Omnibus
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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.
Недавне епизоде
711 епизода
Nell Gwyn (Entry 557.GE2106)
In which cartoonist and writer Emily Flake discusses chance encounters with Dan Rather, being denied entry to Turks and Caicos, and the namesake of Em...
The Astor Place Riot (Entry 76.PR2817)
In which David Hyde (Blue City Blues, Seattle Nice) meets John in the bunker to discuss the 1849 Astor Place Opera House Riot and the welcome return o...
The Dyatlov Pass Incident (Entry 389.1SA2314)
In which Futureling Ariela Silberstein gives John his Cold War fix while discussing the mysterious disappearance of nine Soviet hikers. Certificate #4...
The Death of Mr. McMahon (Entry 319.MA0605)
In which Nick Butler (Sometimes Weekly) recalls exploding limos, kayfabe and a future President. Certificate #44697
Operation Columba (Entry 869.GE0810)
In which Futureling (and occasional magician’s assistant) Jennifer MacFarlane discusses pigeons and a family story from the southern Netherlands in th...
Doorbells (Entry 372.LU0207)
In which comedian Lisa Lane and John revisit late 20th-century nostalgia, and what technology has done to the delicate art of knocking on strangers’ d...
General Mills (Entry 520.GE0615)
In which comedian and writer Alex Falcone discusses weather balloons, broken arrows, and the most general of mills. Certificate #35593.
Nolan Bushnell (Entry 167.MA1323)
In which an Atari founder turns borrowed ideas into a gaming empire, makes a killing, and launches Rick Rat’s Pizza—guided by Futureling Keli Boucher....
The Cabinet of Doom (Entry 171.JE0814)
In which Bob Crawford, author of America’s Founding Son: John Quincy Adams, from President to Political Maverick and bass player for The Avett Brother...
The World's Largest Drum (Entry 144.CO0807)
In which giant university marching drums, mythic African war drums, and even a Salvadoran bronze masterpiece take center stage — guided by Futureling...
The Filibuster War (Entry 468.RE0602)
In which Futureling Hugh Scott unpacks the saga of drifter, doctor, and self-declared president William Walker. Certificate #28903
"Champagne" in New Mexico (Entry 205.DA0201)
In which Futureling Katie Tarara uncovers the surprising rise of a symbol of French celebration in the American Southwest. Certificate #31308
The Pyramid of North Dakota (Entry 1014.IS1901)
In which a lonely concrete pyramid in North Dakota uncovers the story of America’s ambitious—and short-lived—Cold War missile defense system, with gue...
Worcester Sauce (Entry 1442.NU1150)
In which comedian Saul Henry discusses the global reach of Worcestershire sauce and regional British accents. Certificate #37300.
Eurowesterns (Entry 431.EZ0902)
In which Futureling Robert educates John about Germany's all-time best-selling author—and fraudster—Karl May. Special appearance by Einstein. Certific...
Surrealist Prank Calls (Entry 1258.OB0102)
In which Erin Dawson, a trans black metal musician who goes by the moniker Genital Shame, explores the nature of prank calls, their cultural significa...
Candlestick Park (Entry 179.EX3937)
In which writer and podcaster Grant Brisbee reveals the history of baseball's worst stadium. Special appearance by Richard Nixon and The Beatles. Cert...
The Phantom Time Hypothesis (Entry 928.PR1027)
In which various crackpots and Russians decide that three hundred years of the European "dark ages" simply didn't happen, and Ken doesn't want his eul...
Tama Bell Brass (Entry 1275.PR2225)
In which author, music executive and host of the Identified podcast Nabil Ayers discusses selling used CDs, The Terminator, The Drum Doctor and more....
Second Missouri Compromise (Entry 1122.MA0624)
In which Linus Chan explores American citizenship, the law, and the long shadow of the Missouri Compromise. Certificate #24581.
Introducing The History Bureau: Putin and the Apartment Bombs
Hear a teaser for The History Bureau: Putin and the Apartment Bombs, from the
BBC. In September 1999, just weeks after a 46-year-old Vladimir Pu...
Neopets (Entry 831.EC0904)
In which Futureling Kate tells John about the rise, fall, and attempted revival of a millennial obsession. Certificate #30063.
Thomas-Alexandre Dumas (Entry 386.DA1125)
In which Futureling Richard Stephens tells of the rapid rise of a Revolutionary general through the military ranks, the challenges he faced as a perso...
Glacier Girl (Entry 530.JB3822)
In which a WWII fighter plane crashes on a Greenland ice sheet in 1942 and is painstakingly recovered and restored by a pilot over two decades. Certif...
Exiled to Sentosa (Entry 438.LU2319)
In which a politician is banished to Singapore’s theme-park island, recounted by Nathan Jennings. Certificate #41799
E.A. Wallis Budge (Entry 161.IS1901)
In which the illegitimate son of a Cornish housekeeper rises to the top of the British Museum Egyptology department. Featuring futureling and the host...
Penn Cove Whale Capture (Entry 916.JB0712)
Wherein dozens of Orca were kidnapped in an unspeakable scene and Christopher didn’t bring a laptop (and John didn’t have a camera yet). Certificate #...
Grit (Entry 551.PR1004)
In which a plucky immigrant "printer's devil" creates a newspaper that puzzles and pays off generations of young American boys, and John avoids a chai...
The Grand DARPA Challenge (Entry 543.PS5507)
In which a government-backed desert race for unmanned vehicles ignites the technologies driving the autonomous future now creeping into our cities - w...
Jack Kirby’s Lost Art (Entry 688.DE2203)
In which Jack Kirby, a titan of American pop culture, confronts the disappearance of thousands of pages of his original comic art—and the battle over...
New York to Nome (Entry 835.AC2710)
In which two young Depression-era clerks break from their dull routines and embark on a canoe trip. Certificate #44688
(LIVE) New Coke (Entry 835.LK0538)
In which three well-meaning Atlanta executives accidentally announce their surrender in the cola wars, and Ken reads a letter. Certificate #38738.
Pneumatic Tubes (Entry 955.JN0308)
In which mail, cash, trash, passengers, burgers, and cats are sent zipping through vast networks on puffs of compressed air, and John would like to be...
Management by Wandering Around (Entry 754.PS10740)
In which a Wyoming-educated economist gets big in Japan by inventing modern business theory, and Ken wants to be able to wince on a call. Certificate...
The Spirit of Australia (Entry 1203.PS7716)
In which an power tools salesman builds the world's fastest boat in his Sydney backyard and somehow survives the experience, and John thinks it's funn...
Spam (Entry 1195.JB0607)
In which a Minnesota meat concern changes the face of world cuisine by passing their surplus pork shoulder off on hungry soldiers, and Ken imagines a...
The False Dmitrys (Entry 451.2K0428)
In which three or four pretenders decide to pass themselves off as a very convincingly killed Russian prince, and John realizes some jobs have drippin...
Laugh Tracks (Entry 704.EC0202)
In which a mystery of Nazi propaganda, once solved, powers television sitcoms for decades to come, and Ken wonders about the least talented part of a...
The NATO Phonetic Alphabet (Entry 826.RV2213)
In which post-war science finally develops the perfect system for spelling things over radio and telephones, and John learns he has been misspelling a...
Muzak (Entry 820.1S1616)
In which a series of engineers, entrepreneurs, and classic TV producers discover that America wants gentle music piped into its public spaces, and Ken...