About this podcast
You know when you can’t sleep at night so you Google everything about deep sea diving? Things I Learned Last Night (TILLN) is that, but in a podcast. Check us out on Spotify, Apple, or wherever else you get your podcasts
Episodes
The newest 50 of 375 episodes
- Ruth E. Norman | This Cult Promised Aliens Would Build Us a College · 1 h 2 min · Episode 351In March 1976, a grandmother from El Cajon, California flew to London, walked into a Ladbrokes betting shop, and put down $4,000 that aliens would land on Earth within a year…
- Fred Soper | We Almost Eradicated Malaria. Then We Stopped. · 44 min · Episode 350For every three soldiers General MacArthur had in the Pacific during World War II, one was on the front line, one was on leave, and one was flat on his back in a hospital with…
- The Salad Oil Scandal | How a Scam Made Warren Buffett Rich · 59 min · Episode 349In November 1963, a man who filled giant tanks with water and floated a thin layer of soybean oil on top managed to borrow $180 million against inventory that mostly did not…
- The Wide Deceiver | The Man Who Faked His Way Onto the 49ers · 1 h 1 min · Episode 348A video of a San Francisco 49ers "wide receiver" running routes on a beach went viral last week, and football fans immediately clocked a dozen red flags. The helmet he took home…
- The Loch Ness Monster | A Monk Started the Loch Ness Myth 1,500 Years Ago · 53 min · Episode 347What if the most famous monster in the world started as a 1,500-year-old tall tale told by a monk who used his own buddy as bait? Buckle up, because Nessie's origin story is…
- 655,000 Men Went Into Russia. 93,000 Came Out | Napoleon Bonaparte · 1 h 0 min · Episode 346What if the guy history remembers as a tiny, insecure tyrant was actually an average-height military genius who reshaped the laws of 120 countries? Napoleon Bonaparte is way…
- The War of 1812: America's Most Pointless War? · 56 min · Episode 345Ever wondered how a war can end a full month before its biggest, bloodiest battle even happens? Welcome to the War of 1812 — history's most confusing "second war for…
- Trustor | The Man Who Bought a Company With Its Own Money · 1 h 6 min · Episode 344What if you could buy an entire company without spending a single dollar of your own money — by using the company's own cash to pay for itself? Ever wondered if you could buy a…
- Prospera | Rich People Trying to Takeover Honduras · 1 h 13 min · Episode 343What if a billionaire could just... buy a chunk of an island, wall it off, and write his own laws? No pesky government, no red tape, no rules. Ever wondered what happens when a…
- Benjaman Kyle | This Man Forgot His Own Name For 11 Years · 1 h 10 min · Episode 342What if the only way to escape a mob hit was to erase yourself completely — no name, no memory, no identity — and hope the government would hand you a fresh start? For one man…
- Mint Cakes | This Item Almost Destroyed Runescape · 58 min · Episode 341Ever heard of a mint cake? Not the candy — the digital dessert that triggered one of the wildest speculative financial bubbles in gaming history. This week Jaron and Tim go deep…
- John Hanke | The Video Game That Was Secretly Mapping Your World · 57 min · Episode 340What if the summer you spent chasing Pikachu in the park was actually you volunteering to build a global military mapping system? Yeah. That happened. Ever wondered where Google…
- Percy Fawcett | Did They Just Find the City of Gold? · 52 min · Episode 339What happened to the legendary explorer Percy Fawcett? We dive into the disappearance of the man who obsessed over the mysterious Lost City of Z. In this episode, we unpack the…
- Winchester Mystery House | She Built a House to TRAP Ghosts · 45 min · Episode 338Was the Winchester Mystery House a ghost-trapping labyrinth or a feat of architectural genius? We uncover the truth behind the Winchester legend. In this episode, we dive deep…
- The Teen Wolf Of Wall Street · 1 h 12 min · Episode 337Discover the wild true story of Barry Minko, the teenage entrepreneur who built a $600 million corporate empire on a foundation of pure fraud. Dive into one of history’s most…
- MacKenzie-Childs | She Paid $5.5 Million to Erase Them Completely · 1 h 0 min · Episode 336What happens when massive talent meets an absolute business nightmare? Discover the wild story behind the iconic MacKenzie-Childs brand. In this episode of Things I Learned Last…
- The Luddites | 200 Years Ago, Workers Watched Machines Take Their Jobs. · 56 min · Episode 335Discover the true story behind the Luddites, the 19th-century workers who rebelled against industrialization to save their livelihoods. Were they just anti-tech Luddites, or was…
- Robert Chesebrough | The Nasty Goo Made Him Rich · 34 min · Episode 334Ever wondered how Vaseline, a byproduct of oil drilling, became a global household name? Discover the wild, true origin of petroleum jelly today. In this episode of Things I…
- Bricks & Minifigs | YouTuber Gets DESTROYED In $200k Lawsuit · 1 h 13 min · Episode 333Ever wonder how a simple Lego consignment spiraled into a viral legal nightmare? Dive into the wild saga of Bricks & Minifigs and the fight for a fortune. In this deep dive, we…
- Samuel Morse | The Most Famous Inventor You Know Nothing About · 1 h 3 min · Episode 332Ever wondered how Morse code was really invented? Explore the complicated history and surprising legacy of Samuel Morse beyond just the telegraph. In this deep dive into…
- Howard Hughes | The Man Who Bought Vegas · 1 h 16 min · Episode 331What would you do with unlimited money, your own private air force, and absolutely nobody to tell you "no"? If you're Howard Hughes, you crash planes through Los Angeles…
- The Business Plot | Wall Street Tried to Overthrow the Government · 49 min · Episode 330What would you do if Wall Street's richest men showed up at your door with a briefcase full of cash and a plan to overthrow the United States government? For one of the most…
- Crackas With Attitude | These Guys Hacked the CIA · 1 h 6 min · Episode 329Two teenagers managed to pull off the ultimate cybercrime: hacking the CIA, FBI, and NSA using nothing but clever social engineering. Discover the wild true story of the infamous…
- Gunther VI | The Scam Behind the World's Richest Dog · 58 min · Episode 328Meet Gunther, the world's wealthiest dog, worth $400 million. But is this German Shepherd a financial genius, or is the entire story a massive tax-evasion scam? In this deep…
- American Heartland | God Told Me to Build a Theme Park · 1 h 7 min · Episode 327Discover the shocking true story behind the American Heartland theme park scam that bilked millions from an unsuspecting billionaire. This tale of greed, fake emails from 'God,'…
- Limitarianism | Is It Wrong to Be Filthy Rich? · 1 h 8 min · Episode 326Is there a moral limit to how much wealth one person should accumulate? We dive into the controversial concept of limitarianism. In this episode, we break down the provocative…
- Paul Dirac | What if Antimatter Was Cheap · 53 min · Episode 325Ever wondered if an 'anti-world' really exists? Discover the mind-bending reality of antimatter and how it could hold the key to our planet's future. In this episode, we tackle…
- Iodine | Can Salt Make You Smart? · 1 h 2 min · Episode 324Are you accidentally hindering your brain health? Discover why iodine deficiency is a silent epidemic and how your simple salt choice affects IQ. In this episode, we dive into…
- Bad Grandpas | These Old Men Robbed a Bank · 1 h 9 min · Episode 323Ever wondered how a group of pensioners pulled off one of history's most audacious crimes? Discover the insane true story of the Hatton Garden heist. In this episode, we dive…
- Roswell | The Declassified Truth Behind the Crashed UFO · 58 min · Episode 322Was the infamous Roswell incident truly humanity's first contact with aliens, or is there a much more grounded explanation? Dive into the mystery behind the 1947 UFO crash. In…
- Alfred Nobel | The Explosive Truth of the Nobel Peace Prize · 58 min · Episode 321Ever wondered why the inventor of dynamite created the Nobel Peace Prize? Discover the shocking history of Alfred Nobel and his quest for a better legacy. In this episode of…
- The Panama Papers | How 11.5 Million Documents Ended a President · 1 h 1 min · Episode 320Ever wonder how the ultra-wealthy hide billions in offshore accounts? We're diving into the Panama Papers leak to uncover the truth behind shell companies. In this episode, we…
- APRIL FOOLS SPECIAL · 55 min · Episode 319Is modern corporate greed preventing you from fixing your own electronics? Discover the hidden truth behind the 'Right to Repair' movement. In this episode of Things I Learned…
- Spruce Pine | How One Mineral From NC Protects Taiwan · 46 min · Episode 318Ever notice how one small town in North Carolina controls the global tech market? Discover how a hidden deposit of ultra-pure quartz runs everything. In this episode, we dive…
- Snake Oil | The Wild West's Biggest Scam · 49 min · Episode 317Dive into the fascinating history of America's most famous 'snake oil salesman,' Clark Stanley. In this episode, we unpack the story of the 'Rattlesnake King,' who rose to fame…
- Moltbook | An AI Built Its Own Social Media · 1 h 18 min · Episode 316What happens when AI bots create their own secret social network? We dive into the wild story of Moltbook and Clawbot, uncovering the truth behind this supposed Reddit for bots…
- Urantia | Sleep-Talking Cult Leader: The Urantia Book & Celestial Seasonings Tea · 59 min · Episode 315Ever wonder about the story behind your favorite Sleepy Time tea? Discover the shocking connection between Celestial Seasonings and a 2,000-page book allegedly channeled from a…
- The Death Harvest | How 19 Deaths Saved Football · 50 min · Episode 314In 1905, Football faced its darkest season. That year became known as The Death Harvest because players were dying at an alarming rate. The game was brutal, chaotic, and barely…
- Was Tom DeLonge Right About Aliens? · 1 h 18 min · Episode 313Most people know Tom DeLonge as the guitarist and singer from Blink-182. He helped define pop-punk in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But over time, his name became connected to…
- Why Watergate Changed America Forever · 60 min · Episode 312Watergate is one of the most important political scandals in American history. It reshaped how Americans view power, elections, and trust in government. What began as a small…
- This Invention Made Billions, but He Only Got Paid $180? | Blue Light · 59 min · Episode 311Blue Light is everywhere today. It shines from our phones, TVs, laptops, streetlights, and homes. Most people never stop to wonder where it came from or who made it possible. The…
- 3I/ATLAS | It's Official the Aliens Are Coming · 1 h 15 min · Episode 310For decades, scientists believed space was mostly predictable. Objects followed known paths. Light behaved in expected ways. Then discoveries like 3I/ATLAS challenged those…
- Project X Haren | The Real Story Behind 'Project X' Movie · 1 h 10 min · Episode 310In 2012, a teenage girl in the Netherlands planned a simple birthday celebration. She wanted friends, music, and a normal night at home. One mistake on Facebook changed…
- Stuxnet | How the US Started Cyber War · 57 min · Episode 308In 2010, cybersecurity experts uncovered a computer virus unlike anything seen before. This malware did not target personal computers or steal private data. Instead, it quietly…
- Secret Mall Apartment | They Hid in the Mall for Four Years · 1 h 7 min · Episode 307In the late 1990s, a strange housing experiment unfolded in Rhode Island. It was not advertised or permitted. It existed quietly inside a busy shopping mall. This hidden space…
- Our Funniest Moments From 2025 · 1 h 5 min · Episode 306This episode is a full look back at one of the wildest years in the history of the show. Tim and Jaron revisit their favorite moments, hardest laughs, and most unhinged…
- Kevin McCallister | How this Kid Saved Christmas · 58 min · Episode 305The podcast tells the story of Kevin McCallister, a young boy who gets accidentally left behind when his family goes on a Christmas trip to France. While home alone, Kevin has to…
- The Matsukawa Derailment | How the CIA Rigged Japan's Democracy · 1 h 8 min · Episode 304In the early morning hours of August 17, 1949, a passenger train derailed near the town of Matsukawa in northern Japan. At first, the crash appeared to be a tragic accident, but…
- Unknown Number | Cyberbullying Gone WAY too Far · 1 h 11 min · Episode 303Strange messages can shake even the strongest people. That is what happened in a small Michigan town when an Unknown Number began sending cruel texts to two young teens. What…
- Apollo 13 | This Is the Problem Houston Had · 57 min · Episode 302The Apollo 13 mission began as a routine trip to the moon. At first, many people barely paid attention. NASA had already reached the moon twice by then. But everything changed…
