500 Open Tabs

Mar 05 2025 60 ep. 87 mins 276

500 Open Tabs Podcast artwork

Each episode, hosts Kaveh Taherian and Hannah Hillam choose one of their countless open browser tabs and finally take the time to read and discuss its contents until they gain enough strength to close that tab once and for all.

Society & Culture Comedy History

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59: Stone of Destiny Heist pt. 2 and Richard Parkers at Sea

Mar 05 2025 95 mins

This week we conclude the Stone of Destiny heist and deep dive into the various stories of ship boys named Richard Parker who were eaten at sea. A listener email tells us about the time the UK Royal Air Force airdropped cats into a remote part of Malaysia to help deal with the rat problem. Episode Tabs: The Students Who Stole The Stone Of Destiny https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-s

58: Konami Code Origins and Stone of Destiny Heist pt. 1

Feb 26 2025 73 mins

This week we deep dive into how a shortcut meant to save time while programming spawned a love affair with cheat codes and how a group of college students decided to steal an ancient symbol of Scottish kings back from the English. A listener email reveals the multicultural history of Groundhog Day. Episode Tabs: Game Breaking: How Cheat Codes Changed Video Games Forever https

57: Diary of The Shah and More Spite Houses

Feb 19 2025 81 mins

This week we deep dive into Naser al-Din Shah Qajar's published diary of his 1873 European tour and learn about bigger and better houses of spite. A listener email reveals how a sexy Abe Lincoln statue broke everyone's brains. Episode Tabs: Nasir Al-Din Shah And The Art Of Indifference https://new.bidoun.org/articles/redolent-delusions Spite Buildings: When Human Grudges Get

56: Crocker Spite House and John Orr

Feb 12 2025 84 mins

This week we deep dive into how Billionaire James Crocker built a fence around a German immigrant's home in San Francisco and how legendary arson investigator John Orr's passion project doubled as a confession for some of California's worst fires. A listener email explains how the first ever women’s college basketball game was played at Smith College in 1893. Episode Tabs: T

55: Big Jim O’Leary and Mark Twain vs USPS

Feb 05 2025 86 mins

This week we learn how the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 gave birth to the city's most honest gambler and how Mark Twain's feud with the United States Postal Service lasted a lifetime. A listener email tells us the story of Mike the Headless Chicken. Episode Tabs: The Irish American Gangster Whose Family Rose from Chicago's Ashes https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/big-ji

54: Aristotle's Masterpiece and American Hippo Bill

Jan 29 2025 100 mins

This week we learn about a sex manual/midwifery book from 1684 and how the American Hippo Act forced two rivals from South Africa to come together for the greater good. A listener email explains why Pandas use horse manure to stay warm. Episode Tabs: When the Birds and the Bees Were Not Enough https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/when-the-birds-and-the-bees-were-not-enough-ar

53: Dellschau Notebooks pt. 2 and Nuclear Semiotics

Jan 22 2025 103 mins

This week we finally unpack Charles Dellschau's forgotten aeronautical notebooks and learn how long-term nuclear waste warning messages are created. A listener email digs up the story of how the Brynlow shovel was dug up out of Alderley Edge but not identified as a Bronze Age tool until many decades later. Episode Tabs: Charles A.A. Dellschau Book http://www.shishigami.com/sr

52: LA Fire Update and Patreon AMA

Jan 15 2025 95 mins

Unfortunately the LA fires have forced us to delay recording, so here's a quick update about ways you can help followed by our last Patreon AMA that should be unhinged enough to hold you all over till next week. Stay safe friends!! ANIMATION PPL & FRIENDS AFFECTED BY FIRES: https://airtable.com/appugwkqKAVGDdeaJ/shrrujOu1GKwKAW0f/tblBTejpocYFoeauX Email your closed tab

51: Salamander Wool and Dellschau Notebooks pt. 1

Jan 08 2025 86 mins

We're back from the winter break and midder than ever! This week we learn how salamanders tricked medieval Europeans into thinking they were fireproof and how Prussian immigrant Charles Dellschau's forgotten aeronautical notebooks came to shock the art world 40 years after his death. A listener email tells the harrowing tale of how astronaut Sergei Krikalev got stuck in space after

50: 2024 Audience Favorites: Oops All Kavehs!

Jan 01 2025 82 mins

Yes it's technically 2025 now but here are Kaveh's two most popular tabs of 2024 as voted by you the audience! Join us as we revisit the story of our Horse Daddy King Nikola Jokić and the wonderful Meiji era political cartoons involving Tanuki balls. Episode Tabs: How Nikola Jokić Became The World’s Best Basketball Player https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/02/12/how-