362 episodes

The podcast where we choose a subject, read a single Wikipedia article about it, and pretend we’re experts. Because this is the internet, and that’s how it works now.

Citation Needed Citation Needed Media

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.8 • 2.5K Ratings

The podcast where we choose a subject, read a single Wikipedia article about it, and pretend we’re experts. Because this is the internet, and that’s how it works now.

    Dutch East India Company

    Dutch East India Company

    The United East India Company (Dutch: Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie [vərˈeːnɪɣdə oːstˈɪndisə kɔmpɑˈɲi], abbreviated as VOC, Dutch: [veː.oːˈseː]) and commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered trading company and the first joint-stock company in the world.[2][3] Established on 20 March 1602[4] by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies, it was granted a 21-year monopoly to carry out trade activities in Asia.[5] Shares in the company could be purchased by any citizen of the United Provinces (Dutch Republic) and then subsequently bought and sold in open-air secondary markets (one of which became the Amsterdam Stock Exchange).[6] The company possessed quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, imprison and execute convicts,[7] negotiate treaties, strike its own coins, and establish colonies.[8] Also, because it traded across multiple colonies and countries from both the East and the West, the VOC is sometimes considered to have been the world's first multinational corporation.[9][10]

    • 39 min
    Horace Greeley

    Horace Greeley

    Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and editor of the New-York Tribune. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressman from New York and was the unsuccessful candidate of the new Liberal Republican Party in the 1872 presidential election against incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant, who won by a landslide.

    • 36 min
    Seaworld

    Seaworld

    SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (one park will be owned and operated by Miral under a license). The parks feature orcas, sea lion, and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals.

    • 33 min
    The Edgewood Experiments

    The Edgewood Experiments

    From 1948 to 1975, the U.S. Army Chemical Corps conducted classified human subject research at the Edgewood Arsenal facility in Maryland. The purpose was to evaluate the impact of low-dose chemical warfare agents on military personnel and to test protective clothing, pharmaceuticals, and vaccines. A small portion of these studies were directed at psychochemical warfare and grouped under the prosaic title of the "Medical Research Volunteer Program" (1956–1975). The MRVP was also driven by intelligence requirements and the need for new and more effective interrogation techniques.

    • 35 min
    Al Capone

    Al Capone

    Alphonse Gabriel Capone (/kəˈpoʊn/;[1] January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nicknames "Scarface" and "Snorky", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1925 to 1931. His seven-year reign as a crime boss ended when he went to prison at the age of 33.

    • 41 min
    1769 Transit of Venus

    1769 Transit of Venus

    A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and a superior planet, becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. During a transit, Venus can be seen from Earth as a small black dot moving across the face of the Sun. The duration of such transits is usually several hours (the transit of 2012 lasted 6 hours and 40 minutes). A transit is similar to a solar eclipse by the Moon. Although the diameter of Venus is more than three times that of the Moon, Venus appears smaller and travels more slowly across the face of the Sun, because it is much farther away from Earth.

    • 34 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
2.5K Ratings

2.5K Ratings

Jekyll Hollow ,

My Favorite!

Literally the highlight of my week every week!

Zomfibame ,

Very funny

This podcast absolutely helps me not be depressed. And is super amusing. One of the funniest things out there

migo0 ,

HEAR ALL THE THINGS

I particularly like the everyone talking over everybody aspect of the not being able to tell what is being said in an audio format.

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