Podcast Episodes
Back to Search
CLASSIC: Feral Children and the True Story Behind The Jungle Book
Now, let's be honest. Rudyard Kipling was a cartoonishly problematic guy. Yet his work made a permanent impression on global literature -- and, to a surprising degree, he based a lot of his writing o…
Published on 10 hours ago
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: The Colossus of Rhodes
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, …
Published on 2 days, 9 hours ago
Unlucky Numbers Across The Globe -- And Why They Are Ridiculous
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…
Published on 3 days, 23 hours ago
CLASSIC: The Ridiculously Laxative-laden Journey of Lewis and Clark
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 prep…
Published on 1 week ago
Moon Rock Heists, Part Two: The Romantic Misadventures of Thad Roberts
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 …
Published on 1 week, 2 days ago
Moon Rock Heists, Part One: Lunatic Heists and Space Law
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 prog…
Published on 1 week, 3 days ago
CLASSIC: The Strange and Spectacularly Disgusting Story of the Great Kentucky Meat Shower
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 minu…
Published on 2 weeks ago
The Ridiculously Energetic History of Energy Drinks!
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…
Published on 2 weeks, 1 day ago
Japan is Overrun By Raccoons Entirely Due to a Single Cartoon
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 spe…
Published on 2 weeks, 4 days ago
CLASSIC: The Bizarre Origin of the Oxford English Dictionary
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 di…
Published on 3 weeks ago