Shows / Stuff You Should Know
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Episodes
- Stuff You Should Know
Selects: Iran-Contra Affair: Shady in the 80s, Part 2
As the operation expands it also begins to unravel. Word starts to leak out of the illegal stuff the Reagan administration was up to, Congress and the press…
- Stuff You Should Know
Selects: Iran-Contra Affair: Shady in the 80s, Part 1
When Ronald Reagan was president, America got involved in some deeply shady stuff, not the least of which was the Iran-Contra scandal – a convoluted…
- Stuff You Should Know
Reggae: Kingston’s Gift to the World
Although it was built atop some musical styles that came before, reggae is mostly its own thing. It evolved as local music in the Trenchtown neighborhood in…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: Phone Books
Once upon a time there were these things called phone books. Inside you could find the phone number and address of just about everyone in your town. Can you…
- Stuff You Should Know
Beans and Rice Feeds the World
To call beans and rice a staple is to undersell the importance of beans and rice. Today we break down the ubiquity of this beloved food combo. See…
- Stuff You Should Know
Selects: How Peanut Butter Works
No food is more all-American than peanut butter – 80 percent of homes in the country have a jar of it in the pantry right now. And while the rest of the…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Russia Shapes What the World Thinks
Operation Doppelganger was a Russian propaganda project discovered in 2022, a minor part of the enormous, ongoing disinformation and chaos-sewing campaign…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: Shark Arm Murders
Get yer info on one of Australia’s great true crime cases he-re! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Stuff You Should Know
The Beloved Judy Blume
Judy Blume is more than an author. She's a legend in teen literature for her frank and honest portrayals of adolescence. Today we pay tribute to her. See…
- Stuff You Should Know
Selects: Plant Migration
Climate change is having sweeping effects on our climate and this is changing the world, not just for humans and other animals, but plants too. Will the…
- Stuff You Should Know
What's the deal with Swiss neutrality?
We all know Switzerland is neutral. But why? Listen in and you might learn something. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: Sardines!
Josh implored Chuck to try sardines. Did he? Listen in to find out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Stuff You Should Know
The Tobacco Master Settlement: That Time We Got Em
By the 1990s, cigarette makers had been hooking and killing off their customers for about a century. And they’d gotten good at both as well as covering…
- Stuff You Should Know
Selects: The Soul Train Episode
In this classic episode, Chuck and Josh dive into the funky, cool world of the classic TV show, Sooooooooul Train. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…
- Stuff You Should Know
White Boy Rick
Would you believe that Detroit’s crack epidemic in the mid-80s was overseen by one 16 year-old white kid who supplied all the coke? No? Well…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: The Voice of God
Today we salute the great Don LaFontaine, aka The Voice of God in movie and TV trailers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Stuff You Should Know
You Are Not Alone With Postpartum Depression
Most new moms get the baby blues soon after giving birth. Postpartum depression is something much different - the symptoms are similar, but their intensity can…
- Stuff You Should Know
Selects: The First Road Trip
Back when cars were a brand new thing, before people even knew they'd stick around, two men and a dog drove from San Francisco to New York. This classic…
- Stuff You Should Know
Eleanor Roosevelt: Best First Lady
Eleanor Roosevelt was something else. We can't get into it here, but just wait until you listen to this episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: Great Britain
Now that it’s been 250 years since America split from England, we figure enough time has passed that we can finally learn the difference between the UK…
- Stuff You Should Know
Kola: The World’s Deepest Hole
During the Cold War all eyes were on the Space Race between the US and USSR. But there was another, overlooked race too and it went in the opposite direction…
- Stuff You Should Know
Selects: Chopsticks > Forks
In this classic episode, Chuck and Josh sit and converse on the simple, elegant chopstick. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Stuff You Should Know
Alaska Earthquake of 1964
When a 9.2 quake shoook Alaska in 1964 it was the 2nd largest earthquake ever recorded. This is that story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: Toronto Clown Riot
Those are three words you probably never thought you’d see together. And the true story is just as interesting as it sounds. See omnystudio.com/listener…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Hillsborough Disaster
When a crush of football fans killed 97 people in England in 1989, police and officials engaged in a massive cover-up to blame it on drunken fans. Today we…
- Stuff You Should Know
Selects: How Enron Fooled the World
Until 2007, the largest single corporate bankruptcy was Enron, a $67 billion energy trading company. Its decline was breathtaking, and while it’s a…
- Stuff You Should Know
Freetown Christiania
The sort of commune of Freetown Christiania in Denmark may not be what it used to be, but it's still true to many of its original values. Learn all about this…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: Why does it feel good to be scared?
Fear is different than being scared, most notably because fear is generally a negative thing and being scared can cause an enjoyable thrill. We'll get into the…
- Stuff You Should Know
Some Interesting Curses
Even though curses aren’t real – and we go to great pains to make that clear – they are pretty interesting, especially ones you haven’t…
- Stuff You Should Know
Selects: Birthmarks: Probably Not the Mark of the Devil
It’s a pretty safe assumption that people have been born with birthmarks since humanity began, and between then and now we’ve come up with some…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Stuff You Should Know Doin’ Science Playlist: How Chaos Theory Changed the Universe
Since the age of Descartes, science has put all of its eggs in the basket of determinism, the idea that with accurate enough measurements any aspect of the…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Stuff You Should Know Doin’ Science Playlist: How Global Warming Works
It's a confusing part of climate change when it seems winter is as cold as ever, but as global temperatures creep ever so slightly higher, a cascade of…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Stuff You Should Know Doin’ Science Playlist: Can Nuclear Fusion Reactors Save The World?
The world's energy consumption is ruining the planet but for decades physicists have been working on what could solve the world's energy and climate change…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Stuff You Should Know Doin’ Science Playlist: Elastics: Where God and Science Smooch
You could be forgiven for thinking the story behind elastics was boring. You’d still be wrong, though. The story of what’s holding up your…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Stuff You Should Know Doin’ Science Playlist: How Big Bang Theory Works, with Neil deGrasse Tyson
There are a number of theories for how the universe evolved but none are more widely accepted than the Big Bang theory. Learn about the mind-boggling details…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Stuff You Should Know Doin’ Science Playlist: How Occam's Razor Works
You know the rule that says the simplest explanation is probably the correct one? That’s called a razor and it’s meant to guide logic. But over…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Stuff You Should Know Doin’ Science Playlist: How X-Rays Work
Like many huge discoveries, X-rays were accidentally stumbled upon. That serendipity led to a medical breakthrough still in use today. Learn about how X-rays…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Stuff You Should Know Doin’ Science Playlist: How the Scientific Method Works
It evolved over centuries to become the gold standard for conducting scientific inquiry. Yet many people - including some scientists - don't fully understand…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Stuff You Should Know Doin’ Science Playlist: Things We Believed Before the Scientific Method
It’s easy to think of people in the distant past as kinda dumb for believing things like that mice could spontaneously generate from old grain. But if…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Stuff You Should Know Doin’ Science Playlist: Legs! Legs! Legs! (The Periodic Table)
If you’ve ever wanted to listen to two totally untrained, non-chemists who are fully unqualified to explain how the periodic table works nervously…
- Stuff You Should Know
M*A*S*H: The Story of the 4077th
Chuck loved M*A*S*H. Josh didn't. Listen in as they fight to the death. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: Does singing make you happy?
Does singing make you happy? Yes, yes it does. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Stuff You Should Know
Did 24-Hour Cable News Kill America?
You can make a pretty good case that the rise of opinion “news” and filter bubbles on cable tv created the current cultural and political schism…
- Stuff You Should Know
Selects: How the Fairness Doctrine Worked
Back in the day, broadcasters were bound by law to provide contrasting opinions on political matters. Why? Because of the Fairness Doctrine. What happened to…
- Stuff You Should Know
The NY Subway Vigilante
Today we dive into the unremorseful life of NYC Subway vigilante Bernhard Goetz. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: Rain Barrels!
Harvesting rainwater has tons of upsides and not many downsides – you just need to take a few precautions first. Don’t miss this episode, which…
- Stuff You Should Know
Smile
They say that smiling requires fewer muscles than frowning, so why not smile? That doesn’t seem to be true, or at least unproven, and there is lots more…
- Stuff You Should Know
Selects: 911 Is Not a Joke
Josh and Chuck delve into the world of 911 in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Stuff You Should Know
Three Mile Island
The disaster at Three Mile Island thankfully did not cost any lives directly, but the notion that it didn't harm people is very much up in the air. Learn all…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: 1955 Le Mans Disaster
In 1955, the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance motor race took a very dark turn when a terrible accident on the track continued into the crowd. See…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Tragic Life of Vincent Van Gogh
Van Gogh lived a troubled life and did not garner attention as a painter until after his death by suicide. Today we dive into this complicated journey as an…
- Stuff You Should Know
Selects: Did Shakespeare really write all that stuff?
The question of Shakespeare's authorship has been around since at least the mid-1800s. Is there anything to it? In this classic episode, we dig in to this…
- Stuff You Should Know
Howard Hughes in Las Vegas
From 1968 to 1972 Howard Hughes holed up in a suite in the Desert Inn casino in Las Vegas. Addicted to morphine and living on candy bars and milk, he was in…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: Knuckle Cracking
Does knuckle cracking give you arthritis? It doesn't appear to. But that doesn't mean it's harmless. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Stuff You Should Know
The Story of Starvation Heights
There are quacks and then there is Linda Hazzard. Not only did she starve her patients to death, but she took their family fortunes as she did it. This is the…
- Stuff You Should Know
Selects: How Flight Attendants Work
Flight attendants have come a long way. From having to put up with rampant sexism, to the current incarnation as your first line of defense in case of an…
- Stuff You Should Know
The 1993 Waco Siege
One of the darkest days in the history of American law enforcement came on April 19, 1993, when the FBI’s 51-day siege of the Branch Davidian religious…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: All about BPAs
Are BPAs safe? Of course not. Does the FDA care? Of course not. Learn all about what and why today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Stuff You Should Know
Eels Alive!
Eels are pretty much objectively unsettling. They’re not quite fish (although they are) and if they’re snakes, they’re messed up snakes (they…
- Stuff You Should Know
Selects: Did Mallory Make it to the Top of Everest First?
George Mallory was a member of the first three European expeditions to Everest, world’s tallest mountain. He wanted to summit it so badly, he gave his…