Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

CLASSIC: What exactly is 'Natural Flavoring'?

14 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You can find phrases touting "natural" flavoring on products throughout most modern supermarkets, from beverages to cereal to more -- but what exactly...

Strange News: Rap Beefs, Tornadoes, Brain Worms and More

13 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What's going on with all these tornado clusters-- and what does it tell us about the future of natural disasters? The gang weighs in on the larger con...

Universe 25: The Parable of Rodent Utopias and Behavioral Sinks

10 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What would happen if you built an almost-perfect world, limited in terms only of space? How would people react -- could you create a utopian society? ...

Listener Mail: Real Telepathy, Bird Flu and Cows, Voting Age, A Wholesome Conspiracy

09 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

J Conner and Ben bond on the concept that technological breakthroughs may lead to the creation of real-life telepathy. Scootch weighs in on the pickle...

Drugs As Weapons, Part II: Cannabis-induced Psychosis

08 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ah, cannabis! That oft-vilified, oft-worshipped source of so many creative snacks, amazing music, and... legal chaos. In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt ...

CLASSIC: Is MI5 a Criminal Organization?

07 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Also known as the Security Service, MI5 is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, dealing with threats inside the kin...

Strange News: New Orleans Archdiocese Scandal, Explosions in Clinton Township, The US Campus Protests Make History

06 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A sex-trafficking inquiry targets the New Orleans archdiocese. An explosion in Michigan's Clinton Township triggers an investigation. Widespread anti-...

CLASSIC: The Truth Behind the Salem Witch Trials, with Aaron Mahnke

03 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Join Ben and Matt as they interview Aaron Mahnke, the creator of the world-famous Lore podcast, about Unobscured, the new series where he dives deep i...

Listener Mail: Breaking Physics? Firefighters and PFAs, Superfund Sites and Baseball.

02 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Secret Soup Can hips the guys to the newest 'Big If True' -- aka alleged -- breakthrough in alternative propulsion. Matt the Firefighter shares a wide...

What was Operation Northwoods?

01 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How far would you go in pursuit of a Greater Good? How much evil would you permit -- how many crimes would you commit -- if you believed the result wa...

CLASSIC: What the F*ck is up with Florida?

30 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Out of all the states in the Union, it seems like Florida is home to the craziest shenanigans. Every few days another story about a weird, madcap crim...

Strange News: Colorado Protects Brainwaves, Chechnya's Weird Music Ban, A Man Sets Himself On Fire.

29 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Colorado moves to protect human thought. Chechnya restricts all music to a certain amount of beats per minute (spoiler: it's super weird). In protest ...

The Sirhan Sirhan Story

26 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On June 5, 1968, Sirhan Sirhan fatally attacked Robert Kennedy -- he was tackled, disarmed and arrested immediately. Yet for decades after the murder,...

Listener Mail: Dog Farts or Ghosts? The Korean 4B Movement. Growing Mini-livers.

25 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jace wonders whether he's haunted by a dearly-beloved, farting ghost. Skippy prompts a conversation about growing miniature organs, and the larger fut...

Disclosure: The Epstein Files

24 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Toward the end of 2023, a US judge decreed the public had a right to know the names of multiple people listed in court documents pertaining to the cri...

CLASSIC: How Jeffrey Epstein Broke The Law and Got Away

23 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jeffrey Epstein made a name for himself as a mysterious money manager with friends in very high places, from Bill Clinton to Donald Trump, British roy...

Strange News: The Cybertruck Debacle, Historic Conviction in International Psychic Scam, Loans for the Dead, the Secret World of Extra Passports

22 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Did you know wealthy people can easily buy citizenship in numerous other countries (and they're doing it at an unprecedented rate)? Plus the ongoing C...

Drugs as Weapons

19 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For some, drugs represent the downfall of civilization, despite the fact that drug creation and ingestion is one of the oldest discoveries in human hi...

Listener Mail: Best/Worst Candy, Human Cloning Puns, Eclipse Headaches and a Full Body Taste

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

P Brain asks for more information about the health effects of the recent solar eclipse. Anonymous in Central Illinois asks Ben, Matt and Codename: Doc...

Oh, Man. It's The Supplement Episode.

17 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At some point in your life, your health becomes your number one concern. Everyone knows a balanced diet and regular exercise leads to a longer, health...

CLASSIC: The Mysterious Death of Biohacker Aaron Traywick

16 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When controversial transhumanism activist and erstwhile CEO Aaron Traywick was found dead in a sensory deprivation tank on April 29th, 2018, many of h...

Strange News: Robbing Graves For Drugs, Identity Theft, LA's Greatest Heist, South Korea Will Pay You To Have Kids

15 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

LA witnesses the largest heist in its history over Easter. South Korean companies seek to combat population collapse by paying families to get pregnan...

What is Fertility Fraud?

12 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For millions of people across the planet, fertility treatments make families possible. Each year in the US alone, procedures like IVF allow thousands ...

Listener Mail: The West Lake Landfill, Cloning, and Supplements

11 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

B7 hips the gang to the West Lake Landfilll. Rev Devl prompts a strange exploration of the future of AI. Byron asks about cloning (and flame retardant...

What is Operation Solar Warden?

10 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Could the US really possess a top-secret space program leveraging suppressed or extra-terrestrial technology -- and have kept the existence of this pr...

CLASSIC: The Kurim Case

09 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2007, a new father in the small Czech town of Kurim installed a baby monitor only to find that, instead of picking up the feed from his own home, h...

Strange News: Operation Skyhawk, Books Bound in Human Skin, and... Havana Syndrome is Russian?

08 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A multiyear investigation discovers high-level Western accusations that the controversial Havana Syndrome may have been caused by Russian weaponry (ac...

CLASSIC: Who were the Si-Te-Cah?

05 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Did a race of red-haired, not-quite-human, cannibalistic giants really terrorize the Paiute people in ancient America? For a long time, according to t...

Listener Mail: Political Cults, Lex Meets the CIA, Vacation Recommendations and Canada Agrees With Us

04 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Skeptical Dark Horse hips Ben, Matt and Noel to the Society for American Civic Renewal. Lex has a curious encounter with a certain company. Desthiny a...

The Bhopal, India Gas Leak

03 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In December of 1984, Bhopal, India became ground zero for the largest industrial disaster in all of human history -- it's a story still largely unknow...

CLASSIC: What's happening at Pine Gap?

02 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Located just a few miles away from Alice Springs, Australia, Pine Gap is known as one of the country's hotbeds of surveillance and secrecy -- but what...

Strange News: The Moscow Attack: Conspiracy? The Curse of the Colonel, and the Baltimore Bridge Collapse

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A cargo ship hits the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, utterly destroying the bridge. Over in Japan, the notorious curse of the Colonel may have...

The Mysterious Lake Mead Bodies

29 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Continual drought in Nevada led to some firghtening an unexpected consequences in recent years. As the waters of Lake Mead fell, ruins of Native sites...

Listener Mail: HVAC Refrigerant, Rigging Votes, Royal Conspiracies and Cloning

28 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Anonymous in Oz shares a disturbing story about paid actors rigging a corporate vote in Australia. The Mitch Doctor shares more news about the the UK'...

A History of the Antichrist

27 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What is the nature of good and evil? For some, it’s a matter of shifting perspective. For others, there are absolutes – clearly defined right and ...

CLASSIC: Everyone Knew Non-stick Pans Were Poisonous (And No One Told You)

26 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Non-stick pans are incredibly convenient -- they save hours of time, and make cooking less labor-intensive. Some might say the technology sounds too g...

Strange News: Nickelodeon Scandal, A Shootout in Arkansas, A Double Amputation Insurance Scam

25 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A new docuseries brings long-standing allegations of gruesome abuse at Nickelodeon to the mainstream. An airport executive dies in a bizarre shootout ...

Bad Blood, Part Two: China's Plasma Economy

22 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For many farmers in rural 1990s China, it seemed like a godsend: new businesses promised to pay a full month's wage for just a few hours donating plas...

Listener Mail: The Two by Two Cult, Credit Card Skimmers, and Cartels

21 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

HeyLee shares the disturbing history of a cult called the Two by Twos. A-Frame reveals first-hand experience with firearms and cartels. Big Shucks ret...

Medicine or Poison? The Story of PB Pills

20 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You've heard of things like Agent Orange, but what about PB pills? During the Gulf War conflict, PB pills were billed as a way to combat the looming t...

CLASSIC: Agent 355: Washington's Secret Spy

19 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Spies aren't just relegated to the Cold War and James Bond -- in fact, spycraft played a crucial role in the Revolutionary War. One of the government'...

Strange News: The Boeing Whistleblower, Kate Middleton, Drugs and Robbery in Atlanta

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Former Boeing employee and whistleblower John Barnett was found dead. A string of druggings and robberies in Atlanta's posh Buckhead neighborhood prom...

STDWYTK presents The Passage: Hoover's Confession

15 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

J. Edgar Hoover was a legendarily paranoid man -- but what if there was a reason for his intense, myopic obsession with surveillance and privacy? How ...

Listener Mail: Tainted Polio Vaccine, the Winchester Dam, a Potassium Update

14 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Multiple Conspiracy Realists share their personal experiences with polio. PoodleCrab responds to the ongoing conversation about potassium. Concerned C...

Were Viking Berserkers Real?

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever heard someone described as going "beserk"? Turns out there's a ton of strange history behind this phrase. In tonight's episode, Ben, Mat...

CLASSIC: Above Majestic, with David Wilcock

12 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The recent film Above Majestic is look at the origins, history and conspiracies behind the "Majestic 12", an alleged, secret group of military and cor...

Strange News: Smuggling Greenhouse Gas, AI Ruins Willy Wonka, Houthis Cut The Internet -- Or Did They?

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Where should you park a helicopter? The conversation over the Willy Wonka experience in Glasgow continues. London economists realize wealth inequality...

Bad Blood, Part I: The Factor VIII Scandal

08 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Every day, across the planet, blood and plasma donations save human lives. Yet as with virtually all medical innovations, the story of blood donation ...

Listener Mail: Corruption in Illinois, Magnets, Foreign Real Estate Grifts

07 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Papa Caps becomes the official STDWYTK hot sauce hook-up. Dewy continues the exploration of corruption in Illinois. Fellow Faygo fan Arborious explain...

Who Were The Knights Templar?

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Founded as an order of warrior monks protecting Christian pilgrims on their journey to the Holy Land, he Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Tem...

CLASSIC: Why do so many people hate Nestlé?

05 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nestlé is the world's largest food and beverage company, and it's no surprise that an entity this large would, at some point over the decades, become...

Strange News: Wendy's "Definitely Not" Doing Surge Pricing, Alex Jones Update, Gangs and the Military

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A Yakuza operative gets pinched for smuggling nuclear material. Mixtape legends and fast food empire Wendy's claims they are 'definitely not' doing su...

The Tainted Polio Story

01 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For much of human history, polio was absolutely terrifying. People weren't sure how it spread, they had no idea how to treat it, and they realized any...

Listener Mail: Russian Space Weapons, Star Wars, Longer Life for Pets and a Potassium Grift

29 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Iron Man hips the guys to a bizarre story about potassium. Sgt. Will presents a fascinating theory about nuclear weapons and "aliens." The Cold War Ha...

Spies in the Sky: More Strange, Secret Satellites

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Whil space may look pretty empty to the unaided eye, make no mistake: Earth's orbit is filled with fascinating -- sometimes creepy -- things. Join Ben...

CLASSIC: The Future of Censorship

27 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What should people be allowed to say online? What sort of control should states or private entities have over images, concepts, speeches and other con...

Strange News: Satellites, Sting Rays, World Powers Move on Antarctica

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Orbital decay as satellites fail. A stingray practices parthenogenesis as China and Iran expand claims to Antarctica. All this and more in this week's...

The Colonial Parkway Murders

23 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The scenic Colonial Parkway stretches 23 miles across part of Virginia, linking Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. This road has been purposely sh...

Listener Mail: Purple Street Lights, Burger King Sauce Concerns, the Unsolved Death of Thomas Wales

22 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Matthais calls to ask about why some streetlights are turning purple. Kyle writes in with a question about a possible fast food conspiracy to short pe...

Mysterious Inventors, Part II: Murdered For Science?

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Humans are phenomenally inventive creatures -- problem is, some of their inventions may end up disrupting the status quo. In fact, history is riddled ...

CLASSIC: STDWYTK Live: Secrets of The Federal Reserve

20 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From the secret signs of homeless communities to Toynbee tiles, the world of advertisement and even the US dollar, the world is chock-full of hidden s...

Strange News: New Cryptid Just Dropped, Chernobyl's Wolves, A Lawyer Saves The Day

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A new study shows wolves in Chernobyl have developed resistance to cancer. A scammer tries to refinance house behind owner’s back, lawyer saves the ...

That Unclaimed Land: Terra Nullius

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How do human civilization decide who owns what? It's a devilish, dangerous, and disturbing question absolutely riddled with conspiracy. In tonight's e...

Listener Mail: Hey Google, Operation Overmatch, Healthcare and Cartel Firearms

15 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An anonymous listener shares the unpleasant consequences of Ben, Matt and Noel's prank from years ago. Scurvy Earl prompts a renewed, long-running con...

Every US National Park is Apparently Haunted

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The United States National Parks system is a stunning system of over 85 million acres of natural wonders, attracting millions of visitors from across ...

CLASSIC: The Dark Alliance: Did the US government and druglords kill Gary Webb?

13 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Stubborn, determined and tenancious, Gary Webb was the quintessential investigative journalist. In his work for a newspaper called The Mercury News, G...

Strange News: CERN Wants a New Collider, Deepfake Scam, Bears on Crack, A Toothbrush Hack, and More

12 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

CERN wants to spend the next two decades -- and twenty billion euro -- building a new collider. AI seems to escalate warfare in strange, unpredictable...

Squonk: The World’s Saddest Cryptid

09 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It's Cryptid Time! On the heels of a somewhat... titillating social media video, the guys dive into the story of the world's saddest cryptid. Out in t...

Listener Mail: Massive Reaction to Oklahoma Cannabis and Human Trafficking, the Apple Vision Pro, Music Inspired by STDWYTK

08 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Divine Bovine prompts a conversation about the Apple Vision Pro. Moons of Athos shares some of the (awesome) music he creates while inspired by Stuff ...

Thailand's Worst Serial Killer is a Woman: The Story of "Am Cyanide"

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Thailand's authorities recently closed an investigation on the most notorious serial killer in the country's history: Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, commonl...

CLASSIC: The Strange Story of the GhostNet

06 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The rise of the Internet Age allowed billions of people to access virtually endless stores of information, but it had a dark side -- one of which was ...

Strange News: Mexican Cartels Carry Heavy US Ordnance, Taylor Swift, Bayer to Pay More than 2 Billion in Latest Roundup Trial, Woman Non-consensually Running for Presidency

05 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Mexico demands answers as cartels seem to wield massive amounts of US-manufactured military ordnance. Pop musician Taylor Swift inspires bizarre, pani...

Did A Harvard Astronomer Find Wreckage From Outer Space?

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Storied Harvard theoretical physicist Avi Loeb made some waves with his recent discoveries: through a deep search of astronomical records, he and his ...

Listener Mail: Carbon Monoxide Crisis in Utah, Hunting Ghosts, Ghost Kitchens

01 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Mama Dino prompts an examination of carbon monoxide poisoning in Utah. Veteran ghost hunter George shares a guide to exploring Electronic Voice Phenom...

The Project For The New American Century: Part Two

31 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the wake of unimaginable disaster, the supporters of the PNAC saw their chance to transform their theories into policy. At least, that's how critic...

CLASSIC: Ancient Civilizations in Antarctica?

30 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Among all the continents of Earth, Antarctica remains both the most inhospitable and the most mysterious. Today the only humans on the landmass are re...

Strange News: A Human Trafficking Conspiracy in Oklahoma, Kansas City Update, the Nicholas Rossi Saga Continues

29 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A federal jury has convicted two men of a drug trafficking conspiracy -- yet that's only the beginning of this twisted, disturbing tale. An update on ...

The Project For The New American Century: Part One

26 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Think tanks are pretty common in the United States, and not all are created equally. In the first part of this two-part series, Ben and Matt dive deep...

Listener Mail: Missing in Missouri, Corruption in Illinois, Australian Insight

25 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Cody hips the gang to a disturbing death in Missouri. Mysteria writes in to respond to the earlier questions about small-town corruption. LJB provides...

Venezuela Versus Guyana

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The current president of Venezuela made global headlines when he seemed on the cusp of invading the neighboring country of Guyana -- why would a count...

CLASSIC: Real Life Super Powers Part II

23 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Does someone have real-life superspeed? Can people telepathically control machines? When the guys originally began investigating real-life superpowers...

Strange News: Three Deaths in Kansas City, AI Does Carlin, Corporate Sex Trafficking

22 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Furious family members, community and friends demand answers when three men are found dead in Kansas City days after watching a football game. AI crea...

Introducing: The Godmother

20 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1930s, Lucky Luciano, one of American history’s most notorious mobsters, was finally taken down by a rookie prosecutor. Eunice Carter was one...

Radical, with Mosi Secret

19 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Before converting to Islam, Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin was a Black Power activist named H. Rap Brown. Like Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael, he was t...

Listener Mail: A Humble Farmer, A Blood Scandal, Aliens in Miami

18 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A Humble Farmer writes in with a stunning story of a still-unexplained UFO encounter. Zack asks for more information on a blood donation scandal. TyDj...

Hearing Ghosts: What is electronic voice phenomena?

17 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever heard something strange on the other end of the phone, or an inexplicable whisper in a recording. Most folks might dismiss this is as li...

CLASSIC: The Bunyip and Beyond: Meet the Cryptids of Australia

16 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Over the years, the guys have explored stories of cryptids across the planet, but in all their podcast journeys they somehow never made it to Australi...

Strange News: US Couple Dead in Smoldering Home, China Regulates Gaming, Hundreds of Families Discover Missing Loved Ones Buried in Mississippi

15 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In South Carolina, authorities find an elderly couple dead in a home with an astonishing temperature. The government of China proposes regulations on ...

Does India have assassination rings?

12 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Is the Indian government ordering assassinations on foreign soil? At first it sounds like a wingnut conspiracy theory -- yet over the past few months,...

Listener Mail: Smuggling Snacks, Missile Silos and the Paranormal, Letters From Home and More

11 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Foxillion Fastfoot reacts to the earlier story about items banned in the UK. Duke Nukem relates some of his experience in underground silos, prompting...

The Rise of the Ghost Kitchen

10 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

During the pandemic lockdown, food delivery services exploded in popularity -- and, in most major cities, you could order any grub you imagined. Howev...

CLASSIC: Sex Cults and Rocket Science: The Jack Parsons Story

09 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jack Parsons was a rocket engineer and rocket propulsion researcher responsible for astonishing breakthroughs in his field. However, Parsons had a dou...

Strange News: The Mouse Moves Public -- or Does He? An AirBnB Scam, a Tale of Two Secret Spacecraft

08 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With a cavalcade of hot takes and further questions, Steamboat Willie debuts in the public domain. A long-run, unethical Air BnB grift nets profits an...

CLASSIC: The Beatles Conspiracies

05 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As one of the biggest musical acts in human history, the Beatles didn't just fundamentally change the course of music -- they also affected society at...

Listener Mail: First-Hand Experience with the Red Sea Conflict, Burner Credit Cards, AI Questions

04 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Fickle Pickle prompts a discussion about AGI and non-human minds. Oz shares a concern about companies making burner credit cards. In a beautifully-wri...

Space Fungus!

03 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Since the early days of human space programs, every single space endeavor has encountered a continual hitchhiker: fungus. In tonight's episode, Ben, M...

CLASSIC: The Secrets of the Hidden Chinese Pyramid

02 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Pyramids aren't just for Egypt! Join Ben and Matt as they dive into the strange story of a hidden pyramid in China, an ancient lost civilization that,...

Strange News: Zombie Deer, We Need to Talk About The Supreme Court, Cigarettes and 'Terrorism'

01 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The danger of the current Supreme Court poses an actionable threat to the American public. Authorities warn of 'zombie deer,' and a border security gr...

CLASSIC: Behind The Scenes of Atlanta Monster and Up and Vanished with Payne Lindsey

29 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Join Ben, Matt and Noel as they interview Payne Lindsey, the creator of Atlanta Monster and Up and Vanished, for a behind-the-scenes look at Payne's p...

Listener Mail: PB Pills, Free Tablets, Community Takeovers?

28 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Whatnot is suspicious of a 'free tablet' offer from a company with unfavorable customer reviews. Anon and Kimo respond to the earlier conversation abo...