Few places have sparked as much public intrigue as Skinwalker Ranch. Dubbed as the most paranormally active place in America, the ranch has books and tv shows in its honor. We can learn much by looking at the ranch owners over the years. When did that haunting begin? What is the nature of the hauntings? Most importantly, what do UFOs have to do with it? The history goes back long before the United States itself. Native Americans tell of legends of terrifying creatures whose names they wouldn't e...
Mar 22, 2022•52 min•Ep. 113
The life story of the man who helped found the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is one that anyone would assume is full of intrigue. That is precisely the case with Jack Parsons, one of the lead members of the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory which led to the founding of JPL. However, for Jack, his scientific exploits are some of the least exciting points of his life. Parsons dealing with the occult and a few notable, perhaps questionable, colleagues led to his expulsion from the organization he help...
Mar 15, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 112
Video games have long been a joyous escape for many throughout the world. Few other outlets provide people with the same expanse of experiences as that of gaming. However, the profit timelines for game developers have always been a dicey issue. Due to long development time and short sales windows, game developers are often left with many months straight without a profit. Microtransactions were born to combat this reality. If used well, the feature could provide added benefits to both gamers and ...
Mar 08, 2022•54 min•Ep. 111
Bank Robbery is no easy feat. Many have seen the dollars that move in and out of banks every single day and dreamt of ways to procure the money moving within bank walls. However, few have gone through with a bank heist, and even fewer have pulled off a successful bank robbery. Anthony Curcio is responsible not only for a successful bank robbery but for one of the most well-planned bank heists in recent history. His plans included craigslist, a jet ski, inner tubes, and so much more. Let's take a...
Mar 01, 2022•53 min•Ep. 110
In the mid-'90s, the internet took the world by storm. For the first time in history, everyone had access to an unprecedented amount of information. In those early years, the entire web was curated by skilled webmasters who understood the inner workings of the internet. Over time, new technologies allowed everyone to share their thoughts and ideas with the world. Recently, bots were let loose online to fulfill a variety of tasks. Most of these robots perform necessary and helpful tasks. Unfortun...
Feb 22, 2022•58 min•Ep. 109
Fifty years ago, pieces of an ancient wall peaked out from underground all around Rockwall, TX. Today, much of the wall has been buried, but this quiet Dallas suburb may be host to the oldest surviving structure in the United States. It seems pretty clear that this wall is man-made, or at least intelligently made. Yet, despite all the signs, the public discourse regarding the wall is that it is a natural formation. Even still, conspiracies about the wall abound. Some people are convinced that gi...
Feb 15, 2022•57 min•Ep. 108
The globe is dotted with beautiful columns and archways popularized by the Beaux-arts style of architecture. Beaux-arts caught on and took the world by storm, as with many trends. Or did it? According to a relatively new internet, conspiracy buildings in this style are relics from a long-lost empire known as Tartaria. Much of our nation's capital buildings are really just repurposed Tartarian structures that were nearly destroyed by a worldwide mud flood. So, where do Tartarian truthers find the...
Feb 08, 2022•54 min•Ep. 107
Humanity has been expanding and advancing for as long as we have existed. It seems like we have an insatiable desire for creating new things and developing our influence as far and wide as possible. Logically, and based on some recent experience, we will eventually expand past our world and begin to colonize the cosmos. However, such a feat will require massive amounts of energy. In 1964 Nikolai Kardashev proposed a scale that measures an intelligent civilization based on the amount of energy co...
Feb 01, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 106
Sixto Rodriguez was an aspiring musician in the late '60s. After little success, he retired from music and worked as a day laborer in Detroit, Michigan. While Rodriguez spent his days doing odd jobs, his music made waves overseas. This is the story of Sixto Rodriguez, the rock icon that sold more records than Elvis Presley in South Africa. The only problem? He had no idea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 25, 2022•41 min•Ep. 105
Walt Disney had an issue with the way cities were built in his day. He spent much of his adult life in Los Angeles, notorious for traffic and dangerous corridors. Disney believed he had all the answers, and after the success of Disney land, he began formulating a plan for a new city. Eventually, Epcot would become the project's name, which stood for the Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow. This city was romantic, to say the least. If Walt had succeeded, it would've been one of the most incre...
Jan 18, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 104
We've all had these questions before. What is the Internet? Who invented it? When was the internet invented? How does it even work? The story is often treated like a mythic tale, but it's a timeline that we can somewhat pinpoint. The way it works seems almost ethereal today. It's a collection of data that floats through space and into our devices, right? The explanation of the inner workings of the internet is as explicable as the invention of the revolutionary system. Things I Learned Last Nigh...
Jan 11, 2022•58 min•Ep. 103
This story isn't for you if you have a weak stomach. Honestly, if you're human this story isn't for you. This is easily the most disgusting story we've ever told on this show. But, here it is. The Dave Matthews Band Chicago River Incident. Trust us, nothing can prepare you for what you are about to learn. We're deeply sorry about this. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 04, 2022•37 min•Ep. 102
You know Dasher and Dancer and vicious misuse of a historical figure for profit. But, do you know the story of how St. Nick turned into the Santa Claus we know today? The story is a long one that flows through many changes throughout history. The jolly bearded man didn't become what he is today until relatively recently. It wasn't until Capitalism got its greedy hands on old St. Nick that he became the main mascot of Christmas. Here's the story of the transformation from Saint to Santa. Learn mo...
Dec 21, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 101
How do you know what you know? That's a weird question. It's an important question to ask, though, and that question is at the heart of epistemology. Briefly, epistemology is a philosophical school of thought that seeks to understand knowledge. At its core, the hope is to determine if evidence can justify our beliefs. The system of thought has birthed all forms of skepticism. Therefore, many have claimed that the system exists to poke holes in ideas and find reasons to deny one's way of thought....
Dec 14, 2021•46 min•Ep. 100
Throughout history, generations watched as the younger generation took the helm. With each transition of power, the older generation has often disapproved of the behavior and decisions of the younger. This was particularly evident in the early 20th century. Events like the roaring '20s, the world wars, and the great depression left people wondering if the world was ending. Some in that era believed that the overpopulation of the cities of the earth was leading to negative changes in human behavi...
Dec 07, 2021•59 min•Ep. 99
Let's talk about Satan. The devil is one of the scariest creatures in the whole Biblical story. The problem? Well, the Bible never describes the devil in the way the creature is described today. The Bible rarely ever refers to Satan as a single figure or the chief of evil. The picture we are given from the Bible is far different. So, where did our modern understanding come from? Years and years of cultural influence and cherry-picking from other mythologies have given us a lord of the underworld...
Nov 30, 2021•39 min•Ep. 98
Jose Canseco was one of the greatest home run hitters in MLB history, with over 450 on his long career. He had a little help, though. Many regard him as the man who introduced steroids in the MLB. While he probably wasn't the first, he was one of the first to be open about his PED use. That openness seems to be why he was excluded from the hall of fame despite his storied career. However, his steroid use is probably the least exciting part of his story. Jose's life is full of fights (both legall...
Nov 23, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 97
Lawn Chair Larry, also known as Larry Walters, had always dreamed of flying. As a kid, he planned on becoming a pilot in the airforce. Unfortunately, he was turned by air force recruiters away due to his poor eyesight. In the wake of the death of his dream, Larry became a truck driver. However, his vision of flying never left him, even though the airforce was no longer an option. One day this dream drove him to do something crazy. Larry strapped 45 balloons to his lawn chair and took flight over...
Nov 16, 2021•15 min•Ep. 96
Timothy Dexter might actually be the luckiest man ever to live. Dexter was a prolific business mam at the dawn of the United States. He was one of the first people in U.S. history to rise from the lower class to the upper class. His business success, however, was entirely a stroke of luck. Few things that he succeeded in can be attributed to his intelligence or business prowess. He made most of his fortune off of tips from contemporaries trying to ruin him. Timothy Dexter, being none the wiser, ...
Nov 09, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 95
Ferdinand Waldo Demara is quite possibly the most legendary imposter to ever live. This man lied his way into almost every career known to man. Throughout his long life, Demara was a correctional officer, a prisoner, a soldier, a medic, a lawyer, a surgeon, and so much more. All the while being unqualified and his contemporaries being none the wiser. Even after Ferdinand Waldo Demara became famous for fraud, he managed to fake his way into various careers. It's hard to believe how good he was at...
Nov 02, 2021•58 min•Ep. 94
Valiant Thor is the subject of a truly unbelievable story. We mean it. Tim doesn't even buy this one. Here's the story. Valiant Thor, or Val as his friends called him, was a humanoid alien living in an apartment inside the Pentagon. Val had a tight-knit relationship with President Eisenhower and was passionate about ending the possibility of nuclear war. Like many Aliens who have come to earth, Val had a goal for humanity, and he used the existing power structures to see it through. Thanks to hi...
Oct 26, 2021•49 min•Ep. 93
We all remember the days sitting through history class learning about all the presidents in the short history of the United States. We learned all about each of these presidents and the things they did while in office. However, there's a good chance you were not taught about the first and only Emperor of the United States. In 1859, Joshua Abraham Norton laid claim to the position of Emperor of the United States of America. Now before you assume this was just the meaningless musings of the town d...
Oct 19, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 92
We went viral on TikTok earlier this year with our "Cat Daddy" voicemail reactions. Since then, our listenership has grown by the tens-of-thousands and we also received a lot more voicemails! So we decided to react to more of them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 18, 2021•14 min
In the wake of World War I, virtually everyone on earth knew that we could not afford another war as treacherous as the great war. In the US, a group of military leaders forged a small group that would come to be known as the Bomber Mafia. Their theory sounds primitive today, but at the time, it was groundbreaking. To put it simply, the Bomber Mafia hoped to win wars with bombs rather than with ground troops. Furthermore, they believed that they could ensure a minimal loss of life by targeting t...
Oct 12, 2021•58 min•Ep. 91
Stanley Meyer was a prolific inventor in the late 20th century. While working for a local lab, Meyer was on the team that had filed for numerous patents rumored to total in the hundreds if not thousands. However, personally, Meyer is the owner of just over a dozen patents. Regardless, the local patent office respected Meyer so much that they allegedly approved anything with his name on it on sight. Maybe that's what happened when he filed for a patent for a water-fueled car. Unfortunately, the g...
Oct 05, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 90
BlackRock inc. is the largest bank in the world. How big, you ask? Well, it manages an estimated total of $9 trillion. This corporation controls more money than many nations. The staggering amount of funds under its control has led many to suggest that BlackRock owns the world. The scary truth is, they kind of do. The decisions BlackRock makes with its assets have ramifications worldwide. The effects of those decisions could be and have been some of the most wildly felt financial events in recen...
Sep 28, 2021•54 min•Ep. 89
On the rooftops of Seattle lurks a hero the city never asked for and barely needs. In $10k dollar armor Phoenix Jones rushes down fire escapes and across alley ways in downtown Seattle night after night. This vigilante superhero is on a mission to make Seattle a safer place. Even though things started out well for Phoenix he and his team of caped crusaders, known as the rain city superhero collective, have fallen out of favor with the locals over the course of the past few years. This is the tal...
Sep 21, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 88
Since the United States first landed on the moon 50 years ago, the dream of a space colony has been alive in the American consciousness. Is a space colony really possible, though? After 40 years of near inactivity in space, things are changing. Governments are beginning to reinvest in space exploration. Private organizations are also beginning to invest in a new frontier of business; the space industry. Here's everything you need to know about the space industry, space colonies, and space explor...
Sep 14, 2021•57 min•Ep. 87
Nascar has long been the pinnacle of the racing world. However, within the Nascar community, there stands no track greater than the Talladega Super Speedway. This racetrack is the track of dreams. Nascar Drivers spend their careers chasing qualifications for a chance on that pavement. In 1982 one aspiring driver rose through the ranks to earn his qualification at the Winston 500 held on Talladega's hallowed grounds. There was only one problem. This racer was no Nascar Driver. In fact, he was no ...
Sep 07, 2021•54 min•Ep. 86
About 50 miles outside downtown Atlanta lies Lake Lanier. This artificial reservoir spans 59 square miles and boasts an impressive 692 miles of shoreline. For years people from all around Georgia have journeyed to the lake to escape the heat and enjoy all the trappings of lake life. Unfortunately, many of those who made this trip never returned. Since the lake's opening to recreation, well over 500 people (more than 700 according to some sources) have lost their lives in boating accidents and dr...
Aug 31, 2021•51 min•Ep. 85
