5 Podcasts You Should Check Out – 1/5 – “Stuff You Should Know”

5 Podcasts You Should Check Out – Introduction

Over the next few days, I’ll be uploading five blog posts about some podcasts I’ve listened to throughout the years. Each post will be a review of a different type of podcast, one for each of the following categories: social justice, literary, comedic, musical (this doesn’t sound right, but I basically mean a podcast about music, by a musician, or centering on the music industry), and educational. I’ll focus mostly on one episode of the podcast which I think works as a synecdoche for the entire show. At the end of each post, I’ll give some out-of-ten ratings, because I’m very imaginative.

While these will largely be reviews of podcasts I’ve listened to for a long time, they won’t all be talking about how great my taste is. I’ll be the first to admit that I listen to some of these podcasts not just because I enjoy them, but also because of a minor case of Stockholm’s Syndrome akin to the kind one has for a manipulative, yet loyal childhood friend. The irresistible, but occasionally unbearable Harmontown, for instance.

My first pick, however, is the new hotness. A show I’d consider a perfect educational podcast.

Podcast 1/5 – Educational – Stuff You Should Know

Josh Clark (left) and Charles W. “Chuck” Bryant (right) Source: ABC

Stuff You Should Know is a phenomenal educational podcast hosted by Josh Clark and Charles W. “Chuck” Bryant. An episode of this podcast typically focuses on a single, miscellaneous topic. The sole unifying feature of all SYSK topics is that they’re universally interesting. Scope and social importance varies greatly, but so long as the topic is interesting, it can be a topic of an episode. The topics can be on socially important and nuanced topics like, “The Future of Renewable Energy,” or on less important, more absurd premises like “Korean Fan Death” and “The Golden Age of Graverobbing.”

This format makes it a perfect podcast for those who enjoy the way podcasts seem to elevate their social skills. There’s really no better way to exit small talk with an acquaintance than by saying, “Hey, I heard today that in South Korea, there is a wide-spread superstition that you can die from leaving your fan on at night.” “Wow, I didn’t know that,” they say, and the conversation instantly becomes more vibrant and meaningful. When I listen to podcasts, I tend to look out for juicy factoids I can share with others, and SYSK is like 30-60 minutes of non-stop juicy factoids.

Speaking of 30-60 minutes, episodes of SYSK are beautifully paced, and never overstay their welcome. Pacing and length is incredibly important in podcasting, and I think SYSK has perfected both. It’s incredibly dense with information, and packs in plenty of brief, entertaining asides between Josh and Chuck that give the listener a good feel for their personalities. As someone who can be impatient with podcasters who derail the topic, I appreciate that Josh and Chuck always seem to have the focus of the episode in mind. It helps that both seem to have a talent for knowing what pieces of information would appeal to people who would be interested in the topic of the episode.

The episode embedded above, for instance, has the topic, “What is the most peaceful time in history?” At one point, Josh and Chuck are talking about the rule of Ghengis Khan, and they embark on many fascinating side-conversations. One is about the pronunciation of “Ghengis” (it’s pronounced, “Jain-giss” apparently. Can’t wait to answer with that pronunciation in a trivia tournament and have to argue with the moderator). They talk about the pronunciation for a few seconds, then swiftly get back on the topic. In another aside, Josh recalls a saying about the peacefulness of the Mongolian empire–a woman can walk across the whole of the Mongolian empire carrying a pot of gold, and not be bothered. Following that, they naturally go into a short discussion about whether a place can be considered peaceful if that peace is founded on having absurdly severe punishments for crimes.

While weaving historical and philosophical discussions, Josh and Chuck always keep a lighthearted and conversational tone. A good way to illustrate this is in the episode embedded above, when Josh cites a source by someone named “Hobbes,” and adds, “Not Calvin and Hobbes,” for seemingly no reason.

My view is that an excellent balance of high and low culture is the essential ingredient to great internet content. A lot of podcasts are primarily low culture entertainment, and adopt a sort of over-earnestness when they dip their toes into topics typically reserved for books and classrooms. By contrast, Josh and Chuck always seem to have a sort of open, curious, light-hearted attitude about any topic, whether it’s meaningless or existentially harrowing. You never feel like they’re talking down to you, nor do you ever feel like they’re up their own asses. It’s great stuff.

Numerical Ratings

These are basically pointless, but they’re fun for me. The categories are ranked by importance relative to the genre. Since this is educational, the rankings are:

Juicy Factoid density: 10/10
Consistency: 10/10
Pacing/length: 10/10
Entertainment value: 8/10
Heart: 7/10
Laughs: 5/10

Overall: 10/10. Since the top three categories are the most important aspect of an educational podcast, it weighs out to a 10/10.