From UFOs to psychic powers and government conspiracies. History is riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now or learn this stuff they don't want you to know. A production of iHeartRadio.
Hello, and welcome back to the show. My name is Noel.
Our compatriot Matt is Odd Adventures, but will be returning soon. They called me Ben. We're joined as always with our superproducer Alexis codenamed Doc Holliday Jackson. Most importantly, you are here. That makes this the stuff they don't want you to know. It is twenty twenty four, folks. Everybody remember to write the dates correctly. Calendars are largely made up, but it's the small things that matter. This is one of our favorite times of the week, our listener mail segment where
we get to hear directly from you know. We've got a bunch of wild stuff here today. And uh, you and I, You and I we're talking. We're thinking maybe we uh we we jump right into a voicemail, right, I think so?
As you know, Matt uh in his absence, remains the keeper of the voicemail vault, and so it's almost like he's here. Let's let's here one let's hear.
One all right, So we are going to play one from a fellow conspiracy realist going by Duke Nukem. Ooh nice raf, Duke Nukem.
Here we go.
Hey guys, longtime listener, first time caller. UH, you can call me Duke Newcombe. So I am a previous Air Force officer. I worked in UH Nuclear Missile Control and Command Command. I was technically an ICBM launch officer UH, specifically the minimum three missile. So I was the one underground sifty five feet under and we were there behind a sixty five ton blast door for about twenty four to seventy two hours at a time. I wanted you guys to think about what it was like for us
underground there, because it wasn't just checklist and procedure. But there were a lot of stories about supernatural activity that happened in a lot of our missile alert facilities or capsules that we hung out in, and things got super weird. And I did it for about five years, and this is where it gets crazy. I actually had some experiences
underground of things that I couldn't explain. Wasn't sure if you guys have heard about this, but a lot of these missile silos, these alert facilities were built and they found Indian burial grounds that might contribute to some of the weird things that happened. But specifically, I was on alert one morning, just up by myself, and there was a huge Our entire capsule got knocked and we were swinging because we're on springs to just in case there was like a nuclear war, we would be able to
do our job. But out of nowhere, our entire capsule got hit. I investigated and we were swinging and there was nothing there. There was another story of a missileer looking across into the launch control equipment building which is outside of the blast door, which is where our diesel generation comes from, and they saw a little girl that
threw a ball at them and then disappeared. So I'm not sure if you guys are interested in like explore this, but I know there's been some supernatural activity that has been reported by missile ears that might just that might be ghost but also actually terrestrial activity with the nuclear sites and some nuclear launch facilities going offline. But I just wanted to give you guys a heads up that that's actually a thing in our community. I am no
longer in the Air Force anymore. But this is something that stuck.
With me, and that was Duke nukeom with a bevy of things that deserve further digging. I'm doing a underground missile sil of joke.
Yeah, no, it's true. Matt pointed out to in the notes when he left this this one that there's there's the inklings of quite a few other stories there that would probably be worth giving giving Duke a call back. But Ben, you know, I was thinking about to just being that deep underground, it can be cause in and of itself for some kind of auditory hallucinations. Now I'm not again, I'm not saying that these I'm not chalking
these up to entirely to hallucinations. But I was actually just watching a TV series called Murder at the End of the World, which is pretty good. Britt Britt Marling, who's made some films that really enjoyed, like Another Earth and one called Sound of My Voice and another one
about eco terrorist that I'm forgetting the name of. But anyway, there's a part where there's like this very very wealthy character who has an underground bunker, and he points out that being deep enough underground to escape the seepage of fallout would require being so far down, like around fifty feet or more, that you would have no access to natural sunlight, and being down there for long enough that can actually play tricks on the mind because being a
you know, species who has evolved in the presence of natural sunlight, you know, we kind of need the stuff.
You know.
We can obviously supplement certain parts of it away in terms of kinds of nutrients that we need and all of that. But there's something to it. You know, if we hear about people getting seasonal effective disorder and eating certain special lights. But had you thought about that at all, about what maybe living underground like that, are being exposed to long periods underground like that might do to the mind.
Sure, yeah, and this is I think one of the first things we should say is, Doke, thank you for doing your part to keep the world safe. Absolutely, the US doesn't hear a lot about this profession. Dare I say vocation? However, it is mission critical and you raise something that I was thinking about as well there noel, which is when someone is underground for an extended amount of time, it doesn't have to be like a fallout
level extended amount of time. But when you are underground, you are going to be exposed to some degree to things that humans still don't quite understan stand. One example
would be plate tectonics. I'm wondering whether the in terms of auditory experience, I'm wondering whether the frequencies of sound from the Earth's tembleaures and it's, you know, the lovely little farts of this crust of the planet we call I'm wondering if they could do something that that would be difficult to explain, especially when you have a firsthand
sensory experience. Now, as for the paranormal stuff, that's a whole different bag of badgers, right, Like, I don't know, Like oftentimes when we hear these stories or these experiences of someone who says I was on duty I saw something I cannot explain, that's often one person seeing it. But it sounds like it sounds like Duke is telling us that he had a report of multiple people seeing this little girl who threw the ball.
Well, yeah, you know, I don't know, man. It's interesting as many times as we've covered stories of people reporting paranormal and I know it's not really necessarily our job to make it about us, or to say, you know,
we think this is scientifically verifiable or whatever. That's really not the point of this show, but to feel like, at different times we've fallen on different sides of whether these kinds of things are factually possible or whether it's more of like a spiritual kind of experience, which can you know, hallucination is an experience, and I don't think it's necessarily one that is inherently without meaning or without value, you know, and people that are in a similar situation
could be because of certain deprivations or certain the plate tectonics thing I think is fascinating be experiencing similar things. I don't know where I fall on, Like, you know, can you see a ghost? Can you see the remnants
of the past. We've talked about these kinds of things, and it's always something that I'm always right up against the edge of, and I just I don't know, and I haven't experience it like that, So it's not for me to say I would say that in a place like this, and in time of war, I could surely imagine some pretty crazy energies lingering around and facilities such as this.
It also makes me wonder. It makes me wonder about the UFO sightings near missile facilities. Right since the nineteen forties, there have been multiple reports of silos being stalked, for lack of a better word, being surveilled by some sort
of inexplicable craft or phenomena entity. Sure, and this I think goes into one of the larger issues, and this ties in with the paranormal stuff too, Duke, which is that people who are working at this level, in this rarefied air expertise, are often very concerned about reporting what they have seen up the command chain because it may
compromise your career. In a situation where you need to be a stallwart, one hundred percent dependable person functioning in your role, than anything that makes you look like you might not be one hundred percent dependable can be really damaging. So it's not a surprise I would say that there is not more official reporting on this. There's a lot of people talking to each other in communities to get
together with your veteran buddies, things like that. We want to bring those stories to the world and we will do our best to protect your anonymity as well.
Hey, collectively, we've all been very encouraged by some of the disclosure stuff, you know, as underwhelming as maybe some of the reports have been, just the fact that it gives an out an outlet to people and a validation to folks you know, have these kinds of stories. And again, what disclosure is more specifically referring to, like I guess, extraterrestrial, you know, types of experiences, But to me, I feel like they may as well be two sides of the
same coin. I think that's a really good point Ben the whole sightings near missile silos and all of that, though, I do think that's a very valid thing to bring up, and you know, with Matt being sort of the keeper of the voicemail vault and doing such a bang up job as always, I think the two of us are definitely made a bit of a New Year's pledge to give some calls back ourselves, and who knows, maybe it could even evolve into another type of segment moving forward.
But Duke, I think this is a really great story and I'm really anxious to hear.
More, and I would love to hear more from other people who've had similar experiences. Please let us know, give us a call. What eight three three std WYTK. You can also email us directly love an email. We read everyone we get we are conspiracy atiheartradio dot com. Uh no, what do you say? We pause for a word from our sponsor and come back with some more listener.
Mail smashing idea, and we have returned with more messages from you.
Yes, you and in this case you is one of my favorite nicknames in recent memory. Fox Sillion Fastfoot. I'm a big fan of alliteration, Ben, how about you? He like a good alliterative turn of phrase?
Yeah, I am actively a fan of alliteration.
No, you did it anyone an a which isn't even an easy one to pull off. Well done, sir. Okay, we'll just jump right into it. Hey, Ben, Matt and Noel call me good to say it again, Fox sillyon fast Foot. That is my D and D character name, Of course it is. Ben, you've got some what's your Do you have a character name for your D D, D and D or do you just go with with your your own name?
Oh? Several several? Okay, yeah, what about you? You got you got a D and D name.
I don't play D and D because I just haven't had the opportunity, but I really want to maybe you know what, I'm gonna make a resolution right here and now to try to play a real D and D game. But my character's name in Skyritrim is Grendel, like the like the monster in Beowulf. You know, I just think it's I always thought that was a cool, cool sounding name. But I don't have a last name. It should be should be like Grendel, Dad, dadfly or something like that,
you know, if we're going with the alliteration thing. In any case, D and D character names are awesome. Uh. Continuing with the letter, your recent discussion about various goods like Swedish fish and mountain dew being smuggled in the UK the circumvent laws regarding the safety of certain chemicals. It got me thinking about the inverse over protecting people from helpful products because a chemical has not been proven safe. I can give us personal and timely anecdote to this.
Last month, I went on a tour of the British Isles and was just getting over a cold when I arrived in London to begin the tour. I assumed that if the symptoms came back, I could just go to a chemist British for Pharmacy, thank you, and pick up the equivalent of mucinex Nike will Airborne, et cetera. My symptoms came back and I went to find some medicine. To my surprise, all I could find on the shelves was their version of thilan all which is is it
called paracetamol? I on'tly remember that, because there's a joke like about where all the tailo is in the jungle, go the parents eat them all. It may be a different drug, but I do know that is a British equivalent of like a.
Painkiller or just a set of menafit right.
I think that's right, But again I don't even know what the deal is behind that, because I've certainly never heard of paracetamol over here, so I don't know anyway be worth looking into further. But going on, I did a Google search to see if dextro meth orphan, the active ingredient in many decongestins, was legal in the UK, and it said it was. Perhaps those medicines were behind the shelf, but I did not see them when I looked for what it's worth in proof that I know
what medication I need to treat which cold symptom. Once I return to the States and in the airport, purchased some use next my symptoms were gone within the next day.
Oh, it is a paracetabole, by the way.
Got it?
Got it.
While I cannot definitively say that every compound in common cold medicines is safe, I can say that I have never had a negative reaction to any such medication, provided I don't overdo it. It does feel like the UK government is doing a disservice to their population by keeping treatments that can help people recover faster out of fewer hands. I think this is one thing to discuss here. This is the next as a side note, something you all
may find humorous. Right after travelers get through security at Heathrow, they walk through a giant duty free shop that is sectioned off into different areas cosmetics, gadgets, spirits, and of course candy. In the candy section, there is a display of Kinder eggs. As you all know, Kinder eggs or this is me it's very least the kind that we're talking about here. The brand exists here, but not these
European kinds are illegal in the United States. Because they the eggs contain a non nutritive object in the form of the toy inside. If the United Kingdom wants to yell about people smuggling mountain dew into their country to their country, perhaps they should do something about people smuggling kinder eggs out of their country. What's fair is fair? Right?
I think this is so cool? Do you mind Ben if we start with the what's the deal with like looking into the efficacy of drugs and like how different countries are going to have different processes and whether or not the fact that we have all of this available over here is always in fact good or is there like a middle ground. I'm just fascinated to day to hear what you have to say.
Sure, yeah, First I'd like to say I've had that same experience Fox Silian. By the way, Fox Sillion is a entity of many names, and it's always good to hear from them. I've had that same experience in Heathrow multiple times. We'll get to that in a second. The idea of how over the counter drugs or substances are treated country to country is incredibly fascinating. For example, if you are in a lot of places in Europe, on the continent of Europe and then also in the UK
as well. A lot of things that you might need a prescription for here in the States you do not need a prescription for in those other countries, right, And also the pharmacies. The pharmacies here in the States are usually pretty shocking to folks from Europe because pharmacies here sell so much other stuff, you know, they sell like they're basically small grocery stores, and pharmacies in much of the rest of the world only sell these medicinal substances.
You've had that experience as well, I believe.
Right, Yeah, Like I think I first noticed it in Paris, where you know the appotaiko after they call it in Germany. Yeah, just the chemists or whatever. They're these green signs that almost look like you think they might be, like I think jokingly was like, is that a weed dispensary. Nope, they've been that way for ages. That's what they look like. And they only sell medication. And we went into one because we had to get COVID tests at that point
in order to get a clearance to fly back. But yes, I did notice they don't sell you know, gummy candy or anything. Like that it is exclusively that particular genre of products, and a lot of it isn't over the counter at all.
Right, Yeah, that's correct. I mean I think also that goes into the larger conversation that you're having with us. I'll call you a doctor fast foot for D and D fast foot the idea of over protecting people from helpful products like being overly preventative. Right, There is validity to that argument.
Right.
The question is, should a given regulatory body wait until there are decades long studies about intergenerational effects or effects over thirty years or so on before allowing or disallowing a substance into the market. That's a really good question. And in our previous conversation, the argument seems to be that, at least in the case of the United Kingdom, they are sort of airing on the side of caution, right and saying, hey, let's not have a situation like asbestos
or lead not too long ago. And we see that, and that's definitely a stance to take. It does prevent possible legal nightmares down the road. But I gotta say something about the under egg, the kinder egg controversy with a k that is, look, man, a lot of times when you travel, especially if it's not a controlled substance like some kind of drug or whatever. A lot of times when you travel, your origin country or your origin place doesn't care what you take with you because it's
not their responsibility. An example here in the United States would be flying from a city or from a state wherein something like cannabis is legal or decriminalized. They're not going to say, hey, are you flying to a place where this is still legal? They don't care.
It's interesting. I've had this conversation with multiple folks, and particularly a friend of mine who's a lawyer, and he had a bit of a different view on it, because I guess his opinion was that when you're in the airport, you're kind of in a liminal space where like federal law applies more than state law, and more even than the law of like the state or the country that
you're in, not cutting up the country. It's different in Europe obviously, because there'd be laws, you know, from country to country, jurisdiction the jurisdiction that's right, So like sure you wouldn't in theory if they've caught you with cannabis in like a place where it is federally illegal, they could the very least confiscated, but they probably wouldn't like send you to jail, and likely they would call the local law and then they would say, well, it's it's
legally here. But it's great, super weird and gray. But the idea of this kinderregg smuggling really tickled me because it seems like such a silly small thing. But like over here, the kinderreggs we get there like a Ferrari rochet ball that you just kind of crack open and can dip a little cookie in. It's such a bait and switch, there's no it's it's packaging that looks like in a but you can get the thing. I always loved about those types of kinderreg where the white chocolate
on the inside, darker chocolate on the outside. You can get that over here as a bar, but not as the actual egg containing per toy. Yeah. Do you know, ben if all non nutritive things have been outlawed? Or is that because I mean it used to be you'd have a toy in your cereal box that was just kind of floating free. Now it's like in all kinds of packaging because I guess they don't want to make sure nobody jokes on it. Such a funny little distinction.
It's again, it's the idea of airing on the side of caution. You know, it takes It takes one unfortunate incident of a I'm gonna date myself here, of a of a toy just floating free in the bottom of a box of cracker jacks. It takes one person swallowing that for there to be an absolute hurricane of problems. And the kinder stuff, the real kinderreggs are yes, still technically illegal in the United States. But people smuggles stuff all the time. It's not always you know, drugs, it's
not always it's not always the evil stuff. One of the biggest smuggled products for a long time on the US and Canadian border was actually toilets commos. Wow. When the low flush commode laws went into place, people on the northern side of the US started smuggling in these different uh, these different commodes. So there's there's a lot to unpack with this uh And I'm tempted to ask folks, what is your favorite non true crime smuggled thing, Like
we we know if you have. If you have relatives who live in a different country, often you're asked to bring things, to bring things over when you come back home. One of the one of the funniest ones I learned about recently no, and this is not illegal, is Poyo Campero. You know, the fast food chicken joint.
I've heard the name, but I don't think I'm familiar with what are they known for?
Chicken? I used to I used to eat it one when I was living in Central America. They're quite popular in Guatemala, and it's become somewhat of a tradition for people flying to the US to bring Poyo compero with them, such that the fast food business itself started making these insulated bags to get carry it on the airport on the airplane without making it the hopefully smell of chicken.
That's a good branding play. I do want to maybe close this one up with one question, and I think this maybe is where Fox Foxy Fox Sillion is going with this. Does it feel like we're hung up over here in the United States about a little plastic COI inside an egg because we're afraid of like liability lawsuits or whatever. But yet we green light a lot more kind of weird medications than the UK seemingly as willing
to do. You know, We've got all these things like you know, these die be these drugs that are being prescribed off label to encourage weight loss, you know, like the Manjaross of the world and all of that stuff. And we are now hearing after these things have already been greenlit, that there are long term effects that are starting to begin to be understood that maybe we're not
considered up front. So is it that, like, why are we so focused on like the little plastic toy that they don't care about over the UK, But yet we seem to be willing to let a lot more experimental kind of drugs flood the market than the UK is willing to do.
And I'd like to hear, folks, especially if you've traveled outside of the US, I'd like to hear what things have you been able to purchase over the counter that require prescription here in the States and what is your opinion on that Is it safer? To your earlier question as well, well, it is it a matter of safety, is it a matter of preventive regulation, or is there something else in the mix.
Are there?
Ulterior motives are there? You know, are there back room conversations with stacks of cash or campaign donations. That was an accidental rhyme before we get into full freestyling. What if we pause for a word from our sponsor. We'll be back with one more message from our fellow conspiracy realist. And we have returned, We're going to hear from not Joe's cousin. Not Joe's cousin says, how to their conspiracy realist.
I was listening to the show earlier today and your discussion on pry on or pre on diseases stuck in my mind. You see, I have a degree in human biology and pry on or pre on diseases came up numerous times in my years of study. Learning about mad Cow, CJD kuru De shout out, the X Files episode CWD,
and fatal familial insomnia all stuck with me. Now. I'm no etymology doctor, but I feel like after hearing many PhDs, master's students and undergrads discuss prions or preons over years of study, I can give you a definitive answer on how to pronounce it. Doc, Can we get a drum roll please perfect not. Joe's cousin says it was more often said one way than the other, but often both were heard during any class, And there was one constant during all of these discussions. No one ever corrected how
anyone else said it. No one ever even balked or batt a die. And hearing it first one way then the other, no eyebrows wherever raised. At two people discussing back and forth and both saying it different ways, it convinced me of three things. First, both ways to say it are correct. Second, cares which way you say it? And third, perhaps most controversial, I firmly believe many biologists are themselves unsure whether one way is correct and which
that would be. For what it's worth, I say it the more commonly heard way from my undergrad and if you're wondering, I say it and here not Joe's cousins spelled out p R I N. So it's like a written joke, which I love. Oh yeah, always email us best way to content.
Yeah, and it is. This is very illuminative on a couple of levels, because this is a clearly very learned individual who is writing to us, speaking to the perspective of a very learned community who seem to be confused about the pronunciation of words just as much as everybody else. And I think it's it should be taken as a as a good thing. And also to what you always add to these types of questions when they come up
in is that it is a living language. It's about usage more than it is necessarily about like hard and fast rules. But you know, sure there are technically correct pronunciations of things, but if one ends up rising to the top of the food chain, then I would say that one has just as much validity as the quote unquote correct one, because at the end of the day, like don't words just kind of come into being because people say them and use them and are functional.
Yeah, the idea again of the of the living language, I mean, certain things have to be codified, right, we have to in certain spheres of communication. We have to know exactly what is being said and what that signifies or entails. But we're not always doing you know, like op second comms. You probably don't end most conversations with over and out right.
It's fun maybe like it, oh especially just do a little like you know, like all that good stuff.
But this is what This is something that I personally love. I think we all really enjoy it about this show. We have subject matter experts who write in and are always so cool. Thank you to the experts and aviation who have written in regarding various aspects of not just the show, but are like personal goals, how to get a pilot license and so on. Then thank you to like the many biologists, the many hunters who wrote in with some more on the ground experience about zombie deer
phenomenon chronic wasting disease. I think we can dedicate an entire listener mail segment in a few weeks to the feedback we've gotten just on that story. What do you think? Oh?
I hundred percent agree, ben So, since we're one short of a quorum today, I don't really know the real rules of parliamentary procedure, but I'm just using that to say that we miss you, Matt, and we'll see you when you get back. I thought we could maybe close out today's episode with some reviews that you up.
I love that.
Yeah, I pitched it earlier. We had had also gone on Twitter or x or whatever it's called and asked for some reviews. We've done this a little bit on ridiculous history as well. Let's let's stick with the ones that made us laugh. So we asked, and you responded. We're just gonna give you some funny, some funny ones, and then some wholesome ones. Here's one good show, says Tims's fifty four. Excellent show. I see meathead ripe wingers don't like your show. They want you to tell them.
QAnon is real and Tom Hanks drinks the blood of babies. No, five stars, that was nice.
That was nice. I like that from Tims's fifty four. Next time we got Happy Holly, Holly, Holy Days, Hollydays. In lieu of presents, I'm leaving this five star review to validate that Ben is very good at doing the podcast.
I did, I did, I did put my thought. I'm on the scale there a little bit on Twitter.
I was fine with that.
Many please hand that to us in lieu of a gift.
The rest of us we got we're working on at Swst swest all. We'll get there. We'll get to Ben's level eventually. I'm kidding. We're a deep we do this all together. But that is really nice.
This is a fun one. You might like well, h Office Claw review id r C eleven j Z nine says the good occasionally listen. Is this the best podcast? Three question marks? No? Is it a good podcast to listen to occasionally? One question mark? Yes, they covered some interested topics. Five stars.
Wow. I love the official review ID. Didn't even have a name, it just has an official review ID. And then, oh, this is nice because I have these and this makes me very happy if you do on mind, Ben, this is my comfort show. I've been listening to this show since twenty fifteen, and now I can't go to sleep without it. I saw the negative reviews from angry weirdos, so I figured I owe them a positive review after for all these years, Ben, do you have a comfort show?
I got a couple, sure, yeah, many. I work out to the Kubrick version of the Shining pretty often.
That's weird. I love that so much better. You've told me that in the past. I just I'm glad that gets you, gets your gets your your blood flowing, like does it make your blood flow like out of a giant elevator down a hallway?
It's yeah, there we go. I love it aalogy. It's kind of a similar, it's kind of Pavlovian right, we trade ourselves and and we want to also, by the way, thank everybody who has taken the time to write to us. Keep the reviews coming, we love reading them. Keep the voicemails and the emails coming as well.
You know, it is so funny because we obviously have a wonderful community of folks who really value the show and write into us, and we just you know, we have enough to We do these listener mail things every week and have nothing but interesting, thoughtful feedback and stories and whatever. It just seems that there is a content engine of folks that like to communicate their hatred for us on the reviews but don't really engage with the show. So,
you know, be the change you want to see. Folks, if you write to us for listener mail and you do like the show, help push some of these people down in the in the in the reviews because it hurts our feelings. I'm just kidding. It's really kind of hilarious to the point of the first reviewer. It's honestly,
in many ways a badge of honor. It's just this space that we work in, you know, the conspiracy kind of theory space there there there is some toxicity and negativity within it, and we try to be the opposite of that, and I hope that's what makes us people's comfort show.
In lieu of bribes. Please send kinder eggs, the real ones, write to us and we'll give you the address off Mike. All right, Thank you so much to everybody who took the time to call. Everybody who took the time to write. We can't wait to hear from you. Join up well, become a fellow conspiracy realist on the air. Try to be easy to find online.
Correct. You can find this in the handle conspiracy Stuff on XFKA, Twitter, you two, where we've got tons of new awesome video stuff coming this year. You've seen it throughout the past year, but we're just going to be ratching it up even further and possibly introducing some new content onto that YouTube channel. You can also find us a Conspiracy Stuff on Facebook, on Instagram and TikTok where Conspiracy Stuff show.
You can also give us a call. The phone number is one eight three three STDWYTK. You'll hear a hopefully familiar voice and then a beep like so beep that signifies that you're off to the conspiracy braces. You've got three minutes. Those three minutes of your own. All that we ask is that you give us a nickname, a moniker you'd like to use, tell us what's on your mind, and let us know whether we can use your name and or message on the air. Most importantly, don't limit
yourselves to three minutes. If you have more to say. If you have a long story of first hand experience, you'd like to relate like our friend fast, but we cannot wait to encounter it. To experience it, all you have to do is drop us a line at our good old fashioned email address, lead us to the edge of the rabbit hole, and we will do the rest where.
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