Get it on Google Play

Francis Scott Key was Kind of a Jerk

Francis Scott Key was Kind of a Jerk

Author: iHeartPodcasts August 18, 2026 Duration: 43:17
Ridiculous History
HistoryCultureSocietySociety & Culture

Love it or hate it, every American recognizes the Star-Spangled Banner. The lyrics come from a poem written by a lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, based on his experience watching an attack of Baltimore's Fort McHenry. The story itself is pretty inspiring -- but as Ben, Noel and Max learn in today's episode... Francis Scott Key was actually kind of a jerk.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

Official website RSS
youtubetiktok
Ridiculous History
Podcast Episodes
CLASSIC: The Nature of Ephemera, with Alex Williams [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:07
Whether we’re talking yesterday’s newspaper, pamphlets from museums, or even old lottery tickets and straw wrappers, the world is chock full of things that were not meant to last. Today the guys join Alex Williams, the c…
Badass of the Week Returns, Part Two: Chesapeake Capes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:24
Its a Badass Badass of the Week Week here on Ridiculous History! In the second part of this special two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max welcome Ben Thompson and Dr. Pat Larash, the co-hosts of the legendary Badass of the…
Badass of the Week Returns, Part One: George Rogers Clark [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:14
Its a Badass Badass of the Week Week here on Ridiculous History! In the first part of this special two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max welcome Ben Thompson and Dr. Pat Larash, the co-hosts of the legendary Badass of the W…
CLASSIC: That Time Ohio and Michigan Almost Went To War [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:37
In this week's Classic episode, Ben, Noel and Max explore how a misunderstanding of the geography of the Great Lakes started a feud, known as the Toledo War, between the state of Ohio and a territory called Michigan. Tun…
CLASSIC: The Attack of the Japanese Balloon Bombs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:59
Picture this: It's late 1944, and you, like thousands of other people on the west coast of North America, have noticed bizarre, jellyfish-like objects floating through the sky. You call the local authorities, maybe even…

«12345»