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.
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Episodes
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D'oh! Operation Flagship
Thursday, 13 February 2025
Operation Flagship was undertaken at a time when the U.S. Marshals performed their jobs with a lot of flair. What other agency would throw a football party in order to arrest a handful of (mostly) non-violent criminals?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Short Stuff: Yakhchāls - Ancient Fridges
Wednesday, 12 February 2025
If you lived in ancient Persia, you could do a lot worse in trying to cool things down than by building a yakhchāl. Today we break down how the early fridges worked.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The History of Refrigeration
Tuesday, 11 February 2025
Keeping things cold with electricity changed the world as we know it. In more ways than you might expect. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Selects: Robber Barons!
Saturday, 8 February 2025
The robber barons were not a group of evil super villains. OR WERE THEY? Learn all about these titans of industry from the Gilded Age in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The Tragedy of the Commons
Thursday, 6 February 2025
Since it was introduced in the 60s, the Tragedy of the Commons, the idea that humans will inevitably ruin any resource we all share, has had sweeping effects on government and public attitudes on who owns the environment. Problem is, it was fictitious.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Short Stuff: The Death of Charles Morgan
Wednesday, 5 February 2025
One of the lesser-known cases of American true crime is also a very sad one. Meet Charles Morgan, a man who got in over his head with organized crime.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The Catacombs of Paris
Tuesday, 4 February 2025
Beneath Paris lies the bones of more than 6 million people. And you can walk among them for 31 euros. These are the Paris catacombs. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Selects: How Itching Works
Saturday, 1 February 2025
It was only in the last few decades that science became aware that itches aren't just low-level pain. And in that time, the mystery of how we itch and why we scratch has gotten even more baffling. Explore the mystery with Josh and Chuck in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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10ish Instances of People Doing Things Out Of Spite
Thursday, 30 January 2025
You want payback don’t you? Sure, we all do. We all want it so bad. So bad. Sometimes people do things to get payback against someone who’s wronged them and sometimes those things they do are memorable and monumental. We commemorate some here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Short Stuff: The Guinness Widget
Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Guiness beer is famous for its smooth and creamy texture, thanks in part to nitrogen, and also a simplistically brilliant little device called the Guinness widget.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The Gullibility Episode
Tuesday, 28 January 2025
Being gullible is a weird thing. But are you born with it? Is it learned? Can you be trusting and not gullible? Listen in to find out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Selects: When Mount St. Helens Blew Its Top
Saturday, 25 January 2025
Mount St. Helen's is a lovely sight to behold, but was a pretty scary thing to be around in the Spring of 1980. Listen in to the harrowing story in this classic episode!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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How Automats Worked
Thursday, 23 January 2025
Once upon a time no visit to New York was complete without eating at an automat. Putting a nickel in a slot and pulling your own ham sandwich from a lit glass case thrilled people to no end. Eventually the novelty wore off and automats faded into history.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Short Stuff: The Best Episode Since Sliced Bread
Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Bread is about 30,000 years old. Sliced bread is less than 100. What gives? Listen in to find out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The Ballad of High Times Magazine
Tuesday, 21 January 2025
Whether you’re 20.5 or 50, if you love pot then High Times was the magazine for you. With ton of photos of marijuana, tips for how to grow it yourself, and other illegal stuff, High Times hung in there long enough to go from outlaw to mainstream.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Selects: How Foreign Accent Syndrome Works
Saturday, 18 January 2025
Foreign accent syndrome isn't when your mom talks funny when she goes abroad. It's an actual condition where people wake up one day with an entirely different accent, usually from some kind of head trauma. Learn all about this decidedly rare affliction in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The Barkley Marathons
Thursday, 16 January 2025
Every Spring in northeastern Tennessee, roughly 40 people compete in a marathon they are very unlikely to finish. This is the Barkley Marathons. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Short Stuff: Bourgeoisie
Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Bourgeoisie is more than a word. It means something different depending on when and where it's being used.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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WWII Sabotage Spotlight: Operation Gunnerside
Tuesday, 14 January 2025
During WWII a perfectly-executed sabotage operation by British Special Operations and the Norwegian Resistance put a dent in the Nazi’s quest for an atomic bomb. Today, it’s unclear how effective it really was, but it’s still a heckuva story!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Selects: How Mindfulness Works
Saturday, 11 January 2025
What has become a buzz word for corporate retreats and a way to get a discount on your health insurance is, at its core, a powerful, centuries-old Buddhist method of moving through life and dealing with the suffering that inevitably comes along with it. Learn all about it in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The Mysterious Story of Larry Bader
Thursday, 9 January 2025
Larry Bader disappeared in 1957 and reappeared a few days later with a new identity. Was it a brain injury or a scam? To this day, nobody knows. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Short Stuff: The Mad Trapper of Rat River
Wednesday, 8 January 2025
Join us today to learn the story of The Mad Trapper of Rat River, Canada's largest and most intense manhunt.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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GONG: The Chuck Barris Story
Tuesday, 7 January 2025
Chuck Barris was a TV visionary, developing shows in the 70s that were decades ahead of their time. But was he also a covert assassin for the CIA? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Selects: The Quinoa Revolution!
Saturday, 4 January 2025
Quinoa is a trendy food, right alongside kale and anything else farm to table. But it's really an ancient grain. Although it's not exactly a grain at all. Technically it's a pseudo-cereal. But it is tasty and nutritious, a true superfood. Learn all about the food with the funny name in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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How Saturn Works
Thursday, 2 January 2025
Saturn is the fanciest planet thanks to its prominent rings, cocked jauntily to the side. But this showy gem of the solar system has a lot of substance in addition to a great sense of style. Learn what makes Saturn so interesting in this episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Short Stuff: Watch Night
Wednesday, 1 January 2025
Watch Night has been observed on New Year’s Eve by African-American Methodists in the US since 1862, to mark the passage of the Emancipation Act. But this religious holiday goes back even farther in history, with even more layers of meaning.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The Filthy Magic of Studio 54
Tuesday, 31 December 2024
Studio 54 was a nightclub, but really much more than that. It became a symbol of the times as much as anything else in the 1970s. Strap on your platform heels and get down.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Selects: The Three Christs of Ypsilanti Experiment
Saturday, 28 December 2024
In the early 1960s, one of the most unethical experiments in psychology’s history was quietly conducted in a state hospital in Michigan. It sought to upend the delusions of the three patients involved, but ultimately disabused the experimenter of his own. Tune in to this classic episode to hear Josh and Chuck explore this disturbing project.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Forensic Dentistry
Thursday, 26 December 2024
We've all heard it - local news reports identifying a body from dental records. But how does this work? Well, that's our job!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Short Stuff: Captain Santa
Wednesday, 25 December 2024
Herman Scheunemann wasn’t the only captain carrying Christmas trees across Lake Michigan to Chicago at the turn of the last century, but he was the most beloved. Which makes this episode even sadder.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.