Stuff You Should Know

Short Stuff: Flower Power

02 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What we equate with acid, hippies, and garish polyester prints actually began as a theatrical way of protesting bans on free speech and the Vietnam Wa...

The Shadow Biosphere: Is There Other Life on Earth?

01 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As far as we know life evolved once in the universe – here on Earth in the form of life as we know it. Could life have originated in other condition...

Selects: Rosa Parks: Agent of Change

28 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rosa Parks finishes out our Black History Month episodes in grand fashion. While most know her from that fateful day on the Montgomery city bus, she a...

The Judas Priest Suicide Trial

26 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A greatest hit of the Satanic Panic of the 1980s came when the metal band Judas Priest was put on trial for the suicides of two teens. While the case ...

Short Stuff: The SS Ourang Medang

25 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We love our ghost ships here at SYSK and this is one of the better ones. But did it really even exist? Not likely. See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

Four Eyes Good: The History of Glasses

24 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Glasses as we know them have only been around for a few hundred years. So what did people do before this? And how did things change once spectacles we...

Selects: How Government Shutdowns Work

21 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Every year Congress decides how the federal government will spend money. Simple enough, but in practice politics tend to mess it up. Sometimes it gets...

Tom Slick: Not the Cartoon

19 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There's a good chance that if you don't live in San Antonio, Texas, you may not know who scientist/adventurer Tom Slick is. Today we tackle the story ...

Short Stuff: The Killing Stone

18 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Killing Stone looms large in Japanese folklore, so when it split in half in March 2022, people were worried it would bring devastating effects in ...

Would A Love Drug Be Ethical?

17 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What if science could create a drug that made you connect with people more deeply, let your emotions flow more openly, and sparked love and attachment...

Selects: The Manson Family Murders Part 2

14 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Listen in to this classic episode for the conclusion of the story of the Manson Family Murders.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Celebration Florida: The Story of a Utopia that Never Was

12 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The town of Celebration, Florida was supposed to be a utopia. What it ended up as is a mediocre neighborhood on the outskirts of Disney World. See om...

Short Stuff: Uncle Sam Wants YOU!

11 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Who is Uncle Sam anyway? Was it a real person or just a marketing exercise? And why does he refuse to go away? Listen in to find out.See omnystudio.co...

Henry Ford: The Good, Bad and Ugly

10 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Henry Ford was an odd guy, but one who had a vision for America that centered around a populist, affordable and reliable automobile. He was also a not...

Selects: How Futurology Works

07 Sep 2024

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...

Ludwig II: The Only Real King of the 19th Century

05 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Outside of Germany, King Ludwig II is relatively unknown. And, yet, he is one of history’s most tragic and romantic kings. He was a gay icon and a r...

Short Stuff: Rescuing Mistreated Pets

04 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You – yes, you! – can be a hero to neglected and abused animals. But there’s a right way to do it, and that does not involve sneaking onto a nei...

The History of Streaming Music

03 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When Napster reared its head in 1999, it marked the beginning of the end of the compact disc era. Today, we trace the history of the slowly evolving d...

Selects: The Manson Family Murders Part 1

31 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The '60s ended with a lot of turbulence, not the least of which was the Manson Family Murders. What made Charles Manson so alluring to his family? Wha...

How Bomb Disposal Works

29 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Out of all the jobs a person can have, few are as overtly dangerous as making sure bombs don’t go off and if they do, making sure they’re away fro...

Short Stuff: Skid Row (not the band)

28 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How did a large section of downtown Los Angeles become a permanent fixture of unhoused individuals? Will it always be this way? Listen in to learn all...

The Strange Story of the 1904 Olympic Marathon

27 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Olympic marathon of 1904 is an incredible story filled with wacky characters, cheating, heat and humidity, dust and dirt, and oh yeah, a few actua...

Selects: Hummingbirds: Ornery Helicopters of the Animal Kingdom

24 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you didn’t already know how amazing hummingbirds are, prepare to learn. Not only do they count among their numbers the smallest bird species, the...

The Luddites: Misunderstood Working Class Heroes

22 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today we think of Luddites as people who don’t know how to use technology or are maybe even afraid of it. That’s pretty far from what the original...

Short Stuff: Chupacabra

21 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What in the world is a chupacabra? Is it even real or is it the stuff of legend? Listen in to find out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor...

True Mysteries of the Internet

20 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There is A LOT of made-up stuff on the internet that gets passed off as true. But once in a while something truly odd comes along. Here are three stor...

Selects: Body Language!

17 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Body language is how you communicate without words. Some say it bears more impact in communication than speaking words. In this classic episode, learn...

The Cher Episode

15 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Cher is an icon, with hits spanning an unbelievable SEVEN decades. So kick back as we laud the singer/actress/legend. See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Short Stuff: Tarring and Feathering

14 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Being tarred and feathered is an old trope in America, but the actuality of it was pretty brutal, not the least of which included burning skin. Let's ...

Minecraft! Minecraft! Minecraft!

13 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s so simple, yet so compelling: you mine blocks and cut down trees to put things together to make cool new stuff. There isn’t really a point an...

Selects: Genghis Khan: Madman or Genius?

10 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Depending on who you talk to, Genghis Khan was either a sadistic madman or one of the great leaders in world history. One thing is sure, he was one of...

The Call of the Void: Don’t Pick Up!

08 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Many of us have experienced the odd sensation that we shouldn’t trust ourselves not to simply jump from a high place for no reason. Some even feel a...

Short Stuff: Pruney Skin

07 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We know how our skin prunes, but we don't know for sure why. Chuck likes the leading theory, Josh does not. WHO WILL WIN? (nobody)See omnystudio.com/l...

The Story of Rudolf Diesel

06 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rudolf Diesel was a game changing inventor, though his most famous product was not used how he envisioned it. Listen in and learn about his life and m...

Selects: Timber! How Timber Works

03 Aug 2024

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...

The One About Car Washes

01 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The car wash you get to ride through on a journey to sparklingness is made of a handful of different tools that have been developed over the last cent...

Short Stuff: ZIP Codes!

31 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

ZIP codes are pretty self-explanatory, but there are all kinds of fun facts around the topic. Listen in to find out.See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

Who was Dr. Bronner?

30 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You may have his soap in your shower, but what do you know about the man himself? Buckle up, here comes Dr. Bronner!See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

Selects: The Tulsa 'Race Riots'

27 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In reality, the Tulsa "race riots" of 1921 was more like a massacre. Yet it was almost lost to history until 1997, and still not widely known outside ...

The KILLDOZER Rampage

25 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Killdozer rampage is one of those stories you just couldn't make up. Yet it happened. And we're here to tell you the story. See omnystudio.com/li...

Short Stuff: The Ritchie Boys

24 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Who were the Ritchie Boys? Listen in to find out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Phone Phreaking: The Advent of Hacking

23 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Years ago the telephone network was like the internet is to us today: a vast, interconnected means of communicating and sharing information. And, like...

Selects: The Duality of Caffeine

20 Jul 2024

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 this cla...

HPV and You

18 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Human papilloma virus, HPV, is an unusually common bug among humans. Most of the time it’s benign and your body manages to overcome the infection. S...

Short Stuff: Sitzpinklers Unite

17 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sitzpinklers - men who sit down to pee - is a big thing in Germany, and a handful of other places. And if Josh and Chuck have any say it’ll catch on...

The Puritans in America

16 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The founding of New England by the Puritans is quite a story. Today, we dive into who those people were.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...

Selects: Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, Feminist Physician

13 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Becoming the first licensed woman physician in America was tough, convincing male surgeons to wash their hands between patients was even tougher. In t...

Salsa: NOT THE DANCE

11 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Salsa is one of the great inventions of the culinary world. Here in the USA it's mainly a vehicle for tortilla chips. In Mexico, it's more like a sauc...

Short Stuff: Milk Wars

10 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re a mobster and you can’t make money off of booze any longer what should you move to next? How about milk?See omnystudio.com/listener for ...

Jane Goodall: All Good

09 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There aren’t too many people walking around today who get a pass from the entire world for anything remotely negative they do or say. That’s just ...

Selects: How the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Work, Part II

06 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this classic episode, we finish revisiting our 2017 tour of the best sights of the ancient world when we get deep into the history of a lighthouse ...

Salute to Women Inventors

04 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Women inventors have always had a tough time, for obvious reasons. So we're here today to pay tribute to those who persevered in the face of the laws ...

Short Stuff: POW Olympics

03 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

While it sounds like something out of a movie, some POWs in WWII really held an Olympics. And it happened more than once. See omnystudio.com/listener...

How Dopamine Works

02 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dopamine is perhaps the most talked-about, most misunderstood biochemical in our bodies. It’s linked to not only addiction and depravity, but also f...

Selects: How Restaurant Health Inspections Work

29 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you've ever worked in a restaurant, you know the feeling that occurs when the health inspector pays a visit. While nerve wracking, it's the best in...

EXTRA! EXTRA! The Newsboy Strike Episode!

27 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When paperboys stopped delivering a couple of very big newspapers in 1899 it was a big deal. Big enough that the two biggest publishers in the world g...

Short Stuff: James Dean's Car

26 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The story of what happened to the car that James Dean crashed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whistling!

25 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Whistling is pretty cool when you think about it because it can mean many things, from simple happy tunes to legit communication. Learn all about this...

Selects: How the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Work, Part I

22 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Long before slide rulers and pocket protectors, civilizations across the world used their noggins to build some impressive structures. Almost all have...

The Big Episode on Wikipedia

20 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Wikipedia changed the world. Before it came along, you had to go to the library to get the answers you sought. And you and your friends had to just ag...

Short Stuff: Hostile Architecture

19 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Those armrests in the middle of benches aren’t just for your comfort, they’re intended to keep the homeless from laying on them. Cities are filled...

Why Must Widowhood Be So Difficult?

18 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In almost every part of the world, in some form or fashion, widows have things harder than they did when their spouses were alive. In some places it m...

Selects: The Murder Mystery of Ötzi the Iceman

15 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

About 5,300 years ago a Copper Age shepherd was murdered. He just happened to die in a place where his body was so well preserved that gave researcher...

A Brief History of Air Travel

13 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today we take to the friendly skies to detail the fascinating history of air travel. From planes with piano bars and lounges to the current no frills ...

Short Stuff: Peace Sign

12 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The peace sign is one of the most globally recognized symbols around today, but it’s only a few decades old. And it wasn’t the hippies who created...

Coercive Control, the Invisible Basis of Abuse

11 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When we think of an abused spouse we tend to think of horrific physical or emotional violence. But over the last decade or so, it’s become clear tha...

Selects: Sunburn, Suntans and Sunscreen

08 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It's pretty obvious something's gone wrong when you get a sunburn, but did you know a tan means you've damaged your DNA? Dive into the three Ss of sum...

The Ballad of Grit

06 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the last decade American schools became enrapt by a new psychological concept centered on persevering. Things went south when they started attachin...

Short Stuff: Amber Alerts

05 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Learn all about the saddest phone notification in today's episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Conductors: What the heck is going on there?

04 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You've probably been to a symphony performance and wondered, what in the heck are conductors doing up there anyway? Well we're here to explain that as...

Selects: What are think tanks all about?

01 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Think tanks? More like stink tanks! We're kidding. Think tanks do valuable work, when they operate in a non-partisan way of course. Learn all about th...

The Guinness Book of Records

30 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you grew up in the 70s and 80s in America, you probably have the image of your tattered Guinness Book of Records. The book was ubiquitous then, but...

Short Stuff: What's a mudlarker?

29 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Mudlarking is a uniquely British hobby, though you can dig through river mud anywhere there's a river. But the Thames has the good stuff. See omnystu...

The shameful and harrowing story of Unit 731

28 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Unit 731 was a secret group within the Japanese Army in WWII that committed unspeakable atrocities against humans in the name of scientific research. ...

Selects: How Vomit Phobia Works

25 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

No one - no one - likes to vomit, but there are some people who would prefer to die rather than vomit, people who spend their days worrying they will ...

J. Edgar Hoover: Evil G-Man Pt. 2

23 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the exciting conclusion of our two-part episode on Hoover, we come in at the Cold War and end on a strange note.See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

Short Stuff: Hobo Signs

22 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

By definition hobos are people who travel from town to town taking odd jobs as they go. But some towns are friendlier than others, and hobos developed...

J. Edgar Hoover: Evil G-Man Pt. 1

21 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that J. Edgar Hoover was perhaps the most powerful American of the 20th century. By the time he established t...

Selects: The Great War of the Worlds Panic Myth

18 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On Halloween 1938 young radio star Orson Welles scared the pants off of America with a fictional news bulletin claiming Martians had landed and were d...

The Silurian Hypothesis

16 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The idea that we aren’t the first advanced civilization to live on Earth sounds like a fringe theory, but it raises a good question: How can we be s...

Short Stuff: Zambonis!

15 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Even the dullest hockey game is worth seeing when the Zamboni comes out to resurface the ice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NYC Trash: A study in persistence

14 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Taking care of 12,000 tons of residential trash every day is a hard job. But how does that even work? Listen in to marvel at the NYC sanitation system...

Selects: How Stuttering Works

11 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Despite as much as one percent of the adult population having the condition, science doesn't actually know how stuttering works. The best it's come up...

10 - Yes, 10! - Dumb Criminals

09 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes you just have to turn it off for a while – all the thinking, and overthinking, analyzing, and figuring out. Sometimes it’s nice to just ...

Short Stuff: Titanic Survivors!

08 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We all know the story of the Titanic and the tragedy of lives lost. So hey, let's talk about the survivors for a change!See omnystudio.com/listener fo...

Misophonia: More Than an Annoyance

07 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Misophonia is a condition in which certain sounds trigger people in very negative ways that can really disrupt someone's life. Listen in today to lear...

Selects: The Legends of Lost Nazi Gold

04 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As if being murdering SOBs weren’t enough, the Nazis were also thieving rats. During WWII, they stole billons in gold from countries they overran an...

Atomic Clocks, Ahoy!

02 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The only thing more complicated than an atomic clock is researching how they work and then figuring out how to explain it to other people. But believe...

Short Stuff: Getting Winded

01 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Getting the wind knocked out of you is scary, but passes quickly. Learn exactly what's happening with all that today.See omnystudio.com/listener for p...

The Village People Episode

30 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Village People were a smash hit singing group that came and went in under two years. Then other people performed under that name for several decad...

Selects: How the Beagle Brigade Works

27 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you've ever been to an international airport, you've probably seen one of the keenest spotters of illegal contraband - The Beagle Brigade! These cu...

The Awful Crimes of Georgia Tann

25 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Georgia Tann was a bad human. We feel safe in saying that because she kidnapped babies from poor families to sell to wealthy ones. Listen in if you ca...

Short Stuff: The Sad, Strange Tale of Margaret Schilling

24 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Not too much is known about Margaret Schilling. She was the kind of person whose memory might have been lost to time had she not left behind an indeli...

The Power of the Wind

23 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You probably know wind energy projects have been around since the 90s, but did you know they now provide 10% of America’s energy, and more than that...

Selects: Special Effects: A Short History

20 Apr 2024

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...

Hitchhiking: Two thumbs out!

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today we go down the road a bit, thumbs out, to explore the rich history of hitchhiking. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Short Stuff: The Amazing Tale of Juliane Koepcke

17 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Few people have been more qualified to survive a plane crash alone in the Amazon for almost two weeks than Juliane Koepcke. Let’s hear her story.See...

The Dubious Science of Arson Investigation

16 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Arson investigation has changed a lot over the years. There is actual science available now, but the word still hasn't totally gotten out. Listen in t...

Selects: How Famines Work

13 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It's common knowledge that famines are usually caused by major droughts: Rain doesn't fall, crops don't grow, and people go hungry. But recent resear...

Testosterone and Estrogen: Wondrous Hormones

11 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We think of estrogen and testosterone as the female and male sex hormones and they may seem kind of gross (is that just Josh?), but that simple unders...