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
Recycling Update: How’s It Going?
It’s been about a decade since Josh and Chuck last checked in on recycling and since then a lot has changed. A global commodities market dealing in recyclables…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: How Foot Binding Worked
Once in a while, all the necessary factors converge to produce a peculiar nationalized sexual fetish. In China, that fetish was foot binding and over a…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Attorney-Client Privilege Works
One of the oldest protected forms of speech comes from when a lawyer speaks with their client. Over centuries, this legal privilege has been protected and…
- Stuff You Should Know
Jobs of Bygone Eras
Join Josh and Chuck today as they take a fun look at some of the strange jobs that our ancestors did. It's a SYSK top 10, meaning there will only be eight or…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: How Twinkies Work
Twinkies have a reputation for being so processed that they can last for years and years, but they're not as hardy as you'd expect. Uncover the sweet story of…
- Stuff You Should Know
Gerrymandering: How to Stifle Democracy
No matter which side of the political spectrum you fall on, you should be outraged about the practice of gerrymandering. Redrawing voter district maps to…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Disappearance of the Yuba County Five
In 1978, five friends set out for home from a basketball game. The next day, their car was discovered in a lonely mountain road. The next spring, their bodies…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: Did Reagan's Star Wars program win the Cold War?
Putting lasers in space to blast Soviet missiles out of the air was a very real part of Ronald Reagan's defense policy. While his "Star Wars" program was…
- Stuff You Should Know
How the Stanford Prison Experiment Worked
The infamous Stanford Prison Experiment wasn't really much of an experiment as it turns out. It was more like a poorly thought out exercise conducted by a…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Diabetes Works
Diabetes is one of the biggest killers of people on the planet. And yet, it also seems to be tied to diet and exercise, which makes it preventable. Learn about…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: How Ponzi Schemes Work
Ponzi schemes. How do they work? And who's Ponzi? Join Josh and Chuck in this classic episode to discover how an Italian immigrant created a classic con that's…
- Stuff You Should Know
Narwhals: Unicorns of the Sea
Narwhals are the unicorns of the sea. They're also whales with tusks. The tusks are really long tooths. Are you confused? Let us guide you! Learn more about…
- Stuff You Should Know
Can Anarchism Work?
Teenage punks going through a phase probably come to mind when you think of anarchists, but anarchism is a legitimate political philosophy based on the idea…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: How Condoms Work
The earliest depiction of a condom is found in a 15,000-year-old cave painting. Ever since humans realized sex led to children, we've been using condoms to…
- Stuff You Should Know
Genghis Khan: Madman or Genius?
Depending on who you talk to, Genghis Khan was either a sadistic madman or one of the great leaders in world history. One thing is sure, he was one of the most…
- Stuff You Should Know
How The Pill Changed the World
When the birth control pill hit the market in 1960 it landed like a social bomb. Almost overnight, women gained the ability to separate sex from pregnancy and…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: How Bullfighting Works
When the Visigoths ruled Spain, they introduced the idea of battling bulls at festivals. Today matadors get paid $100,000 and perform in front of 50,000 fans…
- Stuff You Should Know
Skyscrapers: 'Scuse me while I kiss the sky
Skyscrapers are much more than tall buildings. They're world wonders as far as we're concerned. From design to construction, these babies are beautifully…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Tsunamis Work
Tsunamis are amazingly devastating natural disasters. They're miles tall and wide, travel as fast as a commercial airliner and can wipe out entire coastal…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: How The Hum Works
There is a mysterious droning sound often described as like a diesel engine idling that is severely impacting the quality of life of 2 percent of people in…
- Stuff You Should Know
Frida Kahlo: Painter, Icon, Genius
Frida Kahlo was a painter who transcended her own work to became an icon. Learn all about her fascinating and inspiring life and work in today’s episode. Learn…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Max Headroom Incident
In 1987, a very strange broadcast intrusion occurred in the city of Chicago. For just a couple of minutes, the odd TV character Max Headroom appeared onscreen…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: 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 Know
Is the Pied Piper About a Real Historic Tragedy?
In the German town of Hameln a tragedy that took place on a specific date in 1284 and befell specifically 130 children is commemorated every year. Aside from…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Drug Courts Work
If you aren't in the know, you may think drug courts are set up to quickly prosecute drug users and get them into prison in short order. Turns out it's just…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: 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 Know
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 time it’s…
- Stuff You Should Know
A List Of Games You Would Surely Lose to a Computer
We live in a time where computers can beat the best humans in the world at chess, checkers, poker and video games. But these games are really just…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: Is brain size related to intelligence?
The idea that the larger the brain, the higher the intelligence is an old one, but it's pretty much utterly false. Modern investigation into how the brain…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Collar Bomb Heist
The collar bomb heist is the crime caper that keeps on giving. Every time the story seemed like it was figured out, another layer appeared. Tune in today to…
- Stuff You Should Know
What's a quinceañera anyway?
A quinceañera is the celebration of a girl of Hispanic heritage becoming a young woman on her 15th birthday. It involves family, friends, music and a lot of…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: How Cremation Works
Cremation is a burial process practiced around the world, but how exactly does it work? Josh and Chuckers take a detailed look at cremation's history…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Drowning Works
Hundreds of thousands of people drown around the world every year, and yet it can be easily prevented and is widely misunderstood – like how you can officially…
- Stuff You Should Know
PT Barnum: More Complicated Than You've Heard
When your life is as outsized as the World’s Greatest Showman PT Barnum it’s pretty easy to - you know - gloss over the grimmer aspects when you turn it into…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: Are there undiscovered people?
In this classic episode, Josh and Chuck discuss whether there are any truly "undiscovered" groups of people left on the planet, the definition of undiscovered…
- Stuff You Should Know
North Korea: What's the Deal?
For almost 70 years, North Korea has been the bane of South Korea, Japan and the US or has stood as the sole defenders of the Korean homeland from the American…
- Stuff You Should Know
Nepotism: When Hiring the Best Just Won't Do
Nepotism is something that is very hard to avoid, and very hard to resist, even if you know it may be the wrong thing to do. We all love helping out families…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: Who killed JFK?
For the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Josh and Chuck delve into the killing, the investigations and the…
- Stuff You Should Know
Does Pyromania Actually Exist?
A fascination with fire is part of every kid’s childhood, but it’s meant to be passing. For some people, fire becomes the central focus of life, and the urge…
- Stuff You Should Know
Emojis: A New Language? Nah.
Believe it or not, there's a lot more to Emojis than meets the eye. Turns out their history is pretty interesting stuff. Join Josh and Chuck today as they tell…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: How Mirrors Work
Whether using polished metal surfaces or clear glass, human beings have enjoyed admiring their reflections for centuries. In this episode, Josh and Chuck…
- Stuff You Should Know
Two Times In the 70s When People Buried Ferraris
Not once, but twice in the 1970s people buried amazingly valuable Ferraris, arguably the greatest sports cars ever built. One was dug up after being secretly…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Unabomber: Misguided to say the least
The Unabomber was one of the most notorious and longest lasting cases in the history of the FBI. Just because the manifesto reads like he was a fortune teller…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: What happens in the brain during an orgasm?
In this classic episode, Chuck and Josh test the limits of their decorum as they explore the physiology of an orgasm. Learn all about this inexplicably taboo…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Paramedics Work
Paramedics are not EMTs. Or fire fighters. Or cops. But they do ride around in ambulances (and drive) to help to save lives. It's a stressful job and we're…
- Stuff You Should Know
Why Landmines Are The Deadliest Legacy Of War
One of the worst legacies of war are the millions of landmines left behind. They hide for decades after a conflict is over, exploding beneath unsuspecting…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: Sherpas: Warm, Friendly Living
Pop quiz: What word denotes a nation of people, a last name and an occupation? If you guessed 'Sherpa,' then congratulations: You're correct. But what exactly…
- Stuff You Should Know
Project Azorian: The CIA's Super 70s Mission To Steal A Sunken Soviet Sub
In 1974 the CIA undertook one of its most brazen operations – secretly raising a sunken Soviet submarine lost in the middle of the Pacific Ocean right under…
- Stuff You Should Know
When Words Take on New Meanings
Historical words often morph and change to take on new meanings. Today on the podcast, Josh and Chuck sit down and talk about a handful of them, their original…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: How Guide Dogs Work
You know how when you see a guide dog leading a blind person to their destination and you think, "There goes a truly great dog?" It turns out you are…
- Stuff You Should Know
What are false positives?
When getting a medical diagnosis, it's important to understand the terms. Negative is good, positive is bad, false positive is great in a way, but false…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Meals on Wheels Works
Meals on Wheels is one of the great charitable organizations in the world, providing much-needed nutrition for elderly people in need. It also has a pretty…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: Subways: HUH! What are they good for?
As ubiquitous as they've become, it's easy to overlook the marvels of engineering that are subways. Chuck and Josh go boring as they explore these systems of…
- Stuff You Should Know
How the Framingham Heart Study Works
In the 1940s, a tiny town outside Boston volunteered to be test subjects in a study that would become one of the longest and broadest in the history of…
- Stuff You Should Know
How the New England Vampire Panics Worked
In the 19th century, in isolated villages and godforsaken towns in rural New England, people began to suspect their deceased family members had become undead…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: How Trickle-Down Economics Works
The concept of trickle-down economics is tied to Ronald Reagan, but the idea's been around and in use since the 20s. It's simple: Give more money to the…
- Stuff You Should Know
Is Vaping Really Bad For You?
E-cigs, vapes, whatever you call them they have been touted as a safer alternative to tobacco and even a way for people to quit smoking. But recent studies…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Huggable, Lovable Walrus
When it comes to the animal kingdom, SYSK has covered a wide range. This week, the guys dive into the frigid waters of the Arctic to delight in everything that…
- Stuff You Should Know
SYSK Selects: How Cockroaches Work
You've seen them in your home and probably squealed in terror, but now it's time to learn all about cockroaches. From their ability to run incredibly fast to…
- Stuff You Should Know
Why Do People Believe In Faith Healing?
Since a 1906 revival in Los Angeles, people around the world say they’ve been cured by the Holy Spirit after preachers with the Gift of Healing laid their…