The Push Button (Entry 1012.DE0611)
In which the influence of spinet pianos and telegraph keys produces a satisfying new device interface for the electric age, and John thinks aliens just want a cuddle. Certificate #42007.
Mar 28, 2024•1 hr 15 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
Jersey Barriers (Entry 671.IS5714)
In which the development of guardrail and concrete divider technology makes highway driving massively safer over the decades, and Ken lies under oath in a deposition. Certificate #40991.
Mar 21, 2024•1 hr 17 min
Joanna Southcott's Box (Entry 673.GN4910)
In which twenty-four bishops refuse to open the secret prophecies that will save Britain from war and banditry, and John wants to be called "Dicebox." Certificate #49596.
Mar 14, 2024•1 hr 34 min
Vanity Plates (Entry 1383.EC1208)
In which car registration numbers become modes for personalized creative expression and eventually a multimillion-dollar commodity, and Ken does not say "auto." Certificate #37808.
Mar 07, 2024•1 hr 30 min
The Earth from Space (Entry 391.GN0115)
In which centuries of inaccurate illustrations of our planet are abruptly upended by satellites and awestruck astronauts, and John never drew spaceships, just Japanese fighter planes. Certificate #35817.
Feb 29, 2024•1 hr 15 min
The Food Pyramid (Entry 487.MT0611)
In which budget-conscious Swedes rearrange American ideas about nutritious eating, and Ken is pretty sure M&Ms are not getting smaller. Certificate #54063.
Feb 22, 2024•1 hr 22 min
The Guano Islands Act (Entry 554.PS10407)
In which we celebrate 167 years of Americans being able to claim any island they like as long as it has enough bird poop on it, and John thinks you can dip a pole in liberty. Certificate #39867.
Feb 15, 2024•1 hr 6 min
The Great Idaho Beaver Drop (Entry 548.JL0202)
In which a remote part of Idaho solves its beaver dam problem with some surplus parachutes and an even more remote part of Idaho, and Ken applies the transitive property to mules and culverts. Certificate #31297.
Feb 08, 2024•1 hr 21 min
Naturism (Entry 827.GE0225)
In which German health nuts give the world the idea of social nude recreation before the Nazis can tell them not to, and John thinks of something that is better than itching. Certificate #53668.
Feb 01, 2024•1 hr 19 min
The Ice Trade (Entry 615.PS14717)
In which the ponds of New England become the wellspring of a new worldwide web of perishable foods, and Ken learns that gum is a forest treat. Certificate #23725.
Jan 25, 2024•1 hr 11 min
Einstein's Brain (Entry 399.JB1909)
In which the estate of the century's greatest scientist becomes a $200 million enterprise even as his brain tissue languishes in a cider box, and John compares it to pastrami. Certificate #21917.
Jan 18, 2024•1 hr 18 min
Warren Miller (Entry 789.IS5707)
In which a ski bum with dad jokes explores new frontiers of film distribution and extreme sports, and Ken is a water machine. Certificate #48941.
Jan 11, 2024•1 hr 18 min
Yu-Mex (Entry 1455.1C1408)
In which the rift between two Communist dictators leads to a blooming of mariachi culture in the fertile soil of the Balkans, and John is baffled by Vietnamese karaoke. Certificate #46465.
Jan 04, 2024•1 hr 10 min
Prodigies, Failed (Entry 990.LK0240)
In which the smartest people in the world bloom early but often struggle to live up that promise later in life, and Ken's phone thinks he lives at the zoo. Certificate #50285.
Dec 28, 2023•1 hr 20 min
The Eggnog Riot (Entry 398.RO1313)
In which a late-night Christmas party in a West Point barracks gets out of hand, almost changing the course of the Civil War, and John is not anti-Julius. Certificate #32683.
Dec 21, 2023•1 hr 19 min
The Caning of Charles Sumner (Entry 180.PR2314)
In which tensions over slavery and its westward expansion boil over into an assault on the floor of the United States Senate, and Ken does not have a single cloak. Certificate #46116.
Dec 14, 2023•1 hr 11 min
Legal Baby Names (Entry 710.LK0160)
In which governments around the world deliberate on how creatively parents may name their children, and John thinks "Tilden" sounds like a kind of cheese. Certificate #26934.
Dec 07, 2023•1 hr 23 min
Jellyfish Blooms (Entry 671.PS10425)
In which the world's overfished oceans begin to teem with a sudden surplus of ancient and puzzling invertebrates, and Ken just wants sex tourists not to pee on his bunion. Certificate #23757.
Nov 30, 2023•1 hr 16 min
Winamp (Entry 1433.PR2603)
In which a teenaged slacker from Sedona with a love for llamas jump-starts the digital music age, and John explains why large people prefer old things. Certificate #38550.
Nov 23, 2023•1 hr 32 min
London Bridge (Entry 733.LK1626)
In which the successor to one of the great medieval bridges is shipped to the Arizona desert by an American tycoon, and Ken is skeptical about product placement in slasher movies. Certificate #28472.
Nov 16, 2023•1 hr 13 min
Cryonics (Entry 302.1C1535)
In which a science fiction-loving professor dreams of conquering death with the cold, hard science of low-temperature preservation, and John just wants to be a brain with a nose. Certificate #48643.
Nov 09, 2023•1 hr 31 min
Christian Rock (Entry 220.EP0519)
In which evangelical Christians wrestle with the problem of whether rock music is inherently good, evil, or neither. and Ken wonders about angel monkeys. Certificate #34822.
Nov 02, 2023•1 hr 21 min
Lodge Night (Entry 731.GN2922)
In which the rituals of Masonry and its more casual offshoots produce a "golden age of fraternalism" for American men, and John is discomfited by noisy day care teachers. Certificate #35320.
Oct 26, 2023•1 hr 11 min
Uranium Cubes (Entry 1376.1K0710)
In which the remains of a useless Nazi "chandelier" unexpectedly emerge in Maryland and Washington, and Ken thinks about Bilbo Baggins too late. Certificate #35410.
Oct 19, 2023•1 hr 10 min
Raised by Wolves (Entry 1028.GE4927)
In which the legend of feral children is traced from ancient mythology all the way up to Smurfs and Russian street dogs, and John cannot recommend the Madrid Zoo. Certificate #22714.
Oct 12, 2023•1 hr 13 min
Tom of Finland (Entry 1315.EX0402)
In which an adman who survived Nazi and Soviet invasions goes on to reinvent gay eroticism, and Ken wonders which Founding Father looked best naked. Certificate #7136.
Oct 05, 2023•1 hr 17 min
The Magic Gang (Entry 747.EX0722)
In which a ghost-written memoir explains how a great British stage magician defeated Rommel in North Africa with his trickery, and John considers saying "Abracadabra" as a swear. Certificate #37883.
Sep 28, 2023•1 hr 1 min
The Traffic Jam of the Century (Entry 1325.EZ1704)
In which a perfect storm of construction, coal mining, and Communist commemoration creates twelve days of gridlock in central China, and Ken imagines an ancient Roman in a stadium parking garage. Certificate #34985.
Sep 21, 2023•1 hr 8 min
One Glass of Red Wine (Entry 866.DE3233)
In which one Canadian newsman convinces America for several decades that daily drinking is the key to solving the "French Paradox," and John thinks Ken looks inhibited holding a spatula. Certificate #13766.
Sep 14, 2023•1 hr 16 min
(LIVE) Hiroo Onoda (Entry 867.1C1526)
In which Japanese soldiers, unwilling to believe that World War II is over, hold out for decades on islands all over the Pacific, and Ken will never give up on bar soap. Certificate #44164.
Sep 07, 2023•59 min
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