Stuff You Should Know

What if we could take all the trash and waste we generate every year – gigatons worth – and used it again as raw materials. What we would have is a closed circle, one where we have everything we need without taking anything else from nature. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marianne Bachmeier committed a shocking act of violence in court in Germany in 1981 to avenge the murder of her young daughter. Many people understood. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The VW Beetle is the best selling car of all time. The story behind its creation is a bit complicated though. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Child prodigies are unique in that they achieve adult levels of achievement, but do not typically excel in adulthood. Why? Who knows. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The food we eat – especially the junk food – is a highly engineered technical marvel that’s designed to make you want nothing other than more! more! more! Learn about how food scientists make that possible by hijacking our brains. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is not about smoking or lawsuits or lung cancer. This is about the cigarette itself, a truly unique and destructive invention. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Church of the SubGenius is a religion, but really a parody of religion. Learn all about this group of weirdo outsiders in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He’s been called the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb and a real-life Bond villain and depending on where you’re from, he’s a national hero or was the world’s most dangerous arms dealer - who made a career of selling his knowledge of nuclear weapons. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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We have boycotts coming out of our ears these days, but did you know they go back a couple centuries? And that it’s named after the first poor sap to be boycotted? We follow the history of boycotts up today’s boycott superstars and ask how well they work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The word stoic has taken on its own meaning apart from the philosophical movement which gave it life. In this classic episode, learn all about the early stoics, what the philosophy is all about and where the movement stands today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alchemy evokes sorcerers working by candlelight combining potions to create magical items, real Dungeons & Dragons stuff. But alchemy gets a bad rap. Alchemists had lofty goals like curing poverty and their work laid the foundation for science to come. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bengal cats are gorgeous animals, but they are bought and sold on the designer pet market, so booo. Learn about these hybrid kitties today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the most bizarre stories to emerge from the cult radio show Coast to Coast AM – and that’s really saying something – isn’t about UFOs or bigfoot, but a mysterious hole in the ground with some very unusual properties. Top that, History Channel! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Child labor is no laughing matter. Even though we've taken care of it in the USA (mostly), it's still an issue around the globe. Listen to this classic episode and learn! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before Facebook and MySpace, before even Friendster, there was SixDegrees. Dive in today to learn about the first social media site, that was a few years too early. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

8 tracks were during vinyl, but preceded cassettes. Why? So people could listen to their music on the go. Check out this antiquated medium today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sherlock Holmes is perhaps the most famous fictional character in the world, and for good reason. More than a hundred years on, Arthur Conan Doyle’s 60 Holmes stories are still in print and he is the most portrayed human literary character in history. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coelacanths are incredibly interesting as far as fish go. For one, they were thought to have gone the way of the dinosaur, along with the dinosaur. They also give birth to live fish and tend to dwell more than 800 feet below the ocean's surface. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Learn all about these fascinating creatures in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.