Stuff You Should Know
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Rank History (30 days)
Recent Episodes
20 episodesSelects: Flagpole Sitting: A Real Fad
The 1920s were just absolutely nuts. People got into weird fads really intensely and one of the strangest of all was flagpole sitting. It’s just what it sounds like – sitting on top of a flagpole for as long as you can. One man sat above them all. Learn all about him and many of these wild fads in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Fall of the USSR, Pt II
The break-up of the USSR was a tough one for Russia, being the jilted republic. For the entire decade after, the country plunged into a type of controlled chaos, with a rampantly corrupt kleptocracy taking the place of the toppled socialist society.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
SYSK Tribute: Why does everyone love Dolly Parton?
Today we dive in to celebrate the international treasure that is Dolly Parton. Why is she nearly universally loved? Listen in to find out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Short Stuff: Cyclospora
The US has an unusual number of outbreaks of food-borne illness going on in the summer of 2026, and the star of the show is cyclospora. How does this parasite make people sick, where does it come from? You may not want to know.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Fall of the USSR, Pt I
It’s rare that the downfall of an empire can be chalked up to the decisions of just one person. It’s even rarer, when the empire falls over the course of a year. That’s pretty much what happened with the Soviet Union when Mikhail Gorbachev dissolved it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Selects: How Narcolepsy Works
Narcolepsy is one of those amazing rare disorders that everyone thinks they understand – people just fall asleep at random times, even in the middle of doing something. But there’s a lot more to it and – even better – we actually may be able to explain it. Josh and Chuck run it down in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Rope, yeah ROPE!
Rope is one of the unsung heroes of the world of inventions. Think about it. Then let us tell you about it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Short Stuff: Did a shipwreck double the size of the United States?
Did a shipwreck double the size of the United States? Sort of. Listen in to find out what the heck that means.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Isn't It Ironic, Dontcha Think?
Irony is one of those things that you know when you see it, but it’s almost impossible to define. Well, that’s not quite right – there are a ton of definitions for irony but none of them quite capture it fully. Want to know what irony is? So do we!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Selects: The Manhattan Grid
Ever wanted to know more about how the Manhattan grid was made? Well this is your chance. Find out all about it in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Who was Robert Maxwell?
Robert Maxwell was a lot of things, publisher, mogul, spy, politician, crook. But was he murdered when he fell from his yacht?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Short Stuff: Nero and His Fiddle
Did Nero play his fiddle while Rome burned during the Great Fire of 64 CE? Absolutely not. Find out how we know when Chuck and Josh bust a two thousand year-old myth. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Bonnie and Clyde
You've probably seen the movie, but what else do you know about this legendary crime couple? Listen in to find out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Selects: Iran-Contra Affair: Shady in the 80s, Part 2
As the operation expands it also begins to unravel. Word starts to leak out of the illegal stuff the Reagan administration was up to, Congress and the press investigate and people start to point fingers. Spoiler alert – they all got off scot free. Find out how it all wraps up in part 2 of this classic story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Selects: Iran-Contra Affair: Shady in the 80s, Part 1
When Ronald Reagan was president, America got involved in some deeply shady stuff, not the least of which was the Iran-Contra scandal – a convoluted operation that managed to combine an illegal covert war in Nicaragua with secretly selling arms to Iran. Learn all about it with Josh and Chuck in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Reggae: Kingston’s Gift to the World
Although it was built atop some musical styles that came before, reggae is mostly its own thing. It evolved as local music in the Trenchtown neighborhood in Kingston, Jamaica but after Bob Marley and the Wailers came along, it became a global phenomenon.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Short Stuff: Phone Books
Once upon a time there were these things called phone books. Inside you could find the phone number and address of just about everyone in your town. Can you imagine?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Beans and Rice Feeds the World
To call beans and rice a staple is to undersell the importance of beans and rice. Today we break down the ubiquity of this beloved food combo.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Selects: How Peanut Butter Works
No food is more all-American than peanut butter – 80 percent of homes in the country have a jar of it in the pantry right now. And while the rest of the world might find peanut butter peculiar, maybe even gross, the rest of the world is wrong. Enjoy a smooth ride through one of our top condiments in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Russia Shapes What the World Thinks
Operation Doppelganger was a Russian propaganda project discovered in 2022, a minor part of the enormous, ongoing disinformation and chaos-sewing campaign Russia spreads across the world through social media. And some of your views may have come from it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.