Badass of the Week

Black Agnes: Throwing Shade, Throwing Rocks and Throwing Down for Scotland.

When the English army came knocking at the gates of Dunbar Castle in 1338, they expected an easy victory. What they got instead was Black Agnes — a Scottish noblewoman with a sharp tongue, a fearless spirit, and absolutely zero patience for invaders. With a handful of loyal soldiers, Agnes of Dunbar held off siege engines, taunted her enemies, and turned one of the most embarrassing failures in English military history into her personal highlight reel. In today's episode Ben and special guest bestselling author Rebecca Cantrel tell the story of how one woman, armed with grit, wit, and a heavy dose of sarcasm, made the mighty tremble.

Doc Holliday: Death's Favorite Dentist - Part 2

The tuberculosis-stricken dentist is about to become a legend. In Part 2 of our Doc Holliday saga, Ben and Andrew ride into Tombstone—where Doc teams up with the Earp brothers, drinks like a dying man, and walks into the most famous 30 seconds in the history of the Wild West. We’ll break down the myth and the mayhem of the O.K. Corral, trace Doc’s final years on the run, and separate fact from frontier fiction. 

Doc Holliday: Death's Favorite Dentist - Part 1

Before he was the sharp-tongued, quick-drawing legend of Tombstone, John Henry “Doc” Holliday was a Southern aristocrat, a brilliant dentist, and a man marked by tragedy. In today's episode Ben and Producer Andrew trace the surprising early life of the West’s most infamous gambler-gunslinger—from his genteel Georgia upbringing to a tuberculosis diagnosis that sent him spiraling into saloons, showdowns, and the seedier corners of the American frontier. Along the way, we unpack how Val Kilmer’s unforgettable performance in Tombstone helped turn Holliday into a pop culture icon—and why the real man was even more complicated, charming, and dangerous than the movie made him out to be.

Hell Planet: The Soviet War with Venus

The surface of Venus is a nightmare: 900 degrees Fahrenheit, 90 times Earth’s atmospheric pressure, and rain made of acid. It’s the most hostile place in the solar system—and the Soviet Union was insane enough to send probes there. Again. And again. And again. In this episode, Ben and guest Erik Slader (Epik Fails of History) dive into the Soviet Venera Program: a two-decade war against a planet that melts metal, crushes steel, and kills spacecraft in minutes. Most of these missions failed. A few didn’t. And the ones that made it didn’t just survive—they made history.

April Fools Part 2: Ridiculous History (fixed)

AUDIO FIXED! As Europe increasingly freaks out about the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, a ragtag crew of guys who ordinarily hate each other band together for common cause and GUESS WHAT -- it goes cartoonishly wrong. In the second part of this two-part series, Ben hangs with the Ridiculous History guys and  breaks down the most ridiculous friendly-fire incident in all of human history. (Also, side note: Ben recorded this on his birthday, and he's still younger than Joseph II.)

April Fools! Ridiculous History Crossover...

It's April Fools day which means we want to talk about one of the dumbest battles in World History... 
War has always been a chaotic, messy endeavor -- and, sometimes, it's downright ridiculous. In this week's special two-part series Ben joins the badass dudes from Ridiculous History to talk about the bizarre turn of events that led to the Battle of Karánsebes. In part one, Ben introduces the gang to the legendary 'enlightened despot,' Joseph II, a guy who, diplomatically put, took self-confidence to a whole new (and possibly undeserved) level.

Leo Major: Why Send an Army When One Canadian Will Do?

Some soldiers fight wars. Leo Major won them—single-handedly—while rocking a Canadian flag.
This one-eyed, French-Canadian unstoppable force of nature took on the Nazis solo, liberated an entire Dutch city by himself, and casually shrugged off wounds that would’ve ended lesser men. Whether it was sneaking through occupied territory like a moose in stealth mode, capturing dozens of enemy soldiers alone, or just deciding that war wasn’t over until he said so, Leo Major was a walking Canadian legend. And just in case WWII wasn’t enough, he came back for another war just to flex on history one more time.
Strap as Ben and producer Andrew discuss Canada’s hardest-hitting, war-winning, maple syrup-fueled madman. 

100 EPISODES: Blood, Guts, and Questionable Pronunciations

100 episodes. Hundreds of badass stories. Countless questionable pronunciation attempts.
This week, we’re celebrating 100 episodes of Badass of the Week with a look back at the wildest, craziest, and most ridiculous moments from our journey so far. From legendary warriors to historical madmen, unsung heroes to absolute lunatics, we’ve covered it all—and we’re not stopping anytime soon. Join us for a victory lap filled with favorite episodes, behind-the-scenes chaos, and a heartfelt (but not too heartfelt) thank-you to everyone who’s been along for the ride.This episode is published as part of Podcasthon, an incredible and fast-growing non-profit initiative that unites over a thousand podcasters globally, once a year to support charitable causes. We've chosen to support Building Homes for Heroes (www.buildinghomesforheroes.org) a great charity that helps build and modify mortgage-free homes for veterans.

Mickey Rooney: The Star Who Stood with Soldiers

You know Mickey Rooney as a Hollywood legend, but did you know he also served in World War II? At the height of his fame, Rooney traded red carpets for the Army, entertaining the troops and boosting morale across war zones. While he wasn’t storming beaches, he was on the front lines of entertainment, giving performances to soldiers who needed a reason to laugh in the middle of chaos. In this episode Ben is joined by writer Robert O'Connor, we look at how one of Hollywood’s biggest stars used his talent to serve his country and keep the troops’ spirits high when they needed it most.

Oracle of Delphi: Ancient Greece’s Hotline to the Gods

Step into the smoke-filled temple of Apollo and meet the Oracle of Delphi, the most mysterious and feared fortune-teller in the ancient world. Kings, generals, and philosophers all climbed Mount Parnassus to hear her cryptic prophecies—some of which shaped the course of history. But was the Oracle really channeling the gods, or just really high on volcanic fumes? In today's episode Ben and Pat unravel the truth behind ancient Greece’s most powerful mystic, the riddles that baffled empires, and the wildest predictions that actually came true.