Society & Culture

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.

300 episodes

Selects: How Bras Work 3 Oct 2026 · 53 min 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 rema…

Let's Thank Universal Pictures for Monster Movies! 1 Oct 2026 · 44 min 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 Univ…

Short Stuff: The Retirement Curse 30 Sept 2026 · 12 min 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/listene…

A Good Walk Ruined: The History of Golf 29 Sept 2026 · 50 min 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…

Selects: Wetlands! Wetlands! Wetlands! 26 Sept 2026 · 46 min 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 t…

Introducing 3 Putt Bogey 26 Sept 2026 · 2 min 3 Putt Bogey is a golf podcast hosted by Chuck Bryant and Adam Pranica, two mid handicappers who are just good enough to know exactly how bad they still are. The name says it all:…

Emily Post: Ettiquette Queen 24 Sept 2026 · 42 min In today's episode, we detail the life and times of ettiquette queen Emily Post. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Short Stuff: Mabon 23 Sept 2026 · 12 min 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…

Our Big Fat Dream Episode 22 Sept 2026 · 49 min 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 – b…

Selects: Fallout Shelters: Probably Useless (Let’s Never Find Out) 19 Sept 2026 · 48 min 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 g…

SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: What is Collective Hysteria? 18 Sept 2026 · 42 min 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…

SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: What was the Philadelphia Experiment? 18 Sept 2026 · 48 min 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 t…

SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: Mermaids: Not a real thing 18 Sept 2026 · 41 min 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 h…

SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: Will We Find Evidence of Aliens by Their Engineering Projects? 18 Sept 2026 · 45 min 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 t…

SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: The Mystery of the Mary Celeste 18 Sept 2026 · 1 hr 2 min 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…

SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: The Max Headroom Incident 18 Sept 2026 · 48 min 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…

SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: Dragons: As Real as Mermaids 18 Sept 2026 · 40 min 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.

SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: The Creepy Legacy of the Hotel Cecil 18 Sept 2026 · 49 min 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 cr…

SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: What's the deal with blue people? 18 Sept 2026 · 46 min 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.

SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: Doppelgängers: Hey you, you're me! 18 Sept 2026 · 48 min 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.

SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: The Story of the Nuclear Boy Scout 18 Sept 2026 · 41 min 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 info…

The Cancer Episode 17 Sept 2026 · 51 min 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 s…

Short Stuff: Leisure Suits 16 Sept 2026 · 11 min 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 th…

How Boredom Works 15 Sept 2026 · 44 min 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 t…

Selects: Wasps: Not as cute as bees 12 Sept 2026 · 47 min 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 ep…

The Odyssey Episode 10 Sept 2026 · 50 min 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.

Short Stuff: Flappers 9 Sept 2026 · 11 min 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.

Nickelodeon:The Best of Slimes 8 Sept 2026 · 50 min Today we tell the story of the kids TV network that changed it all, Nickelodeon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Selects: Blacksmiths? You got that right! 5 Sept 2026 · 50 min Blacksmiths? You got that right. Learn all about this age old occupation in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Social Identity Theory: Your Group Rules, Others Drool 3 Sept 2026 · 48 min 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 e…