Stuff You Should Know

Short Stuff: Camberley Kate

03 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Camberley Kate was the nickname for the first independent animal rescuer in England, rescuing hundreds of dogs and cats over her lifetime. Come get ac...

The Brutal History of Prison Labor

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The idea of prison labor is relatively new in the annals of crime and punishment. And it's just as bad as you think.See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

Selects: How Black Friday Works

29 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On the day after Thanksgiving, Americans go kind of crazy for the deep discount sales that kick off the holiday shopping season in stores. So crazy, i...

Julia Child, la Grandes Gourmande

27 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Julia Child is one of the most recognizable names in the cooking world, but even still so many of her accomplishments aren’t widely known. And t...

Short Stuff: Pies

26 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve done episodes on cake, cookies and, at long last, pie. Belly up to your pod player and prepare to crave some pie!See omnystudio.com/listen...

Rice is Nice

25 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Rice may be the most eaten food on the planet, accounting for 50% of the caloric intake of Asian countries and 25% worldwide. Learn all about this edi...

Selects: Rockettes: Still Kicking After All These Years

22 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tune in to this classic episode to learn all about the legendary NYC Rockettes, who actually got their start in Missouri.See omnystudio.com/listener f...

Graffiti: So Cool It’s A Pillar of Hip Hop

20 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Graffiti – the good kind, done with lots of style and skill – developed when some kids in NYC took up cans of spray paint and started to f...

Short Stuff: Victorian Flower Language

19 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What do you do when you want to tell someone you’re smitten with them but you live in a society so repressive decorum prevents you from even spe...

AM Radio: Solid Gold

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The era of AM radio isn't over, but it's well past its heyday. Dive in today for a trip down memory lane. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Selects: How Personality Tests Work

15 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For millennia, we have tried to put human personalities into neat types, an effort psychology took up early in its history in an effort to legitimize ...

Pop Tarts: No Fruit Necessary

13 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Pop Tarts are a legendary breakfast treat in the United States. They're fruit-filled toaster pastries with very little fruit. But who cares right? It'...

Short Stuff: Third Man Syndrome

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

People who’ve found themselves in life-or-death situations with their endurance at its limit have reported sensing another presence with them, u...

Eco-Disasters 101: The Salton Sea

11 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1905, an engineering mistake created a brand new 400-square-mile sea (lake?) in the California desert. People made the most of it at first, but it ...

Selects: How Conversion Therapy Doesn't Work

08 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Conversion therapy is a misguided attempt by religious zealots to convert people from gay to straight. News flash - it doesn't work. Learn all about t...

The Mystery of the Death Valley Germans

06 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1996, a small group of German tourists disappeared in Death Valley National Park without a trace. Fifteen years later, the tenacity of one man solv...

Short Stuff: "Peace" Pipes

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Did Native Americans really smoke peace pipes? Well yes and no. They smoked pipes for many reasons, sometimes to commemorate peace. But they never cal...

What To Do With All This Nuclear Waste?

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You can make a case that it’s a little off-putting to learn the world doesn’t really have any idea what to do with the nuclear waste we&rs...

Selects: How Extinction Works

01 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists believe that 99% of the estimated 50 billion species that have ever lived on Earth have disappeared through extinction. This is a natural p...

SYSK's 2025 Shocktober Halloween Spooktacular

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Co-producer Ben knocked it out of the park again, taking the two classic horror stories we read for our annual Spooktacular - Caterpillars and The Dee...

Short Stuff: The Bell Witch

29 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A legend in Tennessee tells of the real-life Bell family, who were haunted back in 1817 by a ghost witch - arguably the worst kind of either of those ...

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: Masterpiece

28 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There aren’t too many independent horror movies that make the British Film Institute’s 250 Best Films Ever Made list – AND – m...

Selects: The Great Finger in the Wendy’s Chili Caper

25 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2005 a woman named Anna Alaya discovered a length of human finger – nail and all – in her Wendy’s chili. Her cries of disgust wou...

THE HUMAN SCREAM

23 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever thought much about screaming? Well we have, and today you'll learn everything we learned. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

Short Stuff: Curse of Broken Mirrors

22 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's seven years' bad luck for you if you break a mirror, buddy, sorry. But have you ever wondered why? People have come up with all sorts of great re...

[Insert Your Own Catchy Title About Younger Dryas Here]

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Quick, name your favorite geological mystery. You can’t do it! Well, don’t worry. In this episode we’re going to tell you all about ...

Selects: How ESP Works (?)

18 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Even though almost half of Americans believe in it, ESP usually is treated as a load of bull by skeptics. But some respected researchers have dared to...

VH-1: MTV for Your Parents

16 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today we complete our music video duology with a dive into the mellow pool of VH-1.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Short Stuff: China's Corpse Walkers

15 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you died away from home but wanted to be buried there, don’t worry – Taoist priests had you covered. They’d just have your animat...

We want our MTV!

14 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you've ever wanted to hear a couple of Gen X'ers wax nostalgic about MTV, then you're in luck. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

Selects: How Schoolhouse Rock Rocked: Featuring Bob Nastanovich of Pavement

11 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Schoolhouse Rock is possibly the best children's program of all time. Join Josh and Chuck in this classic episode as they tell the story of SR, featur...

Everyone Deserves A Good Death

09 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The concept of hospice was created as a way to help people with only a few weeks to live spend their last days comfortable an surrounded by friends an...

Short Stuff: The Call is Coming... FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE

08 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Did you know that the "the call is coming from inside the house" urban legend may be based on a very grisly murder case from the 1950s?See omnystudio....

The Happy Place of Saturday Morning Cartoons

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The greatest period in the history of humankind took place in the short era between 1970 and 1995. During that time kids could tune in every Saturday ...

Selects: How Mail Order Marriages Work

04 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Everybody knows mail order marriages are at best a last resort for jerks looking to boss a foreign spouse around or, at worst, a front for human traff...

The Mystery of the Sleepy Sickness

02 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Back in the early 1900s, a new pandemic happened out of nowhere with odd symptoms, that was never solved or cured. It just went away. Which means it's...

Short Stuff: La Lechuza - The Witch Owl

01 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today we kick off the scariest month with the legend of La Lechuza - The Witch Owl.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why Would Anyone Want to Appease Hitler?

30 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It seems ridiculously irresponsible with the benefit of hindsight, but the concept of giving Hitler everything he wanted was the policy among the UK a...

Selects: How Area 51 Works

27 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The secret military base Area 51 is inextricably linked to every secret, shady project the US government is rumored to be involved in – from rev...

SYSK’s Fall True Crime Playlist: The Hinterkaifeck Axe Murders

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1922, a little farm in the woods of Bavaria became the site of what would become Germany’s most famous unsolved murder, when six people were ...

SYSK’s Fall True Crime Playlist: SYSK Live: The DB Cooper Heist

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Join Josh and Chuck live from Seattle as they (sky)dive into one of the most brazen robberies in the annals of crime and the only unsolved airline hij...

SYSK’s Fall True Crime Playlist: Who Committed the 1912 Villisca Ax Murders?

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In a small town in Iowa in 1912 eight people were murdered in the grisliest of ways while they slept. Local reputations were ruined when accusations f...

SYSK’s Fall True Crime Playlist: The Tylenol Murders, Part I

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On one terrible day in Chicago in 1982, seven people died suddenly and mysteriously. In just a matter of hours, it becomes clear, someone has poisoned...

SYSK’s Fall True Crime Playlist: The Chowchilla Bus Kidnapping

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The largest ever kidnapping case in the United States went down in the small town of Chowchilla, CA. Learn all about it today. See omnystudio.com...

SYSK’s Fall True Crime Playlist: The Tylenol Murders, Part II

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The panic that began in Chicago spreads and begins to change the world. The investigation into the murders turns up leads and suspects, but still no o...

SYSK’s Fall True Crime Playlist: The Tale of the Bloody Benders

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Long before we knew what serial killers were, a family in remote Kansas was disposing of victims at their family farm. Listen in to the Tale of the Bl...

SYSK’s Fall True Crime Playlist: The Harvey’s Casino Bombing of 1980

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In August of 1980 a bomb containing 1,000 pounds of dynamite was quietly delivered to Harvey’s, a casino and resort at Lake Tahoe. This kicked o...

SYSK’s Fall True Crime Playlist: The Strange Unsolved Murder of Ken McElroy

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The murder of Ken McElroy comes off like a story from a cheap paperback book you’d get to read on a plane. But this is a true crime story, set i...

SYSK’s Fall True Crime Playlist: The Harrowing Story of the North Hollywood Shootout

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tune in today to listen to the story of when North Hollywood became a war zone after a brazen bank robbery. See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

SYSK’s Fall True Crime Playlist: The Unsolved Indiana Dunes Disappearances

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In July 1966, three women out for a day at the beach waded into the water of Lake Michigan, got onto a boat and were never heard from again. To this d...

SYSK’s Fall True Crime Playlist: How The Great Train Robbery Worked

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1963, 15 men got together in England to pull off one of the most daring heists in history. The Great Train Robbery was the crime of the century, ca...

A Tribute To The Far Side

25 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Far Side is one of the greatest cartoons in history. Today we go to great lengths to convince you of that.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...

Short Stuff: Death Cap Mushroom

24 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The death cap mushroom lives up to its name. It’s a mushroom cap that causes death. Find out why.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

Tdhtdhtdhtdhtdh: Sound Effects!

23 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sound effects are one of the unsung parts of any movie or TV show – they’re best when you don’t even notice them making what you see...

Selects: Slime Mold: 0% Mold, 100% Amazing

20 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you’ve ever wandered past what looked like a pile of dog barf on a log during a hike in the woods, you’d just seen slime mold - one of ...

The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment

18 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As part of our shameful history series, today we dive into the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments of the 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s and into the 70s.See omnystud...

Short Stuff: Killing a Dead Body

17 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you try to kill someone who was already dead is that a bad thing? Yeah? How bad?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What was the Four Pests Campaign?

16 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Say one thing about Mao's communist China, they could kill some sparrows. Learn why and how in today's episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Selects: What's the deal with subpoenas?

13 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Subpoenas are all the rage. But what do they even mean if someone can just ignore it? Learn this and a lot more in this classic episode.See omnystudio...

You’re So Good At Conversation!

11 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s an understated miracle that humans can get across ideas to one another by saying things out loud. We’re strangely good at not constan...

Short Stuff: North Sentinel Island

10 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

One of the last uncontacted people in the world live in the Bay of Bengal and they have made it clear they don’t want you to visit.See omnystudi...

The Man with the Golden Arm

09 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Aussie James Harrison gave blood close to 1,200 times over a 60 year period and saved 2.5 million babies in the process. That makes him a hero. S...

Selects: Noise Pollution: Arrrgh!

06 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you’ve ever found your blood pressure rising because some guy down the street doesn’t know how to keep the trigger on a leaf blower pul...

America’s Militarized Police

04 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1960s, America took stock of itself when scores of low-income cities broke out in riots. It found that racism was at the root of many social pr...

Short Stuff: The Mpemba Effect

03 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why does water seem to freeze faster when it starts out warmer?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How Dolphins Work!

02 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

E-e-e-eek! E-e-e-eek, we say! Adding to the tradition of our wonderful animal episodes we contribute this amazing installment on one of the all-time g...

Selects: What Were the BONE WARS?

30 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A pair of old timey fossil hunters had a rootin’ tootin’ rivalry that spilled from academic journals into the American Wild West - where f...

What are Blue Zones?

28 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Blue zones are areas where people supposedly have more 100+ year-olds than average. But is it all based on faulty records?See omnystudio.com/listener ...

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...