Mentioned in Podcasts

Episode · Stuff You Should Know · 2025-12-12

Books mentioned on SYSK's 12 Days of Christmas… Toys: How Monopoly Works

2 books · Listen · Watch on YouTube

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.

Josh Clark discussed The Monopoly Companion by Philip Orbanes and The Billion Dollar Monopoly Swindle by Ralph Anspach.

Books mentioned, in the order they came up

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  1. The Monopoly Companion

    Philip Orbanes · at 1:33

    Discussed
    “Yeah, there was a book published, and this is one of those after-the-fact deals called The Monopoly Companion.”
    Josh Clark SYSK's 12 Days of Christmas… Toys: How Monopoly Works 2025-12-12 Listen at 1:33
    Where to get it
    AmazonListen on Audible

  2. The Billion Dollar Monopoly Swindle

    Ralph Anspach · at 51:53

    Discussed
    “Yeah, he wrote a book awkwardly titled The Billion Dollar Monopoly and Swindle, colon, during a David and Goliath battle, Anti-Monopoly uncovers the secret history of Monopoly.”
    Josh Clark SYSK's 12 Days of Christmas… Toys: How Monopoly Works 2025-12-12 Listen at 51:53
    Where to get it
    AmazonListen on Audible
Link to this list from the episode’s show notes

For the whole show, see the Stuff You Should Know page.