Stuff You Should Know

A wild look at contortionism, from ancient religious traditions and circus fame to Mongolia’s rise as a training powerhouse. It explores extreme backbends, twists, balancing feats, and the science of hypermobility. There’s also a peek at how performers train their bodies for jaw-dropping flexibility.

A race to build the world’s first kilometer-high skyscraper takes center stage. There’s daring architecture shaped to outsmart fierce winds, a sky terrace above the Red Sea, and a luxury megatower packed with hotels, offices, and homes. Politics, delays, and a dramatic restart add even more suspense to whether it will finally rise to full height.

An overlooked TV trailblazer finally gets her due. The story follows her rise from Cincinnati radio to wildly popular daytime television, her knack for winning audience trust, and the informal on-air style that shaped a whole format. It also touches on advertiser battles, civic impact, personal tragedy, and the legacy she left behind.

A deep dive into mangrove biology and where these trees live around the world. Short explanations of red, black, and white mangrove adaptations. How mangroves handle salt and breathe in waterlogged soils. Reproduction by live seedlings and their role as nurseries for marine life. Their power to buffer storms, store 'blue carbon,' and the threats they face plus restoration and finance ideas.

A tiny Hong Kong enclave became the world’s most densely populated, growing like an improvised vertical organism. Listeners hear how ad-hoc construction, shadowy utilities and hive-like architecture shaped daily life. The conversation covers the underground economy of unregulated businesses and the uneasy mix of community institutions and criminal protection. It ends with the clearance, park replacement and cultural afterlife.

A stroll through how movies made the leap from overhead reels to seatback streaming. A look at the tech and costs behind onboard entertainment. A peek at why films get edited for different cultures and who makes those cut decisions.

A fast-rise festival built on influencer hype and glossy promos that promised luxury on a tiny island. The organizers’ past scams and risky cash tactics come under scrutiny. Rushed logistics, impossible builds, and chaotic arrivals lead to viral failures. Legal fallout, missing millions, and attempts to revive the brand are explored.

They trace how 19th-century spiritualism arose from frontier life, science, and Civil War grief. The Fox sisters' famous knocks and staged seances get explained alongside table-turning, direct-voice tricks, and spirit photography. Fraud, exposés, and famous proponents and skeptics are explored. The movement’s ties to women's agency and social reform are also highlighted.

They trace the rise of world's fairs from industrial-era showcases to massive global expos. Highlights include the Crystal Palace, Eiffel Tower debut, Chicago's White City and the Ferris wheel. They cover flashy tech like early cinema, electric lighting and IBM exhibits, plus controversial colonial displays and modern mega-expos in Osaka and Shanghai.

A fast dive into the life of Old West outlaw Johnny Ringo. They cover his traumatic childhood and how it may have shaped him. The story traces his descent into rustling, jail escapes, and ties to Tombstone figures. The hosts debate whether his 1882 death was suicide or murder and share a poignant portrait of a haunted character.