Stuff You Should Know

The good news is that we know antidepressants can treat major depression, helping millions of people live healthier lives. The bad news is that we don’t really know how they do that. Check out the the...

Pete Rose said she was “bigger than any one player” in baseball during the 70s and 80s. Morganna the Kissing Bandit became a legend in sports for running onto baseball fields and kissing players durin...

Scrabble is a game that neither of us plays with regularity. And maybe that's good for this episode. We're all learning, right?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is literally all around you (and even inside you) - electricity makes up the basis of modern life. But what exactly is electricity and how does it work? In this classic episode, Josh and Chuck chas...

The market for Chinese art used to be very small and is now a billion dollar annual industry. What changed? And how is this all tied to a string of heists? Listen in to find out. See omnystudio.com/li...

A request by our producer Dave C, we explore how totally on your own you were in Medieval England when the court declared you an outlaw.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The telephone switchboard was a real wonder of technology and laid the groundwork for the next generation of connectivity. Learn how these things worked today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

Crickets are part of a larger insect-based diet enjoyed in most parts of the world. Loaded with vitamins, minerals and protein, and green to boot, crickets could help solve some of the world's food pr...

In a tribute to the late founder of HowStuffWorks Marshall Brain, we chose one of his great articles. Learn all about how your phone knows how to get you around without bumping into stuff or running p...

Fanta has its roots in Germany during WWII, so the Nazi association is something that's tough to deny. Dive in and hear all about how this beloved soda got its start as a non-orange, bad-tasting fizzy...

One of the more famous unsolved true crime cases concerns a woman found stuffed into a tree in a woods outside Worcestershire during WWII. Despite an extensive effort by police at the time of her disc...

A decade before the U.S. officially segregated in 1896, baseball banned black players. A decade before the US integrated, baseball broke the color barrier. Between, the Negro Leagues produced some of...

Does everyone have an inner monologue? What purpose do they serve? What if you don't have one? Listen in to find out these answers and MORE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 24/7 short order restaurant Waffle House is known for staying open during natural disasters, so much so that federal agencies gauge where to start helping in areas where they’re closed.See omnystu...

Harry Belafonte is most famous for introducing America to calypso music, with hits like Day-O and Jump In the Line. But he was also one of the most earnest and hard-working fighters of injustice Ameri...

The collar bomb heist is the crime caper that keeps on giving. Every time the story seemed like it was figured out, another layer appeared. Tune in to this classic episode to hear Josh and Chuck detai...

Operation Flagship was undertaken at a time when the U.S. Marshals performed their jobs with a lot of flair. What other agency would throw a football party in order to arrest a handful of (mostly) non...

If you lived in ancient Persia, you could do a lot worse in trying to cool things down than by building a yakhchāl. Today we break down how the early fridges worked.See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

Keeping things cold with electricity changed the world as we know it. In more ways than you might expect. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The robber barons were not a group of evil super villains. OR WERE THEY? Learn all about these titans of industry from the Gilded Age in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

Since it was introduced in the 60s, the Tragedy of the Commons, the idea that humans will inevitably ruin any resource we all share, has had sweeping effects on government and public attitudes on who...

One of the lesser-known cases of American true crime is also a very sad one. Meet Charles Morgan, a man who got in over his head with organized crime.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...

Beneath Paris lies the bones of more than 6 million people. And you can walk among them for 31 euros. These are the Paris catacombs. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was only in the last few decades that science became aware that itches aren't just low-level pain. And in that time, the mystery of how we itch and why we scratch has gotten even more baffling. Exp...

You want payback don’t you? Sure, we all do. We all want it so bad. So bad. Sometimes people do things to get payback against someone who’s wronged them and sometimes those things they do are memorabl...

Guiness beer is famous for its smooth and creamy texture, thanks in part to nitrogen, and also a simplistically brilliant little device called the Guinness widget.See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

Being gullible is a weird thing. But are you born with it? Is it learned? Can you be trusting and not gullible? Listen in to find out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mount St. Helen's is a lovely sight to behold, but was a pretty scary thing to be around in the Spring of 1980. Listen in to the harrowing story in this classic episode!See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Once upon a time no visit to New York was complete without eating at an automat. Putting a nickel in a slot and pulling your own ham sandwich from a lit glass case thrilled people to no end. Eventuall...

Bread is about 30,000 years old. Sliced bread is less than 100. What gives? Listen in to find out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.