Ordinary Observations
by K103 Göteborgs Studentradio
Ordinary Observations is the radio equivalent of knowing enough to know you’re wrong, but knowing too little to care about the details. It gives enough for a passing grade and leaves room to figure out the rest along the way. Join Jack as he discusses a bizarre potpourri of ideas, occurrences, personalities, and problems from all imaginable corners of the globe, across all of recorded history.Host: Jack WilliamsonThis is a podcast from K103 Göteborgs Studentradio
Episodes
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Ecological Policy Mistakes
Join Jack for this week's episode of Ordinary Observations where we take a look at a few regrettable ecological policy mistakes from throughout history. The bulk of this show is about a particularly consequential campaign against sparrows in 1950s China. Why they wanted them gone, how they went...
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Fat Bear Week & Bird of The Year
This time on Ordinary Observations, Jack is joined by long time friends of the show Ariel (of Armchair American fame) and Alex (a professional journalist) to cast an intrigued gaze upon some recent events from the animal world. We start off with Fat Bear Week, a celebration of salmon consumption...
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Jousting
On this episode of Ordinary Observations Jack is once again joined by long term friend of the show Manoj, this time to discuss the history of Jousting. We take a look at how the sport of jousting came to be, the role it played in knightly life during the Late Middle Ages, and discuss the...
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Jonathan The Giant Tortoise
This time on Ordinary Observations Jack is joined by a motley gang of mates to discuss Jonathan, the 193 year old Seychelles Giant Tortoise and his recent misfortune of being tied up in a crypto scam. We take a look at just how this happened, as well as a few other stories and fun facts from...
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Showing Up To One's Own Funeral
This week on Ordinary Observations we take a look at a few novel stories of people who have showed up alive to their own funerals. First off we meet Ms Noella Rakundo and discuss her miraculous story of survival before confronting the very person who tried to have her killed. We get on the lash…
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Stealing Copper
Getting into the festive spirit this week on Ordinary Observations we express a little admiration for the creative lengths some clever people are willing to go to in order to steal a little copper. We discuss a recent spate of theft committed right here in Gothenburg, by a gang dressed up as...
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Cheating on Exams
This week Jack is once again joined by long time friend of the show Manoj to discuss a few fun stories of people trying to cheat on their exams. We start off with an odd excuse for a man to refuse revealing what's in his hand during a Swedish driving theory test. We catch up with a few would-be...
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Time Zone Curiosities
This week on Ordinary Observations we stop the clocks and take a timely look at a history of time zones. How did we get here? Short answer: The steam locomotive. Listen in to hear the long answer and how ultimately it all ends in a personal anecdote of Jack missing a football match. We also…
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More Common Misconceptions
Leaning right into the leftover show notes from the last K103 Live Day, Jack is back this week to discuss a bunch more common misconceptions from the depths of science, culture, and history. Is the caesarian section really named after Julius Caesar? Does cutting an earthworm in half really make…
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Common Misconceptions
This episode is taken from K103 Live Day where Jack is joined by long time friends of the show Erik, Eddie, and Josefine. Doing our part in the battle against an ever-rising tide of misinformation, we take a cold, sarcastic look at some of the most common misconceptions from the realms of…
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Weird News You Might Have Missed Summer 2025
This week Jack finally returns from his lengthy summer holidays to discuss a few bizarre bits of recent news we all fear you might have missed. First off a Danish Zoo makes quite a stir with an interesting request, secondly a UK doctor falls from grace in a rather undignified fashion, and finally...
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Roadside Gigantism
This week on Ordinary Observations Jack is joined by long time friend of the show, Bosnian affairs correspondent, and K103 Chairperson, Elvira Hodzic! We have a long, winding discussion about the joys of large roadside attractions, built by enterprising folks trying to encourage ordinary passers…
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Bad Off-Field Behaviour
This week on Ordinary Observations, Jack is joined by long time friend of the show, holder of a master's degree in economics, and brother - Bryn. We get into the nitty gritty of a few of our favourite sportspeople making questionable decisions off the pitch. From bathroom incident that ruined…
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Animals Getting Drunk & Doing Drugs
This week on Ordinary Observations, Jack once again caves into the urge of talking about animals. We ask ourselves a simple question - Do animals like to get drunk and do drugs? As we will find out during the show, the answer is a resounding 'Yes. They do'. Inspired by Chewwy the meth pipe…
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Moose
This week on Ordinary Observations Jack is joined by long time friend of the show Victor, a Swedish man who has seen a moose before. We spend the hour asking some heavy hitting questions like what do moose eat, where do moose like to live, how does a moose find love, and what should moose be…
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Papal Misbehaviour
Join Jack this week on Ordinary Observations for a sprawling discussion on a select few terrible popes. We start off with Pope Stephen XI, a man so incensed at his dead predecessor's actions, he had his corpse exhumed and put on trial, in what would come to be known as the Cadaver Synod. Next we...
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Running
Mark & Jack once again join in on K103 Live Day, this time to put some Ordinary Observationism on the time-honoured, yet in-vogue hobby of running great distances in terrible conditions. Mark pulls the starting trigger with Marathon Des Sables, the 7 day long, 250+ km epic adventure race through...
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Animal Experimentation
Join Mark & Jack for an ordinary discussion somewhere near the intersection of animal biology and scientific tomfoolery. This week we are taking a look at some questionable experiments performed on animals. How did we make cats glow green and how does that help us fight AIDS? Why did 1960s...
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Wikipedia Favourites
Join Mark & Jack this week as we pay homage to the greatest website ever created, Wikipedia. Spring is finally here, so why not lace up with us for a casual scroll through a few of our personal favourite entries. Mark gets started with a beautiful tale, found at the not-so-frequently-visited...
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Saving Money
Join Jack and Mark once again for K103's Live Day! This time featuring long time friend of the show and budgeting expert Manoj, as well as Alva from the K103 music editorial team. This installment of Ordinary Observations focuses on all things money saving; tips and tricks to save your pennies in…
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Performance Art
Join Jack and Mark on this installation of Ordinary Observations as they explore the culture rich world of performance art and meet some of the artists behind the work. We take a look at the dedication of Taiwanese endurance art performer Tehching Hsieh, with his profound series of One Year…
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Incredible Feats of Human Endurance
Welcome to the first episode of Ordinary Observations for 2025! Mark and Jack start the year as we mean to go on, with a few interesting stories of incredible human endurance. Mark runs us through the entire length of Africa with Hardest Geezer Russ Cook, who tore up the pavement all the way from...
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Christmas Omnibus 2024
Ho, Ho, Ho, welcome one and all to the Ordinary Observation Christmas Omnibus 2024, where Mark & Jack clean out the backlog of stories we couldn't squeeze into the radio show. Some highlights include a brave nursing student and an incredibly swollen testicle, Greenlandic seal hunters getting...
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Animals Predicting The Future
On Ordinary Observations this week Mark & Jack once again join in on K103 live day, this time to discuss a varied history of using animals to predict the future. Germany correspondent Mark recounts the story of Paul the Octopus, who caught the world's attention for a string of accurate…
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Sports Curses
Join Jack and Mark as we consult witch doctors and shamans as we try to lift some of the sporting world's strangest curses. Jack talks us through the curse of the Bambino after Babe Ruth's exit from the Boston Red Sox, and the subsequent 80 year title drought. Mark retraces the steps of the 1951...
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Hunting Treasure
Join Jack, Mark and special treasure-hunting- enthusiast guest Jule, on this instalment of Ordinary Observations, in which we discuss the folklore, stories, and characters surrounding some of the biggest treasure hoards of history. Jack introduces the Fenn Treasure, hidden by famous art dealer…
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Micronations
This week on Ordinary Observations Mark & Jack go one smaller and dig into a few noteworthy micronations from around the globe. Mark begins with explaining why he would rather not talk about Freetown Christiania, the 'international community commune' surrounded by what most people call…
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Small Countries
Listen in to Ordinary Observations from K103 Live Day Nov 1st, where Mark & Jack dig up some fun facts regarding the smallest countries on the map. In order of ascending geographical size, we start off with the Vatican, the pope's XI, their standard gauge railway, and the young, Swiss bachelors…
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World College Radio Day Special - American Electoral Issues
This episode of Ordinary Observations is actually not an episode of Ordinary Observations at all! It is in fact Gothenburg Student Radio K103's submission to World College Radio Day 2024. In light of the looming US election, Mark and Jack team up with fellow K103 member Marion to give the rundown...
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Defenestration
Join Jack & Mark for a free falling discussion through the time honoured tradition of humans throwing each other out of windows. Jack lays out some history behind the word 'Defenestration' itself and how the good people of Prague put it on the map. We discuss the proud Russian past time of…
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Drinking Games
This week Mark and Jack are joined by long time friend of the show Callum to discuss the time honoured tradition of making friends through binge drinking. Competitively. We lace up the lamborfeeties and get trotting round the Bierkastenlauf trail. Set our sports watches for the Beer Mile. And…
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Geographically Specific Syndromes
Join Jack and Mark as they take a perfectly un-peer-reviewed stroll trough the world of geographically specific illnesses and syndromes. We take a look at what it is about Paris that makes some tourists feel so terrible, the events that lead to Stockholm Syndrome getting its name, and the artwork...
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Bad Jobs
Join Jack and Mark as they peel back the pages of history and peek into some of the worst jobs to ever need doing. Clean out the Houses of Easement with London's gang of gong farmers, tasked with carting away human excrement in the dead of night. Stomp around in the bucket full of wool and piss,...
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Summer Omnibus 2024
Join Mark & Jack as they rap up the first the half year with the 2024 Summer Omnibus. We open the fridge on each of our previous 16 episodes and heat up the left overs we didn't manage to squeeze into the show at the respective time of broadcast. We've been banging on about it all year, so why…
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Nicknames
Join Jack and Mark for another episode of Ordinary Observations, this time to discuss a perhaps under appreciated artform, the humble nickname. We rummage through a laundry list of some of the great nicknames from throughout history. Football players, vikings, presidents, swimmers, dictators,...
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Con Artists
Join Jack and Mark on this instalment of Ordinary Observations as they take a look at the World of fraudsters and scammers, crooks and forgers, this time on K103 its an investigation into some of the famous con artists through the years. We sit on the bench and feign injury with Carlos Raposo…
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Aliens
Join Mark & Jack as we adorn our spacesuits and blast off on the hunt for extraterrestrial life. Jack gives us the rundown on the history of Area 51 and how it became the centrepiece of innumerable conspiracy theories. We also meet some of the interesting characters who have really added rocket...
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Cruise Ship Calamity
Join Mark and Jack as they once again welcome Captain Anton onto the show, this time to discuss a little nautical naughtiness aboard the comically large cruise ships that patrol our oceans. Jack poses some tough logistical questions in his recount of 'The Poop Cruise From Hell'. Anton walks us…
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Cows
Join Jack & Mark as we welcome special guest Dr Joey Gregan on the show for our special live day discussion on all things Bovine. We discuss the origins of domestication and how history has shaped the humble cow as we know it today. Mark chats about a couple of his favourite breeds and Jack…
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High Fashion
Join Jack and Mark as we lace up our boots and take a stroll through the walk-in-wardrobe of high fashion & high society. We powder our wigs and duck though the doorway of 17th century class structures. We deliberately rot our teeth to flex our exuberant wealth. We fold up our ruffs and choke...
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Cursed Islands
Join Jack and Mark as they spin the globe and explore some truly cursed islands around the World. Inflate your packraft and paddle with us to North Sentinel Island as we try to win the trust of the locals, one of the World's last remaining uncontacted tribes. We recount the dark history of Nazino...
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Complex Genius
Listen in to Jack recount some of the highlights from his recent presentation at Vetenskapsfestivalen, the local science festival in Gothenburg. We will go through Sir Isaac Newton poking needles into his eyes, follow up on Charles Darwin’s dietary habits, and discuss Albert Einstein’s blatant...
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Engineering Vanity Projects
Join Jack and Mark as they open their wallets and splurge on exciting and downright bizarre engineering vanity projects. Clip on your snowboard bindings and join us as we test out the wintersports facilities at Trojena, one of Saudi Arabia's luxury NEOM projects. Joined once by long time friend…
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Pirate Tales
Arggghhhh me Hearties, it's time to Hoist the Colours and raise the Jolly Rodger!! Join Jack and Mark on a swashbuckling adventure of Pirate Tales from the high seas. From the mighty Prince of Pirates, Black Sam, to the Gentlemen Pirate Stede Bonnet, and the quest for precious pirate plunder. We...
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The LinkedIn Cesspit
Join Jack and Mark as they don their business thinking caps and investigate the strange world that is LinkedIn. This week we are joined by OO Business Strategy Analyst and long time friend of the show Mattias "Dr Zipe" Johansson, who is here to help us increase shareholder value, talk strategy,...
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Rich People Trying To Live Forever
Join Mark & Jack once again as we max out the credit cards and see how the rich waste their money on trying to live forever. We harvest the blood of the young, healthy, and broke, with tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, supposedly the most measured man on Earth. Pull on a labcoat with...
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Deranged Leaders of The Modern Era - Part 2
Join Jack and Mark as they dust off the history books and take another look at the lives and behaviours of some more famous dictators in this part two of "Deranged Leaders of the Modern Era". We discuss Saddam Hussein and his rise to power in Iraq with the Ba'ath Party, before his eventual demise...
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Ancient Horrors
Join Jack & Mark as we discuss the horrific mechanics of torture devices from the days of Ancient Rome and Greece. We turn back time and get toasty in the Brazen Bull with Perilaus of Athens. We discuss the extensive list that made Romans so fond of crucifiction, over other tortures. And we treat...
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Protest Shithousery
Join Jack and Mark as they sweep off the hay bales and wade through the manure that's been smeared by angry French farmers in this week's episode discussing Protest Shithousery and shenanigans, the stranger and more bizarre protests of recent history. We try to break down what exactly has got…
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Bad On-Stage Behaviour
Ordinary Observations is back and ready to kick off 2024 with some selected stories of Bad On-Stage Behaviour. This week Mark and Jack are joined by very special guest and long term fan of the show Linnea Weinz, the Cancel Consultant herself. Join us for backstage stories about some of the worst...
About this show
Ordinary Observations is the radio equivalent of knowing enough to know you’re wrong, but knowing too little to care about the details. It gives enough for a passing grade and leaves room to figure out the rest along the way. Join Jack as he discusses a bizarre potpourri of ideas, occurrences, personalities, and problems from all imaginable corners of the globe, across all of recorded history.Host: Jack WilliamsonThis is a podcast from K103 Göteborgs Studentradio
Hosted by
K103 Göteborgs Studentradio