Ridiculous History

A beloved children's author. A spy. An ace fighter pilot, a notorious lady's man, and a strident antisemite: Roald Dahl was all these things and more. In the second part of this special two-part interview, the guys welcome back Aaron Tracy, the award-winning creator of The Secret World of Roald Dahl, to learn more about the man behind the author -- and get a few tips about writing along the way.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nowadays, most everyone knows a classic Roald Dahl story — yet who knows the man himself? In the first part of this special two-part interview, the guys welcome Aaron Tracy, the award-winning creator of The Secret World of Roald Dahl, as he blasts beyond the bluster of headlines and hedgerows of civility— exposing, for better or worse, the true life of one of the world's most beloved authors.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's the weirdest wartime heist you've ever heard of? In today's Classic episode, Ben, Noel and Max return to one of their favorites: On February 27, 1942, nine saboteurs set out in the middle of the night to blow up a Nazi-controlled heavy water plant in Norway. This operation was as crucial as it was complicated -- if the plant continued to function, the Nazis very well may have been able to construct an atomic bomb. Tune in to learn exactly how the commandos glided in and, eventually, skied away.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite being a relatively small country, the South East Asian nation of Thailand is famous across the planet for its unique, delectable cuisine. Heck, nowadays in the United States almost everyone is just a stone's throw away from a Thai restaurant -- so, how did we get here? Why are Thai restaurants suddenly everywhere? As Ben, Noel and Max discover in today's episode: this massive success is the result of a genuine (and delicious) conspiracy.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whether you call it table tennis, whiff-whaff or ping pong, there's no denying this fun sport of "tennis for the home" has become a global phenomenon. But where did it come from? In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max find out.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, Isaac Newton is best known for his scientific pursuits -- but he also served as Warden and, later, Master of the Royal Mint. And this wasn't some sort of honorary position, either: Newton took his job of hunting down forgers seriously, and may have even bent (or broken) the law in his quest to arrest and hang his archnemesis, the counterfeiting kingpin William Chaloner.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oof! Atari! As our producer Max likes to say, 'it was a thing.' In the second part of this two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max explore the pioneering rise of Atari, corporate overtake, and the final words of its founder.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nowadays most people either play video games, or know someone who does -- yet this wasn't always the case. As civilization skyrockets toward gaming experiences that feel increasingly immersive (and, in some cases, inseperable from reality), Ben, Noel and Max pay homage to the crew that started it all: a scrappy, legendary outfit called "Atari".

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Naval legend Admiral Nelson died on October 21st, 1805 shortly after being shot by a French sniper while standing on the deck his ship, Victory. Following the British victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, the survivors of the conflict were left with a dilemma -- how could they preserve Nelson's body long enough for the corpse to receive an appropriate burial back home?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Words are everywhere -- and we're grateful, because we can't do this show without them. But all words were, at some point, just made up. So how does society decide what counts as a "real" word? In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max dive into the history of language, and the oddly specific systems dictionaries put in place to decide whether a given word or phase is legitimate.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.