

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

Dec 8, 2020 • 1h 9min
B. Traven (Entry 1332.PR2502)
In which we trace at least four secret identities of the most reclusive novelist in literary history, and John gets a terrible fake ID from the fake ID store. Certificate #39453.

Dec 3, 2020 • 1h 7min
Dingbat Apartments (Entry 351.AC2830)
In which we learn why Los Angeles and other post-war American cities have tens of thousands of the same apartment complex, and Ken wonders where Philip Johnson's water heater is. Certificate #25380.

Dec 1, 2020 • 1h 12min
Ultrarunning (Entry 1357.IS4031)
In which a throwback British baronet (sort of) completes seven marathons on seven continents in seven consecutive days, and John runs like a rhinoceros. Certificate #20800.

Nov 26, 2020 • 1h 20min
The DeLorean Cocaine Bust (Entry 330.JB1810)
In which Detroit's first "cool" car executive almost goes to jail in an attempt to save his weird car and foundering company, and Ken says it's okay for kids to climb into refrigerators now. Certificate #36728.

Nov 24, 2020 • 1h 5min
Elizabeth Nietzsche (Entry 837.EX0204)
In which a Prussian schoolteacher's wife founds a failed anti-Semitic utopia in Paraguay and creates fascism's favorite philosopher, and John wants to keep Nazis off the Moon at all costs. Certificate #42582.

Nov 19, 2020 • 1h 10min
Cottagecore (Entry 283.ZP0206)
In which we look at the long history of romanticizing rural life, from the Enlightenment all the way up to today's Instagram lesbians, and Ken accuses Thoreau of "glamping." Certificate #45989.

Nov 17, 2020 • 1h 13min
The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon (Entry 088.MK1472)
In which we learn what causes the "frequency illusion" of recently learned facts immediately reappearing into view, and John has too many books on his bed for romance. Certificate #36846.

Nov 12, 2020 • 1h 21min
The Baader-Meinhof Gang (Entry 088.EZ2736)
In which far-left European terrorism of the 1970s produces West Germany's own Marxist-Leninist "Bonnie and Clyde," and Ken feels bad for that kissing nurse in Times Square. Certificate #26524.

Nov 10, 2020 • 1h 2min
The Cavendish Banana (Entry 197.JU0112)
In which we learn that the massive global banana export market is a precarious monoculture doomed to disaster because of a tiny fungus, and John thinks Sean Young might be a time traveler. Certificate #26039.

Nov 5, 2020 • 1h 11min
Wampum (Entry 1408.DE0206)
In which the intricate bead culture of the Eastern Woodlands tribes confuses new British and Dutch arrivals, and Ken refuses to let Thomas Jefferson make him be a farmer. Certificate #31448.


