Short Stuff: Black Cowboys
16 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Most people don't realize that around a quarter of the cowboys found in the Old West during the gold...
Origami: Folding Goodness
15 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Origami is an amazing art that consists of making folds in paper to create something beautiful. Lear...
SYSK Selects: How Porta-Potties Work
12 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Despite our lengthy history of evacuating our bowels and bladders, it wasn’t until the relatively ...
Wetlands! Wetlands! Wetlands!
10 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s time to get jazzed up for some Earth science of the waterlogged variety. Join Chuck and Josh ...
Short Stuff: Streisand Effect
09 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What does Barbra Streisand have to do with the internet? Listen and learn! Learn more about your ad...
Frances Perkins: Influential and Unknown
08 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Frances Perkins was an incredibly influential American yet is virtually unknown. What did she do? A ...
SYSK Selects: How Police Chases Work
05 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Entire TV shows are dedicated to them and Americans love to watch a live one, but police chases aren...
The Disturbing Disappearance of Tara Calico
03 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When Tara Calico mysteriously vanished in 1988, suspected to be the victim of foul play, her case ma...
Short Stuff: More Phrase Origins
02 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We're back with another handful of phrase origins. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www....
How the Escape from Alcatraz Worked
01 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 1962, three ordinary criminals transcended into folk heroes when they crawled out of their cells ...
SYSK Selects: Polyamory: When two just won't do
29 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this classic episode of Stuff You Should Know, Josh and Chuck dive into the world of polyamory. T...
Blacksmiths? You got that right!
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Blacksmiths? You got that right. Learn all about this age old occupation in today's episode. Learn ...
Short Stuff: Carrots and Your Eyes
26 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Join Chuck and Josh as they learn that one of the great childhood truths – that carrots help you s...
How Sneezing Works
25 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Unless you have an arcane disorder from a lesion on a very specific spot on our medulla, the chances...
SYSK Selects: How Panic Attacks Work
22 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Almost three percent of Americans suffer from a debilitating disorder that causes them to suffer int...
1-800-PODCAST
20 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Chuck and Josh dive into the wacky world of 800 and 900 phone numbers. Learn more about your ad-cho...
Short Stuff: The Great American Coin Shortage of 2020
19 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In addition to all the lousy things that’s come out of the Coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. is also ...
How Anti-Dieting Works
18 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a movement afoot that says we should all stop thinking about our weight and just enjoy foo...
SYSK Selects: How The Human Microbiome Project Works
15 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If it was possible to take a full scan of all of the DNA of every cell in and on your body the resul...
Olympic Torches: Remember Those?
13 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Back in the pre-pandemic days we had a sporting event called The Olympic Games. And at those games t...
Short Stuff: The Return of Bill Gates!
12 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Our old pal Bill Gates is back for a very special short stuff where we talk all about Covid vaccines...
Pirate Radio: Mavericks on the High Seas
11 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Pirate radio started out in England as a way to sidestep the regulations of Big Radio. While outlawe...
SYSK Selects: How The Moonwalk Works
08 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When Michael Jackson debuted the moonwalk in 1983 the world was enrapt. The dance goes back farther,...
How Miniature Golf Works
06 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Playing miniature golf is a very fun thing to do and, you’re about to find, learning about its ori...
Short Stuff: Jigsaw Puzzles
05 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Who doesn't love a good puzzle? Tune in to learn a few facts and figures about jigsaw puzzles right ...
Wasps: Not as cute as bees
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Wasps have a bad rap. Because their sting really hurts and they don't make honey like their cousins....
SYSK Selects: How the Rosetta Stone Works
01 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes providence smiles on historians. Thus is the case with the Rosetta stone, an ancient Egypt...
How Soap Works
30 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Soap is a miraculous substance – and mysterious too: we have no idea how humans first figured out ...
Short Stuff: Habsburg Jaw
29 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Habsburg Jaw is the result of inbreeding. But what is it? Click play and learn! Learn more abou...
How Hurricanes Work
28 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Hurricanes are perhaps the most destructive force of nature we have to deal with here on Earth. When...
SYSK Selects: How Lobbying Works
25 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Lobbying is an entrenched part of American politics and one that many people think is breaking gover...
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Mobile Phones
23 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today we deep dive on mobile phones, wonders of the modern world! Learn more about your ad-choices ...
Short Stuff: The Death of Billy the Kid
22 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sure, together Young Guns and Young Guns II form an exhaustive biography of Billy the Kid’s li...
How We Almost Got Rid of Polio
21 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For more than half of the 20th century parents in the industrialized world were freaked out by an un...
SYSK Selects: How a Flea Circus Works
18 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you've ever seen a flea circus, then count yourself among the few. It's a dying art, but back in ...
Robber Barons!
16 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The robber barons were not a group of evil super villains. OR WERE THEY? Learn all about these titan...
Short Stuff: Centralia Coal Fire
15 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
An old coal mine in Pennsylvania caught fire one day in the 60s and it’s been burning ever since. ...
Flagpole Sitting: A Real Fad
14 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The 1920s were just absolutely nuts. People got into weird fads really intensely and one of the stra...
SYSK Selects: How Landfills Work
11 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Well-planned landfills have only recently come into widespread use. Recently, waste managers have fo...
Essential Oils: Nature's Cure?
09 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Essential oils are from plants and they can help the human body in a lot of ways. There are also man...
Short Stuff: The @ Symbol
08 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
You know the at symbol? This thing: @? There’s a name for it, just not in English. We just call it...
What was the KGB?
07 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The KGB was the notorious strong arm of the Kremlin. Run afoul and you died. Learn all about them to...
SYSK Selects: All We Know About Guessing
04 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Guessing is a weird thing. For millennia, it could have meant the difference between life and death....
Oh Yes, How Soil Works
02 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There is maybe nothing that sounds more boring than hearing two people talk about soil, but friend, ...
Short Stuff: The Science of Funny Words
01 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Why are some words funnier than others? Well, one man has sought to figure that out. We'll tell you ...
Bruxism: Grinding Your Teeth Is the Pits
30 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers have noticed that as incidence of anger increases so too has teeth grinding, known clini...
SYSK Selects: Juggling: What the Heck
27 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There is a lot – A LOT – to juggling and Chuck and Josh go over the lion’s share of it in this...
Matcha: That Ain't Just Tea
25 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Matcha is something else, healthy and delicious and all the rage. Learn all about this trendy bevera...
Short Stuff: Nouns of assemblage... assemble!
24 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A gaggle of geese. A murder of crows. Nouns of assemblage are awesome and we talk about them for abo...
How Ultrasound Works
23 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sure you know all about ultrasound. You can see pictures of little babies right there cozy in the wo...
SYSK Selects: Research tips from SYSK
20 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
People often ask us how we do our research. We're not going to disclose all of our secrets, but we'l...
The Manhattan Grid
18 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listene...
Short Stuff: Haint Blue
17 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Haint Blue is a kind of robin's egg color that you might commonly find on porches of the low country...
The War on Fat: The Seven Countries Study
16 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Seven Countries Study was a fairly impressive, long-term study on the effects of fat in our diet...
SYSK Selects: How Flamethrowers Work
13 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Who first decided that it would be a great idea to shoot flame at other people from a distance? Josh...
Can You Eat A Tapeworm To Lose Weight?
11 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a persistent insistence that you can ingest a tapeworm and as the parasite hijacks a lot o...
Short Stuff: Foie Gras
10 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Foie gras means “fatty liver” in French, which makes sense because it’s made from the overripe...
How Project Star Gate Worked
09 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In yet another testament to how amazingly great the 70s were, in 1975 the US started a program that ...
SYSK Selects: How The Black Panther Party Worked
06 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Black Panther Party was a complex political movement that was unfairly painted as a militant gro...
The Massacre at Tiananmen Square
04 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Tank Man. An indelible image burned in our brains. But what led to this extraordinary event? Chuck a...
Short Stuff: Disappearing Dirty Dancing Lake
03 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The lake from one of the all-time great movies (search your feelings, you’ll find that it’s true...
Heroin: The Drug
02 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We've covered a lot of drugs in our history, and today we tackle heroin, one of the most dangerous o...
SYSK Selects: How Jackhammers Work
30 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s likely that without the invention of the pneumatic jackhammer, the Industrial Revolution woul...
How Narcolepsy Works
28 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Narcolepsy is one of those amazing rare disorders that everyone thinks they understand – people ju...
Short Stuff: Lawn Darts
27 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There was a time when kids had to look out for flying darts that could pierce their skulls when they...
Hummingbirds: Ornery Helicopters of the Animal Kingdom
26 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you didn’t already know how amazing hummingbirds are, prepare to learn. Not only do they count ...
SYSK Selects: How The Enlightenment Works
23 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Enlightenment stands as the moment the West withdrew from superstition and found its faith in re...
Josh Clark's Speech from Commencement: Speeches for the Class of 2020
22 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Hi listeners, in case you haven't heard already, iHeartRadio just released a brand new podcast calle...
How Bras Work
21 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Bras are loved and hated, sometimes at the same time. But as difficult and restrictive as they can b...
Short Stuff: Mary Had A Little Lamb
20 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know the little nursery rhyme is controversial? It’s true: Two towns in New England can ba...
How Spiritualism Works
19 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Something spooky was born on the American frontier in the mid-19th century: the idea that people’s...
Chuck Bryant's Speech from Commencement: Speeches for the Class of 2020
18 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Hi listeners, in case you haven't heard already, iHeartRadio just released a brand new podcast calle...
SYSK Selects: How Fire Works
16 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Creating fire was possibly the most important human discovery, but it's easy to take for granted. Bu...
How Peanut Butter Works
14 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
No food is more all-American than peanut butter – 80 percent of homes in the country have a jar of...
Short Stuff: Charley Horse
13 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
You know those terrible leg cramps that come out of nowhere? They may be named after a drunken baseb...
How Herd Immunity Works
12 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Herd immunity is an epidemiological concept that if enough people are inoculated against a disease t...
SYSK Selects: How Caving Works
09 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Entrances to the underworld have been places of wonder for eons, and humans have ventured into caves...
Zippers: Humans’ Greatest Invention? No, But Still Good
07 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The zipper may be the most unsung invention we humans have ever come up with. Prior to zippers, ever...
Short Stuff: Gibtown: Sideshow Central
06 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There was a glorious time in American history when circus sideshow performers lived together in a sm...
I'm Spartacus!
05 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Spartacus was a real dude. He led a slave revolt, and was pretty successful to boot. I'm Spartacus. ...
SYSK Selects: How do dogs perceive time?
02 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A dog that knows exactly when its owners will arrive home every day seems to have a human perception...
Agatha Christie: Queen of the Murder Mystery
30 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Agatha Christie was a great writer of murder mystery novels and is probably the best selling author ...
Short Stuff: Mullets: 'Nuff Said
29 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Business in the front, you know the rest. Listen in as we discuss the lifestyle choice that is the m...
How Existential Risks Work
28 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
An existential risk is a special kind of threat that are different from other types of risks in that...
SYSK Selects: How the U.S. Postal Service Works
25 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Back when this episode aired, the USPS was teetering on the edge of going under and there were a lot...
How the Voyager Golden Records Work
23 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As part of a super 70s push to get Earth to a seat at the table of the Galactic Federation (in case ...
Short Stuff: The NY Times Crossword
22 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today Chuck and Josh take a shallow dive in the warm pool that is the NY Times Crossword Puzzle. Le...
The Soul Train Episode
21 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today, Chuck and Josh dive into the funky, cool world of the classic TV show, Sooooooooul Train. Le...
SYSK Selects: How Labor Unions Work
18 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Yes, it's true: Unions have a shady mob-related past and were originally championed by anarchists. B...
How Wastewater Treatment Works
16 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
All that gross stuff we humans put in the water that gets flushed down the sewers has to be taken ba...
Short Stuff: Turning Down the Radio When You're Lost
15 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a typical human reaction: When you’re driving and you realize that you’re lost, you turn ...
Bidets: Now More Than Ever
14 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We all know the benefits of bidets. But with toilet paper in short supply, they're more important th...
SYSK Selects: How Dissociative Identity Disorder Works
11 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dissociative Identity Disorder was known as multiple personality disorder until a case of mass hyste...
Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, Feminist Physician
09 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Becoming the first licensed woman physician in America was tough, convincing male surgeons to wash t...
Short Stuff: AAirpass
08 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the go-go 80s and 90s, American Airlines offered the AAirpass, a lifetime pass for unlimited firs...
The Legends of Lost Nazi Gold
07 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As if being murdering SOBs weren’t enough, the Nazis were also thieving rats. During WWII, they st...
SYSK Selects: How the Deep Web Works
04 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Perhaps you didn’t realize that when you search the web you’re only skimming the surface. In fac...
Student Loans: UGH!
02 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Student loans can be pretty complicated. Luckily Chuck and Josh are here to wade through the financi...
Short Stuff: 666
01 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today, Chuck and Josh dive into that scary number...666. Learn more about your ad-choices at https:...
How Dog Training Works
31 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Chuck and Josh explore the age-old question: Should you train your dog by treating it like a living,...