Omnibus

In which Bob Crawford, author of America’s Founding Son: John Quincy Adams, from President to Political Maverick and bass player for The Avett Brothers, waxes on William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and an unfortunately named Peacemaker. Certificate #34343.

In which giant university marching drums, mythic African war drums, and even a Salvadoran bronze masterpiece take center stage — guided by Futureling Natalie Hudson. Certificate #31992.

In which Futureling Hugh Scott unpacks the saga of drifter, doctor, and self-declared president William Walker. Certificate #28903

In which Futureling Katie Tarara uncovers the surprising rise of a symbol of French celebration in the American Southwest. Certificate #31308

In which a lonely concrete pyramid in North Dakota uncovers the story of America’s ambitious—and short-lived—Cold War missile defense system, with guest Michael Milner. Certificate #1502

In which comedian Saul Henry discusses the global reach of Worcestershire sauce and regional British accents. Certificate #37300.

In which Futureling Robert educates John about Germany's all-time best-selling author—and fraudster—Karl May. Special appearance by Einstein. Certificate #23821.

In which Erin Dawson, a trans black metal musician who goes by the moniker Genital Shame, explores the nature of prank calls, their cultural significance, and Longmont Potion Castle. Certificate #50858.

In which writer and podcaster Grant Brisbee reveals the history of baseball's worst stadium. Special appearance by Richard Nixon and The Beatles. Certificate #31484.

In which various crackpots and Russians decide that three hundred years of the European "dark ages" simply didn't happen, and Ken doesn't want his eulogy to be vague. Certificate #22651.

In which author, music executive and host of the Identified podcast Nabil Ayers discusses selling used CDs, The Terminator, The Drum Doctor and more. Certificate #48391.

In which Linus Chan explores American citizenship, the law, and the long shadow of the Missouri Compromise. Certificate #24581.

In which Futureling Kate tells John about the rise, fall, and attempted revival of a millennial obsession. Certificate #30063.

In which Futureling Richard Stephens tells of the rapid rise of a Revolutionary general through the military ranks, the challenges he faced as a person of color in a predominantly white society, and the decline of his legacy under Napoleon’s regime. Certificate #40773.

In which a WWII fighter plane crashes on a Greenland ice sheet in 1942 and is painstakingly recovered and restored by a pilot over two decades. Certificate #25573.

In which a politician is banished to Singapore’s theme-park island, recounted by Nathan Jennings. Certificate #41799

In which the illegitimate son of a Cornish housekeeper rises to the top of the British Museum Egyptology department. Featuring futureling and the host of the podcast Books of All Time Rose Judson. Certificate #43419.

Wherein dozens of Orca were kidnapped in an unspeakable scene and Christopher didn’t bring a laptop (and John didn’t have a camera yet). Certificate #41344.

In which a plucky immigrant "printer's devil" creates a newspaper that puzzles and pays off generations of young American boys, and John avoids a chainsaw duel. Certificate #31682.

In which a government-backed desert race for unmanned vehicles ignites the technologies driving the autonomous future now creeping into our cities - with guest Andrew Miller. Certificate #49327

In which Jack Kirby, a titan of American pop culture, confronts the disappearance of thousands of pages of his original comic art—and the battle over his place in creating modern pop culture guided by guest host Joseph J. Darowski. Certificate #43383

In which two young Depression-era clerks break from their dull routines and embark on a canoe trip. Certificate #44688

In which three well-meaning Atlanta executives accidentally announce their surrender in the cola wars, and Ken reads a letter. Certificate #38738.

In which mail, cash, trash, passengers, burgers, and cats are sent zipping through vast networks on puffs of compressed air, and John would like to be sent a horny landscaper. Certificate #46257.

In which a Wyoming-educated economist gets big in Japan by inventing modern business theory, and Ken wants to be able to wince on a call. Certificate #36485.

In which an power tools salesman builds the world's fastest boat in his Sydney backyard and somehow survives the experience, and John thinks it's funny to be accordion-shaped in the past. Certificate #16230.

In which a Minnesota meat concern changes the face of world cuisine by passing their surplus pork shoulder off on hungry soldiers, and Ken imagines a pre-war Sir Mix-a-Lot. Certificate #53117.

In which three or four pretenders decide to pass themselves off as a very convincingly killed Russian prince, and John realizes some jobs have dripping access. Certificate #51533.

In which a mystery of Nazi propaganda, once solved, powers television sitcoms for decades to come, and Ken wonders about the least talented part of a guitarist. Certificate #37919.

In which post-war science finally develops the perfect system for spelling things over radio and telephones, and John learns he has been misspelling a pretty famous play. Certificate #50168.

In which a series of engineers, entrepreneurs, and classic TV producers discover that America wants gentle music piped into its public spaces, and Ken likes piña coladas and getting caught in the rain. Certificate #54082.

In which television stations spend decades signing off every night after the national anthem, and John likes to keep a stiff upper lip during Mormon TV ads. Certificate #31942.

In which wheeler-dealers and Debbie Reynolds pillage a priceless trove of movie treasure for pennies on the dollar, and Ken has never been in his own conference room. Certificate #38661.

In which a Marine vet and NASA engineer changes the course of American public policy when he fails to get into medical school, and John has no pith. Certificate #29277.

In which a Detroit-area teen overachieves in Boy Scouts by trying to build a nuclear reactor in a potting shed, and Ken only wants capitalized toys. Certificate #50176.

In which a generation of English peers and their sons look to fix their leaky castle roofs by marrying wealthy American "buccaneers," and John has never kidnapped anyone in Bulgaria. Certificate #33143.

In which the dandyish vintage finds of postwar British teens set a blueprint for the rest of 20th-century youth fashion, and Ken keeps getting hit in the head by nose flutes on the bus. Certificate #13953.

In which a 700-year-old Venusian designs a mysterious whitewashed dome in the Mojave Desert, and John would like to change history at the mutiny on the Bounty. Certificate #13181.

In which internet-era conspiracy theorists become convinced that jet contrails are weather control masterminded from Fairbanks, Alaska, and Ken thinks John sounds like a Muppet for exactly one syllable. Certificate #52946.

In which some of the bankers who lost their shirts in the Great Depression find a cushy retirement in the Bronx instead of jumping out windows, and John will never say anyone isn't gay. Certificate #35727.

In which butter substitutes have to overcome scientific hurdles, dairy-friendly laws, and bad news about trans fats, and Ken thinks Germany is trying to control olive oil. Certificate #34384.

In which Poland's most famous exile partially returns to Warsaw to posthumously annoy both tsars and Nazis, and John's restaurant idea has some light cannibalism. Certificate #31277.

In which today's cities face tough choices on how to guide urban behavior with incredibly uncomfortable-looking design features, and Ken would pee on a fly but not a bee. Certificate #19421.

In which it takes decades for America to decide whether its civil war was an insurrection or an invasion, nomenclature-wise, and John walks very erratically on his orange shag carpet. Certificate #26478.

In which six bored, Cambridge-connected bohemians con their way onto the British Empire's naval flagship by dressing as African royalty, and Ken thinks John is either Batman or a Karen. Certificate #19722.

In which a crusading social psychiatrist drums up the moral panic that gets two mega-popular comic book genres banned from America's newsstands, and John agrees that punching Hitler is unmissable. Certificate #44894.

In which it takes Europe over two thousand years to figure out that the greatest of the great apes is not just Carthaginian folklore, and Ken would like to be considered merciful. Certificate #46468.

In which the popularity of "mourning bequeathments" and the death of the Prince Consort lead to an explosion of morbid family handicrafts, and John gives away the same piano twice. Certificate #50902.

In which a Honolulu teenager discovers a rusty bolt by the side of the road and changes the face of 20th-century music across multiple genres, and Ken is surprised to learn what Aerosmith, Paul Shaffer, and Harvard have in common. Certificate #35281.

In which a famed monastic tradition is revealed to be a modern misunderstanding of the chattiness of religious life, and Ken does not want to know what a Robot Guitar really is. Certificate #38497.

In which an ancient Chinese game of intransitive balance changes the world as both a children's pastime and a decision-making method, and John has the candy tastes of a pioneer child. Certificate #23611.

In which the documentary films of the Arctic are revealed to be full of lies, leading to one misunderstood rodent, and John thinks about a vole in a bowl. Certificate #25575.

In which North Korea jump-starts its fledgeling monster movie industry by literally kidnapping talent from across the DMZ, and Ken was distracted by skateboarding. Certificate #37139

In which the measurement of spires and skyscrapers becomes a source of architectural squabbles and global prestige, and John hides in the forest with a guitar. Certificate #51591.

In which the planners of the third modern Olympics scour the globe hoping to populate a human zoo and maybe make the exhibits do sports, and Ken thinks the periodic table needs some work. Certificate #53289.

In which an Italian workman creates a cultural icon when he attempts to repatriate a Renaissance masterpiece from the laxly secured Louvre, and John upstages Ken's sturgeon. Certificate #35100.

In which the tanning industry invents a fancy-sounding term for one of its worst grades of leather, and Ken learns his childhood jacket may have had epaulets. Certificate #46978.

In which five adorable and identical Franco-Ontarians become an international sensation and then wards of the state, and John doesn't know what to call the bulb of Canada. Certificate #31042.

In which the first great sporting fad of the 19th century springs from great feats of British walking, and Ken isn't sure how to use protozoa as a metaphor for time. Certificate #21218.

In which Hollywood's greatest case of sibling rivalry begins with a swimming pool injury and ends at the Oscars, and John rediscovers pop music thanks to the Queeb. Certificate #30747.

In which we celebrate the post-Valentine's season by looking back at the sleazy 1970s when adult films briefly became mainstream chic, and Ken avoids a Y2K for his marriage. Certificate #25369.

In which a veiled, fume-huffing priestess tells the ancient world what to do for over a millennium, and John only knows what time it is from his truck clock. Certificate #25192.

In which a Disneyland-trained dreamer invents a new art form with the help of a cookie entrepreneur and a jellybean innovator, and Ken has a theory about the worst balloon vendors. Certificate #32691.

In which an inescapable awards-season acronym is jump-started twenty-five years earlier by an eccentric TV cop actor and a pop reference book, and John's family would like to kick in hotel room doors. Certificate #42952.

In which an Atlanta pastor changes his name after a very inspiring visit to Germany and begins an American civil rights dynasty, and Ken gets to make a chart. Certificate #45274.

In which scientists and paranormal investigators puzzle over a string of mysterious deaths beginning with a "dull and heavy" Italian countess, and John learns about the peat of the Maldives. Certificate #40714.

In which British investors power the Industrial Revolution with arguably too many waterways for the nation's barges, and Ken thinks escalators are not cheating. Certificate #27217.

In which a solar storm in 1859 leads to eye-popping auroras and a harboring of technological doom, and John compares gold pan and pizza sizes. Certificate #54094.

In which the childhood Christmas tradition of two Georgia twins becomes a cultural tug-of-war over surveillance psychology, and Ken is going to buy a light blue tree. Certificate #45509.

In which astronauts and cosmonauts smuggle sandwiches, golf clubs, harmonicas, collectibles, and ashes into orbit, and John wants to blow bubbles on the Moon. Certificate #54825.

In which a Cantonese restaurant in San Franciscos's Chinatown spreads American revolving-table technology worldwide, and Ken wonders how long it takes to get sick of a musician in your spare bedroom. Certificate #43576.

In which ancient sorcery, changeling myths, and Edwardian fads combine to create America's only homegrown childhood rite of passage, and John's dentist turns teeth into boats. Certificate #19230.

In which telephone users once had access to a surprising array of helpful and informative services, and Ken got rid of his landline to spite Al-Qaeda. Certificate #26038.

In which an ancient linguistic and religious practice becomes a jaunty, ambulatory musical form before falling into decline, and John does not want to see condors in a hospital. Certificate #45133.

In which centuries of sterilization-happy doomsayers fail to predict a game-changing revolution in wheat, and Ken thinks Pakistan wants John to clean out his fridge. Certificate #2037.

In which dozens of national sleeping guys with long beards wait in caves for their countries to need them again, and John thinks Tom Cruise should not be in a courtyard. Certificate #53610.

In which conservative Sun Belt retirees and progressive urbanists agree on a nostalgic but radical revolution in city design, and Ken does a Norman Rockwell impression. Certificate #34959.

In which a Thracian slave from two thousand years earlier becomes a proletarian role model and Communist sports hero, and John prefers action stars with boogers. Certificate #37084.

In which the long war between alternating and direct current produces power outlets that multiply nto a dizzying world of configurations, and Ken needs a grounding prong. Certificate #29673.

In which Scottish clans each choose a distinctive plaid based on a romantic Highland history that didn't really happen, and John takes a hard hit while playing Frisbee in a skirt. Certificate #26624.

In which a constitutional change finally happens after a two-hundred-year delay just to spite one Texas poli sci professor, and Ken likes it when scriveners get away scot-free. Certificate #43079.

In which the toy market is revolutionized by a faddish stuffed animal that would be priceless today if it hadn't disappeared, and John buys the concept of a rabbit. Certificate #24398.

In which the great Mediterranean civilizations of the late Bronze Age collapse virtually overnight due to some mysterious visitors, and Ken knows a lot about white broccoli. Certificate #9795.

In which Melanesian eco-revolutionaries fight off helicopter gunships with literal slingshots and homemade diesel, and John makes a shocking announcement about all scientists. Certificate #54146.

In which a curd-heavy side from central Quebec belatedly becomes the national dish of a land with no real national cuisine, and Ken learns so much about Sacramento culture. Certificate #30037.

In which a secret society of plucky Civil War veterans hatches a plan to return Ireland to the Irish by—wait for it—invading Canada, and John doesn't think the people who sold him wine coolers actually exist. Certificate #12129.

In which even the most hated typeface in the history of desktop publishing has its defenders, and Ken isn't sure why he owns cargo shorts. Certificate #54861.

In which a flirty but forgotten Tin Pan Alley song leads to the first great moral panic in pop music history, and John sneakily borrows someone else's shanty town. Certificate #12960.

In which a state politician's lack of badminton equipment leads to the invention of the hottest sport of the 21st century, and Ken is slightly present. Certificate #42131.

In which researchers squabble for centuries about the secret ingredient that made one Cremonese craftsman the greatest musical instrument-maker of all time, and John seasons guitars under a bus. Certificate #36611.

In which a king agrees to hand over his seventh-best island in the hopes of creating a haven for his native Hawaiian language and culture, and Ken does not want to greet Zach. Certificate #43273.

In which the last universal physicist demonstrates to his students that ballpark estimates in math can be as powerful as precision, and John isn't sure if Romanians can count tomatoes. Certificate #46480.

In which an ill-advised utopian scheme to bypass Niagara Falls becomes America's first toxic waste catastrophe, and Ken knows the main thing that water does. Certificate #42025.

In which the great gourmet food of 19th-century "frolics" suddenly disappears from American menus, and John thinks humankind often looks to weasels. Certificate #32793.

In which the tragic death of a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo launches a tidal wave of viral content on social media, and Ken explains bad table manners as an accident of birth. Certificate #23616.

In which the most notorious convict in America attempts no fewer than four separate escapes from the Alcatraz of the Cumberland Mountains, and John would never disparage the banjo. Certificate #1746.

In which a mysterious outbreak of "glass pox," possibly a result of nuclear testing, hits the Pacific Northwest, and Ken doesn't think Sherlock Holmes knows any teenagers. Certificate #40197.

In which the Yoruba people of Nigeria create a new kind of "speech surrogacy" for news and storytelling using a versatile percussion section, and John only needs two pedals to get to Sounds-Like-Garbage-Land. Certificate #51913.

In which a polar expedition builds a massive RV to road-trip around Antarctica but brings the wrong tires, and Ken wonders if admirals like sexy calendars. Certificate #23408.

In which the earliest discoverers of electricity disagree on whether it helps flowers, turnips, and myrtle shrubs to grow, and John punishes himself with sprouts. Certificate #27338.

In which a clue-filled dead body appears on a beach in Adelaide, Australia, sparking a tantalizing 75-year mystery, and Ken is not a team of seventh graders. Certificate #35821.

In which the collapse of the video rental industry sends one valuable and eccentric archive to an obscure and disaster-plagued town in western Sicily, and E. coli is no match for John. Certificate #43318.

In which a mysterious World War II inscription marries image and text to create the modern meme, and Ken does not think gangrenous limbs are a meme. Certificate #25622.

In which the bountiful gifts of American advice columnists include a now-ubiquitious happy afterlife for pets, and John might lose a swordfight because he's too heavy for a chandelier. Certificate #29810.

In which a self-crowned prince founds his own nation on a tiny piece of concrete in the North Sea, complete with commando raids, and Ken is only in favor of 3-D awards. Certificate #6611.

In which a village pastime for Sussex dairymaids gets urbanized into an exciting neighborhood pick-up sport in American inner cities, and John wants to pick the bittle up. Certificate #13472.

In which attempts to replace petrochemical plastic with corn and sawdust face fatal challenges of scale and efficiency, and Ken has never made a Prius. Certificate #32944.

In which the influence of spinet pianos and telegraph keys produces a satisfying new device interface for the electric age, and John thinks aliens just want a cuddle. Certificate #42007.

In which the development of guardrail and concrete divider technology makes highway driving massively safer over the decades, and Ken lies under oath in a deposition. Certificate #40991.

In which twenty-four bishops refuse to open the secret prophecies that will save Britain from war and banditry, and John wants to be called "Dicebox." Certificate #49596.

In which car registration numbers become modes for personalized creative expression and eventually a multimillion-dollar commodity, and Ken does not say "auto." Certificate #37808.

In which centuries of inaccurate illustrations of our planet are abruptly upended by satellites and awestruck astronauts, and John never drew spaceships, just Japanese fighter planes. Certificate #35817.

In which budget-conscious Swedes rearrange American ideas about nutritious eating, and Ken is pretty sure M&Ms are not getting smaller. Certificate #54063.

In which we celebrate 167 years of Americans being able to claim any island they like as long as it has enough bird poop on it, and John thinks you can dip a pole in liberty. Certificate #39867.

In which a remote part of Idaho solves its beaver dam problem with some surplus parachutes and an even more remote part of Idaho, and Ken applies the transitive property to mules and culverts. Certificate #31297.

In which German health nuts give the world the idea of social nude recreation before the Nazis can tell them not to, and John thinks of something that is better than itching. Certificate #53668.

In which the ponds of New England become the wellspring of a new worldwide web of perishable foods, and Ken learns that gum is a forest treat. Certificate #23725.

In which the estate of the century's greatest scientist becomes a $200 million enterprise even as his brain tissue languishes in a cider box, and John compares it to pastrami. Certificate #21917.

In which a ski bum with dad jokes explores new frontiers of film distribution and extreme sports, and Ken is a water machine. Certificate #48941.

In which the rift between two Communist dictators leads to a blooming of mariachi culture in the fertile soil of the Balkans, and John is baffled by Vietnamese karaoke. Certificate #46465.

In which the smartest people in the world bloom early but often struggle to live up that promise later in life, and Ken's phone thinks he lives at the zoo. Certificate #50285.

In which a late-night Christmas party in a West Point barracks gets out of hand, almost changing the course of the Civil War, and John is not anti-Julius. Certificate #32683.

In which tensions over slavery and its westward expansion boil over into an assault on the floor of the United States Senate, and Ken does not have a single cloak. Certificate #46116.

In which governments around the world deliberate on how creatively parents may name their children, and John thinks "Tilden" sounds like a kind of cheese. Certificate #26934.

In which the world's overfished oceans begin to teem with a sudden surplus of ancient and puzzling invertebrates, and Ken just wants sex tourists not to pee on his bunion. Certificate #23757.

In which a teenaged slacker from Sedona with a love for llamas jump-starts the digital music age, and John explains why large people prefer old things. Certificate #38550.

In which the successor to one of the great medieval bridges is shipped to the Arizona desert by an American tycoon, and Ken is skeptical about product placement in slasher movies. Certificate #28472.

In which a science fiction-loving professor dreams of conquering death with the cold, hard science of low-temperature preservation, and John just wants to be a brain with a nose. Certificate #48643.

In which evangelical Christians wrestle with the problem of whether rock music is inherently good, evil, or neither. and Ken wonders about angel monkeys. Certificate #34822.

In which the rituals of Masonry and its more casual offshoots produce a "golden age of fraternalism" for American men, and John is discomfited by noisy day care teachers. Certificate #35320.

In which the remains of a useless Nazi "chandelier" unexpectedly emerge in Maryland and Washington, and Ken thinks about Bilbo Baggins too late. Certificate #35410.

In which the legend of feral children is traced from ancient mythology all the way up to Smurfs and Russian street dogs, and John cannot recommend the Madrid Zoo. Certificate #22714.

In which an adman who survived Nazi and Soviet invasions goes on to reinvent gay eroticism, and Ken wonders which Founding Father looked best naked. Certificate #7136.

In which a ghost-written memoir explains how a great British stage magician defeated Rommel in North Africa with his trickery, and John considers saying "Abracadabra" as a swear. Certificate #37883.

In which a perfect storm of construction, coal mining, and Communist commemoration creates twelve days of gridlock in central China, and Ken imagines an ancient Roman in a stadium parking garage. Certificate #34985.

In which one Canadian newsman convinces America for several decades that daily drinking is the key to solving the "French Paradox," and John thinks Ken looks inhibited holding a spatula. Certificate #13766.

In which Japanese soldiers, unwilling to believe that World War II is over, hold out for decades on islands all over the Pacific, and Ken will never give up on bar soap. Certificate #44164.

In which a nationwide panic over "stranger danger" turns regional dairies into activists for missing children, and John likes when things are "de minimis." Certificate #25468.

In which the world's first nuclear-powered merchant vessel is launched in all its modernist glory, and Ken wants an infinitely long ship. Certificate #26615.

In which the three nascent American broadcast networks face a challenge from a scrappy engineering lab, and John thinks gadgeteers should be certified. Certificate #28450.

In which the "behavioral sink" of rodent utopias is discovered in a Maryland barn, and Ken sings about a urinal trough. Certificate #38792.

In which Sufi mysticism inspires a Bolivian philosopher to divide all of humanity into nine personality types, and Ken visualizes the ur-cow. Certificate #25935.

In which a panel of concerned atomic scientists quantify the dangers of the nuclear age with a timely visual aid, and John's mother has a favorite fact about Benjamin Franklin. Certificate #26973.

In which a medieval pope's disturbing nightmare leads to the addition of "baby doors" at convents and hospitals across Europe, and John thinks robots could replace orphans. Certificate #43431.

In which a Yemeni construction crew finds a priceless trove of Quranic literature and promptly stuff it into potato sacks, and Ken would like to burn some French translators at the stake. Certificate #24503.

In which a unique piece of Jewish medieval art barely survives two European wars, and John imagines that the Venetian papal censor was a chill guy. Certificate #48606.

In which California's largest lake, created by accident in 1905, teeters on the brink of collapse, and Ken complains about a hotel sink. Certificate #44008.

In which an asthmatic British cartoonist sells two million copies of his books of non-jokes for cat skeptics, and John knows what the handle of a gun is called. Certificate #29573.

In which a Shakespearean insult for an obnoxious blowhard comes to be used as an anti-white slur, and Ken wants to test the Appalachians for testosterone. Certificate #38163.

In which a QAnon-like conspiracy theory insists that fancy 19th-century architecture was all built by a mysterious, long-lost superstate, and John is concerned about neighborhood dogs with heads the size of pumpkins. Certificate #20354.

In which a vast hoard of gold and diamonds disppears near the Mozambique border during the Boer War, and Ken thinks most penguin species look like hoboes. Certificate #15845.

In which Latin America's first Marxist democracy tries to collectivize the means of production by inventing a proto-internet in 1970, and John just hopes it was orange and brown. Certificate #53432.

In which the pilots of a Canadian commercial jetliner abruptly realize over Ontario that they're entirely out of fuel, and Ken likes sad character licensing attempts at amusement parks. Certificate #41746.

In which German university students create a new status symbol when they add swordplay to their drinking society meetings, and John's closet skeletons are all bar fights. Certificate #36857.

In which generations of New Yorkers read about, and lasso, a series of not-legendary-at-all interlopers beneath their city, and Ken doesn't think you should trim a reptile like a bonsai tree. Certificate #36161.

In which a self-proclaimed electronics prodigy from Greece wows the credulous Beatles with five years of inventions he will never invent, and John insists that his recursive t-shirt feature Wil Wheaton. Certificate #45939.

In which a future three-time Oscar winner becomes the nemesis of America's favorite fake swamp-rocker, and Ken has prepared a little skit about the death of Stalin. Certificate #42240.

In which underslept Wyoming railroad workers strike back against a tide of pushy brush and encyclopedia salesmen, and John appreciates the Jehovah's Witnesses. Certificate #12881.

In which the unsavory feeding practices of British dairy farms introduce Europe to a new degenerative brain disease, and Ken believes Prince Edward is not necessarily human. Certificate #41602.

In which mediums and other charlatans wage a 150-year war with their sworn enemy, elite stage magicians, and John would never yell at a lake or birdbath. Certificate #44722.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In which a rare oxidized form of hemoglobin changes the skin color of a whole holler full of Kentuckians, and Ken wonders when elves got plastic surgery. Certificate #26015.

In which the world's first cultural superpower decides to make all its citizens a year or two younger overnight, and John could not have been a better baby. Certificate #38756.

In which a colorful newcomer to San Francisco loses a fortune on Peruvian rice and declares himself American royalty, and Ken would have pixelized Kiss. Certificate #42631.

In which a future music megastar bridges the gap between rock and hip-hop with one ambitious, illegal remix album, and John is such a good ally that he listened to Suzanne Vega. Certificate #19205.

In which a western religious holiday becomes a romantic poultry-eating occasion in modern Japan, and Ken destroys all his Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts. Certificate #24940.

In which an emperor convenes the first ever ecumenical council to figure out just whom Christians have been worshiping all this time, and John thinks the invention of the wheel led to mass depravity. Certificate #23027.

In which a national campaign to eradicate a misunderstood predator from the United States very nearly succeeds, and Ken would like to see John James Audubon burning in a pit. Certificate #52363.

In which utility companies take it upon themselves to provide the informational staple of every 20th-century household, and John is looking for a missing Jordanian. Certificate #48730.

In which a Finnish architect upgrades the prefab, modular homes of the 1960s by turning them into flying saucers, and Ken wants to know his table's name. Certificate #49729.

In which southeastern Arizona is menaced by a giant, murderous cryptid with a macabre rider, and John conjures up Mr. Clickety-Clack. Certificate #45334.

In which a man who can't find his golf balls solves every law enforcement problem known to man, and Ken has some bad news about parking tickets. Certificate #21137.

In which an earthenwork dam enjoyed by millionaires fails and a town of steelworkers disppears from the map, and John is terrified by the menace of West Virginia. Certificate #33180.

In which one lonely cosmonaut is left in space while his nation disappears from under him, and Ken thinks couples therapy should be about Mars. Certificate #35916.

In which a bored Phoenix mom has a sparkly dream that ends up changing both teen literature and Washington State tourism, and John explains that his virginity had little to do with vampires. Certificate #18573.

In which forests and their fungi form such close relationships that they essentially become a giant leafy brain, and Ken is excited about pre-Wil Wheaton science. Certificate #46162.

In which a space detective learns that hundreds of Richard Nixon's tiny gifts to the world have gone missing over the years, and John wonders if religious sacraments are more effective in space. Certificate #25614.

In which the counterculture of the 1960s encourages powerful institutions to create a square but multiracial song-and-dance troupe that takes the world by storm, and Ken imagines President Eisenhower as a stern ad executive. Certificate #53773

In which half a million colonists decide the American Revolution isn't really their thing, and John needs to know how many lanterns there were, just in case. Certificate #13747.

In which a medieval legend about a chunk of sandstone means that Scottish cooperation is necessary for Charles III to be crowned king, and Ken passes a Bible quiz. Certificate #42504.

In which the history of papal transportation is traced from sedan chairs to Hyundai sedans, and John has been researching the care and upkeep of Catholic moms. Certificate #15163.

In which cities, over the centuries, gradually discover the most efficient way to collect garbage for disposal, and Ken hasn't looked in his pocket since Christmas. Certificate #28712.

In which a computer millionaire takes early retirement to self-publish a 50-pound reference work about the chemistry of food, and John discovers a surprise cherry tomato. Certificate #24537.

In which one eventful Dutch voyage to Indonesia leads to a mutiny, a shipwreck, and a massacre off the coast of Australia, and Ken claims he has a bed in a port somewhere. Certificate #20229.

In which two Depression-era "drugstore cowboys" let their Wild West outlaw fantasies lead them into a life of crime, and John breaks the news to Ken about pirates. Certificate #26056.

In which the "Dragon's Jaw" across the Song Ma River in North Vietnam proves a challenge for the most advanced air weaponry on earth, and Ken thinks teens should be in parking lots. Certificate #22691.

In which human memory and identity are so fragile that a series of people simply walk away from them, and John wishes more things were the movie Tron. Certificate #28975.

In which a high school Kennedy confidante becomes an influential White House voice while hiding a delicate secret, and Ken wants to blur some of John Lithgow's wrinkles. Certificate #36906.

In which a racist Mississippi state legislator kills his childhood friend, a civil rights organizer, in broad daylight with no consequences whatsoever, and John thinks Ken pronounces "Montgomery" like a Southern belle. Certificate #34239.

In which a pair of outraged Canadians, kept off the TV airwaves, change the world with their anti-consumerist art magazine instead, and Ken thinks Mr. Ed should have had pop-up ads. Certificate #29414.

In which the first daytime "supercouple" briefly makes soap operas a part of 1980s mass culture, and John wonders if a bride is "zaftig." Certificate #32511.