Decoder Ring

Decoder Ring is the show about cracking cultural mysteries. In each episode, host Willa Paskin takes a cultural question, object, or habit; examines its history; and tries to figure out what it means and why it matters.


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Society & Culture
Documentary
History
126
Sad Jennifer Aniston
Is Jennifer Aniston Having Brad Pitt's Baby!??
41 min
127
The Incunabula Papers
Ong's Hat, or The Incunabula Papers, is a conspiracy theory that arose on the early internet. Combining cutting edge science, mysticism, and obvious hokum, it intrigued thousands of people who tried to find out what it all meant.
50 min
128
Hotel Art
What Happened to Hotel Art?
29 min
129
The Paper Doll Club
Paper dolls were a ubiquitous part of children’s lives for decades, and then they mostly disappeared.
36 min
130
The Basement Affair
What are the real reasons people go on reality TV?
40 min
131
Clown Panic
The clown has existed in various forms for thousands of years, what changed and made us suspect and fear them?
35 min
132
The Johnlock Conspiracy
Decoder Ring explores the Johnlock Conspiracy, a fan theory about the BBC TV show Sherlock positing the inevitability of a gay romance between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson.
49 min
133
The Laff Box
What happened to the laugh track? For nearly five decades, it was ubiquitous, but beginning in the early 2000s, it fell out of sitcom fashion. What happened?
29 min