Stuff You Should Know

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. 

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Join us today to learn the story of The Mad Trapper of Rat River, Canada's largest and most intense manhunt.

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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? 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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We've all heard it - local news reports identifying a body from dental records. But how does this work? Well, that's our job!

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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.

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Welcome to the end of 2024 and our annual Christmas Extravaganza episode, brought to you ad-free for you listening pleasure. Please pour a hot toddy and enjoy around the fir tree of your choosing.

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Frances Perkins was an incredibly influential American yet is virtually unknown. What did she do? A lot! For instance, Social Security was her brainchild. And that's just the tip of the old iceberg. Explore her legacy with Josh and Chuck in this classic episode.

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For our annual pre-Holiday-Special-holiday-episode-about-a-holiday-toy we are jumping into one of the greatest games of all time, Trivial Pursuit (and we’re not just saying that because there’s an SYSK edition). 

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You know that old adage that you should feed a cold but starve a fever? It’s an ancient idea and what’s surprising is that it’s kind of correct. 

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If you’ve ever lost your job thanks to a management consultant coming through your company or been timed for how fast you work, you can thank Frederick Winslow Taylor, the father of scientific management. If that field sounds made up that’s because it is.

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In 1947 the port town of Texas City, Texas became the site of the largest industrial disaster in American history. An enormous explosion blew ships out of the water, created a tidal wave that flooded the town, and killed hundreds of people instantly. Find out all about it in this classic episode.

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Tugboats are amazing because they do the dirty work without much recognition. Well that's changing today - ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY TUG!

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These invasive spiders are everywhere these days. But how did they get to the USA and are they harmful?

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If you’ve ever wanted to know why peacocks have such amazing feathers, why they’re not all called peacocks, and plenty of other neat stuff about peacocks, then perhaps this episode on peacocks is for you. 

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When the birth control pill hit the market in 1960 it landed like a social bomb. Almost overnight, women gained the ability to separate sex from pregnancy and everything from feminism to patients’ rights centered on it. Find out all about its history in this classic episode.

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The Ruby Ridge standoff still lingers after more than 30 years. But who was at fault for the lives lost? Listen in today to learn all about this dark spot in American history. 

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One of the world’s unsung heroes – at least outside of Italy – is a brave woman who stood up to an insidious and longstanding custom and made her country a better place for it.

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As the philosophical holds, there’s a chance you don’t exist, that not only you, but this episode, the podcast, and the entire universe are only projections of Josh or Chuck’s mind. If so, then recording this episode was a waste of time. 

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Long ago, in a galaxy not so far away, George Lucas allowed the Star Wars Holiday Special to be made. What happened on the night of November 17, 1978 can never be fully explained, but we make our best effort in our annual special edition of SYSK. May the force be with us all.

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Please enjoy our 2024 live show about the wild tale of the Madd Gasser of Mattoon. 

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A terrible thing happened in Germany in the summer of 1184.

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Tetris is an iconic game with a fascinating history. Dive in today to learn all about this classic puzzle game.

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The infamous Stanford Prison Experiment wasn't really much of an experiment as it turns out. It was more like a poorly thought out exercise conducted by a professor who didn't dot the i's and cross the t's. Listen in to this classic episode as Josh and Chuck give this experiment some harsh treatment of their own.

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Tavern on the Green is a legendary NY eatery that has never rated particularly well with food critics. Despite that, it's been a NYC mainstay for decades. 

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Martha Mitchell, the wife of Nixon's Attorney General, was well-known to spread a juicy rumor. That's why when Watergate unfolded, she was held captive in a hotel room on her husband's orders and painted as a crazy alcoholic. 

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The US government took a thumb in the eye with the creation of the Silk Road website. Right there on the internet you could anonymously buy drugs and various other contraband, and for a couple years no one could do a darn thing about it. 

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During the depths of the Great Depression, Cleveland’s most vulnerable and destitute residents were prey for one of history’s most horrific serial killers. The killer’s identity remains a mystery to this day. Josh and Chuck take you through what's known in this classic episode.

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Dandelions are way more interesting than you think. Trust us and click play. 

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It’s a thrill to stand and, raise your arms, maybe give a woo! then sit down again, especially if you’re in a sports stadium. And especially if you’re doing it as part of a Wave.

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A surprising number of Nobel Prize winners credit their childhood chemistry set for sparking their interest in science. But most kids just used them to make stuff explode. Compared to the originals, today’s versions are super safe, pale shadows.

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A quinceañera is the celebration of a girl of Hispanic heritage becoming a young woman on her 15th birthday. It involves family, friends, music and a lot of great food. Join Josh and Chuck in this classic episode as they don their favorite pink dresses and go over this wonderful tradition. 

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Today, the conclusion of the two-part episode on ADHD.

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North America gets as many as 1400 tornadoes a year. The place with the next highest is the UK at 33. So the spot with the most tornadoes in the US is also the spot with the most tornadoes in the world. That would be Tornado Alley.

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Today, Josh and Chuck dive into part one of their two-part suite on ADHD.

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Anyone who ever picked up a comic book as a kid probably marveled at the ads for the mysterious Sea Monkeys. In reality, they are just brine shrimp, not fantastical beings with magical powers. But the story behind the invention of the Sea Monkey is tale all its own. Listen in to this classic episode.

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Buckle up folks, it's time for another of our favorite traditions, the SYSK Halloween Spooktacular! So sit down, dim the lights and get ready for some spooky stories. 

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Josh and Chuck dive into two spooky true stories in today's Short Stuff.

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One of the greatest unsolved historic mysteries is found in a lake atop a mountain glacier high up in the Indian Himalayas. The skeletons of as many as 800 people are inexplicably in and around the lake. No one knows who they are or what happened to them.

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One of the worst legacies of war are the millions of landmines left behind. They hide for decades after a conflict is over, exploding beneath unsuspecting civilians and children. To many, removing mines and banning new ones is of paramount importance. Learn all about the scope of the problem and this important work in this classic episode.

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Most people think of Tinkerbell when we think of fairies, but the Disney versions capture only the last century or so of what we’ve conceived fairies to be. Over millennia they’ve gone from ugly and scary to pretty and helpful and everything in between. Come meet the fae!

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Every August, abandoned storefronts across America are filled with the spirit of Halloween, by way of the store, Spirit Halloween. Learn all about this wildly successful pop-up today.

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Q Anon believes many things, including that Tom Hanks is a Satan-worshipping, child-eating pedophile. Yeah. We'll just leave our "drop" right here for you to make up your own mind.

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We love animals. A lot. Especially underrated ones like the darling porcupine. Listen in to this classic episode to learn all about these stabby little boogers.

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If you're from the American South, then kudzu is something that cannot be avoided. But how did this invasive species get here and why does it love to consume everything in its path?

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The process of redacting sensitive information is long and storied. But are there even any rules that apply to when and how it's done? 

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You might have owned the Anarchist Cookbook once, but you probably didn’t use it to turn a shotgun into a grenade launcher or build a bomb. Unfortunately some people did and the author called for this book of “forbidden knowledge” to be taken out of print.

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Paramedics are not EMTs. Or fire fighters. Or cops. But they do ride around in ambulances (and drive) to help to save lives. It's a stressful job and in this classic episode we shine a light on this noble profession. 

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The story of the Swatch is super cool and one of the great retail successes. Listen in today to find out just why a country known for the finest craftsmanship started making plastic watches for the masses. 

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In another chapter of our continuing mysteries of the sea theme, we deliver a truly baffling mystery involving a ship that was lost and found, which brought more questions than answers.

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Gobekli Tepe is a profoundly ancient spiritual site that shouldn’t exist, according to conventional wisdom. The massive site of columns and pictograms was built thousands of years before humans were thought to have been able to create anything like it.

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In 1962, three ordinary criminals transcended into folk heroes when they crawled out of their cells in Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary took to the water in a homemade raft and were never heard from again. Could they have possibly survived? Find out more in this classic episode.

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The Lysol we know now is sold as disinfectant only. But at one time it was also marketed as a means of birth control. Listen in today to the twisted history of this common household product. 

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What we equate with acid, hippies, and garish polyester prints actually began as a theatrical way of protesting bans on free speech and the Vietnam War. When the hippies got hold of it, it definitely transformed.

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As far as we know life evolved once in the universe – here on Earth in the form of life as we know it. Could life have originated in other conditions with different raw materials? If so, we may be sharing the planet with lifeforms we don’t recognize yet.

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Rosa Parks finishes out our Black History Month episodes in grand fashion. While most know her from that fateful day on the Montgomery city bus, she actually had a long life as an advocate, protestor and agent of change. Join us via this classic episode as we celebrate one of America's great history makers.

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A greatest hit of the Satanic Panic of the 1980s came when the metal band Judas Priest was put on trial for the suicides of two teens. While the case was preposterous – based on alleged hidden satanic messages in the music – it arose from a real tragedy.

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We love our ghost ships here at SYSK and this is one of the better ones. But did it really even exist? Not likely. 

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Glasses as we know them have only been around for a few hundred years. So what did people do before this? And how did things change once spectacles were on the scene? Listen in to find out.

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Every year Congress decides how the federal government will spend money. Simple enough, but in practice politics tend to mess it up. Sometimes it gets so messy the budget doesn’t get passed and parts of the government shut down. Then the hurting begins. Learn all about it in this classic, always timely episode.

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There's a good chance that if you don't live in San Antonio, Texas, you may not know who scientist/adventurer Tom Slick is. Today we tackle the story of the most interesting man you've never heard of. 

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The Killing Stone looms large in Japanese folklore, so when it split in half in March 2022, people were worried it would bring devastating effects in its wake. Except... they really didn't.

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What if science could create a drug that made you connect with people more deeply, let your emotions flow more openly, and sparked love and attachment in you for other people? Would you take it? Better hurry and decide because they might be on their way.

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Listen in to this classic episode for the conclusion of the story of the Manson Family Murders.

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The town of Celebration, Florida was supposed to be a utopia. What it ended up as is a mediocre neighborhood on the outskirts of Disney World. 

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Who is Uncle Sam anyway? Was it a real person or just a marketing exercise? And why does he refuse to go away? Listen in to find out.

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Henry Ford was an odd guy, but one who had a vision for America that centered around a populist, affordable and reliable automobile. He was also a noted antisemite and not a great father. Today, we dive into the life of FMC's founder. 

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Science fiction writers have made some amazingly accurate predictions over the years, but in 1945 the pace of technological change created a field that spun off of sci-fi forecasting, futurology. Learn all about it with Josh and Chuck in this classic episode.

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Outside of Germany, King Ludwig II is relatively unknown. And, yet, he is one of history’s most tragic and romantic kings. He was a gay icon and a ruler who eschewed public appearances for turn inward into a fantasy realm of his own making.  

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You – yes, you! – can be a hero to neglected and abused animals. But there’s a right way to do it, and that does not involve sneaking onto a neighbor’s property and stealing their dog or cat. Learn how to do it real legal-like in this episode.

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When Napster reared its head in 1999, it marked the beginning of the end of the compact disc era. Today, we trace the history of the slowly evolving death of physical music media. 

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The '60s ended with a lot of turbulence, not the least of which was the Manson Family Murders. What made Charles Manson so alluring to his family? What makes one person kill for another? And what did The Beatles have to do with it all? Learn all this and more in this first part of our two part classic episode.

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Out of all the jobs a person can have, few are as overtly dangerous as making sure bombs don’t go off and if they do, making sure they’re away from people. Learn how bomb technicians do it safely, without a 100% turnover rate.

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How did a large section of downtown Los Angeles become a permanent fixture of unhoused individuals? Will it always be this way? Listen in to learn all about LA's famous Skid Row.

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The Olympic marathon of 1904 is an incredible story filled with wacky characters, cheating, heat and humidity, dust and dirt, and oh yeah, a few actual qualified athletes. 

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If you didn’t already know how amazing hummingbirds are, prepare to learn. Not only do they count among their numbers the smallest bird species, they are also lightning fast and have the endurance of a marathoner and a telethoner put together. Get up to speed on these wonderful creatures in this classic episode.

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Today we think of Luddites as people who don’t know how to use technology or are maybe even afraid of it. That’s pretty far from what the original Luddites were all about. They were the first workers to fight for fair treatment. They were not successful.

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What in the world is a chupacabra? Is it even real or is it the stuff of legend? Listen in to find out. 

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There is A LOT of made-up stuff on the internet that gets passed off as true. But once in a while something truly odd comes along. Here are three stories of real mysterious events in the internet’s recent history that are yet to be fully explained. 

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Body language is how you communicate without words. Some say it bears more impact in communication than speaking words. In this classic episode, learn about how you say what you say could mean more than you think.

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Cher is an icon, with hits spanning an unbelievable SEVEN decades. So kick back as we laud the singer/actress/legend. 

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Being tarred and feathered is an old trope in America, but the actuality of it was pretty brutal, not the least of which included burning skin. Let's dive into history - now!

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It’s so simple, yet so compelling: you mine blocks and cut down trees to put things together to make cool new stuff. There isn’t really a point and there’s not really a way to win. Minecraft is a non-game and it’s the second-most popular game of all time. 

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Depending on who you talk to, Genghis Khan was either a sadistic madman or one of the great leaders in world history. One thing is sure, he was one of the most advanced military minds of all time. Learn all about him in this classic episode.

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Many of us have experienced the odd sensation that we shouldn’t trust ourselves not to simply jump from a high place for no reason. Some even feel an urge. Philosophers and psychologists have tried to make sense of this senseless urge for centuries now. 

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We know how our skin prunes, but we don't know for sure why. Chuck likes the leading theory, Josh does not. WHO WILL WIN? (nobody)

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Rudolf Diesel was a game changing inventor, though his most famous product was not used how he envisioned it. Listen in and learn about his life and mysterious death.

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Throughout much of the world, the forests are being managed through sustainable timber harvesting practices. This has come at the cost of much legal battling and a century of practice. Find out all about it in this classic episode.

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The car wash you get to ride through on a journey to sparklingness is made of a handful of different tools that have been developed over the last century. They have just now reached the point where it all works together so well the industry is booming.  

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ZIP codes are pretty self-explanatory, but there are all kinds of fun facts around the topic. Listen in to find out.

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You may have his soap in your shower, but what do you know about the man himself? Buckle up, here comes Dr. Bronner!

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In reality, the Tulsa "race riots" of 1921 was more like a massacre. Yet it was almost lost to history until 1997, and still not widely known outside of Oklahoma until HBO's The Watchmen put it on the cultural map. Learn all about this dark chapter in American history in this classic episode.

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The Killdozer rampage is one of those stories you just couldn't make up. Yet it happened. And we're here to tell you the story. 

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Who were the Ritchie Boys? Listen in to find out. 

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Years ago the telephone network was like the internet is to us today: a vast, interconnected means of communicating and sharing information. And, like the internet today, it attracted people who were interested in learning how it worked by hacking it.  

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