500 Open Tabs

This week we're joined by special guest Kaveh Mohebbi of the Cinema Rex podcast as he tells us about the myth surrounding John Swartzwelder, the most prolific writer in the history of The Simpsons whose voice helped shape the show and who may or may not actually exist. A listener mail tells us the insane story of the first gas balloon flight.

Episode Tabs:
John Swartzwelder, Sage of “The Simpsons”
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/john-swartzwelder-sage-of-the-simpsons

Listener Tabs:
The First Gas Balloon Flight
https://www.bbml.org.uk/the-first-gas-balloon-flight/

Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected]
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This week we learn about the various uses of the name Batman including a town in Iran, a personal valet to a commissioned officer in England and a unit of measurement. A listener email informs us the colossal dickhead John Batman, who terrorized the people of New South Whales and Tasmania.

Episode Tabs:
Batman (Disambiguation)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_(disambiguation)

Listener Tabs:
John Batman (1801–1839)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140303233422/http://www.nma.gov.au/engage-learn/schools/classroom-resources/multimedia/interactives/batmania_html_version/whos_who

Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected]
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs
500 Open Tabs Wiki: https://500-open-tabs.fandom.com/wiki/500_Open_Tabs_Wiki
500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7
Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a

Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We are back for season 3 with new tabs and a new format! This week we learn about the South African legend Renfrew Christie, who used his dissertation at Oxford as a front to spy on the Apartheid government's secret nuclear program. A listener email fills in the gaps of our Emperor Norton knowledge.

Episode Tabs:
Farewell to a South African hero, Professor Renfrew Christie
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-12-22-farewell-to-a-south-african-hero-professor-renfrew-christie/

Listener Tabs:
Joshua Norton Posthumously Reinstated as a Mason After 166 Years
https://emperornortontrust.org/blog/2025/9/3/joshua-norton-posthumously-reinstated-as-a-mason-after-166-years

Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected]
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs
500 Open Tabs Wiki: https://500-open-tabs.fandom.com/wiki/500_Open_Tabs_Wiki
500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7
Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a

Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Part 2! After meeting on the 500 Open Tabs Discord, a few fans of the show got together and recorded a tribute episode "The Tab Conspiracy," so we decided to share it with our tens of listeners!! This week they discuss first and second sleep (which may or may not have been invented by Hobbits) and the results of when a fruit company unloaded 12000 metric tons of orange peels onto a national park in Costa Rica to study the effects of composting. Happy New Year!
Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a

Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected]
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs
500 Open Tabs Wiki: https://500-open-tabs.fandom.com/wiki/500_Open_Tabs_Wiki
500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7
Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After meeting on the 500 Open Tabs Discord, a few fans of the show got together and recorded a tribute episode "The Tab Conspiracy," so we decided to share it with our tens of listeners!! This week they discuss how Ivo Zdarsky flew to Vienna in a homemade airplane to claim political asylum from Czechoslovakia and the life of Bud Hurlbut, the engineer/creator most famously known for designing Knott's Berry Farm. Happy Holidays!
Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a

Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected]
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs
500 Open Tabs Wiki: https://500-open-tabs.fandom.com/wiki/500_Open_Tabs_Wiki
500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7
Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.