Stuff They Don't Want You To Know
Episodes
The Mind vs. Matter: Feats of the Mystics
09 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How much power does the mind wield over physical matter? Could certain human beings, through the force of focused thought alone, walk on fire, lay on ...
CLASSIC: The Placebo Effect
08 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The placebo effect is pretty freaky when you think about it: just believing that a harmless substance is a medicine can really produce measurable bene...
Strange News: The COVID-19 Ghost Ship Tour, an X-files spinoff, and Georgia's Massive Human Trafficking Ring
07 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
An enterprising UK resident has found a new way to profit from the pandemic -- taking people on tours of the nearly-abandoned 'ghost ships' floating o...
Poltergeists: Fact and Fiction
04 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the world of spirits and apparitions, the poltergeist is a unique type of ghost -- one known for its alleged ability to move physical objects (ofte...
Listener Mail: #freebritney, Surviving the Derecho, and Spontaneous Human Combustion
03 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Is pop superstar Britney Spears really being held hostage? What is it like to witness a derecho firsthand, and live to tell the tale? Can human beings...
What is "Laying On Hands"?
02 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the ancient days, when medicine and spirituality were inseparable, people often used rituals and invocations to elicit help from divine sources. Th...
CLASSIC: The Mystery of Coral Castle
01 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After being jilted a day before his wedding and narrowly surviving tuberculosis, Latvian immigrant Edward Leedskalnin spent almost 30 years building C...
Strange News: Gaming and Death, Facebook has Censorship Problem, and North Korea's Leader May Be in a Coma
31 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A tragic homicide seems linked to online gaming. Facebook continues to be under fire for its long-running, previously established issues with censorsh...
Have dreams really predicted the future? Part II
28 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Could human dreams really, in some way, predict the future? At first, it sounds like the stuff of science fiction... but the real-life answer may not ...
Listener Mail: The Secret Gibraltar Base, The Spread of COVID-19 and the Chris Cornell Conspiracy
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What if Chris Cornell -- and Chester Bennington -- were actually murdered? How much do we really know about the early spread of COVID-19 in the US? An...
Have dreams really predicted the future? Part I
26 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dreams are one of the most mysterious aspects of human existence, and we still don't fully understand the strange phenomenon known as dreaming. For th...
CLASSIC: Can we really lose civilizations?
26 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
From Atlantis to Ciudad Blanca, Troy and Shangri-La, history is full of legends about lost civilizations. But how does humanity lose an entire city, e...
Strange News: Derechos Ravage the US, the Okinawan Sleeping Epidemic, and Someone May Have Solved the Mystery of 'CROATOAN.'
24 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A brutal derecho has caused somewhere around 4 billion dollars' worth of damage in Iowa. In Okinawa, multiple residents appears to fall sound asleep i...
When did humans reach the Americas?
21 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Did human beings first reach the continents we call North and South America by traversing a land bride across what's now known as the Bering Strait? T...
Listener Mail: Canadian UFOs, Fake Identities and Morphic Resonance
20 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Did a UFO really crash in Jackfish, Canada? What is 'morphic resonance,' and does psilocybin enhance it? Join the guys as they explore these questions...
What happened to Madeleine McCann?
19 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 2007, just days before her 4th birthday, Madeleine McCann disappeared from her parent's vacation apartment in Portugal, launching an international ...
CLASSIC: The "Real" Conspiracies
18 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The guys get a lot of questions, and one that crops up often is this: "Do you ever run into real conspiracies (rather than theories)?" Well, they're f...
Strange News: Magic Mushrooms, a Loch Ness and DNA Detective Work
17 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Canada has officially ruled that terminal patients may legally use psilocybin. Over in Scotland, another alleged photograph of the Loch Ness Monster r...
Could Sea Monsters/Serpents Still Exist?
14 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Since before the dawn of recorded history, humans have been haunted by rumors of monsters beneath the waves -- and, as time wore on, it seemed at leas...
Listener Mail: 5G, COVID-19 as Bioweapon, Standardized Testing as the Genuine Conspiracy
13 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Does a viral infection spread through radio towers? Was COVID-19 somehow designed as the world's most cartoonishly ineffective bioweapon? What are 'st...
The Nunavut Ping
12 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Officially formed in 1999, Nunavut is the newest and most northerly territory of Canada. This sparsely-populated region is home unique wildlife, ancie...
CLASSIC: The Illuminati
11 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Is there really an ancient, shadowy secret society running the world? If so, what's their endgame - and why hasn't anyone conclusively proven their ex...
Strange News: A Crashed Plane, A Drug Smuggling Feline and Strange Seeds from China
10 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Authorities find a mysterious plane in Papua New Guinea -- one that may have crashed due to the sheer weight of the cocaine onboard. A cat has been bu...
Did Milwaukee Police Protect a Child Abuse Ring?
07 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Earlier this year, two children went missing in Milwaukee. Despite the pleas of their parents and loved ones, the local police did not treat these chi...
Listener Mail: Martial Law, Karen Silkwood and Mind-controlling Parasites
06 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Could the United States impose nationwide martial law? What is a Silkwood Shower? Do humans play host to mind-controlling parasites? Join Ben, Matt an...
What is 'Antifa?'
05 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you've been watching the news, you've probably heard journalists and pundits throwing around the word "antifa," often in relation to protests. The ...
CLASSIC: Did Nazis really make UFOs?
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After the fall of the Nazi regime, the dirty secrets of WWII-era Germany slowly came to public light. Amid the horrors of the Holocaust and bizarre pr...
Strange News: The Pentagon and Aliens, Psuedocide Foiled by Typo, Man in Prosthetic Mask Robs Casino
03 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Law enforcement finally catches up with a mysterious grifter using CIA-level prosthetic mask technology. A man attempts to fake his death and forgets ...
The Dark Side of the Fashion Industry, Part 1: The Dark Side of the Loom
31 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you're like the vast majority of people, you wear clothes. Clothing is one of the oldest pieces of human technology, and these days it's also a mul...
Listener Mail: July 30th
30 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Who was the mysterious Ronald Hadley Stark? Just how closely can companies and the government monitor commercial (and, eventually, civilian) vehicles?...
What really sank the Kursk?
29 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
More than 500 feet long and carrying missiles the size of small planes, the giant, nuclear-powered Kursk submarine was an apex predator of the high se...
CLASSIC: The Deceptive Brain
28 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's no secret that strong emotions can influence our thought processes, but just how much of a difference can they actually make? Can you trust your ...
Strange News: a Swarm of Ants, Masks in 1918 and a Mysterious Attempt to Murder a Judge
27 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As swarms of flying ants overtake the UK, radar in multiple cities is overwhelmed, mistaking the waves of flying insects for rain. Anti-mask sentiment...
The True Cost of Gasoline
24 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For most of modern history, the world has run on oil. In the US and abroad, the price of gasoline is often the subject of intense concern, and prices ...
Listener Mail: July 23rd
23 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What's the deal with those secret train stations rumored to exist beneath various cities? Could the upcoming US election be postponed due to the coron...
The Hidden History of Africville
22 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you're not from Nova Scotia, you may have never heard of Africville -- it was a small community in Halifax. The larger government of Halifax seemed...
CLASSIC: Edward Bernays: The Most Famous Man You've Never Heard Of
21 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nowadays, Edward Bernays remains a relatively obscure historical figure. His legacy, however, is thriving around the globe, and his techniques are fou...
Strange News: From North Korea to TikTok and the Hazy Limits of the Mind
20 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Why is Kim Jong Un's sister getting special permission to watch DVDs of US holiday celebrations? Why do so many countries want to ban TikTok? How did ...
Who Controls The Narrative? An Interview With Waiting On Reparations
17 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In a world of ubiquitous information, protests, activism and propaganda exist in the digital world as much as the physical. The war for control of a g...
A Cosmic Murder Mystery: The Star That Simply Vanished
15 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How can a star disappear? Recently, an enterprising group of astronomers and astrophysicists found themselves transformed into full-on space detective...
The Deepcut Suicides
10 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Located in Surrey, the Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut (more often known as the Deepcut Barracks) was once the headquarters of the British Army's Roy...
Is Sonar Killing Marine Animals?
08 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ships across the planet rely on sonar to safely navigate the world's oceans. This fascinating technology has revolutionized everything from maritime r...
The Missionary, with Rajiv Golla
03 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When a young missionary named Renee Bach left her life in the US to start a malnutrition program in rural Uganda, she was one of thousands of like-min...
How Rigging Elections Works: Mexico, 1988
01 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
While democracy isn't always predictable, one thing's for sure -- no matter who wins an election, for any party, in any country, some part of the popu...
Russia and the US Civil Rights Movement
26 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The US civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s sparked nationwide protests, marches and action, resulting in fundamental changes for a nation that ...
What is Project Blue Beam?
24 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It seems the nearly 8 billion people living on Earth can't seem to agree on anything, much less cooperate to achieve a goal. But what if there was som...
Forgotten: Women of Juarez, with Oz Woloshyn
19 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Juarez, located just over the US-Mexico border, has an ongoing crisis that hasn't made the news: hundreds of women have gone missing, and many of the ...
Tatum Salt Dome: Nuclear Explosions on U.S. Soil
17 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Most people have heard of Three Mile Island — but what about the multiple other nuclear events on US soil? Join Ben and Matt as they explore the str...
Indigenous Tribes, COVID & PPE
12 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, long-standing inequalities have exacerbated the crisis in historically neglected US communities. In today's episod...
The Lost City of Ubar: The True Story of "The Atlantis of the Sands"
10 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
You've probably heard of the Atlantis before, but have you heard the legends of another lost city, somewhere out in the endless sands of the Arabian P...
The Rise of the Agent Provocateur
05 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Protests against systemic injustice and police brutality are sweeping the United States and the world at large. In the US, protesting isn't just a tac...
Stratospheric Aerosol Injections: Saving the World with Chemtrails?
03 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Typically, when you hear someone bring up the concept of chemtrails, it's either to dismiss the idea as a conspiracy theory or to claim there's someth...
The Santa Susana Field Experiment Coverup
29 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Most US residents are vaguely familiar with the nuclear disaster known as Three Mile Island -- but that's only one of several similar stories. Join th...
The 2001 Anthrax Letter Attacks: Who was actually responsible?
27 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mere days after the horrific events of 9/11, someone began sending letters laced with anthrax spores to senators and the offices of major media outfit...
Whatever happened to Julian Assange?
22 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A few years back, Julian Assange was a household name in the West. The founder and face of Wikileaks, one of the world's most well-known destinations ...
Wells Fargo's Imaginary Customers
20 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Wells Fargo is one of the most popular retail banks in the United States, and its gigantic customer base uses it for everything from savings accounts ...
Operation Infektion: Russia's AIDS Conspiracy
15 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
HIV and AIDS, the syndrome the infection causes, have become the subject of numerous conspiracy theories. Over the decades people have proposed the in...
At What Price Safety: The Conundrum of Clearview AI
13 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Clearview AI -- according to its champions, the software from this facial recognition company makes the world a safer place by allowing for more effic...
COVID IV: Too Soon or Too Late?
08 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As governments work to fight COVID-19 and industries struggle to survive, more and more people are concerned society will never actually return to nor...
Forced Assimilation of Native People
06 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For centuries the U.S. government conspired to persecute, attack and marginalize the native population. When open warfare became too expensive, some f...
What Happened to Emanuela Orlandi?
01 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On June 22nd, 1983, 15-year-old Vatican City resident Emanuela Orlandi disappeared after attending a music lesson. Over the decades, numerous people c...
Betty and Barney Hill: The UFO Case that Changed Everything, with Toby Ball
29 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In September of 1961, on an empty country road in rural New Hampshire, Barney and Betty Hill experienced the most profound, bizarre night of their liv...
Your News Agency or the CIA: The Story of Operation Mockingbird
24 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Propaganda has always been a powerful tool, and humanity's recent technological innovations have only amplified its reach. Long-standing laws in the U...
The Secret World of Chefs, with Richard Blais and Hugh Acheson
22 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As anyone who's worked in a kitchen or the hospitality industry can readily attest, there's an entirely different world behind the doors of every kitc...
Big Brother Wants To Get Inside Your Car
17 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's no secret that modern automobiles are incredibly convenient. They're almost like rolling computers, chock-full of GPS capabilities, infotainment ...
COVID III: The Bill Comes Due
15 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Weeks into the global pandemic, countries across the planet are trying to stem the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Governments are taking extreme action...
The Dark Story of K-Pop
10 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Korean pop music, or K-pop, originated in South Korea but has become a powerful, global phenomenon. This multi-billion dollar industry manufacturers s...
Chemtrails Were Real -- At Least in the UK
08 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Whether you consider yourself a true conspiracy theorist or a diehard skeptic, you've definitely heard of chemtrails. True believers are certain that,...
Bug Out Bag 101
03 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you were cut off from everything for 72 hours, what would you need to survive? If you found yourself in the middle of nowhere -- or if you needed t...
Coronavirus Update: The Rise of Pandemic and Conspiracy
01 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Tune in for this much-needed update on the continually evolving state of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which we explore the new revelations about the spre...
Unsolved: The Monster with 21 Faces
28 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1980s, a mysterious organization terrorized candy companies in Japan - then disappeared. What was the Monster with 21 Faces, and what happened ...
Unsolved: Is there a serial killer on the U.S. border?
28 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's no secret that the border between the United States and Mexico has been the subject of recent, intensely divisive debate. There have been numerou...
Unsolved: The Mystery of North Sentinel Island
28 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
India controls numerous islands in the Indian Ocean, and they have a strange set of rules for North Sentinel Islands -- a tiny, remote place most peop...
Unsolved: The Hidden Tomb of Genghis Khan
28 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Genghis Khan was one of the world's most successful conquerors, and his empire left an indelible mark across Eurasia. Yet upon his death his body was ...
Unsolved: Did the US abandon soldiers in the Vietnam War?
28 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
At the close of the Paris Peace Accords, the US and Vietnam agreed to return any POWs to their home country -- however, for decades after the close of...
Unsolved: Did Teresita Basa avenge her own death?
28 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Months after the murder of Teresita Basa, her former coworker began falling into trances, a voice identifying itself as Teresita issuing from her mout...
Unsolved: Who Built The Georgia Guidestones?
28 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After years of listener requests, Ben, Matt and Noel are finally exploring the mysterious story of the legendary Georgia Guidestones. Who built this m...
Unsolved: Is someone using sonic weapons in Cuba?
28 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Recently employees at the US Embassy in Cuba reported a strange and disquieting phenomenon. They complained of vertigo, nausea, hearing loss and more ...
Unsolved: What happened to Elisa Lam?
28 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 2013, Canadian college student Elisa Lam disappeared while on a solo trip through California. For weeks law enforcement was at a loss to explain th...
Unsolved: The Mysterious Lake City Quiet Pills
28 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Did a group of private assassins use a series of sleazy websites as fronts for their base of operations? Join Ben, Matt and Noel as they delve into th...
Why is the Navy worried about releasing the secret UFO Files?
27 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After years of rumors, recent releases have confirmed the US government knew much more about UFOs than they'd originally let on. And, despite the rece...
The True Story of the Ancient Chinese Giants
25 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Like many other regions of the world, China has its own folklore about ancient, humanoid giants. In most cases, these legends have a mundane cause -- ...
Is there enough for everyone?
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
While the human species is inarguably successful (for now), hundreds of millions of people struggle under daily threats of starvation, physical danger...
The UFO over Montreal
18 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the foggy, early evening of November 7th, 1990, two people at a Montreal hotel noticed something bizarre in the sky. Soon, multiple people in the h...
Slaves to the Sun: Solar Activity and Mass Excitability
13 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We all know weather can affect a person's mood, but just how far does it go? Could the activity of the sun be driving widespread human conflicts throu...
The Surprisingly Unboring Story of Farm Subsidies
11 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Make no mistake -- being a farmer is hard work. Farming outfits often have to carry a huge amount of risk from one season to the next, and any number ...
Who killed the Jennings 8?
06 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Located in Jefferson Davis Parish, the town of Jennings, Louisiana wasn't a particularly well-known place -- in fact, many people in the US would prob...
Citizenship and the Census
04 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Every ten years, the United States conducts the census, a crucial survey of the country’s population meant to help Uncle Sam figure out how to plan ...
Coronavirus: COVID-19, Conjectures and Conspiracies
28 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
While many people weren't familiar with the term "coronavirus" until a few months or weeks ago, we've all had one of these in the past - this term des...
What is 'Skunkworks'?
26 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For almost 80 years, Lockheed Martin has been working hand in hand with the US government to create cutting-edge, classified tech and craft, working i...
Colorado's Mystery Drones
21 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In December of 2019 the Denver Post began reporting a strange pattern over the night sky of northeast Colorado. Around 7pm each night, at least 17 dro...
The Return of Listener Mail
19 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Have you written to the guys on Facebook or Twitter? Sent an email, or called 1-833-STDWYTK? Then tune in as they answer your questions and more on ai...
Murder in Oregon, with Phil Stanford
14 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How far would you go for justice? Join the guys as they interview award-winning investigative journalist Phil Stanford about the strange, twisting tal...
Why do some people think cannabis can cure cancer?
12 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With a growing number of Western countries decriminalizing or outright legalizing cannabis, the controversial plant seems set to become an acceptable ...
The Mad Future with Chris Cogswell
07 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Is there any truth to the stories of mysterious, unidentified alloys, secretly held in some hidden bunker straight out of the Indiana Jones films? How...
Why don't nations trust NGOs?
05 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On paper, non-governmental organizations often sound like something everyone can get behind: these institutions are often dedicated to addressing some...
A World Without Cash
31 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The last time you bought something, did you use a card, cash or something else? If you automatically thought "who uses cash nowadays", you're far from...
The Wide World of Food Conspiracies
29 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Whether rich or poor, young or old, everyone on the planet has to eat. Government institutions monitor the safety, cleanliness and consistency of our ...
The Smiley Face Murder Conspiracy
24 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Could a group of serial murderers be kidnapping, drugging and drowning young men across the United States? Scores of young male college students have ...
Is the Dead Sea copper scroll an ancient treasure map?
22 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Odds are you've heard of the Dead Sea scrolls -- when the first of these ancient texts were discovered in the 1940s, the scrolls revolutionized our un...