

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

Mar 23, 2023 • 1h 22min
Kevlar (Entry 684.EX2822)
In which a pioneering chemist never sees a cent of the billions of dollars that her tough new polymer earns for her employer, and Ken wonders how many Alaskans fake their own deaths. Certificate #34836.

Mar 16, 2023 • 1h 24min
The Defector General (Entry 326.IS3301)
In which the greatest turncoat in Chinese history betrays every single warlord or government he ever serves, and John had the 4chan version of the '90s. Certificate #40824.

Mar 9, 2023 • 1h 8min
The Devils Hole Pupfish (Entry 342.PS10529)
In which a playful-looking but delicate little species is unable to thrive anywhere but its 11-foot wide home near Death Valley, and Ken witnesses a jellyfish tragedy. Certificate #41036.

Mar 2, 2023 • 1h 33min
The Sight and Sound Poll (Entry 1158.DE0413)
In which a British magazine very gradually takes over film culture with its once-every-decade top ten list, and John is careful not to endorse an invasion of the Sudetenland. Certificate #51403.

Feb 23, 2023 • 1h 21min
The Bhopal Disaster (Entry 118.JE2106)
In which a series of lapses at a Union Carbide India chemical plant leads to the worst industrial accident in history, and Ken can't get behind a midnight tea break. Certificate #52760.

Feb 16, 2023 • 1h 23min
The Osage Headrights (Entry 877.MT2508)
In which an Oklahoma tribe becomes the world's richest people before the swindling and the murders start, and John enjoys a web of intrigue. Certificate #47911.

Feb 9, 2023 • 1h 23min
The Voynich Manuscript (Entry 1403.DA0515)
In which a bizarrely illustrated codex baffles codebreakers for almost four hundred years, and Ken should not have sent that text about the collected works of Dickens. Certificate #42634.

Feb 2, 2023 • 1h 11min
Rhinos in Europe (Entry 1069.JB3910)
In which Europe is so besotted with exotic ungulates that Roman emperors battle them, artists engrave them badly, and salons honor them in wig form, and John asks about Ken's milk bags. Certificate #27983.

Jan 26, 2023 • 1h 10min
Cannikin (Entry 180.IS0219)
In which underground nuclear testing in Alaska leads two Jewish Quakers into a new age of direct action in environmental activism, and Ken is grateful for the air fryer. Certificate #53211.

Jan 19, 2023 • 1h 9min
The Royal Touch (Entry 1087.MT1902)
In which the divine right of kings, along with golden amulets, is considered the only cure for a disfiguring disease, and John considers which celebrities might be carved from wood. Certificate #22347.


