Seemingly Unrelated Podcast
Welcome to Seemingly Unrelated! Ever wonder why we do what we do every day? Seemingly Unrelated researches the overlooked corners of life and uncovers the surprising historical events that reveal how meaningful the mundane truly is. Join Dr. Andrew Johnstone and his co-host as they dive into the research behind the ordinary, uncovering the critical historical, social, and cultural events that shaped them. Along the way, they keep things lively, exploring the unexpected—and sometimes delightfully silly—connections that prove history isn't just serious business. Together, they tackle the profound implications of these links, asking whether our small actions hold real weight and if we possess the power to steer our collective impact. Along the way we'll also ask: How did Sperm Whales help re-elect Margaret Thatcher? Is the guy who invented CAPTCHA secretly Batman? Did Hello Kitty save people's lives? Did the NHS get its start from a whiskey distributor? These questions and more are answered in Seemingly Unrelated. Subscribe to both Free and Premium Bonus at seeminglyunrelatedpod.com! Seemingly Unrelated Podcast is owned and produced by Life's Little Murder Boards Ltd. Company number: SC852204 Goodpods Top 100 Humor Podcasts
Episodes
Or was it invented in Paris to fight a rat infestation? Or was it accidentally made in India when they ran out of tonic to serve with gin?
This month on the bonus episode of Seemingly Unrelated we are travelling all around the world to find out exactly who invented that sweet, bubbly, bev popular at all the Japanese vending machines but not with people who have arthritis.
Joining this month is our resident beverage expert and owner...
Or was it invented in Paris to fight a rat infestation? Or was it accidentally made in India when they ran out of tonic to serve with gin?
This month on the bonus episode of Seemingly Unrelated we are travelling all around the world to find out exactly who invented that sweet, bubbly, bev popular at all the Japanese vending machines but not with people who have arthritis.
Joining this month is our resident beverage expert and owner...
What if Nessie helped discover the influenza virus? Or if Bigfoot was a willing test subject on the futile quest to cure the common cold? It's a shame that mythical creatures can't really help us cure diseases...or can they?
On this month's bonus Seemingly Unrelated, guest presenter Phil W. Bayles will take us to the moon and back on the quest to find one cryptid that may have already saved your life...
Bibliography:
Branch, M.P. ...
And on the third day, the podcast rose again!
Apologies for the delay and also welcome to the belated March bonus episode of Seemingly Unrelated!
We are tackling two, yes TWO unrelateds that have to do with the very unexpected connects of popular food stuffs.
Joining Andrew this month is the season 3 crew fresh off of recording it is of course Alicia Britt and Producer Naomi!
Up first we tackle the outsized influence that Scotch wh...
Everything from secret government experiments on aliens, implanted memories of sisters being kidnapped, extremely convenient bees...all of the things that filled the stories of the X-Files came from a 30+ year tradition of paranormal documentary style TV shows before it.
But what real world trends inspired THOSE TV shows?
Joining us this month to find out is the creator of the Accentricity podcast and University of Glasgow lecturer...
Well...not entirely but...sort of?
Welcome back to Seemingly Unrelated, while the main feed is on hiatus the bonus feed is still racking up coins and smashing our heads inexplicably into floating bricks.
The full bonus episodes are available exclusively here on Patreon for the low price of $2/month sign up now to find out what Nintendo has to do with Arab oil cartels, tobacco giants, and the Yakuza themselves...
If you're coming from the free sample episode you can subscribe to the show here on Patreon for just $2 and get access to the rest of our talk about Christmas Island with Alice Fraser and also check her excellent work out by clicking on her name right there.
The year is coming to a close and for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere that means gets your booties on cos it's cold out there. But on the other side of the planet, it's ...
Welcome to the season finale of Seemingly Unrelated! We've managed 46 episodes so far and we'll be returning in March with season 3 (bonus eps continually monthly patreon.com/seeminglyunrelated )
To cap it off this festive season we'll be traveling to Japan where holidays like Christmas should seem to be unrelated already, but it gets even weirder. Why is there a Colonel Sanders dressed in a Santa Suit every December? What decidely...
Nothing is real...everything is permitted?
This month we are joined by Kobi Omenaka and Phil W. Bayles to explore three technologies we have always been told are objective and unimpeachable that maybe...never were?
That's right! Were the first photographs actually staged and edited using 19th century photoshop? Does the sound of Americans from before World War II actually come from a technical error and a blimp? What about those peo...
When you look at the back of the box of your favorite ready-to-eat meal, where does the list of macromolecules and daily requirements on the nutrition label come from? That's what we are going to find out this week on Seemingly Unrelated as we explore the unusually recent history of the nutrition label by asking: What did we do before we added these things in 1994? Why don't vitamins and minerals show up on every nutrition label? W...
!!ALERT ALERT!! GO TO THE KICKSTARTER FOR WHITE CAT ENTERTAINMENT RIGHT NOW THE FUND ENDS FRI 14 NOV !!ALERT ALERT!!
The gorilla enclosure seconds the motion to sanction the cave bats for their hoarding of fresh fruit resources. More like the Zoo-nited Nations amirite? I'll stop.
On this episode we are diving into the other controversial history behind zoos as explore the ways in which zoos and zoo animals have been used in internati...
In like...20 minutes that is going to make a lot more sense.
Michael is BACK twice this week because now the turns have been tabled and Andrew can rain Halloween mishaps all over the place.
Why did mummies become so popular as horror characters? It's really messed up. How long have dudes been walking around old buildings with cameras trying to "catch" ghosts? Why don't Boomers seem to understand that the creature in Frankenstein is...
It's the Seemingly Unrelated Spoooooktacular! We've got a terrifying and spinetingling episode for you this week as we look deep into the history of Witch iconography: the point hat, the broom, the black cat, not the nose though...the nose thing is just exactly what you think it is.
Our guide through this spectre of deeply problematic horrors is in fact Michael Johnstone from Walkie Talky Brewing who has to take the reigns because...
We're talking about the very real and physical place that is Hollywood, CA on this episode of Seemingly Unrelated. Why are the hills around Los Angeles filled with the rich and famous while the valleys are home to much more socio-economic diversity? Did film studios set up shop in Hollywood because of the weather? Has the 9th circuit court of appeals been holding back patent law for 150 years? Were the seeds of the Great Recession ...
At the time of this episode's release we are in the middle of a 10 day period of reflection and piety for the Jewish people. The window between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is known as the 'High Holidays' to many. So, we at Seemingly Unrelated want to take this confluence of events where the High Holidays overlap with an extra 3rd episode of the show inside of a calendar month to put the spotlight on these holidays.
What are the Hig...
This month we are doing something special and potentially piloting a new paid tier (if there is interest)
It is the first ever, Seemingly Unrelated Pub Quiz episode!
Before you listen check out the downloadable materials so you can play at home!
This month we are doing something special and potentially piloting a new paid tier (if there is interest)
It is the first ever, Seemingly Unrelated Pub Quiz episode!
Before you listen check out...
If it's 2 am in Denver Colorado and you've been out partying all night, where will you go to fill up on some fast food to tide you over? Well, if it's 1858 the answer is: oyster bars. This week on Seemingly Unrelated we are cracking open the shell that hides the secret history of the oyster asking big questions like: How dangerous were oyster beds to early European colonists? Why does anyone know about Altoona, PA? HOW much did the...
Up front this is just about which Europeans landed on the Americas first and set up shop. The actual answer beyond that is no one and there are many peoples and histories that populate both continents for millenia before any Europeans managed to cross the Atlantic (or vice-versa?).
Either way, we are digging into the major competing narratives about which White guys traveled where to get at the heart of the question: Who cares? Alo...
For our most loyal listeners, enjoy some absolute filth this month as we trace the Seemingly Unrelated stories behind many common swear words.
We manage to hit all the major hits by asking just a few simple questions such as: Does eating *** come from supressing peasant revolts? Which common bird ****s harder than the others? Which bull exactly does the **** come from? Also why are so many Russian horses wearing human coats?
How could the Three Little Pigs have stopped the most powerful military of the 1st century BCE? That's what we set out to explore on this episode of Seemingly Unrelated where we dive into the history of steel making, story telling, and how they connect the Battle of Carrhae with learning to code in Python.
Our guest co-host this week is puppeteer extoridanaire Alicia Britt!
We'll be asking the big questions this week like: How do y...
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