Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
SYSK’s Summer Movie Playlist: How Stuntmen (and -women) Work
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
They get blown up, shot, drowned and thrown out of windows on the silver screen - and we don't even ...
SYSK’s Summer Movie Playlist: How Exploitation Films Work
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In today's SYSK Select episode, we learn about exploitation films. During the 1930s-80s, the work of...
SYSK’s Summer Movie Playlist: The True Story of BlacKkKlansman
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In 2018, director Spike Lee brought the story of Ron Stallworth to the big screen to great effect. T...
SYSK’s Summer Movie Playlist: Why was Titicut Follies banned?
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Titicut Follies is a documentary made famous by its banning. But why was it banned? And what was it ...
Sunset Blvd: One Famous Road
26 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sunset Blvd is a long road, but is most known for the 1.7 mile stretch called The Sunset Strip. But ...
Short Stuff: Oedipus Complex
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Oedipus complex is probably Sigmund Freud’s most famous theory – that every little b...
Shameful History: Project 100,000
24 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
During Vietnam, the U.S. lowered the IQ standards for the draft in order to bulk up their front line...
Selects: The Great Nuclear Winter Debate of 1983
21 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
At the height of the Cold War, a group of concerned scientists promoted their findings on the horrif...
Who are the Zizians?
19 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The story of the Zizians is an unusual one. Are they a cult? Or are they simply a group who wants a ...
Short Stuff: The Shortest War
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How long was the shortest war in human history? Under an hour. Hard to believe? Not when you hear th...
The Fencing Of The Commons
17 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When England privatized its commons – lands that by custom belonged to all English to work and...
Selects: The Kitty Genovese Story
14 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Most people have heard of the story of Kitty Genovese. She was murdered near her apartment in 1964 a...
Anacondas: Not Like in the Movie
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are anacondas big? For sure. Are they able to crush and consume a human? Maybe, but thankfully they ...
Short Stuff: Andrew Jackson's Inauguration
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wild stories about a crazy party after Andrew Jackson's inauguration have been around since the week...
How Styrofoam Works
10 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
All those to-go cups and food containers aren’t actually Styrofoam but those cups and Styrofoa...
Selects: How Dementia Works
07 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The number of people suffering from dementia is expected to explode in the coming decades and, in a ...
Impression Management
05 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
We all in some way care about what other people think of us. At our core we all have a fear of sayin...
Short Stuff: Can You Not Have A Name?
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Is it legal to live without a name? Is it even possible? Find out today in this episode.See omnystud...
Pagans, Neo-Pagans, Wiccans – Let’s Sort It Out!
03 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Paganism was the set of original ancient religions around the world. They all had plenty of gods, lo...
Selects: Yeti: The Asian Bigfoot
31 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
We've covered Nessie and Bigfoot, so why not tackle the Yeti? Listen to this classic episode and hea...
The Rosenbergs
29 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for espionage in 1953. Whether or not they were both guilty...
Short Stuff: Genetic Mutations
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
All sorts of exotic and often terrible stuff runs through our heads when we think of genetic mutatio...
The Group of Seven
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Today Chuck and Josh celebrate Canada and their art through the lens of the Group of Seven. See...
Selects: How Publicists Work
24 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Some people call them flacks. Other people call them liars. But if you're in the public eye and sudd...
Popcorn: Who doesn't love it?
22 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
We love popcorn and suspect that most people do too. But do you know why it even pops? Or if it's he...
Short Stuff: William A. Mitchell: Food Inventor
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
William A. Mitchell invented some iconic snack foods and candies. Learn all about him today!See omny...
Faking Your Own Death: We All Do It, But Why?
20 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Face it, when things get desperate we all consider faking our death as an easy way out. But what the...
Selects: Night Trap: The Video Game Failure that Changed the Industry
17 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
In the early 90s a video game was released that changed the industry, despite poor sales and bad gam...
The Cliffs Notes on Cliffs Notes
15 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
When a man named Cliff packaged book summaries in yellow and black booklets he changed the way kids ...
Short Stuff: Figs & Wasps
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Today Chuck and Josh look at the interesting relationship between figs and wasps.See omnystudio.com/...
Plant-Based Diets
13 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
You don’t have to be a hardcore vegan to eat a plant-based diet (although you can be). There&r...
Selects: How Ice Cream Works
10 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
We all scream for ice cream, sure, but did you know we're all technically screaming about a colloida...
We Got to Sesame Street
08 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
One of the longest-running television shows in history is also one of the best. Sesame Street was co...
Short Stuff: Drop Bears
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Australia is home to all sorts of things that can kill you, but perhaps the deadliest is the drop be...
Fentanyl: Actually As Dangerous As They Say
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Around 2013 heroin users in the US and other countries suddenly started dying from overdose in previ...
Selects: Muzak: Easy Listening Goodness
03 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Muzak got a bad reputation as bland garbage music. In this classic episode, we aim to set the record...
What we know about MI6
01 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
MI6 is The UK's version of the CIA. Except they came first and provided the model. But there's still...
Short Stuff: Trovants
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Rocks that grow baby rocks – wut?!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chinese Food: Best Food?
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Today on SYSK, the fellas get down to business with plenty of mouth-watering information on what Chu...
Selects: How Jim Henson Worked
26 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
We've already recorded an episode on The Muppets, but Jim Henson was such a neat guy we delved into ...
Give My Regards to the Broadway Episode!
24 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Broadway is a street in NYC, but more than that it's a term for the NY theater district. They say th...
Short Stuff: Alternative Libraries
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Today we highlight and celebrate a couple of alternative libraries.See omnystudio.com/listener for p...
Richard III: Good Guy or Evil Putz?
22 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Ever since Shakespeare wrote his tragedy on Richard III the world has thought of him as an evil king...
Selects: Adidas v. Puma: A Sibling Rivalry
19 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Join Josh and Chuck in this classic episode as they go down the sport shoe rabbit hole, detailing th...
What Makes Disaster Films Great
17 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Disaster films are surprisingly tough to define. What makes them different from an action movie or a...
Short Stuff: Tick tock goes the Doomsday Clock
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The Doomsday Clock is closer too midnight than it's ever been, which is not awesome. But what does t...
Kim Philby: Greatest Liar of All Time?
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
British MI6 agent Kim Philby was a spy for the Soviet Union and one of the great liars in human hist...
Selects: Cake: So Great. So, So Great
12 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Cake has been around for a long time, but mostly less than great forms. It took the Industrial Revol...
Behavioral Priming: Buy, Robot Human!
10 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
In the late 90s, a large chunk of the field of social psychology started dedicating itself to figuri...
Short Stuff: Colorful Noises
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
We’ve all heard of white noise, that static sound the TV makes when poltergeists arrive. There...
Editorial Cartoons: Art as Satire
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Editorial, or political cartoons, have a rich history in the United States and abroad. And though th...
Selects: Agatha Christie: Queen of the Murder Mystery
05 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Agatha Christie was a great writer of murder mystery novels and is probably the best selling author ...
The Pinkerton Detective Agency
03 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The Pinkertons became the most famous detective company in the U.S. But were they noble or notorious...
Short Stuff: Tulipmania
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The world experienced its first economic bubble when the Dutch went bonkers for tulips in the 1630s....
How Climate Migration Works
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
We move for all sorts of reasons – new job, new grandkid – but moving because it’s...
Selects: The Deal With Doulas
29 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The word doula in Ancient Greek might mean "female servant" but it's really not a great description ...
The Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Part II
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
A manhunt is launched for MLK’s killer, James Earl Ray. After his capture he pleads guilty. Wi...
Short Stuff: Poutine: Canada's Pride
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Poutine is just one of those comforting dishes that's a must have when visiting the great nation of ...
The Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Part I
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
When he was murdered by an assassin’s bullet, MLK was going through a hard time in his life an...
Selects: Seven - No, Wait, Five - Mysteries of the Art World
22 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
When you get a bunch of artistic types together into a community – aka, the art world – ...
The Highway of Tears (And Maybe Hope)
20 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Indigenous women in Canada have always been vulnerable, but there’s a stretch of remote road t...
Short Stuff: All About Egg Colors
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Everyone knows brown eggs are more natural than white eggs right? Except that's not true. In reality...
The Chelsea Hotel
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The Chelsea Hotel is one of New York City's landmarks for good reason. It's served as housing for bo...
Selects: How the Flu Works
15 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Every year the flu virus makes the rounds, laying up young and old alike for days before moving on t...
How Antidepressants Work
13 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The good news is that we know antidepressants can treat major depression, helping millions of people...
Short Stuff: Morganna the Kissing Bandit
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Pete Rose said she was “bigger than any one player” in baseball during the 70s and 80s. ...
The Scribble on Scrabble
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Scrabble is a game that neither of us plays with regularity. And maybe that's good for this episode....
Selects: How Electricity Works
08 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
It is literally all around you (and even inside you) - electricity makes up the basis of modern life...
Why is Chinese art being stolen?
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The market for Chinese art used to be very small and is now a billion dollar annual industry. What c...
Short Stuff: Outlawry
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
A request by our producer Dave C, we explore how totally on your own you were in Medieval England wh...
Switchboards: Please Hold While We Connect You
04 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The telephone switchboard was a real wonder of technology and laid the groundwork for the next gener...
Selects: Are crickets the future of food?
01 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Crickets are part of a larger insect-based diet enjoyed in most parts of the world. Loaded with vita...
How GPS Works
27 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
In a tribute to the late founder of HowStuffWorks Marshall Brain, we chose one of his great articles...
Short Stuff: Fanta - Nazi Favorite?
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Fanta has its roots in Germany during WWII, so the Nazi association is something that's tough to den...
Who Put Bella In the Wych Elm?
25 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
One of the more famous unsolved true crime cases concerns a woman found stuffed into a tree in a woo...
Selects: How the Negro Leagues Worked
22 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
A decade before the U.S. officially segregated in 1896, baseball banned black players. A decade befo...
Inner Dialogues, Monologues and Stone Cold Silence
20 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Does everyone have an inner monologue? What purpose do they serve? What if you don't have one? Liste...
Short Stuff: Waffle House Index
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The 24/7 short order restaurant Waffle House is known for staying open during natural disasters, so ...
Harry Belafonte: The Real Deal
18 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Harry Belafonte is most famous for introducing America to calypso music, with hits like Day-O and Ju...
Selects: The Collar Bomb Heist
15 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The collar bomb heist is the crime caper that keeps on giving. Every time the story seemed like it w...
D'oh! Operation Flagship
13 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Operation Flagship was undertaken at a time when the U.S. Marshals performed their jobs with a lot o...
Short Stuff: Yakhchāls - Ancient Fridges
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
If you lived in ancient Persia, you could do a lot worse in trying to cool things down than by build...
The History of Refrigeration
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Keeping things cold with electricity changed the world as we know it. In more ways than you might ex...
Selects: Robber Barons!
08 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The robber barons were not a group of evil super villains. OR WERE THEY? Learn all about these titan...
The Tragedy of the Commons
06 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Since it was introduced in the 60s, the Tragedy of the Commons, the idea that humans will inevitably...
Short Stuff: The Death of Charles Morgan
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
One of the lesser-known cases of American true crime is also a very sad one. Meet Charles Morgan, a ...
The Catacombs of Paris
04 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Beneath Paris lies the bones of more than 6 million people. And you can walk among them for 31 euros...
Selects: How Itching Works
01 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
It was only in the last few decades that science became aware that itches aren't just low-level pain...
10ish Instances of People Doing Things Out Of Spite
30 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
You want payback don’t you? Sure, we all do. We all want it so bad. So bad. Sometimes people d...
Short Stuff: The Guinness Widget
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Guiness beer is famous for its smooth and creamy texture, thanks in part to nitrogen, and also a sim...
The Gullibility Episode
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Being gullible is a weird thing. But are you born with it? Is it learned? Can you be trusting and no...
Selects: When Mount St. Helens Blew Its Top
25 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Mount St. Helen's is a lovely sight to behold, but was a pretty scary thing to be around in the Spri...
How Automats Worked
23 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Once upon a time no visit to New York was complete without eating at an automat. Putting a nickel in...
Short Stuff: The Best Episode Since Sliced Bread
22 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Bread is about 30,000 years old. Sliced bread is less than 100. What gives? Listen in to find out.Se...
The Ballad of High Times Magazine
21 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Whether you’re 20.5 or 50, if you love pot then High Times was the magazine for you. With ton ...
Selects: How Foreign Accent Syndrome Works
18 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Foreign accent syndrome isn't when your mom talks funny when she goes abroad. It's an actual conditi...
The Barkley Marathons
16 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Every Spring in northeastern Tennessee, roughly 40 people compete in a marathon they are very unlike...
Short Stuff: Bourgeoisie
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Bourgeoisie is more than a word. It means something different depending on when and where it's being...
WWII Sabotage Spotlight: Operation Gunnerside
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
During WWII a perfectly-executed sabotage operation by British Special Operations and the Norwegian ...
Selects: How Mindfulness Works
11 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
What has become a buzz word for corporate retreats and a way to get a discount on your health insura...