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PODCAST

Ridiculous History

History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.

history

All Episodes

28:37

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: The Colossus of...

Ridiculous History ·

2025/09/04

Imagine you're an ancient traveler, visiting Rhodes for the first time in 280 BCE. As you approach the famed city, a singular object dominates the horizon: a huge statue of the Greek sun god Helios, popularly known as the "Colossus of Rhodes." In the fourth part of this series on the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Ben, Noel and Max explore how this titanic sculpture came to be -- and how its phenomenal legacy still remains with us in the modern day.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy

en-US

41:13

Unlucky Numbers Across The Globe -- And Why They Are...

Ridiculous History ·

2025/09/02

Do you have a number you love, or a number you hate? As Ben, Noel and Max discover in today's episode, people have always assigned symbolic meaning to the everpresent existence of math -- and created some frankly ridiculous associations along the way.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

31:17

CLASSIC: The Ridiculously Laxative-laden Journey of...

Ridiculous History ·

2025/08/30

In today's Classic episode, Ben and Noel reluctantly sing the praises of poop research. You see, folks, before Lewis and Clark set out to explore the western side of the continent, they tried to prepare for every possible contingency — including medical conditions like constipation. Join the guys as they explore how a dangerous laxative didn’t just save members of the expedition, but also may have preserved their campsites for posterity.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy

en-US

40:27

Moon Rock Heists, Part Two: The Romantic...

Ridiculous History ·

2025/08/28

Let's say you're a love-struck NASA intern -- your professional career holds a lot of promise, but your family life back home is in shambles... and you fall in love with a fellow intern. How can you impress your new paramour? Forget flowers, chocolates and all those other silly earth-bound romantic gestures: this is the story of Thad Roberts. From his account, he was carried away by mad love, which led him and a few collaborators -- including his fellow interns, one of whom was his lover -- to pull

en-US

49:32

Moon Rock Heists, Part One: Lunatic Heists and Space Law

Ridiculous History ·

2025/08/27

Is it legal to own a moon rock? Well... that depends. If it's a piece of the moon that made it to Earth naturally, then all good. If, however, it's a sample retrieved on purpose by NASA's Apollo program, you can get in some serious trouble for trying to snag it. In part one of this two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max explore what happens when powerful private collectors try to get their hands on forbidden moon rocks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

35:55

CLASSIC: The Strange and Spectacularly Disgusting...

Ridiculous History ·

2025/08/23

On March 3rd, 1876, residents of Bath County, Kentucky were startled to see what appeared to be chunks and flakes of meat falling from the clear, cloudless sky. The rain, which only lasted a few minutes, captured national attention. People across the country proposed various theories explaining the deluge. In today's Classic episode, the guys believe they've finally solved the mystery.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

47:01

The Ridiculously Energetic History of Energy Drinks!

Ridiculous History ·

2025/08/22

This episode is brought to you by our favorite cohost: coffee. These days, if you stroll into any convenience store across the planet, you're going to run into a selection of energy drinks -- whether we're talking Red Bull, NOS, Monster, or our favorite pal, the humble cup of joe, one thing's for certain: people love this stuff... even if it's not particularly healthy. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max discover the strange origin of a multibillion dollar industry dedicated to keeping people just

en-US

40:57

Japan is Overrun By Raccoons Entirely Due to a Single...

Ridiculous History ·

2025/08/19

While the legendary Japanese raccoon dog -- or tanuki -- may look like a raccoon, it's a very different beast. However, these days Japan is home to actual raccoons: they're considered an invasive species, wreaking havoc across the country as they destroy temples, consume crops, and threaten indigenous wildlife. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max discover how these dastardly raccoons made it all the way over the Pacific to become an absolute menace to Japan. Spoiler: it all started with a cartoon

en-US

44:44

CLASSIC: The Bizarre Origin of the Oxford English...

Ridiculous History ·

2025/08/16

With 600,000 words and 3 million quotations, the Oxford English Dictionary is a massive tome. Work began on the dictionary in 1857, but the first edition wasn't published until 1884. Compiling the dictionary was a Herculean task, and James Murray, the editor of the dictionary, put out a call for assistance. This early crowdsourcing strategy worked surprisingly well. Murray was particularly impressed by his most prolific and consistent contributor, an enigmatic fellow named Dr. W.C. Minor. So

en-US

47:00

Hoax! With Dana Schwartz and Lizzie Logan

Ridiculous History ·

2025/08/14

Did you know England's first newspaper was fake? Or that King Arthur is more or less completely made up? The deeper we look into human history, the more we see that civilization is utterly riddled with bizarre hoaxes -- some of which are laughable, and some of which are downright dangerous. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max welcome the legendary Dana Schwartz and Lizzie Logan to learn more about some of history's greatest hoaxes, which they explore in-depth in their newest podcast, Hoax!See

en-US

45:19

Fabergé Eggs Are Ridiculous (And Fascinating)

Ridiculous History ·

2025/08/12

Imagine you are beyond wealthy. You no longer dream of the average "rich people" flexes -- you've got all the diamonds, all the mansions, all the ordinary baubles of the elite. How can you distinguish yourself? What can you buy when you can buy literally anything? In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max explore the astonishing, ridiculous origin story of Czarist Russia's peak luxury item; an egg you can't eat, nor wear -- a toy and a flex to end all flexes: the Fabergé Egg.See

en-US

39:29

The World of Non-Gregorian Calendars: What Day Is It,...

Ridiculous History ·

2025/08/07

Human civilization is far from perfect. Still, it's pretty cool humanity overall agreed on how to measure time (for now). In today's follow-up to an earlier exploration of the Gregorian calendar, Ben, Noel and Max admire the many alternative, non-Gregorian calendars with their own ancient provenance, all of which exist in the modern day. Or modern night? Spoiler, a ton of these are based on the passage of the moon.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

39:30

The Ridiculous Origin of the Modern Calendar

Ridiculous History ·

2025/08/05

The calendar is... ridiculous. Since the earliest days of civilization, humanity has tried to measure the passage of time on Earth through any number of systems. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max discover how millennia of trial and error led to the modern Gregorian calendar, which we all still just pretend is a normal thing in the modern day.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

26:04

CLASSIC: George Carlin Gets Quoted in the Supreme...

Ridiculous History ·

2025/08/02

In the second part of this two-part series, special guest Wayne Federman explores the strange, curse-word-riddled stand-up bit that resulted in George Carlin setting a legal precedent with the Supreme Court. Listen in to learn how curse words changed the world and sparked a debate that continues today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

35:20

The Ridiculous History of Fantasy Sports, Part Two

Ridiculous History ·

2025/08/01

As local fantasy sports initiatives grew into larger, more organized pursuits, technology improved as well. Access to online statistics made it much easier for casual sports fans to enter the realm of fantasy playing -- and also, arguably, made it easier to gamble on sports as well. In the second part of this week's two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max explore the modern age of fantasy sports (and whether or not Ben will finally make it to a sumo exhibition.)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy

en-US

32:24

The Ridiculous History of Fantasy Sports, Part One

Ridiculous History ·

2025/07/29

To outsiders, fantasy sports and fantasy leagues may sound like a bizarre proposition: you get together with a bunch of friends and leverage statistics to predict outcomes in your favorite sports, but it's not... gambling? In the first part of this two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max explore the origins of fantasy leagues, and how they grew into a billion-dollar industry.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

33:10

CLASSIC: The People vs. Lenny Bruce: Ridiculous...

Ridiculous History ·

2025/07/26

Lenny Bruce is a legend in the history of stand-up comedy, and while his use of explicit language thrilled audience members, it didn't win him any friends in law enforcement. In fact, Bruce was arrested multiple times for his use of 'obscenities', sparking a larger, continuing debate about the nature of free speech. Join the guys as they learn more about the early days of stand-up and the Lenny Bruce controversy with this week's special guest: Comedian, actor, writer and historian Wayne Federman.See

en-US

27:48

First Ladies Who Weren't Wives, Part Two, Part Two:...

Ridiculous History ·

2025/07/24

Imagine one of your family members attains the highest political position in American history -- your uncle or sibling becomes the President of the United States! And, as Ben, Noel and Max learn in today's episode: many people were called to play the role of First Lady. Turns out: several people genuinely didn't want the job.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

33:31

First Ladies Who Weren't Wives, Part Two, Part One:...

Ridiculous History ·

2025/07/22

Ben here. I know, I know: it's confusing that we split our First Ladies sequel episode into two separate episodes. The title is literally ridiculous. However, as you'll hear, we delved deep into a bit of Presidential history that touches on so many things -- so many, in fact, that we had to dedicate an entire show to Buchanan and his fascinating First Lady/niece, Harriet Lane.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

28:17

CLASSIC: The Life and Times of Ol' Knife Hand

Ridiculous History ·

2025/07/19

A necropolis in what is now Northern Italy holds a strange and, at first glance, terrifying corpse. A Lombard man, aged somewhere between 40 and 50 years old, lost his right arm in a brutal accident. Normally this sort of wound would be a death sentence, but in this case the guy didn't just survive -- he created a prosthetic limb from a sword and officially became Knife Hand (a title we gave him because we think it sounds cool). Listen in to learn more about the life and times of Knife Hand,

en-US

1,004 results

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