Podcasts · Society & Culture

Stuff You Should Know

iHeartPodcasts

300 episodes

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.

Episodes page 2 of 6

  1. The Fall of the USSR, Pt II

    · 44 min

    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…

  2. SYSK Tribute: Why does everyone love Dolly Parton?

    · 55 min

    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.

  3. Short Stuff: Cyclospora

    · 14 min

    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…

  4. The Fall of the USSR, Pt I

    · 41 min

    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…

  5. Selects: How Narcolepsy Works

    · 53 min

    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 –…

  6. Rope, yeah ROPE!

    · 44 min

    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.

  7. Short Stuff: Did a shipwreck double the size of the United States?

    · 12 min

    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.

  8. Isn't It Ironic, Dontcha Think?

    · 49 min

    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…

  9. Selects: The Manhattan Grid

    · 48 min

    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.

  10. Who was Robert Maxwell?

    · 47 min

    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.

  11. Short Stuff: Nero and His Fiddle

    · 12 min

    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.

  12. Bonnie and Clyde

    · 54 min

    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.

  13. Selects: Iran-Contra Affair: Shady in the 80s, Part 2

    · 43 min

    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…

  14. Selects: Iran-Contra Affair: Shady in the 80s, Part 1

    · 46 min

    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…

  15. Reggae: Kingston’s Gift to the World

    · 55 min

    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…

  16. Short Stuff: Phone Books

    · 15 min

    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.

  17. Beans and Rice Feeds the World

    · 43 min

    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.

  18. Selects: How Peanut Butter Works

    · 57 min

    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…

  19. How Russia Shapes What the World Thinks

    · 43 min

    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…

  20. Short Stuff: Shark Arm Murders

    · 16 min

    Get yer info on one of Australia’s great true crime cases he-re! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  21. The Beloved Judy Blume

    · 45 min

    Judy Blume is more than an author. She's a legend in teen literature for her frank and honest portrayals of adolescence. Today we pay tribute to her. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  22. Selects: Plant Migration

    · 46 min

    Climate change is having sweeping effects on our climate and this is changing the world, not just for humans and other animals, but plants too. Will the Earth’s flora manage to find safe refuge in time? Josh and Chuck…

  23. What's the deal with Swiss neutrality?

    · 48 min

    We all know Switzerland is neutral. But why? Listen in and you might learn something. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  24. Short Stuff: Sardines!

    · 12 min

    Josh implored Chuck to try sardines. Did he? Listen in to find out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  25. The Tobacco Master Settlement: That Time We Got Em

    · 47 min

    By the 1990s, cigarette makers had been hooking and killing off their customers for about a century. And they’d gotten good at both as well as covering up their harms. In 1994 they were still denying cigarettes were…

  26. Selects: The Soul Train Episode

    · 47 min

    In this classic episode, Chuck and Josh dive into the funky, cool world of the classic TV show, Sooooooooul Train. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  27. White Boy Rick

    · 49 min

    Would you believe that Detroit’s crack epidemic in the mid-80s was overseen by one 16 year-old white kid who supplied all the coke? No? Well, that’s not quite true, so okay. The actual story is even more nutso than…

  28. Short Stuff: The Voice of God

    · 15 min

    Today we salute the great Don LaFontaine, aka The Voice of God in movie and TV trailers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  29. You Are Not Alone With Postpartum Depression

    · 46 min

    Most new moms get the baby blues soon after giving birth. Postpartum depression is something much different - the symptoms are similar, but their intensity can have sweeping effects on mom, baby, and the whole family.…

  30. Selects: The First Road Trip

    · 50 min

    Back when cars were a brand new thing, before people even knew they'd stick around, two men and a dog drove from San Francisco to New York. This classic episode has their story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…

  31. Eleanor Roosevelt: Best First Lady

    · 47 min

    Eleanor Roosevelt was something else. We can't get into it here, but just wait until you listen to this episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  32. Short Stuff: Great Britain

    · 13 min

    Now that it’s been 250 years since America split from England, we figure enough time has passed that we can finally learn the difference between the UK, Great Britain, and the British Isles. See…

  33. Kola: The World’s Deepest Hole

    · 46 min

    During the Cold War all eyes were on the Space Race between the US and USSR. But there was another, overlooked race too and it went in the opposite direction. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  34. Selects: Chopsticks > Forks

    · 51 min

    In this classic episode, Chuck and Josh sit and converse on the simple, elegant chopstick. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  35. Alaska Earthquake of 1964

    · 37 min

    When a 9.2 quake shoook Alaska in 1964 it was the 2nd largest earthquake ever recorded. This is that story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  36. Short Stuff: Toronto Clown Riot

    · 12 min

    Those are three words you probably never thought you’d see together. And the true story is just as interesting as it sounds. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  37. The Hillsborough Disaster

    · 46 min

    When a crush of football fans killed 97 people in England in 1989, police and officials engaged in a massive cover-up to blame it on drunken fans. Today we tell that story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…

  38. Selects: How Enron Fooled the World

    · 1 h 00 min

    Until 2007, the largest single corporate bankruptcy was Enron, a $67 billion energy trading company. Its decline was breathtaking, and while it’s a fascinating story of corporate malfeasance and greed, it’s also about…

  39. Freetown Christiania

    · 37 min

    The sort of commune of Freetown Christiania in Denmark may not be what it used to be, but it's still true to many of its original values. Learn all about this unique neighborhood today. See omnystudio.com/listener for…

  40. Short Stuff: Why does it feel good to be scared?

    · 12 min

    Fear is different than being scared, most notably because fear is generally a negative thing and being scared can cause an enjoyable thrill. We'll get into the difference in today's episode. See…

  41. Some Interesting Curses

    · 48 min

    Even though curses aren’t real – and we go to great pains to make that clear – they are pretty interesting, especially ones you haven’t heard of before. So we dug deep and found some of the curses that don’t always hog…

  42. Selects: Birthmarks: Probably Not the Mark of the Devil

    · 50 min

    It’s a pretty safe assumption that people have been born with birthmarks since humanity began, and between then and now we’ve come up with some wacky, even dangerous, explanations for them – even a few that survive…

  43. The Stuff You Should Know Doin’ Science Playlist: How Chaos Theory Changed the Universe

    · 55 min

    • Since the age of Descartes, science has put all of its eggs in the basket of determinism, the idea that with accurate enough measurements any aspect of the universe could be predicted. But the universe, it turns out,…

  44. The Stuff You Should Know Doin’ Science Playlist: How Global Warming Works

    · 1 h 00 min

    It's a confusing part of climate change when it seems winter is as cold as ever, but as global temperatures creep ever so slightly higher, a cascade of catastrophic events will almost surely follow. The ball is in…

  45. The Stuff You Should Know Doin’ Science Playlist: How X-Rays Work

    · 39 min

    Like many huge discoveries, X-rays were accidentally stumbled upon. That serendipity led to a medical breakthrough still in use today. Learn about how X-rays are created and why they make such delightful images of our…

  46. The Stuff You Should Know Doin’ Science Playlist: Elastics: Where God and Science Smooch

    · 52 min

    You could be forgiven for thinking the story behind elastics was boring. You’d still be wrong, though. The story of what’s holding up your underwear is a global drama, replete with war, industrial espionage,…

  47. The Stuff You Should Know Doin’ Science Playlist: Can Nuclear Fusion Reactors Save The World?

    · 44 min

    The world's energy consumption is ruining the planet but for decades physicists have been working on what could solve the world's energy and climate change woes for centuries to come - nuclear fusion. Learn about…

  48. The Stuff You Should Know Doin’ Science Playlist: How Occam's Razor Works

    · 40 min

    You know the rule that says the simplest explanation is probably the correct one? That’s called a razor and it’s meant to guide logic. But over time it’s become a broadsword used to disprove opposing arguments. Learn…

  49. The Stuff You Should Know Doin’ Science Playlist: Things We Believed Before the Scientific Method

    · 1 h 00 min

    It’s easy to think of people in the distant past as kinda dumb for believing things like that mice could spontaneously generate from old grain. But if you look a little deeper, you’ll find there was a sensibility to…

  50. The Stuff You Should Know Doin’ Science Playlist: How Big Bang Theory Works, with Neil deGrasse Tyson

    · 1 h 08 min

    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 details of the early universe and hear Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson talk…

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