Stuff You Should Know

Humanity’s created a lot of neat things over the eons and starting in the 1940s, the UN created an agency focused on preserving those things for the whole world and future people. But that mission is in danger of becoming only about branding and money. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s a kind of bird that lots of people think is a real jerk. And it kind of is. But in the brown-headed cowbird’s defense, it’s just evolved that way. Find out why it has such a bad reputation among bird lovers in this Short Stuff. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Once in a while someone comes up with a solution for a problem we didn’t know we had, and maybe even a problem that didn’t even exist. Even more rarely, the stars align just right so that some crackpot invention captures everyone’s imagination. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this classic episode Josh and Chuck sit down and detail the complicated life of the late, great Sammy Davis Jr. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2014 a ferry carrying hundreds of South Korean high school students on a field trip sunk, killing almost everyone on board. Hauntingly, their deaths were fully avoidable: everyone from the dock inspector to the Coast Guard to the president failed them. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Japanese Cherry Blossom is a sight to behold. But how did they get to Washington D.C.? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all love to tour our generation's superiority, but who decides where the split occurs and what to name it? And is this even a thing or just an arbitrary division? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you think secretly coded messages sent via short wave radio is Cold War relic, think again. In this classic episode, Chuck and Josh are here to dispel that myth, along with many others relating to numbers stations, including why they might still be operational. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The worker co-op has a rich tradition and can work a variety of ways. Join us as we dig into the nuts and bolts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you think Spring Break started with northern college kids heading to Florida to party, you'd be correct. But there's slightly more to it than that.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jump in today to hear all about the disaster that was the movie ROAR. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you live in the Northeastern U.S. then you may know someone who has had Lyme disease. But it's spreading all over the country and parts of the world. Learn all about this tick-borne disease in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deciding how to share water is pretty important stuff when there isn't much of it around. Today we dive into the Colorado River Compact. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pretty much everyone agrees that English is a chaotic language. There are nutso rules of grammar and spelling other languages don’t have. More than once, movements have emerged to simplify English and each time they were beaten back with a vengeance.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lots of nations gauge the health of their country by how the middle class is doing. There’s just one issue with that – no one can say exactly what defines the middle class. But even when you take a guess, it seems like the health isn’t so good these days. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2014, a young German man walked into an airport in Bulgaria with a flight booked, then suddenly ran out leaving all his posessions behind, never to be heard from again. This classic episode tells the story of Lars Mittank. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malcolm X was one of the most revered, feared leaders of the civil rights movement. In contrast to Martin Luther King, Jr., X advocated black self-reliance and separateness in American society and that equal rights should obtained by any means necessary. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1876 it rained meat out of the clear blue sky on a homestead in Bath County, Kentucky. While the mystery of what happened will never be solved, the best explanation makes the story even weirder than it seems. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first fires came from lightning strikes. After that, no one is super sure when we started controlling it and then later, starting our own. But it's sure fun to speculate! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If there's one thing we've learned about Chuck over the years it's that he loves his gin. And he loves it even more now that understands it. Pour yourself a martini and cozy up to the classic gin-cast.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Caterpillars are simply the best. Don't think so? Well listen in and you'll soon agree. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you thought caterpillars were awesome, just wait until you see them with colorful, iridescent wings! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They seem gross and bothersome at first, but once you get down to ground level and get to know snails, we’ll bet you’ll grow quite fond of them. They are living in a whole world we’re largely unaware of. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dandelions are way more interesting than you think. Trust us and click play. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Permaculture is a growing trend in the world of farming and home landscaping. It's basically a design principle that emphasizes sustainability and the would-be, natural ecosystem of an area. Simple concepts like planting downhill from a pond and using gravity to feed plants to planting native plants and vegetation that work well together are hallmarks of permaculture. Learn all about this eco-frie...