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The podcast where we choose a subject, read a single article about it on Wikipedia, and pretend we’re experts. Because this is the internet, and that’s how it works now.

The Fir-Tree - by Hans Christian Andersen 12/31/2025

The Fir-Tree - by Hans Christian Andersen "The Fir-Tree" (: Grantræet) is a by the Danish poet and author (1805–1875). The tale is about a so anxious to grow up, so anxious for greater things, that he cannot appreciate living in the moment. The tale was first published 21 December 1844 with "", in , in , by C.A. Reitzel. One scholar (Andersen biographer []) indicates that "The Fir-Tree" was the first of Andersen's fairy tales to express a deep pessimism. /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/39559390

Canals on Mars 12/24/2025

Canals on Mars During the , it was erroneously believed that there were "" on the planet . These were a network of long straight lines in the equatorial regions from 60° north to 60° south latitude on Mars, observed by using early telescopes without photography. They were first described by the Italian astronomer during the of 1877, and attested to by later observers. Schiaparelli called these canali (""), which was mistranslated into English as "canals". The Irish astronomer made some of the earliest drawings of straight-line features on Mars, although his drawings did not match Schiaparelli's. /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/39510285

Great Feasts 12/17/2025

Great Feasts The Field of the Cloth of Gold (: Camp du Drap d'Or, pronounced ) was a between King and King from 7 to 24 June 1520. Held at , between in and in the English , it was an opulent display of wealth by both kings. /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/39413765

Storm Chasers 12/10/2025

Storm Chasers National Geographic article on Storm Chasing called Chasing Tornadoes. /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/39224670

Robert Maxwell 12/03/2025

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak-born British and politician. Of , he escaped the and joined the during . He was decorated after active service in the . In subsequent years he worked in publishing, building up to a major academic publisher. After six years as a (MP) during the 1960s, Maxwell again put all his energy into business, successively buying the , and , among other publishing companies. /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/39224185

Collar Bomb Heist 11/26/2025

Collar Bomb Heist On August 28, 2003, pizza delivery man Brian Douglas Wells a near his hometown of , , United States. Upon being apprehended by police, Wells died when an locked to his neck detonated. The investigation into his death uncovered a complex plot described as "one of the most complicated and bizarre crimes in the annals of the FBI". /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/39151675

Penis Theft 11/19/2025

Penis Theft Koro is a delusional disorder in which individuals have an overpowering belief that their are retracting and will disappear, despite the lack of any true longstanding changes to the genitals. Koro is also known as shrinking penis, and was listed in the . /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/39064695

Balloon Fest 1986 11/12/2025

Balloon Fest 1986 Balloonfest '86 was a event in , , United States, held on September 27, 1986, in which the local chapter of set a by almost 1.5 million . The event was intended to be a harmless . However, the released balloons drifted back over the city and and landed in the surrounding area, causing problems for traffic and a nearby airport. In consequence, the organizers faced lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in damages, and cost overruns put the event at a net loss. /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/38982665

Nutmaxxing 11/05/2025

Nutmaxxing Mostly taken from this GQ article here: /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/38907275

Time travel claims and urban legends 10/29/2025

Time travel claims and urban legends Multiple accounts of people who allegedly have been reported by the press or circulated online. These reports have turned out to be either or else based on incorrect assumptions, incomplete information, or interpretation of fiction as . Many are now recognized as . /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/38744330

QAnon Shaman vs. USA et al 10/22/2025

QAnon Shaman vs. USA et al https://azdailysun.com/news/state-and-regional/qanon-shaman-files-40-trillion-lawsuit-against-trump-with-plan-to-revolutionize-america/article_5f4ad841-60ef-4060-9ff3-7f33d7ee4f0d.html /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/38720435

Bike Batman 10/15/2025

Bike Batman https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/biking/real-life-superhero-who-beats-cops-bike-thieves/ /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/38571085

Broadcast signal intrusion 10/08/2025

Broadcast signal intrusion A broadcast signal intrusion is the hijacking of signals of , , broadcast feeds or satellite signals without permission or . Hijacking incidents have involved local TV and radio stations as well as cable and national networks. /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/38491470

"Rube" Waddell 10/01/2025

"Rube" Waddell George Edward "Rube" Waddell (October 13, 1876 – April 1, 1914) was an American in (MLB). A , he played for 13 years, with the , , and in the , as well as the and in the . Born in , and raised in Prospect, Pennsylvania, Waddell was elected to the in . Waddell is best remembered for his highly behavior, and for being a remarkably dominant strikeout pitcher in an era when batters were expert at making contact. He had an excellent , a sharp-breaking , a , and superb control; his strikeout-to-walk ratio was almost 3-to-1, and he led the major leagues in strikeouts for six consecutive years. /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/38310750

History's Most Expensive Party 09/24/2025

History's Most Expensive Party The 2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire, officially known as the 2,500-year celebration of the Empire of Iran (: جشن‌های ۲۵۰۰ ساله شاهنشاهی ایران, : Jašn-hây-e 2500 sale’ šâhanšâhi Irân), was hosted by the in the in October 1971. Concentrated at , it consisted of an elaborate set of grand festivities that sought to honour the legacy of the , which was founded by in 550 BC. The event was aimed at highlighting and also showcasing the country's contemporary advances under , who had been reigning as the since 1941. The site brought sixty members of royalty and heads of state from abroad. /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/38310200

ChatGPT convinced a guy that he's a superhero 09/17/2025

ChatGPT convinced a guy that he's a superhero Over 21 days of talking with ChatGPT, an otherwise perfectly sane man became convinced that he was a real-life superhero. We analyzed the conversation. /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/38224665

Victorian Mummy Mania and Sundry Weirdness 09/10/2025

Victorian Mummy Mania and Sundry Weirdness Mummia, mumia, or originally mummy referred to several different preparations in the , from "mineral " to "powdered human ". It originated from mūmiyā "a type of resinous found in and used curatively" in , which was translated as pissasphaltus (from "pitch" and "asphalt") in . In , mūmiyā "bitumen" was into Latin as mumia meaning both "a bituminous medicine from Persia" and "mummy". Merchants in dispensed expensive mummia bitumen, which was thought to be an effective for many ailments. It was also used as an . /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/38152030

The Vasa 09/03/2025

The Vasa Vasa (previously Wasa) (Swedish pronunciation: ) is a Swedish built between 1626 and 1628. The ship sank after sailing roughly 1,300 m (1,400 yd) into her maiden voyage on 10 August 1628. She fell into obscurity after most of her valuable were salvaged in the 17th century, until she was located again in the late 1950s in a busy shipping area in harbor. The ship was salvaged with a largely intact hull in 1961. She was housed in a temporary museum called Wasavarvet ("The Vasa Shipyard") until 1988 and then moved permanently to the in the in Stockholm. Between her recovery in 1961 and the beginning of 2025, Vasa has been seen by over 45 million visitors. /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/38051540

Exxon Valdez 08/27/2025

Exxon Valdez The Exxon Valdez oil spill was a major that occurred in 's on March 24, 1989. The spill occurred when , an oil owned by , bound for , California, struck 's , 6 mi (9.7 km) west of at 12:04 a.m. The tanker more than 10 million US gallons (240,000 bbl) (or 37,000 ) of over the next few days. /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/37979915

How I Survived a Wedding in a Jungle That Tried to Eat Me Alive 08/20/2025

How I Survived a Wedding in a Jungle That Tried to Eat Me Alive https://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/essays/jungle-wedding/ /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/37860960

Olestra / Olean 08/13/2025

Olestra / Olean Olestra (also known by its brand name Olean) is a that adds no metabolizable calories to products. It has been used in the preparation of otherwise high-fat foods, thereby lowering or eliminating their fat content. The (FDA) approved olestra for use in the US as a replacement for fats and oils in prepackaged ready-to-eat snacks in 1996, concluding that such use "meets the safety standard for food additives, reasonable certainty of no harm".: 46399 In the early 2000s, olestra lost popularity due to supposed side effects and is largely phased out, but products containing the ingredient are available in some countries. /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/37759710

Pluto 08/06/2025

Pluto Pluto (: 134340 Pluto) is a in the , a ring of . It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the . It is the largest known by volume by a small margin, but is less massive than . Like other Kuiper belt objects, Pluto is made primarily of ice and rock and is much smaller than the . Pluto has roughly one-sixth the mass of the and one-third its volume. Originally considered a planet, its classification was changed when astronomers adopted a new . /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/37663445

Patreon Bonus Episode Teaser - July Bonus - My Immortal Fan Fiction 07/31/2025

Patreon Bonus Episode Teaser - July Bonus - My Immortal Fan Fiction This is a teaser episode of our Patreon Bonus Episode. This is the first few minutes of that particular episode to let non-patrons sample that content. You can become a patron here: /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/37624470

Defenestration 07/30/2025

Defenestration Defenestration (from de fenestrā) is the act of throwing someone or something out of a . The term was coined around the time of an in in the year 1618 which became the spark that started the . This was done in "good Bohemian style", referring to the defenestration which had occurred in Prague's almost 200 years earlier (July 1419), and on that occasion led to the . The word comes from the (down from) and (window or opening). By extension, the term is also used to describe the forcible or removal of an adversary. /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/37577455

Moving Day 07/23/2025

Moving Day Moving Day was a tradition in dating back to times and lasting until after . On February 1, sometimes known as "Rent Day", landlords would give notice to their tenants what the new rent would be after the end of the quarter, and the tenants would spend good-weather days in the early spring searching for new houses and the best deals. On , all leases in the city expired simultaneously at 9:00 am, causing thousands of people to , all at the same time. /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/37515205

Mark Twain 07/16/2025

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, , and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced", with calling him "the father of ". Twain's novels include (1876) and its sequel, (1884), with the latter often called the "". He also wrote (1889) and (1894) and cowrote (1873) with . The novelist claimed that "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn." /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/37426625

The Juniper Tree 07/09/2025

The Juniper Tree "The Juniper Tree" (also "The Almond Tree"; : Von dem Machandelboom) is a German published in by the in in 1812 (KHM 47). The story contains themes of , , and and is one of the Brothers Grimm's darker and more mature fairy tales. /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/37335095

Optograms and Wife Salves 07/02/2025

Optograms and Wife Salves Optography is the process of viewing or retrieving an optogram, an image on the retina of the eye. A belief that the eye "recorded" the last image seen before death was widespread in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was a frequent plot device in fiction of the time, to the extent that police photographed the victims' eyes in several real-life murder investigations, in case the theory was true. The concept has been repeatedly debunked as a method. /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/37250505

Charge of the Light Brigade 06/25/2025

Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a military action undertaken by British against Russian forces during the in the , resulting in many casualties to the cavalry. On 25 October 1854, the Light Brigade, led by , mounted a frontal assault against a Russian artillery battery which was well-prepared with excellent fields of defensive fire. The charge was the result of a misunderstood order from the commander-in-chief, , who had intended the Light Brigade to attack a different objective for which light cavalry was better suited, to prevent the Russians from removing captured guns from overrun Turkish positions. The Light Brigade made its charge under withering direct fire and reached its target, scattering some of the gunners, but was forced to retreat immediately. /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/37027875

The Barkley Marathons - The Immortal Horizon - Part 2 06/18/2025

The Barkley Marathons - The Immortal Horizon - Part 2 The Barkley Marathons is an held each year in in , United States. Described as "The Race That Eats Its Young", it is known for its extreme difficulty, purposefully difficult application process, and many strange traditions, having been completed only 26 times by 20 runners since 1995. /episode/index/show/citationpod/id/37027745

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