Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

Canadian police stop a bizarre toothpaste heist. Companies aim to automate debt collection with AI. In Italy, a mysterious boat accident leaves multiple intelligence agents dead. 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-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

55 years ago, the American Civil Rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. His legacy lives on in recorded speeches, memorials across the country, photographs by legendary photojournalist Ernest C. Withers and more. Withers remains a hero in his hometown of Memphis, and his career is inextricably intertwined with the Civil Rights era. However, there may be much mo...

Disco Funk inspires a strange series of thought experiments. Amdroid writes in on the controversy surrounding tipping. An author gives the gang a special shoutout in their upcoming book. 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-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The guys sit down with special guest John Rondi, Sr., the co-creator of the legendary Johnny Drinks, for a wide-ranging conversation about everything from the troubling history of prohibition to JFK and more. 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.

One person's cult is another person's inarguable truth, and over millenia many spiritual or cultural belief systems have been called cults. Typically organizations called cults have a few commonal traits, one of the chief of which is isolation. So can cults continue to exist in the digital age, where the average smartphone user is only a few clicks away from learning almost anything they desire? W...

Tech mogul Bryan Johnson causes a stir when it's revealed he uses his own son as a 'blood boy' to stave off the effects of aging. Cancun authorities ban narcocorrido performances. Elderly businessman John Manchec attempts an elaborate escape from jail, fleeing from the US to France. All this and more in this week's strange news segment. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmill...

There's an active series of conspiracies taking place every single year in the United States -- through the practice of eminent domain, local governments can force private property owners to sell their stuff for "the greater good." It gets worse -- through the use of civil asset forfeiture, law enforcement can also confiscate all sorts of assets, without once arresting you, or charging you with a...

Kelly discusses the strange state of drugs and drug policy in Vancouver. Samurai poses fascinating questions about mitochondrial DNA and three-parent babies. Ancient Astronaut Chick dives behind the scenes of hotels. All this and more in this week’s listener mail. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for p...

In December of 2000, an unknown assailant brutally murdered the Miyazawa family as they slept in their home, preparing to celebrate the new year. This horrific crime only seems to grow more mysterious -- the killer stayed in the home after the murders, eating food, leaving evidence, and using the computer. Police have the killer's personal possessions. They have his DNA. And, more than two decades...

Nowadays, most people in the West associate exorcism with horror movies instead of real-life terror. However, people around the world still feel that they have been possessed, and experts from various faiths across the planet still conduct exorcisms in the modern day. Join the guys as they delve into the story of the Catholic organization founded to fight possession: The International Association...

A whistleblower alleges the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hides billions of dollars. A horrifying, continuing investigation in Kenya reveals hundred of people have died at the orders of a now-arrested cult leader; and no one's sure what other crimes may be uncovered. A man attempts to purposely wreck a plane for clout. All this and more in this week's strange news segment. They don't...

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most influential figures in all of American literature -- and his death is just as mysterious as his stories. In today's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel dive into the conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Edgar Allan Poe. 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 inf...

Could someone have purposely manufactured the great coin shortage during the pandemic? Anon calls in with a sobering plea. A fellow Conspiracy Realist proposes a possible explanation for the woman experiencing orgasms at the symphony. 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-read/ See omn...

In 1978, a young pilot named Frederick Valentich disappeared somewhere off the coast of Australia. His last recorded message to authorities -- "it's not an aircraft" -- prompted decades of speculation from UFOlogists, skeptics, and law enforcement alike. As we record tonight, his body has yet to be found. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-shou...

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...