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.

The Grand DARPA Challenge (Entry 543.PS5507)

In which a government-backed desert race for unmanned vehicles ignites the technologies driving the autonomous future now creeping into our cities - with guest Andrew Miller. Certificate #49327

12-04
01:27:39

Jack Kirby’s Lost Art (Entry 688.DE2203)

In which Jack Kirby, a titan of American pop culture, confronts the disappearance of thousands of pages of his original comic art—and the battle over his place in creating modern pop culture guided by guest host Joseph J. Darowski. Certificate #43383

11-27
01:18:04

New York to Nome (Entry 835.AC2710)

In which two young Depression-era clerks break from their dull routines and embark on a canoe trip. Certificate #44688

11-21
01:46:36

(LIVE) New Coke (Entry 835.LK0538)

In which three well-meaning Atlanta executives accidentally announce their surrender in the cola wars, and Ken reads a letter. Certificate #38738.

11-13
01:31:19

Pneumatic Tubes (Entry 955.JN0308)

In which mail, cash, trash, passengers, burgers, and cats are sent zipping through vast networks on puffs of compressed air, and John would like to be sent a horny landscaper. Certificate #46257.

11-06
01:38:04

Management by Wandering Around (Entry 754.PS10740)

In which a Wyoming-educated economist gets big in Japan by inventing modern business theory, and Ken wants to be able to wince on a call. Certificate #36485.

10-30
01:28:58

The Spirit of Australia (Entry 1203.PS7716)

In which an power tools salesman builds the world's fastest boat in his Sydney backyard and somehow survives the experience, and John thinks it's funny to be accordion-shaped in the past. Certificate #16230.

10-23
01:32:46

Spam (Entry 1195.JB0607)

In which a Minnesota meat concern changes the face of world cuisine by passing their surplus pork shoulder off on hungry soldiers, and Ken imagines a pre-war Sir Mix-a-Lot. Certificate #53117.

10-16
01:23:17

The False Dmitrys (Entry 451.2K0428)

In which three or four pretenders decide to pass themselves off as a very convincingly killed Russian prince, and John realizes some jobs have dripping access. Certificate #51533.

10-09
01:44:56

Laugh Tracks (Entry 704.EC0202)

In which a mystery of Nazi propaganda, once solved, powers television sitcoms for decades to come, and Ken wonders about the least talented part of a guitarist. Certificate #37919.

10-02
01:34:50

The NATO Phonetic Alphabet (Entry 826.RV2213)

In which post-war science finally develops the perfect system for spelling things over radio and telephones, and John learns he has been misspelling a pretty famous play. Certificate #50168.

09-25
01:26:22

Muzak (Entry 820.1S1616)

In which a series of engineers, entrepreneurs, and classic TV producers discover that America wants gentle music piped into its public spaces, and Ken likes piña coladas and getting caught in the rain. Certificate #54082.

09-18
01:33:47

We Now Conclude Our Broadcast Day (Entry 1422.PS0305)

In which television stations spend decades signing off every night after the national anthem, and John likes to keep a stiff upper lip during Mormon TV ads. Certificate #31942.

09-11
01:28:04

The MGM Auction (Entry 783.JB2813)

In which wheeler-dealers and Debbie Reynolds pillage a priceless trove of movie treasure for pennies on the dollar, and Ken has never been in his own conference room. Certificate #38661.

09-04
01:36:03

Allan Bakke, M.D. (Entry 093.SS0510)

In which a Marine vet and NASA engineer changes the course of American public policy when he fails to get into medical school, and John has no pith. Certificate #29277.

08-29
01:33:09

Radioactive Boy (Entry 1026.JB4132)

In which a Detroit-area teen overachieves in Boy Scouts by trying to build a nuclear reactor in a potting shed, and Ken only wants capitalized toys. Certificate #50176.

08-21
01:47:41

Dollar Princesses (Entry 370.NU3603)

In which a generation of English peers and their sons look to fix their leaky castle roofs by marrying wealthy American "buccaneers," and John has never kidnapped anyone in Bulgaria. Certificate #33143.

08-14
01:43:05

Teddy Girls (Entry 1283.PR3122)

In which the dandyish vintage finds of postwar British teens set a blueprint for the rest of 20th-century youth fashion, and Ken keeps getting hit in the head by nose flutes on the bus. Certificate #13953.

08-07
01:17:45

The Integratron (Entry 650.SS0117)

In which a 700-year-old Venusian designs a mysterious whitewashed dome in the Mojave Desert, and John would like to change history at the mutiny on the Bounty. Certificate #13181.

07-31
01:25:17

Chemtrails (Entry 212.AM0407)

In which internet-era conspiracy theorists become convinced that jet contrails are weather control masterminded from Fairbanks, Alaska, and Ken thinks John sounds like a Muppet for exactly one syllable. Certificate #52946.

07-24
01:35:33

Coco

One of the funniest so far.

11-26 Reply

Coco

hilarious

11-25 Reply

Camille Denalli

Really great for a half host sign-off

11-22 Reply

Coco

49 minutes

10-18 Reply

Coco

South Dakota postcard

09-05 Reply

09-04

09-04

08-01

06-03

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03-20

03-16

10-28

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09-01

07-13

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07-09

06-29

06-16

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