Omnibus! With Ken Jennings and John Roderick

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An encyclopedic reference of strange-but-true stories compiled as a time capsule for future generations.

iHeartRadio


    • May 8, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekly NEW EPISODES
    • 1h 8m AVG DURATION
    • 653 EPISODES

    4.6 from 2,419 ratings Listeners of Omnibus! With Ken Jennings and John Roderick that love the show mention: ken and john, john and ken, omnibus, john roderick, jennings, friendly fire, john s voice, time capsule, john seems, car nerd, roderick on the line, jeopardy, post apocalyptic, stuff you should know, meandering, two smart, esoteric, different backgrounds, tuesday and thursday, apocalypse.


    Ivy Insights

    The Omnibus! With Ken Jennings and John Roderick podcast is an absolute gem in the world of podcasts. From the moment I started listening, I was hooked. The dynamic between Ken and John is incredible, with their banter and chemistry making each episode a delight to listen to. I stumbled upon this podcast through a recommendation and it has quickly become one of my favorites.

    One of the best aspects of The Omnibus! is how they approach well-trod topics from interesting angles. They bring new information to the table that I hadn't heard before, and even cover topics that I've never even heard discussed on other podcasts. It's refreshing to discover something new and intriguing in every episode.

    Additionally, the hosts are incredibly knowledgeable and personable. They have a way of stretching out a yarn for the entire duration of my commute, keeping me engaged throughout. I find myself learning new things with every episode, whether it's trivia or obscure facts about history or pop culture. Their Patreon episodes are also fantastic additions to the main show.

    However, there are some minor drawbacks to this podcast. One aspect that some may find off-putting is John's intentional mispronunciations. While it's meant to be a bit, it can be frustrating for those who prefer accurate pronunciations. However, once you understand that it's all part of the humor, it becomes easier to overlook.

    In conclusion, The Omnibus! With Ken Jennings and John Roderick is an absolute must-listen podcast for anyone who enjoys learning about random things while being thoroughly entertained. The eclectic nature of each episode takes listeners on an enjoyable journey where they not only learn fascinating information but also get insights into the minds of these two charismatic hosts. Whether you're having a bad day or simply looking for something fun to wind down with, this podcast never fails to deliver laughter and knowledge in equal measure.



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    Latest episodes from Omnibus! With Ken Jennings and John Roderick

    Vows of Silence (Entry 1403.PS10730)

    Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2025 91:33


    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.

    Rock Paper Scissors (Entry 1079.1CH2613)

    Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2025 76:50


    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.

    Lemmings (Entry 711.MK1503)

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 24, 2025 74:28


    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.

    Pulgasari (Entry 1007.IS4602)

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 17, 2025 86:54


    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

    The World's Tallest Building (Entry 1444.GE1104)

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2025 87:57


    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.

    Anthropology Days (Entry 053.NU1516)

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 3, 2025 90:52


    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.

    The Mona Lisa Heist (Entry 800.JN1206)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2025 84:14


    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.

    Genuine Leather (Entry 522.GE0321)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 20, 2025 81:24


    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.

    The Dionne Quintuplets (Entry 352.JB0525)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2025 94:52


    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.

    Pedestrianism (Entry 913.PS1833)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 6, 2025 87:46


    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.

    The Battle of the Sisters (Entry 104.GE3008)

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2025 95:54


    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.

    The Golden Age of Porn (Entry 537.1C0618)

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 20, 2025 85:13


    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.

    The Oracle of Delphi (Entry 872.1S0911)

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 13, 2025 68:15


    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.

    Balloon Man (Entry 094.DE1501)

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 6, 2025 89:01


    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.

    The EGOT (Entry 398.AC2810)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 30, 2025 95:46


    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.

    Martin Luther King, Sr. (Entry 688.PR1301)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 23, 2025 73:48


    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.

    Spontaneous Combustion (Entry 1206.PR0627)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 16, 2025 86:44


    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.

    Canal Mania (Entry 178.PR0516)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 9, 2025 87:41


    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.

    The Carrington Event (Entry 189.2P0312)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 2, 2025 69:06


    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.

    Elf on the Shelf (Entry 404.PR1503)

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 26, 2024 80:50


    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.

    Space Contraband (Entry 1194.JB1312)

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 19, 2024 75:24


    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.

    Lazy Susans (Entry 706.LK1237)

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2024 74:56


    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.

    The Tooth Fairy (Entry 1317.SS0606)

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2024 85:06


    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.

    411 (Entry 495.LK2003)

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2024 75:47


    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.

    Whistling (Entry 1427.DE2323)

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2024 84:44


    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.

    The Population Bomb (Entry 966.GE2803)

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2024 87:05


    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.

    The King Under the Mountain (Entry 688.RO1311)

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 7, 2024 81:41


    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.

    New Urbanism (Entry 835.SS0711)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 31, 2024 86:09


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

    Soviet Spartacus (Entry 1194.EX2116)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 24, 2024 77:54


    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.

    Electrical Sockets (Entry 400.JS0215)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 17, 2024 91:11


    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.

    Tartans (Entry 1279.DE2230)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2024 87:26


    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.

    The Twenty-Seventh Amendment (Entry 1352.GE3028)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2024 74:50


    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.

    The Teddy Bear Shipwreck (Entry 1283.PR2433)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 26, 2024 85:15


    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.

    Sea Peoples (Entry 1120.1K2248)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2024 74:02


    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.

    The Coconut Revolution (Entry 239.JE0207)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2024 78:31


    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.

    Poutine (Entry 973.PS10709)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2024 71:22


    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.

    The Fenian Raids (Entry 461.DE2849)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 29, 2024 82:47


    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.

    Comic Sans (Entry 248.2C1009)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2024 66:38


    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.

    Oh, You Kid! (Entry 862.GA0519)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2024 91:50


    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.

    Pickleball (Entry 937.EZ4621)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 8, 2024 80:51


    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.

    Stradivarius Violins (Entry 1231.PS9203)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2024 69:35


    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.

    The Forbidden Island (Entry 489.LV2523)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2024 80:00


    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.

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