Popcorn: Who doesn't love it?
We love popcorn and suspect that most people do too. But do you know why it even pops? Or if it's healthy? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 22, 2025•46 min
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.
Episodes
Short Stuff: William A. Mitchell: Food Inventor
William A. Mitchell invented some iconic snack foods and candies. Learn all about him today! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 21, 2025•15 min
Faking Your Own Death: We All Do It, But Why?
Face it, when things get desperate we all consider faking our death as an easy way out. But what they don’t tell you in school is that it’s much harder than it looks, it’s way less glamorous, and you have to pull it off perfectly to not get caught. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 20, 2025•50 min
Selects: Night Trap: The Video Game Failure that Changed the Industry
In the early 90s a video game was released that changed the industry, despite poor sales and bad game play. That game was Night Trap. In this classic episode Chuck and Josh present that story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 17, 2025•41 min
The Cliffs Notes on Cliffs Notes
When a man named Cliff packaged book summaries in yellow and black booklets he changed the way kids learned. But was he just creating a cheat code? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 15, 2025•44 min
Short Stuff: Figs & Wasps
Today Chuck and Josh look at the interesting relationship between figs and wasps. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 14, 2025•9 min
Plant-Based Diets
You don’t have to be a hardcore vegan to eat a plant-based diet (although you can be). There’s a whole variety of degrees people adopt phasing out meat from their plates. One kind is even called flexitarian for goodness sake. Seems pretty welcoming to us. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 13, 2025•53 min
Selects: How Ice Cream Works
We all scream for ice cream, sure, but did you know we're all technically screaming about a colloidal foam? As you hit play on this classic episode, prepare for deep cravings that will surely emerge as you learn the history of ice cream, how to make it yourself and lots more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 10, 2025•43 min
We Got to Sesame Street
One of the longest-running television shows in history is also one of the best. Sesame Street was conceived as a radical idea – to give disadvantaged preschoolers a leg up in getting ready for school. It ended up becoming a beloved institution worldwide. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 08, 2025•52 min
Short Stuff: Drop Bears
Australia is home to all sorts of things that can kill you, but perhaps the deadliest is the drop bear, a vicious cousin of the koala. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 07, 2025•12 min
Fentanyl: Actually As Dangerous As They Say
Around 2013 heroin users in the US and other countries suddenly started dying from overdose in previously-unseen numbers. The culprit turned out to be the incredibly potent drug fentanyl and it soon created a massive new wave in the opioid epidemic. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 06, 2025•50 min
Selects: Muzak: Easy Listening Goodness
Muzak got a bad reputation as bland garbage music. In this classic episode, we aim to set the record straight. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 03, 2025•51 min
What we know about MI6
MI6 is The UK's version of the CIA. Except they came first and provided the model. But there's still a lot we don't know about this notoriously tight-lipped organization. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 01, 2025•50 min
Short Stuff: Trovants
Rocks that grow baby rocks – wut?! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 30, 2025•11 min
Chinese Food: Best Food?
Today on SYSK, the fellas get down to business with plenty of mouth-watering information on what Chuck dubs "the best food." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 29, 2025•51 min
Selects: How Jim Henson Worked
We've already recorded an episode on The Muppets, but Jim Henson was such a neat guy we delved into him even further. Learn all about the man behind the Muppets who was so much more than just a master puppeteer in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 26, 2025•42 min
Give My Regards to the Broadway Episode!
Broadway is a street in NYC, but more than that it's a term for the NY theater district. They say the neon lights are bright there. Who knows? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 24, 2025•47 min
Short Stuff: Alternative Libraries
Today we highlight and celebrate a couple of alternative libraries. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 23, 2025•12 min
Richard III: Good Guy or Evil Putz?
Ever since Shakespeare wrote his tragedy on Richard III the world has thought of him as an evil king with a shriveled soul. But is that actually unjust? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 22, 2025•44 min
Selects: Adidas v. Puma: A Sibling Rivalry
Join Josh and Chuck in this classic episode as they go down the sport shoe rabbit hole, detailing the strange tail of the brothers who brought Puma and Adidas to the world. Sibling rivalry, Nazis, shoes - there's a lot to unpack here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 19, 2025•42 min
What Makes Disaster Films Great
Disaster films are surprisingly tough to define. What makes them different from an action movie or a monster movie? Who cares? They’re great! Escape with us as we cover the the ins and outs and the history of disaster films and recommend some good ones. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 17, 2025•55 min
Short Stuff: Tick tock goes the Doomsday Clock
The Doomsday Clock is closer too midnight than it's ever been, which is not awesome. But what does this metaphorical clock even indicate? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 16, 2025•13 min
Kim Philby: Greatest Liar of All Time?
British MI6 agent Kim Philby was a spy for the Soviet Union and one of the great liars in human history, right up until his retirement in Moscow where he lived out his days as a national hero. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 15, 2025•50 min
Selects: Cake: So Great. So, So Great
Cake has been around for a long time, but mostly less than great forms. It took the Industrial Revolution, the advent of plentiful sugar, and some good old American know-how to come together to make the cake we know and love today. Find out all about it in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 12, 2025•1 hr 11 min
Behavioral Priming: Buy, Robot Human!
In the late 90s, a large chunk of the field of social psychology started dedicating itself to figuring out ways to subtly persuade and influence people’s everyday decisions without their awareness. If you’re into freedom of choice, this was a close call. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 10, 2025•49 min
Short Stuff: Colorful Noises
We’ve all heard of white noise, that static sound the TV makes when poltergeists arrive. There are other colored noise too that mimic natural sounds like rainfall and ocean waves. What they do for us is just now being studied. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 09, 2025•13 min
Editorial Cartoons: Art as Satire
Editorial, or political cartoons, have a rich history in the United States and abroad. And though the Golden Age may have passed, the use of images to create satire and sway public opinion is still alive and well. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 08, 2025•53 min
Selects: Agatha Christie: Queen of the Murder Mystery
Agatha Christie was a great writer of murder mystery novels and is probably the best selling author of all time. Listen in this classic episode to learn her story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 05, 2025•54 min
The Pinkerton Detective Agency
The Pinkertons became the most famous detective company in the U.S. But were they noble or notorious? We get to the bottom of it all in today's episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 03, 2025•52 min
Short Stuff: Tulipmania
The world experienced its first economic bubble when the Dutch went bonkers for tulips in the 1630s. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 02, 2025•13 min
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