Actually Happening
100 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 7 years ago - ★★★★★ - 36 ratingsYes, it's "Actually Happening," a panel game podcast with a healthy dose of obscure trivia, historical nonsense and terrible puns. Led by the obviously related Kevin Clark and Dennis Clark, and aided by their distinguished guests (none less so than Anna Grafton, Steven Padnick and Sarah Wheaton), our teams attempt funny and occasionally accurate answers to questions from referee Victoria Nece. Alternate weeks feature "Not Actually Happening," shorter episodes where we talk about things that didn't, well, actually happen. If you happen to learn something along the way we swear it’s not our fault. www.itsactuallyhappening.com
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Episodes
Actually Happening 84: Pants of the Ancients
July 01, 2017 18:44 - 35 minutes - 33.1 MBThis is the last episode taped way back in the halcyon days of 2015. Yes, we’re slow to get these things out. What. Nobody’s paying for this. This ‘week’ we bring you Julia Child, voting machines, the earliest evidence of...
Actually Happening 83: It’s OK, I’m just tidying your papers
November 20, 2016 20:34 - 33 minutes - 30.6 MBI don’t even know what schedule we’re using for these things anymore, but if you need stories of civil war badasses as much as we do, you might like this episode. We’ve also got the biggest single rock ever made...
Actually Happening 82: All Podcasts are Gray in the Dark
November 05, 2016 23:05 - 30 minutes - 28.5 MBThe passage of the Habeas Corpus Act via a fat joke, A Benjamin Franklin story complete with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles restructuring, the oldest ever message in a bottle, and a German town that may, or may not, actually...
Actually Happening 81: Too Many Camels
October 08, 2016 23:35 - 33 minutes - 45.9 MBA new soon-to-be-broken record for the best-aged episode of Actually Happening ever! In this deeply non-topical installment we discuss the invention of the toilet showroom, biblical anachronisms, gerrymandering, and criticism of Henry VIII.
Actually Happening 80: The Right of Conquest
September 25, 2015 21:35 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBThe shortest presidency of anything, DNA in the War of the Roses, a helicopter theft, and fictional bridges. Also the most well aged episode of Actually Happening ever released.
Actually Happening 79: A Conspiracy Theory Conspiracy, Theoretically
August 17, 2015 02:20 - 26 minutes - 24.4 MBIn which we reveal the secret Masonic origins of Actually Happening.
Actually Happening 78: 95 Theses But a B—– Ain’t One
March 09, 2015 17:12 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBWe never ask questions about Rome because we always end up talking about it anyway. This week: the invention of Y-fronts, things Martin Luther never said, and bans on porn and puns.
Actually Happening 77: That Was When Dinosaur Jesus Carried You In His Jaws
January 07, 2015 06:00 - 30 minutes - 28.3 MBThere was only one set of footprints then, but boy were they big ones. This week: sending out a CQD, a terrible energy conservation slogan, and two cats with very important jobs.
Actually Happening 76: The Great Pyramids of the Hudson Valley
December 01, 2014 05:12 - 28 minutes - 39.6 MBIt’s… been a while. Our lives have gotten in the way of goofy history for far too long. But worry not! We’re all back in town and will be back on a more regular schedule soon, so stay tuned. In the...
Actually Happening 75: Confused Elderly Grandchildren
September 29, 2014 04:04 - 31 minutes - 42.9 MBNow with actual microphones! This week, we go Minnesota Secretary of Agriculture hunting, discover the pitfalls of bad database queries, and don’t look in the back of the fridge. And we find out two guys on an island were doing, well, exactly what you’d expect…
Actually Happening 74: Uphill Downhill
August 18, 2014 18:38 - 33 minutes - 31 MBThis week’s episode involves a lot of fighting (and avoiding fighting at all costs) over really weird stuff, some Norman Rockwell appreciation… and another molasses flood.
Actually Happening 73: Half Safe
July 23, 2014 19:23 - 27 minutes - 25.2 MBIn which the British actually stay out of a war for once, and Ben Carlin drives an amphibious vehicle around the world. Oh yeah, and more Liechtenstein!
Actually Happening 72: Mildly Interesting
June 21, 2014 18:15 - 25 minutes - 23.7 MBIn which we discuss some of life’s smaller mysteries, do some literal navel gazing, and find more excuses to answer questions with the word “Space!”.
Actually Happening 71: Why Are We So Itchy?
May 23, 2014 03:21 - 27 minutes - 24.7 MBThis week it’s trolleys (not from Mr. Rogers), space patrol (the tv show), archaeologists vs. physicists, and the darkest secrets of itching. Boy are they dark.
Not Actually Happening 29: Numerology Doesn’t Work
April 28, 2014 02:45 - 21 minutes - 19.4 MBDancemaster Skybetter returns this week to help us uncover the bizarre origin of ballet.
Actually Happening 69: The Most Ancient Rite of the Chicken Dance
April 20, 2014 01:57 - 34 minutes - 31.8 MBThis week we welcome another guest, choreographer Sydney Skybetter, who explains to us what a choreographer actually does (and what that has to do with failed utopian communities). And, as a bonus, he’ll be back next week with even more...
Not Actually Happening 28: The Praedestinatio of St. Mark
April 04, 2014 17:54 - 20 minutes - 18.8 MBHow to steal a saint in five unsurprisingly convoluted steps, as recorded in golden mosaics in Venice, and explained by art historian Letha Ch’ien.
Actually Happening 68: Fresh Ground Pepper?
March 28, 2014 00:12 - 41 minutes - 37.8 MBWe’re finally back from a too-long break, and joined by a special guest, art historian Letha Ch’ien! This time we’re talking Venetian art history, really old companies, and why you should be careful selling metheglin.
Actually Happening 67: All Out of Leftovers
February 28, 2014 05:11 - 15 minutes - 14.5 MBWe’ll be back next week with regular episodes, but until then enjoy the story behind the story of War of the Worlds, and an extremely baffling discovery beneath London.
Actually Happening 66: Ye Olde Faxe Machinee
February 12, 2014 04:44 - 8 minutes - 8.01 MBThe fax machine is older than you think! Unless you already know how old it is.
Actually Happening 65: Tall Tales
January 26, 2014 19:37 - 10 minutes - 9.43 MBIn which the AH crew combines three successive Prussian rulers named Frederick, by stacking them into one extremely tall dude. Who was then kidnapped and forced to join the Potsdam Giants.
Actually Happening 64: A Public Service Announcement About Alcohol Use
January 16, 2014 05:03 - 12 minutes - 11.1 MBStay away from the schnapps, Austrian army.
Actually Happening 63: Anything for an Interview
January 07, 2014 23:03 - 8 minutes - 7.76 MBTime for another round of holiday leftovers. It’s a short episode, but a fun one: we get to talk about one of the feistiest ladies of early America — and the time she stole the president’s clothes while he was...
Actually Happening 62: Stone Age Gender Politics
December 17, 2013 19:31 - 13 minutes - 12.3 MBIn which we stare at our hands, learn what a “Vibraslap” is, and try to explain why cats can now has cheezburgers.
Actually Happening 61: She Said Yes
December 11, 2013 02:55 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBAnd they went with “Alice”, not “Diamond Voldemort”. Congratulations to Dennis, Jess, Anna, and David, and a hearty welcome to Alice. We wish you the best in your future career as queen president doctor.
Actually Happening 60: Egyptian Leftovers
December 03, 2013 17:09 - 24 minutes - 22.3 MBWe’re going to be trying something different around here for the next few weeks. So while you’re still figuring out what to do with all that turkey in your fridge, enjoy Actually Happening’s “Holiday Leftovers” — favorite questions from our...
Actually Happening 59: Election Special
November 26, 2013 16:40 - 26 minutes - 23.9 MBRecapping all the important stuff that happened in this November’s election. And by “important” we mean Biden’s wrong number calls and Big Papi winning the write-in vote for mayor of Boston. Oh yeah, and Philadelphia electing a Whig. We also...
Actually Happening 58: Alice Roosevelt Drops the Mic
November 19, 2013 03:25 - 26 minutes - 24.7 MBThis week, we cover everything from the beginning of time to “How to Win” to the extremely unoriginal plots of early operas (did they only own one book or something?). And stay ’til the end for what’s likely our longest...
Actually Happening 57: Nikita Khrushchev’s Non-Newtonian Fluids
November 02, 2013 20:20 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBIn which we finally get to talk about the Great Molasses Flood!
Actually Happening 56: Bob’s Obelisks.
October 17, 2013 21:48 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBIn which we take a shopping trip to the strip mall of history. This week: — Bat people on the moon! — Poorly-considered religious symbols — Looting Egyptian artifacts, as usual — America’s first newspaper And it’s time to renew...
Actually Happening 55: Grover Cleveland? I hardly knew her!
October 07, 2013 00:53 - 29 minutes - 26.7 MBThis week’s episode contains a lot of information about bananas. None of the questions were about bananas.
Actually Happening 54: Bunga Bunga
September 19, 2013 02:45 - 30 minutes - 27.5 MBThis week: short wars, crowdfunding radioactive substances, and the strange origins of the phrase “Bunga Bunga.”
Actually Happening 53: Boris Yeltsin’s Pizza Delivery
September 11, 2013 03:18 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBA different sort of international incident.
Actually Happening 52: Twinkies from Space!
August 28, 2013 03:11 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBThis week: mock battles turn all too real, lying about being the king of Albania, and COOL ROCKS FROM SPACE.
Actually Happening 51: Sharegrindr
August 13, 2013 22:18 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBThis week: the first thing that happened, according to the internet (there are pics) — the pitch finally drops — rogue dendrochronologist chops down the oldest tree — “archbishop and social media guru”.
Actually Happening 50: Spontaneous Turkbustion
August 08, 2013 03:31 - 31 minutes - 28.8 MBThis week we steal someone else’s jokes, but they’re 2,000 years old, so it’s okay. Except the ones about Napoleon. There’s no excuse for those. They’re just terrible.
Actually Happening 49: Liechtenstein Makes a Friend
July 30, 2013 19:24 - 30 minutes - 28 MBGuaranteed* to contain more facts about Liechtenstein than you’ve ever heard before! We also discuss the century when everyone invented typewriters and the time we agreed to not blow up Antarctica. * Unless, like, you live in Liechtenstein? In which...
Actually Happening Episode 48: Rapidly Running Out of Intro Jokes
July 25, 2013 04:08 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MB“Why is no one as frightened of the ocean as I am?” “Because that war will be delicious.”
Actually Happening 47: The Best Things Before Sliced Bread
July 17, 2013 02:25 - 33 minutes - 30.9 MBThe Inquisition forgives somebody, food gets easier, dressing a girl up as Athena gets you un-banished, and a guy who thinks he’s Jesus’ younger brother orders a couple giant demon-slaying swords… and then gets shot out of a cannon. History...
Actually Happening 46: Allspice on an Everything Bagel
July 08, 2013 20:39 - 27 minutes - 24.9 MBIt’s our usual bunch of historical nonsense: prophecies, mysterious ancient devices, and completely ignoring the topic when we don’t know anything about what we’re talking about.
Actually Happening 45: Route 66 Delenda Est
June 30, 2013 21:42 - 31 minutes - 29 MBBonjour from France! 3/5 of your AH crew are in Marseilles this week. But this episode has nothing to do with that. Image credits: 1, 2.
Actually Happening 44: Anthony Weiner’s Miniature Toaster
June 22, 2013 06:01 - 37 minutes - 34 MBThis Week: – Anna has some big news – Anthony Weiner’s cat looks bored – Attila the Hun – Crowdfunding Lady Liberty – The sea that disappeared and the island that was never there to begin with – James Joyce...
Not Actually Happening 27: Posthumous Executions
June 13, 2013 15:14 - 11 minutes - 10.3 MBYou can’t kill a guy when he’s already dead, but that’s not going to stop us trying! Quotable: “For a question about posthumous execution, this took a dark turn.”
Actually Happening 43: This Podcast Has Footnotes
June 08, 2013 15:50 - 34 minutes - 31.5 MBThis week! — A scandalous round of Good Advice — Viking while intoxicated — Wedding bands of Bitcoin — A Zerg rush on Jeopardy! — Preliminary results from the world’s longest-running experiment — Emus cause problems on two continents —...
Not Actually Happening 26: The Supreme Tribe of Ben Hur
May 28, 2013 16:39 - 15 minutes - 14.3 MBThe original fanboys, or how secret societies turned into insurance companies (really!). Also, “secret society promoter” was a job back then. For a Not Actually Happening, this one has a lot of weird actual facts.
Actually Happening 42: A Podcast
May 20, 2013 01:32 - 37 minutes - 34.1 MBActually Happening: a series of 1s and 0s that add up to a lot of nonsense about history. This week: Historic events unlikely to recur Jimmy Carter attacked by swimming rabbit Elian Gonzales falls through a sinkhole into the Land...
Not Actually Happening 25: The Loch Ness Monster
April 30, 2013 17:07 - 13 minutes - 12.7 MBThe Loch Ness Monster is not real. Sorry. But big game hunter Marmaduke Wetherell IS.
Actually Happening #41: Jesus Christ Superhero
April 22, 2013 03:23 - 37 minutes - 34 MBSo yeah, this episode is late. Really late. Uh… that was quite a week last week. We should be back on schedule now. Anyway, enjoy the usual quality discussion of the rise of the sentient internet, the first speaker of...
Not Actually Happening 24: April Fools? April Fools!
April 05, 2013 02:23 - 14 minutes - 13.5 MBBecause in this celebration of springtime stir-craziness, the biggest April Fools joke is April Fools Day itself. Also: how many terrible salad dressing puns can we come up with? How many different religious hats can we stack on top of...
Not Actually Happening 23: Fake Fossils
March 22, 2013 18:29 - 12 minutes - 11.7 MBThis week we talk about fake fossils, fairweather friends, and far-too-credulous academics.