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386 episodes - English - Latest episode: 18 days ago - ★★★★★ - 2.5K ratingsThe podcast where we choose a subject, read a single Wikipedia article about it, and pretend we’re experts. Because this is the internet, and that’s how it works now.
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Episodes
Gamergate
April 10, 2024 16:00 - 31 minutes - 28.8 MBGamergate or GamerGate (GG)[1] was a loosely organized misogynistic online harassment campaign and a right-wing backlash against feminism, diversity, and progressivism in video game culture.[2][3][4] It was conducted using the hashtag "#Gamergate" primarily in 2014 and 2015.[1][5][6][7] Gamergate targeted women in the video game industry, most notably feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian and video game developers Zoë Quinn and Brianna Wu.[8][9][10][11][12]
Animals on Trial
April 03, 2024 16:00 - 41 minutes - 39.2 MBIn legal history, an animal trial was the criminal trial of a non-human animal. Such trials are recorded as having taken place in Europe from the thirteenth century until the eighteenth. In modern times, it is considered in most criminal justice systems that non-human animals lack moral agency and so cannot be held culpable for an act.
Odd Screw Lengths
April 01, 2024 13:00 - 20 minutes - 18.4 MBAt a minimum, a screw drive is a set of shaped cavities and protrusions on the screw head that allows torque to be applied to it.[1][2] Usually, it also involves a mating tool, such as a screwdriver, that is used to turn it. Some of the less-common drives are classified as being "tamper-resistant".
American Gladiators
March 27, 2024 15:59 - 34 minutes - 32.7 MBAmerican Gladiators[3] is an American competition television program that aired weekly in syndication from September 1989 to May 1996. The series matched a cast of amateur athletes against each other, as well as against the show's own "gladiators", in contests of strength and agility. Following the success of American Gladiators, other countries began to produce their own versions of the show.
Lola Montez
March 20, 2024 16:00 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBEliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld[1] (17 February 1821 – 17 January 1861), better known by the stage name Lola Montez (/moʊnˈtɛz/), was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a Spanish dancer, courtesan, and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who made her Gräfin von Landsfeld (Countess of Landsfeld). At the start of the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, she was forced to flee. She proceeded to the United States via Austria, Switzerland, France and London, to r...
Dutch East India Company
March 13, 2024 16:00 - 39 minutes - 36.3 MBThe United East India Company (Dutch: Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie [vərˈeːnɪɣdə oːstˈɪndisə kɔmpɑˈɲi], abbreviated as VOC, Dutch: [veː.oːˈseː]) and commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered trading company and the first joint-stock company in the world.[2][3] Established on 20 March 1602[4] by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies, it was granted a 21-year monopoly to carry out trade activities in Asia.[5] Shares in the company could ...
Horace Greeley
March 06, 2024 17:00 - 36 minutes - 33.4 MBHorace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and editor of the New-York Tribune. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressman from New York and was the unsuccessful candidate of the new Liberal Republican Party in the 1872 presidential election against incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant, who won by a landslide.
Seaworld
February 28, 2024 17:00 - 33 minutes - 31.2 MBSeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (one park will be owned and operated by Miral under a license). The parks feature orcas, sea lion, and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals.
The Edgewood Experiments
February 21, 2024 17:00 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBFrom 1948 to 1975, the U.S. Army Chemical Corps conducted classified human subject research at the Edgewood Arsenal facility in Maryland. The purpose was to evaluate the impact of low-dose chemical warfare agents on military personnel and to test protective clothing, pharmaceuticals, and vaccines. A small portion of these studies were directed at psychochemical warfare and grouped under the prosaic title of the "Medical Research Volunteer Program" (1956–1975). The MRVP was also driven by int...
Al Capone
February 14, 2024 17:00 - 41 minutes - 38.4 MBAlphonse Gabriel Capone (/kəˈpoʊn/;[1] January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nicknames "Scarface" and "Snorky", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1925 to 1931. His seven-year reign as a crime boss ended when he went to prison at the age of 33.
1769 Transit of Venus
February 07, 2024 17:00 - 34 minutes - 32.3 MBA transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and a superior planet, becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. During a transit, Venus can be seen from Earth as a small black dot moving across the face of the Sun. The duration of such transits is usually several hours (the transit of 2012 lasted 6 hours and 40 minutes). A transit is similar to a solar eclipse by the Moon. Although the diameter of Ve...
Isabella of France
January 31, 2024 17:00 - 33 minutes - 31 MBIsabella of France (c. 1295 – 22 August 1358), sometimes described as the She-Wolf of France (French: Louve de France), was Queen of England as the wife of King Edward II, and de facto regent of England from 1327 until 1330. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre. Isabella was notable in her lifetime for her diplomatic skills, intelligence, and beauty. She overthrew her husband, becoming a "femme fatale" figure in plays a...
Celestial Seasonings and Other Culty Companies
January 24, 2024 17:00 - 42 minutes - 39.1 MBCelestial Seasonings founders Mo Siegel, Peggy Clute, Wyck Hay, and Lucinda Ziesing started gathering herbs and flowers in the mountains around Boulder and selling them to local health food stores in 1969.[2][3]
Cleopatra
January 17, 2024 17:00 - 37 minutes - 34.9 MBCleopatra VII Thea Philopator (Koinē Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Θεά Φιλοπάτωρ[note 5] lit. Cleopatra "father-loving goddess";[note 6] 70/69 BC – 10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.[note 7] A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great.[note 8] After the death of Cleopatra, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire, marking t...
Julius Cesar
January 10, 2024 17:00 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBGaius Julius Caesar (/ˈsiːzər/, SEE-zər; Latin: [ˈɡaːiʊs ˈjuːliʊs ˈkae̯sar]; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and subsequently became dictator from 49 BC until his assassination in 44 BC. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.
Julius Caesar
January 10, 2024 17:00 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBGaius Julius Caesar (/ˈsiːzər/, SEE-zər; Latin: [ˈɡaːiʊs ˈjuːliʊs ˈkae̯sar]; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and subsequently became dictator from 49 BC until his assassination in 44 BC. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.
The Amish
January 03, 2024 17:00 - 31 minutes - 28.8 MBThe Amish (/ˈɑːmɪʃ/; Pennsylvania German: Amisch; German: Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins.[2] They are closely related to Mennonite churches, a separate Anabaptist denomination.[3] The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, Christian pacifism, and slowness to adopt many conveniences of modern technology, with a view neither to interrupt family time, nor replace face-t...
Poisoned Booze
December 27, 2023 17:00 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBSeveral stories including: In 1927, most of the industrial alcohol in the United States had been poisoned under the order of the government.[9] The government had created a blend that contended with the bootleggers’ chemists.
The Great Gatsby
December 20, 2023 17:00 - 45 minutes - 42.4 MBThe Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan.
The Terra Nova Expedition,
December 13, 2023 17:00 - 40 minutes - 37.5 MBThe Terra Nova Expedition, officially the British Antarctic Expedition, was an expedition to Antarctica which took place between 1910 and 1913. Led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, the expedition had various scientific and geographical objectives. Scott wished to continue the scientific work that he had begun when leading the Discovery Expedition from 1901 to 1904, and wanted to be the first to reach the geographic South Pole.
Large Hadron Collider
December 06, 2023 17:00 - 36 minutes - 35.3 MBThe Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle collider.[1][2] It was built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) between 1998 and 2008 in collaboration with over 10,000 scientists and hundreds of universities and laboratories across more than 100 countries.[3] It lies in a tunnel 27 kilometres (17 mi) in circumference and as deep as 175 metres (574 ft) beneath the France–Switzerland border near Geneva.
Highest falls survived without a parachute
November 29, 2023 17:00 - 34 minutes - 32 MBList is located here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highest_falls_survived_without_a_parachute
Howard Hughes
November 22, 2023 17:00 - 42 minutes - 38.7 MBHoward Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American aerospace engineer, businessman, filmmaker, investor, philanthropist, and pilot.[2] He was best known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in the world. He first became prominent as a film producer, and then as an important figure in the aviation industry. Later in life, he became known for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle—oddities that were caused in part by his worsen...
Failed Products, Part 2
November 15, 2023 17:00 - 39 minutes - 36.2 MBThe Museum of Failure[1] is a museum that features a collection of failed products and services. The touring exhibition provides visitors with a learning experience about the critical role of failure in innovation and encourages organizations to become better at learning from failure. Samuel West's 2016 visit to the Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb, Croatia, inspired the concept of the museum.[2] Museum founder and curator Samuel West reportedly registered a domain name for the museu...
The Divorce Colony
November 08, 2023 17:00 - 34 minutes - 32 MBThe Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier is a nonfiction book by April White. Published by Hachette Book Group in 2022, The Divorce Colony examines the role of Sioux Falls, South Dakota as a destination for divorce seekers through personal stories. Excerpts were published in The Boston Globe,[1] Smithsonian Magazine,[2] and on Politico.[3]
Battles with Purported Divine Intervention
November 01, 2023 16:00 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBhttps://www.cracked.com/article_18894_6-real-historic-battles-decided-by-divine-intervention.html and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mons
Pete Evans
October 25, 2023 16:00 - 31 minutes - 29.1 MBPeter Daryl Evans (born 29 August 1973[citation needed]) is an Australian chef, and former television presenter, who was a judge of the competitive cooking show My Kitchen Rules. Evans has been heavily criticised for spreading misinformation about vaccinations, promoting conservative political rhetoric, sharing conspiracy theories with followers and pseudoscientific dieting ideas such as the paleolithic diet. He lives in Round Mountain, New South Wales.
Weird Measurements
October 18, 2023 16:00 - 37 minutes - 36.1 MBAn unusual unit of measurement is a unit of measurement that does not form part of a coherent system of measurement, especially because its exact quantity may not be well known or because it may be an inconvenient multiple or fraction of a base unit. Many of the unusual units of measurements listed here are colloquial measurements, units devised to compare a measurement to common and familiar objects.
Terrible Reality Television
October 11, 2023 16:00 - 38 minutes - 35.8 MBReality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s with shows such as The Real World, then achieved prominence in the early 2000s with the success of the series Survivor, Idols, and Big Brother, all of which became global franchises.[1] Reality television shows tend to be interspersed with "confess...
Joan Crawford
October 04, 2023 16:01 - 40 minutes - 37.4 MBJoan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190?[Note 1] – May 10, 1977) was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion picture contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1925. Initially frustrated by the size and quality of her parts, Crawford launched a publicity campaign and built an image as a nationally known flapper by the end of the 1920s. By the 1930s, Crawford's fame rivaled MG...
Paul Bunyon
September 27, 2023 16:00 - 42 minutes - 39.2 MBPaul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American[2] and Canadian folklore.[3] His tall tales revolve around his superhuman labors,[4][5] and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox, his pet and working animal. The character originated in the oral tradition of North American loggers,[2][4][5] and was later popularized by freelance writer William B. Laughead (1882–1958) in a 1916 promotional pamphlet for the Red River Lumber Company.[6] He has been the subject of various l...
Francis Marion
September 20, 2023 16:00 - 28 minutes - 26.3 MBBrigadier General Francis Marion (c. 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the "Swamp Fox", was an American military officer, planter, and politician who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. During the American Revolution, Marion supported the Patriot cause and enlisted in the Continental Army, fighting against British forces in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War from 1780 to 1781. Though he never commanded a field army or served as a co...
Yevgeny Prigozhin
September 13, 2023 16:00 - 35 minutes - 32.7 MBYevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin[a] (Russian: Евге́ний Ви́кторович Приго́жин, IPA: [jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ˈvʲiktərəvʲɪtɕ prʲɪˈɡoʐɨn]; 1 June 1961 – 23 August 2023) was a Russian mercenary leader and oligarch.[4] He led the Wagner Group private military company and was a close confidant of Russian president Vladimir Putin until launching a rebellion in June 2023.[5] Prigozhin was sometimes referred to as "Putin's chef" because he owned restaurants and catering businesses that provided services to the Kre...
HMS Wager
September 06, 2023 16:00 - 38 minutes - 36.2 MBHMS Wager was a square-rigged sixth-rate Royal Navy ship of 28 guns. She was built as an East Indiaman in about 1734 and made two voyages to India for the East India Company before the Royal Navy purchased her in 1739. She formed part of a squadron under Commodore George Anson and was wrecked on the south coast of Chile on 14 May 1741. The wreck of Wager became famous for the subsequent adventures of the survivors who found themselves marooned on a desolate island in the middle of a Patagoni...
Rudy Giuliani
August 30, 2023 16:00 - 47 minutes - 43.5 MBRudolph William Louis Giuliani (/ˌdʒuːliˈɑːni/ JOO-lee-AH-nee, Italian: [dʒuˈljaːni]; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 1983 and the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1983 to 1989.[1][2]
William Wallace
August 23, 2023 16:00 - 38 minutes - 35.1 MBSir William Wallace (Scottish Gaelic: Uilleam Uallas, pronounced [ˈɯʎam ˈuəl̪ˠəs̪]; Norman French: William le Waleys;[2] c. 1270[3] – 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence.[4] Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297. He was appointed Guardian of Scotland and served until his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk in July 1298. In August 1305, Wallac...
The World of Tomorrow
August 16, 2023 16:00 - 30 minutes - 28 MBThe 1939–1940 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people attended its exhibits in two seasons.[2] It was the first exposition to be based on the future, with an opening slogan of "Dawn of a New Day", and it all...
Nicholas Alahverdian
August 09, 2023 16:00 - 43 minutes - 39.5 MBNicholas Alahverdian (born July 11, 1987),[4][5] also known as Nicholas Rossi and Arthur Knight, among other aliases,[3] is an American sex offender who faked his own death in 2020. Our theme song was written and performed by Anna Bosnick. If you’d like to support the show on a per episode basis, you can find our Patreon page here. Be sure to check our website for more details.
Joseph Smith
August 02, 2023 16:00 - 42 minutes - 37.8 MBJoseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith had attracted tens of thousands of followers by the time of his death fourteen years later. The religion he founded continues to the present day, with millions of global adherents and several churches claiming Smith as their founder, the largest being The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day...
Virginia Hall
July 26, 2023 16:00 - 35 minutes - 32.4 MBVirginia Hall Goillot DSC, Croix de Guerre, MBE (April 6, 1906 – July 8, 1982), code named Marie and Diane, was an American who worked with the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in France during World War II. The objective of SOE and OSS was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers, especially Nazi Germany. SOE and OSS agents in France allied themselves with r...
Titan and Titanic
July 19, 2023 16:00 - 47 minutes - 42.9 MBTitan, previously called Cyclops 2, was a submersible that imploded on 18 June 2023 while transporting tourists to visit the wreckage of Titanic. The submersible was created and operated by OceanGate. It was the first privately-owned submersible with a claimed maximum depth of 4,000 m (13,000 ft),[2] and the first completed crewed submersible with a hull constructed of titanium and carbon fiber composite materials. Our theme song was written and performed by Anna Bosnick. If you’d like to...
Pat Robertson
July 12, 2023 16:00 - 42 minutes - 38.6 MBMarion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (March 22, 1930 – June 8, 2023) was an American media mogul, religious broadcaster, political commentator, presidential candidate, and Southern Baptist minister. Robertson advocated a conservative Christian ideology and was known for his involvement in Republican Party politics. He was associated with the Charismatic movement within Protestant evangelicalism. He served as head of Regent University and of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). Our theme song...
Olga of Kiev
July 05, 2023 16:00 - 30 minutes - 27.5 MBOlga (Old East Slavic: Вольга, romanized: Volĭga;[a] Old Norse: Helga; Lith: Alge; Christian name: Elena; c. 890–925 – 969) was a regent of Kievan Rus' for her son Sviatoslav from 945 until 960. Following her baptism, Olga took the name Elenа (Old East Slavic: Ѡлена, romanized: Olena).[2] She is known for her subjugation of the Drevlians, a tribe that had killed her husband Igor of Kiev. Even though it was her grandson Vladimir who converted the entire nation to Christianity, because of her ...
Elephants on Acid
June 28, 2023 16:00 - 43 minutes - 100 MBTrigger Warning: This week's episode contains references to animal cruelty as well as a bunch of other stuff that's really gross. This week, Heath talks about scientists gone wild. Our theme song was written and performed by Anna Bosnick. If you’d like to support the show on a per episode basis, you can find our Patreon page here. Be sure to check our website for more details.
Mars Rovers
June 21, 2023 16:00 - 39 minutes - 90.8 MBA Mars rover is a motor vehicle designed to travel on the surface of Mars. Rovers have several advantages over stationary landers: they examine more territory, they can be directed to interesting features, they can place themselves in sunny positions to weather winter months, and they can advance the knowledge of how to perform very remote robotic vehicle control. They serve a different purpose than orbital spacecraft like Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. A more recent development is the Mars he...
Stars and Exoplanets
June 14, 2023 19:31 - 36 minutes - 29.5 MBA star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by self-gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth make them appear as fixed points of light. The most prominent stars have been categorised into constellations and asterisms, and many of the brightest stars have proper names. Astronomers have assembled star catalogues that identify the known stars and provi...
Smedley Butler
June 07, 2023 16:00 - 32 minutes - 26.1 MBMajor General Smedley Darlington Butler (July 30, 1881 – June 21, 1940), nicknamed the Maverick Marine, was a senior United States Marine Corps officer. During his 34-year career, he fought in the Philippine–American War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Mexican Revolution, and World War I. At the time of his death, Butler was the most decorated Marine in U.S. history. By the end of his career, Butler had received sixteen medals, including five for heroism; he is the only Marine to be awarded the Br...
Unusual Deaths 3
May 31, 2023 16:00 - 32 minutes - 29.6 MBThis list of unusual deaths includes unique or extremely rare circumstances of death recorded throughout history, noted as being unusual by multiple sources. Our theme song was written and performed by Anna Bosnick. If you’d like to support the show on a per episode basis, you can find our Patreon page here. Be sure to check our website for more details.
Bill Belichick and the Art of the Loophole
May 24, 2023 16:00 - 40 minutes - 38.2 MBWilliam Stephen Belichick (/ˈbɛlɪtʃɪk, ˈbɛlɪtʃɛk/; born April 16, 1952) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach and general manager[a] of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Widely regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time,[2][3][4] he holds numerous coaching records, including the record of most Super Bowl wins (six) as a head coach, all with the Patriots, along with two more during his time as the defensive coordinator of ...
Christian Video Games
May 17, 2023 16:00 - 32 minutes - 26.3 MBChristian video games are a video game genre and a form of Christian media that focus on the narrative and themes of Christian morals and Christianity. And, though not a categorical requirement, they all suck. Our theme song was written and performed by Anna Bosnick. If you’d like to support the show on a per episode basis, you can find our Patreon page here. Be sure to check our website for more details.