Stuff You Should Know

Unless you have an arcane disorder from a lesion on a very specific spot on our medulla, the chances are you sneeze. Turns out most animals do it, even lizards! Learn the whys and hows of this most interesting involuntary reflex. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s time to get jazzed up for some Earth science of the waterlogged variety. Join Chuck and Josh as they tour some of the most interesting ecosystems on the planet and learn why we need to stop destroying them post haste. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You may think composting is just a bunch of old banana peels rotting away into dirt but, friend, you're not looking closely enough. Inside that compost pile is a microcosmic universe doing some magical stuff. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Squirrels are rodents, sure, but they’re rodents with personalities the size of Las Vegas and Detroit put together. Get to know your bushy-tailed (and sometimes not so bushy) neighbors who live interesting hidden lives right out in the open. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Honey is an amazing thing. Just ask any bee. They make a ton of it. So much that humans get what bees can't use and that's a lot of honey. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you could put your leg behind your head, would you? Of course you would! You might even make a career out of it, amazing people around the world with your flexibility. That’d make you a contortionist! But first you’d better get started with stretching. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Jeddah Tower is set to be the tallest building in the world. If it ever gets finished.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ruth Lyons basically invented the daytime talk show, yet she doesn't get the credit. Why is that? Probably because she was a woman in a man's industry. Today we tell her story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mangroves are incredible survivors and adapters. They're also amazing at lessening the impact of tropical storms and climate change. And heck, they're cool looking. So jump into the brackish waters and have a listen to this classic episode all about these beauts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the 1970s to the early 1990s a patch of land in Hong Kong the size of just a few football fields was the most densely-populated area in the world – and by a longshot. Even more remarkable, it was an outlaw land that somehow formed a tight community. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Movies on planes have changed a lot in the last couple of decades. Today, we'll go over how this stuff works.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when a career grifter tries to throw a "luxury" music festival in only six months? Not much it turns out. This was the Fyre Festival. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Something spooky was born on the American frontier in the mid-19th century: the idea that people’s personalities survive death and that some gifted individuals can communicate with them. It developed into a religion that some still practice today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before the internet could show you anything in the universe - including stuff it made up - people had few opportunities to have their minds blown. But every few years, somewhere in the world nations would gather and show off the cool stuff they invented. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You might be familiar with the outlaw Johnny Ringo from the movie Tombstone. He was indeed a real-life black hat gunslinger, and a tragic figure at that. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There was a time less than 100 years ago when you could exchange your paper currency at the bank for actual gold. Gave folks a sense of stability, it did. Depending on your view, we either ruined or built our economies when money became just paper. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dopamine is perhaps the most talked-about, most misunderstood biochemical in our bodies. It’s linked to not only addiction and depravity, but also focus, motivation, and living a productive life. How can one molecule be so many things to so many people? Find out all about it in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Back in 1973 a male chauvinist played tennis against champion Billie Jean King. This is that story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s a MacGuffin? We don’t know. No one knows. But it has to do with movies and that’s fun to talk about. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stanford University was co-founded by Jane Stanford. Not long after she was murdered and it was covered up. We'll probably never know what really happened. Listen in today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Free range parenting is all about giving your child the freedom to play and explore life on their own. Are there benefits? Sure. Do some people hate the concept? Yes! Listen to this classic episode and learn right here.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Flexner Report shook up medicine in the United States when it was released in 1910 and it's never been the same since. For better or worse. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Back in the 1800s, people had an outsized fear of being buried alive. Enter... THE SAFETY COFFIN! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’ve ever been out of your house you’ve probably been in a crowd before. They can be as mundane as an elevator full of people or as consequential as a mass of protesters. But did you know there’s psychology to crowds? And they follow fluid dynamics? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Charles Darwin wasn't the first or only scientist to grasp the theory of evolution through natural selection, but he became its father and icon. In this classic episode, learn about the man who reluctantly but bravely became the source of the divide between religion and science. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.