Omnibus

Omnibus

History EN ↓ 715 episodes

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.

Be sure to visit the podcast's website and support the creator: www.omnibusproject.com

Author

Omnibus

Category

History

Podcast website

www.omnibusproject.com

Latest episode

Oct 14, 2026

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Episodes

Prairie Schooners (Entry 975.NU0703) 23.04.2020

In which the west is won by long fleets of covered wagons "sailing" on to the Oregon Territory, and Ken thinks it was mistake to capitalize the Northwest Passage. Certificate #18089.

Ferdinandea (Entry 461.RV1620) 21.04.2020

In which the European powers scramble to claim an infant pile of basalt in the Mediterranean, and John wonders how steampunk the Libyan submarine fleet might be. Certificate #50204.

Green Funerals (Entry 549.1S3113) 16.04.2020

In which John describes environmentally friendly modern alternatives to burial, and refuses to apologize for leaving an urn full of ashes under his piano for a decade. Certificate #37628.

Bode's Law (Entry 138.JB2212) 14.04.2020

In which amateur algebra experts figure out where the planets in the solar system should be, and are (briefly) proven right, and Ken gets his hair cut by a ghost. Certificate #36737.

Genoan Insurance (Entry 522.MT0634) 09.04.2020

In which the modern insurance industry is born when medieval Italian merchants form syndicates to manage risk, and Ken manages risk by making people order pancakes. Certificate #46598.

Streaking (Entry 1234.RV1615) 07.04.2020

In which dumb campus fads return to the American spotlight in 1973 thanks to a mild winter and legions of nude undergrads, and John gradually remembers his own complicated streaking history. Certificate #41916.

The De Havilland Beaver (Entry 328.DE0203) 02.04.2020

In which the Great White North is serviced and explored by the greatest bush plane of all time, and Ken decides that aircraft shouldn't be named after bugs. Certificate #35435.

Mesoamerican Ball Game (Entry 778.JB3122) 31.03.2020

In which pre-Columbian civilizations spend thousands of years banging each other up with heavy rubber balls, and John tries to replace professional sports with stick-fighting. Certificate #28586.

Naked Came the Stranger (Entry 823.MT2538) 26.03.2020

In which a droll Long Island reporter and his newsroom buddies accidentally create one of the all-time great dirty books, and Ken is skeptical of the nudist lifestyle. Certificate #50150.

Sadie Hawkins Day (Entry 1094.GN3912) 24.03.2020

In which a hippie-hating cartoonist accidentally creates a (slightly) gender-equalizing campus tradition, and John spends hours poring over newspaper bridge columns. Certificate #44390.

Chinook Jargon (Entry 215.1C1413) 19.03.2020

In which a very old Native American trading pidgin becomes a regional language and 20th-century slang, and Ken goes to a movie theater that basically confessed to genocide. Certificate #5725.

Patagonian Giants (Entry 907.MT0627) 17.03.2020

In which the world's tallest tribe, if they even exist, are enslaved by Ferdinand Magellan and downsized by subsequent visitors, and John reminds us of the importance of good posture. Certificate #33392.

Bill W. (Entry 122.NU0603) 12.03.2020

In which one rough night for a traveling salesman in Akron, Ohio births a new spiritual approach to addiction recovery, and Ken suggests some interesting anagrams for post-human Presbyterian listeners. Certificate #19544.

Hikikomori (Entry 587.1K2225) 10.03.2020

In which a generation of traumatized Japanese young people increasingly decide never to come out of their bedrooms, whereas John insists on dying alone. Certificate #50644.

Cow Magnets (Entry 289.JL0118) 05.03.2020

In which we learn that ruminants are eating a lot more metal nowadays than they used to, and that Ken would like to have a gravel spoon at dinner. Certificate #28929

Longitudinal Film (Entry 734.PS9010) 03.03.2020

In which British documentarians and Austin slackers alike use the movies to unveil the mysteries of aging and mortality, and John leaves a series of women waiting for him at train stations in Spain. Certificate #48149

Hands Across America (Entry 565.PR1121) 27.02.2020

In which the 1980s fad for charity pop singles inspires an ambitious geographic stunt, and Ken plans a foolproof way to assassinate Jamie Farr. Certificate #26004

Operation Just Cause (Entry 869.EZ4510) 25.02.2020

In which the bizarre 1989 American invasion of Panama kicks off our modern era of on-the-nose Pentagon naming conventions, and John is reminded of a dominatrix, as usual. Certificate #19345.

Trafalgar vs. Carmania (Entry 1325.IS2314) 20.02.2020

In which the First World War begins in an unexpected fashion, with two ocean liners blowing holes in each other off the coast of Brazil, and Ken gets gaslit into buying a tuxedo. Certificate #32056.

The Dogon (Entry 369.DE0419) 18.02.2020

In which an African tribe proves so eager to please that they convince generations of ethnographers that alien visitors from Sirius are real, and John gets annoyed that ancient astronauts never invented baseball. Certificate #26731.

Cincinnati Chili (Entry 223.2K0440) 13.02.2020

In which an early fast food boom, Greek immigration, and (of course) the World's Fair conspire to trick Ohioans into redefining "chili," and John gets justifiably upset about bananas on spaghetti. Certificate #24598.

Snow Valley, Oklahoma (Entry 1182.JB2419) 11.02.2020

In which a Vermonter with an ill-conceived dream brings skiiing very briefly to the Sooner State, and Ken attempts to secure his family some very rare Pokemon cards. Certificate #17398.

The Tootsie Pop Indian (Entry 1317.LA0312) 06.02.2020

In which an American candy company refuses to honor a longstanding bit of playground lollipop lore, and Ken tries to calculate the homeopathic healing power of Tootsie Rolls. Certificate #33486.

Chastity Belts (Entry 209.LV2113) 04.02.2020

In which Renaissance satirists and modern amateur historians accidentally create a physiologically impossible medieval device, and John has a theory about locksmiths and cocaine. Certificate #49406.

Coppicing (Entry 276.PS8015) 30.01.2020

In which a forgotten medieval art of tree-harvesting is revived by the sustainability movement, and Ken blames the coming environmental catastrophe on "sugar energy." Certificate #22560.

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