Panic, paranoia, and spectacularly stupid predictions! This episode of History's Greatest Idiots (featuring Mandy Gardner from the History Obscura Podcast) explores Y2K, the millennium bug that convinced the entire world that civilization would collapse at midnight on January 1st, 2000, leading to the most expensive non-event in human history.
The Technical Problem: Back in the 1960s and 70s, when computer memory cost a fortune, programmers saved space by writing dates with two digits instead of four (65 instead of 1965). Nobody thought about what would happen when 1999 became 2000.
Would computers think it was 1900? Would banks collapse? Would planes fall from the sky? Would nuclear missiles accidentally launch? These were genuine questions people were asking in 1998.
The Media Frenzy: By 1999, reasonable concerns about bank systems had spiralled into headlines like "Will your pacemaker stop working at midnight?" and "Could nuclear power plants explode?" Governments didn't help. Bill Clinton established a Y2K council. Britain spent £396 million (equivalent purchasing power of £9 billion today).
Countries stockpiled fuel, food, and medical supplies as if they were preparing for war. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan compared it to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Ed Yardeni predicted a 70% chance of a worldwide recession.
Experts warned that elevators would trap people, traffic lights would fail, water treatment plants would shut down, prison doors would automatically unlock, and planes would literally fall from the sky.
The Survival Industry: Y2K preppers made pandemic preppers look casual. People bought generators (manufacturers couldn't keep up), mountains of tinned food, warehouses of bottled water, gold, and guns (sales spiked 700% in some US areas).
Companies sold Y2K survival kits for $2,500 containing a year's freeze-dried food. An entire industry monetised fear. Products got "Y2K Compliant" stickers, including toasters that didn't know what year it was anyway.
The Price Tag: Worldwide spending reached $300-600 billion. That's more than the Apollo moon landings and Manhattan Project combined.
The US alone spent $100 billion. Some COBOL programmers charged $1,000 per hour ($1800 in 2025 money) just checking old code.
With that money, we could have ended world hunger for years, eradicated malaria, or provided universal water and sanitation globally.
New Year's Eve 1999: Airlines grounded flights. Russia put nuclear forces on high alert with Yeltsin in a command center (drinking vodka).
Emergency teams stood ready worldwide. Some families withdrew all their money and moved to remote cabins with six months of supplies. As midnight hit New Zealand, then Asia, then Europe, reporters sounded increasingly disappointed that nothing was going wrong.
The Anticlimax: The complete list of significant Y2K problems: slot machines in Delaware stopped working, some bus ticket machines failed in Sheffield and Australia, a few credit card terminals had issues for hours, and the US Naval Observatory website displayed January 1, 19100. That's it. No planes crashed. No nuclear war. No apocalypse. Just slot machines in Delaware that nobody noticed because it's Delaware.
The Aftermath: People with 500 tins of beans couldn't exactly return them ("the apocalypse was cancelled"). Politicians claimed credit for preventing disaster by spending billions. We'll never know if the preparations prevented catastrophe or if the problem was massively overblown, making it the geopolitical equivalent of Lisa Simpson's tiger-repelling rock.
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Abdications, gluttony, world wars, and child tantrums! This special greatest hits episode of History's Greatest Idiots celebrates the season with four legendary monarchs who proved that unlimited power and terrible judgment make the perfect recipe for spectacular failure.
First up: King Adolf Frederick of Sweden, the 18th-century monarch who literally ate himself to death at a royal feast, proving that even kings should know when to stop at dessert number fourteen. His final meal included lobster, caviar, sauerkraut, kippers, champagne, and a staggering amount of semla pastries served in hot milk. He died of digestive problems so severe they're still taught in Swedish schools as a cautionary tale about gluttony.
Then we meet Edward VIII, the British king who chose love over the crown, abdicating after just 326 days to marry American divorcée Wallis Simpson. His decision triggered a constitutional crisis, gave Britain an unexpected king (his brother George VI), and led to decades of exile, Nazi sympathies, and becoming the world's most expensive royal footnote.
We'll explore Kaiser Wilhelm II, the German Emperor, whose combination of insecurity, aggressive foreign policy, and terrible judgment helped trigger World War One. Born with a withered arm he spent his entire life compensating for, Wilhelm alienated Britain, Russia, and France while building a massive navy nobody needed, ultimately fleeing to the Netherlands where he spent 23 years in exile chopping wood and blaming everyone but himself.
Finally, Richard II rounds out our line-up: crowned King of England at age 10, he faced the Peasants' Revolt at 14, developed a massive persecution complex, and spent his reign oscillating between tyranny and incompetence until his nobles had enough and deposed him. He died in captivity, possibly murdered, possibly starved, definitely regretting his life choices.
From fatal desserts to world wars, these royal catastrophes prove that absolute power combined with zero common sense creates historically epic disasters.
Perfect for history buffs, monarchy enthusiasts, and anyone who's ever wondered how someone can wear a crown and still make monumentally stupid decisions.
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Schemes, scams, and spectacularly stupid greed! This special greatest hits episode of History's Greatest Idiots celebrates the season with four legendary criminals who proved that audacity and terrible judgment make the perfect con artist cocktail.
First up: Charles Ponzi, the Italian immigrant whose name became synonymous with financial fraud, promising impossible returns while building a house of cards so unstable it makes modern crypto schemes look sophisticated.
Then we meet Howard Marks, the Welsh drug smuggler who turned marijuana trafficking into a global enterprise, juggling fake passports, MI6 connections, and enough aliases to confuse even himself before his spectacular arrest.
We'll explore John Factor, the mafia conman whose brother founded Max Factor cosmetics while he specialized in extortion and fake kidnappings, somehow parlaying criminal notoriety into Las Vegas respectability.
Finally, Melissa Caddick rounds out our line-up: the Australian fraudster whose Ponzi scheme funded designer shoes and luxury living until she vanished, leaving behind one of true crime's most bizarre mysteries.
From postal reply coupons to disappearing feet on beaches, these criminal masterminds prove that sometimes the biggest cons collapse when greed meets absolutely zero exit strategy.
Join Lev and Derek as they count down the greatest hits of history's most gloriously idiotic fraudsters.
Perfect for true crime fans, scam history buffs, and anyone who's ever wondered how someone can be simultaneously brilliant and catastrophically stupid.
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Welcome to Part Two! If you thought decades-long affairs were wild, wait until you hear what Palmerston did with actual power. In this episode of History's Greatest Idiots, we explore his most spectacular diplomatic overreactions: sending 14 warships to collect £150, fighting two wars over opium trafficking, allegedly assaulting Queen Victoria's lady-in-waiting in her own palace, becoming Prime Minister at 70, and literally dying in office at 80.
This is the story of gunboat diplomacy, imperial arrogance, and refusing to retire.
What You'll Discover:
The Don Pacifico Affair (Most Spectacular Overreaction Ever): Portuguese Jewish merchant in Athens had his house ransacked in 1847. Claimed £26,000 damages (£30 million in relative purchasing power). Palmerston sent 14 warships, 731 guns, 8,000 sailors to blockade Greece for two months. Actual damages awarded: £150 (£13,500 today). His famous five-hour speech: "Civis Romanus sum" (I am a British citizen). Commons voted 310-264 in his favour, became "most popular man in the country."
The Opium Wars (Britain's Least Defensible Policy): British merchants illegally smuggling opium into China for decades. China banned it (catastrophic health crisis). Britain's solution: get Chinese addicted, use drug money to buy tea. 1839: China destroyed 20,000 chests of British opium. Palmerston insisted war was about "free trade." Gladstone called it "a war more unjust in its origins, more calculated to cover this country with permanent disgrace." Vote: 271-262 for war (nine votes!). First Opium War (1839-1842): Britain destroyed Chinese forces, Treaty of Nanking forced China to pay indemnity, open treaty ports, cede Hong Kong. Second Opium War (1856-1860) fully legalised opium trade. China's "century of humiliation" began. All because Victorians really liked tea.
The Windsor Castle Scandal: Late 1830s/early 1840s: Palmerston, staying at Windsor Castle, entered Lady Dacre's bedroom late at night (drunk and "enterprising"). She screamed, threw him out. Entire castle learned immediately. Claimed he mistakenly entered wrong room, but locked door behind him. Victoria furious, wanted him sacked. Only Lord Melbourne's intervention saved his career. Victoria wrote years later about "old offences which sunk deep into her mind." She explicitly said in 1853: "Nothing will induce Her Majesty to have Palmerston as Prime Minister." Had to accept him twice anyway. 1863: 78-year-old Palmerston accused of adultery with Mrs O'Kane. Public reaction: "Good for him!"
Becoming Prime Minister (Finally): Crimean War going badly, Aberdeen's government fell. 1855: Palmerston became PM at 70 (oldest person ever to take job for first time). Brought Crimean War to reasonable conclusion. 1857: Called election campaigning on being "tough on China," won considerable majority ("Vote for me, I'll send more gunboats!"). 1858: Government fell over restricting refugees. 1859: Returned as PM at 75 with Russell and Gladstone. Final ministry until death in 1865.
The Final Years: Navigated American Civil War carefully. Presented Italian Unification as British victory (Britain barely involved). Schleswig-Holstein Question: "Only three people understood it: Prince Consort (dead), German professor (mad), and I (forgotten)." Blocked electoral reform for working class. 1865 election slogan: "Leave it to Pam," won convincing majority at 80. Died 18 October 1865, two days before 81st birthday. Alleged last words: "Die, my dear doctor? That's the last thing I shall do."
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How did an 18-year-old aristocrat become one of Britain's longest-serving politicians, spending 20 years in the same boring job before discovering his true calling at age 46?
In the latest episode of History's Greatest Idiots, featuring Emily Jackson, one third of the Trauma Agora Podcast, we explore Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, the man known as "Lord Cupid" who survived an assassination attempt, conducted a decades-long affair with his friend's wife, and accidentally built one of the most remarkable political careers in British history.
The Origin Story: Born in 1784 literally in Parliament's shadow, inheriting an Irish peerage at 18 that was considered "lesser" by British gentry. Educated at Harrow (one of seven PMs from there) and Edinburgh University. Described as having "the most faultless character" (the last time anyone would say that).
The Reluctant Politician: Lost his first two campaigns, then paid £1,500 (£1 million in today's purchasing power) to become MP for Horsham at 22. Later represented Newtown with one condition: never visit the constituency. Democracy was more suggestion than requirement.
The 20-Year Training Montage: Appointed to admiralty at 22, turned down Chancellor of the Exchequer at 25 (too young!), accepted Secretary at War instead. Spent a mind-numbing 20 years doing army finances under five Prime Ministers. Called "a brilliant young man wasting his talents, destined to remain a second-rater."
The Assassination Attempt: Shot by Lieutenant Davies (ex-officer with PTSD) in 1818, survived with minor injury, then paid for Davies's legal defense and psychiatric care. But refused to intervene when poacher Charles Smith was executed on his estates in 1822.
Lord Cupid: Earned his nickname through notorious affairs with Lady Jersey, Princess Dorothea Lieven, and dozens of others. The big one: 30-year affair with Emily Lamb, Countess Cowper, whose boring husband "sank into ill health." At least two of her five children were likely Palmerston's.
Finally Getting Married: Lord Cowper died in 1837. Emily's children objected (he's too old and a womanizer!). Queen Victoria (age 18) thought people in their 50s were too old to marry. They married anyway in 1839 after 30 years of waiting. Extraordinarily happy marriage, described as "perpetual courtship."
The Career Finally Begins: Resigned in 1828 after 20 years with Tories, gave brilliant foreign policy speech in 1829, switched to Whig party, appointed Foreign Secretary in 1830 at age 46. The training montage was over.
Coming Up In Part Two: Sending 14 warships to collect £150, fighting two wars over opium, allegedly trying to 'seduce' Queen Victoria's lady-in-waiting in her own palace, becoming PM at 70, and dying in office at 80.
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Welcome to Part Two of the William Buckland saga, featuring Laurel Rockall of the High Tales of History podcast.
If you thought licking cathedral floors and revolutionizing palaeontology through fossilized poop was weird, wait until you hear about his lifelong mission to eat every animal on Earth. In this episode of History's Greatest Idiots, we dive deep into Buckland's practice of "zoophagy," his house that was basically a Victorian zoo gone wrong, and the most infamous dinner party in history where he ate the mummified heart of King Louis XIV of France.
This is the story of how brilliance and complete insanity can coexist in one man who served his guests mice on toast while a hyena in academic robes wandered through the living room.
The Zoophagist's Manifesto:
William Buckland's lifelong goal: eat his way through the entire animal kingdom
His philosophy: "The stomach rules the world! The great ones eat the less, and the less the lesser still!"
The actual, documented menu from the Buckland household (these aren't rumours, these are from his children's memoirs)
Regular dinner items: mice on toast, hedgehogs, crocodile steaks, panther chops, rhinoceros pie, roast ostrich, elephant trunk, porpoise head, horse's tongue, kangaroo ham, puppies, slugs, earwigs, and bluebottle flies
The only two things Buckland declared disgusting: mole and bluebottle fly
The House of Chaos:
Why the Buckland home was less "Victorian residence" and more "natural history museum gone catastrophically wrong"
The indoor menagerie: guinea pigs, snakes, frogs, ferrets, hawks, owls, cats, dogs, a pony (INSIDE THE HOUSE), eagles, and monkeys
Billy the Hyena: the real, living hyena who roamed the house in academic robes
Tiglath Pileser the Bear: the black bear treated as an honorary Christ Church College member who attended wine parties, enjoyed horseback riding, and once raided a sweet shop
The outdoor chaos: a giant tortoise William let people ride, plus foxes, chickens, and various creatures for "observation"
Growing up Buckland: nine children raised in a house with a hyena, a bear, and a poop table
The Heart of a King:
The 1848 dinner party at Nuneham House (residence of the Archbishop of York)
The silver casket containing the mummified heart of King Louis XIV of France
How a French king's heart ended up in England (spoiler: French Revolution and "Mummy Brown" pigment)
Buckland's infamous declaration: "I have eaten many strange things, but have never eaten the heart of a king before"
The moment he popped a 140-year-old royal organ into his mouth and swallowed it
The horrified reactions from distinguished guests watching a priceless historical artifact get eaten
The Serious Scientist (Because He Actually Was One):
First scientific description of a dinosaur: Megalosaurus (1824)
Pioneering coprolites (fossilized faeces) in palaeontology and coining the term
Revolutionary work on Kirkdale Cave winning him the Royal Society's Copley Medal
Discovery of the Red Lady of Paviland (one of Britain's oldest known human remains)
Contributing to modern geology by embracing glaciation theory over biblical flood narratives
Training future scientific leaders including Charles Darwin's mentor
The Decline and Perfect Ending:
Moving to Westminster Deanery in 1845 (with 16 staircases for maximum chaos)
The perfect burial: discovering solid Jurassic limestone in his grave plot and needing explosives to excavate it
His legacy today: lunar ridges, islands, and that coprolite table still on display at Lyme Regis Museum
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How did a Victorian priest become the first person to scientifically describe a dinosaur, revolutionize paleontology through the study of fossilized poop, and terrify students by shoving hyena skulls in their faces while screaming about stomachs?
In this episode of History's Greatest Idiots, featuring Laurel Rockall of the High Tales of History podcast, we explore the spectacular life of William Buckland, the eccentric geologist who dressed like a wizard, licked cathedral floors, and proved that brilliance and madness are often the same thing.
This is the story of how to change scientific history while being absolutely insufferable at dinner parties.
The Fossil-Hunting Childhood:
How young William grew up in fossil-rich Devon with a father who took him rock hunting instead of, you know, normal parenting
His journey from Blundell's School to a scholarship at Oxford's Corpus Christi College
Why he became obsessed with geology before it was even a proper subject (hipster geologist energy)
The Most Terrifying Teacher in History:
The infamous lecture technique of shoving hyena skulls in students' faces while screaming "THE STOMACH RULES THE WORLD!"
How he'd get on all fours and prance around the lecture hall imitating dinosaur gaits (one colleague said it made him want to vomit)
Why he dressed in full academic robes for fieldwork, looking like a wizard on a fossil hunt
The students who attended his lectures: future Cardinal John Henry Newman, Samuel Wilberforce, and Charles Darwin's mentor Charles Lyell
The Greatest Discovery (And It's Poop):
The 1821 Kirkdale Cave discovery: workers using prehistoric bones to fill potholes in Yorkshire roads
How Buckland proved the cave was a prehistoric hyena den by comparing ancient faeces to fresh hyena droppings (dedication!)
The invention of "coprolites" (fossilized faeces) as a scientific field of study
His infamous poop table: a dining table inlaid with fossilized faeces that he made guests eat on before revealing what it was made of
Winning the Royal Society's Copley Medal for his work on ancient hyena shit
The Dinosaur Whisperer:
The 1818 discovery of mysterious bones near Stonesfield, Oxfordshire
Consulting with Georges Cuvier, the founding father of vertebrate palaeontology
February 20, 1824: Buckland becomes the first person in history to scientifically describe a dinosaur (Megalosaurus)
How he changed our understanding of prehistoric life forever
The Tasting Geologist:
Buckland's habit of identifying geological deposits by licking them
His honeymoon with wife Mary Morland: touring Europe's geological sites and tasting rocks together
The cathedral floor incident: licking "holy martyr blood" and declaring it bat urine
He Ate Everything:
He set out on a mission to eat every living animal, which led to him creating recipes including: including mice on toast, panther chops, crocodile steaks, and...puppies
The story gets even wilder in part two. William Buckland's lifelong mission to eat everything on Earth continues, including the mummified heart of King Louis XIV of France. Plus: his house that was basically a chaotic zoo, his pet hyena Billy who wore academic robes to wine parties, and how his scientific brilliance was matched only by his complete inability to behave like a normal human being.
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Welcome to Season 6! In Part Two of our Spotify saga, things get MUCH darker. If you thought underpaying musicians and overpaying Joe Rogan was bad, wait until you hear about the military drones, ICE recruitment ads, and the AI-generated music flooding the platform.
This is the story of how a music streaming company became a weapons investor, government propagandist, and AI content farm, all while claiming they can't afford to pay artists more.
⚠️ REMINDER: We're still hosted on Spotify's platform. This is basically career suicide at this point, but we're committed to the bit.
The AI Apocalypse:
Spotify's secret "Perfect Fit Content" program: commissioning fake artists to avoid paying real musicians since 2016
How AI tools like Suno and Udio flooded Spotify with millions of fake tracks
Aventhis: The "verified artist" with 1 million monthly listeners whose entire catalogue is AI-generated (57 tracks in 4 months!)
Why your Discover Weekly is now filled with AI slop instead of actual human musicians
Deezer implements AI detection tools. Spotify's response? crickets
Spotify Goes to War:
Daniel Ek's €700 million ($800 million) personal investment in Helsing, an AI military weapons company
How the CEO of a music platform became chairman of a company developing drone warfare technology
Artists pull their catalogues in protest: Deerhoof, Massive Attack (possible Banksy collaborators!), and more
The brutal irony: "We can't afford to pay musicians more" but somehow there's $700 million for battlefield AI
Daniel Ek's defence: "AI, mass and autonomy are driving the new battlefield" (yes, really)
The ICE Recruitment Scandal:
Spotify runs U.S. government ads with phrases like "millions of dangerous illegals are rampaging the streets"
Users get ICE recruitment propaganda between their favourite songs
Spotify's defence: "We're just following orders" (a historically great excuse!)
The #BoycottSpotify movement becomes a quarterly tradition
Oh, and Spotify donated $150,000 to Trump's 2025 inauguration
The Swedish Tax Rebel:
Daniel Ek's 2016 open letter threatening to move Spotify out of Sweden
"The country that gave me free healthcare and education wants me to pay taxes? Outrageous!"
How Sweden actually reformed its laws to accommodate billionaires... and Ek STILL complained
The wealth tax that cost Sweden $166 billion in capital flight
The Good Stuff (Because Balance):
Yes, Spotify democratized music access (100+ million songs for $10/month is incredible)
The Partner Program actually helps small-to-mid-size podcasters earn decent money
Spotify paid out $10 billion to the industry in 2024 (10x more than in 2014)
The algorithm genuinely helps people discover new artists
...But does any of this excuse the rest?
The Future:
Daniel Ek steps down as CEO in January 2026 (but stays as Executive Chairman, pulling the strings)
Can Spotify maintain profitability while fighting Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Amazon?
Will governments regulate AI-generated music?
Can Spotify's brand recover from Joe Rogan + military drones + ICE ads + underpaid artists?
Want to actually support artists?
Buy their music directly
Go to their concerts
Buy their merch
Download, don't just stream
If you stream, loop their songs on repeat (300 streams = 1 album sale)
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How did a Swedish teenager turn $1 million into a $26 billion music empire while simultaneously pissing off every musician on Earth?
In the Season 5 Finale of History's Greatest Idiots, we explore the spectacular rise of Daniel Ek and Spotify, from teenage web design hustler to billionaire streaming mogul (and all the questionable decisions along the way).
This is the story of how to revolutionize an industry while underpaying the people who make it possible, one fraction of a penny at a time.
DISCLAIMER: We're hosted on Spotify's podcasting platform, so this might be career suicide. But hey, at least we'll go down with receipts!
The Teenage Hustler:
How 13-year-old Daniel Ek was already running a business building websites while you were still figuring out MSN Messenger
Why an 18-year-old millionaire enrolled in university just to dodge a massive tax bill (galaxy brain move)
The moment Daniel realized being a Ferrari-driving millionaire at 23 was... boring
Building the Piracy Killer:
How Spotify was built using illegally downloaded music to convince record labels to license their catalogues
The two-year negotiation marathon that convinced Universal, Warner, and Sony to trust a Swedish start-up
Why the name "Spotify" is actually a complete accident that they pretended was intentional
The Payment Problem:
How Spotify pays artists $0.003-0.005 per stream (that's three-to-five-tenths of ONE CENT)
Why you need 800,000 monthly streams just to earn minimum wage
The 2024 policy that stripped $47 million from small artists and gave it to Taylor Swift, Drake, and major labels
Daniel Ek's tone-deaf advice to struggling musicians: "Just put in the work and create more content" (REM's Mike Mills' response: "Go f*ck yourself")
The Joe Rogan Problem:
Spotify's $200-250 million deal with Joe Rogan (that's more than thousands of musicians earn combined)
The medical misinformation, N-word compilations, and conspiracy theories that came with it
Neil Young's ultimatum: "They can have Rogan or Young. Not both" (Spoiler: They chose Rogan)
The shocking truth about where the money came from: Tencent and Chinese government connections funding America's most controversial podcaster
Spotify genuinely changed music forever. For $10/month, you can access 100+ million songs. That's incredible! They helped kill piracy and made discovering new music easier than ever.
But somewhere along the way, they decided to:
Pay musicians fractions of pennies while spending hundreds of millions on one podcaster
Flood their platform with AI-generated garbage to avoid paying real artists
Take a cut from every stream while claiming they can't afford to pay more
To make minimum wage: Artists need 800,000 monthly streams
Joe Rogan's deal: $250 million (equivalent to 50 TRILLION artist streams)
Spotify's 2024 policy: Songs under 1,000 annual streams get ZERO royalties
Daniel Ek's net worth: $2.5 billion
Average artist per-stream payment: $0.004
Coming in Part Two:
The story gets even wilder. Military drone investments, ICE recruitment ads, Swedish tax battles, and the question everyone's asking: Is this the end of Spotify as we know it?
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How did America's richest family, once worth the equivalent of $200 billion, lose everything in just three generations? In this episode of History's Greatest Idiots, we explore the spectacular rise and catastrophic fall of the Vanderbilt dynasty, from the ruthless Commodore who built a fortune through steamships and railroads, to his descendants who spent it all on mansions, parties, and drinking themselves to death.
This is the story of how to lose $200 billion in 95 years, one absurdly expensive mansion at a time.
What You'll Discover:
How Cornelius "The Commodore" Vanderbilt built America's largest fortune through ruthlessness and refusing to spend money on anything (including his dying mother's medical care)
How his son Billy multiplied the fortune to $200 million (over $200 billion today) in just eight years
The $11 million mansion wars that turned Fifth Avenue into a Vanderbilt showcase
Alva Vanderbilt's $8 million costume ball (equivalent to $300 million today) that bankrupted New York's other wealthy families, trying to compete
How Cornelius II built a 70-room "summer cottage" in Newport that cost $12 million ($450 million in today's money)
Why Reginald Vanderbilt drank and gambled away $10.5 million in just 23 years and died at age 45
How Consuelo Vanderbilt was literally sold to a British Duke for $95 million to buy the family a title
Alfred Vanderbilt's terrible luck with transportation (dodged the Titanic, died on the Lusitania)
The 1973 family reunion where 120 Vanderbilt descendants gathered and not one was a millionaire
How Anderson Cooper and Timothy Olyphant became the last wealthy Vanderbilts by doing something radical: getting a job
From Empire to Museum Tours: The Vanderbilts once controlled 10% of all money in America. They built the largest private homes in American history, threw parties that cost hundreds of millions, and lived like European royalty.
Then they divided the fortune among multiple heirs, built mansions they couldn't afford to maintain, never worked, and spent wildly on gambling, alcohol, and social climbing.
The Mathematics of Destruction: The Commodore left everything to one son (smart). That son split it among eight children (less smart). Those eight split it among dozens of grandchildren (financially suicidal).
By the third generation, the money was so divided that maintaining the lavish lifestyle became impossible. The Great Depression accelerated the collapse, but the real problem was simple: they spent faster than the fortune could sustain.
The Mansions That Bankrupted a Dynasty: One by one, the legendary Vanderbilt palaces were demolished or given away because nobody could afford the property taxes, heating costs, and servants.
The Triple Palace on Fifth Avenue became a shopping plaza. Cornelius II's mansion was torn down after just 40 years. Today, tourists pay $30 to tour The Breakers, the ultimate irony: come see where we used to be rich.
Anderson Cooper's Revolutionary Concept: When Gloria Vanderbilt died in 2019, Anderson inherited $1.5 million (not $150 million, not $15 million). But Anderson is worth $50 million because he earned it as a journalist.
He built his fortune the old-fashioned way: by working. And he plans to give it all to charity, officially ending the Vanderbilt fortune after 150 years.
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Were the Vanderbilts visionary aristocrats building a lasting legacy, or history's most spectacular example of how to lose an unfathomable fortune in three generations?
In this episode of History's Greatest Idiots, we explore the family that controlled 10% of all money in circulation in America and turned it into absolutely nothing through the revolutionary strategy of building 250-room houses nobody needed and throwing $8 million parties to impress people who already hated them.
This is the story of the Vanderbilt dynasty: from ruthless railroad tycoon to 120 descendants without a single millionaire among them in less than a century. Featuring marble palaces, forced marriages to British dukes, and enough champagne-fuelled bad decisions to sink the Lusitania. Oh wait, that happened too.
What You'll Discover:
How Cornelius "The Commodore" Vanderbilt built a $200 billion fortune (in relative economic terms) by being brilliant, ruthless, and too cheap to buy a new coat
Why his son William Henry was the last competent Vanderbilt, doubling the fortune before his descendants set it on fire
The $265 million "summer cottage" with 70 rooms that required 40 full-time servants (The Breakers in Newport)
Alva Vanderbilt's $8 million costume ball that forced New York society to accept them (one guest came dressed as a working lightbulb)
George Vanderbilt's 250-room Biltmore Estate that accidentally became a successful tourist attraction by losing so much money
How Consuelo Vanderbilt was literally sold to the Duke of Marlborough for $95 million and a fancy title
Reginald Vanderbilt's masterclass in drinking and gambling away $400 million in just 23 years
Why Alfred Vanderbilt survived cancelling his Titanic ticket only to die on the Lusitania three years later
The 1973 family reunion where 120 Vanderbilt descendants gathered and not one was a millionaire
How Anderson Cooper became the last wealthy Vanderbilt by doing something radical: getting a job
The Mathematics of Disaster: The Commodore leaves $95 million to one son. That son splits it among eight children. Those eight split it among dozens of grandchildren. Each generation builds million-dollar mansions requiring hundreds of thousands in annual maintenance. None of them work. All of them spend like the money is infinite. Spoiler: it wasn't.
The Gilded Age Arms Race: We explore how the Vanderbilts competed with the Astor's and other old money families by building increasingly absurd monuments to their wealth: Fifth Avenue châteaux that were demolished 40 years later because nobody could afford the property taxes, Newport "cottages" with indoor swimming pools and two-story libraries, and enough marble to build a small Italian village.
Three Generations of Wealth Destruction:
First Generation (The Commodore): Builds empire through ruthless business practices and penny-pinching
Second Generation (William Henry's children): Maintains wealth while building increasingly expensive houses and establishing lavish lifestyles
Third Generation: Drinks it, gambles it, and watches their houses get torn down because they can't afford the heating bills.
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Music: Andrew Wilson
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Was Julie Wainwright a visionary CEO caught in impossible circumstances, or did she preside over one of the most spectacularly stupid business models in internet history?
In this episode of History's Greatest Idiots, we explore the woman who sold dog food for one-third of what it cost, shipped it for free, spent $1.2 million on a Super Bowl ad, and somehow convinced Jeff Bezos this was a good idea.
This is the story of Pets.com: the company that proved you could lose $300 million in under two years if you really applied yourself, and the sock puppet mascot that became more famous than the company it represented.
What You'll Discover:
How a Purdue graduate went from early career struggles to running multiple successful tech companies
Why selling heavy pet supplies at massive discounts with free shipping is financial suicide
The massive marketing campaign that created an iconic sock puppet
How 14 dot-com companies spent an average of $2.2 million each for Super Bowl ads in January 2000
Why customer acquisition costs became unsustainable when selling low-margin pet products
The 268-day journey from $11 IPO to $0.19 liquidation (one of the shortest-lived public companies ever)
How Julie's husband filed for divorce the day before she announced the shutdown
The brutal aftermath: being called "the biggest failure in Silicon Valley"
Her incredible comeback with The RealReal (from pariah to billion-dollar IPO)
Why we're repeating the exact same mistakes with AI companies right now
From Super Bowl Glory to Liquidation: Pets.com raised $82.5 million, had Amazon as a 54% investor, appeared in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and became a cultural phenomenon.
But behind the famous sock puppet was a company losing money on every single sale, spending $11.8 million on advertising while earning $619,000 in revenue, and operating on the bold strategy of "lose money on every transaction and make it up in volume."
The Dot-Com Bubble Context: We explore how an entire generation of investors lost their minds, why "get large or get lost" became the mantra, and how $5-7 trillion in market value vanished when everyone realized that businesses actually need to make money. Plus: why Webvan, Boo.com, eToys, and Kozmo.com all failed for the exact same reasons.
The AI Parallel That Should Terrify You: We're living through this again right now. AI companies raising billions on potential rather than profitability, the same "this time it's different" thinking, identical infrastructure challenges, and investors throwing money at anything with "AI" in the pitch deck. History doesn't repeat, but it rhymes like a sock puppet singing Chicago.
Julie Wainwright's story proves that failure isn't fatal, being ahead of your time is often indistinguishable from being completely wrong, and sometimes the universe just needs you to burn $300 million to teach everyone a lesson they'll immediately forget.
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Was Melissa Caddick a financial genius who cracked the code to guaranteed returns, or Australia's most expensive morning jogger who turned fraud into an art form?
In this episode of History's Greatest Idiots, we explore the spectacular rise and mysterious fall of the Sydney socialite who stole $30 million from friends and family, lived like royalty for eight years, and then vanished into thin air.
What You'll Discover:
How a petty check-forger became Australia's most notorious Ponzi schemer
The fake university degrees that launched her fraudulent financial empire
Why she made herself "too exclusive" to attract desperate investors
The $40,000 Aspen hotel stays funded by stolen retirement money
How a chance meeting in a dentist's office brought down her scheme
The federal police raid that triggered her mysterious disappearance
Why her hairdresser husband waited 30 hours to report her missing
The gruesome beach discovery that ended wild conspiracy theories
How victims received only 32 cents for every dollar they lost
From Dover Heights Mansion to Ocean Floor: Melissa Caddick operated without licenses, used 37 fake bank accounts, and fabricated investment statements while living in a $6 million Sydney mansion. Her company Maliver was pure fiction, but her designer handbag collection was devastatingly real.
Through fake credentials and social manipulation, she convinced intelligent people (including her own parents) to hand over their life savings for investments that never existed. Her victims weren't gullible; they were simply unlucky enough to trust a charming sociopath who was willing to steal from family to fund her Louis Vuitton addiction.
The ultimate cautionary tale about financial fraud, family betrayal, and the high cost of living beyond your means.
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Was Norman Bel Geddes a brilliant visionary who shaped modern America, or just a master showman who sold us a dystopian future wrapped in chrome and streamlined curves?
In this episode of History's Greatest Idiots, we delve into the fascinating and troubling life of the man who promised us flying cars, designed the Interstate Highway System, and convinced an entire generation that the future would resemble a 1950s toaster.
What You'll Discover:
How a high school dropout became "the 20th century's Leonardo da Vinci"
The tragic family suicide that shaped Bel Geddes' obsession with perfect futures
Why he changed his name from Norman Geddes to the exotic "Norman Bel Geddes"
The revolutionary theater lighting techniques he invented that we still use today.
How his GM Futurama exhibit at the 1939 World's Fair attracted 27,500 visitors daily
The dark connection between his streamlined designs and eugenics beliefs
Why his beautiful concept cars were never built (but Mussolini offered $200k for them)
How he helped create America's car-dependent urban nightmare
The sophisticated peep shows he designed alongside cities of tomorrow.
From Broadway to Highways: Norman Bel Geddes revolutionized everything from Metropolitan Opera lighting to Chrysler Airflow automobiles. His 1932 book "Horizons" popularized streamlining as a design philosophy, while his "Magic Motorways" inspired the Interstate Highway System that transformed America.
But behind the gleaming vision of progress lurked troubling ideas about human "improvement" and a corporate-sponsored future that prioritized cars over communities.
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When most teenagers are worried about getting their driver's license, David Hahn was busy building a nuclear reactor in his mom's backyard shed using smoke detectors, camping lanterns, and an alarming amount of duct tape.
Meet the "Radioactive Boy Scout" who turned earning a merit badge into a federal nuclear incident.
In this episode of History's Greatest Idiots, we explore the jaw-dropping true story of a 17-year-old Michigan teenager who catfished the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, stockpiled radioactive materials from household items, and successfully built a functioning neutron source that contaminated an entire neighbourhood in what became one of America's most bizarre nuclear accidents.
From dismantling hundreds of smoke detectors for americium to posing as "Professor Hahn" to trick government scientists into sending him nuclear reactor blueprints, David's quest for atomic energy turned suburban Michigan into a Superfund cleanup site and sparked a major nuclear security investigation costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Join us as we dive into how one ambitious Boy Scout's backyard science experiment nearly irradiated five city blocks, fooled federal agencies, and became one of the most terrifying examples of DIY nuclear physics and teenage overachievement in American history.
Spoiler alert: it doesn't end well for the Nuclear Boy Scout.
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Lights, camera, CHAOS! This special greatest hits episode dives into Hollywood's most spectacular celebrity meltdowns and scandals, featuring three legendary movie stars who proved that fame, fortune, and fundamental stupidity make for blockbuster disasters.
RANDY QUAID - From Christmas Vacation to Conspiracy Theories: The talented character actor who went from beloved comedic roles in National Lampoon's movies to starring in his own real-life thriller involving alleged Hollywood assassins, Canadian border crossings, and a persecution complex that would make even the most paranoid conspiracy theorists say "maybe dial it back a notch".
ERROL FLYNN - Golden Age Hollywood's Ultimate Bad Boy: The swashbuckling Robin Hood superstar whose off-screen adventures made his action movies look tame, complete with high-profile trials, Nazi spy allegations, and enough debauchery to scandalize 1940s Hollywood (which took some serious effort).
JOHN BELUSHI - Saturday Night Live Legend's Tragic Downfall: The comedy genius and Blues Brothers star whose explosive energy extended to pharmaceutical experimentation, turning SNL success into a cautionary tale about how quickly brilliance can burn out when mixed with bottomless appetites.
From celebrity courtroom drama to wartime Hollywood intrigue to drug-fueled comedy chaos, these movie legends prove that sometimes the most entertaining performances happen when the cameras aren't rolling and nobody's directing the disaster.
Join Lev and Derek as they count down the greatest hits of Tinseltown's most gloriously idiotic moments in this true crime meets celebrity biography meets so insane it's practically fictional podcast episode.
Perfect for movie buffs, Hollywood history enthusiasts, celebrity scandal lovers, true crime fans, and anyone who's ever wondered how someone can simultaneously entertain millions and completely destroy their lives.
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Sex, drugs, and spectacularly stupid decisions! This special greatest hits episode of History's Greatest Idiots rocks through the most legendary bad choices in music history, featuring four icons who proved that talent and terrible judgment make the perfect rock and roll cocktail.
First up: Rick James, the funk superstar who turned "Super Freak" into a lifestyle philosophy, complete with kidnapping charges, cocaine binges, and the kind of career self-sabotage that makes train wrecks look organized.
Then we dive into Keith Moon, The Who's drummer, whose explosive personality matched his playing style, literally blowing up hotel toilets, driving cars into swimming pools, and somehow making other rock stars say "that guy's too wild for us."
We'll explore Malcolm McLaren, the punk impresario who created the Sex Pistols purely to destroy the music industry, then watched his masterpiece implode when Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious actually meant all that anarchist stuff.
Finally, Morrissey rounds out our line-up: the melancholy maestro whose genius for alienating fans, cities, and entire countries turned him from an indie darling into a professional controversy generator.
From drug-fuelled hotel destruction to punk rock manipulation schemes, these music legends prove that sometimes the biggest disasters happen when brilliant artists meet absolutely zero impulse control.
Join Lev and Derek as they count down the greatest hits of rock and roll's most gloriously idiotic moments.
Perfect for music fans, rock history buffs, and anyone who's ever wondered how someone can be simultaneously a genius and completely insane.
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When you're born into wealth, attend the best schools, and still manage to get kicked out of half of Europe, you might be Karl Marx, the bearded chaos merchant who thought capitalism sucked and spent most of his life borrowing rent money from his contemporary/co-writer/patron Friedrich Engels.
In this episode of History’s Greatest Idiots, we take a cold, sobering plunge into the life of the man who gave us The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital, inspired countless revolutions, and yet somehow couldn’t hold down a job or manage a budget to save his life (or his children’s lives, sadly).
From his toxic academic ego to the world's slowest writing habits and a bizarre refusal to bathe, Marx was less a revolutionary hero and more “guy who ruins the pub chat by quoting Hegel.”
Join us as we explore how a man with brilliant ideas and disastrous follow-through became one of the most influential (and, in many ways, idiotic) figures in modern history.
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When the world is your oyster, sometimes you think, "f*ck that oyster, I want canned tuna instead!" That's the point of view of today's subject, Tim Lambesis: from world conquering album launches with and tours with As I Lay Dying, to critical praise and millions of dollars, everything seemed to be going well for this rock star...then he threw it all away...multiple times.Join us as we look back through the life and career of one of the most infamous modern rock musicians. A man so despised, he's gone through 14 bandmates and 3 wives in 25 years!
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In this Pride Month special, the History’s Greatest Idiots team dives into the nuanced, lesser-told story of Harvey Milk. Yes, he was a pioneering political figure during a time of widespread discrimination and upheaval in 1970s America — but he was also a deeply complex character with a flair for publicity, a relentless political drive, and a ruthless streak that left real collateral damage.From his rise in San Francisco politics to the controversial tactics he used to stay in the spotlight, we explore the myth, the man, and the messy legacy Harvey Milk left behind.👉 Was Harvey Milk a selfless hero or a savvy manipulator who knew how to work the system?👉 How did his assassination shape LGBTQ+ activism forever?👉 And why is it important to look at queer icons with clear eyes, not just through rose-colored glasses?Join us for a thought-provoking episode that challenges the sanitized biopic versions and digs into the contradictions of one of America’s most iconic — and imperfect — political figures.
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