Useless Information Podcast

Podcasting since 2008! - It really is all true! Quirky, bizarre, and unusual stories from the Flip Side of History.

History
Comedy
Society & Culture
76
200 Years of Twas the Night - UI Podcast #185
Author Pamela McColl discusses the history of the classic poem Twas the Night Before Christmas.
57 min
77
The Cryptanalyst (Part 3) - UI Podcast #184
Marvin Lautzenheiser discusses leaving the FBI, modeling nuclear wars, his patents, and his theater organ.
62 min
78
The Cryptanalyst (Part 2) - UI Podcast #183
FBI cryptanalyst Marvin Lautzenheiser discusses how his team finally cracked the Hollow Nickel message and much more.
53 min
79
The Cryptanalyst (Part 1) - UI Podcast #182
Hollow Nickel cryptanalyst Marvin Lautzenheiser discusses going from a machinist to standing in J. Edgar Hoover's office in one year.
56 min
80
The Great Los Angeles Air Raid - UI Podcast #181
The long-forgotten story of a major battle that took place over Los Angeles a few months after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.
32 min
81
YesterCast #1 - November 22, 1963 - UI #180
Find out what else was happening around the world on November 22, 1963, the day that President Kennedy was assassinated.
78 min
82
Bad Apples #4 - Gaslight - UI #179
A review of the 1944 movie Gaslight, from which the term gaslighting originated.
54 min
83
Russell Sage: The Meanest Miser in the Land - U...
Russell Sage was once one of the world's wealthiest men. When he passed away in 1906, his wife Olivia gave away nearly every penny to the causes that Sage despised.
88 min
84
Retrocast 12 - UI Podcast #177
Tim Harford cohosts. A man elopes with another man’s wife and blames it on the cake, a dead woman sits up in her coffin, and much more!
87 min
85
The Rise & Fall of the Celestial Comet - UI #176
In 1941, the Plainfield Teachers football team was unstoppable. That was until a shocking team secret was revealed and their storybook season was brought to a grinding halt.
22 min
86
Retrocast #11 - UI Podcast #175
A man speaks an unknown language, a boy’s head is stuck in a toilet seat, a woman slips on a bar of soap and goes flying, and much more!
52 min
87
Almost Over the Hump - UI Podcast #174
A plane crashes in the Himalayans and the two pilots, both with bad ankles, have no choice but to attempt to hike back to civilization.
30 min
88
Retrocast #10 - UI Podcast #173
Sliced bread is banned, popcorn in theaters may be banned, women using fly swatters to lose weight, and more!
63 min
89
From Car Show!: The Jeep and World War II
Eddie Alterman talks about the military background of the Jeep and its lasting popularity in America.
34 min
90
Henry Ford's Peace Ship - UI Podcast #172
In 1915, Henry Ford sought to end WWI by chartering a ship and sailing with many of the prominent peace activists of the day to Europe.
44 min
91
Arbor Day Turns 150! - UI Podcast #171
Arbor Day is 150 years old! Learn the origins of the day, plus how one small upstate New York town continues the annual celebration.
16 min
92
Retrocast #9 - UI Podcast #170
A woman dumps her fiancé at the altar to marry the minister, a jealous husband who used rattlesnakes to keep men away from his wife, and more!
22 min
93
The Father of Voice Radio - UI Podcast #169
It’s hard to believe, but when the first words were spoken on radio, it was dismissed as a novelty. It seems as if everyone thought that Morse code was the future. Everyone except for Reginald Fessenden.
16 min
94
The Case of the Hollow Nickel - UI #168
In 1953, a paperboy discovered a nickel coin that led to the arrest of a high-ranking Soviet spy.
25 min
95
Retrocast #8 - UI Podcast #167
A live baby is auctioned off, a carnival knife thrower accidentally hits his human target, a dog warden with an unusual approach to keeping thieves out of the pound, and much more!
20 min
96
The Eddie Cantor Peace Prize - UI #166
In 1936, Eddie Cantor asked his radio listeners to write essays describing how the United States could avoid war. With no set contest rules, something would go very wrong.
31 min
97
Retrocast #7 - UI Podcast #165
A man falls out of a window and is saved by a flagpole, seven tonsillectomies done in an assembly line fashion, and more!
20 min
98
The Glass House Girl - UI #164
The true story of Hollywood actress Edna Kirby who lived in a glass house for the better part of 25 years.
34 min
99
Bad Apples #3 - Sunset Boulevard - UI #163
We review the classic movie "Sunset Boulevard." Directed by Billy Wilder, this movie tells the story of a struggling screenwriter who gets into a dangerous relationship with a faded Hollywood actress who dreams of a big comeback.
43 min
100
Retrocast #6 - UI Podcast #162
Christmas episode! A reindeer that bit a boy’s finger, a lawsuit over the world’s largest Christmas stocking, the first Christmas film ever made, and much more!
38 min