Conspiracy Theories

Does nature or nurture shape who we are? Does our personality come from our genes, or the environment we live in? Countless scientific studies on the subject have been published. But one such study – a collaboration between a psychoanalyst and a New York adoption agency – was instead hidden away for decades. Could it be because the study was founded on lies? Because it was unethical? Or might ther...

James Angleton ran counterintelligence for the CIA for 20 years. His job was to find Soviet spies hiding inside Western intelligence. He was brilliant, obsessive, and almost certainly right that the threat of a mole was real. But the hunt he launched tore the CIA apart from the inside, and the greatest deception of his career was one he never saw coming. Help us reach 10k followers on Instagram! @...

In 1915, a German U-boat torpedoed the Lusitania, sinking it off the Irish coast, and killing over 1000 people. The attack devastated the American public, and justified America’s entry into World War I. But rumors of a top-secret British navy operation, the ship’s hidden second manifest, and a decades-long cover-up all led people to ask: Was the sinking an inside job? Help us reach 10k followers o...

Betty Cash, Vickie Landrum, and Vickie’s grandson Colby claimed they encountered a diamond-shaped UFO that spit fire on their way home from B-I-N-G-O. They later suffered symptoms consistent with radiation exposure and filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! Instagram: @⁠theconspiracypod⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@conspiracy.pod⁠ Start screening for colon cancer with a Co...

John F. Kennedy, Jr. was born into the spotlight and remained a public fixture until his untimely death at the age of 38. The NTSB concluded that John crashed his private plane – with his wife, Carolyn, and sister-in-law Lauren on board – due to pilot error, bad weather, and spatial disorientation. But some still suspect foul play. Could John’s future plans… or the secrets he knew… have made him a...

They called them the "ghost girls" – young women who glowed in the dark after painting watches with radium. The company told them it was safe. They knew it wasn't. When the women started dying, the cover-up began: forged reports, fake doctors, lies on death certificates. The conspiracy nearly worked. But dying women make stubborn enemies. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! Instagram: @⁠theconspirac...

We’ve all heard the story of John Wilkes Booth firing a bullet in Ford’s Theater… but maybe you haven’t heard the theory he was a puppet, with his strings pulled by a much bigger organization. In the 1800s, a massively popular story circulated that the Jesuit Order orchestrated the Lincoln assassination. And the theory’s biggest promoter? He claimed to be Lincoln’s close friend. Keep up with Consp...

In 1958, movie star Lana Turner was trapped in an abusive relationship with mafia bodyguard Johnny Stompanato. Until her teenage daughter Cheryl Crane ended the couple’s last argument by fatally stabbing Johnny. But many wondered: how did a teenager overpower a gangster? Or was Cheryl taking the fall for her famous mother? Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! Instagram: @⁠theconspiracypod⁠TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠...

When Juan Borgia died in 1497, his father, Pope Alexander VI, swore he’d find the killer. But just two weeks later, the Pope suddenly closed the case – without naming or punishing the murderer. The Pope might have covered up the killer’s identity for political reasons… or because it was one of his other children. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! Instagram: @⁠theconspiracypod⁠TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@conspira...

By the time she was 25, Mary, Queen of Scots had lost her thrones in two countries, France and Scotland. And officially, she was executed for conspiring to take a third throne: England’s. But was Mary naive enough to get caught committing treason? Or was she a shrewd politician who was framed by her lifelong enemy? Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! Instagram: @⁠theconspiracypod⁠TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@conspi...

Superstar Musician Pedro Infante’s death sent shockwaves throughout Mexico. However, many fans believe he faked his death to escape the government or drug cartels. These were just rumors of course… until a new singer hit Mexico’s music scene: Antonio Pedro. He resembled and sounded so much like Infante that people thought he returned. But were they actually the same man? Keep up with Conspiracy Th...

After starring in the French New Wave classic Breathless and the American blockbuster Airport, Jean Seberg had the world’s eyes on her. But in the late 1960s, one organization watched her even more closely: the FBI. Seeing Jean’s political affiliations, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover gave the order to “neutralize” Jean. When Jean mysteriously died in 1979, people wondered exactly how far “neutraliza...

President John F. Kennedy saw his mistress Mary Pinchot Meyer as an equal during their lives. But there was one thing neither realized they’d have in common: their suspicious deaths. Police said Mary was murdered in a robbery gone awry. But some believe her death was an orchestrated hit: a move in the War on Drugs, or a way to hide her evidence that the CIA killed JFK. Keep up with Conspiracy Theo...

25,000 square miles. 2000 missing people and planes. Failures from the largest search and rescue missions in history. The arid region between Las Vegas, Reno, and Fresno sees roughly 3 disappearances a month. It’s called The Nevada Triangle, and Bermuda’s got nothing on this. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! Instagram: @theconspiracypodTikTok: ⁠⁠⁠@conspiracy.pod Learn more about your ad choices....

In 1926, Aimee Semple McPherson vanished into the Pacific Ocean. It made national news; “Sister Aimee” was the founder of the Foursquare Church, with hundreds of thousands of members. After six weeks, Aimee returned, claiming she’d been kidnapped. But Los Angeles officials weren't so sure. Was it a miracle? Or a hoax? Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! Instagram: @⁠theconspiracypod⁠TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@con...

Happy Holidays! This week, we're sharing an episode of one of our other favorite podcasts, The Tape Library. This episode is a chilling exploration of the Arctic’s most haunting legends — from phantom trappers to the doomed Franklin Expedition — as we uncover the truth behind the frozen north’s darkest mysteries. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast⁠⁠ Instagram:...

Happy Holidays! This week, we're sharing an episode of one of our other favorite podcasts, Otherworld. In this episode, a woman checks into a hotel while visiting her family for Christmas only to find that she may be sharing her room with a shadowy presence. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠@theconspiracypod⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠@conspiracy.pod Learn mo...

Every December we step back and reflect on some favorite episodes from the year…today we're declassifying our best of 2025 picks. This summer we traveled to every continent… and through time. For our second pick, we’re revisiting Time-Slipping Through Europe. Our team is already digging deep into stories we want to tell in 2026, so drop us a suggestion in the Spotify comments or on social. We real...

Every December we step back and reflect on some favorite episodes from the year…today we're declassifying our best of 2025 picks. This episode actually happened because of listener requests, so please keep dropping suggestions in the Spotify comments and on social! We’ll be back in January with brand-new episodes. Thanks again for an incredible 2025! Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠⁠@C...

They say Roman Emperor Nero played his fiddle while watching his own empire burn. He neglected all leadership duties, and killed his own family. Then, he died by suicide. But some historians believe this is all the product of a two-thousand-year-old smear campaign, invented to cover up the fact that Nero was actually murdered. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast...

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Manhattan’s Knoedler Gallery made about $80 million selling art by Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell, and other Abstract Expressionist icons. But in 2011, the truth came out: the paintings were forgeries. The buyers were scammed. Employees at the Knoedler claimed they, too, were victims. But were they actually in on the criminal conspiracy? Keep up...

Nikola Tesla patented over 300 inventions. When he died, the US government confiscated 80 trunks of his notes and blueprints… and only returned 60 to his heir. In his lifetime, Tesla tinkered with weather control machines, alien transmission readers, and a “death ray” that would revolutionize society. The missing trunks may be evidence that these inventions worked… and were covered up by the gover...

Several murders have been dubbed “the crime of the century," but the Lindbergh kidnapping case of 1932 might actually deserve the title. According to some, it shaped the culture of conspiracy theories in America. Was Bruno Richard Hauptmann really guilty, or was he framed? Did he have co-conspirators? Or was the crime perpetrated by the victim’s own father: the American icon with a dark side, Char...

November 5th, 2025 is the 50th anniversary of the events that inspired the 1993 film, Fire in the Sky. Seven lumberjacks saw a UFO… and one was pulled inside. Some say the men invented the story to dodge a work deadline. But the lumberjacks claim their chief debunker… is a government disinformation agent. ​We mention Operation Mockingbird in today's episode. If you want the full story, check out O...

Supernaturally-high leaps. Glowing red eyes. Fire breath. This monster violently assaulted young women, and terrorized others across London. Was he a band of upper-class criminals? A ghost? Or a business plan? Historian Dr. Mike Dash joins us to uncover the truth. For more from Mike Dash, check out: www.mikedashhistory.com and his AskHistorians archive: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/...