Are Feral Children Real?

This Stuff You Should Know episode dives into the fascinating and often troubling world of feral children—kids who've been separated from human society and raised by animals or in extreme isolation. Josh and Chuck explore documented cases like Ivan Mushikov, a boy raised by a pack of dogs in 1990s Moscow, and Oksana Malaya, the Ukrainian dog girl who lived with dogs for five years and later relearned human behavior. The hosts break down what these rare cases might tell us about human development, language acquisition, and the critical period for learning, while also acknowledging the murky line between real stories and historical frauds that have captivated scientists for centuries.