The Anarchy (Entry 024.DA1106)
In which a German empress comes within a whisker of the English crown during a bloody civil war, and Ken discovers history's most fateful case of diarrhea. Certificate #45359.
Feb 08, 2022•52 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
Trofim Lysenko (Entry 743.MT1325)
In which a Soviet agronomist misunderstands genetics so badly that millions of people die, and John finds giraffes to have the sexiest eyelashes. Certificate #27832.
Feb 03, 2022•1 hr 9 min
Chindogu (Entry 215.PR0812)
In which a Japanese college dropout invents a new kind of not-entirely-useless invention, and Ken enjoys a tidy sum. Certificate #36799.
Feb 01, 2022•1 hr 10 min
Ledger Art (Entry 709.2P0115)
In which accounting records become the basis for an important new genre of Native American painting, and Ken gets nostalgic for his childhood dog food invoices. Certificate #25974.
Jan 27, 2022•1 hr 15 min
Penguin Classics (Entry 915.EC1212)
In which a boring train ride from Devon leads to the creation of the modern paperback library, and John's daughter is a snob about sans serif typefaces. Certificate #41769.
Jan 25, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Roxas v. Marcos (Entry 1086.PR1506)
In which a humble locksmith sues the dictator who stole his golden Buddha, and Ken thinks teaching multiplication to juries was a mistake. Certificate #46804.
Jan 20, 2022•1 hr 2 min
Welsh Patagonia (Entry 1421.DE2609)
In which a small group of nationalists leave Wales for the prairies of Argentina, and John explains why he pronounces "Nazi" to rhyme with "snazzy." Certificate #53240.
Jan 18, 2022•58 min
The Fastest Bicyclist (Entry 445.IS0526)
In which the world land speed cycling record reaches incredible heights using the power of the slipstream, and Ken doesn't need to hear the word "torque" so much. Certificate #43944.
Jan 13, 2022•1 hr 8 min
Damascus Steel (Entry 314.PS4503)
In which the technology used to make the world's strongest and most beautiful swords is lost to time, and John is suspicious of redheads. Certificate #26207.
Jan 11, 2022•52 min
Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death (Entry 853.PS13709)
In which an American heiress leverages her dollhouse enthusiasm to invent a new scientific discipline, and Ken's aunt knows more about cyanide than his uncle. Certificate #34368.
Jan 06, 2022•1 hr
The Law of the Tongue (Entry 705.JB0712)
In which an Australian whaling village learns to hunt cooperatively with the local apex predators, and John identifies the "ferrets of the sea." Certificate #46594.
Jan 04, 2022•1 hr 3 min
Der Grosser (Entry 551.EX1407)
In which an ultra-luxury Mercedes becomes the car of choice for rock stars and despots worldwide, and Ken wants to buy the least fascist doorbell. Certificate #49472.
Dec 30, 2021•2 hr 30 min
The Public Universal Friend (Entry 1006.JE3122)
In which a Rhode Island Quaker emerges from a coma rebranded as a nameless, genderless prophet, and John predicts the Temptations will get boils. Certificate #29297.
Dec 28, 2021•1 hr 6 min
The Halifax Explosion (Entry 562.JB0409)
In which a maritime comedy of errors in a Nova Scotia harbor leads to the biggest non-nuclear explosion in human history, and Ken learns why you should never buy an old yellow shirt. Certificate #21795.
Dec 23, 2021•1 hr 10 min
The Jefferson Bible (Entry 671.LK2270)
In which the President of the United States secretly produces his own version of Jesus without any miracles or narrative incident at all, and John produces a healthy, nutritious bowl full of Kurt Cobains. Certificate #30782.
Dec 21, 2021•1 hr 13 min
Cask 263 (Entry 191.PR2321)
In which a forgotten barrel of single malt whiskey becomes a multimillion dollar collector's item, and Ken refuses to drink beer out of a squirrel's butt. Certificate #13321.
Dec 16, 2021•1 hr 17 min
Vortex I (Entry 1403.JM0318)
In which the governor of Oregon keeps the peace by throwing the country's only state-sponsored rock festival, and John refuses to introduce two celebrities to each other. Certificate #21362.
Dec 14, 2021•55 min
The Amargosa Opera House (Entry 038.JE1543)
In which a borax ghost town improbably becomes the performing arts center of Death Valley, and Ken is somewhat hazy on mules. Certificate #26351.
Dec 09, 2021•1 hr 4 min
Single Taxers (Entry 1164.LV2716)
In which a forgotten Gilded Age celebrity suggests reinventing the tax code so that landowners pay their fair share, and John is discomfited by the city of Altoona. Certificate #41467.
Dec 07, 2021•57 min
Bothered About Dungeons & Dragons (Entry 145.1T0515)
In which a national hysteria erupts over the Satanists controlling your children's role-playing games, and Ken is just a big thimble. Certificate #38501.
Dec 02, 2021•1 hr 20 min
The Phantom of New Guinea (Entry 928.IS0117)
In which a purple-clad comic strip hero becomes a warrior totem in the western highlands of Papua New Guinea, and John locates the Dominican Republic of Asia. Certificate #24126.
Nov 30, 2021•58 min
The Ma Bell Breakup (Entry 744.LK1214)
In which the U.S. government finally succeeds, after decades, in breaking up a massive telephone monopoly, and John is unfamiliar with a funny poem about an elephant. Certificate #22481.
Nov 25, 2021•1 hr 17 min
The Longest Prizefight (Entry 733.HE1032)
In which a seven-hour boxing match tests the patience of New Orleans crowds and changes the rules of the sport, and Ken thinks straws should be made of cornstarch. Certificate #26215.
Nov 23, 2021•1 hr 8 min
The Smiley Face Killer(s) (Entry 1177.JB2414)
In which investigators differ on whether binge-drinking or a homicidal conspiracy is killing American college students, and John plays Frogger to get to the East River. Certificate #23582.
Nov 18, 2021•1 hr 5 min
The Great Bell of Dhammazedi (Entry 548.EX3925)
In which the largest bell ever cast spends four centuries in the mud at the bottom of a Burmese river, and Ken makes a terrible grandfather clock decision. Certificate #50855.
Nov 16, 2021•49 min
The Kalakala (Entry 681.2S1918)
In which a burned-out ferry becomes an art deco American icon of the future and then a derelict eyesore, and Ken blames Seattle for the great San Francisco fire of 1906. Certificate #19361.
Nov 11, 2021•1 hr 13 min
The All-Americans Go to Japan (Entry 032.1K0728)
In which a Tokyo newspaperman with big dreams lures Babe Ruth onto a pre-war baseball barnstorming tour, and John regrets that fancy lounges are mostly for drinking. Certificate #36360.
Nov 09, 2021•57 min
Eternal September (Entry 428.1C1533)
In which the 1993 back-to-school week that never ended kills an early outpost of the internet, and Ken annoys online Winnie-the-Pooh fans. Certificate #47957.
Nov 04, 2021•1 hr 11 min
Salmon Chaos (Entry 1098.LK0506)
In which a viral craze inspires hundreds of young Taiwanese folks to put a fish in their names, and John hits a cement wall in his attempts to mate. Certificate #50920.
Nov 02, 2021•1 hr 16 min
Myers-Briggs (Entry 821.2T0223)
In which two pioneering women and amateur Jungians devise a way to classify sixteen different types of human personality, and Ken explains his Star Trek slash fiction. Certificate #36282.
Oct 28, 2021•1 hr 23 min