Robert Smalls (Entry 1176.DE2315)
In which a South Carolina slave seizes a heavily armed Confederate ship and sails it to freedom and instant celebrity, whereas Ken doesn't even own a hatchet. Certificate #38760.
Dec 11, 2018•1 hr 4 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
Marmorated Stink Bugs (Entry 761.LV1120)
In which a hard-to-kill Asian insect arrives in America and discovers a delightful new predator-free life eating our produce, hiding behind our picture frames, and making everything smell like cilantro-infused sewage. Certificate #30979.
Dec 06, 2018•1 hr 1 min
Ghost Forests (Entry 527.EZ1724)
In which Ken accidentally goes on vacation to a long submerged, 2,000-year-old forest, and John explains the value he can add to a rugby game or campfire. Certificate #1751.
Dec 04, 2018•55 min
Scrappy Doo (Entry 1115.PP0302)
In which 1970s and 1980s TV is overrun by an avalanche of orphans, runaways, and other wisecracking moppets, and John reveals that Oscar the Grouch is a witch in a "fursuit." Certificate #37500.
Nov 29, 2018•1 hr 10 min
The Qibla (Entry 1016.PS5517)
In which the Islamic practice of facing Mecca in prayer becomes a thorny theological and geographical question, particularly for Muslims in Alaska, French Polynesia, or low-earth orbit. Certificate #2405.
Nov 27, 2018•1 hr 15 min
Pumpkin Pie (Entry 1008.JH0406)
In which we consider America's favorite gourd as a botanical mystery, a symbol of autumn, a Civil War flashpoint, an Illinois monoculture, a delivery vehicle for condensed milk, and an instrument of Starbucks-related misogyny and class warfare. Certificate #36525.
Nov 22, 2018•1 hr 6 min
Deep-Fried Turkeys (Entry 325.JN0432)
In which the Cajun cooking fad of the 1980s spawns a hazardous new holiday favorite, and Ken's wife flips us the bird. Certificate #30269.
Nov 20, 2018•1 hr 9 min
The Cagot (Entry 173.2K0527)
In which a tiny French minority in the Pyrenees is shunned and hated for reasons no one can quite remember, and John pronounces the words "goose foot" more capably than Ken. Certificate #28287.
Nov 15, 2018•49 min
Jennens v. Jennens (Entry 671.NU2711)
In which the notorious "Miser of Acton" forgets to sign his will, and for over a century thousands of people--including Ken's family--become convinced they are rightful heirs to his $300 million fortune. Certificate #23502.
Nov 13, 2018•56 min
Wild Man Fischer (Entry 472.GE1612)
In which a troubled street performer becomes a beloved musician and helps found a landmark record label, Ken buys a booby-trapped painting, and John critiques the storytelling of celebrity children. Certificate #49895.
Nov 08, 2018•1 hr 21 min
The Doomsday Flight (Entry 372.AM0214)
In which the U.S. government tries to ban a Rod Serling TV movie for inspiring too many mid-air extortions, all of which can be foiled by knowing the right trivia fact about Denver. Certificate #41961.
Nov 06, 2018•1 hr 18 min
Albert Pierrepoint (Entry 938.ES0914)
In which a Lancashire grocer and pub landlord becomes the most skilled executioner of all time, and John explains the best part of being guillotined. Certificate #21776.
Nov 01, 2018•1 hr 1 min
Bridey Murphy (Entry 818.JB1414)
In which a Colorado housewife and her tractor dealer friend jump-start the 1950s "reincarnation" fad, and Ken ponders whether or not he was "Endora" in a past life. Certificate #29314.
Oct 30, 2018•1 hr 9 min
The Letter J (Entry 714.1CH0910)
In which a 16th-century jack-of-all-trades judiciously joins a jaunty new Johnny-come-lately to our jargon because he's just so jazzed about Jesus. Juxtaposed with John's jumbled jeremiads and Jennings's juvenile jokes. Certificate #23082.
Oct 25, 2018•44 min
The Ballads of Ossian (Entry 094.PR2017)
In which Thomas Jefferson, Napoleon, and Goethe go nuts about a best-selling blind Celtic bard who might not even exist, and John writes his first Tolkien fanfic. Certificate #28002
Oct 23, 2018•1 hr 12 min
Brown Sound (Entry 158.MT1517)
In which military scientists, flush from their success annoying Manuel Noriega with Doors music, try to find that one elusive noise that will liquefy their enemies' bowels. Certificate #42964.
Oct 18, 2018•56 min
Second Sleep (Entry 1122.ZC0401)
In which John and Ken learn that they share a "chronotype," but disagree over whether it's natural to spend an hour or two every night sitting naked in a chair. Certificate #38846.
Oct 16, 2018•1 hr 9 min
The Hollow Earth (Entry 593.JB2607)
In which we ponder two questions: are we living on the inside of a concave sphere? Or is someone else down there, possibly with skimpy outfits and pet dinosaurs? Certificate #19429.
Oct 11, 2018•1 hr 1 min
Pokemon Go (Entry 958.GE0702)
In which the biggest media franchise and the biggest augmented reality game of all time cause us to consider Zionist trading cards, the allure of wooden boats, and the feng shui of construction workers. Certificate #41843.
Oct 09, 2018•1 hr 17 min
Tsar Bomba (Entry 1345.MI0104)
In which the Soviet Union detonates the biggest bomb in human history, and Ken imagines Nikita Khrushchev as a pro wrestler and a Bond villain. Certificate #20568.
Oct 04, 2018•53 min
The Blue Men of the Sahara (Entry 136.PS10704)
In which we meet one of the last nomadic people on the planet and admire their dress code, and John identifies strongly with a camel that roars when loaded heavily. Certificate #42973
Oct 02, 2018•1 hr 12 min
Dancing Mania (Entry 315.LA0515)
In which mass hysteria strikes the town squares of medieval Europe, John imagines the rigors of jute underwear, and Ken wonders if aliens ever start orgies. Certificate #21161.
Sep 27, 2018•50 min
Mail Trucks (Entry 749.2S1114)
In which the world's largest, boxiest truck fleet ages into its fourth decade, and John hunts for an elusive postal mascot from his childhood. Certificate #35752
Sep 25, 2018•52 min
Albanian Bunkers (Entry 029.RV0615)
In which we learn why one of Europe's most isolated countries is dotted with hundreds of thousands of domed concrete pillboxes, and also why zombie movies are thinly veiled racism. Certificate #46673
Sep 20, 2018•1 hr 5 min
(LIVE) Disco Demolition Night (Entry 356.AC1919)
In which the war between album-oriented rock and its mortal enemy disco boils over into the worst baseball promotion in history, and Ken reveals what 1970s music they play in heaven. Certificate #25815.
Sep 18, 2018•57 min
Jefferson, State of (Entry 671.NU2655)
In which a huckster and meteorite-hunter, facing a business disaster, starts a still-brewing secession movement on the Oregon-California border, and also we contemplate who all the Looney Tunes characters voted for. Certificate #26085.
Sep 13, 2018•1 hr 4 min
The Hilbert Hotel (Entry 587.LK0207)
In which we learn what happens when an infinite number of tour buses arrive at an infinite hotel with no vacancies, and decide whether or not this is worse than the guest services at the Eagles' Hotel California. Certificate #44261.
Sep 11, 2018•1 hr 5 min
Anita Bryant (Entry 159.PR0913)
In which a minor 1950s celebrity births America's modern cultural war, and Ken gets to complain about his two least favorite things: bigotry, and orange juice. Certificate #31531
Sep 06, 2018•1 hr 1 min
The Fourth Crusade (Entry 495.2T0203)
In which a medieval crusade to Jerusalem goes off the rails and ends up sacking the world's greatest Christian city instead. Certificate #11758.
Sep 04, 2018•1 hr 10 min
The Anarchist Cookbook (Entry 045.RV2210)
In which an angry teenager in his local library produces a counterculture classic of booby-trap design, leading to John being suspended from junior high for anarcho-capitalism. Certificate #33047.
Aug 30, 2018•53 min