Ottoman Harems Were Disturbing and Ridiculous, Part Two: A Real-life Game of Thrones
Behind the heavily-guarded walls of the palace, the Ottoman Empire's harem was a world all its own. In the second part of this special two-part episode, Ben, Noel and Max delve into the dangerous worl...
4 Jul 202434min
Ottoman Harems Were Disturbing and Ridiculous, Part One: Busting Myths
For centuries, westerners devoured lurid, embellished stories about the mysteries of Near Eastern culture -- and, chief amid their fascinations, the idea of the Sultan's harem. But what exactly was th...
2 Jul 202430min
CLASSIC: How Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Influenced Star Trek
Star Trek is one of the world's most well-known sci-fi franchises, spanning decades in film, TV, books, games and more. While it's had its fair share of lighthearted moments (hello, Tribbles!), its vi...
29 Jun 202433min
Popeye Changed America, Part Two: Popeye Ain't Perfect
As Popeye's popularity continued to skyrocket through the Great Depression and the second World War, his pantheon of related characters only grew. And, spoiler: not all of the characters aged well. In...
27 Jun 202437min
Popeye Changed America, Part One: A Breakout Star
Nowadays Popeye the Sailor Man is a world-famous icon, represented in almost any form of media you can imagine. Yet this wasn't always the case. In part one of this special two-part episode, Ben, Noel...
25 Jun 202436min
CLASSIC: What was the 'Great Stink' of London?
Every city has its drawbacks -- parking, for example, or crime, or the price of a decent pizza slice -- but in the 1800s London faced a particularly unusual and disgusting problem: the city literally ...
23 Jun 202440min
The Constitution is Amazing (and Ridiculous), Part Two: The Game of Amendments
The founders of the United States knew the Constitution wasn't perfect, and so they baked in a process for revising their original document. Today, the first few amendments are collectively known as t...
20 Jun 202446min
The Constitution is Amazing (and Ridiculous), Part One: A Troubled, Ambitious Origin Story
Something like 60% of Americans have never fully read the US Constitution. How did such a short document become one of the most important pieces of writing in human history -- and why are some parts o...
18 Jun 202433min
