Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

45-year-old Brett Lemieux exposes his multi-year sports memorabilia con game -- and apparently dies by his own hand. The aviation giant Delta airlines roles out an intensely controversial "AI super-analyst" to change the price you pay for tickets, from one second to the next. Two more tragedies: one with an MRI machine, and one with American Derek Huffman accidentally joining the frontlines of Rus...

While the human species is inarguably successful (for now), hundreds of millions of people struggle under daily threats of starvation, physical danger, lack of shelter and disease. And, perhaps more troubling, the numbers indicate it's possible to feed and shelter virtually every single person on the planet -- or is it? Is there enough for everyone, and, if so, why isn't humanity transforming this...

Big Luke hips the gang to robot rabbits. Della addresses myths about menstration. The Messenger prompts an in-depth conversation about drugs and propaganda. The Lord of Enjoyment inspires a new exploration of cloud seeding. The Cacoa Connoisseur follows up on the science of Earth's sun and human civilization. All this and more in this week's listener mail segment. They don't want you to read our b...

If you are human, you do not consciously clock most odors. Yet these molecules still inform, influence, and inspire your unconscious behaviors. In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel explore a question most folks are too frightened to ask: Can you smell death? They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

In the foggy, early evening of November 7th, 1990, two people at a Montreal hotel noticed something bizarre in the sky. Soon, multiple people in the hotel had gathered on a rooftop terrace to observe a genuine UFO -- and, soon after that, people across the city began reporting the object (if it was an object). In the almost three decades after this sighting, numerous witnesses, experts, fringe res...

The Epstein saga continues to unfold, despite the US government saying there's "nothing to see here." China will hire you to be a wild man. UNO rolls out in Vegas. Swedish royal bodyguards accidentally leak location data via fitness apps. Twitter wants you to get an AI girlfriend. Oh, and Yeti Blood Oaths. All this and more in this week's strange news segment. They don't want you to read our book....

For almost a century, the world has been terrified by the possibility of nuclear war. If one does occur, it will happen quickly, with the first strike triggering a domino effect of retaliation and chaos. So what can the average person do in this hellish situation? In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel ask: Could you survive a nuclear war? If so, how? They don't want you to read our book.: https...

Cheese Out asks whether humans need to kill AI to understand it. Dandy Granny raises concerning points about the childhood of super soldiers. Paul prompts a conversation about Maine's food sovereignty. Potatoes Gun asks for more information on "Big Storage." All this and more in this week's listener mail segment. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-...

Although most people may not notice this, the living world is rife with an everpresent, invisible chemical conspiracy: pheromones. These chemicals can warn of danger, entice mates, mark territory and produce sophisticated behavioral changes in every species they touch -- but what about humans? Conventional science has argued humans don't play the pheromone game, but as Ben, Matt and Noel learn in...

We all know weather can affect a person's mood, but just how far does it go? Could the activity of the sun be driving widespread human conflicts throughout history? In tonight's Classic episode, Ben, Matt and Noel explore the bisarre theory Alexander Tchijevsky stumbled across when he found wars across the planet seem to coincide with solar cycles. This prompted him to ask: Is human civilization e...

Despite numerous earlier statements, the US Department of Justice and FBI officially concludes that notorious human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein had no client list -- spoiler, chaos ensues. Akon's planned utopian city falls through. Elon Musk's Grok chatbot courts controversy as it makes pro-Nazi statements and (for unrelated reasons) is also banned in Türkiye. Akon's utopian city is abandoned....

Are we living in a simulation? What's the future of AI? How can humans understand the past, present, and future of the universe -- assuming, of course, that time exists? In this interview segment, Ben, Matt and Noel welcome special guest Dr. Jorge Cham, the creator of the new hit podcast ScienceStuff, and pick his brain about some of the biggest questions in all of human civilization. They don't w...

Sloth inspires a round-up of recent news stories from the world of birds. Fae shares a story of real-life bars inside gas stations. Kevin prompts an exploration of hidden history -- the earth shaking Battle of Blair Mountain, and the resulting cover-up from the Powers That Be. Plus puns. All this and more in this week's listener mail segment. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.m...

It's an open secret that not everything is as it seems in the world of diplomacy -- a great many individuals operate with some degree of subterfuge and invisibility. So what happens when things go wrong, and these often disturbing, unseen things become visible? Tonight's story takes us to Lahore, Pakistan: on January 27, 2011, CIA contractor Raymond Allen Davis found himself in a brutal firefight...

Make no mistake -- being a farmer is hard work. Farming outfits often have to carry a huge amount of risk from one season to the next, and any number of things may ruin their prospects, from unexpected weather, market volatility and so on. To mitigate these dangers, world governments often provide funding, or subsidies, to agribusiness in order to lower risk and increase chances of farmers staying...

Australia is astonished as a full one-third of all residents of Tuvalu apply for the new, limited 'climate visa,' sparking concerns about the future of islands nations amid the global sea level rising. Chinese manufacturers are in hot water over an international scheme to flood markets with 'used' electric vehicles. A guy commits robbery dressed as Scooby-Doo, and studies prove cheese can give you...

As the Aum Shinrikyo movements gains national, then global, attention, the founder Shoko Asahara begins to move his followers in a darker direction. Convinced that the world can only truly be saved through mass casualty events, Asahara first predicts massive disasters -- and then orders his followers to create these events themselves. In chapter two of this strange two-part series, Ben and Matt le...

Located in Jefferson Davis Parish, the town of Jennings, Louisiana wasn't a particularly well-known place -- in fact, many people in the US would probably have lived their entire lives without ever hearing of the town until a few years ago. You see, Jennings had a secret, a dark criminal underbelly that seethed just below the surface. Over the course of several years, multiple women were murdered...

Modern-day Japan is often lauded as one of the safest countries on the planet -- but that doesn't make this nation immune to the danger of cults. In the first chapter of this special two-part series, Ben and Matt explore the bizarre, conspiratorial rise of the organization known as Aum Shinrikyo. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/...

Every ten years, the United States conducts the census, a crucial survey of the country’s population meant to help Uncle Sam figure out how to plan infrastructure and distribute funding over the coming decade. In recent years, people have argued for and against including a question about citizenship on the census for any number of reasons ... including accusations of conspiracy. Tune in to l...

Forget fake birds: China unveils the newest iteration of microdrones, which look almost exactly like mosquitoes. A Russian soldier turns cannibal. French scientists discover a brand-new blood type. Police practice improv. Florida is building an "Alligator Alcatraz," and a giant asteroid may crash into the moon within the next decade. All this and more in this week's strange news segment. They don'...

How did you get here? What happens when you die? These questions have fascinated (and terrified) human civilization since the dawn of time, and often new discoveries only lead to more questions. In tonight's interview, the guys welcome filmmaker, writer and producer Dan Bush to explore his newest podcast, Alive Again. Tune in for a wide-ranging discussion of existence, science, spirituality and mo...

Anne Ominous shares their own experience with sketchy gas stations, and introduces the guys to a new slang phrase for gambling machines. Maximus weighs in with a true story about synthetic estrogen, waste water and fish populations. Following up on news about Palantir and train hoppers, Mr. Delay calls in to ask whether the growing surveillance society may drive some people off the grid. All this...

Everyone knows that diplomatic positions come with a variety of perks and protections, as well as serious responsibilities. But what if you were able to enjoy some of the benefits of being a diplomat, without all those pesky rules and regulations? While it may sound thoroughly illegal, shadow diplomats are very much real -- and a subject of growing concern. In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel...

For almost 80 years, Lockheed Martin has been working hand in hand with the US government to create cutting-edge, classified tech and craft, working in secret to build some of the world's most iconic spy planes. Nowadays, the so-called "Skunk Works" are more open about their projects ... or are they? Tune in to learn more. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/...