Stuff You Should Know

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...

The Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Part I

25 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When he was murdered by an assassin’s bullet, MLK was going through a hard time in his life and many close to him say that he knew the end was n...

Selects: Seven - No, Wait, Five - Mysteries of the Art World

22 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When you get a bunch of artistic types together into a community – aka, the art world – some intrigue and mystery are bound to arise. List...

The Highway of Tears (And Maybe Hope)

20 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Indigenous women in Canada have always been vulnerable, but there’s a stretch of remote road that’s such a hotspot for disappearances, ass...

Short Stuff: All About Egg Colors

19 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Everyone knows brown eggs are more natural than white eggs right? Except that's not true. In reality there is zero difference because it's just a gene...

The Chelsea Hotel

18 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Chelsea Hotel is one of New York City's landmarks for good reason. It's served as housing for bohemian creatives and addicts, and been through sev...

Selects: How the Flu Works

15 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Every year the flu virus makes the rounds, laying up young and old alike for days before moving on to another hapless victim. But flu viruses can muta...

How Antidepressants Work

13 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The good news is that we know antidepressants can treat major depression, helping millions of people live healthier lives. The bad news is that we don...

Short Stuff: Morganna the Kissing Bandit

12 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Pete Rose said she was “bigger than any one player” in baseball during the 70s and 80s. Morganna the Kissing Bandit became a legend in spo...

The Scribble on Scrabble

11 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Scrabble is a game that neither of us plays with regularity. And maybe that's good for this episode. We're all learning, right?See omnystudio.com/list...

Selects: How Electricity Works

08 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It is literally all around you (and even inside you) - electricity makes up the basis of modern life. But what exactly is electricity and how does it ...

Why is Chinese art being stolen?

06 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The market for Chinese art used to be very small and is now a billion dollar annual industry. What changed? And how is this all tied to a string of he...

Short Stuff: Outlawry

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A request by our producer Dave C, we explore how totally on your own you were in Medieval England when the court declared you an outlaw.  See omn...

Switchboards: Please Hold While We Connect You

04 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The telephone switchboard was a real wonder of technology and laid the groundwork for the next generation of connectivity. Learn how these things work...

Selects: Are crickets the future of food?

01 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Crickets are part of a larger insect-based diet enjoyed in most parts of the world. Loaded with vitamins, minerals and protein, and green to boot, cri...

How GPS Works

27 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In a tribute to the late founder of HowStuffWorks Marshall Brain, we chose one of his great articles. Learn all about how your phone knows how to get ...

Short Stuff: Fanta - Nazi Favorite?

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Fanta has its roots in Germany during WWII, so the Nazi association is something that's tough to deny. Dive in and hear all about how this beloved sod...

Who Put Bella In the Wych Elm?

25 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

One of the more famous unsolved true crime cases concerns a woman found stuffed into a tree in a woods outside Worcestershire during WWII. Despite an ...

Selects: How the Negro Leagues Worked

22 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A decade before the U.S. officially segregated in 1896, baseball banned black players. A decade before the US integrated, baseball broke the color bar...

Inner Dialogues, Monologues and Stone Cold Silence

20 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Does everyone have an inner monologue? What purpose do they serve? What if you don't have one? Listen in to find out these answers and MORE.See omnyst...

Short Stuff: Waffle House Index

19 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The 24/7 short order restaurant Waffle House is known for staying open during natural disasters, so much so that federal agencies gauge where to start...

Harry Belafonte: The Real Deal

18 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Harry Belafonte is most famous for introducing America to calypso music, with hits like Day-O and Jump In the Line. But he was also one of the most ea...

Selects: The Collar Bomb Heist

15 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The collar bomb heist is the crime caper that keeps on giving. Every time the story seemed like it was figured out, another layer appeared. Tune in to...

D'oh! Operation Flagship

13 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Operation Flagship was undertaken at a time when the U.S. Marshals performed their jobs with a lot of flair. What other agency would throw a football ...

Short Stuff: Yakhchāls - Ancient Fridges

12 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you lived in ancient Persia, you could do a lot worse in trying to cool things down than by building a yakhchāl. Today we break down how the early...

The History of Refrigeration

11 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Keeping things cold with electricity changed the world as we know it. In more ways than you might expect. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Selects: Robber Barons!

08 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The robber barons were not a group of evil super villains. OR WERE THEY? Learn all about these titans of industry from the Gilded Age in this classic ...

The Tragedy of the Commons

06 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Since it was introduced in the 60s, the Tragedy of the Commons, the idea that humans will inevitably ruin any resource we all share, has had sweeping ...

Short Stuff: The Death of Charles Morgan

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

One of the lesser-known cases of American true crime is also a very sad one. Meet Charles Morgan, a man who got in over his head with organized crime....

The Catacombs of Paris

04 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Beneath Paris lies the bones of more than 6 million people. And you can walk among them for 31 euros. These are the Paris catacombs. See omnystud...

Selects: How Itching Works

01 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It was only in the last few decades that science became aware that itches aren't just low-level pain. And in that time, the mystery of how we itch and...

10ish Instances of People Doing Things Out Of Spite

30 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You want payback don’t you? Sure, we all do. We all want it so bad. So bad. Sometimes people do things to get payback against someone who’...

Short Stuff: The Guinness Widget

29 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Guiness beer is famous for its smooth and creamy texture, thanks in part to nitrogen, and also a simplistically brilliant little device called the Gui...