Modern civilization is far from perfect, but it's still pretty amazing how we can often order produce from around the world, right to our doors, even if it's out of season. How does this happen? What makes it possible to preserve fruit far past its natural time -- and are there hidden consequences involved? In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel explore the wide world of produce conspiracies. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ ...
Sep 04, 2024•58 min
Ticketmaster was founded in 1976, and since that time it's grown to be one of the most powerful forces in the industry -- whether you've gone to symphonies, concerts or plays, odds are you've run into Ticketmaster while trying to get your seats for the show. Yet numerous people allege that this company wields enormous, dangerous influence over artist, venues and fans alike. Tune in to learn more about the rise of Ticketmaster. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/s...
Sep 03, 2024•46 min
Doberman puppies remain missing in the aftermath of a tragic Colorado homicide. Two veteran astronauts remain stranded in space as the world works to bring them back to Earth safely. China discovers a way to generate water on the moon. Next question: Would you pay to have sunlight delivered you in the middle of the night? All this and more in this week's strange news segment. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/...
Sep 02, 2024•54 min
Do the mysterious Ica stones genuinely depict humans and dinosaurs co-existing? Did some ancient South American cultures actually possess fantastic flying machines, advanced medical techniques, and telescopes? According to the Peruvian physician Javier Cabrera Darquea, the Ica stones proved all of this and more, fundamentally reshaping the story of human history. However, not everyone was convinced. In part two of this special two-part series, the guys continue their investigation of the Ica sto...
Aug 30, 2024•51 min
Mr. E provides an insider perspective on pest control. Surf Writer (Rider?) inspires a future episode on the porous borders of Myanmar. A Reptilian contacts the gang. All this and more in tonight's listener mail segment. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Aug 29, 2024•49 min
When outsiders first encountered the ancient Inca Empire of Peru, they were astonished by the magnifcent stone work -- and struck by an abiding sense of mystery, a fascination which has only grown over the centuries. In the 1960s, a Peruvian physician began collecting a bizarre series of carved rocks known as the Ica stones. These stones, claim the true believers, do more than just teach us the hidden history Peru... depending on whom you ask, they may rewrite the history humans entirely. Tune i...
Aug 28, 2024•44 min
During the hectic news cycle of 2015, numerous stories popped up in headlines, only to disappear as soon as another event (or scandal) came to light. One story in particular remains enigmatic in the modern day: During the investigation into the Clinton email scandal, an FBI report found that "There was a powerful group of very high-ranking State [Department] officials that some referred to as 'The 7th Floor Group' or 'The Shadow Government.'" What exactly did this mean? Was there really a shadow...
Aug 27, 2024•56 min
Controversial tech tycoon Mike Lynch temporarily goes missing after his luxury yacht sinks off the coast of Sicily. Elon Musks's social platform X raises concern with its recently-unveiled AI image generator, which apparently has no "guardrails" for content. Authorities bust an enormous, frightening Chinese crime network that harvested bones from more than a thousand corpses for dental implants. If all of this has you worried, never fear: Vladimir Putin has officially announced anyone concerned ...
Aug 26, 2024•58 min
Earlier, the guys explored the fact, fiction and speculation surrounding MKULTRA programs, during which the Central Intelligence Agency financed and directed multiple illegal experiments on US citizens. The program was officially disbanded before it became public knowledge, but thousands of people aren't buying the official story -- instead, they say, insidious operations continued throughout the country. Where do these claims come from? Is there any proof? They don't want you to read our book.:...
Aug 23, 2024•57 min
The rumors spread for decades: Somewhere in the US, our own government was conducting dangerous, heinous and illegal experiments on citizens from all walks of life. This conspiratorial tale seemed set to remain little more than an urban legend -- until, that is, intrepid reporters and members of Congress managed to expose MKULTRA, the insidious series of experiments run by the Central Intelligence Agency with almost no oversight. In the decades since the revelation, MKULTRA has been featured in ...
Aug 22, 2024•44 min
If you're a fan of ghosts and spirits -- not to mention the Ghostbusters franchise -- you've heard of ectoplasm. According to the true believers, this ghostly goop is the physical residue of entities from beyond the mortal plane, summoned by mediums to communicate directly with the living. But what exactly is this stuff? How does it work? In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel dive into the strange history of this ethereal substance, separating fact from fiction in a quest to finally determine...
Aug 21, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Across the span of modern human history, the Arctic has been a desolate, dangerous wasteland of freezing ice, inaccessible waters and more than a bit of myth. Yet as the ice recedes, countries and corporations around the globe are already gearing up to take possession of the region's future trade routes -- and billions of dollars' worth of previously untouchable resources. The pieces are already on the chessboard, with multiple groups accusing each other of cover-ups and deceptive tactics. One q...
Aug 20, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Imagine your wife dies on a Disney vacation, and their lawyers try to get your wrongful death lawsuit dismissed... because you signed up for a Disney+ trial subscription several years earlier. Corporate food giant Mars acquires Kellenova for $36 billion, furthering the danger of monopolization in the world of food. Could glitter help terraform Mars? What's up with the newest Banksy controversy? Are Americans finally fighting back against fake inflation? All this and more in this week's strange n...
Aug 19, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Home insurance. Yeesh! For most folks, it's somewhere between a necessary evil and a snoozefest. If you're like most homeowners, you have insurance on your property -- policies issued to, in theory, protect you when things go wrong. But what happens in a world where disasters move from possibilities to annual certainties? What happens when the insurance companies themselves can't afford to do business in the face of constant natural disasters? In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel tackle an e...
Aug 16, 2024•56 min
Sveriges baffles the crew when they ask whether the infamous Stocholm syndrome is entirely made up. Frederick wonders whether European manufacturers are intentionally sabotaging plastic bottles. The High Topped One is concerned about Blackstone's recent purchase of the DNA company Ancestry. All this and more -- with a big thanks to Alpha Flight -- in this week's listener mail segment. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnyst...
Aug 15, 2024•1 hr
In tonight's episode: a strange, twisting tale of hidden history. While most people these days associate the Nazi party with the horrors of World War II, Nazis were active far before that time. Join Ben and Matt as they delve into the story of two vast conspiracies: the Nazi plan to infiltrate American government, business and academia, versus the US plan to stop them. At the center of this bizarre story: Leon G. Turrou. To some, he saved the country. To others, he came all too close to bungling...
Aug 14, 2024•1 hr 1 min
On January 2, 1935, a man checked into room 1046 at the Hotel President in Kansas City. He gave his name as Roland T. Owen, and listed his a home address in Los Angeles. Later, he was found brutally beaten, exhibiting signs of torture. He passed away shortly thereafter... and there the mystery begins. Roland, you see, was a fake name used by one Artemus Ogletree, from Birmingham, Alabama. Join the guys as they unravel the strange, twisting story of Artemus Ogletree's murder in tonight's classic ...
Aug 13, 2024•48 min
Singapore approves insects as a food source -- and the reasoning behind this may surprise you. The EPA (finally) bans an incredibly dangerous herbicide known as DCPA. Presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, Jr. comes clean about dropping a bear carcass in New York's Central Park. Plus: the Scottish corpse shortage, a questionable suicide, and weekly spy updates. All this and more in this week's strange news segment. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/st...
Aug 12, 2024•1 hr 7 min
Four centuries before Columbus reached the western hemisphere, Cahokia was a prosperous pre-American city with a population similar to London’s. In fact, it was probably the largest North American city north of Mexico at that time. While Cahokia was a major population centre around AD1050, by 1350 it was largely abandoned by its people – and, even today, no one is sure why. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/li...
Aug 09, 2024•43 min
Conspiracy Realist scbuggeek writes in with an inside look at Big Bug. Lauren writes in for more information on the raid of a Fuyao factory raid in Dayton, Ohio. C provides an Irish perspective on potential future automotive speed limiters. In tonight's letters from home, Ben asks the guys about their ideal last meals. All this and more in this week's listener mail segment. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/li...
Aug 08, 2024•54 min
Nowadays most people in the United States are well aware of the larger Civil Rights movement -- including the US government's conspiratorial efforts to destroy those movements and their leaders. Yet there's another story wrapped up in this strange tale of government power versus movements for equality: the story of the American Indian Movement, and how the US power structure's actions set the stage for later conflicts like Waco. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com...
Aug 07, 2024•56 min
Washington, D.C. is home to numerous organizations and institutions created to broker deals and funnel power from one place (or policy) to another. Many of these organizations operate more or less openly, while others pride themselves on their discretion and ability to stay out of the public eye. The Family is one of the latter -- a secretive group founded in 1935 as a religiously-motivated movement to bring its interpretation of Christianity to the halls of Congress and beyond. But what exactly...
Aug 06, 2024•42 min
Spain will roll out a new "porn passport" to track online visits to adult websites. The gang weighs in on the manufactured controversy around the Olympics. China publicizes a breakthrough in nuclear energy. Drugs, pigs, tectonic shifts: all this and more in this week's strange news segment. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Aug 05, 2024•1 hr 8 min
It's often been said money doesn't buy happiness. In fact, it can lead to more problems, up to and including troubling, mysterious disappearances. In tonight's episode, the guys explore the story of the notorious Swedish business tycoon Carl-Erik Björkegren -- a man who, one day, simply disappeared. Was he murdered? Or did he orchestrate a brilliant escape from the long arm of the law? They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnys...
Aug 02, 2024•47 min
Arborious prompts a conversation about ESP and the nature of intuition. Joe calls in to ask whether state-level actors have countermeasures against psychic abilities -- which will be a future episode. Ben brings one of his current obsessions to the air: What is the most dangerous large, non-human animal, as defined by: the one animal that could beat up any other animal. All this and more in this week's listener mail segment. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/sta...
Aug 01, 2024•49 min
The story has all the makings of a science-fiction blockbuster: in 1937, an intrepid archaeologist discovers hundreds of perfectly-engraved stones, surrounded by humanoid remains and carved maps of constellations. Later analysis reveals these stones are 12,000 years old, and tell the story of ancient aliens crash-landing on Earth. This is the tale of the 'Dropa Stones.' In tonight's episode, Ben and Noel ask: Is any part of this story true? They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.m...
Jul 31, 2024•45 min
In Malay folklore, the Orang Minyak is an supernaturally agile, humanoid creature coated in an oily, slippery substance. It is primarily known for abducting young women at night. There are other, similar creatures in folkloric beliefs across the planet -- boogeymen meant to warn children against disobeying their parents or social mores. But something about the Orang Minyak is different: Since the 1950s, it's been a prime suspect in numerous assaults and attempted crimes, with authorities and bys...
Jul 30, 2024•40 min
Fake Picassos launch a fascinating discourse about gender in Australia. The massive Crowdstrike outage exposes troubling vulnerabilities in software infrastructure across the planet. Amid all this chaos (shoutout to cocaine sharks), experts are worried the long-foretold Yellowstone supereruption may be on the way... and no one sure's what will happen it the whole thing blows. All this and more in this week's strange news segment. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.co...
Jul 29, 2024•1 hr 2 min
For thousands of years, humans were convinced meteors and stars shed heavenly goo onto Earth's surface, or that shreds of the Virgin Mary's veil drifted to the ground after her visitations. In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel continue their exploration of weird weather phenomena: What is star jelly? What is angel hair? They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jul 26, 2024•1 hr 6 min
An astronaut writes a Tripadvisor review of life in space. King John calls in to prompt an excellent conversation about food as medicine... and how private insurance may help you eat healthy. A European Conspiracy Realist provides context on the idea of mandatory speed limiters -- and why people in the US seem more bothered by it than people across the pond. Charlie describes bizarre experiences with targeted advertising. All this and more in this week's listener mail segment. They don't want yo...
Jul 25, 2024•58 min
