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PODCAST

Omnibus

Every week, Ken Jennings and John Roderick add a new entry to the OMNIBUS, an encyclopedic reference work of strange-but-true stories that they are compiling as a time capsule for future generations.

history

All Episodes

1:00:17

Episode 202: Faces of Death (Entry 447.JB1616)

Omnibus ·

2019/10/31

In which the "mondo" shock movie craze of the 1960s inspires a morbid megahit that turns out to be more hoax than documentary, and monkey brains make their big-screen debut. Certificate #41907.

en

57:43

Episode 201: Haitian Zombies (Entry 561.ZC1412)

Omnibus ·

2019/10/29

In which the origins of America's favorite 21st-century horror trope are traced back to the miseries of Caribbean plantation slavery, which is a huge bummer, and John ponders the role of squash in the afterlife. Certificate #49964.

en

1:03:58

Episode 200: Government Cheese (Entry 541.1S1718)

Omnibus ·

2019/10/24

In which an American dairy surplus and some dubious policy decisions creates a processed welfare staple of the Reagan era, and Ken reveals his favorite lunchmeat. Certificate #24553.

en

50:50

Episode 199: Johnny Appleseed (Entry 060.SS0203)

Omnibus ·

2019/10/22

In which one of America's great folk heroes is revealed as a Swedenborgian mystic, a land baron, and⁠—to John's mind⁠—a 19th-century weed dealer. Certificate #36692.

en

1:13:04

Episode 198: The Gossamer Albatross (Entry 540.PS5506)

Omnibus ·

2019/10/17

In which humankind's dream of flying with the birds leads through all manner of weird ornithopters and flying bikes to a very low-altitude crossing of the English Channel, and John aces the Pepsi Challenge on a boat. Certificate #20913.

en

1:03:40

Episode 197: The Texas Zombies (Entry 1292.MT2424)

Omnibus ·

2019/10/15

In which an unscrupulous Michigan music promoter dispatches fake versions of one of the great bands of rock's British Invasion, and John wages his own copyright battle against a legendary pioneer woman. Certificate #51274.

en

1:18:44

Episode 196: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion...

Omnibus ·

2019/10/10

In which the chaos of Europe around 1900 produces a literary hoax that powers a century of anti-Semitism and conspiracy theories, and Ken shares his distrust of sports stadiums. Certificate #42869.

en

56:34

Episode 195: How Many Angels Can Dance on the Head of...

Omnibus ·

2019/10/08

In which scholasticism gets roasted for its obsession with thorny, possibly pointless theological questions, and John explains the difference between escalator angels and hobo angels. Certificate #39095.

en

55:52

Episode 194: Oblique Strategies (Entry 856.RO1202)

Omnibus ·

2019/10/03

In which music legend Brian Eno and an artist friend develop a tarot deck for beating writer's block, and Ken uses lateral thinking to determine that John and Mary were goldfish. Certificate #26638.

en

59:13

Episode 193: Fritz Stammberger (Entry 1215.NU1317)

Omnibus ·

2019/10/01

In which a mountaineering legend disappears in Pakistan, his game show icon widow becomes convinced he's secretly a spy, and John dresses like the worst kind of CIA agent. Certificate #31997.

en

1:04:00

Episode 192: Ticker Tape Parades (Entry 1306.ES0609)

Omnibus ·

2019/09/26

In which America's love for French celebrity guests and her abundance of corporate litter combine to create an iconic New York tradition, and Ken ponders what to do with a giant Styrofoam version of his head. Certificate #9509.

en

48:28

Episode 191: Icelandic Incest (Entry 615.DE2722)

Omnibus ·

2019/09/24

In which a helpful new phone app is developed to prevent Icelanders from dating their cousins, which may tragically keep them outside of the "Goldilocks Zone" of inbreeding. Certificate #20625.

en

59:49

Episode 190: Sliced Bread (Entry 1172.MK0652)

Omnibus ·

2019/09/19

In which the canonical greatest innovation of modern life turns out to be a result of uneven toaster technology, and John builds the worst soapbox racer of all time. Certificate #50925.

en

1:02:48

Episode 189: As Slow as Possible (Entry 075.2P0308)

Omnibus ·

2019/09/17

In which a German church organ perform a John Cage composition so slowly that the concert will last 639 years, and Ken has an opinion on who the horniest characters are in Middle-earth. Certificate #24524.

en

1:12:41

Episode 188: Juggalos (Entry 677.IS6015)

Omnibus ·

2019/09/12

In which a horrorcore rap-rock duo from Detroit accidentally creates a global army of misfits and outcasts, and Pearl Jam gets John thrown in jail five times. Certificate #32373.

en

55:23

Episode 187: MSG (Entry 813.LK1434)

Omnibus ·

2019/09/10

In which a combination of Cold War paranoia and good old-fashioned racism convince America that deliciously "umami" Asian food is actually killing them, and Ken eats kelp in a kayak. Certificate #21879.

en

1:08:20

Episode 186: The Battle of Palmdale (Entry 104.EZ2047)

Omnibus ·

2019/09/05

In which two overeager fighter pilots chase down a runaway drone over Southern California, accidentally lighting much of the state on fire, and John wants to be a marshal of some kind. Certificate #31303.

en

1:00:28

Episode 185: Alexander von Humboldt (Entry 605.CO0203)

Omnibus ·

2019/09/03

In which an adventurous Prussian polymath single-handedly revolutionizes modern science, and even helps kick-start the liberation of South America and the environmental movement, and John and Ken ponder their own inevitable disappearance down the memory hole. Certificate #41705.

en

1:13:02

Episode 184: Florence Lawrence (Entry 705.MT0210)

Omnibus ·

2019/08/29

In which a vaudeville baby whistler becomes the world's first movie star and goes on to invent the electric windshield wiper, and Ken's knowledge of Ogden Nash insults finally comes in handy. Certificate #52050.

en

1:12:43

Episode 183: Miss Thistlebottom's Hobgoblins (Entry...

Omnibus ·

2019/08/27

In which many of the most commonly taught grammar and usage rules in English are revealed to be arbitrary, made-up, out-of-date, or all three, and John explains why Miss Manners should be in charge of the Internet. Certificate #41607.

en

704 results

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