic gets so cozy with Russian royals that he ensures the success of the Bolshevik Revolution, and Ken wonders if he blinks the normal amount of times. Certificate #38899.
Apr 08, 2021•1 hr 1 min
The Crash at Crush (Entry 292.ZP0110)
In which the American love affair with demolition-based entertainment is born near Waco, Texas in an explosion of iron and steam, and John believes some flight attendants are aliens. Certificate #34659.
Apr 06, 2021•51 min
Figwit (Entry 467.JE2402)
In which we follow the arc of nerd culture to the Council of Elrond where a certain kind of fan service is born, and Ken explains why people fight about Frodo and Jesus. Certificate #40170.
Apr 01, 2021•1 hr 12 min