Stuff You Should Know

The Unsolved Mystery Disappearance of the Sodder Children

18 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In 1945 a house fire took the lives of five children - except that no trace of their bodies was ever found. Dive into the longstanding mystery of the ...

How Bonsai Works

16 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

For thousands of years people have been taking normal trees and forcing them into miniature. Learn all about the history and art of this strangely eng...

True stories of survival cannibalism!

11 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Cannibalism is the macabre practice of eating other humans. But sometimes, people have no choice if they want to survive. It's called survival canniba...

How Snake Handlers Work

09 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Snake handling ranges from professional snake milkers for antivenin to religious handlers who tend to get bitten and sometimes die from it. Either way...

How LSD Works

05 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In 1943 Swiss chemist Albert Hofman discovered he'd created what may be the most potent hallucinogen known to humankind. Then he took a bike ride. Lea...

How Megalodon Worked

03 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Between 2 to 20 million years ago, the biggest shark with perhaps the most devastating bite of any animal ever ruled the oceans with an iron jaw. Desp...

What was Operation Plowshare?

28 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

America had already used two nuclear bombs to devastating effect when researchers thought "maybe we can use these bombs to dig big holes instead." Tha...

Myths and Truths About Tornadoes

25 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Tornadoes can make mincemeat out of houses, people, cars, you name it. So do you know what to do - and what not to do - when there's one headed your w...

Does Kin Selection Explain Altruism?

21 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

There's a curious puzzle unanswered by the theory of evolution: why do some animals give up their chance to reproduce to help others reproduce instead...

What Makes Lead So Poisonous?

19 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The people of Flint, MI were horrified to find their drinking water was poisoned with lead. As we learn more about lead's effects and realize how pers...

How Big Bang Theory Works, with Neil deGrasse Tyson

14 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

There are a number of theories for how the universe evolved but none are more widely accepted than the Big Bang theory. Learn about the mind-boggling ...

How the Gender Pay Gap Works

12 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The gender pay gap is the amount of time into the next year a woman must work to earn as much as a man did the previous year. And it's narrowing at a ...

How Labor Strikes Work

07 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Labor strikes are the last resort of a workforce frustrated with low pay or dangerous working conditions. A big part of winning a wage war is having t...

Our cats episode - right here, right meow

05 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Cats are the most popular pet in the United States, despite the fact that we've only been keeping them indoors for 50-60 years. Learn about more cat f...

Nostalgia is not the most toxic impulse

31 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Nostalgia is a funny thing. It's not home sickness, it's more connected to emotions and a time in your life. But is nostalgia worthwhile? Nascent scie...

What Was the Deal With the Hatfields and McCoys?

29 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

It was America's most famous family feud, but the history of the Hatfields vs the McCoys is fraught with bias and inaccuracies. Dig into a disagreemen...

How TED Talks Work: Featuring Roman Mars

24 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

TED Talks have been around longer than you think. They became really popular once YouTube came along to bring their often inspirational messages to th...

Who Gets to Name Continents?

22 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

America is named after Amerigo Vespucci, right? Maybe not. And who named Australia? Find out the unusually uncertain origins of the continents and oth...

How Makeup Works

17 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Humans have been wearing makeup for a few thousand years now and yet, here in the US the chemicals used in them are still not understood and not reall...

Some Really Interesting Cases of Mass Hysteria

15 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Around the world and across time, people have fallen victim to one of the strongest contagions of all - the power of suggestion. Here are just a few e...

How Dark Money Works

10 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Since the Supreme Court ruled in 2010 in the Citizens United case that political contributions are speech and should be protected, the floodgates of a...

How The Iditarod Works

08 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Each year hundreds of dogs haul humans in sleds as part of the 1,100 plus mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. It's grueling and not without controversy...

How Freak Shows Worked

03 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Not too long ago, people would pay money to gawk and stare at a performer with a physical disformity. They were called freakshows and they began in la...

How El Nino Works

01 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

El Nino may mean "the little boy" or "Christ Child" in Spanish, but this weather phenomenon really means crazy things for Planet Earth. We're talking ...

(Approximately) 10 Things That Vanished Mysteriously

25 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes things - like dentures, airplanes or even people - go missing. And when they never turn up again they become enduring, and engrossing, myste...

The Future of Renewable Energy, Featuring Bill Gates

23 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Renewable energy could be the key to ensuring the future prosperity and health of Planet Earth and humankind. In this very special episode, we sit dow...

How Nitrous Oxide Works

18 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

For about 175 years people have been huffing nitrous oxide for everything from vision quests to anesthetic to get plain old high. And after all that t...

How Jackhammers Work

16 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

It's likely that without the invention of the pneumatic jackhammer, the Industrial Revolution wouldn't have hummed along quite so smoothly. Certainly ...

What's the Deal With Poop?

11 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

We are going to get down and dirty with all things poop in this episode: What a healthy poop looks like, how to poop your best, the history of using p...

How Rabies Works

09 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Rabies may have gotten a lot of attention in the U.S. in the 70s and 80s, but it's still an issue in developing countries. Learn all about this nasty ...

How Land Diving Works

04 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

On Pentacost Island the ritual that preceded bungee jumping is alive and well. Just why do these tribesmen risk life and limb? To ensure a hearty yam ...

Operation Mincemeat: How A Corpse Fooled the Nazis

02 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In World War II, a secret department of British 'corkscrew thinkers' hatched a plan to use the cadaver of an unclaimed homeless man to turn the tide o...

Does Whole-Body Cryotherapy Work?

28 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Forty years after a Japanese doctor began using whole body cryotherapy to treat patients with arthritis; the technique has made its ways to med-spas a...

How Personalized Medicine Works

26 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Hippocrates realized that it is even more important to understand the patient than to understand the disease and now, 2000 years later, we are coming ...

Timber! How Timber Works

21 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Throughout much of the world, the forests are being managed through sustainable timber harvesting practices. This has come at the cost of much legal b...

Sir Isaac Newton: Greatest Scientist of All Time?

19 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

There have been a lot of great scientist throughout history, but Sir Isaac Newton might just take the cake. But while he was a certified genius, he wa...

The Duality of Caffeine

14 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Caffeine is a heck of a drug - at the same time it's both good and bad for you. Learn the good, bad and ugly about this everyday stimulant in today's ...

How Futurology Works

12 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Science fiction writers have made some amazingly accurate predictions over the years, but in 1945 the pace of technological change created a field tha...

Body Language!

07 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Body language is how you communicate without words. Some say it bears more impact in communication than speaking words. Learn about how you say what y...

The "Satanic Panic" of the 1980s

05 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In the late 1980s, the United States experienced a "Satanic Panic," leading parents to fear for the safety of their children. But were there any real ...

How Lizzie Borden Worked

31 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Everybody knows how many whacks Lizzie Borden gave her mother and father with that axe, but there is plenty about the infamous double homicide that re...

The Great Wall of China Episode

29 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The Great Wall of China is one of the most visited tourist desinations in the world. How'd it get built? How old is it? What's the current condition? ...

The Stuff You Should Know 2015 Jolly Christmas Extravaganza

24 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

It's the most wonderful time of year again! Join Chuck and Josh as they explore Christmas traditions around the world, tidbits about Elf, holiday food...

How Gossip Works

22 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

You know what I heard? That Josh and Chuck hate each other and they're just faking being friends for the show. That's called gossip, folks and it can ...

The Star Wars Holiday Special of 1978

17 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Long ago, in a galaxy not so far away, George Lucas allowed the Star Wars Holiday Special to be made. What happened on the night of November 17, 1978 ...

How the Antikythera Mechanism Works

15 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In 1900 sponge divers found the wreck of a 2000 year-old treasure ship that contained within it a machine that should not exist. Learn of the device t...

How Reverse Psychology Works

10 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

You have very likely used reverse psychology before, trying to persuade someone to do something you want by suggesting they do the opposite. What's be...

Carl Sagan: American Hero

08 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Carl Sagan was the world's first mainstream media super scientist, capapble of breaking down complex ideas for the common folk. But what made him tick...

How HIV/AIDS Works, Part II

03 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In part two of the series on HIV/AIDS, Chuck and Josh explore how the battle against the disease is being fought and won thanks to new treatments and ...

How HIV/AIDS Works, Part I

01 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

AIDS is one of the most well-known and most misunderstood diseases humans are susceptible to. In part one of this two-part series, Josh and Chuck expl...

Live in Chicago: How Public Relations Works

26 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

After a year of taking it on the road, Josh and Chuck are releasing their show on public relations. Learn all about the ways you're manipulated on a d...

The Lowdown on Anonymous

24 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Anonymous is an amorphous group of hacktivists with no single leader or power structure. Some call them heroes, others call them criminals. Can they b...

How Dementia Works

19 Nov 2015

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 ...

How Rodney Dangerfield Worked, Live From LA

18 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Other comedians cry on the inside, but Rodney Dangerfield built his entire act around his sad life. Get to know this legendary comic who was nearing 5...

What's the Deal With Staring?

17 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Gazing too long upon another person is almost universally viewed as anywhere from impolite to hostile, which is odd considering science isn't fully ce...

How The Voynich Manuscript Works

12 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Since its re-discovery in the early 20th century, the Medieval codex the Voynich Manuscript has thoroughly puzzled anyone who has tried to unlock its ...

Maggots: Good For Healing Wounds, Turns Out

10 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Cultures around the world over the years have been inspired by, then repulsed, then inspired by maggots' ability to heal persistent wounds. We are in ...

How Grimm's Fairy Tales Work

05 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Unless you were raised alone in a basement (in which case you may be the subject of one), you probably grew up on fairy tales. That's appropriate beca...

The Dark Origins of Fairy Tales

03 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Fairy tales are for kids right? Well not at first they weren't. They were dark tales of murder, rape, incest, cannibalism and mayhem geared toward adu...

Josh N Chuck's Hallowe'en Spooky Scarefest

29 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Each year, Chuck and Josh read a couple of scary stories and this year they have a pair of truly frightful tales about a haunted bog and a terrifying ...

How Passports Work

27 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The concept of passports - that people should enjoy protected freedom of movement - is an ancient one. It wasn't until WWI that they became universal....

Vocal Fry and Other Speech Trends

22 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

You've heard lots of complaints about vocal fry, mostly from older white men. But it's not exclusive to the Kardashians. Learn all about vocal fry, up...

Please Listen to How Plasma Waste Converters Work

20 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

There is a way to not only sustainably get rid our household waste, but also produce enough energy from it to power the process and even create electr...

How Wine Fraud Works

15 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Wine fraud may be a case of rich con artists tricking wealthy people into parting with money, but it's still a crime. Learn all about this weird, wide...

How Vestigial Organs Work

13 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Darwin asserted that seemingly useless organs and behaviors are left over from our evolutionary history. But as more are found to have a function, the...

What was the Philadelphia Experiment?

08 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The Philadelphia Experiment is a bad movie from the 1980s, and also the conspiracy theory that refuses to die, despite virtually zero evidence of its ...

How Lobbying Works

06 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Lobbying is an entrenched part of American politics and one that many people think is breaking government. But petitioning the government is protected...

How PEZ Works

01 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

PEZ began in Vienna as a mint meant to help people quit smoking. But once American kids got ahold of it, the candy took off and a symbol of childhood ...

Chuck and Josh Make It Through Female Puberty

29 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In part two of the SYSK puberty saga, Josh and Chuck venture into new territory as they explore all of the amazing changes girls face when they come o...

Geothermal Energy: Earth's Gift to Mankind

24 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Green energy is good for all, and it doesn't get much greener than using the Earth's own heat to warm your home or office. Learn all about geothermal ...

How Cult Deprogramming Worked

22 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The fear of cults in the 1970s drove Americans to look the other way on kidnappings, abuse and torture of cult members by deprogrammers - but did it e...

The Great Nuclear Winter Debate of 1983

17 Sep 2015

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...

How Publicists Work

15 Sep 2015

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 ...

How Chili Peppers Work

10 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Born and raised in South America, chilis were the earliest crop domesticated in the continent and among the first items brought back to Europe by Colu...

How Police Dogs Work

08 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Police dogs have been used since the 19th century - one WWI German defector became a major movie star. But in the US the post-9/11 era has seen a K9 u...

How Alcoholism Works

03 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In the US, 17 million people are alcoholics. Not merely abusing alcohol, these sufferers become physically dependent on it, forming a chronic disease....

How to Donate Your Body to Science

01 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Donating your whole body to further science and medicine is probably the best thing you could do with your corpse. Which is why the industry that hand...

Nirvana: Not The Band

27 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Hinduism and Buddhism are closely related in a number of ways, including their vision of what comes after we exit this mortal coil. Learn about the re...

How Hot Air Balloons Work

25 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Arguably the most beautiful objects in the entire world, hot air balloons take advantage of some interesting physics and have a long history of killin...

How Umami Works!

20 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

For millennia humans have recognized four tastes, but in the 1980s a fifth taste first isolated in Japan gained worldwide acceptance - and took off li...

Pigeons: Homing, Passenger, Carrier and Otherwise

18 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Pigeons can get a little confusing. Passengers, messengers, carriers, homing - the list goes on. But when it comes down to it, they're all variations ...

Hula-Hoops: The Toy That's A Shape

13 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

We've covered our fair share of pop-culture icons and here is another - Hula-Hoops. They've been around since ancient time in some form or another, bu...

How Auto-Tune Works

11 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What began as a challenge to an oil engineer to make a terrible singer into a pitch-perfect one, Auto-Tune has become a ubiquitous (and, to many, obno...

How Droughts Work

06 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Droughts can be an inevitable feature of a local climate or a catastrophic result of human meddling. Learn the ins and outs of droughts including the ...

How Earth-Like Planets Work

04 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Since the Kepler telescope went online, astronomers have found there may be an estimate 40 billion planets like Earth in the Milky Way galaxy alone. W...

How Bats Work

30 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

They are creepy, sure, but they are also useful, cute and in great danger of extinction. Get a new lease on life from a new view of bats in this episo...

How Profiling Works

28 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

At its base, criminal profiling is a legitimate investigatory tool. The Supreme Court has drawn a clear line that bans profiling when it includes race...

Road Rage: GRRRR!!!

23 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

About half of all people experience rage on a daily basis when they get behind the wheel. What is it about driving that ticks us off so badly? Learn ...

How Citizen's Arrests Work

21 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In some states, it is not only your right but your duty to arrest someone you see committing a crime. Learn all about why you should basically never d...

The Time Nazis Invaded Florida

16 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

During World War II, Nazis invaded the United States with saboteurs bent on fomenting chaos. Three times. Learn more about your ad-choices at https:/...

How the Terracotta Army Works

14 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In 1974, Chinese farmers discovered the first of what would number 7,000 terracotta soldiers meant to protect China's first emperor in the afterlife. ...

How Brickfilm Works

09 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What began as a pair of teens who made a film for their grandparents has exploded into its own art form. Learn all about how stop-motion Lego films ar...

How Egypt's Pyramids Work

07 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Pyramids can be found in ruins around the world, but no civilization perfected the feat of engineering like Pharaonic Egypt. Learn about the mysteries...

How Circus Families Work

02 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Don't be confused - this one is about actual circus acts made of family members, not the controversial comic strip. Learn more about your ad-choices ...

How Audience Testing Works

30 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Did you know some of our most beloved movies originally had different, sometimes better, endings? That is until they were tested in front of focus gro...

Mosquitoes: The Worst

25 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Sun Tzu said know your enemy, and so it is in this spirit that we present this episode on one of the worst airborne pests in the world. Learn more ab...

How Landfills Work

23 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Well-planned landfills have only recently come into widespread use. Recently, waste managers have found that they work a little too well and now the l...

Are You My Mother?: How Animal Imprinting Works

18 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What do little baby ducklings have to do with Nazis? A lot actually. Find out about animal imprinting experiments and the debate over their ethics. L...

How BASE Jumping Works

16 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

You should never BASE Jump. It is one of the most genuinely dangerous sports on the planet. But with that out of the way, you should definitely learn ...

Bridges: Nature Abhors Them

11 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

From prehistoric logs across streams to the 102-mile Kunshan Grand Bridge, nature works ceaselessly to take down spans. Learn about the fascinating in...