The Compendium Podcast

The Compendium Podcast

An Assembly of Fascinating Things

The Compendium: An Assembly of Fascinating Things is a weekly documentary-style podcast about strange true stories, true crime, dark history, scandals, mysteries and remarkable people.

Why listen to three podcasts when you can have it all in one? Hosted by Kyle Risi and Adam Cox, each episode takes one fascinating real-life story and gives you the full thing: the context, the characters, the chaos, the terrible decisions, and the tiny details that make you say, “Wait… how did this actually happen?”

From infamous crimes and forgotten history to celebrity scandals, survival stories, cults, frauds and real-life mysteries, The Compendium is smart, funny, curious and thoroughly researched — made for listeners who want the whole story in one satisfying listen, without a ten-part homework assignment.

New episodes weekly. Step inside the circus tent.

  • All
  • true crime
  • scams & hoaxes
  • cults
  • disasters
  • pop culture
  • incredible people
  • mysteries
  • history
Unabomber Part 1: The Biggest Manhunt in FBI History
September 26, 2026

Unabomber Part 1: The Biggest Manhunt in FBI History

Before Ted Kaczynski was a name on the news, the Unabomber was an anonymous figure who could vanish for years and return with a more lethal device. Part One follows the hunt from the first 1978 package bomb to the manifesto that finally made his anon...

Unabomber Part 2: The Manifesto That Exposed Ted Kaczynski
September 26, 2026

Unabomber Part 2: The Manifesto That Exposed Ted Kaczynski

Ted Kaczynski stayed hidden for 17 years, but the manifesto he believed would justify his crimes ultimately revealed him. Part Two follows the man behind the Unabomber from Harvard and the Montana wilderness to his arrest, legal battle and guilty ple...

Aileen Wuornos: The Murders, the Self-Defence Claims and the Woman Behind Monster
September 26, 2026

Aileen Wuornos: The Murders, the Self-Defence Claims and the Woman Behind Monster

Aileen Wuornos admitted killing seven men, but spent years changing the explanation for why she did it. Behind the woman portrayed in Monster lies a complicated story of trauma, murder, contradictory confessions and a first killing that remains centr...

Lizzie Borden: Did She Get Away With Murder?
September 22, 2026

Lizzie Borden: Did She Get Away With Murder?

In 1892, two people were hacked to death in a respectable Massachusetts home, and the only real suspect walked free after a trial that still divides opinion. Kyle and Adam dig into the evidence, the myths, the rhyme that got the numbers wrong, and th...

Nasubi: The Real Life Truman Show
September 15, 2026

Nasubi: The Real Life Truman Show

An aspiring comedian enters a sweepstakes challenge and unknowingly becomes one of Japan’s biggest television stars. Nasubi’s 15-month ordeal reveals how an unlocked door, an unseen audience and a desperate hope for fame can turn entertainment into e...

The Tromp Family Mystery: The Australian Family Who Fled Their Own Minds
September 08, 2026

The Tromp Family Mystery: The Australian Family Who Fled Their Own Minds

In 2016, five members of the Tromp family fled their farm in a single car, leaving behind their passports, credit cards and mobile phones. Why they fled remains one of Australia's greatest modern mysteries—a mystery that not even the Tromp family can...

MKUltra: The Dark History of CIA Mind Control and Frank Olson
September 01, 2026

MKUltra: The Dark History of CIA Mind Control and Frank Olson

MKUltra was the CIA’s secret Cold War programme built around drugs, hypnosis, interrogation, and the dream of controlling the human mind. This episode follows Frank Olson, LSD testing, Operation Midnight Climax, Donald Ewen Cameron, destroyed files, ...

Genie Wiley: Dark History of the Child Hidden From the Whole World
July 14, 2026

Genie Wiley: Dark History of the Child Hidden From the Whole World

Genie Wiley was the child hidden from the world for thirteen years before her rescue became a test case for language, trauma, and the ethics of scientific research. This episode follows her abuse, rehabilitation, and the systems that failed her after...

Somerton Man: The Mystery Given a Name After 70 Years
July 07, 2026

Somerton Man: The Mystery Given a Name After 70 Years

Somerton Man is one of Australia’s most enduring mysteries: an unidentified body found on Somerton Beach in Adelaide in 1948, a hidden scrap of paper reading “Tamám Shud”, and a trail of clues that only got stranger.

Bob Lazar: The Area 51 UFO Claim That Changed Everything
June 30, 2026

Bob Lazar: The Area 51 UFO Claim That Changed Everything

Bob Lazar claimed he worked at Area 51’s hidden S-4 facility reverse-engineering alien craft powered by Element 115. This episode follows the 1989 George Knapp broadcast, Lazar’s story, the credibility questions and the UFO lore it helped send mainst...