iHeartPodcasts
500 episodes listed below
Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant explain one topic per episode, from the bicameral mind to Boeing's MCAS.
Stuff You Should Know is a broad curiosity show built around conversational research, side jokes, and approachable explanations. Recent episodes move from Camp David and kangaroo anatomy to Boeing's 737-MAX, cherry blossoms, generations, and consciousness.
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The show is built around a consistent interview-free, two-host explainer format: Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant research a topic and talk through it for the length of an episode, typically 40 to 55 minutes. Many episodes are solo two-hander conversations, while others are recorded in a panel format that includes producer Jerry Rowland as a third voice. There are no outside guests in the conventional sense; instead the hosts periodically credit source material from other writers, including Robert Lamb of the sister iHeartRadio show Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Recurring subject areas include science and philosophy of mind, corporate and regulatory accountability (aviation safety, engineering failures), American history and politics, health and infectious disease, sustainable agriculture, film history and behind-the-scenes production stories, and true crime or missing-persons cases. "Selects" episodes resurface archive topics for listeners who joined later. The show does not follow a serialized narrative arc; each episode is a self-contained deep dive that can be listened to independently of the others. Production is a straightforward studio conversation with light editing rather than heavy sound design or narrative scripting. Listeners who enjoy general-knowledge, curiosity-driven content across science, history, culture, and current events are the core audience, rather than listeners looking for a single-subject specialist show. Some episodes touch on fatal incidents (aviation crashes, unresolved disappearances), though the framing throughout stays explanatory rather than sensational.
Made for: Curious generalists who like long-form explainer content spanning science, history, true crime, and current events rather than a single-topic niche show.
What sets it apart: A consistent two-host explainer format applied to an unusually broad topic range, backed by a large archive of revisited 'Selects' episodes rather than guest interviews.
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.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Technical mechanisms become approachable through everyday comparisons, candid questions, and a conversational willingness to puzzle things out.
Stuff You Should Know turns large or technical questions into a two-voice conversation built from plain analogies, follow-up questions, and jokes.
Butterfly thermoregulation becomes a Ted Lasso bit, then Josh and Chuck get you back to the science.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Nixon spent $260,000 reinforcing a bomb shelter so a figure-eight pool could sit directly on top of it.
Camp David turns out to be stranger and more specific than its reputation as a diplomatic retreat. The episode's best detail is Nixon spending $260,000 in early 1970s money to reinforce the bomb shelter -- big enough for 150 defense staffers in a nuclear war -- because his…
How Boeing kept MCAS out of the flight manual, with the FAA's approval.
This Stuff You Should Know episode follows MCAS, the 737 Max software Boeing kept largely out of pilots' view. The hosts frame it as new software that could push the aircraft's nose down without giving an unbriefed pilot a clear reason for the behavior.
A clear, playful tour of a strange consciousness theory, grounded in ordinary automatic behavior.
Stuff You Should Know treats the bicameral mind hypothesis less as settled neuroscience than as a strange provocation about consciousness: how much of mental life runs automatically, and how little the conscious self can inspect.
A mild argument about creative accountability holds together one of Hollywood's messier production histories.
The episode runs on a low-key argument: when a film's writer, director, and actor are the same person, is that structural failure or a talent problem? One host reaches for the three branches of government; the other cites Clint Eastwood; nobody wins.
A loose, human-scale medical-history episode on Lyme disease, the spirochete discovery, and the antibiotic turn.
Stuff You Should Know gives Lyme disease a tidy origin story here, tracing how researchers identified the spirochete behind it and how antibiotics became the medical establishment's main answer in the 1990s, especially when the disease is caught early.
Lars Metonk called his mother from a hillside, and neither he nor she could tell what was real.
Lars Metonk checked into the Hotel Color -- $25 a night, the desk clerk having photocopied his credit card -- then called his mother at 11 p.m. to have it blocked.
A plainspoken primer on permaculture as practical land design, from berms and fish ponds to backyard zones.
Stuff You Should Know approaches permaculture less as a gardening trend than as a design problem: how to arrange land around attention, labor, and degrees of human disturbance. The episode is clearest when it turns abstract principles into spatial logic.
A breezy, useful look at how butterflies use sun, shelter, and wing posture to get airborne.
Stuff You Should Know treats butterflies less as delicate spring decoration than as animals solving a temperature problem. The best material is on thermoregulation: a butterfly paused in the sun may be warming up enough to fly, especially on cooler days, and those still wings…
Multi-part dramatized retellings of scandals like OceanGate's Titan and the Lehman Brothers collapse.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins dissect Oscar races, new releases, and Hollywood news.
Adam Kempenaar and Josh Larsen debate new releases, classics, and their own film rankings.
Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, and Jason Mantzoukas argue their way through terrible movies.
Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey rewatch The Office, scene by scene, with the people who made it.
Camp David keeps itself pretty hidden.
MCAS is the shocker.
Consciousness gets the flashlight treatment.
Checks and balances go missing fast.
A Bill Paxton tangent breaks the ice.
Josh and Chuck explain the history and complexities of the Colorado River water-sharing compact among southwestern states.
Josh and Chuck explore the history of movements to simplify English spelling, including President Teddy Roosevelt's 1906 executive order.
Josh and Chuck explore a variety of fascinating topics, from champagne to chaos theory, in an engaging and informative way.
A cheap hotel gets strange fast.
Josh and Chuck discuss Malcolm X's life and impact, sparked by Chuck's recent interest in his autobiography.
Josh and Chuck introduce a short episode about a band name, with sponsor messages for healthcare services.
Josh and Chuck explore the history and significance of fire for humanity, discussing how it was discovered and manipulated.
Josh and Chuck explore a variety of fascinating topics, from science to history, making complex subjects fun and accessible.
This stretch starts with layout.
Josh and Chuck introduce the topic of dandelions, discussing their various names and why they are often considered weeds.
Michael Easter opens with a statistic that only 2% of people take the stairs when an escalator is available, using that number to frame his show about mental toughness, fitness, and resilience.
Butterflies look aimless in the sun.
Josh and Chuck explain various topics, with this episode focusing on composting.
This episode appears to be a promotional compilation for various iHeart podcasts rather than substantive content about wetlands.
This episode appears to be about the biology and science of how snails function, though the transcript primarily consists of promotional content for other podcasts without substantive discussion of the topic.
This episode explores honey as a natural sweetener and its potential health benefits.
This episode explains the science behind sneezing and allergies.
Josh and Chuck kick off a spring-themed playlist by exploring the fascinating world of caterpillars, nature's magicians.
Josh and Chuck explore why myths about a great flood appear in cultures worldwide, revealing deeper truths behind common assumptions.
Josh and Chuck discuss the Cajun Navy, a volunteer group that rescues people during floods and hurricanes.
Josh and Chuck explore a variety of interesting topics, explaining them in an accessible and entertaining way.
Josh and Chuck discuss the story of Operation Mincemeat, a WWII deception plan that inspired a Broadway show.
Josh and Chuck explore a variety of fascinating topics, from science to history, in an engaging and informative way.
Josh and Chuck explain a variety of topics in an engaging and informative way.
Josh and Chuck explore the meanings behind free-range and cage-free labels on eggs and chicken, debunking common misconceptions.
Josh and Chuck discuss the lives and impact of hip-hop icons Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur.