Stuff You Should Know
Episodes
Short Stuff: 1561 Celestial Event
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
An amazing case of an early modern mass sighting of UFOs came in Nuremberg, Germany in 1561. Except it wasn’t that at all.See omnystudio.com/lis...
The History of Orthodontics
26 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Crooked teeth have always been a thing, but it took us a long time to do something about it. Learn about the twisted history of orthodontics today!See...
Selects: The Flannen Isles Mystery
23 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In December 1900 three lighthouse keepers vanished without a trace from a deserted island in Scotland. To this day no one knows exactly what happened ...
Private Equity: Your Ears Will Bleed
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Private equity is a business operation where companies are bought and run at their leanest to maximize returns for a handful of investors. It can be a...
Short Stuff: The Lost (?) Continent of Lemuria
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why aren't there lemurs in Africa? That question created a whole theory about a lost continent. Turns out it's not true.See omnystudio.com/listener fo...
The Unsolved Murder of Hall and Mills
19 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In 1922, a pastor and his mistress were murdered in New Jersey. Nobody was ever convicted of the crime even though it seems clear who did it. See...
Selects: How Rape Kits Work
16 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rape kits are simple forensic evidence collection kits used when someone is sexually assaulted. But the story is deeper than this. Learn all about rap...
Heavy Metal Pt II
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In part two of Heavy Metal Week Josh and Chuck break down how specialized heavy metal music has become, talk about some of the great album covers, loo...
Short Stuff: Devil Horns
13 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Metal fans have many ways to express themselves, but none are as metal as throwing the devil horns. But who did it first?See omnystudio.com/listener f...
Heavy Metal Pt I
12 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Some of the most talented musicians in the world play heavy metal, some of the hardest-hitting music ever made. In this episode Chuck and Josh wade in...
Selects: The Disappearance of Flight MH370, Part II
09 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the absence of an official explanation of why flight MH 370 disappeared in 2014, conjecture and conspiracy theories have filled the vacuum. Find ou...
Selects: The Disappearance of Flight MH370, Part I
09 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In 2014, a Boeing 777 airliner disappeared. Despite two full years of searching an area of ocean covering more than 120,000 square kilometers, it has ...
Who's Up For A Circular Economy
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if we could take all the trash and waste we generate every year – gigatons worth – and used it again as raw materials. What we would ...
Short Stuff: Marianne Bachmeier: Vigilante Mother
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Marianne Bachmeier committed a shocking act of violence in court in Germany in 1981 to avenge the murder of her young daughter. Many people understood...
The Iconic, Complicated VW Beetle
05 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The VW Beetle is the best selling car of all time. The story behind its creation is a bit complicated though. See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...
Selects: Is birth order important?
02 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Child Prodigies: Better to Burn Out Than Fade Away
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Child prodigies are unique in that they achieve adult levels of achievement, but do not typically excel in adulthood. Why? Who knows. See omnystu...
Short Stuff: Bliss Point
30 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The food we eat – especially the junk food – is a highly engineered technical marvel that’s designed to make you want nothing other ...
The Humble and Deadly Cigarette
29 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is not about smoking or lawsuits or lung cancer. This is about the cigarette itself, a truly unique and destructive invention.See omnystudio.com/...
Selects: The Tale of the Church of the SubGenius
26 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Church of the SubGenius is a religion, but really a parody of religion. Learn all about this group of weirdo outsiders in this classic episode.See...
AQ Khan: How to Live Dangerously
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
He’s been called the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb and a real-life Bond villain and depending on where you’re from, he’s a...
Short Stuff: Paperclips
23 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Boycotts Work (Or Do They?)
22 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We have boycotts coming out of our ears these days, but did you know they go back a couple centuries? And that it’s named after the first poor s...
Selects: What exactly is stoicism?
19 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The word stoic has taken on its own meaning apart from the philosophical movement which gave it life. In this classic episode, learn all about the ear...
How Alchemy Worked
17 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Alchemy evokes sorcerers working by candlelight combining potions to create magical items, real Dungeons & Dragons stuff. But alchemy gets a bad r...
Short Stuff: Bengal Cats
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Bengal cats are gorgeous animals, but they are bought and sold on the designer pet market, so booo. Learn about these hybrid kitties today.See omnystu...
The Great Big Yarn of Mel's Hole
15 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most bizarre stories to emerge from the cult radio show Coast to Coast AM – and that’s really saying something – isn&rsqu...
Selects: Child Labor: Not Funny
12 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Child labor is no laughing matter. Even though we've taken care of it in the USA (mostly), it's still an issue around the globe. Listen to this classi...
Sixdegrees.com: A Social Media Origin Story
10 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Before Facebook and MySpace, before even Friendster, there was SixDegrees. Dive in today to learn about the first social media site, that was a few ye...
Short Stuff: 8 Track Cartridges
09 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
8 tracks were during vinyl, but preceded cassettes. Why? So people could listen to their music on the go. Check out this antiquated medium today.See o...
Sherlock Holmes: The Man, The Myth
08 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sherlock Holmes is perhaps the most famous fictional character in the world, and for good reason. More than a hundred years on, Arthur Conan Doyle&rsq...
Selects: How Coelacanths Work
05 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Coelacanths are incredibly interesting as far as fish go. For one, they were thought to have gone the way of the dinosaur, along with the dinosaur. Th...
What was the purpose of USAID?
03 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
USAID has saved tens of millions of lives across the globe since its inception. But those days are over. Learn all about this soon-to-be-gone program....
Short Stuff: BM Radio
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There was a time – a glorious time – when you could turn the dial in any city in the US and hear popular songs rearranged to be the most p...
The Phil Hartman Story
01 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sadly, Phil Hartman may be best remembered for being murdered in his sleep by his wife. This episode covers that, but mostly aims to stoke the memorie...
Selects: What was Tin Pan Alley?
28 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tin Pan Alley was an area of New York around the beginning of the 20th Century that served as ground zero for the earliest iterations of the music pub...
SYSK’s Summer Movie Playlist: What's the deal with Bond, James Bond?
28 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
James Bond, the most infamous secret agent ever to grace the silver screen, originated in the pages of British author Ian Fleming's novels. Amateur ag...
SYSK’s Summer Movie Playlist: How Steadicams Work
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There have been many inventions that have advanced filmmaking, but maybe none as important as the steadicam. Invented in the mid-70s, it literally cha...
SYSK’s Summer Movie Playlist: How the MPAA Works
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You may be surprised to learn those ubiquitous ratings, from G to NC-17, put on movies in America are actually handed down by anonymous employees of a...
SYSK’s Summer Movie Playlist: Josh and Chuck's List of Horror Movies that Changed the Genre
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Once in a while a movie comes along that's so forward-thinking it changes the way that horror is done. A new subgenre is spawned, new tropes are estab...
SYSK’s Summer Movie Playlist: Special Effects: A Short History
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Special effects have been around since the first movies. In fact, the techniques the earliest filmmakers created are still around today, we just use c...
SYSK’s Summer Movie Playlist: Some Movies That Changed Filmmaking
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
An estimated 50,000 films were made worldwide in 2009 alone. Many are surely clunkers, but in this episode Chuck and Josh talk about the ones that eme...
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 know their names. Stuntpeople are the unsung heroe...
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 directors operating in the shadows of Hollywood l...
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. Today, Josh and Chuck discuss the true story behind...
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 even about? Listen in to learn all you need to kno...
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 it's much more than that.See omnystudio.com/listen...
Short Stuff: Oedipus Complex
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Oedipus complex is probably Sigmund Freud’s most famous theory – that every little boy or girl goes through a phase where they want to...
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 lines. This put thousands of men in harm's way and was...
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 horrific aftereffects of nuclear war and were accused of...
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 better world? And why have six deaths in three sta...
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 the story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...
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 support themselves for centuries – it began...
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 and her neighbors didn't do much to help. It caused...
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 don't really do that. Don't believe everything you...
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 weeks after it went down. But how wild was it really?S...
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 Styrofoam are both forms of foam polystyrene, one of the r...
Selects: How Dementia Works
07 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Impression Management
05 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We all in some way care about what other people think of us. At our core we all have a fear of saying something dumb or embarrassing ourselves somehow...
Short Stuff: Can You Not Have A Name?
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is it legal to live without a name? Is it even possible? Find out today in this episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Pagans, Neo-Pagans, Wiccans – Let’s Sort It Out!
03 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Paganism was the set of original ancient religions around the world. They all had plenty of gods, loved nature, sometimes sacrificed things, and so on...
Selects: Yeti: The Asian Bigfoot
31 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We've covered Nessie and Bigfoot, so why not tackle the Yeti? Listen to this classic episode and hear Josh and Chuck cover what used to be known as th...
The Rosenbergs
29 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for espionage in 1953. Whether or not they were both guilty remains unclear, though most historians believe t...
Short Stuff: Genetic Mutations
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
All sorts of exotic and often terrible stuff runs through our heads when we think of genetic mutations, but the vast majority of them are caught befor...
The Group of Seven
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today Chuck and Josh celebrate Canada and their art through the lens of the Group of Seven. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Selects: How Publicists Work
24 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Some people call them flacks. Other people call them liars. But if you're in the public eye and suddenly have an image problem, you'll call them your ...
Popcorn: Who doesn't love it?
22 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We love popcorn and suspect that most people do too. But do you know why it even pops? Or if it's healthy?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...
Short Stuff: William A. Mitchell: Food Inventor
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
William A. Mitchell invented some iconic snack foods and candies. Learn all about him today!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Faking Your Own Death: We All Do It, But Why?
20 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Face it, when things get desperate we all consider faking our death as an easy way out. But what they don’t tell you in school is that it’...
Selects: Night Trap: The Video Game Failure that Changed the Industry
17 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the early 90s a video game was released that changed the industry, despite poor sales and bad game play. That game was Night Trap. In this classic ...
The Cliffs Notes on Cliffs Notes
15 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When a man named Cliff packaged book summaries in yellow and black booklets he changed the way kids learned. But was he just creating a cheat code?See...
Short Stuff: Figs & Wasps
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today Chuck and Josh look at the interesting relationship between figs and wasps.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Plant-Based Diets
13 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You don’t have to be a hardcore vegan to eat a plant-based diet (although you can be). There’s a whole variety of degrees people adopt pha...
Selects: How Ice Cream Works
10 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We all scream for ice cream, sure, but did you know we're all technically screaming about a colloidal foam? As you hit play on this classic episode, p...
We Got to Sesame Street
08 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One of the longest-running television shows in history is also one of the best. Sesame Street was conceived as a radical idea – to give disadvan...
Short Stuff: Drop Bears
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Australia is home to all sorts of things that can kill you, but perhaps the deadliest is the drop bear, a vicious cousin of the koala.See omnystudio.c...
Fentanyl: Actually As Dangerous As They Say
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Around 2013 heroin users in the US and other countries suddenly started dying from overdose in previously-unseen numbers. The culprit turned out to be...
Selects: Muzak: Easy Listening Goodness
03 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Muzak got a bad reputation as bland garbage music. In this classic episode, we aim to set the record straight.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...
What we know about MI6
01 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
MI6 is The UK's version of the CIA. Except they came first and provided the model. But there's still a lot we don't know about this notoriously tight-...
Short Stuff: Trovants
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rocks that grow baby rocks – wut?!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chinese Food: Best Food?
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today on SYSK, the fellas get down to business with plenty of mouth-watering information on what Chuck dubs "the best food."See omnystudio.com/listene...
Selects: How Jim Henson Worked
26 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We've already recorded an episode on The Muppets, but Jim Henson was such a neat guy we delved into him even further. Learn all about the man behind t...
Give My Regards to the Broadway Episode!
24 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Broadway is a street in NYC, but more than that it's a term for the NY theater district. They say the neon lights are bright there. Who knows?See omny...
Short Stuff: Alternative Libraries
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today we highlight and celebrate a couple of alternative libraries.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Richard III: Good Guy or Evil Putz?
22 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since Shakespeare wrote his tragedy on Richard III the world has thought of him as an evil king with a shriveled soul. But is that actually unjus...
Selects: Adidas v. Puma: A Sibling Rivalry
19 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join Josh and Chuck in this classic episode as they go down the sport shoe rabbit hole, detailing the strange tail of the brothers who brought Puma an...
What Makes Disaster Films Great
17 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Disaster films are surprisingly tough to define. What makes them different from an action movie or a monster movie? Who cares? They’re great! Es...
Short Stuff: Tick tock goes the Doomsday Clock
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Doomsday Clock is closer too midnight than it's ever been, which is not awesome. But what does this metaphorical clock even indicate?See omnystudi...
Kim Philby: Greatest Liar of All Time?
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
British MI6 agent Kim Philby was a spy for the Soviet Union and one of the great liars in human history, right up until his retirement in Moscow where...
Selects: Cake: So Great. So, So Great
12 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Cake has been around for a long time, but mostly less than great forms. It took the Industrial Revolution, the advent of plentiful sugar, and some goo...
Behavioral Priming: Buy, Robot Human!
10 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the late 90s, a large chunk of the field of social psychology started dedicating itself to figuring out ways to subtly persuade and influence peopl...
Short Stuff: Colorful Noises
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve all heard of white noise, that static sound the TV makes when poltergeists arrive. There are other colored noise too that mimic natural so...
Editorial Cartoons: Art as Satire
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Editorial, or political cartoons, have a rich history in the United States and abroad. And though the Golden Age may have passed, the use of images to...
Selects: Agatha Christie: Queen of the Murder Mystery
05 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Agatha Christie was a great writer of murder mystery novels and is probably the best selling author of all time. Listen in this classic episode to lea...
The Pinkerton Detective Agency
03 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Pinkertons became the most famous detective company in the U.S. But were they noble or notorious? We get to the bottom of it all in today's episod...
Short Stuff: Tulipmania
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The world experienced its first economic bubble when the Dutch went bonkers for tulips in the 1630s. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...
How Climate Migration Works
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We move for all sorts of reasons – new job, new grandkid – but moving because it’s just too darn hot? That’s a new one. But it...
Selects: The Deal With Doulas
29 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The word doula in Ancient Greek might mean "female servant" but it's really not a great description of the 21st century job. Doulas are birth coaches ...
The Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Part II
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A manhunt is launched for MLK’s killer, James Earl Ray. After his capture he pleads guilty. With no trial the world won’t hear the facts o...
Short Stuff: Poutine: Canada's Pride
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Poutine is just one of those comforting dishes that's a must have when visiting the great nation of Canada. Is it good for you? Nope. But who cares ri...