The Ridiculous History of Ping Pong
Whether you call it table tennis, whiff-whaff or ping pong, there's no denying this fun sport of "tennis for the home" has become a global phenomenon. But where did it come from? In today's episode, B...
28 Jan 50min
CLASSIC: How far did Isaac Newton go to hunt down forgers?
Today, Isaac Newton is best known for his scientific pursuits -- but he also served as Warden and, later, Master of the Royal Mint. And this wasn't some sort of honorary position, either: Newton took ...
24 Jan 29min
A Ridiculous Love Letter to Atari, Part Two: a Rise, a Fall, and a Legacy
Oof! Atari! As our producer Max likes to say, 'it was a thing.' In the second part of this two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max explore the pioneering rise of Atari, corporate overtake, and the final wo...
22 Jan 41min
A Ridiculous Love Letter to Atari, Part One: From Pings to Pongs
Nowadays most people either play video games, or know someone who does -- yet this wasn't always the case. As civilization skyrockets toward gaming experiences that feel increasingly immersive (and, i...
20 Jan 42min
CLASSIC: How Admiral Horatio Nelson Ended Up Dead in a Barrel of Brandy
Naval legend Admiral Nelson died on October 21st, 1805 shortly after being shot by a French sniper while standing on the deck his ship, Victory. Following the British victory at the Battle of Trafalga...
17 Jan 34min
What makes a word a 'word'?
Words are everywhere -- and we're grateful, because we can't do this show without them. But all words were, at some point, just made up. So how does society decide what counts as a "real" word? In tod...
15 Jan 47min
The Rise (and Crash) of the Concorde Jet
What if you could hop from France to New York in less than four hours? Traveling twice the speed of sound, with caviar, lobster, champagne and cigars? This was the pitch of the Concorde jet -- a revol...
13 Jan 44min
CLASSIC: English Men Used to Sell Their Wives
In late 17th-century England, it was almost impossible for anyone outside of the upper class to successfully get a divorce -- the process was expensive and required approval from both the church and t...
12 Jan 23min
