Omnibus

An encyclopedic reference of strange-but-true stories compiled as a time capsule for future generations.

About the show

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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Episodes

  • Episode 290: Change of Gauge (Entry 206.LV2733)

    September 3rd, 2020  |  1 hr 15 mins

    In which the nightmarish complexity of the world's non-standardized rail systems is marveled at, and Ken hatches a zeppelin-related plan to resurrect Dame Agatha Christie. Certificate #48966.

  • Episode 289: Dragnet (Entry 378.TI0301)

    September 1st, 2020  |  1 hr 1 min

    In which a single TV series builds the modern image of American police as righteous and efficient, despite much evidence to the contrary, and John uses its theme song in the bedroom. Certificate #35498.

  • Episode 288: The Duke of Anjou (Entry 386.EC0804)

    August 27th, 2020  |  1 hr 23 mins

    In which we trace the convoluted, "kooky-wawa" genealogy that identifies the Spanish playboy banker who should be sitting the French throne, and John wants to be a ski-town sheriff. Certificate #24409.

  • Episode 287: Billboards (Entry 121.DA0403)

    August 25th, 2020  |  1 hr 8 mins

    In which we study the history of oversized roadside advertising all the way from ancient Egypt to Blade Runner, and Ken is skeptical about yellow-and-green election posters. Certificate #50861.

  • Episode 286: German Telegrams (Entry 525.PR2606)

    August 20th, 2020  |  1 hr 22 mins

    In which a century of German diplomacy is repeatedly hamstrung by their inept telegraphy-related decisions, and Ken has some notes about the poster for Jaws 2. Certificate #51969.

  • Episode 285: Marilyn vos Savant (Entry 1403.PR1401)

    August 18th, 2020  |  1 hr 30 mins

    In which the dark days of the 1980s are brightened by the sudden appearance in Sunday newspaper supplements of the world's smartest person, and John tries to buy a mean t-shirt about Ken. Certificate #51993.

  • Episode 284: George Washington's Teeth (Entry 524.JB4114)

    August 13th, 2020  |  1 hr 39 secs

    In which the we learn that that story of America's most famous false teeth is upsetting for reasons that go way beyond dental pain, and Ken calls George Washington the ultimate NIMBY. Certificate #35120.

  • Episode 283: Lilith (Entry 721.LK1420)

    August 11th, 2020  |  1 hr 3 mins

    In which puzzled medieval rabbis decide that it's not Adam and Eve—it's Adam and Lilith and Eve and Eve, and John wonders if anyone ate beets in the Garden of Eden. Certificate #14309.

  • Episode 282: Ronco (Entry 1081.MI0303)

    August 6th, 2020  |  1 hr 7 mins

    In which a kitchen gadgeteer harnesses the power of late-night television to create a new American art form, the infomercial--but wait, there's more! Ken thinks music shouldn't come from a scarf. Certificate #32041.

  • Episode 281: Vesna Vulovic (Entry 1404.EC0410)

    August 4th, 2020  |  1 hr 18 mins

    In which a stubborn Yugoslavian air hostess sets a world record by surviving a six-mile fall from the sky, and John misplaces the Carpathians. Certificate #33008.

  • Episode 280: Dutch Elm Disease (Entry 388.JL0112)

    July 30th, 2020  |  57 mins 46 secs

    In which America's forests and suburbs are ravaged by a strange invader brought by bark beetles, and Ken insists on comparing tree sap to mucus even though no one wants that. Certificate #27612.

  • Episode 279: Sister Cities (Entry 1165.AM0408)

    July 28th, 2020  |  1 hr 17 mins

    In which post-war trauma and idealism inspire world cities to try a new kind of diplomacy, and John has big plans for Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Certificate #39656.