Swing states are all the rage once again this election season, but the makeup has changed a bit. In this classic episode, learn all about what makes a swing state a swing state right now. See…
The SYSK boys continue the episode on stand-up comedy in part two, placing it in the rarefied company of other two-parters like Evel Knievel, the Hoover Dam, and the Trail of Tears. In this ep:…
Why do clothing styles get stale and then come back into fashion? Listen in to find out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chuck and Josh do their best to tackle “the craft,” which most normal people call stand-up comedy. Stand-up dates back to the vaudeville days but it really started to take off in the 60s when comics…
Bras are loved and hated, sometimes at the same time. But as difficult and restrictive as they can be, they rescued women from a much cruel contraption: corsets. The question remains, though, do…
Basically everything you think of when you think of vampires, mummies, werewolves, and Frankenstein all come from a spate of films made in the 1930s, and every one of them by Universal Pictures.…
Is retirement bad for your health? Well it certainly can be if you don't take steps to prevent it. Listen in to learn more about the "retirement curse." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…
The history of golf is a bit muddled, but once it was truly born in Scotland, it started the beginning of lifelong obsessions for people dumb enough to pick up a club and give it a try. Learn all…
It’s time to get jazzed up for some Earth science of the waterlogged variety. Join Chuck and Josh in this classic episode as they tour some of the most interesting ecosystems on the planet and learn…
In today's episode, we detail the life and times of ettiquette queen Emily Post. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mabon is often called the Pagan Thanksgiving but though it seems like it’s as ancient as Halloween, it’s actually only around 50 years old. But, pagan or not, it’s a great chance to really feel the…
No you’re no dreaming – go ahead, pinch yourself – we’ve finally made an episode on dreams! We’ve done episodes on lucid dreaming, night terrors, sleepwalking, sleep paralysis – basically everything…
The advent of nuclear weapons and the Cold War kicked off a craze in the US for building rec rooms with foot-thick reinforced walls and outfitted with survival rations and board games. Would they…
Throughout the history of the world, there have been many cases of what is known as collective hysteria - groups of people, usually young women, who all exhibit the same physical symptoms of…
The Philadelphia Experiment is a bad movie from the 1980s, and also the conspiracy theory that refuses to die, despite virtually zero evidence of its occurrence. Learn all about this strange…
Mermaids aren't real. That much we know. But the history and lore of these magical and sometimes menacing creatures of the sea is pretty interesting stuff. Learn all about these half women/half fish…
In 1960 physicist Freeman Dyson suggested that in the hunt for alien life, we should search for evidence of massive engineering projects that encapsulate stars with solar arrays to harness their…
When the Mary Celeste was discovered floating and abandoned in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean one day in 1872, the legend of the ghost ship was born. Why did the Mary Celeste’s crew disappear? Was…
In 1987, a very strange broadcast intrusion occurred in the city of Chicago. For just a couple of minutes, the odd TV character Max Headroom appeared onscreen in the middle of an episode of Dr. Who.…
Dragons are like mermaids in that they're not real. And that's about where the comparison ends. Learn all about dragons today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Hotel Cecil in downtown Los Angeles has had no less than 16 unnatural deaths, from suicides to murders and everything in between. Listen in to the history of this decidedly creepy hotel. See…
The famous blue people of Kentucky are no longer blue. But why were they like that in the first place? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Seeing your near twin is probably pretty weird. But could there be a genetic commonality as well? You bet there could! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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.com/listener for privacy information.
Cancer is a terrible word in any language for at least two reasons: It’s incredibly difficult to get rid of once it grows in the body, and there’s a very good chance that you or someone close to you…
You know the leisure suit, perhaps the tackiest suit to ever be invented. It was so huge in the 70s and spread as wide the lapels of the shirts worn with them. Then, as fast as they hit the scene…
Are there benefits to boredom? Or is it all negative? Why do we get bored? What can we do to break free from boredom? The answers to those questions and more are coming your way today. See…
Wasps have a bad rap. Because their sting really hurts and they don't make honey like their cousins. But they are super cool and you shouldn't kill them. Listen to this classic episode and learn! See…
Why does the story of The Odyssey endure this many years after it was first spoken? Listen in to find out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the 1920s, a certain set of women wanted to loosen up and have a good time. Today, we get into it with the flappers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Today we tell the story of the kids TV network that changed it all, Nickelodeon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Blacksmiths? You got that right. Learn all about this age old occupation in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the 80s, a pair of psychologists theorized why being part of a group can change people’s thoughts and feelings, both about themselves and other people. It sounds dry, but SIT explains everything…
Japanese nuclear worker Hisashi Ouchi is often called on the internet “the world’s most radioactive man.” That’s not exactly true, but it gets the point across about how severe the fatal dose of…
It is to the great nation of Canada’s lasting credit that it has prized Terry Fox as one of the most beloved and admired citizens for nearly 50 years now. It’s difficult to get across how much he…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
Get yer info on one of Australia’s great true crime cases he-re! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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…
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…
We all know Switzerland is neutral. But why? Listen in and you might learn something. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Josh implored Chuck to try sardines. Did he? Listen in to find out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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…
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.
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…
Today we salute the great Don LaFontaine, aka The Voice of God in movie and TV trailers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
In this classic episode, Chuck and Josh sit and converse on the simple, elegant chopstick. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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.
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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
It evolved over centuries to become the gold standard for conducting scientific inquiry. Yet many people - including some scientists - don't fully understand it. Learn about the basis of how we…
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…
If you’ve ever wanted to listen to two totally untrained, non-chemists who are fully unqualified to explain how the periodic table works nervously explain how the periodic table works, then this…
Chuck loved M*A*S*H. Josh didn't. Listen in as they fight to the death. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Does singing make you happy? Yes, yes it does. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
You can make a pretty good case that the rise of opinion “news” and filter bubbles on cable tv created the current cultural and political schism that plagues American society. How did it start? Where…
Back in the day, broadcasters were bound by law to provide contrasting opinions on political matters. Why? Because of the Fairness Doctrine. What happened to it? Listen to this classic episode and…
Today we dive into the unremorseful life of NYC Subway vigilante Bernhard Goetz. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Harvesting rainwater has tons of upsides and not many downsides – you just need to take a few precautions first. Don’t miss this episode, which features some Josh Math™. See omnystudio.com/listener…
They say that smiling requires fewer muscles than frowning, so why not smile? That doesn’t seem to be true, or at least unproven, and there is lots more about smiling that will keep you glued to your…
Josh and Chuck delve into the world of 911 in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The disaster at Three Mile Island thankfully did not cost any lives directly, but the notion that it didn't harm people is very much up in the air. Learn all about the worst nuclear disaster in the…
In 1955, the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance motor race took a very dark turn when a terrible accident on the track continued into the crowd. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Van Gogh lived a troubled life and did not garner attention as a painter until after his death by suicide. Today we dive into this complicated journey as an artist. See omnystudio.com/listener for…
The question of Shakespeare's authorship has been around since at least the mid-1800s. Is there anything to it? In this classic episode, we dig in to this dense topic to find out. See…
From 1968 to 1972 Howard Hughes holed up in a suite in the Desert Inn casino in Las Vegas. Addicted to morphine and living on candy bars and milk, he was in bad shape. When he was told to leave, he…
Does knuckle cracking give you arthritis? It doesn't appear to. But that doesn't mean it's harmless. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There are quacks and then there is Linda Hazzard. Not only did she starve her patients to death, but she took their family fortunes as she did it. This is the story of Starvation Heights. See…
Flight attendants have come a long way. From having to put up with rampant sexism, to the current incarnation as your first line of defense in case of an incident, they are valued airline employees.…
One of the darkest days in the history of American law enforcement came on April 19, 1993, when the FBI’s 51-day siege of the Branch Davidian religious sect’s compound in Waco, Texas ended with a…
Are BPAs safe? Of course not. Does the FDA care? Of course not. Learn all about what and why today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Eels are pretty much objectively unsettling. They’re not quite fish (although they are) and if they’re snakes, they’re messed up snakes (they aren’t). But they’re fascinating too! There are even…
George Mallory was a member of the first three European expeditions to Everest, world’s tallest mountain. He wanted to summit it so badly, he gave his life trying. Since that fateful day in 1924,…
Hard to believe we haven't covered this one yet, but here we are. Why did the Hindenburg crash and burn? We still don't really know. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Strange but true, actor Tippi Hedron kickstsarted the Vietnamese manicure industry in the United States in the 1970s. This is that story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
If you don’t believe in any kind of god or afterlife - or even that there’s a meaning to life – does that mean you’re doomed to a life of gloom and doom? Heck no!, say humanists. Their philosophical…
First of all, movies can't be cursed because curses aren't real. However, that can't stop Josh and Chuck from taking a look at some movies throughout history that have had a disturbing number of bad…
Camp David is awesome. But not all presidents have liked it. We'll dig into this historic property in today's episiode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Kangaroos are the only marsupial to hop, which is pretty weird. We'll investigate why. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Boeing used to be one of the most respected engineering firms in the world. Then it changed its focus from making great airplanes to increasing its stock value. The result was the 737-MAX, a plane…
Psychologist Julian Jaynes came up with a stunning hypothesis in 1976, that human consciousness only developed in the last 3000 years. And he seemed to have proof in ancient texts. Scholars have been…
Of course we're talking all about maple syrup today - the tapping, the processing, the eating. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
By all rights there should be three sets of molars in your mouth. But it turns out that our skulls aren’t really set up to accommodate that many anymore. Exactly why depends on who you ask. See…
In the 1970s, conservation groups around the world rose up to protect dwindling whale populations, some on the verge of extinction. They all worked under the same banner: Save the Whales! It turned…
Fever dreams can be unsettling experiences. These ramped up nightmares are vivid, detailed and only happen when the human body experiences a fever. What is it about the combination of fevers and…
Humanity’s created a lot of neat things over the eons and starting in the 1940s, the UN created an agency focused on preserving those things for the whole world and future people. But that mission is…
There’s a kind of bird that lots of people think is a real jerk. And it kind of is. But in the brown-headed cowbird’s defense, it’s just evolved that way. Find out why it has such a bad reputation…
Once in a while someone comes up with a solution for a problem we didn’t know we had, and maybe even a problem that didn’t even exist. Even more rarely, the stars align just right so that some…
In this classic episode Josh and Chuck sit down and detail the complicated life of the late, great Sammy Davis Jr. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In 2014 a ferry carrying hundreds of South Korean high school students on a field trip sunk, killing almost everyone on board. Hauntingly, their deaths were fully avoidable: everyone from the dock…
The Japanese Cherry Blossom is a sight to behold. But how did they get to Washington D.C.? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We all love to tour our generation's superiority, but who decides where the split occurs and what to name it? And is this even a thing or just an arbitrary division? See omnystudio.com/listener for…
If you think secretly coded messages sent via short wave radio is Cold War relic, think again. In this classic episode, Chuck and Josh are here to dispel that myth, along with many others relating to…
The worker co-op has a rich tradition and can work a variety of ways. Join us as we dig into the nuts and bolts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
If you think Spring Break started with northern college kids heading to Florida to party, you'd be correct. But there's slightly more to it than that. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…
Jump in today to hear all about the disaster that was the movie ROAR. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
If you live in the Northeastern U.S. then you may know someone who has had Lyme disease. But it's spreading all over the country and parts of the world. Learn all about this tick-borne disease in…
Deciding how to share water is pretty important stuff when there isn't much of it around. Today we dive into the Colorado River Compact. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Pretty much everyone agrees that English is a chaotic language. There are nutso rules of grammar and spelling other languages don’t have. More than once, movements have emerged to simplify English…
Lots of nations gauge the health of their country by how the middle class is doing. There’s just one issue with that – no one can say exactly what defines the middle class. But even when you take a…
In 2014, a young German man walked into an airport in Bulgaria with a flight booked, then suddenly ran out leaving all his posessions behind, never to be heard from again. This classic episode tells…
Malcolm X was one of the most revered, feared leaders of the civil rights movement. In contrast to Martin Luther King, Jr., X advocated black self-reliance and separateness in American society and…
In 1876 it rained meat out of the clear blue sky on a homestead in Bath County, Kentucky. While the mystery of what happened will never be solved, the best explanation makes the story even weirder…
The first fires came from lightning strikes. After that, no one is super sure when we started controlling it and then later, starting our own. But it's sure fun to speculate! See…
If there's one thing we've learned about Chuck over the years it's that he loves his gin. And he loves it even more now that understands it. Pour yourself a martini and cozy up to the classic…
Caterpillars are simply the best. Don't think so? Well listen in and you'll soon agree. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
If you thought caterpillars were awesome, just wait until you see them with colorful, iridescent wings! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
They seem gross and bothersome at first, but once you get down to ground level and get to know snails, we’ll bet you’ll grow quite fond of them. They are living in a whole world we’re largely unaware…
Dandelions are way more interesting than you think. Trust us and click play. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Permaculture is a growing trend in the world of farming and home landscaping. It's basically a design principle that emphasizes sustainability and the would-be, natural ecosystem of an area. Simple…
Unless you have an arcane disorder from a lesion on a very specific spot on our medulla, the chances are you sneeze. Turns out most animals do it, even lizards! Learn the whys and hows of this most…
It’s time to get jazzed up for some Earth science of the waterlogged variety. Join Chuck and Josh as they tour some of the most interesting ecosystems on the planet and learn why we need to stop…
You may think composting is just a bunch of old banana peels rotting away into dirt but, friend, you're not looking closely enough. Inside that compost pile is a microcosmic universe doing some…
Squirrels are rodents, sure, but they’re rodents with personalities the size of Las Vegas and Detroit put together. Get to know your bushy-tailed (and sometimes not so bushy) neighbors who live…
Honey is an amazing thing. Just ask any bee. They make a ton of it. So much that humans get what bees can't use and that's a lot of honey. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
If you could put your leg behind your head, would you? Of course you would! You might even make a career out of it, amazing people around the world with your flexibility. That’d make you a…
In this episode Mike and Eric review the podcast "Stuff You Should Know" hosted by Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant. Coming up on 15 years and now over 2,000 episodes Josh and Chuck have managed to…