Conspiracy Theories

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 changed in 2017, with an explosive report on UFO intelligence. And again in June 2021, when the government acknowledged — for the first time in history — that some UFOs are truly inexplicable… and maybe even threatening.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

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. government at all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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’s reign as Prime Minister oversaw brutal wartime atrocities. Kate and Richard from Dictators detail the Japanese war effort, the experiments of Unit 731, and the battles that changed the course of the war. Join us Wednesday for the finale of our Pearl...

In the summer of 1941, as hostilities between the two nations escalated, wartime negotiations officially broke down. Combat was imminent — but where? This is the second part of our crossover special with Dictators, another Spotify Original from Parcast, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 special crossover between Dictators and Conspiracy Theories where we’ll analyze the event from all sides, starting with the life of Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo — a career militarist whose devotion to Japan thrust him into power. We’ll be back W...

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 city of Atlantis. We look at a stone beard, a story from Plato, and patterns of erosion to investigate.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 historians today. Some Egyptologists think aliens provided advanced technology, while engineers see evidence they were ancient nuclear power plants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, the health risks associated with smoking cigarettes aren’t a secret. But since the mid-1900s, researchers have pointed out the harmful effects of these cancer sticks. How much of this did the tobacco companies know – and when? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 20th century, the mass production of cigarettes fueled a global addiction — but Big Tobacco had a problem. Cancer rates were skyrocketing, and smoking-related illnesses became the leading cause of preventable death in America. This is the story of how an industry in peril conspired to survive — by keeping generations of smokers in their grip.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcast...

The deaths of the Dyatlov Nine didn’t just seem bizarre — they seemed violent. What could explain the brutal injuries, missing tongue, radioactive clothing, and burnt trees? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In winter 1959, a group of experienced mountaineers went missing in a remote part of Siberia. When their bodies were eventually found, their injuries — and radioactive clothing — confounded investigators. The incident became one of Russia’s most enduring mysteries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 power she held, some have speculated that she was America’s first female president. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 into labor during an Easter processional. Had a woman ascended to the papacy in secret?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When critics didn’t understand Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror masterpiece, fans stepped in to explain the secrets behind its signature dread. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 believe the film was cursed. Others say the hype was nothing more than manipulation by the filmmakers… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nearly two decades after the Waco Siege, people are still wondering what transpired at the Branch Davidian compound. Though the government officially investigated and exonerated the FBI, some have found evidence of a massive cover-up. Did the government actually fire the first shot that led to 81 deaths? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 standoff ensued, ending in a violent siege. Eighty-one people lost their lives, many of them children — but to this day, no one knows which side fired first. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Valiant Thor's story has sparked a flurry of theories regarding our government's knowledge of UFOs. Have presidents met with extraterrestrials in the past? Are alien spacecraft shutting down nuclear facilities? And is the Pentagon actively trying to keep this information under lock and key? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 convince world leaders to deactivate their nuclear arsenals. He didn't succeed — but there might be other alien visitors assisting his agenda today…  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For centuries, people have debated whether or not Jesus Christ rose from the dead. From graverobbers, to Jewish High Priests, to Jesus's own disciples — a flurry of potential thieves has been placed at the scene of his empty tomb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Turin, Italy there’s a piece of cloth that has perplexed religious experts for decades. Is the Shroud of Turin one of the greatest antiquities known to us? Or nothing more than a medieval hoax?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Locals are sure that big corporations are after their coal, and started the Centralia Fire to smoke them out. Others insist the blaze was nothing more than bureaucratic incompetence. Then again, it may have sparked decades before anyone ever thought…  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For nearly 60 years, a fire has been raging beneath a small town in Pennsylvania. Centralia was once an epicenter of coal mining. But after the blaze sparked in 1962, toxic fumes and sinkholes forced residents to evacuate. Now, it’s a ghost town with its own haunting questions — like who really started the fire, and why.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the final episode of our 9/11 series, we examine the legacy of that day, and how its memory impacted — and still impacts — the world.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How much did the U.S. government actually know about the 9/11 attacks before they happened? Was President George W. Bush angling for war since his first day in office? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices