Podcast Episodes
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The Duke of Anjou (Entry 386.EC0804)
In which we trace the convoluted, "kooky-wawa" genealogy that identifies the Spanish playboy banker who should be sitting the French throne, and John…
5 years, 9 months ago
Billboards (Entry 121.DA0403)
In which we study the history of oversized roadside advertising all the way from ancient Egypt to Blade Runner, and Ken is skeptical about yellow-and…
5 years, 9 months ago
German Telegrams (Entry 525.PR2606)
In which a century of German diplomacy is repeatedly hamstrung by their inept telegraphy-related decisions, and Ken has some notes about the poster f…
5 years, 9 months ago
Marilyn vos Savant (Entry 1403.PR1401)
In which the dark days of the 1980s are brightened by the sudden appearance in Sunday newspaper supplements of the world's smartest person, and John …
5 years, 9 months ago
George Washington's Teeth (Entry 524.JB4114)
In which the we learn that that story of America's most famous false teeth is upsetting for reasons that go way beyond dental pain, and Ken calls Geo…
5 years, 9 months ago
Lilith (Entry 721.LK1420)
In which puzzled medieval rabbis decide that it's not Adam and Eve—it's Adam and Lilith and Eve and Eve, and John wonders if anyone ate beets in the …
5 years, 9 months ago
Ronco (Entry 1081.MI0303)
In which a kitchen gadgeteer harnesses the power of late-night television to create a new American art form, the infomercial--but wait, there's more!…
5 years, 9 months ago
Vesna Vulovic (Entry 1404.EC0410)
In which a stubborn Yugoslavian air hostess sets a world record by surviving a six-mile fall from the sky, and John misplaces the Carpathians. Certif…
5 years, 9 months ago
Dutch Elm Disease (Entry 388.JL0112)
In which America's forests and suburbs are ravaged by a strange invader brought by bark beetles, and Ken insists on comparing tree sap to mucus even …
5 years, 10 months ago
Sister Cities (Entry 1165.AM0408)
In which post-war trauma and idealism inspire world cities to try a new kind of diplomacy, and John has big plans for Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Certifica…
5 years, 10 months ago