Stuff You Should Know

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...

Short Stuff: Straitjackets

10 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Straitjackets aren't really a thing anymore unless you're watching a movie or TV show. Or in prison. That's the sad truth.See omnystudio.com/listener ...

The 1977 Women's Conference That Changed America

09 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The 70s were the decade of the woman in the US. America finally was coming around to the understanding women and men are equals and the government spo...

Selects: All the Gold In Fort Knox: Meh

06 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When Fort Knox was built in the 1930s to house America’s gold supply, it was billed as an impenetrable, impregnable, don’t-even-think-of-trying va...

The Everglades: Wowee

04 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of America’s most important ecosystems takes up more than half the state of Florida. It’s a river of grass, a cactus desert, and a saltwater b...

Short Stuff: Knock on Wood

03 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What's the deal with knocking on wood? It's an action one takes to ensure good luck. Which doesn't exist. Yet we do it. Humans are funny that way.See ...

Greedflation Is Real

02 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of the things we rely on is for the companies who make the stuff we need to not stick it to us, the customer. But it’s become painfully clear t...

Selects: Who is The Man of the Hole?

30 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2018, there's a man from a lost tribe still living deep in the jungles of Brazil who has been all alone since the mid 1990s. He's referred to as th...

The Pulitzer Prize: A major award!

28 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It doesn't get much bigger than the Pulitzer Prize if you're a journalist. Or a novelist. Or really any kind of writer. They even give them to podcast...

Short Stuff: Ramree Island Crocodile Massacre

27 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The strange thing about the story of the Ramree Island Crocodile Massacre is that it didn't happen. Yet the story lives on. See omnystudio.com/listen...

Love Canal: Even Dirtier Than It Sounds

26 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A man with an unfulfilled vision left a huge gash in the ground near Niagara Falls. Then a chemical company came along and filled it with toxic waste....

Selects: MOVE: Or When the Philly Police Dropped a Bomb on a Residential Neighborhood

23 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Believe it or not, in 1985 the Philadelphia Police Department dropped a bomb from a helicopter onto a residential building in an African-American neig...

Peanuts (the comic) Part II

21 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today is part II of our tribute to one of the most iconic pieces of American culture.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Short Stuff: Mariko Aoki Phenomenon

20 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ten percent of people – in Japan at least – get the urge to poop when they visit bookstores. But it wasn’t until a courageous woman stepped up a...

Peanuts (the comic) Part I

19 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today we pay tribute to one of the most iconic pieces of American culture. Listen in to hear us gush about Charlie Brown, Lucy, Snoopy and the rest of...

Selects: How Dyslexia Works

16 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For a learning disability that everyone seems to know about, dyslexia is maybe the most commonly misunderstood and controversial cognitive difficulty ...

The Alien Abduction Phenomenon of the Mid-20th Century

14 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It started with New Hampshire couple Betty and Barney Hill, who learned under hypnosis they’d been abducted and examined by aliens in 1962. Since th...

Short Stuff: Skittles and TIO2

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There’s an ingredient in Skittles and lots of other food that Dunkin Donuts stopped using it in their powdered donuts. Skittles said they were phasi...

Leave Brutalism Alone!

12 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The most reviled, hated, despised, no-good, low down, dirty rotten architectural style of all time is actually just the most misunderstood. Learn abou...

Selects: The Science of Break-Ups

09 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Breaking up is hard to do. Your brain might even think you're getting over a cocaine addiction. Learn all about the science behind break-ups in this c...

The Smiley, Stubborn Llama

07 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Llamas are pretty great. They smile! They also spit and if they feel overworked will just lay down. There's a lot to admire there.See omnystudio.com/l...

Short Stuff: Roly Poly...Bugs?

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Roly Poly bugs go by many names. They look like tiny armadillos. They're great for your garden. And they're crustaceans. Yeah, you read that right. S...

Multitasking: Working slower with worse results

05 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Multitasking isn't really possible, because of the way the human brain works. We know you think you're getting more done, but you're really working sl...

Selects: The Case of Sacco and Vanzetti

02 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The trial of Sacco and Vanzetti, two anarchists accused of murder, was one of the first "crimes of the century." But did they do it? To this day there...

Wireless Electricity: When Can We Unplug Our TVs?

29 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You know all of those cords and cables and wires that we use to connect our stuff to the electrical grid so they’ll, you know, work? Imagine a day w...

Short Stuff: Smudging: Not just for hippies

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Smudging is the process of wafting around the smoke of burning white sage. What is it good for? Listen in and find out.See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Haile Selassie: Statesman, Colonizer, God?

27 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you grew up outside of Africa, you might know Haile Selassie’s name from reggae music - the man who ruled Ethiopia is considered a god in Jamaica...

Selects: How Zero Population Growth Works

24 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1968, Paul Erlich published The Population Bomb, predicting coming famine and mass death. Erlich's predictions didn't pan out but his ideas launche...

The Story of the Nuclear Boy Scout

22 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

David Hahn was a kid who was really into science. So much that he built a nuclear reactor in his mother's potting shed. And it worked. See omnystudio...

Short Stuff: Benin Bronzes

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of the world’s cultural treasure troves were created in West Africa. But for over a century they’ve been held in museums outside of Africa. In...

Ray and Charles Eames: More than Chairs

20 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Charles and Ray Eames were superstar designers who dreamed up some of the most iconic pieces of furniture ever made. And they did much more than that....

Selects: Geodesic Domes: The Wave of the Future That Wasn't

17 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes a good idea doesn’t pan out in real life. Take Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome: It requires less energy to heat and cool, it’s chea...

Like, here's the episode on "like"

15 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Like is a very divisive word. Purists think it's like, a filler word born in the 80s that's like, destroying the English language. Turns out none of t...

Short Stuff: The Original Snake Oil Salesman

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a great origin story behind snake oil salesmen, and it has to do with just one guy who singlehandedly gave it a bad name.See omnystudio.com/...