From music hall to Red Dwarf, pantomime to Absolutely Fabulous, we look at the history of British comedy, the names, shows, and historical events that made it what it is today. Like what you hear? Become a patron of the arts for as little as $2 a month! Or buy the book or some merch. Hang out with your fellow Brainiacs. Reach out and touch Moxie on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Music: Kevin MacLeod, Steve Oxen, David Fesliyan. . Reach out and touch Moxie on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Li...
Dec 07, 2021•40 min•Ep. 174
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue, and it's been downhill for New World peoples ever since. Today we look at residential schools, the occupation of Alcatraz by Indians of All Tribes, the Oka crisis (aka the Mohawk resistance), and Sacheen Littlefeather's Oscar speech. YBOF Book; Audiobook (basically everywhere but Audible); Merch! Hang out with your fellow Brainiacs .Reach out and touch Moxie on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Support the show Music by Kevin MacLeod, Steve Oxen, David Fes...
Dec 01, 2021•42 min•Ep. 173
A microphone is a good enough platform for getting back at people, but an entire recording studio is even better. Popular music is littered with songs getting back at an ex lover, from Waylon Jennings to Taylor Swift, but a fair number of the tracks you know by heart are actually clap-backs to the people in the mixing booth or the record label offices. YBOF Book; Audiobook (basically everywhere but Audible); Merch! Hang out with your fellow Brainiacs .Reach out and touch Moxie on Facebook, Twitt...
Nov 24, 2021•39 min•Ep. 172
Quick, switch over to Vodacast to see the pictures I talk about in the episode! From using a train in a car race to marathon doping with deadly poison, there's far more excitement in racing than simply declaring a winner. YBOF Book; Audiobook (basically everywhere but Audible); Merch! Hang out with your fellow Brainiacs .Reach out and touch Moxie on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Support the show Music by Kevin MacLeod, Steve Oxen, David Fesliyan. Links to all the research resources are on our...
Nov 17, 2021•37 min•Ep. 171
Quick, switch over to Vodacast to see the pictures I talk about in the episode! We all lose things -- keys, wallets, patience -- but how do you lose an entire city? Hear the stories of three American towns built in a hurry but kept off the map, secure Soviet enclaves known by their post codes, ancient cities found by modern technology, and the ingenious engineering of underground dwellings. YBOF Book; Audiobook (basically everywhere but Audible); Merch Reach out and touch Moxie on Facebook, Twit...
Nov 10, 2021•36 min•Ep. 170
♪♫This is Halloween! This is Halloween!♫♪ Supporters on our Patreon and fans in our FB group chose the topics for today's episode (plus now there's a sub-reddit): 01:35 sorting Dracula fact from fiction 07:49 how horror stars got their stars 20:01 when did clowns become scary 23:29 the history behind zombies 28:38 movie monster fast facts! Mentioned in the show: Overly Sarcastic's Frankenstein run-down Cutting Class podcast on Christopher Lee Oh No! Lit Class on The Phantom Who needs a costume w...
Oct 26, 2021•38 min
Twins, synchronicity, science, anomalies, and dark mysteries. Support the show Merch, book Music by Kevin MacLeod Read the full script. Reach out and touch Moxie on FB, Twit, the 'Gram or email. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 13, 2021•46 min•Ep. 169
From Irish selkies to Japanese kitsune, from Navajo skin-walkers to Ethiopian werehyenas, there doesn't seem to be a culture in the world that doesn't have at least one shape-shifter in its folklore or mythology. Personal update: Hey, so can we talk for a minute? Come sit by the fire while I dump out my purse. You might have noticed (you really couldn't have missed it), there hasn't been a lot of YBOF happening lately. The reason for that, as some of my longtime listeners know –I can't believe p...
Oct 06, 2021•43 min
Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. Learn why parents objected to such diverse classics as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Ender's Game and which book is banned in the most countries. Will Shel Silverstein turn your kids into cannibals? Is a baby penguin spreading the "gay agenda"? We look at children, young adult, a...
Sep 28, 2021•57 min
For every Star Wars, there's a hundred middling films and outright flops. Plus, hear about movie so unlucky, they may actually have been cursed, in a sample of the Your Brain On Facts audiobook. Read the full script. Support the show. It's been quite a while since we got a review for the YBOF book. Can you take a sec and let us know what you thought? Reach out and touch Moxie on FB, Twit, the 'Gram or email. Music by David Fesliyan and Kevin McLeod Sources: https://www.triviagenius.com/5-movies-...
Sep 22, 2021•32 min•Ep. 168
The devil is in the details. This week, we look at how missing or inserted commas, forsaken hyphens, and flat-out typos have led to expensive chaos. Read the full script. Support the show. It's been quite a while since we got a review for the YBOF book. Can you take a sec and let us know what you thought? Reach out and touch Moxie on FB, Twit, the 'Gram or email. Music by David Fesliyan and Kevin McLeod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 24, 2021•30 min•Ep. 167
Hang out with your fellow Brainiacs. The Olympic games have come and gone, but what kind of games have gone before? Today we look at events removed from the Olympics, like pistol dueling and poodle grooming, plus the legit legend that was Jim Thorpe. Read the full script. Support the show. It's been quite a while since we got a review for the YBOF book. Can you take a sec and let us know what you thought? Reach out and touch Moxie on FB, Twit, the 'Gram or email. Editing by Adam of Odd Dad Out. ...
Aug 17, 2021•31 min•Ep. 166
It's been quite a while since we got a review for the YBOF book. Can you take a sec and let us know what you thought? Voted on by our Patreon supporters, today we're looking at people you've probably heard of but might not know that much about, the bakingest people in America, the Pennsylvania Dutch. Who are they? What's chow chow? How do you powwow, and why did it get a man murdered? Read the full script. Hang out with your fellow Brainiacs. Reach out and touch Moxie on FB, Twit, the 'Gram or e...
Aug 10, 2021•32 min•Ep. 165
It's been quite a while since we got a review for the YBOF book. Can you take a sec and let us know what you thought? "Everybody complains about the weather, but no one does anything about it." - Charles Dudley Warren Except, sometimes, people do. Or at least they try. This week, we look at weather manipulation, cloud seeding, hail cannons, and whatever the hell "orgone" is. Read the full script. Hang out with your fellow Brainiacs. Reach out and touch Moxie on FB, Twit, the 'Gram or email. Edit...
Jul 27, 2021•41 min•Ep. 164
It's been quite a while since we got a review for the YBOF book. Can you take a sec and let us know what you thought? People have been using animals, making war, and using animals to make war for a long time now. Think Hannibal’s elephants, Roman war horses, k9 units in Vietnam. But for every example of animals being used successfully, there are any number plans, proposals, and projects that didn’t make it into the field. Read the full script. Hang out with your fellow Brainiacs. Reach out and t...
Jul 20, 2021•33 min•Ep. 163
It's another one of those episodes where I take a seemingly mundane topic and splash around in its unappreciated awesomeness. This time -- trees! Read the full script. Reach out and touch Moxie on FB, Twit, the 'Gram or email. Music by David Fesliyan and Kevin McLeod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 13, 2021•29 min•Ep. 162
This week, YBOF is going true crime as we look at a pitiless poisoning, a terroristic tampering, and some killer coffee. Read the full script. Reach out and touch Moxie on FB, Twit, the 'Gram or email. Music by David Fesliyan and Kevin McLeod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 06, 2021•33 min•Ep. 161
Smoke the tires with me today as we take on a trio of patronymic car creators and their pride & joy projects that failed spectacularly. *Yes, I know "VIN number" is redundant. Naming episodes can be trickier than you'd think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 29, 2021•33 min•Ep. 160
Voted on by our Patreon supporters, we look at a game where losers would be put to death (or was it the winners?) and some baseball players playing for their lives. Read the full script. Today's sponsors: Love Letter. Moxie LaBouche Voiceovers, Military True Crime Addict and our MERCH! Reach out and touch Moxie on FB, Twit, the 'Gram or email. Music by Kevin McLeod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 22, 2021•35 min•Ep. 159
Another topic voted on by our Patreon supporters, and added to by our listener FB group, this one turned into a two-parter on 'the last of their kind.' If you haven't check out the People episode, please do! Read the full script. Guest quote readers: Mike from Genuine Chit Chat and Steve from Mancave. Today's sponsors: Podcorn; Love Letter. Moxie LaBouche Voiceovers, and our MERCH! Reach out and touch Moxie on FB, Twit, the 'Gram or email. Music by Lyrical Piano, Kevin McLeod. Learn more about y...
Jun 16, 2021•38 min•Ep. 158
Why is Pride Month in June? Did the Stonewall Riots start the gay rights movement? Did Marsha P Johnson really throw the first brick at Stonewall Inn? We answer all those questions and more as we revisit this pivotal moment in gay rights. Read the full script and find sources. Support the show. Reach out and touch Moxie on FB, Twit, the 'Gram, email,. Music by Kevin MacLeod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 08, 2021•37 min•Ep. 157
Another topic voted on by our Patreon supporters, and added to by our listener FB group, this one turned into a two-parter on 'the last of their kind' -- people first, animals next week. Read the full script. Music by Lyrical Piano, Kevin McLeod. Reach out and touch Moxie on FB, Twit, the 'Gram or email. Guest quote readers: Bill from With Confetti in our Hair, Dustin from Sandman Stories Presents, Z Hagen from Wasteland Active Radio, Jeff from Mt Rushmore podcast, Vlado from It's Not Rocket Sur...
Jun 01, 2021•32 min•Ep. 156
While the world goes mad for dogecoin and NFTs, we look at four times when a suddenly popular commodity drove an economic boom and bust, from tulips to trains, in the XL episode. Read the full script. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Reach out and touch Moxie on FB, Twit, the 'Gram or email. Today's sponsors: Highbrow Drivel; Podcorn; Why Do We Say That?; WorkPatterns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 25, 2021•44 min•Ep. 155
As voted on by our Patreon, today we look at hostile architecture and guerilla gardening. Guest quote readers: Jason from Memester of the Week, Dustin from Sandman Stories Presents, Najee from Weekly Cooldown, and Chris from This Week Today. Today's sponsors: Highbrow Drivel; Follow Friday. Music by Kevin MacLeod and Chris Haugen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 18, 2021•31 min•Ep. 154
Updates on the Guinness world record and current troubles for some podcast listeners. As voted on by our Patreon patrons, today we're talking about mud. This ubiquitous combination of water and dirt is useful to science, employed in health and beauty, a little-known component of professional sports, and even eaten. Read the full script. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Reach out and touch Moxie on FB, Twit, the 'Gram or email. Need some light reading in a heavy world? Good thing there's the YBOF book! Le...
May 11, 2021•34 min
What do PT Barnum's performer General Tom Thumb, Elvis's manager Colonel Tom Park, and wrestler turned cartoon character Sargent Slaughter have in common? 00:53 General Tom Thumb 08:58 Colonel Tom Parker 25:34 Sargent Slaughter Read the full script. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Reach out and touch Moxie on FB, Twit, the 'Gram or email. Need some light reading in a heavy world? Good thing there's the YBOF book! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 04, 2021•40 min•Ep. 153
If a little is good, a lot must be better, right? You'd be surprised how many common, innocuous things in our world can actually kill you. Just when you thought it was safe to drink water. Need some light reading in a heavy world? Good thing there's the YBOF book! Guest quote reader: Shawn from Ink & Ash, formerly Stories of Yore and Yours. Read the full script. Reach out and touch Moxie on FB, Twit, the 'Gram or email. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 27, 2021•34 min•Ep. 150
True stories of people who educated themselves, to turn the law from a sword into a shield. Guest quote readers: CJ from Been Through Some S***, Chris from This Week Today. Need some light reading in a heavy world? Good thing there's the YBOF book! Read the full script. Reach out and touch Moxie on FB, Twit, the 'Gram or email. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 21, 2021•31 min•Ep. 151
With guest presenters, in approximate order of appearance: Bunny Trails A Star Wars podcast Footnoting History Grammar Girl Reel Feels Die-alougue Gurus of Comedy Lexitecture Ignorance Was Bliss Happily Ever Aftermath Doomsday Strange Animals In the Doll World MyhandleisJonathanBlade Self Shoots from the Hip Jackie Watches Stuff Nerd Lab Nutrition Diva Ready, Set, Roll Shame Pinata Sleep Whispers NocaNews Quiz and Hers This is Her Place Savvy Psychologist Useless Information Ballsy History Varmi...
Apr 06, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 150
The meme that inspired the episode. Need some light reading in a heavy world? Good thing there's the YBOF book! Read the full script. Reach out and touch Moxie on FB, Twit, the 'Gram or email. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 30, 2021•32 min•Ep. 149
