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
Minitel (Entry 791.IS4209)
In which a French-only precursor to the World Wide Web appears in the late 1970s in a wave of Gallic futurist fervor, and John may have been making long distance calls from a Parisian prison. Certificate #23054.
57m Apr 05, 2022
57m
Camel Beauty Pageants (Entry 177.MT2324)
In which a Bedouin cultural revival in modern-day Arabia leads to a thriving circuit of competitive camel events, and Ken thinks Brazil is acting a little desperate. Certificate #37337.
1hr 5m Mar 31, 2022
1hr 5m
Eyebrows (Entry 446.IS4804)
In which we follow the evolution of the human brow from prehistoric man up through the Kardashians, and John looks into Sanskrit. Certificate #22352.
1hr 9m Mar 29, 2022
1hr 9m
Hang In There, Baby (Entry 566.MT2413)
In which a Beverly Hills celeb photographer, a Siamese kitten named Sassy, and a Broadway legend collaborate to create modern poster culture, and Ken hates the ticking of a giant Garfield watch. Certificate #19046.
1hr 13m Mar 24, 2022
1hr 13m
Winnipeg the Bear (Entry 1436.PR1712)
In which a Canadian veterinarian saves an orphaned cub on his way to France, unwittingly giving the world a great literary gift, and John thinks there should be a railway car just for thrash metal. Certificate #51029.
1hr 15m Mar 22, 2022
1hr 15m
The Hudson Brothers (Entry 604.1J0210)
In which an Oregon pop trio become near-stars of record, TV, and screen in the mid-1970s, and Ken wonders who the Bee Gees are romancing in the afterlife. Certificate #37614.
1hr 6m Mar 17, 2022
1hr 6m
The Great Lisbon Earthquake (Entry 548.1S1415)
In which a new breed of Portuguese statesman rebuilds his capital after the worst natural disaster in European memory, and John thinks a rainbow would never hold up in court. Certificate #30150.
1hr 8m Mar 15, 2022
1hr 8m
Fanta (Entry 453.EX1524)
In which a wartime shortage of secret ingredient 7x gives the world its second favorite soda brand, and Ken pronounces beverages like an Okie. Certificate #25939.
1hr 8m Mar 10, 2022
1hr 8m
The Royal Anus of Louis XIV (Entry 1086.2CH2118)
In which modern surgery begins at Versailles inside the most beloved bottom in all of France, and John has Moroccan gravel in his foot for years. Certificate #52937.
1hr 7m Mar 08, 2022
1hr 7m
Nadia's Theme (Entry 823.PS5707)
In which a minor bit of a movie score improbably becomes a chart-topping hit thanks to daytime soaps and Olympic gymnastics, and Ken doesn't enjoy the bongo as a lead instrument. Certificate #25729.
58m Mar 03, 2022
58m
Lisztomania (Entry 726.MT0908)
In which a Hungarian composer and virtuoso pianist becomes Europe's first rock star, and John is looking for a German countess with the right braids. Certificate #39341.
1hr 3m Mar 01, 2022
1hr 3m
The Megavitamin Craze (Entry 772.PR2516)
In which a two-time Nobel Prize winner believes he has discovered the cure for the common cold, and Ken wants cilantro to tell him what to do. Certificate #31531.
1hr 1m Feb 24, 2022
1hr 1m
The Mill (Entry 788.MK1242)
In which a coinage act officially defines American currency much smaller than a penny, and John has an important question about a shrimp restaurant. Certificate #40326
54m Feb 22, 2022
54m
Beanie Babies (Entry 106.PR2105)
In which 1990s America becomes convinced that the world's least cuddly stuffed animals are the road to financial freedom, and Ken's very valuable comic book gets covered with jelly. Certificate #47159.
59m Feb 17, 2022
59m
Vinegar Valentines (Entry 1396.PS10105)
In which Victorians use February 14 to woo their sweethearts but also to insult all their enemies, and John reveals the best night of the year to play a concert. Certificate #36155.
50m Feb 15, 2022
50m
The Hays Code (Entry 572.MT2325)
In which scandal-plagued Hollywood hires a Harding Administration official to clean up suggestive movies, and John is a student of kissing. Certificate #29282.
1hr 11m Feb 10, 2022
1hr 11m
The Anarchy (Entry 024.DA1106)
In which a German empress comes within a whisker of the English crown during a bloody civil war, and Ken discovers history's most fateful case of diarrhea. Certificate #45359.
52m Feb 08, 2022
52m
Trofim Lysenko (Entry 743.MT1325)
In which a Soviet agronomist misunderstands genetics so badly that millions of people die, and John finds giraffes to have the sexiest eyelashes. Certificate #27832.
1hr 9m Feb 03, 2022
1hr 9m
Chindogu (Entry 215.PR0812)
In which a Japanese college dropout invents a new kind of not-entirely-useless invention, and Ken enjoys a tidy sum. Certificate #36799.
1hr 9m Feb 01, 2022
1hr 9m
Ledger Art (Entry 709.2P0115)
In which accounting records become the basis for an important new genre of Native American painting, and Ken gets nostalgic for his childhood dog food invoices. Certificate #25974.
1hr 14m Jan 27, 2022
1hr 14m
Penguin Classics (Entry 915.EC1212)
In which a boring train ride from Devon leads to the creation of the modern paperback library, and John's daughter is a snob about sans serif typefaces. Certificate #41769.
1hr 4m Jan 25, 2022
1hr 4m
Roxas v. Marcos (Entry 1086.PR1506)
In which a humble locksmith sues the dictator who stole his golden Buddha, and Ken thinks teaching multiplication to juries was a mistake. Certificate #46804.
1hr 1m Jan 20, 2022
1hr 1m
Welsh Patagonia (Entry 1421.DE2609)
In which a small group of nationalists leave Wales for the prairies of Argentina, and John explains why he pronounces "Nazi" to rhyme with "snazzy." Certificate #53240.
58m Jan 18, 2022
58m
The Fastest Bicyclist (Entry 445.IS0526)
In which the world land speed cycling record reaches incredible heights using the power of the slipstream, and Ken doesn't need to hear the word "torque" so much. Certificate #43944.
1hr 8m Jan 13, 2022
1hr 8m
Damascus Steel (Entry 314.PS4503)
In which the technology used to make the world's strongest and most beautiful swords is lost to time, and John is suspicious of redheads. Certificate #26207.
52m Jan 11, 2022
52m
Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death (Entry 853.PS13709)
In which an American heiress leverages her dollhouse enthusiasm to invent a new scientific discipline, and Ken's aunt knows more about cyanide than his uncle. Certificate #34368.
1hr Jan 06, 2022
1hr
The Law of the Tongue (Entry 705.JB0712)
In which an Australian whaling village learns to hunt cooperatively with the local apex predators, and John identifies the "ferrets of the sea." Certificate #46594.
1hr 2m Jan 04, 2022
1hr 2m
Der Grosser (Entry 551.EX1407)
In which an ultra-luxury Mercedes becomes the car of choice for rock stars and despots worldwide, and Ken wants to buy the least fascist doorbell. Certificate #49472.
1hr 30m Dec 30, 2021
1hr 30m
The Public Universal Friend (Entry 1006.JE3122)
In which a Rhode Island Quaker emerges from a coma rebranded as a nameless, genderless prophet, and John predicts the Temptations will get boils. Certificate #29297.
1hr 6m Dec 28, 2021
1hr 6m
The Halifax Explosion (Entry 562.JB0409)
In which a maritime comedy of errors in a Nova Scotia harbor leads to the biggest non-nuclear explosion in human history, and Ken learns why you should never buy an old yellow shirt. Certificate #21795.
1hr 10m Dec 23, 2021
1hr 10m
The Jefferson Bible (Entry 671.LK2270)
In which the President of the United States secretly produces his own version of Jesus without any miracles or narrative incident at all, and John produces a healthy, nutritious bowl full of Kurt Cobains. Certificate #30782.
1hr 12m Dec 21, 2021
1hr 12m
Cask 263 (Entry 191.PR2321)
In which a forgotten barrel of single malt whiskey becomes a multimillion dollar collector's item, and Ken refuses to drink beer out of a squirrel's butt. Certificate #13321.
1hr 17m Dec 16, 2021
1hr 17m
Vortex I (Entry 1403.JM0318)
In which the governor of Oregon keeps the peace by throwing the country's only state-sponsored rock festival, and John refuses to introduce two celebrities to each other. Certificate #21362.
55m Dec 14, 2021
55m
The Amargosa Opera House (Entry 038.JE1543)
In which a borax ghost town improbably becomes the performing arts center of Death Valley, and Ken is somewhat hazy on mules. Certificate #26351.
1hr 4m Dec 09, 2021
1hr 4m
Single Taxers (Entry 1164.LV2716)
In which a forgotten Gilded Age celebrity suggests reinventing the tax code so that landowners pay their fair share, and John is discomfited by the city of Altoona. Certificate #41467.
57m Dec 07, 2021
57m
Bothered About Dungeons & Dragons (Entry 145.1T0515)
In which a national hysteria erupts over the Satanists controlling your children's role-playing games, and Ken is just a big thimble. Certificate #38501.
1hr 20m Dec 02, 2021
1hr 20m
The Phantom of New Guinea (Entry 928.IS0117)
In which a purple-clad comic strip hero becomes a warrior totem in the western highlands of Papua New Guinea, and John locates the Dominican Republic of Asia. Certificate #24126.
58m Nov 30, 2021
58m
The Ma Bell Breakup (Entry 744.LK1214)
In which the U.S. government finally succeeds, after decades, in breaking up a massive telephone monopoly, and John is unfamiliar with a funny poem about an elephant. Certificate #22481.
1hr 17m Nov 25, 2021
1hr 17m
The Longest Prizefight (Entry 733.HE1032)
In which a seven-hour boxing match tests the patience of New Orleans crowds and changes the rules of the sport, and Ken thinks straws should be made of cornstarch. Certificate #26215.
1hr 7m Nov 23, 2021
1hr 7m
The Smiley Face Killer(s) (Entry 1177.JB2414)
In which investigators differ on whether binge-drinking or a homicidal conspiracy is killing American college students, and John plays Frogger to get to the East River. Certificate #23582.
1hr 5m Nov 18, 2021
1hr 5m
The Great Bell of Dhammazedi (Entry 548.EX3925)
In which the largest bell ever cast spends four centuries in the mud at the bottom of a Burmese river, and Ken makes a terrible grandfather clock decision. Certificate #50855.
49m Nov 16, 2021
49m