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 KnowBidets: Now More Than Ever
We all know the benefits of bidets. But with toilet paper in short supply, they're more important than ever before. Learn more about your ad-choices at…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Selects: How Dissociative Identity Disorder Works
Dissociative Identity Disorder was known as multiple personality disorder until a case of mass hysteria brought on by the movie-mad public and unscrupulous…
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Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, Feminist Physician
Becoming the first licensed woman physician in America was tough, convincing male surgeons to wash their hands between patients was even tougher. Today Josh…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: AAirpass
In the go-go 80s and 90s, American Airlines offered the AAirpass, a lifetime pass for unlimited first class travel. It was an amazing deal, but AA didn’t…
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The Legends of Lost Nazi Gold
As if being murdering SOBs weren’t enough, the Nazis were also thieving rats. During WWII, they stole billons in gold from countries they overran and moved it…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Selects: How the Deep Web Works
Perhaps you didn’t realize that when you search the web you’re only skimming the surface. In fact, the types of web pages that turn up in your search engine…
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Student Loans: UGH!
Student loans can be pretty complicated. Luckily Chuck and Josh are here to wade through the financial muck for you. Learn more about your ad-choices at…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: 666
Today, Chuck and Josh dive into that scary number...666. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener…
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How Dog Training Works
Chuck and Josh explore the age-old question: Should you train your dog by treating it like a living, feeling being or should you beat them up and break their…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Selects: 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…
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How COVID-19 Works
We’re in the middle of an odd, tense time and Josh and Chuck are here to explain what’s going on and how to stay safe. Learn more about your ad-choices at…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: Dagen H
One day in 1967, Sweden changed what side of the road its citizens drive on. It went surprisingly well, considering. Learn more about your ad-choices at…
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Could A Robot Tax Win the War on Poverty?
An old idea – giving every resident of a country a set amount of money every month with no strings attached – became a hot item in Silicon Valley and on the…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Selects: Virus Talk with Josh and Chuck
Viruses are big jerks that invade regular cells and hold them hostage, making you sick while they're doing it. Learn everything you ever needed to know about…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Distraction Playlist: How Jim Henson Worked
We’ve already recorded an episode on The Muppets, but Jim Henson was such a neat guy we delved into him even further. Learn all about the man behind the…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Distraction Playlist: SYSK Live: How Bars Work
Join Josh and Chuck live from Vancouver as they dive in to the ins and outs of one of the oldest businesses in the world – the bar! Learn about the history of…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Distraction Playlist: How Grass Works? Yes, How Grass Works
There’s nothing more boring than watching grass grow, which is why Josh and Chuck aren’t asking you to do that. Instead, you can learn about all sorts of neat…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Distraction Playlist: How Terraforming Will Work
A lot of great thinkers are warning that if humans are to survive as a species we are going to have to find another planet to live on. Terraforming, or…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Distraction Playlist: How Rogue Waves Work
Rogue waves come out of nowhere and tower as much as 100 feet over hapless ships they encounter, breaking across the boat and frequently breaking the boat and…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Distraction Playlist: Was there a real King Arthur?
The legend of King Arthur is very old and very established. By the time the king who saved Britain and united it was first written about, his story was already…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Distraction Playlist: The Amazing History of Soda
The soda we get instantly mixed at a fast-food joint owes a lot to a rich history going back to the Roman baths, that features drugs, diseases and explosions…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Distraction Playlist: How Rodney Dangerfield Worked, Live From LA
Other comedians cry on the inside, but Rodney Dangerfield built his entire act around his sad life. Get to know this legendary comic who was nearing 50 when he…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Distraction Playlist: How Pinball Works
Pinball was actually illegal until the 1970s in NY and other cities, hidden in the backs of pornography shops. The game was finally legalized, thanks to a Babe…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Distraction Playlist: Sugar: It Powers the Earth
Since sugar spread from Polynesia a few thousand years ago, the world has been crazy for it. Insanely high prices, wars and even slavery couldn't undo world's…
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What was the Falkland Islands War all about anyway?
The battle between Britain and Argentina over the rocky, cold Falkland Islands is one of the weirder wars in history. Learn all about it today! Learn more…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: The Pledge of Allegiance
The American Pledge of Allegiance is much more interesting than you might think. Give us 12 minutes and we'll fill you in. Learn more about your ad-choices at…
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Chopsticks > Forks
Today Chuck and Josh sit and converse on the simple, elegant chopstick. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Selects: How Monopoly Works
Since more than 1 billion people have played it, you’re probably familiar with the board game Monopoly, but we bet you don’t know its secret origins as a…
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How Ice Climbing Works
A few decades ago, some people who liked to climb mountains decided they wanted to make it even harder and ice climbing was born. If you think rock climbing is…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: Teresita Basa
In the annals of American justice there is a 1977 case where the police were tipped off to the identity of a murderer by a woman who said she was possessed by…
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How Coyotes Work
The coyote truly is wily. Even after a century-long attempt to drive them to extinction, this close relative of domesticated dogs not only hung onto survival…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Selects: How Gold Works
As of early 2013, only 161,00 metric tons of gold had been mined in the entire history of the world. Considering about 85 percent of it is recycled, there's a…
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Mardi Gras! One month late
In true SYSK fashion, Josh and Chuck are late to the game. But never fear, they will still detail Mardi Gras in all its colorful glory. Learn more about your…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: Exclamation Points!
We all use them! But did we always? NO!! Learn all about everyone's favorite punctuation mark today! Learn more about your ad-choices at…
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How Morphic Fields Work?
Biologist and science historian Rupert Sheldrake is known as a heretic of science, mostly for his deeply strange ideas about what connects all living things…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Selects: Your limb is torn off - now what?
Were you to be the unfortunate victim of a limb removal of any sort, you could take hope. Here in the 21st century, doctors have gotten pretty handy at…
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Sammy Davis Jr: National Treasure
Today Josh and Chuck sit down and detail the complicated life of the late, great Sammy Davis Jr. Learn more about your ad-choices at…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: Hawaiian Night Marchers
Get ready for some Hawaiian folklore, people. Today we discuss the Night Marchers. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See…
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What's the deal with indigo?
Indigo is a color with a rich past. Learn all about it today. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Selects: How Cult Deprogramming Works
The fear of cults in the 1970s drove Americans to look the other way on kidnappings, abuse and torture of cult members by deprogrammers – but did it even work?…
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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 wacky, even…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: Mexican Jumping Beans
Mexican jumping beans are a real thing and they really do move around. It’s not magic, it’s nature! Learn more about your ad-choices at…
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The Unsolved Indiana Dunes Disappearances
In July 1966, three women out for a day at the beach waded into the water of Lake Michigan, got onto a boat and were never heard from again. To this day, not a…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Selects: A Podcast on Zoot Suits? Yes
Few riots can be attributed to passing fashions, but zoot suits are top among them. After originating among the Harlem Renaissance crowd, the zoot suit came to…
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911 Is Not a Joke
Josh and Chuck delve into the world of 911 in today's episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: Body Under The Bed
A couple unknowingly spending the night above a dead body stuffed under their bed is a longstanding urban legend. And a true one. Learn more about your…
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Optogenetics: Controlling Your Genes with Light
What if a genetic brain disease could be turned off simply by flashing a light in your eyes? What if your depression could be cured that way? Sounds amazingly…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Selects: How Bonsai Works
For thousands of years people have been taking normal trees and forcing them into miniature. Learn all about the history and art of this strangely engrossing…
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Why are Pentecostals growing so rapidly?
Pentecostals are seemingly taking over the world. Or at least they're making up a larger section of Christianity than every before. Why? We'll dig in on that…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: The Iowa Caucus
The Iowa Caucus is super important. But not really. Find out why. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See…
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How AI Facial Recognition Works
With the development of increasingly smart artificial intelligence and lots more cameras spread around than ever before, we have reached a critical point in…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Selects: How Maglev Trains Work
Thanks to the amazing properties of magnets, clever engineers have figured out how to make entire trains levitate above their tracks, letting them move…
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Who were the Buffalo Soldiers?
Josh and Chuck dive into history today to tell the story of the Buffalo Soldiers. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: The O.K. Corral
Listen in as we detail, in short, the legendary shootout at the O.K. Corral. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See…
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Amazing Animal Stories!
Regular animal stories are wonderful enough, but when animals lead amazing lives the stories become almost unbearably wonderful. You’ve been warned! Learn more…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Selects: 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…
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Barefoot Running: The Best Podcast Episode in History
What is barefoot running? I think you know. But we'll detail all of the ins and outs. Listen and learn! Learn more about your ad-choices at…
Stuff You Should KnowShort Stuff: Byford Dolphin Incident
In 1983, what may be the worst diving catastrophe in the history of deep sea oil exploration took place when a pressurized chamber was opened, instantly…
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Why Postal Employees Go Postal
1993 was known as the peak of a disturbing trend in America: post office shootings, carried out by postal workers. A stunned country looked for answers and…
Stuff You Should KnowSYSK Selects: How the Placebo Effect Works
For centuries, doctors have prescribed drugs they knew weren't real – but that still somehow worked. It wasn't until the 1980s that the placebo effect was…