The Puritans in America
The founding of New England by the Puritans is quite a story. Today, we dive into who those people were. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 16, 2024•50 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
Selects: Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, Feminist Physician
Becoming the first licensed woman physician in America was tough, convincing male surgeons to wash their hands between patients was even tougher. In this classic episode Josh and Chuck pay tribute to a genuine pioneer in medicine and society. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 13, 2024•49 min
Salsa: NOT THE DANCE
Salsa is one of the great inventions of the culinary world. Here in the USA it's mainly a vehicle for tortilla chips. In Mexico, it's more like a sauce to add to, well, anything. Get ready to be hungry! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 11, 2024•45 min
Short Stuff: Milk Wars
If you’re a mobster and you can’t make money off of booze any longer what should you move to next? How about milk? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 10, 2024•15 min
Jane Goodall: All Good
There aren’t too many people walking around today who get a pass from the entire world for anything remotely negative they do or say. That’s just how the world receives Jane Goodall, and she’s earned that from a lifetime of building greater human understanding of our animal relatives. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 09, 2024•47 min
Selects: How the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Work, Part II
In this classic episode, we finish revisiting our 2017 tour of the best sights of the ancient world when we get deep into the history of a lighthouse that stood for 1200 years, an unsettling statue of Zeus, the world’s first mausoleum, and Chuck’s favorite, the Colossus of Rhodes! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 06, 2024•45 min
Salute to Women Inventors
Women inventors have always had a tough time, for obvious reasons. So we're here today to pay tribute to those who persevered in the face of the laws and customs that prevented progress. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 04, 2024•42 min
Short Stuff: POW Olympics
While it sounds like something out of a movie, some POWs in WWII really held an Olympics. And it happened more than once. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 03, 2024•11 min
How Dopamine Works
Dopamine is perhaps the most talked-about, most misunderstood biochemical in our bodies. It’s linked to not only addiction and depravity, but also focus, motivation, and living a productive life. How can one molecule be so many things to so many people? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 02, 2024•45 min
Selects: How Restaurant Health Inspections Work
If you've ever worked in a restaurant, you know the feeling that occurs when the health inspector pays a visit. While nerve wracking, it's the best insurance patrons have that their food will be prepared and served in a proper environment. Learn all about how these inspections work, from their past history to current incarnation, in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 29, 2024•51 min
EXTRA! EXTRA! The Newsboy Strike Episode!
When paperboys stopped delivering a couple of very big newspapers in 1899 it was a big deal. Big enough that the two biggest publishers in the world got pretty scared. But did it actually accomplish anything? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 27, 2024•49 min
Short Stuff: James Dean's Car
The story of what happened to the car that James Dean crashed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 26, 2024•14 min
Whistling!
Whistling is pretty cool when you think about it because it can mean many things, from simple happy tunes to legit communication. Learn all about this ubiquitous skill today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 25, 2024•50 min
Selects: How the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Work, Part I
Long before slide rulers and pocket protectors, civilizations across the world used their noggins to build some impressive structures. Almost all have crumbled to ruins over the millennium, but thanks to the earliest tourists, we admire them still today. Explore some of them with Josh and Chuck in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 22, 2024•42 min
The Big Episode on Wikipedia
Wikipedia changed the world. Before it came along, you had to go to the library to get the answers you sought. And you and your friends had to just agree to disagree on facts. And as the internet grew and commercialized, Wikipedia remains free and open. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 20, 2024•47 min
Short Stuff: Hostile Architecture
Those armrests in the middle of benches aren’t just for your comfort, they’re intended to keep the homeless from laying on them. Cities are filled with these mean-spirited inconveniences. But who’s to say how a person should use a bench? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 19, 2024•14 min
Why Must Widowhood Be So Difficult?
In almost every part of the world, in some form or fashion, widows have things harder than they did when their spouses were alive. In some places it means they pay higher taxes, in others it means they’re ostracized to live on the margins of society. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 18, 2024•47 min
Selects: The Murder Mystery of Ötzi the Iceman
About 5,300 years ago a Copper Age shepherd was murdered. He just happened to die in a place where his body was so well preserved that gave researchers an actual shot at determining the course of his final day on Earth. Josh and Chuck take you through their reconstruction in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 15, 2024•53 min
A Brief History of Air Travel
Today we take to the friendly skies to detail the fascinating history of air travel. From planes with piano bars and lounges to the current no frills varieties. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 13, 2024•59 min
Short Stuff: Peace Sign
The peace sign is one of the most globally recognized symbols around today, but it’s only a few decades old. And it wasn’t the hippies who created it, it was a group of Brits dedicated to nuclear disarmament in the 50s. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 12, 2024•11 min
Coercive Control, the Invisible Basis of Abuse
When we think of an abused spouse we tend to think of horrific physical or emotional violence. But over the last decade or so, it’s become clear that’s only a symptom – that domestic abuse is in fact an all-consuming form of interpersonal terrorism. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 11, 2024•54 min
Selects: Sunburn, Suntans and Sunscreen
It's pretty obvious something's gone wrong when you get a sunburn, but did you know a tan means you've damaged your DNA? Dive into the three Ss of summer and learn all about how to protect yourself from the sun. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 08, 2024•47 min
The Ballad of Grit
In the last decade American schools became enrapt by a new psychological concept centered on persevering. Things went south when they started attaching funding to it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 06, 2024•51 min
Short Stuff: Amber Alerts
Learn all about the saddest phone notification in today's episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 05, 2024•13 min
Conductors: What the heck is going on there?
You've probably been to a symphony performance and wondered, what in the heck are conductors doing up there anyway? Well we're here to explain that as best we can. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 04, 2024•51 min
Selects: What are think tanks all about?
Think tanks? More like stink tanks! We're kidding. Think tanks do valuable work, when they operate in a non-partisan way of course. Learn all about the history of these heady institutions in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 01, 2024•46 min
The Guinness Book of Records
If you grew up in the 70s and 80s in America, you probably have the image of your tattered Guinness Book of Records. The book was ubiquitous then, but is still thriving today in despite the internet. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 30, 2024•51 min
Short Stuff: What's a mudlarker?
Mudlarking is a uniquely British hobby, though you can dig through river mud anywhere there's a river. But the Thames has the good stuff. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 29, 2024•14 min
The shameful and harrowing story of Unit 731
Unit 731 was a secret group within the Japanese Army in WWII that committed unspeakable atrocities against humans in the name of scientific research. Listen with caution. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 28, 2024•48 min
Selects: How Vomit Phobia Works
No one - no one - likes to vomit, but there are some people who would prefer to die rather than vomit, people who spend their days worrying they will vomit at any moment and become so obsessed they curtail their lives to prevent it from happening. Learn all about it with Josh and Chuck in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 25, 2024•30 min