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.
Whatever Happened to Mac Tonight?
47 mins; December 26, 2024
The First Recorded Christmas Was The Latest Birthday Party Ever
36 mins; December 24, 2024
CLASSIC: Dock Ellis and the Legend of the LSD No-hitter
37 mins; December 21, 2024
Whoops! All Quizster, Part Two: A Ridiculous History of HowStuffWorks
42 mins; December 19, 2024
Whoops! All Quizster, Part One: The Gang Reunites
40 mins; December 17, 2024
CLASSIC: Maryland’s State Song was a Diss Track
39 mins; December 14, 2024
How The (English) Alphabet Became A Thing, Part Two: Each Letter Has A Story
48 mins; December 12, 2024
Big Parma
40 mins; December 11, 2024
How The (English) Alphabet Became A Thing, Part One: Writing Stuff Down Is A Bonkers Idea
32 mins; December 10, 2024
CLASSIC: The Story of Max, South Africa's Famous, Crime-fighting Gorilla
52 mins; December 07, 2024
History's Famous Mistranslations, Part Two: Life on Mars, the Cold War, and FARTFULL
36 mins; December 05, 2024
Neckties are Utterly Ridiculous
41 mins; December 03, 2024
CLASSIC: How Santa Anna Lost His Leg Twice, and Held a Funeral for It
42 mins; November 30, 2024
The History of the Super Bowl Halftime Show, Part Two: A World-Class Show
46 mins; November 28, 2024
The History of the Super Bowl Halftime Show, Part One: From Marching Bands to Celebrities
48 mins; November 26, 2024
CLASSIC: That Time Chewbacca Needed Bodyguards
41 mins; November 23, 2024
How Emergency Call Lines Became A Thing
52 mins; November 21, 2024
Are the Vikings to Blame for Cats?
30 mins; November 19, 2024
CLASSIC: Napoleon Bonaparte Was Attacked by Bunnies -- And Lost
36 mins; November 16, 2024
The Most Ridiculous Weather of Baseball
41 mins; November 14, 2024
Bhutan Grades Itself On Happiness
45 mins; November 12, 2024
CLASSIC: California Was Named for a Fictional Island Ruled by a Black Amazon Queen
32 mins; November 09, 2024
The World's Weirdest Sports, Part Two: Literal Murderball
42 mins; November 07, 2024
The World's Weirdest Sports, Part One: Buzkashī is Where You Fight Over A Dead Goat
52 mins; November 05, 2024
CLASSIC: Ancient Mayan Ritual Alcohol Enemas
50 mins; November 02, 2024
One Guy Was So Good At Violin That People Thought He Worshipped Satan
53 mins; October 31, 2024
Credit Scores are Absolutely Ridiculous
48 mins; October 29, 2024
CLASSIC: That Time Vermont Was an Independent Republic
44 mins; October 26, 2024
Spontaneous Generation, Part Two: "Broth Science"
35 mins; October 24, 2024
Spontaneous Generation, Part One: Mice and Grain
40 mins; October 22, 2024
CLASSIC: The Capture of Guam Was Bloodless and Quick, All Due to a Misunderstanding
39 mins; October 19, 2024
Ridiculous Royal Deaths, Part 5: A Blind and Bloody Finale (For Now)
39 mins; October 17, 2024
Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart was Darn Near Unkillable
38 mins; October 15, 2024
CLASSIC: Are All US Presidents Actually Related?
32 mins; October 12, 2024
Post-Presidential Careers, Part Two: Adams, Taft, And More
42 mins; October 10, 2024
Post-Presidential Careers, Part One: Happy Birthday, Jimmy!
37 mins; October 08, 2024
CLASSIC: What's the deal with two-dollar bills?
58 mins; October 05, 2024
Mark Twain Was a Terrible Investor, Part Two: Typesetters, Steam Pulleys and Tesla
43 mins; October 03, 2024
Mark Twain Was a Terrible Investor, Part One: The Legend of "Josh"
43 mins; October 01, 2024
CLASSIC: How James Bond Created a Mexican Dia de los Muertos Tradition
27 mins; September 28, 2024
What is Karaoke? Part Two: Going Global; Careful What You Sing
34 mins; September 26, 2024
What is Karaoke? Part One: An Origin Story
34 mins; September 24, 2024
CLASSIC: Did Richard Nixon Unwittingly Smuggle Drugs for Louis Armstrong?
38 mins; September 21, 2024
The Nebraska Episode
31 mins; September 19, 2024
Occupy Alcatraz!
39 mins; September 17, 2024
CLASSIC: 3 Times Society Refused to Accept New Books on Science
51 mins; September 14, 2024
The Ridiculous, Murky Origins of Pasta, Part Two: From Myth to the Modern Day
36 mins; September 12, 2024
The Ridiculous, Murky Origins of Pasta, Part One: Basic Ingredients, Delicious Results
33 mins; September 10, 2024
CLASSIC: That Time We Erased a (HUGE) Waterfall
29 mins; September 07, 2024
Patents Are Absolutely Bonkers: An Origin Story
48 mins; September 05, 2024
That Time a Swedish Queen Became So Enlightened, She Quit Being the Queen
44 mins; September 03, 2024
CLASSIC: The Poetic Justice of Death by Molten Gold
33 mins; August 31, 2024
You Auto-go to the Drive-in, Part Two: Driving In and Out of History
45 mins; August 29, 2024
You Auto-go to the Drive-in, Part One: Cars Meet Cinema
35 mins; August 27, 2024
CLASSIC: Japan, Baseball and the Curse of the Colonel
37 mins; August 24, 2024
The Disturbing History of Last Meals, Part Two: Famous Final Snacks
38 mins; August 22, 2024
The Disturbing History of Last Meals, Part One: A Creepy Origin Story
35 mins; August 20, 2024
CLASSIC: That Time the US Built a Flying Aircraft Carrier
33 mins; August 17, 2024
CLASSIC: Yes, Those are Corpses in the Diorama
38 mins; August 15, 2024
CLASSIC: Weird People Who Built Weird Things
36 mins; August 13, 2024
CLASSIC: What was the West Point Eggnog Riot?
43 mins; August 10, 2024
The Noble -- and Kind of Ridiculous -- History of Butlers
37 mins; August 08, 2024
CLASSIC: Lyndon Johnson Chatted on the Phone More than a Teenager
28 mins; August 06, 2024
The Founding of the Smithsonian, Part Two: James Gives America a Fortune -- and a Mission
32 mins; August 01, 2024
The Founding of the Smithsonian, Part One: The Remains of the James
30 mins; July 30, 2024
CLASSIC: Arsenic: The Assassin's Dream Weapon
38 mins; July 27, 2024
The Orphan Train: That Time the US Auctioned Children Via Rail
43 mins; July 25, 2024
20 Questions: A Ridiculous Crossover, Part Two
73 hours 33 mins; July 23, 2024
CLASSIC: The Killer Marketing Campaign Behind Guy Fawkes
46 mins; July 20, 2024
CLASSIC: When Ancient India Beat Machiavelli to the Punch
29 mins; July 18, 2024
The Preposterous History of Artificial Flavors, Part Two: Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing
51 mins; July 16, 2024
CLASSIC: The Rise of Harvey Wiley's Poison Squad
35 mins; July 13, 2024
The Preposterous History of Artificial Flavors, Part One: The Vanilla Problem
36 mins; July 11, 2024
"Right on," Said the Pope: How the Swiss Guard became the Elite Protectors of the Vatican
46 mins; July 09, 2024
CLASSIC: Step Aside, James Bond: The Strange Stories of Espionage Animals
54 mins; July 06, 2024
Ottoman Harems Were Disturbing and Ridiculous, Part Two: A Real-life Game of Thrones
34 mins; July 04, 2024
Ottoman Harems Were Disturbing and Ridiculous, Part One: Busting Myths
30 mins; July 02, 2024
CLASSIC: How Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Influenced Star Trek
33 mins; June 29, 2024
Popeye Changed America, Part Two: Popeye Ain't Perfect
37 mins; June 27, 2024
Popeye Changed America, Part One: A Breakout Star
36 mins; June 25, 2024
CLASSIC: What was the 'Great Stink' of London?
40 mins; June 23, 2024
The Constitution is Amazing (and Ridiculous), Part Two: The Game of Amendments
46 mins; June 20, 2024
The Constitution is Amazing (and Ridiculous), Part One: A Troubled, Ambitious Origin Story
33 mins; June 18, 2024
CLASSIC: How Farmers Built A Barbed Wire Phone Network
32 mins; June 15, 2024
Ridiculous Video Game Tie-ins, Part Two: The Olympics and the Great Game of Chex Quest
47 mins; June 13, 2024
Ridiculous Video Game Tie-ins, Part One: The Rise of Cool Spot -- and Fall of the Noid
38 mins; June 11, 2024
CLASSIC: The Strange Story of Canadian Margarine Bootleggers
41 mins; June 08, 2024
Malta: Tiny and Amazing, Just Like The Dog
39 mins; June 06, 2024
The Ridiculous History of Credit Cards
57 mins; June 04, 2024
CLASSIC: San Francisco's Egg War
40 mins; June 01, 2024
Introducing: Sixteenth Minute (of Fame)
3 mins; June 01, 2024
Skyscrapers, Part Two: An Arms Race to the Sky
36 mins; May 30, 2024
Skyscrapers, Part One: A Guy and a Birdcage
36 mins; May 28, 2024
CLASSIC: The Wild West Was Actually Pretty Chill
33 mins; May 28, 2024
On Theme, Part Two: The Cyclical Evolution of Music
47 mins; May 23, 2024
On Theme, Part One: Ernest Hogan's Success and Regret
37 mins; May 21, 2024
CLASSIC: How A Grudge Match Launched the Ford GT40
