Ridiculous History

New York was a pretty terrible place in the late 1800s. The population was riddled with disease, crime, and terror -- things were especially bad for the virtual army of street urchins. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max learn how one man created an innovative (and imperfect) system to save New York's orphans: shipping them to the Midwest en masse, and auctioning them off to farmers.

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Long-time listeners will know Ben, Noel and Max are big fans of their peer podcast, Ridiculous Crime -- but what happens when the guys join forces with Elizabeth, Zaron and Dave? Tune in for the long-awaited conclusion to our first team-up, as Ridiculous Crime and Ridiculous History seek to stump each other in a lively game of 20 Questions, all based on strange historical flexes.

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Nowadays people across the planet are familiar with the story of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. People even celebrate the anniversary of the event, often interpreting it as a protest againt overarching government authority. However, as Ben and Noel learn in today's Classic episode, the real story is a bit more complicated. Some historians believe Fawkes and the crew he worked for were set up by factions of the government -- making the Gunpowder Plot something between a false flag attack and a killer marketing campaign.

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Commonly regarded as one of humanity's premiere works on the art of pursuing and securing power, Niccolò Machiavelli's book "The Prince" has become so popular that the name of its author is synonymous with unethical behavior in the modern day. However, it turns out that Machiavelli himself wasn't the first proponent of ruthless behavior -- the author (or authors) of ancient India's Arthashastra outlined incredibly similar strategies almost 2,000 years before the publication of Machiavelli's masterpiece. Tune in to learn more with Ben and Noel in this Classic episode.

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What makes a flavor "artificial," exactly? Why doesn't banana candy taste like bananas in the grocery store? What on Earth is the flavor behind "Juicy Fruit" -- spoiler, the answer will surprise you. In the second part of this week's special two-part episode, Ben, Noel and Max explore the delightful origin of modern synthetic flavor science. 

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Nowadays U.S. grocery shoppers can be reasonably certain that the foods they purchase are safe (if not healthy). Yet this wasn't always the case. In today's episode, we explore the story of one extremely driven, imperfect man, on a mission to clean up America's food industry. Harvey Wiley didn't think it was enough to conduct conventional safety studies, either -- he jumped straight to human experimentation. Join the guys as they delve into the strange story of Harvey Wiley and the Poison Squad in this weekend's Classic episode.

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For most of human history, people were locked in a continual struggle to find food and avoid starvation. Eating for pleasure wasn't really a thing the common person could do. However, as time went on and technology improved, eating became as much a recreation as a hobby -- and this led civilization to the fascinating, ridiculous world of artificial flavors. In the first part of this week's special two-part episode, Ben, Noel and Max explore the science of flavor, and use the story of vanilla as a way to understand the problems that led to synthetic flavoring in the first place.

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At first glance, the Vatican's security service makes no sense. The Swiss Guard is an elite force from, well, Switzerland. So what the heck are these guys from a notoriously neutral nation doing so far down south? In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max explore the origin and evolution of the world-famous Swiss Guard.

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It's no secret that espionage and spycraft are common tools in the murky realm of geopolitics -- but not every spy is some sort of James Bond type character in a bespoke suit with a penchant for martinis. In fact, some spies aren't even human. Join Ben and Noel as they dive -- and fly -- into the strange stories of animal spies and nonhuman government operatives, from crows to dolphins, sea lions, cats and more.

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Behind the heavily-guarded walls of the palace, the Ottoman Empire's harem was a world all its own. In the second part of this special two-part episode, Ben, Noel and Max delve into the dangerous world of deceit, espionage and intrigue that defined the lives of people from across the empire, often taken by force from their homes to serve the Sultan.

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