Luke and Laura (Entry 739.MT2210)
In which the first daytime "supercouple" briefly makes soap operas a part of 1980s mass culture, and John wonders if a bride is "zaftig." Certificate #32511.
1hr 19m Sep 27, 2022
1hr 19m
Bitcoin Pizza Day (Entry 126.JB1304)
In which $300 million in 2022 money is unwisely spent on the world's first real-world cryptocurrency transaction, and Ken explains why a bro should not have an army. Certificate #11904.
1hr 25m Sep 22, 2022
1hr 25m
Exclaves (Entry 436.NU2021)
In which we explore life in parts of the map that are bizarrely separated from the rest of their nations, and John thinks Alaska looks like a very fertile octopus. Certificate #51829.
1hr 23m Sep 20, 2022
1hr 23m
The Boots Theory (Entry 143.LK2104)
In which a British fantasy writer reframes cost-of-living calculations for future economists, and Ken doesn't notice cobblers. Certificate #28114.
1hr 14m Sep 15, 2022
1hr 14m
Farmer Burns (Entry 166.GN3224)
In which a gifted grappler with Iowa's biggest neck becomes America's first national wrestling celebrity, and pro wrestling reminds John of many of his past relationships. Certificate #29766.
1hr 29m Sep 13, 2022
1hr 29m
Tom Thumb (Entry 1315.PR2131)
In which America's first locomotive faces its greatest challenge, a group of angry teamsters, and Ken decides horses are his Sammy Hagar. Certificate #17918.
1hr 6m Sep 08, 2022
1hr 6m
The Winchester Geese (Entry 1434.JG1601)
In which a church bishop's sanction makes the London borough of Southwark a haven for sex workers and other outcasts for centuries, and John would like to pay someone to chide him. Certificate #49605.
1hr 1m Sep 06, 2022
1hr 1m
Hobby Tunneling (Entry 591.JB2416)
In which a series of largely male and largely odd people over the centuries start digging something and just don't stop, and Ken explains how Canadian lakes are named. Certificate #39623.
1hr 13m Sep 01, 2022
1hr 13m
Gillian Hills (Entry 588.PS12101)
In which the daughter of a famous adventurer and hostage does landmark work in 20th-century music, film, and art, and John wonders whom he has talked to for the most hours. Certificate #39582.
1hr 19m Aug 30, 2022
1hr 19m
O'Shaughnessy Dam (Entry 877.EX1508)
In which a great American city got its water rights by illegally flooding John Muir's favorite valley, and Ken has opinions on where egrets should poop. Certificate #53464.
1hr 18m Aug 25, 2022
1hr 18m
The Placebo Effect (Entry 946.IS3821)
In which people find they can feel better about almost any ailment while taking nothing at all, and many of John's friends are Batman villains. Certificate #42734.
1hr 31m Aug 23, 2022
1hr 31m
The Dingo Fence (Entry 351.EZ1415)
In which 3,500 miles of wire mesh are intended to keep the southeast corner of Australia dingo-free, and Ken thinks his dogs are choosing not to do jazz hands. Certificate #51283.
1hr 15m Aug 18, 2022
1hr 15m
The Battle of Bamber Bridge (Entry 104.HE1302)
In which wartime Britain reacts skeptically to American racial segregation, leading to a firefight in the village streets of Lancashire, and John ponders the post-apocalyptic looting of opticians. Certificate #53093.
1hr 16m Aug 16, 2022
1hr 16m
Be Here Now (Entry 111.JM0414)
In which an LSD-loving psychologist is fired from Harvard and reborn in India, and Ken would like to be in a control group. Certificate #30296.
1hr 14m Aug 11, 2022
1hr 14m
The Swamp Dragons (Entry 1261.MK0118)
In which one of the most hapless teams in NBA history has a rebranding brainstorm, and John is mistaken about Jesus riding a dinosaur. Certificate #27789.
1hr 23m Aug 09, 2022
1hr 23m
Jobbers Canyon (Entry 673.LK1218)
In which one of America's most historic warehouse districts is threatened by urban renewal, and Ken wants only the best rutabagas in his body. Certificate #48481.
1hr 7m Aug 04, 2022
1hr 7m
Twee (Entry 1352.1TH0207)
In which an achingly innocent, gentle, and earnest new aesthetic spawns a decade of music, art, bangs, and Etsy stores, and John has forgotten every band except Kajagoogoo. Certificate #16065.
1hr 18m Aug 02, 2022
1hr 18m
The Mother Sauces (Entry 810.PS7825)
In which a taxonomy of five simple French recipes are used to define haute cuisine for generations, and Ken wants noodles named for Drake. Certificate #48504.
1hr 15m Jul 28, 2022
1hr 15m
Roller Derby (Entry 1080.NA0302)
In which a Broadway legend retools a Depression-era endurance contest into a thrilling contact sport, and John wants Portland to succeed. Certificate #26834.
1hr 17m Jul 26, 2022
1hr 17m
Blackout '77 (Entry 129.PS1828)
In which a crippling power outage strikes New York City during the worst summer in its history, and Ken receives strange wisdom from Nikola Tesla's severed head. Certificate #50165.
55m Jul 21, 2022
55m
A Message to Garcia (Entry 779.PR2513)
In which fake news from the Spanish-American War inspires a self-proclaimed socialist to write a pro-employer business classic, and John believes sadness can sink ships. Certificate #42914.
1hr 10m Jul 19, 2022
1hr 10m
The Hand of God (Entry 565.JB1921)
In which long-simmering resentments over the Falklands War boil over on the soccer pitch, and Ken thinks that Margaret Thatcher was actually a giant marionette. Certificate #38221.
1hr 1m Jul 14, 2022
1hr 1m
Facilitated Communication (Entry 447.MK0737)
In which a discredited pseudoscience from the 1980s makes a modern resurgence in the autism community, and John never wants to hear a second record by one of his favorite bands. Certificate #25222.
1hr 6m Jul 12, 2022
1hr 6m
Slag (Entry 1170.EZ2218)
In which the waste byproducts of smelting iron become an annoyance and then a hotly contested resource, and Ken wants some aquarium gravel. Certificate #24789.
56m Jul 07, 2022
56m
The Princeton Incident (Entry 987.RU0310)
In which the worst naval accident in U.S. government history almost kills a president but inspires romance instead, and John doesn't love the coquetteish head-tilting in old photos. Certificate #52488.
1hr 9m Jul 05, 2022
1hr 9m
The Appaloosa (Entry 059.ZC0603)
In which the indigenous people of the Columbia River Plateau breed a new horse with a "leopard complex," and Ken notes you can't milk an emu. Certificate #36454.
1hr 7m Jun 30, 2022
1hr 7m
The Chronofile (Entry 221.ES0601)
In which a great American futurist spends decades experimentally recording his own personal data every fifteen minutes, and John wants to know if Ken is a good kisser. Certificate #49146.
1hr 18m Jun 28, 2022
1hr 18m
Ice Capades (Entry 614.PR0322)
In which figure skating produces the biggest movie star in the world and then a half-century of traveling live entertainment, and Ken believes in promoting peanut vendors. Certificate #43376.
58m Jun 23, 2022
58m
Riot Dogs (Entry 1075.MK0728)
In which some tail-wagging strays become mascots on the frontlines of social protest, and John has an idea for treating arthritic cows. Certificate #53229.
1hr 7m Jun 21, 2022
1hr 7m
The Viking (Entry 1395.IS3321)
In which a proud Norwegian sea captain decides to one-up the fleet of Spanish boats at the Chicago World's Fair, and Ken wonders how well Elvis knew Nixon. Certificate #21995.
1hr 11m Jun 16, 2022
1hr 11m
The Babalon Working (Entry 088.RV1703)
In which an American rocketry pioneer gets over a breakup by trying to summon an ancient sex goddess into our dimension, and John has a modest proposal on school prayer. Certificate #36297.
1hr 26m Jun 14, 2022
1hr 26m
The Video Game Crash of 1983 (Entry 1394.GE4130)
In which the biggest segment of America's entertainment economy almost disappears in a single year due to lousy product, and Ken is too shy to play Zaxxon in public. Certificate #24180.
1hr 23m Jun 09, 2022
1hr 23m
Why Is a Mouse When It Spins? (Entry 1431.JG1414)
In which a great Victorian master of nonsense creates a world of riddles that aren't really riddles, and John thinks a roast chicken has definitely caused a murder. Certificate #35725.
1hr 25m Jun 07, 2022
1hr 25m
Waterbeds (Entry 1413.IS5720)
In which the history of water mattresses is traced from ancient goatskins up to 1970s hedonism and even science fiction, and Ken's bed is not moving his butt. Certificate #40450.
1hr 2m Jun 02, 2022
1hr 2m
Safety Coffins (Entry 1095.LK0852)
In which a series of questionable legends about premature burial lead to an inventors' boom of escapable caskets, and John has been handcuffed at least seven times. Certificate #35676.
1hr 1m May 31, 2022
1hr 1m
Sovereign Citizens (Entry 1194.1C0612)
In which a surprisingly broad spectrum of conspiracists discovers a secret set of rules for outsmarting the U.S. government, and Ken wishes some of his enemies could be flogged more. Certificate #29113.
1hr 10m May 26, 2022
1hr 10m
The Goodwill Games (Entry 539.EP0607)
In which an upstart media mogul hatches a plan with Moscow to challenge the Olympics and end the Cold War, and John looks for the sexiest pictures of a former First Lady. Certificate #21182.
1hr 16m May 24, 2022
1hr 16m
Moose Cheese (Entry 806.JB1010)
In which brave souls from Siberia to Zimbabwe try riding and milking some rarely domesticated animals, with mixed results, and Ken wants to put a newborn baby on an ostrich. Certificate #52260.
1hr 25m May 19, 2022
1hr 25m
Billy Jack (Entry 122.LV1933)
In which one low-budget action flick forever rewrites the rules of how movies are marketed, and John thinks Spider-Man's aunt is the only real movie star. Certificate #33734.
1hr 16m May 17, 2022
1hr 16m
The Milgram Experiment (Entry 788.GE2708)
In which a Yale psychologist attempts to explain the Holocaust using research techniques considered unethical today, and Ken has a theory about the origins of Jeopardy! Certificate #20495.
1hr May 12, 2022
1hr
Potsdamer Platz (Entry 972.NE0406)
In which the "Times Square of Europe" is bombed into 150 acres of rubble and eventually the greatest real estate opportunity of the post-Cold War world, and John lists the only three places in Germany. Certificate #38531.
1hr 2m May 10, 2022
1hr 2m
The Holy Prepuce (Entry 594.JS0503)
In which Apocrypha gospel adventures and medieval miracles are ascribed to the sacred foreskin of Jesus of Nazareth, and Ken disapproves of hand magic in our schools. Certificate #52348.
1hr 8m May 05, 2022
1hr 8m
Missing in Action (Entry 795.2CH2811)
In which the majority of Americans become convinced that U.S. POWs are still being held captive decades after the Vietnam War ends, and John assumes those dancing inflatable tube men enjoy Primus. Certificate #49382.
1hr 19m May 03, 2022
1hr 19m
Sleng Teng Riddim (Entry 1172.PS3303)
In which the first ever all-electronic groove revolutionizes Jamaican music, and Ken thinks there should be more songs about baptism. Certificate #52239.
1hr 18m Apr 28, 2022
1hr 18m
Point Nemo (Entry 958.JB3826)
In which the dead center of the Pacific Ocean is revealed to be the home of microplastics, sunken spacecraft, and possibly giant sea monsters, and John refuses to leave his keyboard player in the desert. Certificate #49394.
1hr 20m Apr 26, 2022
1hr 20m
The Titanic II (Entry 1311.PR1618)
In which an Australian national treasure and a Chinese resort race to revive the most disastrous brand in maritime history, and Ken is fed up with the sulfurous steel of Belfast. Certificate #50231.
54m Apr 21, 2022
54m
Ranz-des-Vaches (Entry 1030.PS5010)
In which Swiss mercenaries will desert their post if you whistle a folk song about cows, and John wishes you many goods and cheese. Certficate #26419.
1hr 15m Apr 19, 2022
1hr 15m
Solidarnosc (Entry 1187.EC0409)
In which a well-mustached electrician starts a labor movement that even Ronald Reagan can get behind, and Ken is working on a chess novel. Certificate #26170.
1hr 13m Apr 14, 2022
1hr 13m
The Presidential Fitness Test (Entry 983.PR3117)
In which terror of falling behind the Swiss leads the White House to introduce America's children to a new and tramautic form of physical education, and John wants to landscape the top of Mount Rainier. Certificate #39398.
1hr 15m Apr 12, 2022
1hr 15m
The Torch Lady (Entry 1319.MT2507)
In which a multitude of actresses and one journalist remember being the model for the Columbia Pictures logo, and Ken's fuse box is in the wrong place. Certificate #28564.
52m Apr 07, 2022
52m