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

September 25, 2025 84 mins
In which post-war science finally develops the perfect system for spelling things over radio and telephones, and John learns he has been misspelling a pretty famous play. Certificate #50168.
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In which a series of engineers, entrepreneurs, and classic TV producers discover that America wants gentle music piped into its public spaces, and Ken likes piña coladas and getting caught in the rain. Certificate #54082.
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In which television stations spend decades signing off every night after the national anthem, and John likes to keep a stiff upper lip during Mormon TV ads. Certificate #31942.
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September 4, 2025 94 mins
In which wheeler-dealers and Debbie Reynolds pillage a priceless trove of movie treasure for pennies on the dollar, and Ken has never been in his own conference room. Certificate #38661.
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August 28, 2025 91 mins
In which a Marine vet and NASA engineer changes the course of American public policy when he fails to get into medical school, and John has no pith. Certificate #29277.
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August 21, 2025 115 mins
In which a Detroit-area teen overachieves in Boy Scouts by trying to build a nuclear reactor in a potting shed, and Ken only wants capitalized toys. Certificate #50176.
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August 14, 2025 102 mins
In which a generation of English peers and their sons look to fix their leaky castle roofs by marrying wealthy American "buccaneers," and John has never kidnapped anyone in Bulgaria. Certificate #33143.
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August 7, 2025 72 mins
In which the dandyish vintage finds of postwar British teens set a blueprint for the rest of 20th-century youth fashion, and Ken keeps getting hit in the head by nose flutes on the bus. Certificate #13953.
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July 31, 2025 81 mins
In which a 700-year-old Venusian designs a mysterious whitewashed dome in the Mojave Desert, and John would like to change history at the mutiny on the Bounty. Certificate #13181.
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July 24, 2025 90 mins
In which internet-era conspiracy theorists become convinced that jet contrails are weather control masterminded from Fairbanks, Alaska, and Ken thinks John sounds like a Muppet for exactly one syllable. Certificate #52946.
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July 17, 2025 75 mins
In which some of the bankers who lost their shirts in the Great Depression find a cushy retirement in the Bronx instead of jumping out windows, and John will never say anyone isn't gay. Certificate #35727.
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July 10, 2025 78 mins
In which butter substitutes have to overcome scientific hurdles, dairy-friendly laws, and bad news about trans fats, and Ken thinks Germany is trying to control olive oil. Certificate #34384.
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July 3, 2025 85 mins
In which Poland's most famous exile partially returns to Warsaw to posthumously annoy both tsars and Nazis, and John's restaurant idea has some light cannibalism. Certificate #31277.
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In which today's cities face tough choices on how to guide urban behavior with incredibly uncomfortable-looking design features, and Ken would pee on a fly but not a bee. Certificate #19421.
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In which it takes decades for America to decide whether its civil war was an insurrection or an invasion, nomenclature-wise, and John walks very erratically on his orange shag carpet. Certificate #26478.
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In which six bored, Cambridge-connected bohemians con their way onto the British Empire's naval flagship by dressing as African royalty, and Ken thinks John is either Batman or a Karen. Certificate #19722.
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In which a crusading social psychiatrist drums up the moral panic that gets two mega-popular comic book genres banned from America's newsstands, and John agrees that punching Hitler is unmissable. Certificate #44894.
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In which it takes Europe over two thousand years to figure out that the greatest of the great apes is not just Carthaginian folklore, and Ken would like to be considered merciful. Certificate #46468.
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In which the popularity of "mourning bequeathments" and the death of the Prince Consort lead to an explosion of morbid family handicrafts, and John gives away the same piano twice. Certificate #50902.
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May 15, 2025 76 mins
In which a Honolulu teenager discovers a rusty bolt by the side of the road and changes the face of 20th-century music across multiple genres, and Ken is surprised to learn what Aerosmith, Paul Shaffer, and Harvard have in common. Certificate #35281.
Mark as Played

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Ken Jennings

Ken Jennings

John Roderick

John Roderick

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