

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

Sep 3, 2020 • 1h 13min
Change of Gauge (Entry 206.LV2733)
In which the nightmarish complexity of the world's non-standardized rail systems is marveled at, and Ken hatches a zeppelin-related plan to resurrect Dame Agatha Christie. Certificate #48966.

Sep 1, 2020 • 1h
Dragnet (Entry 378.TI0301)
In which a single TV series builds the modern image of American police as righteous and efficient, despite much evidence to the contrary, and John uses its theme song in the bedroom. Certificate #35498.

Aug 27, 2020 • 1h 24min
The Duke of Anjou (Entry 386.EC0804)
In which we trace the convoluted, "kooky-wawa" genealogy that identifies the Spanish playboy banker who should be sitting the French throne, and John wants to be a ski-town sheriff. Certificate #24409.

Aug 25, 2020 • 1h 8min
Billboards (Entry 121.DA0403)
In which we study the history of oversized roadside advertising all the way from ancient Egypt to Blade Runner, and Ken is skeptical about yellow-and-green election posters. Certificate #50861.

Aug 20, 2020 • 1h 22min
German Telegrams (Entry 525.PR2606)
In which a century of German diplomacy is repeatedly hamstrung by their inept telegraphy-related decisions, and Ken has some notes about the poster for Jaws 2. Certificate #51969.

Aug 18, 2020 • 1h 26min
Marilyn vos Savant (Entry 1403.PR1401)
In which the dark days of the 1980s are brightened by the sudden appearance in Sunday newspaper supplements of the world's smartest person, and John tries to buy a mean t-shirt about Ken. Certificate #51993.

Aug 13, 2020 • 57min
George Washington's Teeth (Entry 524.JB4114)
In which the we learn that that story of America's most famous false teeth is upsetting for reasons that go way beyond dental pain, and Ken calls George Washington the ultimate NIMBY. Certificate #35120.

Aug 11, 2020 • 1h 2min
Lilith (Entry 721.LK1420)
In which puzzled medieval rabbis decide that it's not Adam and Eve—it's Adam and Lilith and Eve and Eve, and John wonders if anyone ate beets in the Garden of Eden. Certificate #14309.

Aug 6, 2020 • 1h 7min
Ronco (Entry 1081.MI0303)
In which a kitchen gadgeteer harnesses the power of late-night television to create a new American art form, the infomercial--but wait, there's more! Ken thinks music shouldn't come from a scarf. Certificate #32041.

Aug 4, 2020 • 1h 16min
Vesna Vulovic (Entry 1404.EC0410)
In which a stubborn Yugoslavian air hostess sets a world record by surviving a six-mile fall from the sky, and John misplaces the Carpathians. Certificate #33008.


