Conspiracy Theories
Episodes
Cattle Mutilation Pt. 2
02 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1960s and ‘70s, farmers across America were waking up to find that their cows had been slaughtered. Because the cattle were found missing eye...
Cattle Mutilation Pt. 1
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For decades across America’s heartland, cattle ranchers have found healthy livestock dead, with their body parts removed, sexual organs missing, and...
The Mummy's Curse: Curse of the Pharaohs Pt. 2
19 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the years following the unveiling of King Tut’s burial chamber, tragedy seemed to follow those involved with the excavation. Many believe these i...
The Mummy's Curse: Curse of the Pharaohs Pt. 1
17 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon set out for Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, they hoped to uncover secret tombs, lost in the sand. In 1922, their ...
The Death of a Rolling Stone
12 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From an early age, Brian Jones showed a creative edge and an interest in self-destruction. His rebellious spirit derailed him out of school and into t...
The Tylenol Murders Pt. 3: A Nightmare on Halloween
10 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
By 2011, the FBI was ready to reexamine the evidence. A theory emerged: What if the Mad Poisoner was actually the Unabomber? Ted Kaczynski had proven ...
The Tylenol Murders Pt. 2: A Walking Crime Wave
05 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If Roger Arnold wasn’t behind the murders, who was? Police turn their focus to a new suspect: a disgruntled accountant named James Lewis. But the mo...
The Tylenol Murders Pt. 1: Poisoning the Well
03 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Forty years ago, cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules led to the deaths of seven people all around the Chicago area. America was gripped by paranoia and fea...
Majestic 12 Pt. 2
28 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When the papers referring to MJ-12 were released to the public, the news was a bombshell. But scrutiny wasn’t far behind. Accusations of forgery and...
Majestic 12 Pt. 1
26 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Decades ago, a top-secret group of scientists, military officials and researchers reported on extraterrestrial activity to the president. When a docum...
The Disappearance of Agatha Christie
21 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For 11 days in December 1926, a famed writer — the “Queen of Crime” herself — vanished. Agatha Christie was used to concocting fictional myste...
Ernest Hemingway, the Spy
19 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Famed novelist. Accomplished outdoorsman. Intrepid spy? Today we examine the evidence suggesting one of the greatest writers of the 20th century was a...
Superman Defeats a Klan Plot Pt. 2
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Over 16 episodes, listeners tuned in to hear Superman and his allies battle against the Clan of the Fiery Cross — a thinly veiled reference to the K...
Superman Defeats a Klan Plot Pt. 1
05 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the early 1940s, journalist Stetson Kennedy tried to undermine the KKK’s recruiting power by exposing their darkest secrets — through a childre...
Princess Diana: The Royal Special Pt. 3
31 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From a royal to a humanitarian to a victim, Princess Diana significantly impacted the world during her short time here. Her recent portrayals in TV an...
Princess Diana: The Royal Special Pt. 2
29 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As the world mourns, speculation runs wild. How could this have happened? Who was to blame? British paparazzi, who hounded the vehicle into its passen...
Princess Diana: The Royal Special Pt. 1
24 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Twenty-five years ago, the British monarchy was forever changed upon the death of the “People’s Princess.” Today, we’re revisiting her story, ...
Death of Philip Taylor Kramer
22 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As a child, Philip Taylor Kramer looked to the stars to map his future. After a quick detour as a rock star, Kramer graduated with a degree in aerospa...
Disappearance of the USS Scorpion Pt. 2
17 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
By October of 1968, the search for the USS Scorpion was over. Discovered at the bottom of the Atlantic, theories as to how it sank began to emerge. Wa...
Disappearance of the USS Scorpion Pt. 1
15 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It was commissioned in 1960 to monitor Soviet submarines. Fast, agile, and heavily armed — the USS Scorpion was a nuclear sub built to be stealthy, ...
The Lost Dutchman Gold Mine Pt. 2
10 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Who will strike it rich next? The gold mine that made Jacob Waltz a wealthy man has apparently never been found again. But maybe there are still those...
The Lost Dutchman Gold Mine Pt. 1
08 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A trove of gold is rumored to be hidden in Arizona’s Superstition Mountains. Legend has it, a German immigrant named Jacob Waltz found the cache in ...
The Death of Christopher Marlowe Pt. 2
03 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Was Marlowe’s death truly a tragic accident? Unsatisfied with that explanation, some believe his death was ordered by a scorned wife seeking revenge...
The Death of Christopher Marlowe Pt. 1
01 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A brilliant playwright fell out of favor with Queen Elizabeth I. Then he was murdered. Officially, his killer acted in self-defense. But for centuries...
Hollow Moon
27 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There are a few different theories about how our moon was formed. One of them proposes it didn’t form naturally — it was designed. And what’s mo...
The Lost Cosmonauts
25 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since his flight in 1961, Yuri Gagarin has been considered the first person to go to space. What if he wasn’t? Learn more about your ad choices...
The CIA & The Church Committee Pt. 2
20 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Church Committee found that the CIA had in fact tried to assassinate foreign leaders – but never succeeded. But given what we know about the age...
The CIA & The Church Committee Pt. 1
18 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1975, a Senate panel known as the Church Committee began investigating CIA abuses, including its alleged assassinations. Their probe came after dec...
Roswell Legacy Pt. 4: Ufology
14 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For so long, the government’s stance when it came to UFOs was to deny and debunk. But when declassified and new information started hitting the main...
Roswell Legacy Pt. 3: Secret Programs
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
By the late 1940s the U.S. government knew it had a problem on its hands. “Flying saucers” posed a threat to other aircraft, and possibly even the...
Roswell Legacy Pt. 2: The Cover Up
07 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Less than a week after the Roswell wreck, the U.S. Department of War issued a statement claiming the debris came from a weather balloon. And for decad...
Roswell Legacy Pt. 1: The Crash
05 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1947 the U.S. military seized an unidentified object that had crashed in the New Mexico desert. Ever since, the area has been a hotspot for conspir...
Plum Island Pt. 2
29 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A Nazi scientist. An unleashed disease. A legendary monster. Can they all be traced back to Plum Island? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podca...
Plum Island Pt. 1
27 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When the U.S. needed a place to study rare animal diseases during the Cold War, it established a research center on an island off the New England coas...
Free Energy Pt. 2
22 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Is free energy already available to us? Some believe the technology exists today. If so, who is suppressing it and how far will they go to keep it und...
Free Energy Pt. 1
20 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Across centuries, inventors have theorized machines that could produce endless power at little cost. The technology would be revolutionary, if it exis...
Pan Am Flight 103 Pt. 2
15 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After the explosion of Flight 103, investigators followed a trail of clues to two suspects, both Libyan men believed to be carrying out orders from Mu...
Pan Am Flight 103 Pt. 1
13 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Days before Christmas 1988, scorched metal rained from the sky over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. Its source: Pan Am flight 103, headed from London ...
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident Pt. 2
08 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When historians began dissecting the intelligence that spurred U.S. destroyers to retaliate in the Gulf of Tonkin, they came up short. In fact, there ...
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident Pt. 1
06 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1964 an attack by North Vietnamese forces on U.S. naval destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin helped catalyze a war that would claim millions of lives. ...
Mafia Pt. 2: Presidents, Hitmen, Spies
01 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When the Navy needed to catch Nazi spies during WWII, they turned to an unlikely source of help: the mafia. How deep did their alliance go? And where ...
Mafia Pt. 1: The Rise of La Cosa Nostra
30 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When mafiosos rose to power in 20th century America, they were untouchable criminals with an unbreakable code. Their origins in Sicily left them with ...
The Man in the Iron Mask
25 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1669, the French government imprisoned a man whose identity they went to great lengths to keep hidden. The conditions of his lifelong incarceration...
The Sickness of Pont-Saint-Esprit
23 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the summer of 1951, a French town became ground zero for a mysterious illness that caused hallucinations, convulsions, and in some cases, death. Fo...
J. Edgar Hoover Pt. 6: The Bizarre End & Political Fallout
18 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The death of the Director in 1972 put an end to a reign that spanned 48 years, and left America to live in his outsized shadow. What happened to Hoove...
J. Edgar Hoover Pt. 5: Smear Campaigns
16 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
While antiwar and Civil Rights movements charged forward, Hoover unleashed the FBI upon his enemies and adversaries. By the end of the 1960s, he was p...
J. Edgar Hoover Pt. 4: Surveilling King & Kennedys
11 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1960s, the Director’s adversaries included the Kennedy brothers and leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, which he believed to be part of a l...
J. Edgar Hoover Pt. 3: Hunting for Spies
09 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A new president in the White House meant a new opportunity for a power play. Unfortunately for Hoover, Truman already thought the Bureau was becoming ...
J. Edgar Hoover Pt. 2: Gangsters, Nazis and Communists
04 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
By the 1930s, Hoover was America's top cop. He went after bank robbers and bandits in his War on Crime, never losing sight of his real nemesis: commun...
J. Edgar Hoover Pt. 1: The Birth of the FBI
02 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
J. Edgar Hoover was eager and ruthless. The young intelligence officer believed wholeheartedly in the communist conspiracy, and he’d do anything to ...
The Shergar Kidnapping
27 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A legendary colt became the pride of Ireland after dominating the 1981 Epsom Derby. Two years later, he was taken from his stable, ransomed for millio...
The 1968 Kentucky Derby
25 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After winning the 94th Kentucky Derby, the champion racehorse failed his drug test. It was unprecedented news that stunned the racing world and led to...
Conspiracies of the Grateful Dead Pt. 2
20 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Nitrous Mafia have been a fixture at Grateful Dead shows and other jam band concerts since the ‘90s. They deal nitrous oxide to fans who want a ...
Conspiracies of the Grateful Dead Pt. 1
18 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1960s a counterculture revolution was upending traditional norms of life, and the Grateful Dead were providing the soundtrack... and the drugs....
The Gardner Museum Heist Pt. 2
13 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The FBI’s investigation led them to some of Boston’s most notorious criminals, but for ten years, promising leads continued to fizzle out. Was the...
The Gardner Museum Heist Pt. 1
11 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In March 1990 two men pretending to be police officers stole 13 pieces of art worth over $200 million from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Bost...
Soviet Espionage: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Pt. 2
06 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After the Rosenbergs’ death sentence is announced, protests erupt around the world. Famous figures, including Einstein and the Pope, weigh in. But J...
Soviet Espionage: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Pt. 1
04 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How did an ordinary couple from New York become Communist spies during the height of the Cold War? And how much of the case against them... was actual...
The Grenfell Tower Fire Pt. 2
23 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 2019, a report from a public inquiry identified the main cause of the devastating Grenfell Tower fire. But it left one question unanswered: Who was...
The Grenfell Tower Fire Pt. 1
21 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After a deadly residential fire in London broke out on the 4th floor of a concrete highrise, 71 people died. Survivors and loved ones were left asking...
The Death of Bruce Lee
16 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since his death in 1973, Bruce Lee’s fans have wondered how the 32-year-old martial artist could’ve died so suddenly. Some believe his death ...
The Hollywood Star Whackers
14 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 2010, Randy and Evi Quaid alleged they’d been targeted by a shadowy cabal bent on ruining their reputations. The same group, they claimed, may ha...
“No Evidence of Risk” (FDA Pt. 2)
09 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1999, an FDA food investigator found traces of mercury in America’s favorite sweetener. But when she presented her findings, she was told to stop...
Embalmed Beef & Fatal Snake Oil (FDA Pt. 1)
07 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Long before the days of expiration dates and ingredient labels, the drug and food industries were an unregulated Wild West plagued by false advertisin...
Animal Espionage
02 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cats become creatures of warfare, pigeons are given a mission, insects are turned into spy bugs... Throughout history all manner of animals have been ...
Big Bang, Black Holes & The Gateway to Hell
28 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
CERN’s Large Hadron Collider is helping scientists make breakthrough discoveries about the nature of our universe. But some researchers think the ma...
The Somerton Man Pt. 2
23 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Untraceable poisons. Soviet espionage. Modern codebreaking. Any, none, or all of these things may have something to do with why nobody can identify th...
The Somerton Man Pt. 1
21 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A man was found dead on a beach in Australia in 1948 with his clothing tags cut out and 18 teeth missing. Who was he? How did he die? A cryptic note i...
The Lost Tribes of Israel Pt. 2
16 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1800s, a movement spread across Great Britain that convinced thousands of Englishmen they were part of an ancient Jewish tribe. It was based on...
The Lost Tribes of Israel Pt. 1
14 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The fate of the ten tribes of Israel has been a mystery for thousands of years. Some legends say they are trapped in a mythical land. One mysterious t...
California’s Deadliest Wildfire
09 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In November 2018, equipment from the largest utility provider in America sparked a fire that killed 86 people and destroyed thousands of homes. The de...
The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
07 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In March 2011, the worst nuclear meltdown since Chernobyl took place in northern Japan. The incident was triggered by a natural disaster, but it was d...
The Flint Water Crisis
02 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An emergency plan to cut costs in Flint, Michigan resulted in a contaminated water supply for the city’s residents. The water looked, tasted, and sm...
New York’s Toxic Love Canal
31 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Love Canal was supposed to be a suburban idyll. Instead, it became a dumping ground for chemical waste. After the land changed hands in the 1950s ...
Knights of the Golden Circle Pt. 2
26 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After the Civil War, multiple caches of Confederate gold were discovered around the country. Were they buried by the Knights of the Golden Circle? Was...
Knights of the Golden Circle Pt. 1
24 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1854, as tensions between the American North and South were brewing, a physician named George Bickley called his closest friends to a secret meetin...
COINTELPRO Pt. 2
19 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After a dozen major campaigns and thousands of planted bugs and wiretaps, COINTELPRO was finally exposed to the public. But the job of untangling its ...
COINTELPRO Pt. 1
17 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A secret intelligence project led by the FBI used illegal methods to spy on organizations and people from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s. It claimed...
Treasure Hunt: The Beale Papers Pt. 2
12 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Finding Beale’s treasure would be the thrill — and payout — of a lifetime. Without the key to the ciphers, it doesn’t seem likely. But there c...
Treasure Hunt: The Beale Papers Pt. 1
10 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1818, a member of a hunting party in the American West spotted a glimmer on a hillside — gold. Two hundred years later, treasure hunters are stil...
UFO Government Surveillance Pt. 2
05 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A new wave of extraterrestrial discourse began in June 2021 after the release of the U.S. government’s UFO report. But was the report just a smokesc...
UFO Government Surveillance Pt. 1
03 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since “flying saucer” entered the lexicon, the U.S. government’s public stance on UFO sightings was to doubt and debunk. But all that chang...
Pearl Harbor Pt. 4: Codes & Cover-ups
15 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the final episode of our crossover special, we examine the theories suggesting the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor wasn’t a surprise to the U.S. ...
Pearl Harbor Pt. 3: Entering the Pacific Theater
13 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the hours, days and weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan’s forces coordinated a vast takeover of the Pacific. Back at home, Hideki Tojo’...
Pearl Harbor Pt. 2: "A Date Which Will Live in Infamy"
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the summer of 1941, as hostilities between the two nations escalated, wartime negotiations officially broke down. Combat was imminent — but where...
Pearl Harbor Pt. 1: Hideki Tojo & Japanese Imperialism
06 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Eighty years ago, the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese fighter planes devastated the U.S. and spurred the nation into war. Join us for a sp...
Ancient Egypt: The Great Sphinx
01 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There are so many unresolved mysteries surrounding the iconic monument, like whether it’s really a sphinx, and if it could be a relic from the lost ...
Ancient Egypt: Pyramids
29 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Great Pyramids of Giza are some of the largest, most foreboding structures on the planet, but the mystery of how they were built still plagues his...
Tobacco Industry Cover-up Pt. 2
17 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today, the health risks associated with smoking cigarettes aren’t a secret. But since the mid-1900s, researchers have pointed out the harmful effect...
Tobacco Industry Cover-up Pt. 1
15 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the 20th century, the mass production of cigarettes fueled a global addiction — but Big Tobacco had a problem. Cancer rates were skyrocketing, an...
Dyatlov Pass Pt. 2
10 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The deaths of the Dyatlov Nine didn’t just seem bizarre — they seemed violent. What could explain the brutal injuries, missing tongue, radioactive...
Dyatlov Pass Pt. 1
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In winter 1959, a group of experienced mountaineers went missing in a remote part of Siberia. When their bodies were eventually found, their injuries ...
The Secret President
03 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When President Woodrow Wilson suffered a paralyzing stroke in 1919, First Lady Edith Wilson stepped in to maintain order in the White House. With the ...
The Pope Who Got Pregnant
01 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Around the 9th century C.E., a new pope rose to power. For years, the congregation was certain Pope John filled the role perfectly... until he went in...
Hollywood Horror: The Shining
27 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When critics didn’t understand Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror masterpiece, fans stepped in to explain the secrets behind its signature dread. Learn...
Hollywood Horror: The Exorcist
25 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The release of The Exorcist in December 1973 caused a global wave of panic and trauma. Due to a series of on-set accidents and untimely deaths, many b...
Waco Siege Pt. 2: The First Shot
20 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nearly two decades after the Waco Siege, people are still wondering what transpired at the Branch Davidian compound. Though the government officially ...
Waco Siege Pt. 1: Massacre at Mount Carmel
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On February 28th, 1993, government agents raided a compound in Waco, Texas, belonging to a religious group known as the Branch Davidians. A 51-day sta...
Alien in the White House: Valiant Thor Pt. 2
13 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Valiant Thor's story has sparked a flurry of theories regarding our government's knowledge of UFOs. Have presidents met with extraterrestrials in the ...
Alien in the White House: Valiant Thor Pt. 1
11 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 1957, the Pentagon received an unexpected visitor. His name was Valiant Thor, and allegedly, he was from Venus. His mission on Earth was to convinc...