Stuff You Should Know

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Rosa Parks finishes out our Black History Month episodes in grand fashion. While most know her from that fateful day on the Montgomery city bus, she actually had a long life as an advocate, protestor and agent of change. Join us via this classic episode as we celebrate one of America's great history makers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A greatest hit of the Satanic Panic of the 1980s came when the metal band Judas Priest was put on trial for the suicides of two teens. While the case was preposterous – based on alleged hidden satanic messages in the music – it arose from a real tragedy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We love our ghost ships here at SYSK and this is one of the better ones. But did it really even exist? Not likely.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Glasses as we know them have only been around for a few hundred years. So what did people do before this? And how did things change once spectacles were on the scene? Listen in to find out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every year Congress decides how the federal government will spend money. Simple enough, but in practice politics tend to mess it up. Sometimes it gets so messy the budget doesn’t get passed and parts of the government shut down. Then the hurting begins. Learn all about it in this classic, always timely episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a good chance that if you don't live in San Antonio, Texas, you may not know who scientist/adventurer Tom Slick is. Today we tackle the story of the most interesting man you've never heard of.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Killing Stone looms large in Japanese folklore, so when it split in half in March 2022, people were worried it would bring devastating effects in its wake. Except... they really didn't. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if science could create a drug that made you connect with people more deeply, let your emotions flow more openly, and sparked love and attachment in you for other people? Would you take it? Better hurry and decide because they might be on their way. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen in to this classic episode for the conclusion of the story of the Manson Family Murders. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The town of Celebration, Florida was supposed to be a utopia. What it ended up as is a mediocre neighborhood on the outskirts of Disney World.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who is Uncle Sam anyway? Was it a real person or just a marketing exercise? And why does he refuse to go away? Listen in to find out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Henry Ford was an odd guy, but one who had a vision for America that centered around a populist, affordable and reliable automobile. He was also a noted antisemite and not a great father. Today, we dive into the life of FMC's founder.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Science fiction writers have made some amazingly accurate predictions over the years, but in 1945 the pace of technological change created a field that spun off of sci-fi forecasting, futurology. Learn all about it with Josh and Chuck in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Outside of Germany, King Ludwig II is relatively unknown. And, yet, he is one of history’s most tragic and romantic kings. He was a gay icon and a ruler who eschewed public appearances for turn inward into a fantasy realm of his own making.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You – yes, you! – can be a hero to neglected and abused animals. But there’s a right way to do it, and that does not involve sneaking onto a neighbor’s property and stealing their dog or cat. Learn how to do it real legal-like in this episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Napster reared its head in 1999, it marked the beginning of the end of the compact disc era. Today, we trace the history of the slowly evolving death of physical music media.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The '60s ended with a lot of turbulence, not the least of which was the Manson Family Murders. What made Charles Manson so alluring to his family? What makes one person kill for another? And what did The Beatles have to do with it all? Learn all this and more in this first part of our two part classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.