Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

Why is the Western world's most famous birthday celebrated on a seemingly-arbitrary date? As Ben, Matt and Noel discover in the second chapter of this special two-part holiday series, the power structures of ancient empires experienced a progression of conspiracies, geopolitical subterfuge and good, old-fashioned numerical miscalculation in their quest to give the global public a specific birthday...

"The Shepherd" reaches out from France to explore earlier conversations about what, who, and how humans should eat. Phantom Flyer responds to the DHL airplane crash. Chickenado proposes fascinating conspiracies surrounding the global poultry trade. 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-you-should...

It's December 25th, 2024. Across this wide world, people commemorate one of the most famous birthdays in all of history: the birth of Jesus Christ. Then as now, adherents of Christianity celebrate the coming of the Messiah -- yet why does this holiday occur on a specific date in, of all things, the Gregorian calendar? As the guys discover in this special two-part episode, there may be a conspiracy...

Join Ben, Matt and Noel for a Classic conspiracy episode, which only grows more relevant as the years wend on: Across the course of his strange and checkered career, pilot and smuggler Barry Seal was called many things: An informant, a criminal, an asset for America's alphabet soup of intelligence agencies and more. He met an ignoble end in February of 1986, when he was fatally shot outside the Sa...

OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji is found dead in what US officials deem a "suicide." French national Gisèle Pelicot takes an heroic stand in an assault trial fundamentally rocking the nation. Over in the US, a new federal policy may ban 'junk fees.' Also -- spoiler -- remember when Ben, Matt, and Noel bragged, in slightly frightened language, about the brilliance of fungal life? Turns ou...

In the new age of social media and constant information, it seems there are countless dating apps, often specializing in any number of increasingly specific demographics and romantic preferences. However, as the guys discover in the second chapter of this special two-part episode -- a single company, Match Group, owns around 2/3rds of these seemingly distinct apps. Does this mean the company is a...

Outlier prompts an investigation of China's fascinating -- and, objectively, terrifying! -- "pork skyscrapers." Oz Woman shares first-hand experience with Project Blackjack, "Star Wars," and former President Ronald Reagan. Sarah explores the therapeutic benefits of EMDR. In Letters From Home, the guys receive a surprising co-sign from the folks at PETA. All this and more in this week's listener ma...

Prior to the emergence of chronically-online civilization, people often met romantic partners through geographical, socioeconomic, or religious proximity. In recent evening, a proliferation of internet-powered websites and applications promise to connect you with someone you will absolutely love... perhaps for life, perhaps for a night. And, while all these venues of romance may seem distinct, Ben...

Born Nur Maznah Binti Ismail in Kangar, Perlis, the musician Mona Fandey achieved national success with her song Ku Nyanyikan Lagu Ini in 1987 -- yet her career seemed destined to slowly fade away, with Mona and her husband living out their lives in comfortable obscurity. Until, that is, in 1993, when Mona Fandey became the prime suspect in a gruesome murder that led many people to believe she'd s...

An AI-generated Granny baffles and bedevils phone scammers across the UK. The US collectively freaks out as unidentified swarms of drones appear over multiple cities. Some Russian politicians want to declare Santa a foreign agent. The largest supermarket merger in history goes sour in court, with Albertsons calling off the merger and suing Kroger. Russia sends an elite force to North Korea -- not...

Could mysterious, possibly supernatural strangers really appear at just the right time to save someone's life? It's a question that's haunted humanity since the days of ancient empires. To many, these could be guardian angels or spirits of loved ones. However, modern scientists are increasingly researching the enigmatic "Third Man Factor" and, as Ben, Matt and Noel discover in the second part of t...

Earlier this year the guys traced the rise of the enigmatic financier and child abuser Jeffrey Epstein, discovering a quagmire of crime, corruption and cover-ups implicating some of the world’s most powerful individuals. It seemed Epstein’s connections effectively placed him above the law - at least, that is, until renewed public scrutiny and criminal investigations found Epstein arres...

Imagine you are on the edge of death. You're summiting Everest, surviving on a space station, lost in the woods or losing consciousness after a car accident. Suddenly, a mysterious presence appears: "Keep going," it says, "take my hand. Stick around just a bit longer, and I will lead you home." This experience exists across cultures and time -- in the past, humans deemed it the intervention of the...

From the late 1970s to the 1980s, the US Government paid for intelligence officers to undergo weeklong training sessions at a remote place called the Monroe Institute. Training sessions themselves aren't particularly abnormal -- but these officers weren't learning new languages, the latest news about satellites and so on. Instead, the Institute was using hypnosis to teach them astral projection, E...

In this week's strange news segment, Ben, Matt and Noel explore the Anglosphere's need for active trade and craft. The Oxford "Word of the Year" -- "brain rot," occurring as a Vietnamese billionaire dodges execution; a Kansas detective, confronted with crimes, dies in a widely-reported story. All this and more as the asteroids move through the void -- if you survive, did you sense some presence in...

In the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, human civilization has grappled with global chaos -- and, even now, experts disagree on the provenance of this infection. How did it get here? Where did it come from? In tonight's interview, Ben, Matt and Noel sit down with Jenner Furst, the award-winning documentarian and creator of "Thank You, Dr. Fauci," to learn more about his terrifying exploratio...

Winter Juniper notes Falun Gong is accused of human traffikicking. Eye movement feedback may provide breakthroughs in therapy - the boys discuss "Genetic Memory." All this and more in this weekly listener mail segment. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What would you do if folks in your home country offered you the chance to travel abroad, all expenses paid -- with one caveat: do some crime? In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel explore the bizarre, conspiratorial world of crime tourism. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did a young, struggling German immigrant build one of the country's most successful criminal empires? In this classic live episode, the guys join with Holly Frey, cohost of the award-winning podcast Stuff You Missed in History Class, to explore the life, times and reign of America's first mob boss, Marm Mandelbaum. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/...

A tragic airplane crash -- coupled with a series of sinister, earlier explosions -- prompts serious concerns that someone , cough, cough, Russia, may be executing test runs for global espionage. KFC steps back promise to stop using 'Frankenchickens' in the UK. Mobile game Pokémon Go may be in bed with militaries, leveraging data for mass surveillance. Dutch police find a gnome made of MDMA during...

Did the real Paul McCartney die in a car accident, only to be replaced by a doppleganger? What about the similar stories surrounding Taylor Swift, Avril Lavigne, Saddam Hussein and more? Join the guys as they explore the facts, fiction and plausibility of celebrity body doubles, replacements and more. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-r...

Darcy prompts a conversation about the etymology of "Kangaroo Court." Blue About Blue Zones inspires Ben, Matt and Noel to explore what may well be an ongoing conspiracy to ignore inconvenient facts. Beefy shares a first-hand experience with television programs appearing to be genuine courts. In Letters From Home, the guys learn multiple naughty puns. All this and more in this week's listener mail...

From prince to pauper, from empress to enemy, literally everybody poops. And even now, in 2024, civilization is learning more about the fascinating, disturbing implications of gut flora -- the world hidden within you, as you listen to tonight's episode. Join Ben, Matt and Noel as they explore the strange science of fecal transplants, the idea that you can put one person's poop in someone else and,...

There have always been conspiracy theories about secret structures on the lunar surface, and in modern decades numerous fringe researchers have alleged that various governments have already built some sort of permanent structure on the moon. It sounds pretty out there, but could there be a grain of truth to the stories? Tune in to learn more about Project Horizon in tonight's Classic episode. They...

A Swedish leader is terrified of bananas. A group of ne'er-do-wells get busted for bear fraud. Some Iraqi politicians want to lower the legal age of consent to 9 years old . The Onion buys Infowars. A US defense contractor pays out 43 million USD for its role in torturing Abu Ghraib detainees. Over in Peru, China's building a megaport - and no one's sure what will happen next. All this and more in...