Ridiculous History

During Europe's period of witchcraft hysteria, one enterprising (and failed) witch hunter sought to bolster his reputation by creating an authoritative text on the existence, discovery and persecution...

We’ve all been there, right? You wake up one day, and you say: “You know what? Forget work! It’s so nice outside. I want to put on a fancy hat, watch a bunch of horses run around in a circle, and gamb...

The 1990s were a time of chaos, aspiration, and, above all, ridiculous things. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max welcome returning guest Ross Benes, the author of 1999, for an in-depth exploration...

In 1814, a poor neighborhood in London fell victim to a strange, tragic and boozy disaster -- this calamity would eventually leave eight people dead. So what exactly happened? How could an entire neig...

As one of the most iconic games in all of arcade history, Pac Man is recognized across the planet. But how did it get here -- and why are there so many in-depth fan theories about what it means? Is Pa...

With nearly one thousand episodes out in the world over the years, Ben, Noel and Max realized they've never asked about the origin of the word "ridiculous." In this rollicking, cartoonishly meta episo...

What are your favorite children's books? In this Classic episode, Ben and the gang acknowledge Dr. Seuss is one of the most well-known writers on the planet. "Green Eggs and Ham", one of his most succ...

As Axis powers swarm across Europe in the lead-up to D-Day, a small group of scientists refuse to leave their lab, throwing a fair amount of modern ethics out the window (or the sub, if you like) as t...

Years after their initial conversation with the world's foremost expert on underwater explosions, Ben still sings the praises of Dr. Rachel "Big Spinach" Lance. In the first part of this special two-p...

Now, let's be honest. Rudyard Kipling was a cartoonishly problematic guy. Yet his work made a permanent impression on global literature -- and, to a surprising degree, he based a lot of his writing on...