The Lesser Stories

It's the history you'll wish you'd learned in school.

Did you know that at for a brief period, Pepsi owned the sixth-largest fleet of warships in the world? No, of course you don't....because you were busy memorizing the exact date and time of the Boston Tea Party, just like the rest of us. And to think - you COULD have been writing that report on the repeated theft of composer Joseph Haydn's severed head....if only you'd known about it at the time!

But it's better late than never, so let hosts Adam Azra'el and Anthony Staten take you on a wild ride through some of history's more bizarre and obscure bits! Impress that special someone with your weird knowledge on your first date. Go back and turn in a way cooler paper to your high school history teacher. Join an online forum for history buffs and give 'em the old razzle-dazzle. Honestly, we couldn't care less what you do with this information....that's your business.

The Lesser Stories began as a now-defunct podcast called Really Useful Knowledge, which was the exact same podcast but without the flash and with a name that wasn't as good. (See? You're already learning some history. Our history.) RUK, which both Adam and Anthony freely admit was a better acronym, released a total of three episodes over course of its short life, hosted by Adam and longtime friend Mark Teskey of The Gaming Moguls podcast, then died the covid-related death suffered by many projects of its era. Upon its revival, series guest Anthony Staten found himself thrust into the spotlight while Mark stepped back to focus on Gaming Moguls and not getting covid.

Season 1 of The Lesser Stories was a ghastly affair, with both Anthony and Adam describing the process as "a thing we did". Setbacks, technical trouble, the lack of a coherent release schedule, and a short-but-fun alien invasion kept the TLS audience limited more or less to Adam and Anthony's moms, neither of whom are what we'd call hardcore fans today.

Season 2 saw a number of logistical repairs to the episode recording paradigm and a release schedule that made it almost seem like somebody with half a brain had grabbed the wheel, and the show's audience expanded significantly. Adam and Anthony, delighted with their modest success, began planning for Seasons 3-5 and look forward to their imminent release.

TLS is hosted by these morons:

Adam Azra'el

Host, Producer

Adam is a musician, producer, writer, and avid consumer of bacon. His moderate intelligence never really manifested itself in any charming personality attributes, but he CAN recite large portions of Douglas Adams's The Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy. Single file, ladies.

Adam is a founding member of Irish punk outfit St. George's Folly and once nearly killed a bandmate onstage by accident, which is something he doesn't like to talk about.

You can find Adam on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and at any bar that doesn't have a TV on the wall. He also has his own website. It's gross. Don't click the button.

www.adamazrael.com

Anthony Staten

Host

Anthony is a musician, teacher, father, and complete nerd. The Ohio native has a number of talents and hobbies, all of which seem to result in odd sideways glances from people around him. He can smell a fun historical story a mile off and he WILL. RECOUNT. THAT. STORY.

Anthony is a bassist in Irish punk outfit St. George's Folly and was once nearly killed by a bandmate onstage by accident, which is something he doesn't like to talk about.

Despite the best efforts of several world-renown scientists, nobody has been able to explain how Anthony's typical blood caffeine level hasn't either killed him or giving superpowers, but you can find him and make guesses on Twitter if you click this button.

Anthony's Twitter Feed