SYSK Selects: Can Nuclear Fusion Reactors Save The World?
28 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The world’s energy consumption is ruining the planet but for decades physicists have been working ...
How COVID-19 Works
26 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We’re in the middle of an odd, tense time and Josh and Chuck are here to explain what’s going on...
Short Stuff: Dagen H
25 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
One day in 1967, Sweden changed what side of the road its citizens drive on. It went surprisingly we...
Could A Robot Tax Win the War on Poverty?
24 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
An old idea – giving every resident of a country a set amount of money every month with no strings...
SYSK Selects: Virus Talk with Josh and Chuck
21 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Viruses are big jerks that invade regular cells and hold them hostage, making you sick while they're...
SYSK Distraction Playlist: How Jim Henson Worked
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve already recorded an episode on The Muppets, but Jim Henson was such a neat guy we delved int...
SYSK Distraction Playlist: SYSK Live: How Bars Work
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Join Josh and Chuck live from Vancouver as they dive in to the ins and outs of one of the oldest bus...
SYSK Distraction Playlist: How Grass Works? Yes, How Grass Works
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There’s nothing more boring than watching grass grow, which is why Josh and Chuck aren’t asking ...
SYSK Distraction Playlist: How Terraforming Will Work
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A lot of great thinkers are warning that if humans are to survive as a species we are going to have ...
SYSK Distraction Playlist: How Rogue Waves Work
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Rogue waves come out of nowhere and tower as much as 100 feet over hapless ships they encounter, bre...
SYSK Distraction Playlist: Was there a real King Arthur?
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The legend of King Arthur is very old and very established. By the time the king who saved Britain a...
SYSK Distraction Playlist: The Amazing History of Soda
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The soda we get instantly mixed at a fast-food joint owes a lot to a rich history going back to the ...
SYSK Distraction Playlist: How Rodney Dangerfield Worked, Live From LA
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Other comedians cry on the inside, but Rodney Dangerfield built his entire act around his sad life. ...
SYSK Distraction Playlist: How Pinball Works
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Pinball was actually illegal until the 1970s in NY and other cities, hidden in the backs of pornogra...
SYSK Distraction Playlist: Sugar: It Powers the Earth
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Since sugar spread from Polynesia a few thousand years ago, the world has been crazy for it. Insanel...
What was the Falkland Islands War all about anyway?
19 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The battle between Britain and Argentina over the rocky, cold Falkland Islands is one of the weirder...
Short Stuff: The Pledge of Allegiance
18 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The American Pledge of Allegiance is much more interesting than you might think. Give us 12 minutes ...
Chopsticks > Forks
17 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today Chuck and Josh sit and converse on the simple, elegant chopstick. Learn more about your ad-...
SYSK Selects: How Monopoly Works
14 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Since more than 1 billion people have played it, you’re probably familiar with the board game Mono...
How Ice Climbing Works
12 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A few decades ago, some people who liked to climb mountains decided they wanted to make it even hard...
Short Stuff: Teresita Basa
11 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the annals of American justice there is a 1977 case where the police were tipped off to the ident...
How Coyotes Work
10 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The coyote truly is wily. Even after a century-long attempt to drive them to extinction, this close ...
SYSK Selects: How Gold Works
07 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As of early 2013, only 161,00 metric tons of gold had been mined in the entire history of the world....
Mardi Gras! One month late
05 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In true SYSK fashion, Josh and Chuck are late to the game. But never fear, they will still detail Ma...
Short Stuff: Exclamation Points!
04 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We all use them! But did we always? NO!! Learn all about everyone's favorite punctuation mark today!...
How Morphic Fields Work?
03 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Biologist and science historian Rupert Sheldrake is known as a heretic of science, mostly for his de...
SYSK Selects: Your limb is torn off - now what?
29 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Were you to be the unfortunate victim of a limb removal of any sort, you could take hope. Here in th...
Sammy Davis Jr: National Treasure
27 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today Josh and Chuck sit down and detail the complicated life of the late, great Sammy Davis Jr. Le...
Short Stuff: Hawaiian Night Marchers
26 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Get ready for some Hawaiian folklore, people. Today we discuss the Night Marchers. Learn more about...
What's the deal with indigo?
25 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Indigo is a color with a rich past. Learn all about it today. Learn more about your ad-choices at...
SYSK Selects: How Cult Deprogramming Works
22 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The fear of cults in the 1970s drove Americans to look the other way on kidnappings, abuse and tortu...
Birthmarks: Probably Not the Mark of the Devil
20 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a pretty safe assumption that people have been born with birthmarks since humanity began, and...
Short Stuff: Mexican Jumping Beans
19 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mexican jumping beans are a real thing and they really do move around. It’s not magic, it’s natu...
The Unsolved Indiana Dunes Disappearances
18 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In July 1966, three women out for a day at the beach waded into the water of Lake Michigan, got onto...
SYSK Selects: A Podcast on Zoot Suits? Yes
15 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Few riots can be attributed to passing fashions, but zoot suits are top among them. After originatin...
911 Is Not a Joke
13 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Josh and Chuck delve into the world of 911 in today's episode. Learn more about your ad-choices a...
Short Stuff: Body Under The Bed
12 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A couple unknowingly spending the night above a dead body stuffed under their bed is a longstanding ...
Optogenetics: Controlling Your Genes with Light
11 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What if a genetic brain disease could be turned off simply by flashing a light in your eyes? What if...
SYSK Selects: How Bonsai Works
08 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For thousands of years people have been taking normal trees and forcing them into miniature. Learn a...
Why are Pentecostals growing so rapidly?
06 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Pentecostals are seemingly taking over the world. Or at least they're making up a larger section of ...
Short Stuff: The Iowa Caucus
05 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Iowa Caucus is super important. But not really. Find out why. Learn more about your ad-choice...
How AI Facial Recognition Works
04 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With the development of increasingly smart artificial intelligence and lots more cameras spread arou...
SYSK Selects: How Maglev Trains Work
01 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Thanks to the amazing properties of magnets, clever engineers have figured out how to make entire tr...
Who were the Buffalo Soldiers?
30 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Josh and Chuck dive into history today to tell the story of the Buffalo Soldiers. Learn more abou...
Short Stuff: The O.K. Corral
29 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Listen in as we detail, in short, the legendary shootout at the O.K. Corral. Learn more about your ...
Amazing Animal Stories!
28 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Regular animal stories are wonderful enough, but when animals lead amazing lives the stories become ...
SYSK Selects: How the Scientific Method Works
25 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It evolved over centuries to become the gold standard for conducting scientific inquiry. Yet many pe...
Barefoot Running: The Best Podcast Episode in History
23 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What is barefoot running? I think you know. But we'll detail all of the ins and outs. Listen and lea...
Short Stuff: Byford Dolphin Incident
22 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 1983, what may be the worst diving catastrophe in the history of deep sea oil exploration took pl...
Why Postal Employees Go Postal
21 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
1993 was known as the peak of a disturbing trend in America: post office shootings, carried out by p...
SYSK Selects: How the Placebo Effect Works
18 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For centuries, doctors have prescribed drugs they knew weren't real – but that still somehow worke...
The Tulsa 'Race Riots'
16 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In reality, the Tulsa "race riots" of 1921 was more like a massacre. Yet it was almost lost to histo...
Short Stuff: The Mona Lisa
15 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Mona Lisa is a captivating work of art. But why? We'll try and figure it out in today's short st...
Transdermal Implants: Body Art or Nightmare Fuel?
14 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Transdermal implants are just one in a number of procedures under the banner of extreme body modific...
SYSK Selects: Jellyfish - Even Cooler Than Octopi?
11 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Jellyfish are among the most adaptable, competitive organisms on the planet. They can grow back into...
The Disappearance of Flight MH370, Part II
09 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the absence of an official explanation of why flight MH 370 disappeared in 2014, conjecture and c...
Short Stuff: Corduroy
08 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Learn 12 minutes worth of stuff about corduroy today! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://w...
The Disappearance of Flight MH370, Part I
07 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 2014, a Boeing 777 airliner disappeared. Despite two full years of searching an area of ocean cov...
SYSK Selects: Will Computers Replace Doctors?
04 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With savvy and health-conscious people taking control of their wellbeing through apps and sites, tec...
How Safecracking Works
02 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Burglars have come up with a whole range of ways to get into a safe. There’s lock manipulation –...
Short Stuff: Why Does Time Speed Up As You Age?
01 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s not just you – time really does seem to pass faster for people as we age. But exactly why r...
Are broken arrows a problem?
31 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Are broken arrows are a problem? After all, they are incidents and accidents involving nuclear warhe...
SYSK Selects: How Wine Fraud Works
28 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Wine fraud may be a case of rich con artists tricking wealthy people into parting with money, but it...
SYSK Live: Andre the Giant
26 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Andre the Giant was a giant both figuratively and literally. Sure he was a wrestler, but more than t...
Short Stuff: The Santa Claus Association
25 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
If a con man manages to make needy Christmas wishes come true is he still a con man? (Also, Merry Ch...
The SYSK Holiday Spectacular
24 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It's an annual treat, folks. Our holiday special is back and better than ever, and as always, brough...
SYSK Selects: The Star Wars Holiday Special of 1978
21 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Long ago, in a galaxy not so far away, George Lucas allowed the Star Wars Holiday Special to be made...
Cave Diving: Totally Nuts
19 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There are extreme sports and then there is cave diving, the most extreme activity a person can engag...
Short Stuff: Obituaries
18 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Learn everything we know about obituaries in 12 minutes! Learn more about your ad-choices at https:...
MC Escher and His Trippy Art
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We love us some MC Escher. Turns out his story is pretty fascinating too. Tune in today. Learn mo...
SYSK Selects: How Currency Works
14 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Even if you entirely eschew the concept of money, we'll bet you'd be hard pressed not to trade in so...
How Anorexia and Bulimia Work
12 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Anorexia and bulimia - those twin eating disorders that seem so common and maybe even just a phase f...
Short Stuff: Whisky or Bourbon?
11 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What's the difference between whisky and bourbon? We'll tell you if you care to listen. Learn more ...
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Gin
10 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
If there's one thing we've learned about Chuck over the years it's that he loves his gin. And he lov...
SYSK Selects: How Amnesia Works
07 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Those movies where someone gets hit on the head and can't remember who they are anymore? They're act...
What's a gap year anyway?
05 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Chuck thought a gap year was post college. Turns out, it's a post high school year off from academic...
Short Stuff: Macadamia Nuts
04 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Macadamia nuts aren't nuts! They're seeds! And they are delicious. And good for you in the right amo...
Did Climate Cause the Collapse of the Maya?
03 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
After millennia of development, the Maya culture suddenly collapsed at its peak. Why is one of the b...
SYSK Selects: Fractals - Whoa
30 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1980s, IBM mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot gazed for the first time upon his famous fractal. ...
How Conversion Therapy Doesn't Work
28 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Conversion therapy is a misguided attempt by religious zealots to convert people from gay to straigh...
Short Stuff: Niagara Falls Dewatered
27 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In 1969, the Army Corps of Engineers turned off one of the main waterfalls at Niagara Falls to see w...
How Carbon-14 Dating Works
26 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Some of the carbon dioxide in your body is radioactive! Don’t worry, it won’t harm you (not sure...
SYSK Selects: Have all the good ideas already been discovered?
23 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It's no secret that human beings have an obsession with innovation -- but has our species already fo...
What Makes a Must-Have Christmas Toy?
21 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since Cabbage Patch Kids came along in 1983, there’s been an annual holiday frenzy around one...
Short Stuff: Backyard Burials
20 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Time was that you’d bury a deceased relative in your yard; now it’s just weird. But it’s still...
The Murder Mystery of Ötzi the Iceman
19 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
About 5,300 years ago a Copper Age shepherd was murdered. He just happened to die in a place where h...
SYSK Selects: How Salt Works
16 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
A Roman senator once said, "Mankind can live without gold, but not without salt." Right he was. The ...
NYC Water: An Engineering Marvel
14 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Getting the rain and melted snow from upstate NY into the taps of every NYC resident and business is...
Short Stuff: The Conch Republic
13 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Back in 1982, Key West seceded from the United States. Don’t believe us? It’s true! Just listen ...
Augmented Reality: Coming Soon?
12 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Augmented reality adds a digital layer over the real world and soon it will revolutionize how we liv...
SYSK Selects: Can you Treat Mental Illness with Psychedelics?
09 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Hallucinogenic drugs are currently illegal, but they were once commonly used in psychological treatm...
Cockney Rhyming Slang: Beautiful Gibberish
07 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What is Cockney Rhyming Slang? It's complicated and its origins are unclear. Learn everything we kno...
How Ironman Triathlons Work
06 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sure, you could train for months to finish a marathon, but why not make things interesting? Ironman ...
Short Stuff: The History of Paternity Testing
06 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Paternity testing. It wasn't science for many years, yet they still tried to do it. Learn all about ...
SYSK Selects: Halitosis - Worst Smell Ever?
02 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Occasional bad breath is one thing, halitosis is another. Or is it? From its odd origins as a market...
SYSK’s Scare Your Socks Off Halloween Spooktacular 2019
31 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Josh and Chuck chose a truly unsettling story by one of the greatest science fiction authors of all ...
Short Stuff: Our Shortie Halloween Spooktacular
30 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Join us today as we read three short horror selections from Ambrose Bierce. Learn more about your...
Where Did Trick-Or-Treating Come From?
29 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We aren’t exactly sure who invented trick-or-treating – kids who realized they could extort adul...
SYSK Selects: How Haunted House Attractions Work
26 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since the Egyptians, humans have been evolving toward haunted house attractions. The level of s...
How Historic Districts Work
24 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
A fascinating thing about Americans is that we can disagree on anything. Such is the case with histo...