Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

We’ve heard the legends of vampires for thousands of years, and while the vast majority of modern humans relegate the stories to the domain of myth and folklore, more and more experts are wondering if technology will allow us to create something very much like the monsters of myth. Could transfusing blood from the young rejuvenate the bodies of the old? What ethical consequences could we encounter...

A Nashville hotel employee is arrested on charges of assaulting a guest's toes. A Canadian man attempts to start a pop-up selling all manner of illegal drugs. In an historic first for the United Kingdom, scientists create a child with DNA from not two, but THREE separate parents. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.co...

For decades, residents of Dumbarton, Scotland have been convinced something's deeply wrong with the Overtoun Bridge. According to local lore, something about this bridge causes dogs to take their own lives. In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel investigate. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

Flummoxed calls in to report a baffling temporal tizzy. A fellow Conspiracy Realist asks what happens when banks fail. Balloon Boy writes in with an astonishing revelation about high-altitude science and spy balloons: it turns out they have a season, and that season is coming this summer. All this and more in this week's listener mail. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmilla...

Nowadays virtually everyone can agree the US Justice system has profound, serious issues -- the problem is people just don't agree on how to address them. In this special interview, Ben, Matt and Noel sit down with Jason Flom, the creator and host of Wrongful Conviction, to learn more about tragic and terrifying cases of the legal system gone awry. People imprisoned for decades, only to later be f...

In 2018, the New York Times broke a story that baffled most ordinary readers -- until about 2012, the Pentagon had run a multi-million dollar, secretive program to collect numerous reports of unexplained aerial phenomena and unidentified flying objects. So what did the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program actually find? Join the guys as they interview returning guest and filmmaker Jere...

The White House holds a meeting with tech luminaries to discuss concerns about the potential of "AI." A concertgoer apparently experienced an orgasm during an orchestral performance. Around the world, the old rules of tradecraft are thrown out the window as global tension ratchets up. The most recent person arrested? None other than Pras, Earth's third-favorite Fugee. All this and more in this wee...

It's a common campfire tale -- a mysterious, ghostly entity roams the land, lamenting the loss of her children... and perhaps kidnapping living children to replace her own. In today's episode, Ben and Matt dive deep into the evolution of La Llorona, exploring the nature of folklore, narrative evolution, and story as technology. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/st...

In the first part of this two-episode series, the guys interviewed tech expert Jonathan Strickland on the mechanics of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. In this episode, Jonathan returns to field some of the weirdest, funniest and most disturbing conspiracy theories orbiting the world of digital currency. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-r...

What's the secret to success in entertainment? What really happens backstage in the world of show biz? In today's episode, the guys welcome legendary comedian, author and podcaster Michael Colyar to dive deep into the world of entertainment conspiracies, aliens, psychic powers and more.  They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnys...

You've heard of bitcoin before. It's the entirely digital, decentralized currency that supporters tout as the next step in financial evolution -- and critics call a massive scam. But what exactly are cryptocurrencies? How do they work, and why do some people believe they're as much a tool for conspiracy and crime as a tool for trade? In part 1 of this series, the gang invites returning guest Jonat...

A few years back, employees at the US Embassy in Cuba reported a strange and disquieting phenomenon. They complained of vertigo, nausea, hearing loss and more accompanied by a strange hum and whine that followed them into their homes. The State Department refused to comment on the cause of these symptoms even as they shipped employees back home to the States. However, some anonymous government off...

Virtually everyone's experienced a slip in memory -- in most cases, the slips are thankfully short-lived. But what happens when your own brain conspires against you... what happens when you permanently forget nearly every detail of your own identity? This was the case of a man who took the name Benjaman Kyle, who for years was one of the mysterious individuals known as the "living unidentified." T...

Mortgage Man prompts an exploration of alchemy, smurfs and CERN. Summer Frog hips the gang to a controversial commune initiative in Los Angeles. Kevin writes in with a theory on obscure technology that may finally explain bizarre UFO sightings from Foo Fighters to the Korean War. All this and more in this week's listener mail segment. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan...

On August 22nd, 1990, Cheryl Henry and Garland Atkinson set out for a night on the town. By the next morning, they had disappeared. A few hours later, police located both their abandoned car and their bodies, brutalized and discarded near the local lovers' lane. In today's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel explore the still-unsolved double homicide -- and whether this crime may one be solved. They don't...

For decades people knew that sexual abuse occurred in Tinseltown. It was an open, dirty secret just behind the curtain of the most popular films, tv and stage shows in the country. And the victims of abuse rarely spoke out -- when they did, they risked the ruination of their careers (or worse). In 2017 this began to change. World famous producer Harvey Weinstein was outed as a serial sexual and ph...

This week, tons of people are getting sued -- everything from Fox News to baby powder -- further, law enforcement in Oklahoma got caught planning the murder of a journalist. The FBI also followed up on long-running speculation about China running secret police stations abroad, arresting two US nationals in Manhattan. All this and more as Ben and Matt dive into this week's Strange News segment. The...

Ishmael writies in about Q Hydrogen, a company that claims to have discovered a revolutionary new source of power. Batboy raises concerns about invasive species in Brooklyn. Rebel Devl sends Ben a strange tale of the Devil's Bread on a small Italian island, which sent the locals tripping for decades. All this and more in this week's listener mail segment. They don't want you to read our book.: htt...

At first, it sounded too good to be true: grass that never died, never wilted, and never gave way to weeds. Major league baseball hailed it as one of the greatest innovations in the world of professional sports. As thousands and thousands of 'astroturf' fields sprouted up across the US and Canada -- and then spread to playgrounds -- adults and children alike enjoyed seas of endless, verdant green....

As chaos reigned across the Korean peninsula from 1950 to 1953 in a war that has still not officially ended, one group of US soldiers found themselves overwhelmed by an object they couldn't identify. A sphere -- apparently metallic -- capable of changing color and moving at unimaginable angles. In today's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel explore the story of a UFO that may have led to the creation of P...

Sure, we worked way too hard for that pun in the title, but it's a serious question: CERN, or the European Organization for Nuclear Research is one of the world's largest, most prominent centres for scientific research. The experts at CERN use the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments to study the fundamental building blocks of matter, and over the years it's become the subject o...

When University of Vermont student Jessica Card modified a Furby to use ChatGPT, it eventually informed her of plans to take over civilization. The US is rocked by a massive intelligence leak. More news emerges about Ye's controversial Donda Academy. All this and more in this week's Strange News segment.  They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-shou...

Even if you're not a fan of social media, you've probably heard of TikTok. In recent months, countries around the planet have enacted bans on this app, due to security concers. As we record, the US is also considered a nationwide ban on TikTok -- but, according to critics, there may be another conspiracy at play. In today's episode, Ben and Matt explore the allegations and rumors surrounding the R...

The Grand Canyon is a breath-taking natural formation, and every year more than 4 million people visit. Despite its popularity, areas of the canyon remain dangerously remote, and it’s no secret that numerous people have disappeared in or around the canyon over the years. But what if there was more to the story than missing couples and individuals? Is it possible that an entire civilization went mi...

How do we ensure rulers of a country obey the laws they create? Not too long ago, the FBI ran against this question during a sting called ABSCAM. While they originally planned to bust art scams, the project grew bigger and bigger -- and, eventually, the FBI conducted sting operations on Congress. And Congress, apparently, conspired to make sure this would never happen again. They don't want you to...