ATLANTA, Dec. 07, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- If you’re reading this, the apocalypse has happened, and you have survived. In the post-calamity world, you may have found ways to satisfy your hunger for food, but what about your hunger for culture? Your worldly knowledge may be the difference between leading a rag-tag band of survivors and being their dinner. Do not fret. In the long ago times, HowStuffWorks created Omnibus, a pre-emptive antidote to the post-apocalyptic world in the form of a “podcast.” Recently unearthed, the hosts have been identified as Ken Jennings, record-breaking Jeopardy! champion, and John Roderick, front man of the indie-rock band The Long Winters.
Omnibus’ journey began in the pre-apocalypse year of 2017 as a light and fun response to the tumultuous sociopolitical climate of the day. At the time, the conceit of the show was to take future listeners who managed to survive the apocalypse on a journey of rediscovery as Ken and John created a highlight reel of human culture and history. But their conceit proved all too real. The result was a time-capsule of interesting events and stories amassed from a world now reduced to ashes.
Long thought lost to time, the technology to listen to these recordings has finally been reverse engineered. Ken and John's crumbling log entries, found with the recordings, detail their plans to release two new Omnibus entries every week, covering subjects as diverse as The European Starling, Smell-o-Vision, The Sentinelese and “The Rachel” (which appears to be some kind of hair styling). The logs also provide a glimpse into what Ken and John hoped to accomplish with the Omnibus:
From the diary of Ken Jennings: “The end of the world is nigh, and we feel a responsibility to preserve what we can of the most culturally relevant and significant moments throughout history. These are the moments we want you to remember; the funny, amazing stories that we believe will be relevant to our listeners in the distant future, whether they’re super-intelligent cockroaches, mutant fish-persons, alien visitors, killer robots or re-evolved humans who, against all odds, managed to thwart evolution itself!”
John Roderick’s lab notes reveal a man unhinged: “If you’re reading this, it means you at least know how to read. I beg you to develop the technology to listen to the encyclopedia of stories we recorded before the blood wave comes. We can’t know what your world looks like, but we suspect you’re just now crawling back from the ruins of civilization. Perhaps you’re literally crawling and snapping your enormous mandibles! Well, here is our gift to you: a compendium of culture and memory from the world that once was. We hope our Omnibus is the glowing salve that illuminates your path from darkness into the light of knowledge.”
About HowStuffWorks
Founded in 1998, HowStuffWorks is the leading for-profit publisher of entertaining and informative podcast content. The parent company of 22 leading brands including Stuff You Should Know, Stuff You Missed in History Class and Stuff Mom Never Told You, the HowStuffWorks team reaches a highly engaged fan base across multiple platforms and distribution partners and has amassed a library of more than 6,000 podcasts and 1 billion downloads. With this expansive and award winning collection of audio podcasts, HowStuffWorks is ranked #2 in global downloads and streams. The company is headquartered in Atlanta and also operates studios out of Los Angeles. For more information, visit http://www.howstuffworks.com.
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