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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 20, 2024•14 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 19, 2024•48 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 16, 2024•49 min
Dandelions are way more interesting than you think. Trust us and click play. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 14, 2024•42 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 13, 2024•15 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 12, 2024•43 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 09, 2024•40 min
Today, the conclusion of the two-part episode on ADHD. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 07, 2024•49 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 06, 2024•12 min
Today, Josh and Chuck dive into part one of their two-part suite on ADHD. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 05, 2024•45 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 02, 2024•53 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 31, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Josh and Chuck dive into two spooky true stories in today's Short Stuff. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 30, 2024•18 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 29, 2024•44 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 26, 2024•52 min
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! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 24, 2024•47 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 23, 2024•15 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 22, 2024•49 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 19, 2024•40 min
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? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 17, 2024•39 min
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? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 16, 2024•12 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 15, 2024•41 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 12, 2024•48 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 10, 2024•45 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 09, 2024•10 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 08, 2024•47 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 05, 2024•55 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 03, 2024•44 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 02, 2024•12 min
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 01, 2024•43 min