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
A Ridiculous History of "Fad Diets," Part Two: Beverly Hills, Scarsdale and More
As the Western world embarks on 2026, Ben, Max and Noel welcome everyone's New Year's resolutions. (Here's hoping that gym schedule continues through February!) In celebration of a "New Year, New Me" ...
8 Jan 44min
CLASSIC: How Louisiana Almost Became a Hippo Ranching Hub
Nowadays beef, chicken and pork are the most common meats in the US -- but, not so long ago, that could have all changed. Join the guys as they travel back to the early 1900s, when Louisiana congressm...
6 Jan 43min
CLASSIC: Who was the highest paid athlete in history?
Today, most people probably don't remember the career of once-famous charioteer Gaius Appuleius Diocles -- however, in his day we was a cultural icon, one of the most famous athletes in Rome. Join the...
3 Jan 30min
Unplugged: Adventures from MTV to Timbuktu, with Tom Freston
Happy New Year! It's no secret that MTV fundamentally changed the nature of media and entertainment. But how did it actually get started? What made the world so obsessed with the concept of "Music Tel...
1 Jan 47min
CLASSIC: The Weird Life of George Washington, Part 2
Join Ben, Noel, Casey and returning guest Christopher Hassiotis as they continue exploring the strange life and times of George Washington in the second part of this two-part series. Listen in to lear...
30 Dec 202533min
