Ridiculous History

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Introducing: The Last Soviet Feb 15, 2023

Show notes

Hey, Ridiculous History listeners! The newest hit docuseries of another star-studded podcast, The Last Soviet is live. Go check out the beginning of this thrilling journey with Lance Bass, NSync Superstar, and Russian-trained astronaut!”

About The Last Soviet: Lance Bass, NSync Superstar, and Russian-trained astronaut takes you on a wild ride into space. He tells the story of the last Soviet cosmonaut who is trapped on the world’s only space station, as the country he knows and loves collapses beneath him. On this journey through Earth’s atmosphere in the form of a podcast, Lance introduces you to the woman who won a reality show cosmonaut contest, a ham radio operator in Australia who became a lifeline for the Soviet Space Station, a hustler from Chicago who tried to sell coca-cola to the Russians and the editor of Playboy who took part in a revolution.

It’s one man’s dream to go to space, his dedication to the country he thought he knew and 313 days spent orbiting the Earth. 313 days that changed our world.

Plus, Lance’s own dream to go to space and the lengths he went to make it a reality.

Listen to The Last Soviet on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

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It Turns Out Blue Laws Aren't Entirely Terrible Feb 14, 2023

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If you've ever tried to buy beer at the wrong time in certain parts of the US, you may have run into the odd proscriptions known as blue laws. Originally intended as a way of enforcing Christian religious practices, these laws ban certain business and recreational activities -- not just booze! -- on Sundays. But what are these things, exactly? How did they come to be, and why did the Supreme Court ultimately rule them constitutional despite their religious origins? Tune in as Ben, Noel and Max set the record straight on blue laws... and don't worry, you can still listen to this episode on Sundays.

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The Origin of Moby Dick, Part Two: Horrors At Sea Feb 09, 2023

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Captain George Pollard Jr. was just 29 years old when his whaling vessel, the Essex, met with disaster. As the hapless crew struggled (and largely failed) to survive their horrific time at sea, they encountered starvation, madness, exposure and some fates arguably worse than death. In the second part of this two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max explore the harrowing, doomed journey of the Essex -- and how the tale later inspired Herman Melville's masterpiece, Moby Dick.

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The Origin of Moby Dick, Part One: Mocha Dick Feb 07, 2023

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Today, Herman Melville's magnum opus Moby Dick is lauded as a classic of American literature -- but it turns out Melville didn't invent the whole thing on his own. In the first part of this special two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max dive into the story of a real-life white whale named Mocha Dick, and how his tragic story inspired Melville to create a fictional white whale all his own.

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The (Weirdly Crooked) History of the Food Pyramid Feb 02, 2023

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Nutrition is a big deal -- across the United States, tons of kids learned the basics of nutrition through a handy infographic called the 'Food Pyramid,' which laid out how much of a given food group the average person should consume. But there's much, much more to the story than what you'd see in the average textbook. Join Ben, Noel and Max as they dive into the story of the food pyramid -- and how big business successfully, time and time again, went up against science to make sure consumers kept, well, consuming.

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That Time Europeans Went Nuts For Dancing Jan 31, 2023

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If you've ever been to a great concert or a banging dance party, then you know sometimes the spirit can overwhelm you -- you might feel compelled to dance. For most people this is a delightful experience... however, this wasn't the case for several unfortunate communities in Medieval Europe. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max explore the strange store of Europe's Dancing Plagues, also called St. Vitus' Dance.

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Star Trek Almost Never Happened, Part Two: In Which We Boldly Go Jan 26, 2023

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After just three seasons, the original run of Star Trek reached syndication -- which would become key to everything that happened afterward. In the second part of this series, Ben, Noel and Max explore the fundamental cultural shifts triggered by Star Trek, and how the depiction of a more equal society (however fictional that depiction might be) genuinely changed the world.

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Star Trek Almost Never Happened, Part One: Pilots and Peril Jan 24, 2023

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Nowadays Star Trek is more than just a show -- it's a global pop culture phenomenon, with measurable impacts on the real world. In part one of this special two-part series, Ben, Noel and resident Trexpert Max explore just how close Star Trek came, multiple times, to extinction.

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“It’s Edible!” The Origin of Breakfast Cereal, Part Two Jan 19, 2023

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Cereal is everywhere these days. While diet trends come and go, those ubiquitous boxes and mascots seem here to stay -- and, in some cases, it seems people are buying an idea as much as buying a foodstuff. In part two of this two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max trace the brilliant, at-times Machiavellian marketing moves that led cereal to glory... and ask how long those days may last.

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“It’s Edible!” The Origin of Breakfast Cereal, Part One Jan 17, 2023

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Cereal is everywhere nowadays, but how did it become a thing? For most of us, this stuff is the ultimate convenient breakfast, and even the most sugary varieties claim to offer nutritional benefits and a balanced start to your day -- even if those claims may be a bit... misleading. In the first part of this two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max dive deep into the (at times bizarre) origin story of modern breakfast cereal.

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