Stuff You Should Know

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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.

  • 11 minutes 26 seconds
    Short Stuff: Why is holly a holiday thing?

    Holly is waxy and super sharp, not exactly the kind of thing you'd want all over your house. Yet it happens every holiday season. Today we dig in to discover why.

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    24 December 2025, 10:00 am
  • 50 minutes 41 seconds
    SYSK's 2025 Holiday Extravaganza Christmas Special

    Deck your tidings and get your halls nice and gladded because it’s time for maybe the best episode of the year, where SYSK loosens our ties, puts on our smoking jackets and Santa hats and create holiday nostalgia in real time. Happy holidays, everybody!

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    23 December 2025, 10:00 am
  • 58 minutes 56 seconds
    Selects: PT Barnum: More Complicated Than You've Heard

    When your life is as outsized as the World’s Greatest Showman PT Barnum it’s pretty easy to - you know - gloss over the grimmer aspects when you turn it into an uplifting musical movie. But the way to understand a person is to look at them, warts and all. Josh and Chuck take a full accounting in this classic episode.

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    20 December 2025, 10:00 am
  • 39 minutes
    Doggerland: Lost at Sea

    The story of Doggerland is pretty fascinating. The idea is that mainland Europe and the UK were connected not only by a land bridge, but a place where plants, animals and even humans, thrived. 

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    18 December 2025, 10:00 am
  • 14 minutes 39 seconds
    Short Stuff: Battle of Itter Castle

    At the end of WWII in Europe, one of the strangest battles of the war took place between German troops fighting alongside Americans and French to beat back an assault by the Nazi SS.

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    17 December 2025, 10:00 am
  • 55 minutes 35 seconds
    Battle Royale: Optimists vs Pessimists

    Everybody’s always bagging on pessimists and telling everybody they should be more optimistic. Well, nuts to that! There are plenty of benefits from being a pessimist. Although being an optimist still wins in basically every category ☹

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    16 December 2025, 10:00 am
  • 54 minutes 21 seconds
    Selects: Star Wars Holiday Spectacular

    Long ago, in a galaxy not so far away, George Lucas allowed the Star Wars Holiday Special to be made. What happened on the night of November 17, 1978 can never be fully explained, but we make our best effort in our annual special edition of SYSK. May the force be with us all.

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    13 December 2025, 10:00 am
  • 49 minutes 17 seconds
    SYSK's 12 Days of Christmas… Toys: What Makes a Must-Have Christmas Toy?

    Ever since Cabbage Patch Kids came along in 1983, there’s been an annual holiday frenzy around one particular toy – the must-have Christmas toy of the year. But what makes a toy a must-have toy? Josh and Chuck investigate (and kick off the holidays).

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    12 December 2025, 10:10 am
  • 49 minutes 46 seconds
    SYSK's 12 Days of Christmas… Toys: Beanie Babies: Reigning Toy Craze Champion

    The world has seen a lot of weird investment bubbles in its time, but few of them rival the fever that gripped the world in the 90s after Beanie Babies took off. Let’s visit this strange chapter in toy history together.

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    12 December 2025, 10:05 am
  • 57 minutes 22 seconds
    SYSK's 12 Days of Christmas… Toys: How Monopoly Works

    Since more than 1 billion people have played it, you're probably familiar with the board game Monopoly, but we bet you don't know its secret origins as a left-wing socialist teaching tool. Learn about the history, rules and cultural impact of Monopoly.

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    12 December 2025, 10:05 am
  • 39 minutes 54 seconds
    SYSK's 12 Days of Christmas… Toys: Hula-Hoops: The Toy That's A Shape

    We've covered our fair share of pop-culture icons and here is another - Hula-Hoops. They've been around since ancient time in some form or another, but made their name in during the Hoop Boom of the 1950s. Learn all about this popular fad and more.

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    12 December 2025, 10:05 am
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