Breaking the Olympics
Elizabeth Swaney fulfilled her childhood dream of becoming an Olympian, defying all odds. But it wasn’t supernatural athletic ability that got her there. And by the time she made it to the 2018 Winter...
11 Feb 24min
Meet the Steagles
During World War II, football itself was at risk. The Steagles—a hybrid of the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers—were a desperate wartime experiment. With rosters drained by the draft, the N...
6 Feb 52min
JFK's Forgotten Summer [Best of 2025]
Eighty years ago, a young John F. Kennedy took a summer job as a journalist for Hearst newspapers, filing dispatches in the final days of World War II. Even the most seasoned JFK scholars often overlo...
31 Dec 202545min
Big in Japan: Kentucky Fried Christmas
In much of the world, Christmas dinner means roasted turkey, glazed ham, or a table crowded with family recipes passed down for generations. But in Japan, millions mark the holiday with something far ...
24 Dec 202519min
The Cabbage Patch Crisis
In 1983, a cherubic, homely doll triggered something close to national hysteria. Parents fought in store aisles. Shelves were stripped bare. Even the New York mafia found itself selling children’s toy...
17 Dec 202549min
Skylab Is Falling
In 1979, the world watched as NASA’s 77-ton space station made its fiery plunge back to Earth. When Skylab broke apart over a sleepy Australian town, the falling debris set off a global media frenzy. ...
10 Dec 202547min
The Fundamental Magical Element
Two Jamaican musicians are making a bold claim. They say they invented the now-ubiquitous reggaeton beat on a specific track in 1989. They're suing some of the genre's biggest stars for billions in ro...
3 Dec 202536min
A Very Special Thanksgiving Mailbag
It's Fandemonium! This week Dana, Zaron, and Jason respond to listener emails. They tell their Very Special origin stories, pick their favorite episodes, cast the movie version of the podcast, and pre...
26 Nov 202518min
