Bonus Episodes | The Compendium

A plane crashes high in the Andes, leaving its passengers stranded on a glacier and fighting for survival long after the world assumes they are dead. This episode revisits the Miracle of the Andes, tracing the ordeal of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 and the extraordinary resilience of the survivors. Drawing on the book Alive and decades of retellings, we explore the brutal conditions, the impossi...

Thieves slip into a Boston museum at night and walk out with half a billion dollars’ worth of masterpieces, leaving one of the greatest art mysteries in history. This episode explores the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist, tracing how two disguised intruders overpowered security, stole 13 irreplaceable works, and vanished without a trace. We examine the theories, the suspects, the criminal und...

A strange handwritten book filled with unknown symbols and impossible drawings appears in the historical record, defying every attempt to decode it. This episode investigates the Voynich Manuscript, examining its mysterious illustrations, baffling structure, and uncertain origins. We explore its botanical sketches, astrological charts, medicinal diagrams, and recipes, as well as its journey throug...

A six-year-old girl is found dead in her own home, a ransom note lies nearby, and an investigation begins that will baffle the world for decades. This episode revisits the JonBenét Ramsey case, tracing the chaotic morning after Christmas, the evidence that shaped early theories, and the suspicion that quickly shifted toward the Ramsey family. We explore the competing narratives, the missteps that...

This is the wild story of the Great Beanie Baby bubble of the 1990s. Cute stuffed animals become the centre of a global frenzy as a simple toy line turns into one of the wildest speculative bubbles of the 1990s. This episode revisits the rise and fall of the Beanie Baby craze, tracing how Ty Warner’s strategies transformed plush toys into a cultural and financial phenomenon. We explore the factory...