Items16The creator’s order
  1. 1You're Dead to MeYou're Dead to MeStart with The Egyptian Pyramids (about 53 minutes). Greg Jenner, Egyptologist Sarah Parcak, and comedian Maria Shehata spend the full episode on what it took to build them and what that work tells us about the people who did it. The historian and comedian have different jobs here, so you can enjoy…0
  2. 2The DollopThe DollopGive The Rube about an hour. Dave Anthony tells Gareth Reynolds the story of baseball pitcher Rube Waddell without warning him what the episode is about. Reynolds works with whatever detail has just arrived, so the punch lines can turn a brief detour into a whole scene. You can follow the oddball…0
  3. 3Oh What A Time...Oh What A Time...Surgery & Monkeys Eating Musical Instruments (Part 1) takes about 39 minutes and tells you a lot about how Elis James, Tom Craine, and Chris Scull work. They can make a wide subject feel approachable by finding the one detail you would never have thought to ask about. Try it when you like the sound…0
  4. 4Do Go OnDo Go OnNancy Wake - Do Go On Mini runs about 28 minutes and offers a quick way into the Melbourne trio's report-to-the-class format. The other hosts can interrupt with the question you were about to ask, or take a remark somewhere the prepared report never expected. The short version gives the story of…0
  5. 5Half-Arsed HistoryHalf-Arsed HistoryYou can fit The Dancing Plague of 1518, one of Riley Knight's shorter Quarter-Arsed History episodes, into about 17 minutes. The absurdity of the image is enough to draw you in, but the Strasbourg outbreak does not come with a tidy explanation. Try this if you like one host, a quick setup, and room…0
  6. 6Ridiculous HistoryRidiculous HistoryTry the roughly 36-minute edition of Napoleon Bonaparte Was Attacked by Bunnies (and Lost). Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown spend a whole conversation making sense of a punch line that seems to give itself away in the title. Pick this when you want an odd incident to carry an episode, with enough…0
  7. 7Sawbones (podcast)Sawbones (podcast)Start with The Poison Squad, about 36 minutes. Sydnee McElroy supplies the history of experiments on food preservatives, and Justin gives the baffled listener a voice when the story gets strange. Go here if you like jokes that come from understanding why somebody once thought a terrible idea was…0
  8. 8An Old Timey PodcastAn Old Timey PodcastThe Great Emu War! takes about 83 minutes. Give Kristin and Norman Caruso that time if you enjoy a long retelling where a military campaign against birds can interrupt itself to consider what counted as a success. This is a better pick for a trip than a quick walk if you want to hear the whole…0
  9. 9Shite Talk: An Irish History PodcastShite Talk: An Irish History PodcastKevin Larney and Jason Brennan are a good choice if you like local history with digressions. Start with Tayto (This is an episode about crisps), which gives an Irish snack about 89 minutes. A joke can run off the main road and make its way back when you least expect it.0
  10. 10The Constant: A History of Getting Things WrongThe Constant: A History of Getting Things WrongPick The Foolkiller Pt 1: Tears Falling From the Sky, at about 46 minutes, for a mysterious submarine pulled out of the Chicago River. Mark Chrisler keeps the humor in the narration and leaves the clues room to accumulate. It starts a five-part story, so this is the choice when you want an oddity…0