CLASSIC: California Was Named for a Fictional Island Ruled by a Black Amazon Queen
California was admitted to the United States as the 31st state in 1850, but it acquired its unique name much, much earlier. Join Ben and Noel as they trace the strange story behind California's name, ...
9 Nov 202432min
The World's Weirdest Sports, Part Two: Literal Murderball
OK, imagine this: you've been captured by a neighboring civilization, hauled off to an unfamiliar city, and your captors tell you: "Hold up, we're not going to kill you yet. In fact, if you can win th...
7 Nov 202442min
The World's Weirdest Sports, Part One: Buzkashī is Where You Fight Over A Dead Goat
Regardless of everyone's differences in this wide, wide world, it's safe to say every culture loves some kind of sport. Often these sports can seem strange to outsiders -- but before we cast proverbia...
5 Nov 202452min
CLASSIC: Ancient Mayan Ritual Alcohol Enemas
Like many ancient cultures, the civilizations of Mesoamerica had a vast and rich history of unique cultural practices, spiritual beliefs and ceremonies, some of which may seem bizarre to people in the...
2 Nov 202450min
One Guy Was So Good At Violin That People Thought He Worshipped Satan
There's no denying Niccolò Paganini was a virtuoso -- in his heyday, this violinist was an international rock star, wowing crowds across Europe with his rollicking, frenetic performances. He was, in f...
31 Okt 202453min
Credit Scores are Absolutely Ridiculous
In theory, the concept of credit scores is simple, and makes a lot of sense: lenders need to know they can trust someone to pay back their debts, and debtors need a way to prove they're trustworthy. I...
29 Okt 202448min
CLASSIC: That Time Vermont Was an Independent Republic
Today Vermont is known for its progressive politics, beautiful forestry, Bernie Sanders and Ben and Jerry's. It's not a state you'll hear much about outside of the US and, for many Vermont natives, th...
26 Okt 202444min
Spontaneous Generation, Part Two: "Broth Science"
Who could have guessed a series of broth experiments revolutionized humanity's understanding of life? Spoiler, not us. In part two of this week's two part episode, Ben, Noel and Max continue their exp...
24 Okt 202435min
