Episodes
In which Melanesian eco-revolutionaries fight off helicopter gunships with literal slingshots and homemade diesel, and John makes a shocking announcement about all scientists. Certificate #54146.
Published 09/12/24
In which a curd-heavy side from central Quebec belatedly becomes the national dish of a land with no real national cuisine, and Ken learns so much about Sacramento culture. Certificate #30037.
Published 09/05/24
In which a secret society of plucky Civil War veterans hatches a plan to return Ireland to the Irish by—wait for it—invading Canada, and John doesn't think the people who sold him wine coolers actually exist. Certificate #12129.
Published 08/29/24
In which even the most hated typeface in the history of desktop publishing has its defenders, and Ken isn't sure why he owns cargo shorts. Certificate #54861.
Published 08/22/24
In which a flirty but forgotten Tin Pan Alley song leads to the first great moral panic in pop music history, and John sneakily borrows someone else's shanty town. Certificate #12960.
Published 08/15/24
In which a state politician's lack of badminton equipment leads to the invention of the hottest sport of the 21st century, and Ken is slightly present. Certificate #42131.
Published 08/08/24
In which researchers squabble for centuries about the secret ingredient that made one Cremonese craftsman the greatest musical instrument-maker of all time, and John seasons guitars under a bus. Certificate #36611.
Published 08/01/24
In which a king agrees to hand over his seventh-best island in the hopes of creating a haven for his native Hawaiian language and culture, and Ken does not want to greet Zach. Certificate #43273.
Published 07/25/24
In which the last universal physicist demonstrates to his students that ballpark estimates in math can be as powerful as precision, and John isn't sure if Romanians can count tomatoes. Certificate #46480.
Published 07/18/24
In which an ill-advised utopian scheme to bypass Niagara Falls becomes America's first toxic waste catastrophe, and Ken knows the main thing that water does. Certificate #42025.
Published 07/11/24
In which the great gourmet food of 19th-century "frolics" suddenly disappears from American menus, and John thinks humankind often looks to weasels. Certificate #32793.
Published 07/04/24
In which the tragic death of a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo launches a tidal wave of viral content on social media, and Ken explains bad table manners as an accident of birth. Certificate #23616.
Published 06/27/24
In which the most notorious convict in America attempts no fewer than four separate escapes from the Alcatraz of the Cumberland Mountains, and John would never disparage the banjo. Certificate #1746.
Published 06/20/24
In which a mysterious outbreak of "glass pox," possibly a result of nuclear testing, hits the Pacific Northwest, and Ken doesn't think Sherlock Holmes knows any teenagers. Certificate #40197.
Published 06/13/24
In which the Yoruba people of Nigeria create a new kind of "speech surrogacy" for news and storytelling using a versatile percussion section, and John only needs two pedals to get to Sounds-Like-Garbage-Land. Certificate #51913.
Published 06/06/24
In which a polar expedition builds a massive RV to road-trip around Antarctica but brings the wrong tires, and Ken wonders if admirals like sexy calendars. Certificate #23408.
Published 05/30/24
In which the earliest discoverers of electricity disagree on whether it helps flowers, turnips, and myrtle shrubs to grow, and John punishes himself with sprouts. Certificate #27338.
Published 05/23/24
In which a clue-filled dead body appears on a beach in Adelaide, Australia, sparking a tantalizing 75-year mystery, and Ken is not a team of seventh graders. Certificate #35821.
Published 05/16/24
In which the collapse of the video rental industry sends one valuable and eccentric archive to an obscure and disaster-plagued town in western Sicily, and E. coli is no match for John. Certificate #43318.
Published 05/09/24
In which a mysterious World War II inscription marries image and text to create the modern meme, and Ken does not think gangrenous limbs are a meme. Certificate #25622.
Published 05/02/24
In which the bountiful gifts of American advice columnists include a now-ubiquitious happy afterlife for pets, and John might lose a swordfight because he's too heavy for a chandelier. Certificate #29810.
Published 04/25/24
In which a self-crowned prince founds his own nation on a tiny piece of concrete in the North Sea, complete with commando raids, and Ken is only in favor of 3-D awards. Certificate #6611.
Published 04/18/24
In which a village pastime for Sussex dairymaids gets urbanized into an exciting neighborhood pick-up sport in American inner cities, and John wants to pick the bittle up. Certificate #13472.
Published 04/11/24
In which attempts to replace petrochemical plastic with corn and sawdust face fatal challenges of scale and efficiency, and Ken has never made a Prius. Certificate #32944.
Published 04/04/24