History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.
IQ Tests are (Kind of) Dumb
56 mins; April 02, 2026
Did Lead Lead to the Fall of the Roman Empire?
49 mins; March 31, 2026
CLASSIC: California Schoolchildren and the Great Squirrel War
28 mins; March 28, 2026
Don’t Be a Schmo Yo, Try a Yoyo!
42 mins; March 26, 2026
The Ridiculous Secret of "Supreme" Pizza
48 mins; March 24, 2026
CLASSIC: When West Virginia Begged the USSR for Foreign Aid
29 mins; March 21, 2026
Knitting as Espionage, Part Two: Legendary Spies -- and One Traitor
33 mins; March 19, 2026
Knitting as Espionage, Part One: Secrets in the Stitch
33 mins; March 17, 2026
CLASSIC: Idiomatic for the People II, Part II
38 mins; March 14, 2026
Inventors Who Died Due To Their Own Inventions: The Irrational Death of Hippasus
34 mins; March 12, 2026
The Spiritualism Movement Was Utterly Ridiculous, Part Two: Con Artists, Skeptics, and Ghosts
52 mins; March 10, 2026
CLASSIC: Idiomatic for the People II, Part I: What's in a word?
49 mins; March 07, 2026
The Spiritualism Movement Was Utterly Ridiculous, Part One: A Prank Goes Viral
54 mins; March 05, 2026
History's Weirdest National Anthems
33 mins; March 03, 2026
CLASSIC: The Statue of Liberty Almost Lived in Egypt
33 mins; February 28, 2026
Vacuum Cleaners are Ridiculous!
35 mins; February 26, 2026
The Ridiculously Adorable, Feminist History of Kewpie Dolls
33 mins; February 24, 2026
CLASSIC: Agent Garbo: The Strange Tale of the Man Who Saved D-Day
40 mins; February 21, 2026
The Most-hated Condiment? A Ridiculous History of Mayonnaise
47 mins; February 19, 2026
The Gang Goes To Waffle House
43 mins; February 17, 2026
CLASSIC: The War of the Stray Dog: How Far Would You Go For Your Pet?
37 mins; February 14, 2026
Ancient Wonders of the Modern World: the Lighthouse of Alexandria
27 mins; February 12, 2026
People Knew the Earth Was Round Way Earlier Than You Think
41 mins; February 10, 2026
CLASSIC: The Tragic Origin Story of Morse Code
34 mins; February 07, 2026
The Secret World Of Roald Dahl, with Aaron Tracy, Part Two: the Man Behind the Author
35 mins; February 05, 2026
The Secret World Of Roald Dahl, Part One: A "Noisy" Life
36 mins; February 03, 2026
CLASSIC: Operation Gunnerside: How a Crew of Military Skiers Ruined the Nazi Bomb
26 mins; January 31, 2026
The Thai Restaurant Conspiracy
44 mins; January 29, 2026
The Ridiculous History of Ping Pong
50 mins; January 27, 2026
CLASSIC: How far did Isaac Newton go to hunt down forgers?
29 mins; January 24, 2026
A Ridiculous Love Letter to Atari, Part Two: a Rise, a Fall, and a Legacy
41 mins; January 22, 2026
A Ridiculous Love Letter to Atari, Part One: From Pings to Pongs
42 mins; January 20, 2026
CLASSIC: How Admiral Horatio Nelson Ended Up Dead in a Barrel of Brandy
34 mins; January 17, 2026
What makes a word a 'word'?
47 mins; January 15, 2026
The Rise (and Crash) of the Concorde Jet
44 mins; January 13, 2026
CLASSIC: English Men Used to Sell Their Wives
23 mins; January 12, 2026
A Ridiculous History of "Fad Diets," Part Two: Beverly Hills, Scarsdale and More
44 mins; January 08, 2026
CLASSIC: How Louisiana Almost Became a Hippo Ranching Hub
43 mins; January 06, 2026
CLASSIC: Who was the highest paid athlete in history?
30 mins; January 03, 2026
Unplugged: Adventures from MTV to Timbuktu, with Tom Freston
47 mins; January 01, 2026
CLASSIC: The Weird Life of George Washington, Part 2
33 mins; December 30, 2025
CLASSIC: The Weird Life of George Washington, Part 1
43 mins; December 27, 2025
Folks, We're Doing A Clip Show: Leftovers, 2025
37 mins; December 25, 2025
Was 536 Really the Worst Year in History?
42 mins; December 23, 2025
CLASSIC: Clara, The World's Most Famous Rhinoceros
45 mins; December 22, 2025
Christmas Traditions Are So Incredibly Weird!
43 mins; December 18, 2025
The Grim Christmas Folklore of Johnny Ace, with Jake Brennan
41 mins; December 16, 2025
CLASSIC: How the Monopoly Board Game Became a World War II Escape Kit
29 mins; December 13, 2025
The Deliciously Ridiculous History of Fruitcakes
39 mins; December 11, 2025
That Time the US Government Brainwashed America into DIY Bomb Shelters
39 mins; December 09, 2025
CLASSIC: Idiomatic For The People, Part I
64 hours 5 mins; December 06, 2025
Spontaneous Human Combustion: A Bizarre Controversy
31 mins; December 04, 2025
IP, Part Three: A Copyright for Everyone!
39 mins; December 02, 2025
CLASSIC: Was there a real-life Rapunzel?
28 mins; November 29, 2025
Ridiculous Maps: That Time Everyone Thought California Was An Island
34 mins; November 27, 2025
The Chicago Tylenol Murders
39 mins; November 25, 2025
CLASSIC: Benjamin Franklin's Advice On "Finding A Mistress"
31 mins; November 22, 2025
Wait! Can a tree really own itself?
42 mins; November 20, 2025
Doc Holliday Was, In Fact, A Deadly Dentist
40 mins; November 18, 2025
CLASSIC: What does "Idaho" actually mean?
24 mins; November 14, 2025
The Ridiculous History of Dog Food
36 mins; November 13, 2025
Bir Tawil: The Ridiculous Tale of "Earth's Worst Real Estate"
31 mins; November 11, 2025
CLASSIC: Uncle Sam Tried to End World War II With Bat Bombs
38 mins; November 08, 2025
The Ridiculous History of the "Ice Cream Sundae"
35 mins; November 06, 2025
Introducing: Health Stuff
2 mins; November 05, 2025
Zombies, Part Two: The Movies!
53 mins; November 04, 2025
CLASSIC: The American Soldiers Who Defected to North Korea and Became Movie Stars
36 mins; November 01, 2025
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: The Temple of Artemis
32 mins; October 30, 2025
That Time Everyone Loved Radium: What Could Go Wrong?
50 mins; October 28, 2025
CLASSIC: How a Broken Toilet Foiled a German Sub
25 mins; October 25, 2025
CLASSIC: Creature Feature: The Dark Tetrad
63 hours 46 mins; October 23, 2025
CLASSIC: Gustaf Broman Tried to Cross the Atlantic in a Canoe . . . Or Did He?
38 mins; October 21, 2025
CLASSIC: The Weird, Surprisingly Recent Origin of the Tooth Fairy
27 mins; October 18, 2025
CLASSIC: When Vikings Loot The Wrong Town
39 mins; October 16, 2025
CLASSIC: Were Tulips Really The Bitcoin of the 1600s?
30 mins; October 14, 2025
CLASSIC: (Some of) History's Dumbest Military Prototypes
55 mins; October 11, 2025
The Dumbest Mobster Ever Tried To Steal Ruby Slippers
40 mins; October 09, 2025
The Ridiculously Disturbing History of North Korea
48 mins; October 07, 2025
CLASSIC: The Forty Elephants: London’s All-Female Jewel Thieves
42 mins; October 04, 2025
Disco Balls are Ridiculous, and We Love Them
38 mins; October 02, 2025
The Truth About "Zombies"
50 mins; September 30, 2025
CLASSIC: The Malleus Maleficarum: A Real-life Witch Hunter's Bible
33 mins; September 27, 2025
How the Kentucky Derby Became a Thing
37 mins; September 25, 2025
The Ridiculous History of the 90s and Low Culture, with Ross Benes
43 mins; September 23, 2025
CLASSIC: The Great London Beer Flood of 1814
25 mins; September 20, 2025
The True Story of Pac Man -- and a Ton of Weird Theories
37 mins; September 18, 2025
The Ridiculous Origin of the the Word "Ridiculous"
38 mins; September 16, 2025
CLASSIC: Dr. Seuss Wrote His Most Famous Book On A Bet
34 mins; September 13, 2025
The Terrifying Science of Tiny Subs and D-Day, Part Two: The Rise of the Chamber Divers
46 mins; September 11, 2025
The Terrifying Science of Tiny Subs and D-Day, Part One: The Return of Dr. Rachel "Big Spinach" Lance
43 mins; September 09, 2025
CLASSIC: Feral Children and the True Story Behind The Jungle Book
29 mins; September 06, 2025
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: The Colossus of Rhodes
28 mins; September 04, 2025
Unlucky Numbers Across The Globe -- And Why They Are Ridiculous
41 mins; September 02, 2025
CLASSIC: The Ridiculously Laxative-laden Journey of Lewis and Clark
31 mins; August 30, 2025
Moon Rock Heists, Part Two: The Romantic Misadventures of Thad Roberts
40 mins; August 28, 2025
Moon Rock Heists, Part One: Lunatic Heists and Space Law
49 mins; August 27, 2025
CLASSIC: The Strange and Spectacularly Disgusting Story of the Great Kentucky Meat Shower
35 mins; August 23, 2025
The Ridiculously Energetic History of Energy Drinks!
47 mins; August 22, 2025
Japan is Overrun By Raccoons Entirely Due to a Single Cartoon
40 mins; August 19, 2025
CLASSIC: The Bizarre Origin of the Oxford English Dictionary
