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
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…
- Stuff You Should Know
True stories of survival cannibalism!
Cannibalism is the macabre practice of eating other humans. But sometimes, people have no choice if they want to survive. It's called survival cannibalism and…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Snake Handlers Work
Snake handling ranges from professional snake milkers for antivenin to religious handlers who tend to get bitten and sometimes die from it. Either way, it can…
- Stuff You Should Know
How LSD Works
In 1943 Swiss chemist Albert Hofman discovered he'd created what may be the most potent hallucinogen known to humankind. Then he took a bike ride. Learn about…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Megalodon Worked
Between 2 to 20 million years ago, the biggest shark with perhaps the most devastating bite of any animal ever ruled the oceans with an iron jaw. Despite its…
- Stuff You Should Know
What was Operation Plowshare?
America had already used two nuclear bombs to devastating effect when researchers thought "maybe we can use these bombs to dig big holes instead." That's…
- Stuff You Should Know
Myths and Truths About Tornadoes
Tornadoes can make mincemeat out of houses, people, cars, you name it. So do you know what to do - and what not to do - when there's one headed your way? Learn…
- Stuff You Should Know
Does Kin Selection Explain Altruism?
There's a curious puzzle unanswered by the theory of evolution: why do some animals give up their chance to reproduce to help others reproduce instead? For…
- Stuff You Should Know
What Makes Lead So Poisonous?
The people of Flint, MI were horrified to find their drinking water was poisoned with lead. As we learn more about lead's effects and realize how persistent it…
- Stuff You Should Know
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
How the Gender Pay Gap Works
The gender pay gap is the amount of time into the next year a woman must work to earn as much as a man did the previous year. And it's narrowing at a snail's…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Labor Strikes Work
Labor strikes are the last resort of a workforce frustrated with low pay or dangerous working conditions. A big part of winning a wage war is having the public…
- Stuff You Should Know
Our cats episode - right here, right meow
Cats are the most popular pet in the United States, despite the fact that we've only been keeping them indoors for 50-60 years. Learn about more cat facts in…
- Stuff You Should Know
Nostalgia is not the most toxic impulse
Nostalgia is a funny thing. It's not home sickness, it's more connected to emotions and a time in your life. But is nostalgia worthwhile? Nascent science says…
- Stuff You Should Know
What Was the Deal With the Hatfields and McCoys?
It was America's most famous family feud, but the history of the Hatfields vs the McCoys is fraught with bias and inaccuracies. Dig into a disagreement in…
- Stuff You Should Know
How TED Talks Work: Featuring Roman Mars
TED Talks have been around longer than you think. They became really popular once YouTube came along to bring their often inspirational messages to the world…
- Stuff You Should Know
Who Gets to Name Continents?
America is named after Amerigo Vespucci, right? Maybe not. And who named Australia? Find out the unusually uncertain origins of the continents and other…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Makeup Works
Humans have been wearing makeup for a few thousand years now and yet, here in the US the chemicals used in them are still not understood and not really…
- Stuff You Should Know
Some Really Interesting Cases of Mass Hysteria
Around the world and across time, people have fallen victim to one of the strongest contagions of all - the power of suggestion. Here are just a few examples…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Dark Money Works
Since the Supreme Court ruled in 2010 in the Citizens United case that political contributions are speech and should be protected, the floodgates of anonymous…
- Stuff You Should Know
How The Iditarod Works
Each year hundreds of dogs haul humans in sleds as part of the 1,100 plus mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. It's grueling and not without controversy but one…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Freak Shows Worked
Not too long ago, people would pay money to gawk and stare at a performer with a physical disformity. They were called freakshows and they began in large part…
- Stuff You Should Know
How El Nino Works
El Nino may mean "the little boy" or "Christ Child" in Spanish, but this weather phenomenon really means crazy things for Planet Earth. We're talking rain…
- Stuff You Should Know
(Approximately) 10 Things That Vanished Mysteriously
Sometimes things - like dentures, airplanes or even people - go missing. And when they never turn up again they become enduring, and engrossing, mysteries…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Future of Renewable Energy, Featuring Bill Gates
Renewable energy could be the key to ensuring the future prosperity and health of Planet Earth and humankind. In this very special episode, we sit down and…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Nitrous Oxide Works
For about 175 years people have been huffing nitrous oxide for everything from vision quests to anesthetic to get plain old high. And after all that time we…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Jackhammers Work
It's likely that without the invention of the pneumatic jackhammer, the Industrial Revolution wouldn't have hummed along quite so smoothly. Certainly a lot…
- Stuff You Should Know
What's the Deal With Poop?
We are going to get down and dirty with all things poop in this episode: What a healthy poop looks like, how to poop your best, the history of using poop to…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Rabies Works
Rabies may have gotten a lot of attention in the U.S. in the 70s and 80s, but it's still an issue in developing countries. Learn all about this nasty virus in…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Land Diving Works
On Pentacost Island the ritual that preceded bungee jumping is alive and well. Just why do these tribesmen risk life and limb? To ensure a hearty yam harvest…
- Stuff You Should Know
Operation Mincemeat: How A Corpse Fooled the Nazis
In World War II, a secret department of British 'corkscrew thinkers' hatched a plan to use the cadaver of an unclaimed homeless man to turn the tide of the war…
- Stuff You Should Know
Does Whole-Body Cryotherapy Work?
Forty years after a Japanese doctor began using whole body cryotherapy to treat patients with arthritis; the technique has made its ways to med-spas and locker…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Personalized Medicine Works
Hippocrates realized that it is even more important to understand the patient than to understand the disease and now, 2000 years later, we are coming back to…
- Stuff You Should Know
Timber! How Timber Works
Throughout much of the world, the forests are being managed through sustainable timber harvesting practices. This has come at the cost of much legal battling…
- Stuff You Should Know
Sir Isaac Newton: Greatest Scientist of All Time?
There have been a lot of great scientist throughout history, but Sir Isaac Newton might just take the cake. But while he was a certified genius, he was also a…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Duality of Caffeine
Caffeine is a heck of a drug - at the same time it's both good and bad for you. Learn the good, bad and ugly about this everyday stimulant in today's episode…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Futurology Works
Science fiction writers have made some amazingly accurate predictions over the years, but in 1945 the pace of technological change created a field that spun…
- Stuff You Should Know
Body Language!
Body language is how you communicate without words. Some say it bears more impact in communication than speaking words. Learn about how you say what you say…
- Stuff You Should Know
The "Satanic Panic" of the 1980s
In the late 1980s, the United States experienced a "Satanic Panic," leading parents to fear for the safety of their children. But were there any real examples…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Lizzie Borden Worked
Everybody knows how many whacks Lizzie Borden gave her mother and father with that axe, but there is plenty about the infamous double homicide that remains…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Great Wall of China Episode
The Great Wall of China is one of the most visited tourist desinations in the world. How'd it get built? How old is it? What's the current condition? Learn…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Stuff You Should Know 2015 Jolly Christmas Extravaganza
It's the most wonderful time of year again! Join Chuck and Josh as they explore Christmas traditions around the world, tidbits about Elf, holiday foods and…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Gossip Works
You know what I heard? That Josh and Chuck hate each other and they're just faking being friends for the show. That's called gossip, folks and it can do…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Star Wars Holiday Special of 1978
Long ago, in a galaxy not so far away, George Lucas allowed the Star Wars Holiday Special to be made. What happened on the night of November 17, 1978 can never…
- Stuff You Should Know
How the Antikythera Mechanism Works
In 1900 sponge divers found the wreck of a 2000 year-old treasure ship that contained within it a machine that should not exist. Learn of the device that…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Reverse Psychology Works
You have very likely used reverse psychology before, trying to persuade someone to do something you want by suggesting they do the opposite. What's behind the…
- Stuff You Should Know
Carl Sagan: American Hero
Carl Sagan was the world's first mainstream media super scientist, capapble of breaking down complex ideas for the common folk. But what made him tick?…
- Stuff You Should Know
How HIV/AIDS Works, Part II
In part two of the series on HIV/AIDS, Chuck and Josh explore how the battle against the disease is being fought and won thanks to new treatments and possible…
- Stuff You Should Know
How HIV/AIDS Works, Part I
AIDS is one of the most well-known and most misunderstood diseases humans are susceptible to. In part one of this two-part series, Josh and Chuck explain how…
- Stuff You Should Know
Live in Chicago: How Public Relations Works
After a year of taking it on the road, Josh and Chuck are releasing their show on public relations. Learn all about the ways you're manipulated on a daily…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Lowdown on Anonymous
Anonymous is an amorphous group of hacktivists with no single leader or power structure. Some call them heroes, others call them criminals. Can they be both?…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Dementia Works
The number of people suffering from dementia is expected to explode in the coming decades and, in a pleasant surprise, countries around the world are taking…
- Stuff You Should Know
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 Know
What's the Deal With Staring?
Gazing too long upon another person is almost universally viewed as anywhere from impolite to hostile, which is odd considering science isn't fully certain why…
- Stuff You Should Know
How The Voynich Manuscript Works
Since its re-discovery in the early 20th century, the Medieval codex the Voynich Manuscript has thoroughly puzzled anyone who has tried to unlock its secret…
- Stuff You Should Know
Maggots: Good For Healing Wounds, Turns Out
Cultures around the world over the years have been inspired by, then repulsed, then inspired by maggots' ability to heal persistent wounds. We are in an…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Grimm's Fairy Tales Work
Unless you were raised alone in a basement (in which case you may be the subject of one), you probably grew up on fairy tales. That's appropriate because they…
- Stuff You Should Know
The Dark Origins of Fairy Tales
Fairy tales are for kids right? Well not at first they weren't. They were dark tales of murder, rape, incest, cannibalism and mayhem geared toward adults. What…
- Stuff You Should Know
Josh N Chuck's Hallowe'en Spooky Scarefest
Each year, Chuck and Josh read a couple of scary stories and this year they have a pair of truly frightful tales about a haunted bog and a terrifying spider…
- Stuff You Should Know
How Passports Work
The concept of passports - that people should enjoy protected freedom of movement - is an ancient one. It wasn't until WWI that they became universal. Learn…