Damn Interesting
126 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 665 ratingsThe audio side of DamnInteresting.com: Legitimately intriguing true stories from history, science, and psychology. Audiobook-like narration with sound effects and music.
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Episodes
A Trail Gone Cold
March 20, 2024 00:00 - 43 minutes - 49.3 MBAgainst the odds, a tiny Icelandic town speaks of a local Black ancestor. Geneticists and historians combine forces to uncover the man’s eventful life.
Journey To The Invisible Planet
June 13, 2023 00:00 - 28 minutes - 32.4 MBThe tangled history of humanity’s search for the solar system’s uncharted planets.
From Where The Sun Now Stands
May 21, 2023 00:00 - 53 minutes - 61.5 MBWhen the U.S. Army came for their land in 1877, the Nez Perce tribe complied. But tensions boiled over, and Chief Joseph led as they ran for their lives.
The Ancient Order Of Bali
March 28, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 70.6 MBIn 1970s Bali, a sudden rice crisis prompted an unexpectedly far-reaching scientific discovery
Lofty Ambitions
December 13, 2022 00:00 - 26 minutes - 30.5 MBIn 1933, British WWI vet Maurice Wilson hatched an unorthodox plan to reach the still-untouched summit of Everest.
The Rube's Dilemma
October 27, 2022 00:00 - 46 minutes - 53.6 MBA great pitcher’s great temptation.
Devouring The Heart Of Portugal
May 03, 2022 14:11 - 1 hour - 71.8 MBIn 1924 a bankrupt businessman in Portugal launched an audacious international scheme to become one of the wealthiest men in the world.
The Mount St. Helens Trespasser
February 28, 2022 00:00 - 30 minutes - 35.3 MBRobert Rogers, a man obsessed with trespassing, sets his sights on Mount St. Helens in the spring of 1980
Hunting For Kobyla
February 07, 2022 00:00 - 45 minutes - 52.6 MBThe true story of a runaway Nazi, a determined sleuth, and a chase around the world.
The Unceasing Cessna Hacienda
October 25, 2021 00:00 - 28 minutes - 32.5 MBIn 1958, one heavily modified airplane flew out of Las Vegas with a single objective: Don’t land.
The Kingpin of Shanghai
August 25, 2021 00:00 - 44 minutes - 51.3 MBFrom the depths of poverty, Du Yuesheng rose through Shanghai’s underworld to become one of the most influential, and overlooked, figures in modern China.
The Traveler And His Baggage
June 02, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 87.7 MBIn Nazi-occupied Paris, “Dr. Eugène” offered Jews an alternative to deportation, slavery, and death camps. But the escape network was not what it seemed.
Fifteen Years Forsaken
April 27, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 72.2 MBA true story of castaways on a lost and hostile scrap of land, all thanks to some meddlesome Frenchmen and terrible luck.
A Blight On Soviet Science
March 02, 2021 00:00 - 47 minutes - 54.7 MBNikolai Vavilov dedicated his life to improving Soviet agriculture and eradicating famine, but his allegiance to science would ultimately lead to his downfall.
Pugilism On The Plains
December 28, 2020 00:00 - 27 minutes - 31.1 MBHow a booming oil town aimed to become a western metropolis through one of the most ill-conceived boxing matches of all time.
-055- How Miss Shilling's Orifice Helped Win The War
October 09, 2020 00:00 - 28.6 MBHow a female engineer defied all norms to save England in the Second World War.
How Miss Shilling's Orifice Helped Win the War
October 08, 2020 00:00 - 24 minutes - 28.6 MBHow a female engineer defied all norms to save England in the Second World War.
-054- Dupes And Duplicity
September 04, 2020 14:24 - 76 MBThe true story of the 18th century's greatest femme fatale, and the most unfortunate of her victims.
Dupes and Duplicity
September 04, 2020 14:24 - 1 hour - 76 MBThe true story of the 18th century's greatest femme fatale, and the most unfortunate of her victims.
-053- Chronicles Of Charnia
June 30, 2020 00:00 - 38.5 MBWhen an ancient, unexpected imprint is discovered in a stone quarry, scientists endeavor to explain its mysterious origin.
Chronicles of Charnia
June 29, 2020 00:00 - 33 minutes - 38.5 MBWhen an ancient, unexpected imprint is discovered in a stone quarry, scientists endeavor to explain its mysterious origin.
-052- The Spy Of Night And Fog
May 06, 2020 00:00 - 34.3 MB-052- The Spy Of Night And Fog by Damn Interesting
The Spy of Night and Fog
May 05, 2020 00:00 - 29 minutes - 34.3 MBThe Spy of Night and Fog by Damn Interesting
-051- Radical Solutions
March 26, 2020 00:00 - 71.6 MBFrench mathematician Évariste Galois lived a full life. When he wasn't trying to overthrow the government, he was reinventing algebra.
Radical Solutions
March 25, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 71.6 MBFrench mathematician Évariste Galois lived a full life. When he wasn't trying to overthrow the government, he was reinventing algebra.
-050- Private Wojteks Right To Bear Arms
December 12, 2019 00:00 - 18.7 MBOne of Poland’s most beloved and honored World War II veterans was not Polish at all: he was a 500-pound brown bear named Wojtek.
Private Wojteks Right To Bear Arms
December 11, 2019 00:00 - 16 minutes - 18.7 MBOne of Poland’s most beloved and honored World War II veterans was not Polish at all: he was a 500-pound brown bear named Wojtek.
-049- Dead Reckoning
September 12, 2019 00:00 - 83.8 MBThe 18th century misadventures of HMS Wager and her reluctant crew
Dead Reckoning
September 10, 2019 00:00 - 1 hour - 83.8 MBThe 18th century misadventures of HMS Wager and her reluctant crew
The Eponymous Mr. Ponzi
September 02, 2019 14:47 - 42 minutes - 77.1 MBThe little known story of an age-old scam
-048- The Eponymous Mr. Ponzi
September 02, 2019 14:47 - 77.1 MBThe little known story of an age-old scam
-047- The Most Modern Of Modern Sports
April 15, 2019 00:00 - 32.5 MBThe secret runaway success of Kenneth Gandar-Dower’s racing cheetahs.
The Most Modern Of Modern Sports
April 14, 2019 00:00 - 35 minutes - 32.5 MBThe secret runaway success of Kenneth Gandar-Dower’s racing cheetahs.
-046- A Debaculous Fiasco
November 05, 2018 00:00 - 44 MBThe most expensive, bizarre, and obscure work ever created by Dr. Seuss.
A Debaculous Fiasco
November 04, 2018 00:00 - 30 minutes - 44 MBThe most expensive, bizarre, and obscure work ever created by Dr. Seuss.
-045- Drawing The Shorter Straw
July 30, 2018 00:00 - 61 MBWorking almost single-handedly, visionary Argentine filmmaker Quirino Cristiani created full-length animated films between 1917 and 1931. He has since been all but forgotten.
Drawing The Shorter Straw
July 29, 2018 00:00 - 40 minutes - 61 MBWorking almost single-handedly, visionary Argentine filmmaker Quirino Cristiani created full-length animated films between 1917 and 1931. He has since been all but forgotten.
-044- The Curse Of Konzo
May 02, 2018 00:00 - 38.9 MBIn 1981, an international group of doctors identified the devastating disease behind a perplexing outbreak of paralysis in northern Mozambique.
The Curse Of Konzo
May 01, 2018 00:00 - 25 minutes - 38.9 MBIn 1981, an international group of doctors identified the devastating disease behind a perplexing outbreak of paralysis in northern Mozambique.
-043- A Jarring Revelation
March 30, 2018 00:00 - 20.3 MBAmanda Theodosia Jones was a 19th-century poet, entrepreneur, and inventor who found inspiration in some unlikely places.
A Jarring Revelation
March 29, 2018 00:00 - 13 minutes - 20.3 MBAmanda Theodosia Jones was a 19th-century poet, entrepreneur, and inventor who found inspiration in some unlikely places.
-042- Death By Derivatives
November 21, 2017 00:00 - 25.3 MBThe opening of a canal in 1848 led to the birth of modern financial derivatives, and the early demise of some of the men who traded them
Death By Derivatives
November 20, 2017 00:00 - 14 minutes - 25.3 MBThe opening of a canal in 1848 led to the birth of modern financial derivatives, and the early demise of some of the men who traded them
-041- Ghoulish Acts & Dastardly Deeds
July 30, 2017 00:00 - 89.7 MBIn the 1950s, an anonymous terrorist planted a pipe bomb in a New York City public space. Then another. And another.
Ghoulish Acts & Dastardly Deeds
July 29, 2017 00:00 - 54 minutes - 89.7 MBIn the 1950s, an anonymous terrorist planted a pipe bomb in a New York City public space. Then another. And another.
-040- No Country For Ye Olde Men
July 18, 2017 00:00 - 23.8 MBBritain’s practice of transporting convicts to American colonies was a fearsome punishment, but not for the chronic criminal James Dalton.
No Country For Ye Olde Men
July 17, 2017 00:00 - 12 minutes - 23.8 MBBritain’s practice of transporting convicts to American colonies was a fearsome punishment, but not for the chronic criminal James Dalton.
-039- Fire And Dice
June 13, 2017 00:00 - 39.9 MBThe story of a tragic hotel fire of Rube Goldberg proportions.
Fire And Dice
June 12, 2017 00:00 - 23 minutes - 39.9 MBThe story of a tragic hotel fire of Rube Goldberg proportions.
-038- The Reconstruction of Ulysses S. Grant
April 11, 2017 14:07 - 42.3 MBAs a civilian, the beloved American Civil War general and two-term president failed at every attempt to make money. Except for one.