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PODCAST

RandO Facts for Taft O. Derby

A collection of audio episodes where Dr. Mel Brown (Mom) tells Taft weird, true stories about things that don"t make it into textbooks. Each episode picks a theme—strange jobs, wars over stupid reasons, animals that broke science—and unpacks 4-5 stories that sound fake but aren"t.Started because of that two-hour car ride back from Logan where we went from discriminant AI to Michelin stars to the Korean War with no map between them. This is that conversation, extended. Some episodes will drop daily

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All Episodes

13:40

Seven Presidents in 55 Years: Ohio's Strange...

RandO Facts for Taft O. Derby ·

2025/10/27

Taft, your namesake hated being president. Fell asleep in meetings, gained 100 pounds, called it "the loneliest place in the world." Then became Chief Justice and was genuinely happy for the first time in decades. Between 1868 and 1923, Ohio produced seven presidents through pure political machinery—swing state math, party bosses, and electability over vision. Then Harding's corruption killed it. This episode covers how a state became a presidential factory, why Taft's redemption story matter...

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14:32

Too Weird to Be Real: When Nature Broke the Rulebook

RandO Facts for Taft O. Derby ·

2025/10/22

George Shaw took scissors to the first platypus specimen in 1798—not to dissect it, but to check for stitches. It looked too wrong to be real. The bombardier beetle shoots boiling chemicals from a rotating turret. The mantis shrimp punches so fast it creates temperatures approaching the surface of the sun. Tardigrades survived ten days in space, then walked away. This episode covers animals so fundamentally impossible they forced scientists to rewrite the rulebook. Nature doesn't care about o...

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15:35

Chocolate Bars and Carrier Pigeons: Tiny Things That...

RandO Facts for Taft O. Derby ·

2025/10/15

Small, overlooked details that shifted war outcomes—a chocolate bar, a weather forecast, a language nobody bothered to learn, a pigeon flying through gunfire, and a diplomat's public confession. Not dramatic turning points but quiet pivots that only look important in hindsight. Wars decided by generals, but also by meteorologists, chocolatiers, pigeons, and the choice to confirm or deny one telegram. Content Notice This episode discusses warfare and military history, including casualtie...

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10:09

Shielding Yourself From Failure : Guaranteeing the...

RandO Facts for Taft O. Derby ·

2025/10/08

A high school senior keeps his biggest dream locked away, never letting himself fully want it. If he doesn't care too much, rejection won't hurt as much—right? Wrong. A parable about why protecting yourself from disappointment guarantees a different kind of pain: the permanent ache of never really trying. Content Notice This episode explores emotional vulnerability, fear of disappointment, and self-protective behaviors. Discusses the psychology of wanting versus half-wanting. Gentle and affi...

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5:59

Knocker-Uppers to Leech Collectors: Jobs That Sound...

RandO Facts for Taft O. Derby ·

2025/10/06

This is the Episode 1 I promised you—except it's actually Episode 2 now because you asked me about Spencer Cox and that felt worth exploring first. But here we are: five jobs that used to support families, build communities, and shape daily life—then disappeared because we found better solutions or stopped needing them entirely. Content Notice This episode discusses historical labor practices and working conditions. Treatment is historical and analytical. Let's see what the world's b...

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13:55

Spencer Cox's Paradox: Why Utah's Most Unpopular...

RandO Facts for Taft O. Derby ·

2025/10/02

Taft, you asked why Spencer Cox is so unpopular. Turns out he's not. He just has a unique talent for making everyone mad at different times. From vetoing trans sports bans to endorsing Trump after criticizing him for years, Cox has mastered the art of being simultaneously too liberal for conservatives and too conservative for liberals. This episode unpacks Utah's political paradox: a governor with decent approval ratings that nobody seems to actually like. Content Notice This episod...

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18:32

From Logan to Everywhere: The Two-Hour Drive That...

RandO Facts for Taft O. Derby ·

2025/10/01

Two hours back from Logan, chasing down the word "discriminant," spiraling through Michelin stars, tire rubber, the Korean War, Berlin's four sectors, and the BMW logo. None of it planned, all of it worth it. This is the origin story—why I'm making these, what they'll sound like, and what I'm hoping you get out of them. You're leaving for college in eight months, and texts aren't the same as conversations. So here's the deal: I send you weird facts, you send me oddball links, and...

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7 results

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