

Omnibus
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 11, 2021 • 1h 15min
The Back of a Napkin (Entry 090.LK1920)
In which we study the long history of inspirations getting jotted down on scrap paper, and Ken learns he's too lively to be a rock musician. Certificate #44181.

May 6, 2021 • 1h 14min
Dagen H (Entry 313.EZ2116)
In which Sweden literally changes directions overnight, and John feels that the samurai spirit is all in the details. Certificate #30932.

May 4, 2021 • 1h 8min
Cholitas (Entry 218.1C1110)
In which a poltitical revolution in Bolivia produces a new wave of visibility for the nation's hat-wearing indigenous women, and Ken wonders which communist dictators were cuddly. Certificate #16179.

Apr 29, 2021 • 47min
Drywall (Entry 384.LV1442)
In which a new gypsum miracle product takes more than a century to replace lath-and-plaster walls in home construction, and John thinks lizards have ears. Certificate #35059.

Apr 27, 2021 • 1h 24min
America's Joan of Arc (Entry 040.2S1412)
In which a now-forgotten Quaker teenager becomes the most fiery and most famous woman orator of her time, and Ken has no idea if Norman Schwarzkopf is alive or dead. Certificate #44568.

Apr 22, 2021 • 1h 9min
The Bottle Conjuror (Entry 145.PS11983)
In which an aristocrat's private bet about gullible audiences leads to a 1749 theater riot, and John thinks Dick Cheney should have a podcast. Certificate #16793.

Apr 20, 2021 • 1h 12min
Mother Earth's Plantasia (Entry 810.1CH1633)
In which the Moog synthesizer and the "plant consciousness" movement of the 1970s produce a rare collector's item for lovers of weird music, and Ken refuses to buy his children reptiles. Certificate #27581.

Apr 15, 2021 • 1h 18min
The Tan Suit Controversy (Entry 1277.EZ3403)
In which the president wears beige to an August 2014 press conference, suddenly creating three or four new kinds of political discourse, each worse than the last. Certificate #35844.

Apr 13, 2021 • 1h 16min
Magic Eye (Entry 747.PR0425)
In which we trace two centuries of people being briefly interested in three-dimensional images, and John gets a bad case of "Intellivision thumb." Certificate #27012.

Apr 8, 2021 • 1h 1min
Rasputin (Entry 1031.MT2411)
In which a Siberian mystic gets so cozy with Russian royals that he ensures the success of the Bolshevik Revolution, and Ken wonders if he blinks the normal amount of times. Certificate #38899.


