Episode Archive
592 episodes of Omnibus since the first episode, which aired on November 28th, 2017.
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Episode 206: Fern Fever (Entry 462.JB0816)
November 14th, 2019 | 57 mins 49 secs
In which Victorian England becomes obsessed with the beautiful fronds and sexy lifestyle of ferns, and John brings the Arts and Crafts movement to the grunge era. Certificate #31358.
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Episode 205: Porfirio Rubirosa (Entry 1087.1K1210)
November 12th, 2019 | 59 mins 10 secs
In which a Dominican diplomat cozies up to one of history's worst dictators, marries the two richest women in the world, and creates our modern image of the macho "Latin lover," and Ken tries to revive some slang from 1980s sex comedies. Certificate #41003.
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Episode 204: No-Fault Divorce (Entry 840.MK1009)
November 7th, 2019 | 1 hr 1 min
In which Ronald Reagan, of all people, introduces a new legal philosophy of marriage and divorce to America in 1970, though it takes New York forty years to catch up. Certificate #27256.
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Episode 203: Earth-Two (Entry 391.RV2101)
November 5th, 2019 | 1 hr 19 mins
In which a single 1961 comic book births a multiverse and reshapes our modern understanding of parallel dimensions in art as well as life, and John wistfully fantasizes about an honest Hitler. Certificate #46819.
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Episode 202: Faces of Death (Entry 447.JB1616)
October 31st, 2019 | 1 hr 17 secs
In which the "mondo" shock movie craze of the 1960s inspires a morbid megahit that turns out to be more hoax than documentary, and monkey brains make their big-screen debut. Certificate #41907.
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Episode 201: Haitian Zombies (Entry 561.ZC1412)
October 29th, 2019 | 57 mins 43 secs
In which the origins of America's favorite 21st-century horror trope are traced back to the miseries of Caribbean plantation slavery, which is a huge bummer, and John ponders the role of squash in the afterlife. Certificate #49964.
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Episode 200: Government Cheese (Entry 541.1S1718)
October 24th, 2019 | 1 hr 3 mins
In which an American dairy surplus and some dubious policy decisions creates a processed welfare staple of the Reagan era, and Ken reveals his favorite lunchmeat. Certificate #24553.
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Episode 199: Johnny Appleseed (Entry 060.SS0203)
October 22nd, 2019 | 50 mins 50 secs
In which one of America's great folk heroes is revealed as a Swedenborgian mystic, a land baron, and—to John's mind—a 19th-century weed dealer. Certificate #36692.
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Episode 198: The Gossamer Albatross (Entry 540.PS5506)
October 17th, 2019 | 1 hr 13 mins
In which humankind's dream of flying with the birds leads through all manner of weird ornithopters and flying bikes to a very low-altitude crossing of the English Channel, and John aces the Pepsi Challenge on a boat. Certificate #20913.
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Episode 197: The Texas Zombies (Entry 1292.MT2424)
October 15th, 2019 | 1 hr 3 mins
In which an unscrupulous Michigan music promoter dispatches fake versions of one of the great bands of rock's British Invasion, and John wages his own copyright battle against a legendary pioneer woman. Certificate #51274.
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Episode 196: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion (Entry 1000.ES0905)
October 10th, 2019 | 1 hr 18 mins
In which the chaos of Europe around 1900 produces a literary hoax that powers a century of anti-Semitism and conspiracy theories, and Ken shares his distrust of sports stadiums. Certificate #42869.
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Episode 195: How Many Angels Can Dance on the Head of a Pin? (Entry 603.RV0511)
October 8th, 2019 | 56 mins 34 secs
In which scholasticism gets roasted for its obsession with thorny, possibly pointless theological questions, and John explains the difference between escalator angels and hobo angels. Certificate #39095.