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Anyone with a thirst for knowledge is likely curious about the world and all its wonders, from unique inventions to historical events. Fortunately, there is the perfect podcast for those who want to become a fount of knowledge for their friends and family as well as the secret weapon you desperately need for your next trivia night.
The Stuff You Should Know podcast explores topics you may not have heard much about or dives deeper into others you have for a richer history. According to the podcast description: "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."
On the October 15 episode, the podcast discussed The Anarchist Cookbook, a book by William Powell published in 1971 that contains instructions for making weapons, explosives and illicit drugs and a whole host of "forbidden knowledge." It's this element of danger, however, that had Powell later reportedly regretting making those instructions available to the masses. While most readers poured over the pages to learn about something new, some used it for their own nefarious purposes.
"In the real world, this book has been used in plots that have resulted in real life deaths," said co-host Josh. "Like Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, he had a copy. A guy named Thomas Spinks who bombed ten abortion clinics in the '80s, he had a copy. The Boston marathon bombers, they had copies. The Columbine shooters, they had a copy. Like, even if it didn't directly teach them how to blow people up necessarily, it was still an inspirational book for them."
He continued, "The craziest part about this whole thing is that these people were buying fully into a book written by an angry 19 year old who went on to grow up very shortly after the publication of this book and denounced it almost immediately."
About five years after publishing the book, Powell had become a different man, even becoming an educator to kids with learning disabilities, so when he realized people were using his book for violent acts, he wanted to "distance himself" from the book. However, he didn't own the copyright and couldn't get it permanently pulled from print, something he "wanted more than anything."
Follow along with new episodes of Stuff You Should Know or expand your knowledge even more by catching up on old episodes at iHeartRadio.com.