Did Knights Really Wear Suits of Armor?

Summary

Ridiculous History — "Did Knights Really Wear Suits of Armor?"

Podcast: Ridiculous History (iHeartPodcasts)
Hosts: Ben Bowlin & Noel Brown
Date: June 23, 2026

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Episode Overview

This lively, humorous episode investigates the reality behind the iconic image of the knight in shining armor: Did historical knights truly don those elaborate, head-to-toe metal suits we see in movies and TV? Ben and Noel separate centuries of “glamorous” legend from actual historical fact, exploring the evolution, practicality, cost, and societal implications of armor through history—all while peppering the discussion with pop-culture nods, Renaissance Fair turkey legs, codpiece jokes, and relatable modern analogies.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Pop Culture and Personal Experiences with Medieval-Themed Events

• Medieval Tropes in Entertainment
  • Ben and Noel kick off with banter about Renaissance Fairs and the iconic Medieval Times restaurant, noting how these experiences shape popular imagination (01:07–02:30).
  • Movies like Monty Python and the Holy Grail and The Cable Guy are mentioned as major reference points for the "knight in armor" stereotype (02:45–03:09).

2. The Reality of Human Vulnerability and the Ancient Origins of Armor

• Human “Squishiness”

  • Humans are "squishy" and had to use technology (armor) to make up for lack of natural defenses (07:56–08:44).
  • Ben: "Human are best defined as squishy." (08:44)
  • The earliest records of armor trace back to ancient Sumeria (~1400 BCE), initially as basic chest plates rather than full suits (09:23–09:56).

• Universal Need, Diverse Solutions

  • Armor evolved independently across cultures based on available materials and local needs, e.g., leather, wood, metal, textiles (10:20–11:19).
  • Noel: "It's a very self-serving and pretty intuitive idea to—what if we could protect ourselves from getting squished?" (11:19)

3. Hollywood vs. Historical Armor

• Myth vs. Reality

  • The full, gleaming suits of armor in films were rare, expensive, and reserved for the elite (13:03–13:47).
  • For most of history, especially early on, “armor” might mean a padded jacket, simple helmet, and maybe chainmail, not full plate (16:36–17:34).

• Armor as a Status Symbol

  • Elaborate suits were more about “flexing” wealth and power than practical battle use.
  • Ben on 1400s armor: "This would have cost the equivalent of $3 million for one suit." (15:09)
  • Noel draws a parallel between knights “flexing” with armor and modern hip-hop artists flexing with gold chains and cash (14:11–14:25).

4. Construction, Weight, and Wearability of Armor

• Cost, Craftsmanship, and Materials

  • Creating a suit of plate armor was laborious and costly, taking teams of skilled artisans months to finish (15:14–15:30, 16:15).
  • Full suits typically weighed 30–50 kg (66–110 lbs) and were custom-fitted (25:06–25:30).

• Practical Underlayers

  • Under the metal was a sandwich of padded garments: an undershirt or “gambeson” (sometimes likened to a kigurumi or old-timey long johns), and an arming doublet or “pourpoint” with loops to lace armor pieces (31:04–33:49).
  • Ben: "You're not naked...they have something called a gambis, made of quilted fabric." (31:04)
  • This layering helped absorb impact—but was hot, heavy, and often very smelly! (33:05)

• Needing Help: Squires as Medieval ‘Caddies’

  • Squires helped knights get in and out of armor—and sometimes even assisted with bathroom breaks, highlighting the impracticality of full plate in daily life (32:37, 33:49).

5. The Notorious Codpiece

• Armor for the Groin...and the Ego
  • Noel gives a comic yet accurate description of the codpiece—both as practical protection and a Renaissance status symbol (25:30–26:29).
  • As Ben quips: "That's why there's so many paintings ... of a guy that we knew was taken seriously but has a ridiculous fake dong. Basically, a bulge." (26:33)
  • Often became elaborate (and ostentatious) fashion statements.

6. Equipping the Horses: An “Exoskeleton” for Animals

• Armoring the Cavalry
  • Wealthy knights sometimes clad their horses in armor as well, doubling the already astronomical costs (22:12–23:50).
  • Ben: “These horses who are already skittish are thrust in the heat of battle while essentially wearing an exoskeleton. Definitely not their idea of a good day.” (23:50)

7. Decline and Evolution of Armor Technology

• Arms Race: Offense vs. Defense

  • Metallurgical advances enabled better, lighter armor (24:42–25:13), but eventually gunpowder weaponry outpaced armor’s ability to protect (43:34–44:34).
  • Initially, plate armor could even deflect early musket balls, but improved firearms made heavy suits obsolete (44:53–45:28).

• Modern Body Armor

  • Kevlar, ceramics, and synthetic fibers replaced steel, offering better protection for less weight—though still expensive (42:18–43:12).
  • Noel summarizes: "It's about material science really, you know, and it's about things like Kevlar, ... low weight comparatively, and high resistance..." (42:18)

• The Demise of the Shield

  • As plate armor improved, shields became less useful—eventually phased out in military engagements (39:15–41:18).

8. Social Context: Armor and Class

• Armor as Class Divide
  • Elite knights in full armor were like “Humvees” among foot soldiers in "Honda Civics"—a metaphor for disparity in protection and privilege (43:11).
  • The image of the knight in full plate is as much about status and spectacle as it is about practical warfare (43:58).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Human Vulnerability:

• Ben: "Human are best defined as squishy." (08:44)
• Noel: "We don't do well under duress." (08:44)

On Flex and Status:

• Ben: "The kind of armor you're thinking about right now, in the 1400s CE, this would have cost the equivalent of $3 million for one suit." (15:09)
• Noel: "You got kitted out knights...waving their lances. Screaming, shrieking, hollering." (13:03)

On the Codpiece:

• Noel: "Witness ye my codpiece in this majesty." (26:29)
• Ben: "...so many paintings from back in the day of a guy that we knew was taken seriously but has a ridiculous fake dong. Basically a bulge." (26:33)

On Horses in Battle:

• Ben: "These horses...are thrust in the heat of battle while essentially wearing an exoskeleton. Definitely not their idea of good day." (23:50)

On Armor’s Evolution:

• Noel: "It's about material science really...things like Kevlar...low weight comparatively, and high resistance..." (42:18)
• Ben: "At the height of its popularity, that full plate armor was symbolical on multiple levels. It represents so many astonishing technological breakthroughs. And if we're being honest, it represents a cartoonishly brutal and unfair class system." (43:11)

On the Arms Race:

• Ben: "Despite all the time, blood, research, and money poured into suits of plate armor, this tech gets outpaced by a new kid on the block. That's right. Gunpowder." (44:34)

On Modern Armor:

• Noel: "If you're wearing a bulletproof vest ... and you get shot, you're still going to have a screwed up day." (47:16)

Historical Realism:

• Noel: "Did knights of yore really wear these big, massive suits of armor like you might see in a fancy drawing room in a detective movie? The answer is yeah, but not the way the myths might suggest." (43:58)

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Engaging Tangents & Pop Culture References

• Renaissance Fair turkey legs and the “turkey leg nostalgia trap” (01:59–02:20)
• Monty Python's infamous Black Knight scene — "Tis but a scratch!" (03:09)
• Hook movie reference: improvised kid armor made from pots and pans (09:56–10:20)
• Watchmaking as a metaphor for artisanal armor-making (15:30)
• The Spinal Tap cucumber-in-foil gag and codpieces (26:47)
• Modern travel condiments (ranch, hot sauce) as comic relief (27:00–28:19)
• Kigurumis and Japanese layering compared to historical padded under-armor (31:04–31:41)
• Spider Noir and Mandy sword-forging scenes (30:13–30:53)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Intro & Pop-Culture Preconceptions: 00:40–03:35
• Human Vulnerability & Early Armor: 07:33–11:19
• Armor Across Cultures (Parallel Thinking): 10:20–11:19
• Hollywood vs. History, Status Symbol: 13:03–16:36
• Costs and Craftsmanship: 15:09–16:15
• Everyday Soldier's Reality: 16:36–17:34
• Elite Knights, Horse Armor, Metallurgy: 22:12–24:54
• Weight, Fit, and Underlayers: 25:06–33:05
• The Codpiece Explored: 25:30–26:29
• Decline of Shields & Practicality: 39:15–41:33
• Armor Obsolescence, Gunpowder, and Modern Tech: 43:34–47:16
• Summary & Looking Ahead: 43:58–48:18

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Conclusion

Did knights really wear suits of armor? Yes, but far fewer and less often than pop culture suggests — and only for a privileged elite. Most "knights" (and certainly most soldiers) wore much simpler, cheaper, or improvised protection. The legendary full-plate suits were rarities, prohibitively expensive, and mostly reserved for brief historical moments, ceremonial flexing, or the fortunate few on medieval battlefields right before gunpowder made them obsolete.

Noel: "The answer is yeah, but not the way the myths might suggest." (43:58)

This episode busts the “knight in shining armor” myth, illustrating how technological progress—and social hierarchy—shaped who wore what, for what purpose, and for how long in the march of military history.

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For future episodes: The hosts hint at diving into berserkers and other legendary warriors, so stay tuned!

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[End of Summary]

Transcript

[Ben Bullen]

Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartradio. Welcome back to the show, fellow ridiculous historians. Thank you as always so much for tuning in. And let's hear it for our own knight in shining production armor, super producer Max

[Noel Brown]

Kalu Kale. It is Max Williams day.

[Ben Bullen]

I love.

[Noel Brown]

I love Sir Maxwell James Williams III, Esquire Junior Senior.

[Ben Bullen]

Did you get Esquire?

[Noel Brown]

Sure. And add Dr. In there as well.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah, Vaughn something. Also, that's Mr. Noel Brown, the one and only.

[Noel Brown]

That's me. So, Max, you're dubbed diploma and You've got your PhD. You've got a lot of honor writers going on there.

[Ben Bullen]

And they called me Ben Bullen for tax purposes here. Guys, have you ever been to Medieval Times?

[Noel Brown]

Well, I did once travel back in time. I woke up from a dream and I found myself in some sort of dungeon. No, that's not true. I made that up. But I have not actually been to the restaurant, the themed restaurant and attraction Medieval Times. The only experience I have of it, frankly, is from the movie the Cable Guy.

[Ben Bullen]

Okay. Yeah.

[Noel Brown]

My interaction is just knowing Jonathan Strickland and Renaissance. Okay. Medieval Times at all times. Wouldn't you agree though, Ben, if I. If we've been to a Renaissance festival, we've more or less had the Medieval Times experience short of the. The crappier food at Medieval Times. Because we can all argue that Ren Ren Fair food pretty good.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah. Of course those carneys know what they're doing.

[Noel Brown]

Those carnies and those carnivores, all them turkey legs.

[Ben Bullen]

Oh, man. I gotta tell you, I took some of the friends of ours out for a group field trip to the Renaissance festival, and my girlfriend and I completely overestimated the nostalgia factor. So we each got a turkey leg. Those turkey legs are so big. Those are two people turkey legs.

[Noel Brown]

And it's weird, some of them. Maybe it's like on a per turkey leg basis or maybe this is a feature of every turkey leg. They got this real weird flap of like tendony stuff in the middle.

[Ben Bullen]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Noel Brown]

That kind of pulls out like a little. Like a feather. Like a rip cord. There's got to be a science name for that.

[Ben Bullen]

There is. And hopefully, you guys, that is outside

[Noel Brown]

of the scope of this conversation. We, we do have.

[Ben Bullen]

We've been thinking about this. We've been thinking about the. The iconic image of knights in shining armor. Because as round tables, lances of lots, there's no shortage of fascinating paintings, work of works of literature and film and TV now like Game of Thrones, Monty

[Noel Brown]

Python and the Holy Grail is how I know any about the medieval times at all, frankly.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah, Tis but a scratch shout out to the knights of knee. But, Noel, you recall how these things always depict these absolute warriors who were plated up like little mech. Like mechs, dude. And they're doing all sorts of crazy physical stunts and all kinds of punishing

[Noel Brown]

weather and curling around those flaily thingies, the morning stars. Is it evening star or morning star?

[Ben Bullen]

Morning star. You nailed it. And then they fight. Despite the fact that they're carrying hundreds of pounds of armor on them, they fight for hours against anybody. And you watch this. And at some point during a battle scene, you have to say, wouldn't most modern people collapse after just a short period of even running or walking briskly?

[Noel Brown]

Well, because unlike the Mex, Ben, these don't have any exoskeletal robo attachments. This is a burden borne by humans. And yeah, you know, because you've got to think there are different situations where this kind of armor might have been employed. The medieval times of it all being the tourneys, a little more, you know, controlled. And then, of course, you got folks literally charging into battle against, you know, an opponent that's out there to murder them.

[Ben Bullen]

Right.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah.

[Ben Bullen]

And that's our question today. Did knights really wear suits of armor?

[Dr. Joy]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[Jennie Garth]

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[Karen and Georgia]

I turned off news altogether.

[Ben Bullen]

I hate to say it, but I

[Dr. Joy]

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[Noel Brown]

It's the rage bait.

[Ben Bullen]

It feels like it's trying to divide people. We got clear facts. Maybe we could calm down a little. NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the Facts. Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting for America.

[Noel Brown]

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[Dr. Joy]

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[Ben Bullen]

To get into this, we were talking a little bit about sports off air. One interesting thing about football is, is that there's very little protective gear.

[Noel Brown]

I mean, soccer.

[Ben Bullen]

Soccer.

[Noel Brown]

I mean, yeah, we have football. Yeah. Shin guards is the one that I always remember from being a youth. Do they still wear shin guards? Is that part of the kit?

[Ben Bullen]

I don't know, but there's a great show by our pal Miles called Ain't It Footy, which is examining football when we're talking about armor. What's interesting, guys, is that for most of early human history, humanity was wrestling with this huge life threatening dilemma. They were the smartest creatures they knew. And the humans evolved to specialize in various things like running, long distances, persistence, hunting. But all that specialization comes with a price. Humans don't have a protective shell like a turtle or an armadillo. They can't regenerate limbs like some lizards or other creatures. Human are best defined as squishy.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah. They are perishable creatures. They are dainty, delicate little flowers for sure. We don't do well under duress.

[Ben Bullen]

So if you don't have a shell, if you don't have a great powerful Maw of sharp teeth. If you can't regenerate limbs, you have to rely on your tool making abilities to make up for all the stuff you lack.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, I mean, the human superpower or ultimate adaptive capability would be the brain, the ability to reason, the ability to think about thinking and figure this stuff out to, you know, improve their situation 100%.

[Ben Bullen]

Dude. And this is why we find it no surprise that body armor is an ancient human invention. The first records of something like body armor as opposed to, you know, regular clothing is found in ancient Sumer, in ancient Sumeria in today's southern Iraq. And then if you fast forward to like 1400 BCE, you see the emergence of something like heavy plate armor, usually like a chest plate, just the one kind of like how you would see a bulletproof vest today.

[Noel Brown]

You know what I'm always fascinated by when I think about history of armor. I just think about the kind of stuff that those kids wore in the movie Hook, you know, like pieces of wood, you know, various little trinkets that they find lying around leather under carriages. You know, I mean, I think that was sort of really the earliest form of ballistic protection would be just real sturdy hide and material.

[Ben Bullen]

Way more common than the armor that you see in films. We know, of course, shout out to the far East. We know those folks had a deep history of armor because again, they realized factory setting human skin is pretty vulnerable. That's why we invented clothing. Right. In each of these cases, and I know you love this concept, we see parallel thinking. The armor they make depends on the material resources and the crafting techniques that their arbors had at the time. So it's interesting. And shout out to our research associate, Jabari. It's interesting to think that if we took a blacksmith from medieval Europe and showed him armor from far Japan or from China, he would be fascinated by the different materials, he'd be fascinated by the manufacturing, but he would immediately know exactly what he was looking at because he was making the same stuff too.

[Noel Brown]

Well, I mean, this is the kind of parallel thinking that doesn't require too much of a leap because as you said, Ben, humans are inherently squishy creatures. And it is a very self serving and pretty intuitive idea to what if we could protect ourselves from getting squished?

[Ben Bullen]

Exactly.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah.

[Ben Bullen]

And our hypothetical blacksmith here is, you know, the odds are stacked in his favor because armor is human shaped.

[Noel Brown]

Oh my gosh, another one. Yes, 100%. Another one that comes to mind is there is a segment in the incredibly delightful Coen Brothers anthology film. Was it Buster Scruggs.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Noel Brown]

Where Steven Root, the delightful character actor who plays like a banker who's being robbed by, I wanna say, James Franco, just pre cancellation, he emerges from behind the cash counter covered in pots and pans, you know, and it's just like, this stuff could have been improvised so many ways just by stuff that was laying around. And it's just such a, like, human instinct to be like, how do I kind of turtle up and protect myself?

[Ben Bullen]

And another thing that would astonish our hypothetical blacksmith would be the sheer cost of this heavy fit. That's where we get to the myth busting. And that's why I think you're right about people MacGyvering more often than they manufactured. We all remember those films where we all know how Hollywood loves to spotlight military dress and huge battle scenes. You got kitted out knights, they're charging toward the enemy on horses. They're waving their lances.

[Noel Brown]

Screaming, shrieking, hollering.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah, hooting and such. That stuff definitely did happen, but it was nowhere near as glamorous as the films imply, for sure.

[Noel Brown]

And if you do get a chance, I know we always are shouting out the met. In New York City, there's a whole wing of that massive place that is all just like medieval armor. And you're gonna see a range of stuff, including the much more elaborate, fearsome looking, for lack of a better word, at the moment, ceremonial kind of stuff that would have maybe been designed to be worn by a king or to designate some higher level figure who maybe wasn't necessarily gonna be out there swinging the sword, but needed to look the part.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah. You know, it's weird too, because now that you mentioned that, one thing that always bugged me in the world of rap and hip hop would be when more conservative folks would criticize an album cover that shows, maybe shows a guy with a bunch of chains, gold chains on his neck, and he's holding a couple guns and he's got a pile of cash. That's exactly what those portraits were like.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah. Oh, gosh, 100%, dude. Only it was more like a sword. A sword perhaps. Maybe a giant, a roast beast of some sort and piled up coins and perhaps a damsel of some variety.

[Ben Bullen]

And of course, yeah, those suits are part of the flex because.

[Noel Brown]

And often a very skinny looking waifish dog.

[Ben Bullen]

Yes. For some reason, I always like to picture the great masters of art back in the day saying, well, we can add one more thing in the corner. And I'm actually pretty good at drawing this specific type of dog.

[Noel Brown]

Oh, yeah, exactly. The wayfish little spindle thing of a dog. 100%.

[Ben Bullen]

So this is why it's such a flex, a full suit of armor to get in your heads. Ridiculous historians. The kind of armor you're thinking about right now, in the 1400s CE, this would have cost the equivalent of $3 million for one suit.

[Noel Brown]

What kind of materials are we talking about, Ben? Is this made of like solid gold?

[Ben Bullen]

So much stuff. The problem was manufacturing these things took so much time. You're essentially telling a team of very highly skilled laborers this is the rest of your year, so.

[Noel Brown]

Well, no, it's, it's. I mean, and I know I've been nerding out on watches lately, as have you been. At least we have been together. There are some companies that will produce like 50 watches a year because it is all hand machined, designed in house, like, and those are the ones that maybe retail might be $200,000, but there's so few of them that they instantly become worth like five times that on auction or in resale. Same deal. It's a matter of time commit. And how many of these things can you pump out these suits and who are you working for? Like, it's one thing to make stuff for the troops, for the infantry, but it's another thing to be working on these much more elaborate high end pieces. That would be for generals and top folks.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah. Especially when you think of the ornate filigrees and all the details, which is the armor version of complications in a fancy watch.

[Noel Brown]

100%. You got, you got, you got different combinations of metals. You've got all these little touches that maybe absolutely are gold or various precious metals mixed in with the more durable stuff. Yeah. I'm excited to get into this, Ben.

[Ben Bullen]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Well, we know, like you were saying, no, most soldiers in real life, and indeed a lot of people who are technically knights, they had nothing near this stuff. They did the best with what they had. A lot of times, like pots and

[Noel Brown]

pans would just like little chain mail. Maybe a chest plate. Right.

[Ben Bullen]

They knew the Celts. Yeah. Maybe a chess plate. If they had a good lord who would supply them. Well, during the early Middle ages, a knight's armor was basically what you described earlier. It was a padded garment. They might have a simple metal helmet. They'd have a big wooden shield, and if they were lucky, it'd be reinforced with metal like you said. They did also use chainmail to. Because it let you move around still. And it was way better at stopping cutting weapons, but it wouldn't it wouldn't protect you against a blunt force object like a mace?

[Noel Brown]

No, no. Gosh, RIP that guy in Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. Night of the Seven Kingdoms rather. No spoilers, but boy oh boy, a thing happens.

[Dr. Joy]

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[Karen and Georgia]

I turned off news altogether.

[Ben Bullen]

I hate to say it, but I

[Dr. Joy]

don't trust much of anything.

[Noel Brown]

It's the rage bait.

[Ben Bullen]

It feels like it's trying to divide people. We got clear facts. Maybe we could calm down a little. NBC NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the Facts. Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting for America.

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it's Karen and Georgia from my favorite Murder.

[Karen and Georgia]

We cruised around LA in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and dove into the fascinating life of actress and inventor Hedy Lamar.

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Want the full story?

[Karen and Georgia]

Take a listen. Hedi. She starts dating Howard Hughes, the aviation tycoon. Do you know a lot about him?

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I mean, I watch the Aviator, so

[Karen and Georgia]

I know Leonardo DiCaprio has allowed me

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to know about him.

[Karen and Georgia]

But incredible innovator, right? She says he's a, quote, very strange man. But they do get along really well.

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Give us examples.

[Karen and Georgia]

I know they do get along intellectually. And in fact, she helps him design a faster plane. She takes a look at what he's designed. It's got these square wings. And she's like, that doesn't make sense. And so she finds the fastest bird and the fastest fish and sketches out a drawing of like, what the two would look like as a plane. And that becomes the plane that we know today. And he calls her a genius. Check out our new episode spotlighting groundbreaking innovators like Hedy Lamarr and Billie Jean King.

[Noel Brown]

Presented by the Hyundai Ioniq 5.

[Karen and Georgia]

Goodbye.

[Jennie Garth]

This is Jennie Garth from I Choose Me with Jennie Garth. You know, history is full of surprising little details. And laundry turns out it's got its own fascinating story too, because not all detergents are created equal. Tide liquid laundry detergent isn't just clean, it's boosted clean for cleaner, whiter, brighter and fresher results compared to Tide simply. And those stubborn stains that always seem to show up at the worst times. Tide tackles 100% of common stains for every load every time. Now, if grease is your nemesis, think food spills, cooking splatters. Tides got 10 times grease fighting ingredients compared to to bargain brands. And it works in a machine in any water condition on all your machine washable fabrics. It's no wonder Tide was America's number one detergent in sales last year. So if it's got to be clean and it's got to be fresh, it's got to be Tide. Shop now at your local retailer. Tide is a proud sponsor of the Elton John Impact Awards, honoring those who have helped shape a more inclusive and compassionate world with their artistry, advocacy, and unwavering commitment to equality. You won't want to miss the Elton John Impact Awards podcast, available on June 1st on the iHeartRadio app and everywhere podcasts are heard.

[Ben Bullen]

I love the point you made earlier about how we move to the high Middle ages around the 11th to 13th centuries and we see just like the Janissaries in the Ottoman Empire. Stay tuned for that episode. These folks who were the knightly class and they became more of a political class, right? That's where we See the more sophisticated designs. That's also where we see their horses getting kitted out too. I feel so bad for those guys. You've met horses, they're skittish.

[Noel Brown]

They do tend to spook. That's true. Which will cause them to kick. And you do not want to be on the receiving end of one of those.

[Ben Bullen]

Even in on a slow going farm. I'm worried when I run into horses on friendly terms just because they seem very stressed out as very fast prey.

[Noel Brown]

And they bite.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah. And they get a little attitude, man.

[Noel Brown]

No. And I don't want, I don't want to sound like I'm like scared of horses. I think horses are gorgeous, majestic creatures, but they've got some peculiarities.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah. Just like the humans. They evolved to specialize in certain things and their thing is being hyper aware and running quickly.

[Noel Brown]

So run away. Run away, run away way.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah. Like the I, I picture a horse dad talking to his kid and giving him life advice. It's like, well, young horse boy, you're growing up. You're going to be a horseman, a stallion soon. So I'll tell you what your grandfather told me. Always run away.

[Dr. Joy]

Yeah.

[Noel Brown]

And if you're in a horror movie, never run up the stairs.

[Ben Bullen]

No.

[Noel Brown]

So it's just bad move.

[Ben Bullen]

So these, we're just exercising empathy here, folks. Because these horses who are already skittish are thrust in the heat of battle while essentially wearing an exoskeleton. Definitely not their idea of good day. And horse armor was a whole other expense. So these lords and these well to do knights are spending the equivalent of millions of dollars on two separate suits of armor. One for them, one for the horse. It's weird because the chest plate was always a thing, but it's not until like the 14th and 15th centuries that we see knights in full armor the way we would imagine them in the films. And that's because it took a while for breakthroughs in metallurgy. Why am I saying that wrong?

[Noel Brown]

Metallurgy.

[Ben Bullen]

Metallurgy. Yeah. You gotta hurry through it. Let's keep that part in.

[Noel Brown]

Let's do it.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah. Metallurgy.

[Noel Brown]

It's rare thing to need to speak, though I guess in our profession it does come up from time to time.

[Ben Bullen]

Right, right.

[Noel Brown]

Metallurgy is one of these words that if you look at it, you can't say it right. Oh. And say it enough times, it loses all semblance of meaning or reason.

[Ben Bullen]

Semantic satiation.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, Nonsense. Basically. Like English.

[Ben Bullen]

I mean most of English is nonsense. Okay, so this is the time in history, where the suits cover nearly every part of the body, they're custom fitted to you. You have to be rich to have one or have a very wealthy patron. A full suit of armor weighs 30 to 50 kilograms. That's 66 to 110 pounds in freedom units.

[Noel Brown]

Ben, can we talk. Stop it. Can we talk about the codpiece? I think we're bearing the lead here.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah, all right. The codpiece. Tell us about it. Dole.

[Noel Brown]

Well, Ben, it's an armored or padded, if you weren't lucky enough, covering for the male groin on late medieval Renaissance armor and clothing. It was originally designed as, like a practical flap that would join the front part of the under hose, which I guess is sort of like. Yeah, kind of a. Not a jerkin. I'm gonna get in trouble. You know, the sort of long john under parts of the shift. There you go. Thank you. Remove thy shift. It protected, of course, the genitals. And often it was a bit of a step up from that and included a steel shaped plate on top of the padding. In the 15th and 16th centuries. By the late to mid-1500s, it became another thing that would be exaggerated.

[Ben Bullen]

It was fashion or status. It was so embellished, it sounded like muscles went crazy.

[Noel Brown]

Witness ye my codpiece in this majesty.

[Ben Bullen]

That's why there's so many paintings from back in the day of a guy that we knew was taken seriously but has a ridiculous fake dong. Basically a bulge.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, it's like the spinal tap bit where he goes through the airport security and it keeps going off. And then finally, he removes the cucumber wrapped in tinfoil from his trousers.

[Ben Bullen]

Oh, also, shout out to all our European friends who learned about ranch. I don't like ranch unless it's homemade, but apparently the TSA has had to warn World cup visitors that you can't bring bottles of ranch on the plane.

[Noel Brown]

Well, you can if they're travel sized.

[Ben Bullen]

If they're travel sized. If you are at the point of ranch addiction, where you have to have a ranch flask, basically you got to be.

[Noel Brown]

I think you got to bring your own. I don't think they come like that in travel servings, but they should. Man, people love servings.

[Ben Bullen]

That's a great idea, Noel. We also know just travel sauces in

[Noel Brown]

general, Ben, you know.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Empty out those little Walgreens or Duane Reade shampoo bottles.

[Noel Brown]

Well, because I told you how I learned my lesson the hard way and had like, you know, a hundred dollars worth of nice hot sauces confiscated.

[Ben Bullen]

That's Right.

[Noel Brown]

For being in my carry on. Won't make that mistake again. Travel ranch to jump in here real quick, I am actually pulling my friend Meredith, who's a weirdo. She brings her own tortilla chips with her and stuff like that. So I have her. Are you a ranch fan? And I'm gonna ask her a follow up of seeing if she brings ranch on. Well, you could broaden the question just to travel sauces.

[Ben Bullen]

Travel condiments.

[Noel Brown]

Oh, I. I'm certain she brings travel condiments, so. Amazing. We'll ask her what kind of receptacles are best for these things. Yeah, I will circle back.

[Ben Bullen]

All right, thank you. As we're waiting for the update, let's return to knights in shining armor. This full plate armor reaches its peak, its real era of fanciness in the 15th and 16th century. The full suit is referred to as a panoply at times. And it's a feature.

[Noel Brown]

All the things, basically.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah, it's all the stuff together. And it's a feature at the very end of the middle ages, going into the Renaissance. It's also, it's popular image comes to us because of the ceremonies you were describing earlier there. Jousting. They would make special armor just for jousting because these were wealthy people with a lot of disposable income. And like you were saying, I think it's important that we acknowledge even the fanciest stuff was made from a series of materials. You had iron, you had leather, textiles, you had steel. And the plate armor is made of steel because it's very hard, but it's also flexible if you know how to work with it. The only reason they had steel plate armor is because some of the blacksmith boffins, the metallurgists, figured out how to quench and temper these steel plates so they wouldn't be brittle. Because if you don't make it the right way, then that mace that you could have been saved from is just going to crack your plate.

[Noel Brown]

And isn't tempering where you heat it up and bang it and then cool it down and then do that again and every time it kind of makes it stronger. Or am I making that up?

[Ben Bullen]

No, I think you're right. Yeah. That's the quenching.

[Noel Brown]

Right.

[Ben Bullen]

When you put it back in the

[Noel Brown]

water and then you what a satisfying it makes.

[Ben Bullen]

That's how you know the climactic battle is coming up in the third act of the film. Right.

[Noel Brown]

I always think of it's not really a night movie. I mean, I guess it's Sort of a modern night story. But the film Mandy, starring Nicolas Cage, there's a really badass scene where he forges his own incredibly sick, like, axe sword combo thing. But it also is, like, absurd. The timeline of it, like, it just shows him, like, he just busted out, like, in a, you know, an hour or even, like, in real time. Like, takes a half an hour. It would take a long time to make these kinds of things 100%.

[Ben Bullen]

And shout out to our pal Nicolas Cage, if you like superhero stuff and if you like investigative narratives, do check out spider Noir.

[Noel Brown]

You're liking spider Noir?

[Ben Bullen]

I'm liking it. I'm digging it, man.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah. I watched a bit of the first episode, and I liked it, too. And I heard some complaints about the black and white color combo thing. Not working for some people, but it worked pretty well for me. You could switch back and forth kind of. Neat.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah. Yeah, Pretty neat. Right? And we know that knights also had Underoos, basically, as you alluded to. Under the metal armor, they're not naked. Right. They don't just have tighty whities or whatever the equivalent was. They have something called a gambis, made of quilted fabric. So it's kind of like those. Oh, what's the Japanese name for those blanket outfits that we both love? You know, the.

[Noel Brown]

You know, I'm picturing it, but I don't. I don't know the name. You mean, like. Oh, you mean like a Kigurumi?

[Ben Bullen]

Yes. Yeah.

[Noel Brown]

Kigurumi. Yes. Often shaped like a. Like a fun animal or cartoon character.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah. So these guys had this kind of inner exoskeleton kigurumi thing.

[Noel Brown]

Kind of like the old prospectors Long John with the butt flap that we

[Ben Bullen]

often reference, like the red wool log dress. Right, right, right. Yeah. This was entirely to absorb the shock of a blow and also, you know, treat yourself, babe. This is gonna stop you from getting chafe marks from your metal armor.

[Noel Brown]

Well, sure. And it's also gonna soak up the sweat and all of that stuff. And it does play a role in the codpie situation we were talking about earlier, where if you needed to go poo poo or pee pee on the batt, you had to have access. So you would, like, remove that cod piece and then undo the flap on your. Whatever the thing is, and then you would go. Oftentimes, though, to go number two, you really did need, like, your caddy to help you out.

[Ben Bullen]

Your squire. Your squire.

[Noel Brown]

You know what I meant?

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah, no, it's the same thing. It's the caddy it's the squire. Like you had to have a squire in case you fell off your horse because this would weigh so much that you would need somebody to give you a little upsy daisy so you could get back on the horse.

[Noel Brown]

Well, and understandably, the caddies were not wearing that same level of mail and armor, so they would have been like little sitting ducks, little rodeo clowns out there.

[Ben Bullen]

So you've got your regular underwear, you've got your gambeson, which is gonna be stuffed with horsehair or straw and ridden with your sweat. So by the way, you're gonna smell terrible, but you're not quite ready for the plate yet. Wear something else over your gambeson. It's a tight fitting garment called an arming doublet or weirdly, a pour point, like pouring water point. And this stuff is important because it has the little loops or little eyelets that let you lace in the armor. So these guys got the armor sewn on that second layer of fabric so that it wouldn't fall off in battle. But sometimes it did.

[Noel Brown]

Sometimes it did.

[Ben Bullen]

Sometimes you're like, oh, no, my elbow is naked.

[Noel Brown]

And sometimes you had to poop yourself.

[Ben Bullen]

And sometimes you did have to poop yourself. This was.

[Noel Brown]

Sometimes you have to poop yourself. I mean, that's just true. That's just a life thing right there.

[Ben Bullen]

That just happens. And you know, this is way before the dawn of diaper technology, which was still in its infancy.

[Noel Brown]

So to circle back around, my friend Meredith, she is a fan of ranch, but she would not bring a travel size ranch with. With ranches available in the world. Okay, okay. She insists that she will always have a hot sauce on her and always be flying. She has in her work bag at all times.

[Ben Bullen]

All right. Yeah. Like Beyonce or Hillary Clinton.

[Noel Brown]

Like Beyonce or Hillary Clinton. Exactly.

[Ben Bullen]

Especially when they have a new project coming up. Right.

[Noel Brown]

I'm really looking forward to that Beyonce, Hillary collab.

[Ben Bullen]

I am too. Yeah, I am too. Especially, I mean, former Secretary of State Clinton is, I'm sure to drop a hot hook or nasty these 16 bars.

[Dr. Joy]

This is Dr. Joy from therapy for black Girls. If you could enjoy a spotless space without so much scrubbing, wouldn't you? Of course you would. Well, I've got you. Dawn Power wash dish spray cuts through the mess and gets everything clean in half the time. We're talking about both the toughest messes in everyday dishes. Plus its work goes beyond the sink, like to clean counters, stoves, grills, and to remove stains on laundry. And it's really good at getting those hard to clean dishes. So basically, Dawn Power Wash cleans everything from dishes to grills, removing all the grease and grime and does it twice as fast. Not bad. You can find Dawn Power Wash dish spray at your favorite retailer. Dawn is a proud sponsor of the Elton John Impact Awards, honoring those who have helped shape a more inclusive and compassionate world with their artistry, advocacy, and unwavering commitment to equality. And we'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of this year's deserving honorees. You won't want to miss the Elton John Impact Awards podcast, available on June 1st on the iHeartRadio app. And everywhere podcasts are heard, I turned off news altogether.

[Ben Bullen]

I hate to say it, but I

[Dr. Joy]

don't trust much of anything.

[Noel Brown]

It's the rage bait.

[Ben Bullen]

It feels like it's trying to dive divide. People, we got clear facts. Maybe we could calm down a little. NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the Facts. Let's move forward from there. NBC News, reporting for America.

[Noel Brown]

You're locked into a lot of things you can't change. Weather, traffic. Hey, stay in your lane. Your wireless carrier's latest price hike. But you can unlock a better way.

[Dr. Joy]

Unlock Unlock the savings at Boost Mobile

[Noel Brown]

and save up to $600 a year. Switch to the $25 a month unlimited wireless plan.

[Dr. Joy]

No contracts, no price hikes, and you keep your phone.

[Noel Brown]

Stop being locked into their games. Unlock the [e-mail] Unlock based on average annual single line of payment of AT&T Verizon and T Mobile customers compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile unlimited wireless plan as of January 2026. For full offer details, visit boostmobile.com hi,

[Ben Bullen]

it's Karen and Georgia from My Favorite Murder.

[Karen and Georgia]

We cruised around LA in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and dove into the fascinating life of actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr.

[Noel Brown]

Want the full story?

[Karen and Georgia]

Take a listen. Hetty. She starts dating Howard Hughes, the aviation tycoon. Do you know a lot about him?

[Noel Brown]

I mean, I watch the Aviator, so

[Karen and Georgia]

I know everything Leonardo DiCaprio has allowed me to know about him. But incredible innovator, right? She says he's a, quote, very strange man. But they do get along really well.

[Noel Brown]

Give us examples.

[Karen and Georgia]

I know they do get along intellectually. And in fact, she helps him design a faster plane. She takes a look at what he's designed. It's got these square wings and she's like, that doesn't make sense. And so she finds the fastest bird and the fastest fish and sketches out a drawing of like what the two would look like as a plane. And that becomes the plane that we know today. And he calls her a genius. Check out our new episode, spotlighting groundbreaking innovators like Hedy and Lamarr and Billie Jean King.

[Noel Brown]

Presented by the Hyundai Ioniq 5.

[Karen and Georgia]

Goodbye.

[Jennie Garth]

This is Jennie Garth from I Choose Me with Jennie Garth. You know, history is full of surprising little details. And laundry turns out it's got its own fascinating story, too, because not all detergents are created equal. Tide liquid laundry detergent isn't just clean, it's boosted clean for cleaner, whiter, brighter, and fresher results compared to Tide simply. And those stubborn stains that always seem to show up at the worst times. Tide tackles 100% of common stains for every load every time. Now, if grease is your nemesis, think food spills, cooking splatters. Tide's got 10 times grease fighting ingredients compared to bargain brands. And it works in a machine, in any water condition, on all your machine washable fabrics. It's no wonder. Tide was America's number one detergent in sales last year. So if it's gotta be clean and it's gotta be fresh, it's gotta be Tide. Shop now at your local retailer. Tide is a proud sponsor of the Elton John Impact Awards, honoring those who have helped shape a more inclusive and compassionate world with their artistry, advocacy, and unwavering commitment to equality. You won't want to miss the Elton John Impact Awards podcast, available on June 1st on the iHeartRadio app. And everywhere podcasts are heard.

[Ben Bullen]

Okay, so we've got the armor, and we know that armor is continually innovating for the people who can afford it. These innovations, this is an arms race. So these innovations also lead to the decline of the shield for practical use. Like, you know, if we're out watching a joust, Max and Nolan, yours truly, we might see a knight who has a shield, right, to bounce the lance off from their opponent. But if you're in a battlefield, in an actual war, your plate armor is going to do most of what a shield would have done. So now a shield is just an encumbrance. It's an albatross. It's another heavy thing you have to carry.

[Noel Brown]

Well, that's right. And it is one of those leveling the playing field kind of arguments where it's like, you know, if everyone's wearing this heavy crap, you're sort of like, equally hampered and you're all just kind of like working in the same with the same drawbacks.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah. Slowly clanking over, slowly clanking over.

[Noel Brown]

I'm gonna get you. I'm coming. I'm dancing for you. Okay, here I am. I'm gonna come towards you too.

[Ben Bullen]

And we'll meet before we, before we get to it. Yeah. Wait, wait. Gaboff. Let's everybody get a little bit of water.

[Noel Brown]

Hold on.

[Ben Bullen]

Gotta put, Gotta poop. I'll be back in like 20 minutes.

[Noel Brown]

But then, you know, you start to think the real innovation isn't how much can we load our guys down with this stuff, is how can we train them to not need it, you know what I mean? And be more nimble. And when we look at like Japanese armor, that stuff is clever. Cause it's like shoulders, it's just on the critical parts. And like, you know, they were just badass fighters who really knew how to engage in a way that maybe they didn't necessarily. They weren't just blunt instruments. A tank as you would call it in a video game. Right?

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, also with the shields, if we look at the regular guys, the non rich guys who are fighting in these battles, we're looking at folks who have stuff like longbows. Right. Or have pikes. And those are both two handed weapons. So shields don't work for them.

[Noel Brown]

Dual wielding? Yeah, no, sorry, the opposite. You need two hands for the big halberd. Dual wielding would be two hands, weapons. And you know, there is technique for fighting that does involve sword and shield, but that's its own kind of very separate type of engagement. Right?

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah, yeah. And these street level infantry type guys, they can't rock shields at all unless there's literally a separate dude standing next to them with a big shield and holding it up in front of them. So yes, I mean, people did that. Right. But plate armor, then in this great tech race, it outpaces the shield and eventually armor itself is outpaced. That's how we get to our question toward the end here. Why don't we see people in full plate armor today? Like why isn't your average Johnny Law or Wells Fargo security guard? Why aren't they clanking around?

[Noel Brown]

Well, it's about material science really, you know, and it's about things like Kevlar, things like ballistic gelatin and various types of low weight comparatively, and high resistance, you know, to impact materials. Like the stuff that's in bulletproof vests, for example. And you know, this stuff continues to improve.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah, like the. I have a Kevlar vest and I also have a ceramic plating thing. So you buy the vest and then you end up buying the plate Separately.

[Noel Brown]

That's right. I do hear them talk about that in like SWAT type shows.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah. And it is. Is still expensive and it ain't exactly

[Noel Brown]

light, but it's not. Right. But comparatively, it is a dream come true. Comparatively to the big old plates.

[Ben Bullen]

Right, right.

[Noel Brown]

Metal plates.

[Ben Bullen]

And so it's cool because I love this point. We're getting to. At the height of its popularity, that full plate armor was symbolic on multiple levels. It represents so many astonishing technological breakthroughs. And if we're being honest, it represents a cartoonishly brutal and unfair class system. I keep thinking of how you would feel if you are a non noble soldier. Right. And you've got whatever kit you could MacGyver together. It's like you were driving around in a 90s Honda Civic and all of a sudden you hear a terrible horn, a great cheer from over the hill, and your gang of little Civics is getting run down by bloodthirsty Humvees. Or like you said, tanks. Like, they're outmatched.

[Noel Brown]

So, you know, the question we posed at the top, you know, did knights of yore really wear these big, massive suits of armor like you might see in a fancy drawing room in a detective movie? The answer is yeah, but not the way myths might suggest.

[Ben Bullen]

100%. Yeah. Because we have to remember that this was a pretty limited window of time as defensive measures like armor improved, offensive technology improved as well.

[Noel Brown]

Now we barely do battlefield fighting at all anymore, you know?

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah, yeah. Napoleonic warfare is thankfully gone. But despite all the time, blood research and money poured into suits of plate arbor, this tech gets outpaced by a new kid on the block. That's right. Gunpowder. And I didn't know this originally.

[Noel Brown]

I guess I should have. Should have gotten the gunpowder before I dropped Kevlar and bulletproof vests.

[Ben Bullen]

No, no, it's fine. We know that Kevlar would have been more effective than plate armor for sure. But I didn't know this at the beginning. Noel, before we started researching this armor at the time was actually good enough to block early musket balls, which were themselves a crapshoot with terrible aiming.

[Noel Brown]

Sure.

[Ben Bullen]

So you could get a little ping pong shot to your chest and keep going because it would take the guy firing at you so long to reload their firearm.

[Noel Brown]

Well, yeah, we've also seen examples of like, you know, as a twist in the plot of some sort of murder mystery type show. A bullet being stopped by a cigarette case perhaps in the front pockets.

[Ben Bullen]

I always love that scene. You know, like there's that iconic scene where Somebody looks to be dead, but then they pull out, as you're saying, the breast pocket, and it's like a Bible.

[Noel Brown]

I was saved. Yes. Oh, yes. Even better.

[Ben Bullen]

Or in this case, weirdly enough, a lottery ticket. I don't know where that came from.

[Noel Brown]

Okay, we'll take all the luck we can get. This is super fun, man. And, you know, I think we're. I'm not like a gun person per se, but I am fascinated by these YouTube videos of people showing what kind of materials can block what caliber of bullets and stuff like that. And you do get into, as they escalate the materials into, like, stuff like ballistic gel and all of these modern, you know, gunpowder and bulletproof materials.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah, like the spider silk experiments. That's pretty nuts.

[Noel Brown]

I don't know about that one.

[Ben Bullen]

There's been work into making armor based off spider silk, which is like, we always see it in what, you know, a tiny. A web of tiny strands. But it turns out if you knit it together, which is very time consuming, then it actually makes a pretty good material for armor.

[Noel Brown]

Almost like carbon fiber.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah.

[Noel Brown]

Kind of stuff.

[Ben Bullen]

I'd have to look into it because I don't know if it's cost effective yet. But we do know plate armor became less cost effective or even practical as firearms evolved. Because, look, the reality is if you're wearing a bulletproof vest, even now, a modern one, and you get shot, shot, you're still going to have a screwed up day.

[Noel Brown]

It's going to hurt your ass over, too.

[Ben Bullen]

You'll have nasty bruising, but the advantage is you'll be alive. The problem with plate armor is if these folks got shot and the armor got mangled, you would injure the guy even more by trying to get it off him. Like, how are you going to get his arm out of there? So as we said, said, that's the reason people aren't wearing plate armor right now. Outside of cosplay and historical celebrations, body armor is still around today. It's more expensive than we'd like. But this is a great setup for a future episode we have about another mythical fighter, the Berserker.

[Noel Brown]

Oh, yes, Berserker.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah.

[Noel Brown]

Remember that song from Clerks?

[Ben Bullen]

That's right. That's right. Yeah.

[Noel Brown]

It's got some pretty, pretty blue language in it. So I'm just gonna go with I

[Ben Bullen]

had Big, big thanks to our super.

[Noel Brown]

Were they hopped up on goofballs? Maybe.

[Ben Bullen]

Maybe. Big, big. We're gonna find out. Big, big thanks to our super producer, Mr. Max Williams. I've been our research associate for this. Big thanks to Jonathan Strickland, AKA the Queen, who I miss a little bit, though I'm never gonna tell him that.

[Noel Brown]

Doesn't he. Doesn't he owe us an appearance, a prestidigitation, a summoning?

[Ben Bullen]

Yes, he does. He's also a fan of stage magic.

[Noel Brown]

That's true. Who isn't? I love stage.

[Ben Bullen]

I'm not a fan of it.

[Noel Brown]

Well, I am.

[Ben Bullen]

I love this stuff.

[Noel Brown]

You know why?

[Ben Bullen]

To each their own.

[Noel Brown]

To each their own indeed. And jolly good time today, Ben. Enjoyed this one. Thanks for the for the research and we'll see you next time, folks. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. This is George Severis and Sam Taggart from Stratiolab. Let's be real. Home comes with a lot of odors. Cooking, pets, everyday life. That's where Febreze comes in. Febreze helps fight household odors and leaves

[Ben Bullen]

behind freshness that left. And with over 30 cents to choose from, you'll always find one that feels like you.

[Noel Brown]

Febreze. Freshness that fits your life, your space, your style.

[Ben Bullen]

Febreze is a proud sponsor of the Elton John Impact Awards, honoring those who have helped shape a more inclusive and

[Noel Brown]

compassionate world with their artistry, advocacy, and unwavering commitment to equality. You won't want to miss the Elton John Impact Awards podcast, available on June 1st on the iHeartRadio app. And everywhere podcasts are heard.

[Ben Bullen]

Hi, it's Karen and Georgia from My favorite Murder.

[Karen and Georgia]

We cruised around LA in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and dove into the fascinating life of actress and inventor Hedy Lamar.

[Noel Brown]

Want the full story?

[Karen and Georgia]

Take a listen. She starts dating Howard Hughes and in fact she helps him design a faster plane. So she finds the fastest bird and the fastest fish and sketches out a drawing of what the two would look like as a plane. And that becomes the plane that we know today. And he calls her a giant genius. Check out our new episode spotlighting groundbreaking innovators like Hedy Lamar and Billie Jean King.

[Noel Brown]

Presented by the Hyundai Ioniq 5.

[Karen and Georgia]

Goodbye.

[Noel Brown]

If you're alignment in charge of keeping the lights on, Grainger understands that you go to great lengths and sometimes heights to ensure the power is always flowing. Which is why you can count on Grainger for professional grade products and next day delivery. So you have everything you need to get the job done. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgrainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.

[Ben Bullen]

When Kohler, global design leader in luxurious kitchen and bath products, asked me to be their ambassador for timeless, elegant, durable cast iron, I said, I'm in. Soon after, I was in their Kohler Wisconsin foundation foundry watching molten iron, poured, enamel applied by hand, and the beautiful finished pieces ready to ship. Since 1883, Kohler cast iron has been crafted by incredible artisans, and seeing it firsthand gave me a whole new appreciation for their craftsmanship. Now I'm proud to lend my staff of approval to my favorite Kohler cast iron products for their durability, beauty and enduring style. Shop my curated [e-mail] as the Kohler Cast Iron Ambassador, I say long live Cast Iron.

[Jennie Garth]

This is Jenny Garth from I Choose Me With Jenny Garth, History is full of mysteries like how people ever survive before modern laundry detergent. Luckily, Tides here with boosted stain fighting for cleaner, whiter, brighter and fresher laundry versus Tide. Simple. No wonder it was America's number one detergent in sales last year. If it's gotta be clean, it's got to be Tide. Tide is a proud sponsor of the Elton John Impact Awards, honoring those who have helped shape a more inclusive and compassionate world with their artistry, advocacy and unwavering commitment to equality. You won't want to miss the Elton John Impact Awards podcast available on June 1st on the iHeartRadio app and everywhere podcasts are heard, this is an iHeart podcast.

[Dr. Joy]

Guaranteed human.