Podcast Episodes
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Wampum (Entry 1408.DE0206)
In which the intricate bead culture of the Eastern Woodlands tribes confuses new British and Dutch arrivals, and Ken refuses to let Thomas Jefferson …
5 years, 6 months ago
Election Ties (Entry 400.1CH2508)
In which we learn what governments do when election results come back exactly tied, and John swings a Seattle mayoral election by asking for directio…
5 years, 6 months ago
Mensa (Entry 775.PR1320)
In which the era of intelligence testing produces an Oxford-based society for smarty-pants who, it turns out, mostly want to solve puzzles, and Ken i…
5 years, 7 months ago
C-Day (Entry 198.MT2527)
In which the U.S. military battles black marketing and currency destabilization by paying Korea- and Vietnam-era servicemembers in play money, and Jo…
5 years, 7 months ago
The Day the Clown Cried (Entry 317.PS12605)
In which an unfinished Holocaust "dramedy" gains a reputation as the worst movie ever made even though no one has ever seen it, and Ken thinks a lot …
5 years, 7 months ago
Eliza (Entry 404.LK0247)
In which an MIT professor worried about a digital future accidentally creates the field of human-machine conversation, and John flirts with a 54-year…
5 years, 7 months ago
Cynthia Plaster Caster (Entry 949.JE4817)
In which a shy Chicago student becomes one of the most famous rock fans in America by virtue of her anatomically correct artwork, and John offers Ken…
5 years, 7 months ago
Washington, CSA (Entry 1412.MT1225)
In which a doddering general saves America from an alarming alternate history in which the Confederacy takes over the nation instead of seceding, and…
5 years, 7 months ago
Seawise Giant (Entry 1121.AC2718)
In which an unnamed Greek shipping magnate "jumbo-izes" an oil tanker so big that it can't even navigate the English Channel, and John ponders diggin…
5 years, 7 months ago
Aztec Death Whistles (Entry 088.PS5502)
In which thousands of Mesoamerican "toys" in museums around the world turn out to be terrifying vessels for the screams of wind and death, and Ken dr…
5 years, 7 months ago