Stuff You Should Know

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.

Society & Culture
176
The Ivy League
The Ivy League is technically a sports conference, but it's much more than that. Enjoy this special 3D episode with your earbuds on and learn all about these revered, elite universities.
49 min
177
Selects: How Snake Handlers Work
Snake handling ranges from professional snake milkers for antivenin to religious handlers who tend to get bitten and sometimes die from it. Either way, it can be a dangerous business. Learn all about snake handling in this classic episode.
54 min
178
How Uranium Mining Works
Mining uranium is dangerous work. Not only does it involve mining, which is dangerous itself, uranium is also found alongside some very radioactive stuff. Learn the ins and outs of this thrilling endeavor in this episode of SYSK.
49 min
179
Short Stuff: Squarer Than Wombat Poop
One of the cutest animals on the planet is also the only one that squeezes out cube-shaped poop. Find out why today.
12 min
180
The Appendix: No Respect
43 min
181
Selects: How Cave Dwellers Work
You know the cavemen, a race of human cousins who lived exclusively in caves? They didn’t exist. Sure prehistoric hominids used caves sometimes but they lived in other places too. Luckily the time they spent in caves has given us a glance at their culture thanks to the protective environments of caves. Learn all about it in this classic episode.
38 min
182
How Corporate Taxes Work
48 min
183
Short Stuff: Ivar The Boneless
Was Ivar the Boneless a real Viking warrior? Probably. Did he really have no bones? Probably not.
10 min
184
Truffles: Underground Treasures
40 min
185
Selects: How Profiling Works
At its base, criminal profiling is a legitimate investigatory tool. The Supreme Court has drawn a clear line that bans profiling when it includes race. So why do we still do it? Take a closer look with Josh and Chuck in this classic episode.
49 min
186
How Stamp Collecting Works
Over the last two centuries philatelists – stamp collectors – have learned just about everything there is to know about every stamp ever printed. You won’t by the end of this episode, but you might be interested enough to start yourself.
54 min
187
Short Stuff: Madam C.J. Walker
Join us today as we dive into the story of the first female self-made millionaire, Madam C.J. Walker.
13 min
188
Mechanical Bulls!
Mechanical bulls are kind of weird, but they have certainly made a place in American pop culture over the years. Largely due to one movie, Urban Cowboy.
45 min
189
Selects: How Tupperware Works
Tupperware won immediate design acclaim when it was released in 1947, but it took a pioneering female executive to make a line of plastic food storage into an icon of the American postwar boom. Learn about the surprisingly intriguing history of Tupperware, in this classic episode.
37 min
190
Hair Loss: The Pits
Losing your hair is a situation that seems to be universally considered to absolutely stink. Unsurprisingly, humans have been trying all sorts of weird stuff to combat hair loss for millennia, but we’re only just now starting to get a handle on it.
57 min
191
Short Stuff: Palindromes
Chuck loves palindromes. So much that his very name is one. Oh wait...
13 min
192
How the Electrical Grid Works
The electrical grid that provides power to the US is one of those things you don’t give a second thought to until it stops working – then it’s tough to think about anything else. Learn why this engineering marvel is past its prime and how to update it.
57 min
193
Selects: The Unsolved Mystery Disappearance of ...
In 1945 a house fire took the lives of five children - except that their bodies were never found. In this classic episode, dive into the longstanding mystery of the odd circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the Sodder children.
44 min
194
Muzak: Easy Listening Goodness
Muzak got a bad reputation as bland garbage music. We aim to set the record straight.
52 min
195
Short Stuff: Venus de Milo
Step into today's short stuff to learn all about the armless wonder!
11 min
196
Havana Syndrome: ¿Qué Diablos?
In 2016, diplomats at the American embassy in Cuba began suffering weird neurological symptoms after hearing strange noises. Some say it was a sonic attack using a secret weapon, but the Havana Syndrome remains a baffling scientific mystery to this day.
41 min
197
Selects: How Circus Families Work
Don't be confused - this one is about actual circus acts made of family members, not the controversial comic strip. Step right up to this classic episode.
44 min
198
How the Titanic Worked: Part Two
After the Titanic sank recriminations and blame followed, sometimes ruining careers unjustifiably. As the decades wore on and she was found almost 2.5 miles down, history rehabilitated some people. The question still remains how to preserve the ship.
48 min
199
Short Stuff: What's the oldest book?
In order to figure out what the oldest book is, one has to define what a book actually is. Listen in as we discuss this debatable topic.
11 min
200
How the Titanic Worked: Part One
When the Titanic set sail on her maiden voyage in April 1912, the world was divided into two types of people: those who considered her unsinkable and those who weren’t so sure about that. Both types were aboard when she went down with 1500 souls.
47 min