The Why Files covers mysteries, myths and legends. We tell stories and seek the truth in a fun and lighthearted way. Our content is heavily researched; we don't release an episode unless we're sure we can bring something new to a topic.
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On March 16, 1957, at 8 o'clock in the morning, a 300 ft long spacecraft landed in a field in Alexandria Virginia. Two local police officers arrived on the scene. The door of the craft slowly opened. The officers drew their guns, not sure what to expect. To their surprise, out walked a normal-looking guy. He smiled at the stunned officers and actually waved hello. Before the policemen could say a word, the stranger said, in clear English: "I need to see the president." Nine months after this eve...
In 12th century England, two children were found lost in a forest. They spoke only gibberish, wore strange clothing and had bright green skin. When the children finally learned to speak English, they described where they were from. And that's why, after almost 1,000 years, people still talk about The Green Children of Woolpit. In 1828, a teenage boy was shuffling through a public square in Nuremburg. He seemed confused and disoriented. He had trouble walking and speaking. When police finally app...
In the past year or so, three internet mysteries popped up that really got my attention. They may seem very different, but trust me, they're connected. The first one is about a girl who found a door in the basement of her AirBnB. She opened it and inside was an abandoned shopping mall. The second story is about Javier aka Unico Sobreviviente, who woke up in a hospital in the year 2027, in an alternate universe. In his version of the future -- everyone on earth has vanished. He's the only one lef...
The Moon is a Hollow Spaceship | Who Built it and Why? Despite it being humanity's constant companion through all of recorded time, the moon is still a mystery. Science hasn't been able to explain how the moon was formed, its unusual orbit, its distance from us, its density, its composition, its structure. These are all still questions. There are theories about the moon that solve some of these puzzles, but not others. There is only one theory that answers every scientific question about the moo...
Vatican City is an inspirational place. You don't need to be Catholic or even religious to appreciate the architecture, art, and the city's historical significance. But there is a place within the Vatican that's rarely seen. Hidden beneath the city is an underground fortress. Inaccessible to the public and protected by armed guards and state-of-the-art security. The Secret Apostolic Archives. Within the stone and steel reinforced walls are vaults, climate controlled rooms and over 50 miles of sh...
THE BLACK KNIGHT SATELLITE In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1. It was the first satellite in Earth's orbit. Or was it? For over a hundred years, an object has been seen, heard and *photographed* by people all around the world. This object became known as the Black Knight Satellite. The signals coming from the Black Knight Satellite have been decoded. And if the translation is correct, it's been watching us for 13,000 years. The existence of the Black Knight Satellite has been confirmed...
Imagine you wake up one morning and notice everything around you is just a tiny bit different. Maybe you're in the same house, but furniture is slightly out of place. Your favorite coffee mug is there, but it has a crack you don't remember. You could have sworn your coffee maker was black, but this one is chrome. Just as you think you're going crazy, you feel a strange tingling sensation; and hear a buzzing in your ears. A flash of light; the buzzing stops, and you feel dizzy. As you regain your...
OPERATION: HIGHJUMP Operation Highjump commenced in August 1946. It was the largest, most heavily armed naval task force ever sent to Antarctica. Leading the mission was Admiral Richard E Byrd, one of the most famous naval officers in history. The official purpose for the expedition was scientific research and military training. But that was just a cover story. Operation Highjump had other goals. One was to extend American sovereignty over Antarctica. Something that was denied many times by the ...
MYSTERY OF THE CIRCLEVILLE LETTERS We all keep secrets. For most of us, these are nothing more than minor embarrassing details about ourselves. But some of us have dark secrets which, if discovered, could destroy lives. For years, the residents of Circleville, Ohio, received bizarre, threatening letters; from someone who somehow knew every salacious detail of their personal lives. The letters cost people their jobs, their marriages, their freedom, and sometimes, their lives. Over a thousand lett...
SOUNDS FROM THE HOLE TO HELL In 1989, Dr. Dimitry Azacov and a group of scientists were working on a borehole drilling project in Siberia. When the drill reached 14.4 kilometers, or 9 miles deep, the drill bit started rotating wildly. It had somehow broken through solid rock and into a hollow area under the earth's crust. This cavity wasn't supposed to be there. When the drill returned to the surface, it was literally glowing red hot. This, also, was unexpected. The temperatures at these depths ...
This episode explores the compelling arguments for Simulation Theory, from ancient philosophies to modern scientific observations. It delves into Nick Bostrom's Trilemma, examines perceived glitches like the Mandela Effect and deja vu, and highlights how quantum mechanics experiments like the Double-Slit suggest our reality behaves like a computer program. The discussion also touches on the computational power needed for such a simulation and its intriguing parallels to the concept of God.
THE BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES On February 25, 1942, at about 2:30 in the morning, the people of Los Angeles were jolted awake by the sound of air-raid sirens. The city was ordered to blackout and prepare for an attack. Searchlights sprang to life, frantically scanning the sky above the city for enemy aircraft. Finally, the lights converged on a single object. As frightened citizens stepped on to their porches and lawns to get a glimpse of the target, the sky erupted with hundreds of explosions of fi...
CHASING THE IMMORTAL COUNT The Count of Saint Germain has been called a prophet, a sorcerer, and an immortal. He's been spotted all over the world for a thousand years. And every time he's seen, he looks exactly the same age. The Count of Saint Germain advised Kings, Queens and Emperors. He was present at every significant event in European history. And even was an important contributor to America's struggle for Independence. He spoke a dozen languages fluently. He played piano and violin like a...
Here's a philosophical question for you. If a color doesn't have a name, can we still see it? Many years ago, the human eye evolved to give us the ability to see about a million colors. That's a lot. Then how come, until very recently, nobody saw or even heard of the color blue? Well, it's because blue just -- didn't exist yet. Let's find out why. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thewhyfiles/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adcho...
MYSTERIES OF MOUNT SHASTA There is no other place on earth steeped in more mystery than Mount Shasta. Aliens, ghosts, underground bases and interdimensional portals. Check. Lost cities, strange disappearances, bigfoot, gods and demons. Check. Atlantis, Lemuria, reptilian humanoids and giants. Mount Shasta has it all. Let's find out why. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thewhyfiles/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
What do Ponce De Leon, Alexander The Great and Jason Giambi all have in common? Superstitions. What are superstitions? Why do we believe them? Although there are a lot of weird superstitions out there, there may be psychological benefits to believing them. Let's find out why. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thewhyfiles/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
WE'RE DUE FOR ANOTHER CARRINGTON EVENT On September 1, 1859, astronomer Richard Carrington was observing a huge sunspot. Suddenly, a flash of intense white light burst from the sun's surface. He had become the first eye-witness of a major Coronal Mass Ejection or CME. And it was headed straight for earth. Seventeen hours later, the night sky in North America lit up like the day. Aurora Borealis, typically only seen near the north pole, were visible as far south as Colombia. In the southern hemis...
What if all of our online existence is fake? You, me, everyone; we're living in a real-life Matrix. Designed to distract us from the truth: that we're just drones in a digital ant-hill. We live, work and die so that the wealthy and powerful can grow more wealthy and powerful. This is called the Dead Internet Theory. And there's compelling evidence that it's real. Let's find out why. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thewhyfiles/support Learn more about your ad cho...
THE MAN WHO SAW ALIEN BASES ON THE MOON Ingo Swann claimed to be a psychic who was employed by the CIA to remote-view the dark side of the moon. Specifically to look for an alien presence. It sounded like science fiction. But in 2006, when the CIA started releasing documents on the Stargate Project, Swann's participation in the program was confirmed. When Swann was asked about the existence of extraterrestrials, he said not only were they already here, but they *are* building something on the fa...
LEGEND OF THE MOON-EYED PEOPLE Across the Southern Appalachian mountains, from Georgia up through North Carolina, hundreds of unusual stone structures have been discovered. Some date back hundreds of years. Some date back thousands. Archaeologists aren't sure who created these monuments. But the Cherokee people claim they know exactly who built them. The Cherokee say the structures were built by the Moon-Eyed people, a race of fair-skinned, light-haired, bearded humans. Their large blue eyes wer...
COMPUTER PREDICTS WORLD WILL END IN 2040 In 1704, using a series of calculations, Isaac Newton predicted the world would end sometime around the year 2060. Almost 300 years later, in 1973, a computer at MIT made the prediction that life as we know it will end around the year 2040. It also predicted that some of the first signs would be seen in the year 2020. Some of its predictions have come true and scientists are taking this seriously. But can we trust the study? Can we trust ANY study? Probab...
THE COMPUTER THAT PROVED TIME TRAVEL | THE DODLESTON MESSAGES In December 1984, Ken Webster, a high-school teacher, was living with his friend Nic and girlfriend Debbie in the small village of Dodleston. One evening, the three were walking home from the local pub when they saw a pulsing green light emanating from their cottage windows. When they got inside, they saw something that terrified them. Though their computer wasn't connected to any network, and everyone in the house was gone all night,...
There are over 7 billion people living on the earth right now. Tens of millions are born and die each year. Every single one of us leaves signs of our existence in the air, water, soil -- even space. But these signs won't last forever. Our buildings will be gone in a few hundred years. Our stone monuments, plastic, styrofoam, twinkies, even evidence of our inevitable nuclear destruction will eventually be gone. So how can we be sure that we were the first advanced civilization on earth? Well, ac...
In 1924, Paul Amadeus Dienach had been teaching the German language in Greece. Dying of tuberculosis, he wanted to return home to Switzerland. Before he left, he gave hundreds of pages of handwritten notes to his favorite language student Georgios Papachatzis. Dienach thought translating his notes would help Papachatzis in his study of the German language. They said goodbye and never saw each other again. Papahatzis began translating the pages. There were whole passages about a coming nuclear wa...
ATLANTIS, WORLD WARS AND THE POLE SHIFT Terrifying predictions of Edgar Cayce Edgar Cayce gave over 14,000 psychic readings. He made a number of predictions about future events — many of which have come true. And some of them are terrifying. Some people are worried. Let's find out why. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thewhyfiles/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
KGB, BIGFOOT or ALIENS? WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AT DYATLOV PASS? When the helicopter rescue team arrived at the Dyatlov Pass in February 1959, the nine missing hikers had been dead for weeks. The more the investigators tried to piece together what happened, the more the story didn't seem to add up. Their tent had been cut open from the inside and abandoned, but there was no sign of a struggle. Over a half-mile away, two victims were almost completely naked. Though temperatures were 30 below zero th...
PROJECT STARGATE: CIA, PSYCHICS, MARS AND ... TIME TRAVEL When the first human visits Mars, it will be the biggest scientific breakthrough since landing on the Moon. Probably bigger. But what if I told you the CIA and United States Military have already been to Mars? But they didn't use space-ships to get there. They used psychics. Let's find out why. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thewhyfiles/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/a...
FOR SEVEN YEARS, SOVIET AGENTS SPIED ON THE AMERICAN EMBASSY UNDETECTED In 1945, Soviet children presented the ambassador with a gift to commemorate the friendship of the US and the Soviet Union. A hand-carved wooden replica of the Great Seal of the United States. The ambassador was so pleased with the carving that he hung it in his office at the official ambassador residence in Moscow: the Spaso house. But the wooden carving was more than just a decoration. Now hanging on the wall, just behind ...
Do some horror movies use sounds of a *specific frequency* to amp up the scare factor? Yes. Can infrasound and ultrasound damage the human body? Yes. Has sound been used as a real-world weapon? Yes. Is sound being deployed by America's enemies to cause serious physical harm? Yes. Let's find out why. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thewhyfiles/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
HOW LONG DO ANIMALS (and people) SURVIVE WITHOUT THEIR HEADS? Does a human head remain conscious after being separated from its body? It sure does. But just how long do you actually survive? Not that long. But, if we look at other animals, some of them can survive for longer than you think. Let's find out why. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thewhyfiles/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
