The Tartarian Empire (Entry 1279.NA0206)
In which a QAnon-like conspiracy theory insists that fancy 19th-century architecture was all built by a mysterious, long-lost superstate, and John is concerned about neighborhood dogs with heads the size of pumpkins. Certificate #20354.
1hr 12m Jun 08, 2023
1hr 12m
The Kruger Millions (Entry 693.JB2801)
In which a vast hoard of gold and diamonds disppears near the Mozambique border during the Boer War, and Ken thinks most penguin species look like hoboes. Certificate #15845.
1hr 13m Jun 01, 2023
1hr 13m
Project Cybersyn (Entry 993.AC0245)
In which Latin America's first Marxist democracy tries to collectivize the means of production by inventing a proto-internet in 1970, and John just hopes it was orange and brown. Certificate #53432.
1hr 13m May 25, 2023
1hr 13m
The Gimli Glider (Entry 528.PS6104)
In which the pilots of a Canadian commercial jetliner abruptly realize over Ontario that they're entirely out of fuel, and Ken likes sad character licensing attempts at amusement parks. Certificate #41746.
1hr 22m May 18, 2023
1hr 22m
Dueling Scars (Entry 385.PR0633)
In which German university students create a new status symbol when they add swordplay to their drinking society meetings, and John's closet skeletons are all bar fights. Certificate #36857.
1hr 9m May 11, 2023
1hr 9m
Alligators in the Sewers (Entry 033.LV1142)
In which generations of New Yorkers read about, and lasso, a series of not-legendary-at-all interlopers beneath their city, and Ken doesn't think you should trim a reptile like a bonsai tree. Certificate #36161.
1hr 21m May 04, 2023
1hr 21m
Magic Alex (Entry 747.JE0708)
In which a self-proclaimed electronics prodigy from Greece wows the credulous Beatles with five years of inventions he will never invent, and John insists that his recursive t-shirt feature Wil Wheaton. Certificate #45939.
1hr 24m Apr 27, 2023
1hr 24m
Saul Zaentz (Entry 1455.1S1435)
In which a future three-time Oscar winner becomes the nemesis of America's favorite fake swamp-rocker, and Ken has prepared a little skit about the death of Stalin. Certificate #42240.
1hr 24m Apr 20, 2023
1hr 24m
The Green River Ordinance (Entry 549.RV0320)
In which underslept Wyoming railroad workers strike back against a tide of pushy brush and encyclopedia salesmen, and John appreciates the Jehovah's Witnesses. Certificate #12881.
1hr 18m Apr 13, 2023
1hr 18m
Mad Cow Disease (Entry 746.GE4120)
In which the unsavory feeding practices of British dairy farms introduce Europe to a new degenerative brain disease, and Ken believes Prince Edward is not necessarily human. Certificate #41602.
1hr 16m Apr 06, 2023
1hr 16m
The Amazing Randi (Entry 038.EX0711)
In which mediums and other charlatans wage a 150-year war with their sworn enemy, elite stage magicians, and John would never yell at a lake or birdbath. Certificate #44722.
1hr 35m Mar 30, 2023
1hr 35m
Kevlar (Entry 684.EX2822)
In which a pioneering chemist never sees a cent of the billions of dollars that her tough new polymer earns for her employer, and Ken wonders how many Alaskans fake their own deaths. Certificate #34836.
1hr 21m Mar 23, 2023
1hr 21m
The Defector General (Entry 326.IS3301)
In which the greatest turncoat in Chinese history betrays every single warlord or government he ever serves, and John had the 4chan version of the '90s. Certificate #40824.
1hr 23m Mar 16, 2023
1hr 23m
The Devils Hole Pupfish (Entry 342.PS10529)
In which a playful-looking but delicate little species is unable to thrive anywhere but its 11-foot wide home near Death Valley, and Ken witnesses a jellyfish tragedy. Certificate #41036.
1hr 8m Mar 09, 2023
1hr 8m
The Sight and Sound Poll (Entry 1158.DE0413)
In which a British magazine very gradually takes over film culture with its once-every-decade top ten list, and John is careful not to endorse an invasion of the Sudetenland. Certificate #51403.
1hr 32m Mar 02, 2023
1hr 32m
The Bhopal Disaster (Entry 118.JE2106)
In which a series of lapses at a Union Carbide India chemical plant leads to the worst industrial accident in history, and Ken can't get behind a midnight tea break. Certificate #52760.
1hr 20m Feb 23, 2023
1hr 20m
The Osage Headrights (Entry 877.MT2508)
In which an Oklahoma tribe becomes the world's richest people before the swindling and the murders start, and John enjoys a web of intrigue. Certificate #47911.
1hr 23m Feb 16, 2023
1hr 23m
The Voynich Manuscript (Entry 1403.DA0515)
In which a bizarrely illustrated codex baffles codebreakers for almost four hundred years, and Ken should not have sent that text about the collected works of Dickens. Certificate #42634.
1hr 22m Feb 09, 2023
1hr 22m
Rhinos in Europe (Entry 1069.JB3910)
In which Europe is so besotted with exotic ungulates that Roman emperors battle them, artists engrave them badly, and salons honor them in wig form, and John asks about Ken's milk bags. Certificate #27983.
1hr 11m Feb 02, 2023
1hr 11m
Cannikin (Entry 180.IS0219)
In which underground nuclear testing in Alaska leads two Jewish Quakers into a new age of direct action in environmental activism, and Ken is grateful for the air fryer. Certificate #53211.
1hr 9m Jan 26, 2023
1hr 9m
The Royal Touch (Entry 1087.MT1902)
In which the divine right of kings, along with golden amulets, is considered the only cure for a disfiguring disease, and John considers which celebrities might be carved from wood. Certificate #22347.
1hr 9m Jan 19, 2023
1hr 9m
Blue Fugates (Entry 137.DA1006)
In which a rare oxidized form of hemoglobin changes the skin color of a whole holler full of Kentuckians, and Ken wonders when elves got plastic surgery. Certificate #26015.
1hr 7m Jan 12, 2023
1hr 7m
Korean Age (Entry 692.JB1117)
In which the world's first cultural superpower decides to make all its citizens a year or two younger overnight, and John could not have been a better baby. Certificate #38756.
1hr 20m Jan 05, 2023
1hr 20m
Emperor Norton (Entry 408.MT2221)
In which a colorful newcomer to San Francisco loses a fortune on Peruvian rice and declares himself American royalty, and Ken would have pixelized Kiss. Certificate #42631.
1hr 11m Dec 29, 2022
1hr 11m
The Grey Album (Entry 550.MT1906)
In which a future music megastar bridges the gap between rock and hip-hop with one ambitious, illegal remix album, and John is such a good ally that he listened to Suzanne Vega. Certificate #19205.
1hr 19m Dec 27, 2022
1hr 19m
Christmas KFC (Entry 220.DE1411)
In which a western religious holiday becomes a romantic poultry-eating occasion in modern Japan, and Ken destroys all his Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts. Certificate #24940.
1hr 11m Dec 22, 2022
1hr 11m
The First Council of Nicaea (Entry 472.AC1502)
In which an emperor convenes the first ever ecumenical council to figure out just whom Christians have been worshiping all this time, and John thinks the invention of the wheel led to mass depravity. Certificate #23027.
1hr 24m Dec 20, 2022
1hr 24m
Custer the Wolf (Entry 308.JN1012)
In which a national campaign to eradicate a misunderstood predator from the United States very nearly succeeds, and Ken would like to see John James Audubon burning in a pit. Certificate #52363.
1hr 10m Dec 15, 2022
1hr 10m
The Phone Book (Entry 931.RV2015)
In which utility companies take it upon themselves to provide the informational staple of every 20th-century household, and John is looking for a missing Jordanian. Certificate #48730.
1hr 35m Dec 13, 2022
1hr 35m
The Futuro House (Entry 510.1K0609)
In which a Finnish architect upgrades the prefab, modular homes of the 1960s by turning them into flying saucers, and Ken wants to know his table's name. Certificate #49729.
1hr 6m Dec 08, 2022
1hr 6m
The Red Ghost (Entry 1042.LV1104)
In which southeastern Arizona is menaced by a giant, murderous cryptid with a macabre rider, and John conjures up Mr. Clickety-Clack. Certificate #45334.
1hr 8m Dec 06, 2022
1hr 8m
The Quadro Tracker (Entry 1016.LK1202)
In which a man who can't find his golf balls solves every law enforcement problem known to man, and Ken has some bad news about parking tickets. Certificate #21137.
1hr 12m Dec 01, 2022
1hr 12m
The Johnstown Flood (Entry 674.NA0108)
In which an earthenwork dam enjoyed by millionaires fails and a town of steelworkers disppears from the map, and John is terrified by the menace of West Virginia. Certificate #33180.
1hr 6m Nov 29, 2022
1hr 6m
The Last Solviet Citizen (Entry 702.LA0417)
In which one lonely cosmonaut is left in space while his nation disappears from under him, and Ken thinks couples therapy should be about Mars. Certificate #35916.
55m Nov 24, 2022
55m
Twilight (Entry 1352.DE1223)
In which a bored Phoenix mom has a sparkly dream that ends up changing both teen literature and Washington State tourism, and John explains that his virginity had little to do with vampires. Certificate #18573.
1hr 18m Nov 22, 2022
1hr 18m
Mother Trees (Entry 810.LK2129)
In which forests and their fungi form such close relationships that they essentially become a giant leafy brain, and Ken is excited about pre-Wil Wheaton science. Certificate #46162.
55m Nov 17, 2022
55m
The Goodwill Moon Rocks (Entry 539.JB1804)
In which a space detective learns that hundreds of Richard Nixon's tiny gifts to the world have gone missing over the years, and John wonders if religious sacraments are more effective in space. Certificate #25614.
1hr 9m Nov 15, 2022
1hr 9m
Up with People (Entry 1376.MT0715)
In which the counterculture of the 1960s encourages powerful institutions to create a square but multiracial song-and-dance troupe that takes the world by storm, and Ken imagines President Eisenhower as a stern ad executive. Certificate #53773
1hr 14m Nov 10, 2022
1hr 14m
Loyalists (Entry 738.1S0819)
In which half a million colonists decide the American Revolution isn't really their thing, and John needs to know how many lanterns there were, just in case. Certificate #13747.
1hr 16m Nov 08, 2022
1hr 16m
The Stone of Scone (Entry 1229.PS11822)
In which a medieval legend about a chunk of sandstone means that Scottish cooperation is necessary for Charles III to be crowned king, and Ken passes a Bible quiz. Certificate #42504.
1hr 8m Nov 03, 2022
1hr 8m
The Popemobile (Entry 965.JE4615)
In which the history of papal transportation is traced from sedan chairs to Hyundai sedans, and John has been researching the care and upkeep of Catholic moms. Certificate #15163.
1hr 10m Nov 01, 2022
1hr 10m
The Dempster Dumpster (Entry 332.LA0345)
In which cities, over the centuries, gradually discover the most efficient way to collect garbage for disposal, and Ken hasn't looked in his pocket since Christmas. Certificate #28712.
1hr 5m Oct 27, 2022
1hr 5m
Modernist Cuisine (Entry 798.PR2303)
In which a computer millionaire takes early retirement to self-publish a 50-pound reference work about the chemistry of food, and John discovers a surprise cherry tomato. Certificate #24537.
1hr 11m Oct 25, 2022
1hr 11m
The Batavia (Entry 103.AC2741)
In which one eventful Dutch voyage to Indonesia leads to a mutiny, a shipwreck, and a massacre off the coast of Australia, and Ken claims he has a bed in a port somewhere. Certificate #20229.
1hr 14m Oct 20, 2022
1hr 14m
The Last Train Robbery (Entry 702.EZ0722)
In which two Depression-era "drugstore cowboys" let their Wild West outlaw fantasies lead them into a life of crime, and John breaks the news to Ken about pirates. Certificate #26056.
1hr 1m Oct 18, 2022
1hr 1m
The Thanh Hoa Bridge (Entry 1293.2C0409)
In which the "Dragon's Jaw" across the Song Ma River in North Vietnam proves a challenge for the most advanced air weaponry on earth, and Ken thinks teens should be in parking lots. Certificate #22691.
1hr 3m Oct 13, 2022
1hr 3m
Dissociative Fugues (Entry 363.HE1017)
In which human memory and identity are so fragile that a series of people simply walk away from them, and John wishes more things were the movie Tron. Certificate #28975.
1hr 13m Oct 11, 2022
1hr 13m
Lem Billings (Entry 121.PR2705)
In which a high school Kennedy confidante becomes an influential White House voice while hiding a delicate secret, and Ken wants to blur some of John Lithgow's wrinkles. Certificate #36906.
1hr Oct 06, 2022
1hr
The Murder of Herbert Lee (Entry 817.EX2307)
In which a racist Mississippi state legislator kills his childhood friend, a civil rights organizer, in broad daylight with no consequences whatsoever, and John thinks Ken pronounces "Montgomery" like a Southern belle. Certificate #34239.
58m Oct 04, 2022
58m
Adbusters (Entry 014.HG0105)
In which a pair of outraged Canadians, kept off the TV airwaves, change the world with their anti-consumerist art magazine instead, and Ken thinks Mr. Ed should have had pop-up ads. Certificate #29414.
1hr 11m Sep 29, 2022
1hr 11m