A Little Knowledge
by Jackson Connor Joe Monaco
Two lifelong friends grab the mic to talk about everything from culture and current events to random facts they half-remember from somewhere. Armed with a little knowledge and a lot of confidence, they break down big topics, small topics, and occasionally topics they probably shouldn't be explaining at all. It's equal parts insight, speculation, and good-natured nonsense.
Episodes
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$50 to get shot? Branding 2
This week on A Little Knowledge, Joe and Jackson take a trip through the history of branding. Where did the word "brand" come from, what did it originally mean, and how did we go from marking livestock to putting logos on practically everything we own? We explore the origins of branding, how it...
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A Little Brand Loyalty...YEAH!
This week on A Little Knowledge, Joe takes the reins as we dive headfirst into the world of brand loyalty. From the products we swear by to the companies we refuse to support, Joe and Jackson explore what makes us loyal to a brand and just how far we're willing to go to defend our favorites. Are...
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Jackson's Testament: Dragons Part 3
In this episode, Jackson wraps up his three-part podcast series exploring dragons and why they appear in the Bible. Could their presence be the result of mistranslation, or is there something deeper hiding in the text? Jackson takes us through the Old Testament, the New Testament, and perhaps…
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How to Train Your Cuttlefish: Dragons Part 2
This week, Jackson dives into dragons, mythical creatures, and some of the bizarre animals lurking beneath the ocean. His star witness? The cuttlefish, a strange little sea creature whose ability to change its appearance somehow becomes evidence that dragons may have actually existed. Joe…
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To Be or Not to Be Distracted: Dragons Part 1
This week on A Little Knowledge, we dive into Shakespeare, T. S. Eliot, metaphors, and the strange ways we use language to explain the world around us. Meanwhile, Joe tries his damnedest to derail Jackson at every possible opportunity. Jackson, somehow, refuses to take the bait and keeps dragging...
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Joe Saw the Sign, Jackson Saw the Ark
This week on A Little Knowledge, Jackson takes us down the rabbit hole of the Ark of the Covenant, and Joe does his best to figure out what the hell he's talking about. We dig into the Ark, its biblical significance, the mystery surrounding it, and why people have been fascinated by it for...
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Explosive Superstitions: Curses, Part 2
This week, we dive deeper into the strange world of curses. From the so-called Kennedy curse and the witchcraft behind some of history's most famous superstitions to the Salem witch trials, we try to figure out why people have believed in curses for centuries. Then we bring it all the way to...
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A Little Superstition: Curses, Part 1
This week on A Little Knowledge, we're getting a little supernatural. We talk about the occult, curses, blessings, and self-fulfilling prophecies, and how much power these ideas can have simply because we believe in them. Joe and Jackson look back at growing up in a time when our exposure to news...
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Wait... It Was an Emu? Jokes, Part 3
This week on A Little Knowledge, we take a questionably researched trip through the modern history of joke telling, from the 1800s to today. We look at how jokes have changed over the years, what people found funny in different eras, and how humor became such a big part of popular culture.…
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Is This Thing On? Jokes, Part 2
This week on A Little Knowledge, we look back at our history with telling jokes, where we learned them, who we learned them from, and how our sense of humor changed as we got older. We talk about our fathers' very different senses of humor and the lessons we picked up along the way about what…
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Dewey Kid You Not? Jokes, Part 1
This week on A Little Knowledge, Joe and Jackson put down the research and start telling each other jokes. And somehow, Jackson's Uncle Dewey ends up becoming the star of half of them. We trade jokes, see who can actually make the other one laugh, and discover just how many punchlines can involve...
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A Little F#@%ing Knowledge: Curse Words, Part 2
This week on A Little Knowledge, we're talking about something almost everyone does—swearing. Why do humans swear in the first place? Why do certain words feel so much more satisfying than others? Joe and Jackson share some of their favorite swear words, talk about where our colorful language…
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A Little F#@%ing Knowledge: Curse Words
This week, Joe and Jackson dive into the surprisingly fascinating world of swearing. They swap stories about growing up, the role bad words played in their families, and how their early exposure to profanity shaped the way they think about language today. Along the way, they explore why humans...
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We're Adults... Allegedly
This week, we find ourselves reflecting on the incredible journey of fatherhood and the moments from childhood when we first realized what was possible—those little milestones that made us feel like we were growing up. Of course, we don't stay on topic for long. Joe lovingly talks about his...
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We Do Get Sneakerheads
What makes something "cool," and who gets to decide? This week, Joe and Jackson tackle sneaker culture, the psychology behind collecting, and the invisible social economy of cultural currency and cultural capital. From limited-edition Jordans to everyday status symbols, they explore why people...
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We Don't Get Sneakerheads
This week, Joe and Jackson step into the world of sneaker culture—a world filled with hype drops, resale prices, limited editions, and people who camp overnight just to buy shoes. They explore what makes a pair of sneakers more than just footwear, why some people treat them like works of art or...
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The Great Blue Conspiracy
This week, Jackson drags Joe into the strange world of perception and forces him to confront a reality he'd rather ignore: blue birds aren't actually blue... and neither is the sky. What starts as a conversation about how our brains interpret light quickly turns into an uphill battle as Joe...
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Joe Sees Red, Jackson Has Questions
This week, Joe takes the lead on a deep dive into the history, psychology, and cultural impact of the color red while Jackson jumps in with questions, observations, and the occasional derailment. From prehistoric cave pigments and royal robes to warning signs, advertising, politics, and pop...
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The Duck Difference
This week, Joe and Jackson dive into the surprisingly weird history of duct tape, duck tape, WD-40, and PB Blaster. Why do some people swear by one product over another? Is Duck Tape actually duct tape? What does WD-40 even stand for? And can any of these miracle products really fix everything?...
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The History of English, Constantly Interrupted
What do Vikings, French nobles, Roman soldiers, and a terrible Sean Connery impression have in common? They all helped shape this week's episode on the surprisingly chaotic history of the English language.
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Big Trouble In Little Pennsylvania: Language Part 2
In this episode, Joe puts Jackson in the hot seat with follow-up questions from our previous discussion on language and rhetoric. We explore theories about the birth of language, how humans went from gestures and sounds to complex communication, and the teachers who inspired us along the way. As...
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Words, Myths, and Other Poor Decisions
What makes language so powerful? Why are humans uniquely capable of persuasion, storytelling, and argument? This week, Jackson shares lessons from a college course he teaches on the origins of language and rhetoric. We dive into Greek mythology, ancient philosophy, and the foundations of...
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Riobic Tompomiter: Lyrics Part 3
Why do lyrics matter so much to us? In Part 3 of our ongoing lyrics series, Jackson gives Joe an alternative pronunciation to iambic pentameter and takes a surprisingly serious dive into poetry, meter, rhythm, rhyme schemes, Greek storytelling traditions, and the musical DNA that connects ancient...
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Lyrics, Memory, and Misunderstanding Part 2
In this episode, we explore why people mishear lyrics, where the term "mondegreen" comes from, and how songs evolve through misunderstanding and repetition. We also do a short lyrical breakdown of the classic hip-hop track They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) by Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth…
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Misheard and Confident: 'Revved Up Like a… What?
We've all done it—sang a lyric loud and proud only to find out years later we were completely wrong. In this episode, we dive into the world of misheard lyrics, from grunge-era mumbling to the legendary "revved up like a deuce" confusion in Blinded by the Light.
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We Missed Our Exit. We're Dealing With It. Part 2
After breaking down the unspoken rules of the road, which are very much spoken, Joe and Jackson go back through their biggest driving goofs and put them to the test—legal or illegal. Some answers are satisfying. Others… not so much.
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You Missed Your Exit, Deal With It.
Driving is the only place where complete strangers silently agree on rules… and then immediately ignore them. We're talking lane hogs, fake courtesy waves, aggressive mergers, and the universal belief that everyone else is the problem. Are these real rules, or just things we yell about in our cars?
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Fireworks: The Redemption Arc
Ever wonder what actually goes into putting on a fireworks show? Neither did we—until now. A second opinion pulls back the curtain on the choreography, timing, and risk behind every explosion. We came in skeptical… we left impressed. Dr. Jeff sets us straight on why we should care about the...
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Fireworks Part 2: Explained Poorly (But Better Than Last Time)
In Part 2 of our fireworks episode, we revisit everything we confidently got wrong and replace it with actual facts. From how fireworks are made and with what, to why they're legal (sometimes), to what's actually happening when someone wants get your attention, and not in a good way. Also Joe...
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Fireworks! Annoying, Amazing, and Completely Unnecessary
Fireworks! Loud, beautiful, and guaranteed to send every neighborhood dog into panic mode. We break down what we hate, what we love, and why we watch, sometimes.
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Let's Talk About the Word 'Tool'… We're Probably Wrong
In this episode, Jackson takes a shallow dive into the origins of using the word 'tool' as an insult in the modern world. Joe tries to keep up, but mostly derails the conversation every chance he gets. Somehow, Jackson keeps things on track long enough to make a point. Joe then brings in an…
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Let's Talk Tools You Tool. Part 2
Jackson unpacks a 'lifelong lesson' he had wrong, and now feels completely confident explaining. Meanwhile, Joe shares how he and an accomplice took it upon themselves to improve their friends life—without his knowledge, consent, or request. Accuracy is questionable, confidence is not.
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Let's talk tools you tool. Our First Episode
One of them builds things for a living. The other sits at a computer all day. In their first episode Joe and Jackson talk about growing up with dads who believed every kid should know how to work with their hands. Did we actually learn anything? You'll have to listen to find out.
About this show
Two lifelong friends grab the mic to talk about everything from culture and current events to random facts they half-remember from somewhere. Armed with a little knowledge and a lot of confidence, they break down big topics, small topics, and occasionally topics they probably shouldn't be explaining at all. It's equal parts insight, speculation, and good-natured nonsense.
Hosted by
Jackson Connor Joe Monaco