Ridiculous History

iHeartPodcasts

History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.

  • 36 minutes 40 seconds
    The Secret World Of Roald Dahl, Part One: A "Noisy" Life

    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.

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    3 February 2026, 7:00 pm
  • 26 minutes 59 seconds
    CLASSIC: Operation Gunnerside: How a Crew of Military Skiers Ruined the Nazi Bomb

    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.

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    31 January 2026, 12:00 pm
  • 44 minutes 5 seconds
    The Thai Restaurant Conspiracy

    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.

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    29 January 2026, 3:46 pm
  • 50 minutes 55 seconds
    The Ridiculous History of Ping Pong

    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.

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    28 January 2026, 3:54 am
  • 29 minutes 1 second
    CLASSIC: How far did Isaac Newton go to hunt down forgers?

    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.

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    24 January 2026, 12:00 pm
  • 41 minutes 4 seconds
    A Ridiculous Love Letter to Atari, Part Two: a Rise, a Fall, and a Legacy

    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.

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    22 January 2026, 4:02 pm
  • 42 minutes 27 seconds
    A Ridiculous Love Letter to Atari, Part One: From Pings to Pongs

    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".

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    20 January 2026, 8:09 pm
  • 34 minutes 56 seconds
    CLASSIC: How Admiral Horatio Nelson Ended Up Dead in a Barrel of Brandy

    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?

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    17 January 2026, 12:00 pm
  • 47 minutes 14 seconds
    What makes a word a 'word'?

    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.

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    15 January 2026, 6:22 pm
  • 44 minutes 4 seconds
    The Rise (and Crash) of the Concorde Jet

    What if you could hop from France to New York in less than four hours? Traveling twice the speed of sound, with caviar, lobster, champagne and cigars? This was the pitch of the Concorde jet -- a revolutionary, utterly ridiculous and brilliant craft that promised to fundamentally change air travel. Spoiler: it's not around anymore. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max figure out why.

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    13 January 2026, 10:21 pm
  • 23 minutes 19 seconds
    CLASSIC: English Men Used to Sell Their Wives

    In late 17th-century England, it was almost impossible for anyone outside of the upper class to successfully get a divorce -- the process was expensive and required approval from both the church and the government. As a result, some couples agreed to end their unhappy marriages through a bizarre practice known as 'wife selling'. And, unfortunately, it's exactly what it sounds like.

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    12 January 2026, 2:57 pm
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