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Omnibus

Omnibus

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.

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  • 28 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 1 hr 6 min
  • English
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
  • Tuesday · 1 hr 17 min

    Vasa (Entry 1K.2248)

    In which Futureling Dan Hope relays the tale of a military vanity, a less-than-a-mile voyage, and John relays his success rate in righting overturned canoes. Certificate #30911.

  • September 15 · 1 hr 8 min

    Paul Winchell (Entry 1433.LU.0506)

    In which Bohuš Blahut (RetroThing.com, Tech Hunters) and John discuss ventriloquist, the inventor of the artificial heart and the voice of Tigger too. Certificate #25379.

  • September 1 · 1 hr 14 min

    Project Habakkuk (Entry 993.HA0105)

    In which Futureling Faris Alikhan reveals an Allied plan to stop U-boats with a mix of ice and wood pulp, and John asks why everyone at SFO wears quarter-zip sweaters. Certificate #45325.

  • August 25 · 1 hr 5 min

    West Edmonton Mall (Entry 1422.JO0502)

    In which Futureling Adam Wonderly discusses how a rug empire ended up creating a Canadian landmark, and John learns that Anchorage could have done better than an indoor ice rink. Certificate #43923.

  • August 18 · 1 hr 24 min

    The Carnegie Libraries (Entry 188.LU2101)

    In which Futureling Jon Hannah discusses the origins of public libraries, labor exploitation and the uneasy bargain between wealth and the common good. Certificate #39770.

  • August 11 · 1 hr 4 min

    The Maury Island Incident (767.EZ0104)

    In which Futureling Loren Skaggs and John discuss Tacoma, Cold War paranoia, the birth of flying saucer mythology, and the Katuga boat trote. Certificate #31561.

  • August 4 · 1 hr 3 min

    Jugglers, The Internet (Entry 667.EX0722)

    In which Futureling Luke Burrage and John discuss the early history of the internet, Claude Shannon, information theory, and one of the least likely professions ever to be called "Sir". Certificate #28099.

  • July 29 · 1 hr 16 min

    The Bosnian War Camaro (Entry 144.MA0718)

    In which Brendan McAleer explains how a 1979 Chevrolet Camaro became a lightly armored, smoke-blowing, night-vision-equipped humanitarian savior, which John insists is the coolest car an eleven-year-old could imagine. Certificate #21628.

  • July 22 · 1 hr

    Free to Be You & Me (Entry 499.1C1111)

    In which we finally get a John show about growing up Gen X in front of the TV console watching Alan Alda, Rosey Grier, Cicely Tyson, Carol Channing, and Michael Jackson and Ken reminisces about what a stone-cold fox Marlo Thomas was. Certificate #36926.

  • July 14 · 59 min

    The Bulldozing of Meigs Field (Entry 163.PS3508)

    In which Futureling Rebecca unpacks the story of a mayor, a demolished airport, and the battle over who really gets to claim a city's waterfront, while John recalls discovering Chicago through a PC flight simulator. Certificate #32575.

  • July 8 · 1 hr 47 min

    The Ukrainian Interviews (Entry 1356.EC0918)

    In which John travels to Ukraine and interviews Alisa Demina (Senior Lecturer in the Department of Archaeology at National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy), Kateryna Chuyeva (a Ukrainian cultural heritage expert and former Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine) and Oleksandra Ivanova (PhD student of Archaeology at NaUKMA and co-founder the NGO Scientific and Research lab Archaic). Certificate #25380.

  • June 30 · 49 min

    Carob (Entry 188.MA0106)

    In which Futureling Christa Dahlstrom and John enjoy a virtual taste test and discuss the lifelong trauma of discovering that what you were promised was, in fact, not chocolate. Certificate #22095.

  • June 23 · 1 hr 13 min

    The Tommy Westphal Universe (Entry 1315.JO0714)

    In which Futureling Thomas Dolan-Gavitt traces how an offhand blog post gave rise to television’s greatest conspiracy theory, weaving together Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, The X-Files, and a shared universe the shared-universe craze swept Hollywood. Certificate #6555.

  • June 16 · 1 hr 26 min

    Niagara Falls in a Barrel (Entry 836.PS4207)

    In which a Yankee leaper and a long line of hucksters and daredevils take their chances over an American landmark, and John reveals he doesn't have Incognito Mode turned on in his browser. Certificate #54642

  • June 9 · 50 min

    Nell Gwyn (Entry 557.GE2106)

    In which cartoonist and writer Emily Flake discusses chance encounters with Dan Rather, being denied entry to Turks and Caicos, and the namesake of Emily's St. Nell's Humor Writing Residency for Ladies. Certificate #863.

  • June 2 · 55 min

    The Astor Place Riot (Entry 76.PR2817)

    In which David Hyde (Blue City Blues, Seattle Nice) meets John in the bunker to discuss the 1849 Astor Place Opera House Riot and the welcome return of the timeless Ken-era art of razzing Canadians. Certificate #26694.

Showing 1–20 of 28 episodes