Stuff You Should Know

In the exciting conclusion of our two-part episode on Hoover, we come in at the Cold War and end on a strange note. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

By definition hobos are people who travel from town to town taking odd jobs as they go. But some towns are friendlier than others, and hobos developed a system of symbols they left one another to know what to expect from a town. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that J. Edgar Hoover was perhaps the most powerful American of the 20th century. By the time he established the FBI as America’s police force, presidents were afraid of him. Just exactly how did he get to be so puissant? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Halloween 1938 young radio star Orson Welles scared the pants off of America with a fictional news bulletin claiming Martians had landed and were destroying the country. People across the nation ran wild with panic in the streets – or did they? Listen to this classic episode to find out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The idea that we aren’t the first advanced civilization to live on Earth sounds like a fringe theory, but it raises a good question: How can we be so sure that a civilization didn’t arise and die on Earth so long ago that any trace of it has been erased? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Even the dullest hockey game is worth seeing when the Zamboni comes out to resurface the ice. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Taking care of 12,000 tons of residential trash every day is a hard job. But how does that even work? Listen in to marvel at the NYC sanitation system. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite as much as one percent of the adult population having the condition, science doesn't actually know how stuttering works. The best it's come up with so far: there seems to be an issue between the physical process of speaking and the thought process that underlies it. Find out what science means by this in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sometimes you just have to turn it off for a while – all the thinking, and overthinking, analyzing, and figuring out. Sometimes it’s nice to just breathe through your mouth and talk about dumb things criminals do for an episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all know the story of the Titanic and the tragedy of lives lost. So hey, let's talk about the survivors for a change! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Misophonia is a condition in which certain sounds trigger people in very negative ways that can really disrupt someone's life. Listen in today to learn all about this fairly recently recognized condition. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As if being murdering SOBs weren’t enough, the Nazis were also thieving rats. During WWII, they stole billons in gold from countries they overran and moved it to Germany. But at the end of the war, only part of it was recovered. Where’s the rest? Find out the extent of our knowledge in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The only thing more complicated than an atomic clock is researching how they work and then figuring out how to explain it to other people. But believe us, they are fascinating. Even if you don’t care about clocks or atoms you’ll still like this episode.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Getting the wind knocked out of you is scary, but passes quickly. Learn exactly what's happening with all that today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Village People were a smash hit singing group that came and went in under two years. Then other people performed under that name for several decades. This is their story.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you've ever been to an international airport, you've probably seen one of the keenest spotters of illegal contraband - The Beagle Brigade! These cute dogs aren't after drugs or bombs, they're carefully trained to sniff out agricultural products. Learn all about this furry group of crime stoppers in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgia Tann was a bad human. We feel safe in saying that because she kidnapped babies from poor families to sell to wealthy ones. Listen in if you can stomach it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Not too much is known about Margaret Schilling. She was the kind of person whose memory might have been lost to time had she not left behind an indelible reminder of her.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You probably know wind energy projects have been around since the 90s, but did you know they now provide 10% of America’s energy, and more than that in other countries? Learn about what’s ahead for wind and what it’ll need to become a real star like coal. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Special effects have been around since the first movies. In fact, the techniques the earliest filmmakers created are still around today, we just use computers to do them faster and cheaper. Hit play on this classic episode and then put on your beret and get ready for SYSK film class. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we go down the road a bit, thumbs out, to explore the rich history of hitchhiking.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Few people have been more qualified to survive a plane crash alone in the Amazon for almost two weeks than Juliane Koepcke. Let’s hear her story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Arson investigation has changed a lot over the years. There is actual science available now, but the word still hasn't totally gotten out. Listen in today, and don't play with matches! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's common knowledge that famines are usually caused by major droughts: Rain doesn't fall, crops don't grow, and people go hungry. But recent research suggests that while weather may trigger famines, they may actually be more of a human-made catastrophe. Find out more in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We think of estrogen and testosterone as the female and male sex hormones and they may seem kind of gross (is that just Josh?), but that simple understanding is way off. A magical biochemical dance between the two creates everything from bones to moods. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.