# Join or Die with Craig Ferguson

Join or Die with Craig Ferguson is an American panel show hosted by Scottish-American comedian Craig Ferguson. The sole season, consisting of 22 episodes, began airing on History on February 18, 2016. The show features Ferguson and a panel of special guests including comedians, actors and academics discussing unorthodox and provocative historical topics.
The title of the show refers to the well-known 1754 political cartoon of the same name, which was created by Benjamin Franklin and became a symbol of colonial freedom during the American Revolutionary War. Ferguson also got the cartoon tattooed on his arm when he became an American citizen.

## Production

Individual episodes cover topics such as bad medical ideas, worst political blunder, most influential drug, most influential band, greatest Founding Father, and history's biggest frenemies. Ferguson and a three-guest panel (usually consisting of scholars, comedians and people who Ferguson "talked to, liked, and respected" during his time as host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson) conduct a humorous discussion about six candidates for the title in question. Viewers are invited to vote for their top choice on Twitter, and once the panel has narrowed the field from six candidates to two, the studio audience decides the winner by majority vote.
Each episode starts with a humorous monologue by Ferguson; the first 13 episodes also end with a more contemplative one in which he relaxes on the set with his suit jacket, vest, and tie removed.
During the February 24, 2016 episode of the online show Larry King Now, Ferguson told host Larry King that 22 episodes of Join or Die had already been produced. He added that the History Channel had placed an order for additional episodes. However, on March 31, 2017, during an episode of Ferguson's new Sirius XM radio show on which King was a guest, he stated that the show had been cancelled.
The final episode of the season, "History's Biggest Douchebag", was scheduled for June 16, 2016, but it was removed from the day's schedule. "History's Biggest Douchebag" aired July 28, 2016 on History Canada.

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Guest(s) | Original release date | US viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "History's Biggest Political Blunder" | Jimmy Kimmel, Jen D'Angelo and Howard Bragman | February 18, 2016 (2016-02-18) | 0.72 |
| Biggest Political Blunder Shortlist: Rod Blagojevich Larry Craig Herman Cain Christine O'Donnell Eliot Spitzer (winner) Dick Cheney |||||
| 2 | "History's Worst Medical Advice" | Chris Hardwick, Jordan Carlos and Bob Pflugfelder | February 18, 2016 (2016-02-18) | 0.43 |
| Worst Medical Advice Shortlist: Smoking Pulling Teeth Bloodletting Mercury Lobotomies (winner) Urine |||||
| 3 | "History's Biggest Frenemies" | Courteney Cox, Dan Soder and Michael Ian Black | February 25, 2016 (2016-02-25) | N/A |
| Biggest Frenemies Shortlist: Magic Johnson and Larry Bird Steve Jobs and Bill Gates (winner) John Lennon and Paul McCartney Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla Thomas Jefferson and John Adams David Letterman and Jay Leno |||||
| 4 | "History's Most Doomed Presidential Campaign" | Dan Schnur, Bryan Callen and Elijah Wood | March 3, 2016 (2016-03-03) | N/A |
| Most Doomed Presidential Campaign Shortlist: Gary Hart Howard Dean Michael Dukakis John McCain Al Gore Mitt Romney (winner) |||||
| 5 | "History's Worst Tyrant" | Julie Bowen, Dan Levy and Laila Lalami | March 10, 2016 (2016-03-10) | N/A |
| Worst Tyrant Shortlist: Adolf Hitler (winner) Genghis Khan Pol Pot Kim Jong-il Muammar Gaddafi Bloody Mary Note: Ferguson states that Joseph Stalin was deliberately omitted from the list due to the sheer number of victims who died under his rule. |||||
| 6 | "History's Craziest Cult" | Jack Black, Tymberlee Hill and Stephen Prothero | March 17, 2016 (2016-03-17) | N/A |
| Craziest Cult Shortlist: House of Yahweh Rajneeshees Cosmic People of Light Powers The Brethren Moonies Jonestown (winner) |||||
| 7 | "History's Greatest Invention Since 1950" | Trace Adkins, Kate Flannery and Lori Greiner | March 24, 2016 (2016-03-24) | N/A |
| Greatest Invention Since 1950 Shortlist: Internet (winner) Viagra Microwave oven Velcro Personal computer Jet airliner |||||
| 8 | "History's Most Influential Band" | Lars Ulrich, Tom Papa and Alan Light | March 31, 2016 (2016-03-31) | N/A |
| Most Influential Band Shortlist: Nirvana The Ramones The Rolling Stones Run-D.M.C. Black Sabbath The Beatles (winner) |||||
| 9 | "The Drug That Changed the World" | David Eisenbach, Maria Bello and Derek Waters | April 7, 2016 (2016-04-07) | N/A |
| Drug That Changed the World Shortlist: Alcohol Performance-enhancing drugs Cocaine (winner) Marijuana LSD Caffeine |||||
| 10 | "History's Biggest Fall from Grace" | Jay Leno, Mark Forward and Howard Bragman | April 14, 2016 (2016-04-14) | N/A |
| Biggest Fall from Grace Shortlist: Richard Nixon Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker O. J. Simpson Benedict Arnold Andrew Johnson Bill Cosby (winner) |||||
| 11 | "History's Greatest Man-Made Structure" | Adam Goldberg, Noel Wells and Ty Pennington | April 21, 2016 (2016-04-21) | N/A |
| Greatest Man-Made Structure Shortlist: Brooklyn Bridge Empire State Building Eiffel Tower Pyramid of Giza (winner) Hoover Dam Great Wall of China |||||
| 12 | "History's Most Plausible Conspiracy Theory" | Judd Apatow, Kurt Braunohler and Mike Massimino | April 28, 2016 (2016-04-28) | N/A |
| Most Plausible Conspiracy Theory Shortlist: The Illuminati Area 51 Hollow Earth Fort Knox Fake Moon Landing Who Killed JFK? (winner) |||||
| 13 | "History's Biggest Presidential Bad Boy" | Angela Kinsey, Heather McDonald and Joel Stein | May 5, 2016 (2016-05-05) | N/A |
| Biggest Presidential Bad Boy Shortlist: Andrew Jackson (winner) Bill Clinton Warren G. Harding John F. Kennedy Thomas Jefferson Richard Nixon |||||
| 14 | "History's Dumbest Mistake" | Dan Riskin, Ian Abramson and Tim Meadows | May 12, 2016 (2016-05-12) | N/A |
| Dumbest Mistake Shortlist: Louisiana Purchase Rejecting the Beatles Trojan Horse (winner) Passing on Potter No M&M's for E.T. Selling Apple Early |||||
| 15 | "History's Biggest Unsolved Mystery" | Michael Ian Black, Josh Wolf and Jason Biggs | May 12, 2016 (2016-05-12) | N/A |
| Biggest Unsolved Mystery Shortlist: D. B. Cooper Black Dahlia Zodiac Killer Stonehenge (winner) Easter Island Jack the Ripper |||||
| 16 | "History's Greatest Unexplained Phenomenon" | Mike Massimino, Megan Amram and Larry King | May 19, 2016 (2016-05-19) | N/A |
| Greatest Unexplained Phenomenon Shortlist: Bermuda Triangle Bigfoot Amityville Horror UFOs Crop circles Loch Ness Monster (winner) |||||
| 17 | "History's Greatest Gangster" | Derrick Pitts, Thomas Dale and Joel McHale | May 19, 2016 (2016-05-19) | N/A |
| Greatest Gangster Shortlist: Lucky Luciano (winner) El Chapo Pablo Escobar Bugsy Siegel Joseph Stalin Al Capone |||||
| 18 | "History's Most Defiant Moments of the Last 75 Years" | John Avlon, Yvette Nicole Brown and Lisa Kudrow | May 26, 2016 (2016-05-26) | N/A |
| Most Defiant Moments of the Last 75 Years Shortlist: Tiananmen Square Edward Snowden Rosa Parks (winner) Frank Serpico Reagan at the Wall Thich Quang Duc |||||
| 19 | "History's Best Founding Father" | Joel Stein, Jo Koy and Fred Willard | May 26, 2016 (2016-05-26) | N/A |
| Best Founding Father Shortlist: George Washington (winner) James Madison John Adams Benjamin Franklin Alexander Hamilton Thomas Jefferson |||||
| 20 | "History's Biggest Fraud" | Joel Stein, Russell Peters and Michael Sheen | June 9, 2016 (2016-06-09) | N/A |
| Biggest Fraud Shortlist: Charles Ponzi (winner) Frank Abagnale Lance Armstrong James Frey Rachel Dolezal Pete Rose |||||
| 21 | "History's Biggest Badass" | Evy Poumpouras, Mark Forward and Regis Philbin | June 9, 2016 (2016-06-09) | N/A |
| Biggest Badass Shortlist: Theodore Roosevelt George S. Patton Crazy Horse Joan of Arc Harriet Tubman (winner) Martin Luther King Jr. |||||
| 22 | "History's Biggest Douchebag" | Kal Penn, Echo Kellum and Leonard Maltin | July 28, 2016 (2016-07-28) | N/A |
| Biggest Douchebag Shortlist: Thomas Edison Bernie Madoff Anthony Weiner Donald Trump Marge Schott Martin Shkreli (winner) |||||