Rasputin (Entry 1031.MT2411)
In which a Siberian mystic gets so cozy with Russian royals that he ensures the success of the Bolshevik Revolution, and Ken wonders if he blinks the normal amount of times. Certificate #38899.
1hr Apr 08, 2021
1hr
The Crash at Crush (Entry 292.ZP0110)
In which the American love affair with demolition-based entertainment is born near Waco, Texas in an explosion of iron and steam, and John believes some flight attendants are aliens. Certificate #34659.
51m Apr 06, 2021
51m
Figwit (Entry 467.JE2402)
In which we follow the arc of nerd culture to the Council of Elrond where a certain kind of fan service is born, and Ken explains why people fight about Frodo and Jesus. Certificate #40170.
1hr 11m Apr 01, 2021
1hr 11m
The Cadaver Synod (Entry 172.HE0927)
In which a zombie pope is forced to stand trial in 9th-century Rome, and Ken discovers a generation of people with strong opinions about the word "zoology." Certificate #28349.
1hr 9m Mar 30, 2021
1hr 9m
Roady Bill and Tony the Pony (Entry 1077.PR0719)
In which an online covered wagon auction unearths an almost-forgotten genre of itinerant performer, and John refuses to identify the Tijuana of Europe. Certificate #46962.
1hr 7m Mar 25, 2021
1hr 7m
The Underarm Bowling Incident (Entry 1363.JB2602)
In which an Australian cricket team creates an international controversy with an unorthodox but legal strategy, and Ken accidentally does a Boston accent. Certificate #30080.
59m Mar 23, 2021
59m
The Lost Spitfires of Burma (Entry 736.AC0219)
In which a modern-day treasure hunter becomes convinced that a priceless trove of British fighter jets is buried at the end of an airport runway, and John becomes a realtor for Myanmar. Certificate #34112.
1hr Mar 18, 2021
1hr
The Memex (Entry 774.EX3607)
In which the Internet is born in 1945 when a radar technician in a bamboo hut reads a Life magazine article about a futuristic desk, and Ken wonders if anyone smoked weed at Los Alamos. Certificate #18461.
1hr 9m Mar 16, 2021
1hr 9m
English as She Is Spoke (Entry 414.GE1107)
In which an inept attempt at a Portuguese-English phrasebook becomes an enduring comedy classic, and John celebrates the invention of the stirrup. Certificate #29469.
1hr 16m Mar 11, 2021
1hr 16m
Rosa Luxemburg's Body (Entry 1082.NU1911)
In which the most famous socialist rabble-rouser of her time returns from her 1919 execution (maybe) as a headless mummy, and Ken wonders if ancient Irish peasants had combination skin. Certificate #27337.
1hr 5m Mar 09, 2021
1hr 5m
Mobile Jubilees (Entry 797.LV2512)
In which a set of rare ocean and weather conditions in Alabama can lead to periodic seafood explosions, and Ken and John agree that Muscle Shoals must be in the wrong place. Certificate #38099.
56m Mar 04, 2021
56m
Henry Cavendish (Entry 197.JB2825)
In which the wealthiest and most socially awkward British thinker of his time revolutionizes science, mostly in secret, and John wants to harvest clones at Packers games. Certificate #47447.
1hr 8m Mar 02, 2021
1hr 8m
The Beatles' Lord of the Rings (Entry 107.EX2512)
In which we consider an alternate timeline where the Beatles' third movie was a psychedelic Tolkien adaptation instead of a bummer documentary, and Ken sticks up for sanitation. Certificate #51290.
1hr 9m Feb 25, 2021
1hr 9m
Sergeant Stubby (Entry 1136.PS1848)
In which a mutt from the mean streets of Connecticut becomes a decorated hero in the trenches of World War I, and John is only good at half of rugby. Certificate #26161.
1hr 8m Feb 23, 2021
1hr 8m
Beaver Castoreum (Entry 108.EX3035)
In which the gross gunk from the back end of a rodent is discovered to be an invaluable perfume ingredient and even flavor enhancer, and Ken's Sunday school teacher does not want a high-five. Certificate #36682.
1hr 1m Feb 18, 2021
1hr 1m
Flying Through the Gateway Arch (Entry 484.EZ4030)
In which Midwestern pilots are unable to resist the gaping maw of the St. Louis skyline, and John watches a Wim Wenders movie fourteen times without ever seeing the beginning. Certificate #30320.
1hr 19m Feb 16, 2021
1hr 19m
The Whole Earth Catalog (Entry 1430.IS1426)
In which an acid trip and a NASA space photo inspire a new guide of counterculture "tools" for living, and Ken helps John get his Nixon back. Certificate #51410.
1hr 10m Feb 11, 2021
1hr 10m
Lego Minifigures (Entry 711.EX0508)
In which we learn how a "system" of Scandinavian minimalism put on a happy face and became the most popular toy in the world, and John tries the art of the deal with Ken's kids. Certificate #50469.
1hr 22m Feb 09, 2021
1hr 22m
The Universal Studios Fire (Entry 1370.PS10618)
In which a series of corporate mergers and one amusement park fire conspire to rob the world of a priceless musical heritage, and Ken regrets renting a fancy car. Certificate #43485.
1hr 16m Feb 04, 2021
1hr 16m
The Great Tea Race (Entry 548.JM0304)
In which four clipper ships race to London in the most exciting contest of the 19th century, and John thinks race cars should deliver cocaine. Certificate #38646.
1hr 1m Feb 02, 2021
1hr 1m
Bigfoot Hoaxers (Entry 120.2K0108)
In which southwest Washington State becomes the epicenter for lazy Sasquatch fakes, and Ken explains how the Jersey Devil probably reproduces. Certificate #17742.
1hr 19m Jan 28, 2021
1hr 19m
Operation Ajax (Entry 869.PR2904)
In which a presidential grandchild with a reasonable CIA departmental budget is all it takes to overthrow Iran, and John reveals the only downside of firing a howitzer. Certificate #39131.
1hr 10m Jan 26, 2021
1hr 10m
The River of Doubt (Entry 1076.PS7208)
In which Teddy Roosevelt and his son celebrate the end of his manly presidency by almost dying in South America, and Ken is tricked into discussing Mato Grosso. Certificate #27531.
1hr 8m Jan 21, 2021
1hr 8m
Allegheny Time (Entry 032.MT2436)
In which a series of traumatic train accidents and a broke astronomer conspire to re-invent time as a flat circle, and John accidentally attends a clock unveiling. Certificate #13818.
59m Jan 19, 2021
59m
Otokichi (Entry 879.2C1125)
In which a freak Pacific storm in 1832 makes one young castaway an unusual ambassador for the Empire of Japan, and Ken is unable to justify the Gospel of John. Certificate #37850.
1hr 4m Dec 31, 2020
1hr 4m
Woodstock '99 (Entry 1441.IS2808)
In which a fiery apocalypse outside Rome, New York marks the cultural endpoint of the 1990s, and John spends his whole childhood reading about armaments in Janes publications. Certificate #27287.
1hr 19m Dec 29, 2020
1hr 19m
Kon-Tiki (Entry 692.MT1424)
In which a Norwegian amateur anthropologist sails a raft from Peru to Polynesia to push a pet theory, and Ken covets ink and gold. Certificate #18688.
1hr 17m Dec 24, 2020
1hr 17m
The War Before This One (Entry 1409.NH0109)
In which we follow the long, strange journey that finally got World War I and World War II their names, and John goes for drinks with his high school principal. Certificate #24737.
1hr 18m Dec 22, 2020
1hr 18m
Slab City (Entry 1170.IS3501)
In which itinerant snowbirds turn an abandoned desert naval base into a trash-mountain utopia, and Ken hopes a nuke lands on his head. Certificate #33204.
1hr 9m Dec 17, 2020
1hr 9m
Carlo Gesualdo (Entry 526.HE1304)
In which modernity discovers a late Renaissance composer with a history of ahead-of-his-time harmonies and lurid murder, and John scats like Cab Calloway after midnight. Certificate #39859.
1hr 17m Dec 15, 2020
1hr 17m
The Guardian Angels (Entry 554.EX2320)
In which a Brooklyn-born fast food manager slaps some paramilitary berets on local kids and starts a new community policing movement, and Ken wonders how to allocate the stripes on the American flag. Certificate #25639.
1hr 10m Dec 10, 2020
1hr 10m
B. Traven (Entry 1332.PR2502)
In which we trace at least four secret identities of the most reclusive novelist in literary history, and John gets a terrible fake ID from the fake ID store. Certificate #39453.
1hr 8m Dec 08, 2020
1hr 8m
Dingbat Apartments (Entry 351.AC2830)
In which we learn why Los Angeles and other post-war American cities have tens of thousands of the same apartment complex, and Ken wonders where Philip Johnson's water heater is. Certificate #25380.
1hr 6m Dec 03, 2020
1hr 6m
Ultrarunning (Entry 1357.IS4031)
In which a throwback British baronet (sort of) completes seven marathons on seven continents in seven consecutive days, and John runs like a rhinoceros. Certificate #20800.
1hr 12m Dec 01, 2020
1hr 12m
The DeLorean Cocaine Bust (Entry 330.JB1810)
In which Detroit's first "cool" car executive almost goes to jail in an attempt to save his weird car and foundering company, and Ken says it's okay for kids to climb into refrigerators now. Certificate #36728.
1hr 20m Nov 26, 2020
1hr 20m
Elizabeth Nietzsche (Entry 837.EX0204)
In which a Prussian schoolteacher's wife founds a failed anti-Semitic utopia in Paraguay and creates fascism's favorite philosopher, and John wants to keep Nazis off the Moon at all costs. Certificate #42582.
1hr 4m Nov 24, 2020
1hr 4m
Cottagecore (Entry 283.ZP0206)
In which we look at the long history of romanticizing rural life, from the Enlightenment all the way up to today's Instagram lesbians, and Ken accuses Thoreau of "glamping." Certificate #45989.
1hr 10m Nov 19, 2020
1hr 10m
The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon (Entry 088.MK1472)
In which we learn what causes the "frequency illusion" of recently learned facts immediately reappearing into view, and John has too many books on his bed for romance. Certificate #36846.
1hr 13m Nov 17, 2020
1hr 13m
The Baader-Meinhof Gang (Entry 088.EZ2736)
In which far-left European terrorism of the 1970s produces West Germany's own Marxist-Leninist "Bonnie and Clyde," and Ken feels bad for that kissing nurse in Times Square. Certificate #26524.
1hr 21m Nov 12, 2020
1hr 21m
The Cavendish Banana (Entry 197.JU0112)
In which we learn that the massive global banana export market is a precarious monoculture doomed to disaster because of a tiny fungus, and John thinks Sean Young might be a time traveler. Certificate #26039.
1hr 1m Nov 10, 2020
1hr 1m
Wampum (Entry 1408.DE0206)
In which the intricate bead culture of the Eastern Woodlands tribes confuses new British and Dutch arrivals, and Ken refuses to let Thomas Jefferson make him be a farmer. Certificate #31448.
1hr 10m Nov 05, 2020
1hr 10m
Election Ties (Entry 400.1CH2508)
In which we learn what governments do when election results come back exactly tied, and John swings a Seattle mayoral election by asking for directions. Certificate #30371.
1hr 19m Nov 03, 2020
1hr 19m
Mensa (Entry 775.PR1320)
In which the era of intelligence testing produces an Oxford-based society for smarty-pants who, it turns out, mostly want to solve puzzles, and Ken is shamed for identifying an antelope. Certificate #43519.
1hr 21m Oct 29, 2020
1hr 21m
C-Day (Entry 198.MT2527)
In which the U.S. military battles black marketing and currency destabilization by paying Korea- and Vietnam-era servicemembers in play money, and John learns about a 1990s fad for the first time. Certificate #46965.
52m Oct 27, 2020
52m
The Day the Clown Cried (Entry 317.PS12605)
In which an unfinished Holocaust "dramedy" gains a reputation as the worst movie ever made even though no one has ever seen it, and Ken thinks a lot about dog poop. Certificate #46512.
1hr 20m Oct 22, 2020
1hr 20m
Eliza (Entry 404.LK0247)
In which an MIT professor worried about a digital future accidentally creates the field of human-machine conversation, and John flirts with a 54-year-old computer program. Certificate #36441.
1hr 15m Oct 20, 2020
1hr 15m
Cynthia Plaster Caster (Entry 949.JE4817)
In which a shy Chicago student becomes one of the most famous rock fans in America by virtue of her anatomically correct artwork, and John offers Ken an unwanted present. Certificate #30889.
1hr 9m Oct 15, 2020
1hr 9m
Washington, CSA (Entry 1412.MT1225)
In which a doddering general saves America from an alarming alternate history in which the Confederacy takes over the nation instead of seceding, and Ken objurgates against several things (but especially slavery). Certificate #15899.
1hr 4m Oct 13, 2020
1hr 4m
Seawise Giant (Entry 1121.AC2718)
In which an unnamed Greek shipping magnate "jumbo-izes" an oil tanker so big that it can't even navigate the English Channel, and John ponders digging a canal between Seattle and Omaha. Certificate #36640.
1hr 10m Oct 08, 2020
1hr 10m
Aztec Death Whistles (Entry 088.PS5502)
In which thousands of Mesoamerican "toys" in museums around the world turn out to be terrifying vessels for the screams of wind and death, and Ken dreams of wearing "Bespin fatigues." Certificate #34995.
1hr 11m Oct 06, 2020
1hr 11m