Stuff You Should Know

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Latest Episodes:

Battle Royale: Optimists vs Pessimists Dec 16, 2025

Show notes

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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Selects: Star Wars Holiday Spectacular Dec 13, 2025

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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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SYSK's 12 Days of Christmas… Toys: What Makes a Must-Have Christmas Toy? Dec 12, 2025

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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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SYSK's 12 Days of Christmas… Toys: How Hot Wheels Work Dec 12, 2025

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If you're an American who had a childhood, you probably have some nostalgia for Hot Wheels. Get your engines revved for this trip down memory lane as we discuss these fun and iconic toys.

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SYSK's 12 Days of Christmas… Toys: How Play-Doh Works Dec 12, 2025

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Do you love Play-Doh? Chuck and Josh certainly love to talk about it, from its interesting history as a wall cleaner, to its more scientific chemical properties. It's everything you ever wanted to know about the pliable children's toy.

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SYSK's 12 Days of Christmas… Toys: Hula-Hoops: The Toy That's A Shape Dec 12, 2025

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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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SYSK's 12 Days of Christmas… Toys: How Monopoly Works Dec 12, 2025

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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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SYSK's 12 Days of Christmas… Toys: Beanie Babies: Reigning Toy Craze Champion Dec 12, 2025

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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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SYSK's 12 Days of Christmas… Toys: Etch A Sketch! Dec 12, 2025

Show notes

The Etch A Sketch is yet another classic toy that Josh and Chuck love and respect. Learn all about this Hall of Fame entry today.

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SYSK's 12 Days of Christmas… Toys: How the Nintendo Entertainment System Changed Gaming Forever Dec 12, 2025

Show notes

For the holidays in 1986 (and ’87) (and ’88) the most stupendous, most wanted, most amazing thing any kid could possibly get – outside of a pony, *maybe* – was the NES. That year, video games came back from the dead and changed forever.

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