Episodes
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Episode 392: The Wave (Entry 1415.1K0814)
September 9th, 2021 | 1 hr 8 mins
In which the invention of a Bay Area cheerleader becomes science's most exhaustively studied stadium ritual, and Ken doesn't think harbor seals come in different colors. Certificate #4418.
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Episode 391: Middle Initials (Entry 786.LK0161)
September 7th, 2021 | 1 hr 7 mins
In which twentieth-century America becomes the only time and place in history when people drop letters into their names, and John renames himself in the phone book. Certificate #21831.
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Episode 390: The Great Diamond Hoax (Entry 548.MT1344)
September 2nd, 2021 | 1 hr 18 mins
In which a clever drillbit company accountant cons banking bigwigs into believing an acre of Wyoming is covered in precious gems, and Ken suggests a touching tribute to Paul Anka. Certificate #52348.
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Episode 389: The Chicago Seekers (Entry 213.RV0103)
August 31st, 2021 | 1 hr 27 mins
In which a failed Chicago flying saucer cult leads to a landmark study in social psychology, and John blames religious fervor on diet pills. Certificate #17854.
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Episode 388: The Fresnel Lens (Entry 501.1C1312)
August 26th, 2021 | 55 mins 37 secs
In which an efficient new piece of French glassware changes the history of lighthouses, and Ken learns the exact age of Discovery. Certificate #52246.
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Episode 387: Goodnight Moon (Entry 539.PR0324)
August 24th, 2021 | 59 mins 17 secs
In which a modernist Manhattan bohemian accidentally writes the great American bedtime story, and John regrets making his professor voice Austrian. Certificate #44141.
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Episode 386: The Mpemba Effect (Entry 813.JB3829)
August 19th, 2021 | 1 hr 4 mins
In which scientists from Aristotle up to modern-day Tanzania try to understand the paradoxical way water seems to freeze, and Ken thinks baseball should have cheerleaders. Certificate #25481.
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Episode 385: The Mafeking Cadet Corps (Entry 746.IS2903)
August 17th, 2021 | 1 hr 8 mins
In which a hero of the Second Boer War turns an ill-advised siege into a worldwide youth movement, and John isn't sure if one can tell time with a cannon. Certificate #31247.
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Episode 384: The Cuyahoga River Fire(s) (Entry 309.IS4302)
August 12th, 2021 | 1 hr 7 mins
In which the American government only gets serious about environmental cleanup after a river in Cleveland bursts into flame well over a dozen times, and Ken believes he could manufacture gravel. Certificate #12398.
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Episode 383: Fiji's Declaration of Independence (Entry 467.EC0306)
August 10th, 2021 | 58 mins 4 secs
In which a Pacific nation loses its founding document and has to ask nicely for a photocopy replacement, and John missed his chance at an assumed identity. Certificate #23621.
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Episode 382: The Oosik (Entry 868.GN0223)
August 5th, 2021 | 1 hr 58 secs
In which walrus genitals supply an important element to Alaskan folk art, and Ken will not inspect the underside of a wallaby. Certificate #45999.
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Episode 381: The Next Dalai Lama (Entry 836.MT0208)
August 3rd, 2021 | 1 hr 8 mins
In which the uninterrupted 600-year succession of Tibetan Buddhist leadership is threatened by political oppression, and John admires a hat that looks like a banana. Certificate #32762.