Ridiculous History

Despite the name, Vatican City is an independent, sovereign nation -- and its history may surprise you. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max explore the story of the Vatican from its origins all the way to the modern day.

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Nowadays, hip-hop is everywhere -- this genre informs countless aspects of modern music around the world. Shortly after its creation, power structures in the United States sought to suppress this music, perceiving it as a threat to the status quo. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max explore the success of rap... and how the FBI accidentally helped the legendary NWA reach worldwide success.

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Today the saxophone is a well-known musical instrument, popular across the planet. But, when you learn the story of its inventor Adolphe Sax, you quickly learn it's amazing he survived long enough to invent the saxophone in the first place. In today's episode, Ben, Max and returning special guest Lauren Vogelbaum dive deep into Sax's bizarre -- dare we say ridiculous -- habit of repeatedly injuring himself and almost dying due to any number of nearly-unbelievable accidents.

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Given that more and more evidence shows all kinds of non-human animals are capable of experiencing grief, loss, joy and pain, should they not have some of the same legal rights guaranteed (in theory, at least) to humans? In the second part of this two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max explore legal cases around the world wrestling with this issue.

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While the the concept of a court system is an entirely human invention, it turns out non-human animals have been in some sort of court not once, but countless times across the span of history. In the first part of this two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max explore the strange way in which early court cases against animals led to animal rights.

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In part two of this special two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max dive further into the (objectively disturbing) truth about just how many nuclear weapons are currently MIA. The gang speculates on the implications of these missteps -- and, as they wonder about the consequences of their actions, 

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Nuclear weapons are one of the most dangerous things humanity ever invented. So while we might reasonably assume people would keep a close eye on these potentially world-ending bombs and missiles...we would be wrong. In this week's two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max explore the harrowing, ridiculous times humans absolutely lost track of live nukes -- some of which are still out there, somewhere, in the modern day.

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The so-called Golden Age of Piracy was a time of lawless, terrifying, at-times amazing and objectively ridiculous history. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Matt explore a fascinating claim: Did some anti-authoritarian pirates really form their own government?

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What do Albert Einstein, Jesse James and Saddam Hussein have in common? Like many notable figures throughout history, these men ended up marrying their first cousins. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max dive into the stories of how these historical figures ended up in romantic relationships with members of their extended families.

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True story: Orson Welles has a film no one will ever see. In the second part of this continuing series, the guys explore "The Magnificent Ambersons," from its origins to its adaptations all the way to what could have been Our Pal Orson's next masterpiece -- only to end up as his most haunting regret.

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