Conspiracy Theories

In November 1974, Karen Silkwood died in a one-car crash while driving to meet a New York Times reporter about falsified reports at her nuclear power plant. Due to her tragic death, a lot is still unknown about the events that led up to this moment. Did she intentionally contaminate herself to take down her employer? Was she run off the road by another car? Or was she murdered for uncovering a plu...

Worker safety was paramount to Karen Silkwood. That's why she was proud to be part of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union bargaining committee to renegotiate its contract with the Kerr-McGee nuclear plant. But before the meetings started, her car mysteriously went off the road, killing her. If you’d like to take action on the climate or learn more about the topics covered in “Dark Green: Ea...

A week after he was unwittingly dosed with LSD by MK-Ultra’s mastermind, Sidney Gottlieb, Frank Olson dropped 13 stories from a hotel window. After his suspicious death, two critical questions remained: Was Olson part of Project Span, which poisoned a small town in France? And did he really take his own life? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He was a military scientist for the CIA and worked on clandestine operations including MK-Ultra. As part of his job, Frank Olson witnessed some of the government's most horrific human experiments. But when he began to have second thoughts, he discovered quitting was impossible. He knew too much. And then he was found dead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While a massive manhunt was conducted by police, citizen "digilantes" scoured through thousands of photos from the event, proposing their own suspects. Though the real bombers of the Boston Marathon were eventually found, some think law enforcement could have prevented the tragedy with action years earlier. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After two homemade bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in April 2013, the region was on high alert. Over 2000 police descended on the suburban town of Watertown to search for two suspects in what would become one of the largest manhunts in Massachusetts history.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

During World War II, the Nazis had a base in an isolated, wooded area of the Austrian Alps called Lake Toplitz. It is believed that they used the lake as a secret dumping ground because objects that fell to the bottom would not rot. Some people think the lake is filled with Nazi gold. Others believe it contains secret weapons. But it might actually be full of counterfeit British points and informa...

On December 8, 1980, 25-year-old Mark David Chapman shot John Lennon outside the Dakota in New York City. Chapman then calmly pulled out a copy of The Catcher in the Rye and began reading. It left Beatles fans and people worldwide to theorize: Was Chapman a deranged super-fan, a young man with mental illness, or a CIA operative carrying out an assassination plot?  Learn more about your ad choices....

More than half a century ago, the Beatles officially broke up. It upset many fans, who directed their anger, not at the band, but at a band member's wife. And while Yoko Ono bore the brunt of this conspiracy theory, the real reason for the Beatles break up is far more complex. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, the Beatles were launched into worldwide stardom. Then, in late 1966, the band disappeared for months to record Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. With the Fab Four out of the spotlight, fans couldn't help but gossip. One odd rumor was that Paul McCartney had died and been replaced with a doppelganger. Even odder… there were clues to suppor...

There are numerous tall tales about the Count of Saint Germain, and it isn't easy to separate fact from fiction. Some say he was secretly descended from royalty. Others claim he gained immortality when he found the Philosopher's stone. And then there are those who believe he may be a spiritual leader reincarnated to guide humanity through the ages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastch...

Likely born around 1710, this self-styled alchemist traveled the world and rubbed elbows with society's elite. It's believed he spoke numerous languages and could simultaneously write with both hands. But how much of what we've heard about the Count of Saint Germain is true, and how much is just folklore? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After almost 100 spectators were killed at a football match in Sheffield, England, people were looking for accountability. Some feel the tragedy was caused by a series of mistakes by police. Others believe a secret society tried to cover up gaffes by the police chief. But a third theory suggests the tragedy wasn't caused by a person but by the stadium itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

Saturday, April 15th, 1989, was set to be a highly-anticipated semi-final football match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. It wound up being one of the deadliest tragedies in football history, with 96 spectators losing their lives. And it seemed nobody was going to be held accountable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When it comes to modern-day marketing methods, brands have a knack for knowing exactly what products you want. Is it because they've collected enough data to target you directly? Or are your electronic devices simply listening to your conversations? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the winter of 1924, the Phoebus Cartel concluded that the best way to sell more light bulbs was to make ones that burned out faster. A century later, we're left to wonder, are our products intentionally made to self-destruct? Or is this "planned obsolescence" a myth because consumers naturally want the best and latest products? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoice...

On September 29th, 1913, German inventor and engineer Rudolf Diesel boarded the England-bound S.S. Dresden in Antwerp, Belgium, but was never seen again. Was he murdered on the ship by the German Secret Service for treason? Or did his mounds of personal debt play a role in his disappearance? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fueled by a desire to change the world, Rudolf Diesel spent his early adulthood refining an idea for an internal combustible engine that used pressurized air to heat fuel. Despite selling his “Diesel Engines” worldwide, he was in tremendous debt, which made his disappearance from a steamship in September 1913 all the more mysterious. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adcho...

After English farmhand Charles Walton was brutally killed on Valentine's Day, 1945, three distinct theories emerged from three perspectives to explain his death. Was it the work of witchcraft? A human sacrifice ritual? Or something more personal? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1945, residents were left wondering who was responsible for the gruesome murder of 74-year-old farmhand Charles Walton. The small village in Warwickshire County, England, believed heavily in superstitions. When Scotland Yard began its investigation, it too had to wonder if Walton's death was tied to witchcraft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In January 2015, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots became the center of another cheating scandal. It was alleged that the footballs used in the AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts had been underinflated. After a thorough, four-month investigation, Ted Wells released a 243-page report on his findings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They had won three Super Bowls in four seasons. Their hunky quarterback and their no-nonsense coach seemed to have the league all figured out. But some believe the New England Patriots were spying on other teams. Was the NFL aware, and if so, would it do anything to stop it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over 100 instances of "Havana Syndrome" have been documented worldwide. Many people have dismissed it as simply Mass Psychogenic Illness. Others believe it's the work of sonic weapons. But there's a real possibility that it's an electromagnetic attack using microwave radiation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A mysterious ailment emerged in 2016 that affected American diplomats stationed in Havana, Cuba. Victims reported vertigo, headaches, vision problems, and hearing loss. Some experts believed Cuba was behind the attacks. But then cases expanded to more than 130 countries across the globe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She was told to find the future King Charles VII, get him crowned, and liberate France from the English. Or so we've been told. But many think Joan of Arc didn't live the life history tells us. Was she actually part of the French royal family? Did she belong to a witch cult that opposed the Catholic Church? Was she even really burned at the stake? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastcho...