Omnibus
HowStuffWorks
Every week, Ken Jennings and John Roderick add a new entry to the OMNIBUS, an encyclopedic reference work of strange-but-true stories that they are compiling as a time capsule for future generations.
Location:
United States
Genres:
History Podcasts
Networks:
HowStuffWorks
Description:
Every week, Ken Jennings and John Roderick add a new entry to the OMNIBUS, an encyclopedic reference work of strange-but-true stories that they are compiling as a time capsule for future generations.
Language:
English
Episodes
Chopin's Heart (Entry 218.JB4124)
7/3/2025
In which Poland's most famous exile partially returns to Warsaw to posthumously annoy both tsars and Nazis, and John's restaurant idea has some light cannibalism. Certificate #31277.
Duration:01:28:08
Hostile Architecture (Entry 601.PR2907)
6/26/2025
In which today's cities face tough choices on how to guide urban behavior with incredibly uncomfortable-looking design features, and Ken would pee on a fly but not a bee. Certificate #19421.
Duration:01:23:05
The War Between the States (Entry 1409.IS1902)
6/19/2025
In which it takes decades for America to decide whether its civil war was an insurrection or an invasion, nomenclature-wise, and John walks very erratically on his orange shag carpet. Certificate #26478.
Duration:01:26:48
The Dreadnought Hoax (Entry 380.PS6831)
6/12/2025
In which six bored, Cambridge-connected bohemians con their way onto the British Empire's naval flagship by dressing as African royalty, and Ken thinks John is either Batman or a Karen. Certificate #19722.
Duration:01:39:34
The Comics Code Authority (Entry 248.2CH2115)
6/5/2025
In which a crusading social psychiatrist drums up the moral panic that gets two mega-popular comic book genres banned from America's newsstands, and John agrees that punching Hitler is unmissable. Certificate #44894.
Duration:01:32:29
Gorillas, Discovery of (Entry 540.PS10420)
5/29/2025
In which it takes Europe over two thousand years to figure out that the greatest of the great apes is not just Carthaginian folklore, and Ken would like to be considered merciful. Certificate #46468.
Duration:01:12:06
Victorian Hairwork (Entry 1394.LK2118)
5/22/2025
In which the popularity of "mourning bequeathments" and the death of the Prince Consort lead to an explosion of morbid family handicrafts, and John gives away the same piano twice. Certificate #50902.
Duration:01:28:22
Hawaiian Guitar (Entry 572.PS14409)
5/15/2025
In which a Honolulu teenager discovers a rusty bolt by the side of the road and changes the face of 20th-century music across multiple genres, and Ken is surprised to learn what Aerosmith, Paul Shaffer, and Harvard have in common. Certificate #35281.
Duration:01:25:22
Vows of Silence (Entry 1403.PS10730)
5/8/2025
In which a famed monastic tradition is revealed to be a modern misunderstanding of the chattiness of religious life, and Ken does not want to know what a Robot Guitar really is. Certificate #38497.
Duration:01:31:33
Rock Paper Scissors (Entry 1079.1CH2613)
5/1/2025
In which an ancient Chinese game of intransitive balance changes the world as both a children's pastime and a decision-making method, and John has the candy tastes of a pioneer child. Certificate #23611.
Duration:01:16:50
Lemmings (Entry 711.MK1503)
4/24/2025
In which the documentary films of the Arctic are revealed to be full of lies, leading to one misunderstood rodent, and John thinks about a vole in a bowl. Certificate #25575.
Duration:01:14:28
Pulgasari (Entry 1007.IS4602)
4/17/2025
In which North Korea jump-starts its fledgeling monster movie industry by literally kidnapping talent from across the DMZ, and Ken was distracted by skateboarding. Certificate #37139
Duration:01:26:54
The World's Tallest Building (Entry 1444.GE1104)
4/10/2025
In which the measurement of spires and skyscrapers becomes a source of architectural squabbles and global prestige, and John hides in the forest with a guitar. Certificate #51591.
Duration:01:27:57
Anthropology Days (Entry 053.NU1516)
4/3/2025
In which the planners of the third modern Olympics scour the globe hoping to populate a human zoo and maybe make the exhibits do sports, and Ken thinks the periodic table needs some work. Certificate #53289.
Duration:01:30:52
The Mona Lisa Heist (Entry 800.JN1206)
3/27/2025
In which an Italian workman creates a cultural icon when he attempts to repatriate a Renaissance masterpiece from the laxly secured Louvre, and John upstages Ken's sturgeon. Certificate #35100.
Duration:01:24:14
Genuine Leather (Entry 522.GE0321)
3/20/2025
In which the tanning industry invents a fancy-sounding term for one of its worst grades of leather, and Ken learns his childhood jacket may have had epaulets. Certificate #46978.
Duration:01:21:24
The Dionne Quintuplets (Entry 352.JB0525)
3/13/2025
In which five adorable and identical Franco-Ontarians become an international sensation and then wards of the state, and John doesn't know what to call the bulb of Canada. Certificate #31042.
Duration:01:34:52
Pedestrianism (Entry 913.PS1833)
3/6/2025
In which the first great sporting fad of the 19th century springs from great feats of British walking, and Ken isn't sure how to use protozoa as a metaphor for time. Certificate #21218.
Duration:01:27:46
The Battle of the Sisters (Entry 104.GE3008)
2/27/2025
In which Hollywood's greatest case of sibling rivalry begins with a swimming pool injury and ends at the Oscars, and John rediscovers pop music thanks to the Queeb. Certificate #30747.
Duration:01:35:54
The Golden Age of Porn (Entry 537.1C0618)
2/20/2025
In which we celebrate the post-Valentine's season by looking back at the sleazy 1970s when adult films briefly became mainstream chic, and Ken avoids a Y2K for his marriage. Certificate #25369.
Duration:01:25:13