Old Kentucky Tales

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In their own words

Old Kentucky Tales: Quirky history stories from Kentucky’s past plus Brent and Jason (and guests) have a laugh at old (fake) commercials and real life characters.

Why you'd press play

Fake sponsor pitches punctuate Kentucky history, just when your curiosity thought it knew the route.

Press play if you want

  • a history quiz where suspected fake Civil War deafness becomes a multiple-choice problem
  • to hear Brent Taylor and Daniel Hurt compare a Cane Ridge camp meeting to Burning Man
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Best episodes of Old Kentucky Tales

Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.

Old Kentucky Tales S10, E7: The 100th Episode Quiz Contest!Nov 20, 2023

A 100th-episode quiz turns Old Kentucky Tales' past stories into a relaxed contest of memory, guesses, and teasing.

Old Kentucky Tales marks its 100th episode with a quiz-night setup, as Brent Taylor puts Jason Donner and Todd Birdsong through questions drawn from earlier stories.

Old Kentucky Tales S10, E6: The Life-Saving Power of PeppermintNov 9, 2023

A noisy Kentucky revival, a peppermint hook, and a strange historical scene in the woods.

Old Kentucky Tales treats the Great Awakening as something rougher and stranger than a settled textbook chapter. The episode begins with Reverend Peter Cartwright and the life-saving power of peppermint, then moves outward to Cain Ridge, where stands were built for preachers…

Old Kentucky Tales S10, E4: An Ode to Meat Showers and Fatherless SnakesNov 9, 2023

A poetry reading turns a Louisville snake's unexpected eggs into a funny, strange doorway to Kentucky's past.

This off-kilter Kentucky history episode turns Britton Shirley's poetry into a conversation about strange stories and the wonder they can stir up.

Old Kentucky Tales S10, E5: Happy for Jackie! - Happy Chandler and Jackie RobinsonNov 9, 2023

A loose Kentucky conversation finds the pressure point in Jackie Robinson's path to the majors.

Happy Chandler's account of Jackie Robinson's road to a major-league debut gives Old Kentucky Tales a clear local hold on a much larger baseball story.

Old Kentucky Tales S10, E3: How Abraham Lincoln Won World War IINov 8, 2023

A mock-mysterious Lincoln title leads into propaganda, national unity, and playful historical argument.

How Abraham Lincoln Won World War II opens with a title built to sound wrong, and Brent Taylor with guest host Daniel Hurt use that oddness as the hook.

Podcasts like Old Kentucky Tales

Episodes

  1. 1

    Old Kentucky Tales S10, E7: The 100th Episode Quiz Contest!

    Hidden gem

    Old Kentucky Tales marks its 100th episode with Brent Taylor hosting Jason Donner and Todd in a quiz built from earlier episodes, fake sponsors, and Kentucky history.

    Nov 20, 2023·54m·5 clips
  2. 2

    Old Kentucky Tales S10, E4: An Ode to Meat Showers and Fatherless Snakes

    Hidden gem

    Britton Shirley reads from Spinning the Vast Fantastic, a chapbook from Bull City Press in Durham, North Carolina, while Brent Taylor and Daniel Hurt treat the reading as the main event.

    Nov 9, 2023·26m·1 clip
  3. 3

    Old Kentucky Tales S10, E5: Happy for Jackie! - Happy Chandler and Jackie Robinson

    Hidden gem

    ["Old Kentucky Tales centers on Happy Chandler's Hall of Fame account of Jackie Robinson's move from Montreal to Brooklyn, framed by Brent Taylor and Daniel Hurt.", "Chandler says the owners met at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in January 1947 and voted 15-1 against Robinson, with Brooklyn the lone yes.", "He describes Branch Rickey traveling to Kentucky, meeting him at a 50-year-old cabin, and asking for support before Robinson joined the Dodgers.", "Brent Taylor and Daniel Hurt also unpack Chandler's claim that Black veterans from Okinawa, Iwo Jima, and Tarawa should not be denied baseball after military service, while joking through fake Lucky Strike and Wild Root Cream Oil ads."]

    Nov 9, 2023·25m·1 clip
  4. 4

    Old Kentucky Tales S10, E6: The Life-Saving Power of Peppermint

    Hidden gem

    Old Kentucky Tales centers on the Second Great Awakening, the Cane Ridge meeting in northern Kentucky, and Reverend Peter Cartwright's account of mass conversions and the "jerks." Brent Taylor and Daniel Hurt read Cartwright's description of 12,000 to 25,000 people gathering in woods, wagons, and revival stands between 1800 and 1801.

    Nov 9, 2023·28m·1 clip
  5. 5

    Old Kentucky Tales S10, E2: Energy and Inflation Tips From the 1970's

    Nov 8, 2023·28m
  6. 6

    Old Kentucky Tales S10, E3: How Abraham Lincoln Won World War II

    Hidden gem

    ["Brent Taylor and guest host Daniel Hurt use Old Kentucky Tales S10, E3 to show how World War II posters turned Abraham Lincoln into a wartime mascot, starting with the paradox that Lincoln \"won World War II.\"", "They walk through slogans like \"They did their job.

    Nov 8, 2023·29m·2 clips
  7. 7

    Old Kentucky Tales S10, E1: The Henry Clay Personality Test

    Nov 7, 2023·42m
  8. 8

    Old Kentucky Tales S9, E5: The Deep State Plot Against Ulysses Grant

    Oct 9, 2023·35m
  9. 9

    Old Kentucky Tales S9, E6: Bluegrass Vegas Vibes

    Oct 9, 2023·26m
  10. 10

    Old Kentucky Tales, S9, E4: How to Detect Fake Civil War Injuries

    A comedic podcast episode where hosts joke about fake Civil War injuries and prostate health, featuring a fake doctor guest.

    Oct 9, 2023·53m
  11. 11

    Old Kentucky Tales S9, E8: Yeah, Dude. It's a Compromise.

    Oct 9, 2023·34m
  12. 12

    Old Kentucky Tales S9, E9: Dark Fire, Night Riders and the Tobacco Wars

    Oct 9, 2023·39m
  13. 13

    Old Kentucky Tales S9, E10: Anything but Another Abe Lincoln Anecdote

    Oct 9, 2023·29m
  14. 14

    Old Kentucky Tales S9, E7: The Surrender Heard 'Round The World

    Oct 9, 2023·39m
  15. 15

    Old Kentucky Tales S9, E3: The Year Pac-Man ate Louisville

    Sep 1, 2023·38m
  16. 16

    Old Kentucky Tales S9, E1: I Think. Therefore, A.M.

    Aug 28, 2023·40m
  17. 17

    Old Kentucky Tales S9, E2: There's No "I" in Beer

    Aug 28, 2023·38m
  18. 18

    Old Kentucky Tales S8, E10: Love Potion #0

    Jun 15, 2023·39m
  19. 19

    Old Kentucky Tales: S8, E9: The Hypnotist with a Hidden Agenda

    A humorous look at a sketchy showman hypnotist in Kentucky's past, with fake sponsor ads.

    Jun 14, 2023·34m
  20. 20

    Old Kentucky Tales S8, E8: Bad Babes of the Civil War

    Jun 14, 2023·34m
  21. 21

    Old Kentucky Tales S8, Ep7: The Land of Milk and Whiskey

    Jun 15, 2022·30m
  22. 22

    Old Kentucky Tales S8, Ep6: Joel Hart's Broken Heart and the Woman Triumphant

    Apr 4, 2022·30m
  23. 23

    Old Kentucky Tales S8, Ep5: Talking And Inventing Gum At The Same Time

    Mar 16, 2022·26m
  24. 24

    Old Kentucky Tales S8, Ep4: Promiscuous Visiting At Perryville

    Feb 17, 2022·27m
  25. 25

    Old Kentucky Tales S8, Ep3: The Bubonic Plague vs. Covid-19

    This episode compares the bubonic plague and COVID-19, with humorous fake commercials and a segment featuring Darth Lincoln.

    Jan 26, 2022·34m
  26. 26

    Old Kentucky Tales S8, Ep2: Andrew Jackson's Kentucky Killing

    Dec 22, 2021·44m
  27. 27

    Old Kentucky Tales S8, Ep 1: The Rosy and Riveting Story of Peggy Terry

    Dec 10, 2021·20m
  28. 28

    Old Kentucky Tales S7, Ep10: Carry Nation Could Have Been A Pro Wrestler

    Sep 16, 2021·20m
  29. 29

    Old Kentucky Tales S7, Ep9: Simon Kenton and the Kentucky K-O

    May 20, 2021·21m
  30. 30

    Old Kentucky Tales S7, Ep8: World War 2 Slang Is Tickety-Boo

    Mar 4, 2021·22m
  31. 31

    Old Kentucky Tales S7, Ep7: Lincoln Learns Lightning Rods

    Jan 27, 2021·19m
  32. 32

    Old Kentucky Tales S7, Ep6: Some Jerk Put An Egg In My Soda

    Jan 7, 2021·20m
  33. 33

    Old Kentucky Tales S7, Ep5: COVID-1918!

    Dec 30, 2020·22m
  34. 34

    Old Kentucky Tales S7, Ep4: How Cottage Cheese Saved The World...Twice.

    Dec 11, 2020·24m
  35. 35

    Old Kentucky Tales S7, Ep3: The Other Cassius Clay Could Fight, Too!

    Nov 26, 2020·25m
  36. 36

    Old Kentucky Tales S7, Ep2: Wake Up, You're In Missile Defense!

    Nov 18, 2020·44m
  37. 37

    Old Kentucky Tales S7, Ep1: Behind the Scenes with River Queens

    Hosts Brent and Jason discuss Kentucky history with a guest author about river boats, interspersed with fake commercials and humor.

    Oct 21, 2020·40m
  38. 38

    Old Kentucky Tales S6, Ep10: A Behind the Scenes Tour of the Gettysburg Address

    Jan 22, 2020·23m
  39. 39

    Old Kentucky Tales S6, Ep9: Totally Outrageous Eighties Electronics Prices

    Jan 9, 2020·27m
  40. 40

    Old Kentucky Tales S6, Ep8: Ye Old Yucky Christmas Foods

    Dec 16, 2019·23m