Podcast · 451 episodes
Stuff You Should Know
by iHeartPodcasts · English
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.
Latest episodes
Short Stuff: The Retirement Curse“The retirement curse”—the idea that health and mental well-being often decline after retirement, largely due to the transition (loss of routine, reduced physical activity, and shrinking social…30 Sep 2026 · 12 min
A Good Walk Ruined: The History of GolfThe episode explains the history of golf, arguing that many popular origin stories are unreliable, while tracing the sport’s development from early ball-and-stick games to Scotland’s 15th–16th…29 Sep 2026 · 50 min
Selects: Wetlands! Wetlands! Wetlands!Wetlands—what they are, major types (tidal marshes, freshwater tidal marshes, mangroves, inland swamps, bogs, fens, mudflats, seeps, vernal pools, prairie potholes, playa lakes, oxbow…26 Sep 2026 · 46 min
All episodes
Short Stuff: The Retirement Curse“The retirement curse”—the idea that health and mental well-being often decline after retirement, largely due to the transition (loss of routine, reduced physical activity, and shrinking social…30 Sep 2026 · 12 min · 2 chapters
A Good Walk Ruined: The History of GolfThe episode explains the history of golf, arguing that many popular origin stories are unreliable, while tracing the sport’s development from early ball-and-stick games to Scotland’s 15th–16th…29 Sep 2026 · 50 min · 15 chapters
Selects: Wetlands! Wetlands! Wetlands!Wetlands—what they are, major types (tidal marshes, freshwater tidal marshes, mangroves, inland swamps, bogs, fens, mudflats, seeps, vernal pools, prairie potholes, playa lakes, oxbow…26 Sep 2026 · 46 min · 15 chapters
Introducing 3 Putt BogeyThe podcast “3 Putt Bogey” introduces the show’s premise: weekly golf stories focused on the absurd, frustrating fun of playing, especially avoiding doubles and triples rather than chasing birdies.26 Sep 2026 · 2 min · 1 chapter
Emily Post: Ettiquette QueenEmily Post’s life and how her etiquette philosophy shaped “good society” in the U.S., emphasizing ethics, courtesy, and practical social rules that stayed relevant through updates.24 Sep 2026 · 42 min · 16 chapters
Short Stuff: Mabon“The Short Stuff: Mabon” explains Mabon, a modern neo-pagan fall harvest celebration tied to the autumnal equinox (day/night split ~12 hours).23 Sep 2026 · 12 min · 6 chapters
Our Big Fat Dream EpisodeA “Stuff You Should Know” episode about dreams—how sleep works (REM vs non-REM), why people dream, what dreams might mean (Freud/Jung vs scientific theories), why dream recall is hard, and what…22 Sep 2026 · 50 min · 18 chapters
Selects: Fallout Shelters: Probably Useless (Let’s Never Find Out)Fallout shelters—how Cold War fears about nuclear “blast” and radioactive fallout led to public and private shelter programs, what radiation types do, and why most shelters were impractical or poorly…19 Sep 2026 · 48 min · 18 chapters
SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: What is Collective Hysteria?Collective hysteria (mass psychogenic disorder): outbreaks where groups develop real physical symptoms (e.g., vomiting, trouble walking) without a toxin or infection, driven by the brain/nocebo and…18 Sep 2026 · 42 min · 22 chapters
SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: Dragons: As Real as MermaidsDragons across cultures—why “dragons aren’t real” (as literal animals) but dragon-like myths are widespread; how modern dragon ideas formed from mistranslations, evolving folklore, and real-world…18 Sep 2026 · 40 min · 17 chapters
SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: The Creepy Legacy of the Hotel CecilThe episode of Stuff You Should Know focuses on the Hotel Cecil in downtown Los Angeles and the “creepy legacy” tied to Elisa Lam’s 2013 death.18 Sep 2026 · 49 min · 15 chapters
SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: What was the Philadelphia Experiment?The episode is a special edition of Stuff You Should Know about the “Philadelphia Experiment,” a 1943 conspiracy theory claiming the U.S.18 Sep 2026 · 48 min · 13 chapters
SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: The Mystery of the Mary CelesteThe “Mary Celeste” mystery—how the ship DeGratia’s crew found the Mary Celeste abandoned in November 1872, what evidence was (and wasn’t) on board, the salvage investigation in Gibraltar, and how the…18 Sep 2026 · 1 h 2 min · 17 chapters
SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: Doppelgängers: Hey you, you're me!Doppelgängers—non-related people who look extremely similar—plus their history in folklore/literature, psychological reasons people notice them, and scientific studies on genetics/epigenetics and…18 Sep 2026 · 48 min · 14 chapters
SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: What's the deal with blue people?The episode explains “blue people” conditions—especially congenital methemoglobinemia (medimoglobinemia)—and why some people turn blue or silver.18 Sep 2026 · 46 min · 12 chapters
SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: Will We Find Evidence of Aliens by Their Engineering Projects?The episode explores sci-fi/SETI ideas about detecting alien civilizations by their large-scale engineering—especially Dyson spheres and related megastructures that would capture starlight and waste…18 Sep 2026 · 45 min · 14 chapters
SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: The Max Headroom IncidentThe 1987 Max Headroom TV broadcast intrusion in Chicago—how a person wearing a Max Headroom mask hijacked WGN and later WTTW signals, why it became a major federal case, and why the perpetrator(s)…18 Sep 2026 · 48 min · 15 chapters
SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: Mermaids: Not a real thing“Mermaids: Not a Real Thing” (Stuff You Should Know Gets Weird playlist, episode 3).18 Sep 2026 · 41 min · 13 chapters
SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: The Story of the Nuclear Boy ScoutThe “Nuclear Boy Scout” story—David Hahn, a Michigan teenager who used Boy Scouts’ “atomic energy” merit badge materials and his own chemistry skills to build a tiny nuclear reactor in his mother’s…18 Sep 2026 · 41 min · 11 chapters
The Cancer EpisodeAn educational “Stuff You Should Know” episode explaining what cancer is, how it spreads, major cancer types, staging (0–4), key risk factors, and modern treatments (surgery, chemo, radiation,…17 Sep 2026 · 51 min · 20 chapters
Short Stuff: Leisure SuitsThe “Short Stuff: Leisure Suits” episode traces the leisure suit’s origins and rise in the 1970s, from earlier relaxed suit styles (19th-century British lounge suits; 1920s U.S.16 Sep 2026 · 11 min · 4 chapters
How Boredom WorksWhat boredom is, why it happens, how it affects the brain and behavior, and when it can be useful or harmful (including in animals and with smartphones/social media).15 Sep 2026 · 44 min · 18 chapters
Selects: Wasps: Not as cute as beesWasps (and hornets) are “not as cute as bees,” but they’re ecologically important.12 Sep 2026 · 47 min · 21 chapters
The Odyssey EpisodeA discussion of The Odyssey’s origins, themes, and plot—framed around the Epic Cast’s film adaptation—plus a “CliffsNotes” walkthrough of Odysseus’s homecoming and the story’s enduring appeal.10 Sep 2026 · 50 min · 15 chapters