Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

The Cop City Episode

29 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

According to its supporters, The Atlanta Public Safety Training Center -- known locally as Cop City -- will be a crucial training ground for law enfor...

Listener Mail: Did the government tap your phone? The seedy Reedley Biolab, Fyre Fest and Atlanta Recommendations

28 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A conversation with paranoid family members prompts Saturday Mourning Cartoons to ask whether the government really does tap people's phones. Bro Dude...

The Stuff Casinos Don't Want You To Know: Live in Vegas

27 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

While casinos work around the clock to create a glitzy, glamorous, spontaneous feeling, it turns out they are some of the most tightly-controlled envi...

CLASSIC: Google, the Pentagon and AI

26 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Google -- or, more properly, Alphabet -- is a huge company, and is at the bleeding edge of numerous technological innovations. So, while it wasn't nec...

Strange News: Armenia Under Attack, A Missing Jet and Murders in LA

25 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Azerbaijan wages war against Armenia -- and from the US to Europe, from Russia to Iran, it seems no one will intervene to protect civilians. The US lo...

How Hearing Voices Works

22 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever been convinced you heard a voice -- shout, a whisper, someone speaking directly to you -- only to turn around and realize no one was the...

Listener Mail: Astral Travel, Real Estate as Crime, Voluntary Adrenaline

21 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sam Hill recounts a disturbing story of Chinese forces buying up family farmland in the United States, prompting a conversation about the multibillion...

The Underwater Internet

20 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How does the internet get information from across the planet to your house? While many people might guess it's a matter of satellites and synchronous ...

CLASSIC: What is the Windsor hum?

19 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For years residents of Windsor, Ontario have been haunted by a strange, disruptive noise. Sometimes compared to a truck idling or distant thunder, num...

Strange News: Secret Service Agent Speaks Out on JFK, FDA Calls BS on Decongestants, Mexican Congress Views (Alleged) Alien Corpses

18 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The FDA concludes the primary active ingredient in over-the-counter decongestants may be nothing more than the placebo effect. A retired secret servic...

The Wagner Update

15 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

With Yevgeny Prigozhin and the rest of Wagner leadership apparently confirmed dead in a suspicious airplane explosion north of Moscow, the merc army W...

Strange News: Harvard Astrophysicist Finds 'Spaceship Wreckage,' Rise of Superpigs Update, Massive Auto Recalls on the Horizon

14 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard luminary Avi Loeb rocks the world with his discovery of bizarre, tiny objects off the coast of Papua New Guinea -- objects that don't just app...

The Future of The Past: Who Will Control History?

13 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For thousands of years groups of humans have each told their own religious and social narratives, building a past that attempts to explain the present...

CLASSIC: Have psychics solved any actual crimes?

12 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's a common trope in film and TV -- a police department at their wits' end calls in a favor and makes contact with a genuine psychic, someone in tun...

Listener Mail: Can You Be Anonymous Online? Murders at the Brooklyn Mirage. A Haunting Story From Disney's Haunted Mansion.

11 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nemesis updates his fellow Conspiracy Realists on the growing difficulties of remaining anonymous online. Pink Fairy Angel calls in to relate an immen...

Oh, The Places You Can't Go

08 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's a wide, beautiful, and at-times terrifying world -- and, these days, it may seem more connected than ever. However, make no mistake: it's also fu...

Listener Mail: Ghost Weddings, Bob Berdella, Maldives and A Proxy War

07 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A listener asks the gang for more information about Ghost Weddings. GP Scoothe writes in to tell the tale of Bob Berdella. A story about a burgeoning ...

How Corn Took Over America

06 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The US is a corn superpower. Over the past few decades, corn has infiltrated all sorts of things, from soda pop and snacks to your own gas tank. But h...

CLASSIC: What is Predictive Programming?

05 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What if everything you encounter in your day-to-day interactions is somehow prescient? Are the games you play and the films you watch meant to normali...

Strange News: Flannery Associates Revealed, A Hunt for Nessie, and Worms Move Into Brains

04 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The mysterious group buying thousands of acres around Travis Air Force Base turns out to be a group of tech luminaries and investors -- and they plan ...

How To Build An Urban Legend

01 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From ghostly hitchhikers to tales of insidious alien conspiracies, everyone loves a good spooky campfire story. But where do modern legends come from?...

Listener Mail: Divine Intervention, Smoking Wet, Billionaire Names and Deadly Mushrooms

31 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nightshift calls in with a stunning tale of a harrowing brush with death. Anon wants to become a billionaire named Poo-poo-pee-pee Hands (and there's ...

Is Reality a Computer Simulation?

30 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What if the world we experience isn't ...well... real? The question has haunted countless human civilizations since antiquity, and we continue to wres...

CLASSIC: DNA and Crime: The Original Night Stalker

29 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It’s official -- after decades of dead ends, tantalizing theories and frustrating leads, justice has finally caught up with The Golden State Killer,...

Strange News: Wagner Leaders in Plane Crash, Fyre Festival, and Modern Moon Missions

28 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Leaders of the notorious Russian mercenary group Wagner are believed to have died in a plane crash north of Moscow just a few months after what appear...

A War For Chips: The Semiconductor Episode

25 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The modern world runs on microchips and semiconductors. There's no way around it -- and the semiconductor business is perhaps one of the most importan...

CLASSIC: The Murky World of Serial Killer Memorabilia

24 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Whether in fiction or in real life, the concept of the serial killer occupies a unique space in the American zeitgeist. Audiences across the planet fl...

Speak to Us: Voicemail Edition

23 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The guys play some of the most intriguing messages you've sent them. Listen in for unidentified aerial vehicles, giant sun-umbrellas, and much (much) ...

CLASSIC: From the Past to the Modern Day: Does torture actually work?

22 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's one of the most ancient practices in human civilization, and one that continues in the modern day. In recent decades experts, military officials ...

Strange News: Peruvian Aliens, the Sackler Family and Prison, Robotaxis and Newspaper Raids

21 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Peruvian authorities attempt to calm a rural community by telling them they're not being harassed by aliens -- but by illegal gold miners who, for som...

Does Aspartame Give You Cancer?

18 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For decades, health-minded consumers have sought alternatives to natural sugar -- aspartame, marketed under any number of brand names, is one of the m...

Listener Mail: Celebrity Murders, Jewish Exorcisms, Billionaire Hobbies and Trading Card Heists

17 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

An anonymous LEO writes in to explain part of the reason public figures' murder cases seem to garner more investigation. Mosche prompts a conversation...

Is the US Navy Covering Up Radioactive Waste?

16 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you're not from the San Francisco area, you may never have heard of Hunters Point -- but, back in the day, this was a tremendously important shipya...

CLASSIC: Are frogs really changing gender?

15 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

You might have heard this one before -- for years, various fringe researchers and commentators have argued that the government or some other shadowy e...

Strange News: 'Death Cap' Mushroom Poisoning, Criminal Bear Apprehended, Mysterious Leprosy Outbreak in Florida

14 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Three people have died under mysterious circumstances, apparently due to ingesting 'death cap' mushrooms in Australia. Hank the Tank, a bear known for...

Sad Oligarch, with Jake Hanrahan

11 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In just nine months, a dozen prominent Russian oligarchs -- businessmen who run major industries in step with the Russian government -- died. Some dea...

Listener Mail: Skyborg, Misdiagnosis, Madlib and More

10 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Could Skyborg be even worse than we thought? Why are some conditions so often misdiagnosed in women? A listener makes a timely complaint about madlibs...

UFOs and Congress

09 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Recently, Congress held another hearing on the idea of UAPs -- and this time, three eyewitness attended. Their claims, if even partially true, could f...

CLASSIC: Imperialism and Iran

08 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Islamic Republic of Iran, located in western Asia, has historically been the seat of several massively influential empires. Today, it's home to ov...

Strange News: Mystery Company in California, Japan's Were-collie, the Lunar Codex

07 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A mysterious group named Flannery Associates is spending millions buying up all the land around a California Air Force base -- and no one, apparently ...

Billionaires Have Strange (and Dangerous) Hobbies

04 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What does your average billionaire do for fun? In many ways, the world's wealthiest people are just like anyone else -- except, of course, that they c...

CLASSIC: What are Ultraterrestrials?

03 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Despite diligent, time-consuming efforts by institutions across the planet, human beings have yet to find any universally-accepted proof of extraterre...

Big Sugar, with Celeste Headlee

02 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's no secret that America runs on sugar -- from bread to soda, from candy to packaged food, this stuff seems to be in everything. How did this come ...

CLASSIC: Is the Palace of Versailles haunted?

01 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When Louis XIV expanded his father's old hunting pavilion he created one of the greatest achievements in French 17th century art -- a massive, opulent...

CLASSIC: Uncaught Serial Killers, Part 3

31 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the third segment of this recurring series, Ben, Matt and Noel return to the grisly world of true crime, killers who not only committed multiple mu...

The EBO Post: Fact vs. Fiction

28 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What would you do if you had proof of non-human, intelligent life? In a recent case that shook the online UFO community, an anonymous reddit poster cl...

Listener Mail: Skyborg, Public Schools, and Divine Visitations

27 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Big Bean prompts a conversation about the future of drone warfare. Alice shares her experience with gifted programs in public schools. The Funky House...

The Exorcist Files, with Ryan Bethea

26 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When many people think of exorcism and possession, they think of horror novels, films, and other works of fiction. But real-world exorcisms still occu...

CLASSIC: Behind the Curtain of the Music Industry with J. Prince

25 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For most fans, the music industry can be a relatively obscure enterprise — we might know our favorite singers, MCs or bands, but often we have no id...

Strange News: Long Island Serial Killer Suspect Arrested, NPC TikTok, and the Murder of Tupac Shakur

24 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's been a strange week for serial murder: after years of dead ends, authorities appear to have captured the Long Island Serial Killer -- and there m...

Studio Conspiracies: Behind the Scenes of the Silver Screen

21 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today, the Golden Age of Hollywood is seen as a time of larger-than-life starlets, of unprecedented innovation and modern myth-making. However, there ...

Listener Mail: Vibes, Palau, A Haunting in Atlanta and the Sinister Google Sign-in

20 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Yenna politely asks the guys to stop ruining seafood; Little Girl on a Little Island raises concerns about US imperialism. Chris from Atlanta might be...

Was Public School Created To Make Factory Workers?

19 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Every day, across the United States, millions of children wake up to attend school. In this country, all children are guaranteed a right to education ...

CLASSIC: Is democracy impossible?

18 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In Stuff They Don't Want You To Know's inaugural podcast, Ben and Matt explored the strange career of Edward Bernays, the then-obscure Father of Publi...

Strange News: Gorillas Love Smartphones, Canada and Sterilization, the Taliban on Twitter, Surveillance in France

17 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Zoos are asking visitors to stop showing gorillas videos and photos from their phones, as this seems to fundamentally change the way the gorillas beha...

The One Where We Ruin Canned Seafood

14 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

During the pandemic, canned seafood experienced a boom in popularity -- and it made sense for uncertain times: this stuff is shelf-stable, nutritious ...

Listener Mail: UAP Arms Race, the Death of Officer O'Keefe, What Could Go Wrong when Corporations Vote?

13 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hopeful Cynic and Binyomin write in with excellent -- and disturbing -- responses to Ben's earlier questions about what happens when corporations are ...

The Mysterious Hanging Gardens of Babylon

12 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Almost everyone hears about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in grade school. Although the majority of these human-made marvels have been destro...

CLASSIC: Cambridge Analytica and Facebook

11 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Love it or hate it, Facebook is one of the biggest success stories of the past century. Billions of people have profiles, and for many users it's the ...

Strange News: Aspartame and Cancer, Steroid Olympics -- and the White House Wants to Block Out the Sun

10 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The World Health Organization lists near-ubiquitous artificial sweetener aspartame as "possibly carcinogenic to humans." Entrepreneur Aron d’Souza w...

Weird Finance, with Paco De Leon

07 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Let's face it: finance can be weird. The stock market is confusing, money as a concept is bizarre, and a lot of people feel awkward just thinking abou...

Listener Mail: Propaganda, Body Brokers, and Letters From Home

06 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A fellow Conspiracy Realist prompts a conversation about propaganda, crowds and social dynamics. Anonymous writes in with first-hand experience in the...

Are "Vibes" Real?

05 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've all heard of 'vibes' -- it's a street name for seemingly inexplicable bursts of intuition, and often otherwise skeptical people can find themsel...

CLASSIC: Could a thought be alive?

04 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From imaginary friends to tulpas, the idea that that the human mind can create life through focused thought alone is as old as recorded civilization. ...

Strange News: Corporations Get The Vote, A Navy Cover-up, and the Russian Coup that Wasn't

03 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The US Navy may be midway through a continuing cover-up out west. Ben, Matt and Noel speculate about the recent news from Russia. Over in Delaware, a ...

Tipping: A Conspiracy Afoot?

30 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In recent years, the concept of tipping has become increasingly controversial -- but where does tipping come from? In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and...

Listener Mail: Winchester Mansion, A Hotel Of Terror, Update on VW Conspiracy

29 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

An update on the Volkswagen emissions scandal. A Conspiracy Realist explores the Winchester Mansion. There's a Hotel of Terror in Springfield, Missour...

Bone Valley, with Gilbert King

28 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when an innocent person goes to prison for a crime they didn't commit? Is there any way for the average individual to escape a wrongful c...

CLASSIC: Several Terrifying Things You Just Ate

27 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nowadays it seems like a few times a year we’ll hear about a food scandal -- contaminated meat, perhaps, or recalled yogurt. We’ll also inevitably...

Strange News: Fake Priests, Body Brokers and the Titan Sub Disaster

26 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A California restaurant is caught using a fake priest to spy on employees. A Harvard morgue manager is caught selling body parts. The Titan submersibl...

Should Any Books Be Banned?

23 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Should any books be banned? In recent years, the US has again wrestled with the concept of banning books -- in other words, controlling access to info...

Listener Mail: Can AI hallucinate? Glioblastoma and Cellphones. An Incredibly Upset Australian.

22 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Can an "AI" hallucinate? Bob calls the show with a warning about wireless technology and medical conditions. The One They Call Ben befriends an enrage...

Lava for Good Live: The War on Drugs - Did Anyone Win?

21 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In tonight’s episode the guys go live on stage, exploring the war on drugs, criminal justice reform, and corruption with top-notch subject matter ex...

CLASSIC: The Great Volkswagen Cover-up, with Scott Benjamin

20 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For decades one the world's largest auto manufacturers lied to governments and the public, polluting the planet and evading the same environmental sta...

Strange News: Secret Chinese Spy Station in Cuba, UFOs in Vegas, A Saturn Moon is Habitable

19 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The US confirms China has operated a spy station right off the coast of Cuba since at least 2019. A 911 call leads to a bizarre encounter in Las Vegas...

What is snake oil?

16 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Snake oil -- it's a strange phrase for all sorts of sham treatments and fake cures. But where did it come from? Why do so many hucksters conspire to s...

Listener Mail: Gremlins, Race Horse Deaths, and Solving the Toothpaste Heist

15 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

An email clarifies some questions about gremlins. Brockness weighs in on the controversial horse racing industry. Multiple Conspiracy Realists write i...

Cryptids of Ohio

14 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

You've heard of bigfoot -- but what about the frogman? Or the grassman? In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel dive into the strange cryptozoology o...

CLASSIC: What was the Chappaquiddick Incident?

13 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On July 18th, 1969, campaign strategist Mary Jo Kopechne and Senator Ted Kennedy were involved in a single-car accident while departing a reunion held...

Strange News: The USA has UFOs? A Slow Collapse, and Psychedelic Cryoptography

12 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Former intelligence official David Charles Grusch rocks the world of UFOlogy with a stunning claim: extraterrestrial craft are real, and the US govern...

The Stuff Hotels Don't Want You To Know

09 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hotels are part of an ancient history -- one dating back into antiquity. For most people, hotels are a pleasant place to pause and relax during a trip...

Listener Mail: An Apartment Collapse, Big Pharma vs. Healthcare; The Rise of DarkBERT

08 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ziggy writes in with a tragic story of an apartment collapse in Iowa. Ryan wonders about the future of gene editing, big pharma and health care. Spect...

Silenced: The Radio Murders, with Oz Woloshyn

07 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When a string of brutal murders rocked the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami, Florida, the community and authorities grew increasingly certain the de...

CLASSIC: Was Benjamin Franklin a serial killer?

06 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today Benjamin Franklin is known as one of the founding fathers of the US, and there’s no doubt that he played a tremendously influential role in th...

Strange News: AI Debt Collectors, a Toothpaste Heist, and a Mysterious Boat Accident

05 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Canadian police stop a bizarre toothpaste heist. Companies aim to automate debt collection with AI. In Italy, a mysterious boat accident leaves multip...

CLASSIC: Ernest Withers: Civil Rights Hero, FBI Spy

02 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

55 years ago, the American Civil Rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. His legacy lives on in recorded speeches,...

Listener Mail: Human Expansion, Tipping in America, and Shoutouts

01 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Disco Funk inspires a strange series of thought experiments. Amdroid writes in on the controversy surrounding tipping. An author gives the gang a spec...

A Conversation with Johnny Drinks

31 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The guys sit down with special guest John Rondi, Sr., the co-creator of the legendary Johnny Drinks, for a wide-ranging conversation about everything ...

CLASSIC: A Digital Cult? The Strange Story of Bentinho Massaro

30 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

One person's cult is another person's inarguable truth, and over millenia many spiritual or cultural belief systems have been called cults. Typically ...

Strange News: The Rise of Blood Boys, A Narcocorrido Ban, and a Jail Break Foiled

29 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tech mogul Bryan Johnson causes a stir when it's revealed he uses his own son as a 'blood boy' to stave off the effects of aging. Cancun authorities b...

Yes, the Government Can Take Your Stuff

26 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There's an active series of conspiracies taking place every single year in the United States -- through the practice of eminent domain, local governme...

Listener Mail: Three-Parent Babies, Vancouver Drugs, and Hotel Secrets

25 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kelly discusses the strange state of drugs and drug policy in Vancouver. Samurai poses fascinating questions about mitochondrial DNA and three-parent ...

The Setagaya Family Murders

24 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In December of 2000, an unknown assailant brutally murdered the Miyazawa family as they slept in their home, preparing to celebrate the new year. This...

CLASSIC: Are exorcisms on the rise?

23 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nowadays, most people in the West associate exorcism with horror movies instead of real-life terror. However, people around the world still feel that ...

Strange News: The Kenyan Death Cult. A Mormon Whistleblower and a Staged Plane Crash

22 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A whistleblower alleges the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hides billions of dollars. A horrifying, continuing investigation in Kenya rev...

The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe

19 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most influential figures in all of American literature -- and his death is just as mysterious as his stories. In today's...

Listener Mail: The Great Coin Shortage, A Sobering Plea, and More

18 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Could someone have purposely manufactured the great coin shortage during the pandemic? Anon calls in with a sobering plea. A fellow Conspiracy Realist...

The Disappearance of Frederick Valentich

17 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 1978, a young pilot named Frederick Valentich disappeared somewhere off the coast of Australia. His last recorded message to authorities -- "it's n...

CLASSIC: The Modern Vampire: Longer Life Through Younger Blood

16 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve heard the legends of vampires for thousands of years, and while the vast majority of modern humans relegate the stories to the domain of myth ...

Strange News: The Nashville Toe Sucker, the Canadian Drug Pop-up, and the Rise of Three-Parent Kids

15 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A Nashville hotel employee is arrested on charges of assaulting a guest's toes. A Canadian man attempts to start a pop-up selling all manner of illega...