Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

Could your favorite sports be fixed? Join Ben, Matt and Noel for their continuing interview with author Brian Tuohy as they explore the murky world behind the sports headlines - a world comprised of illegal gambling, extortion, blackmail and organized crime. 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...

Alex Jones faces the latest legal proceedings regarding Sandy Hook. Rainwater across the world is riddled with harmful chemicals. A mysterious sinkhole emerges in Chile. All this and more in this week's Strange News. 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.

It's true: financial institutions are, indeed, buying up homes and turning them into rentals. But should this be a cause for concern? In the second part of this two-part series, the guys look at the strategy these companies use when choosing homes (or entire neighborhoods), as well as how this came about, and what it means for the average homebuyer competing in the same areas. They don't want you...

A caller prompts a conversation about the booming black market for airbags. It seems some power companies are using smart thermometers to mess with their customer's temperature settings. Over in Australia, multiple Conspiracy Realists are startled to find the infamous case of the Somerton Man might just be solved. All this and more in this week's listener mail. They don't want you to read our book...

Across the United States, would-be homebuyers are telling a similar story: after weeks or months of searching, they finally find a home they can afford -- only to be outbid by another buyer, often offering to pay in cash, at thousands of dollars above the asking price. What's going on? According to multiple reports, the answer isn't just wealthy families -- instead, they argue, financial instituti...

Could it be possible that your favorite sports are fixed? Join the guys as they interview Brian Tuohy, author of The Fix is In, on the murky connections between sports, gambling, politics and organized crime in the first part of this two-episode series. 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 info...

The founder of Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers buys a lottery ticket for all 50,000 of his employees. Observers are baffled by a series of mysterious holes in the ocean floor. Perhaps most disturbingly, a new algorithm created over at the University of Chicago seems to accurately predict crimes a week before they occur -- and exposes deep biases in law enforcement. All this and more in this week's...

To some, Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies are the future of finance, deregulated and free from the problems of the existing financial others. To critics, they're little more than a bad investment or an outright ponzi scheme. But what happens when the coins begin to crash? In today's episode, the guys explore what led to the ongoing Bitcoin crash -- and why some believe there's more to the stor...

Poppy Hotdog asks whether the recent Supreme Court comes from an ulterior motive. Conspiracy Realists share experiences with a brutal -- at times conspiratorial -- housing market. Earth Shaman inspires a realistic exploration of the reality of self-sustaining communities. 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/...

Recently, Google engineer Blake Lemoine made international news with his claims that the company's creation LaMDA - Launguage Model for Dialogue Applications - has become sentient. While Google does describe LaMDA as "breakthrough conversation technology," the company does not agree with Lemoine -- to say the least. In part two of this two-part series, Ben and Matt explore the critics' responses -...

Cannibalism is an ancient taboo, but how often has it actually occurred? Join the guys in this classic episode as they explore the grisly rumors and frightening facts behind history’s stories of cannibalism. 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.

Amazon has been giving Ring videos to law enforcement, without the consent of the owners. Someone in LA stole millions' dollars worth of jewelry from a Brinks armored truck. Over in Russia, two politicians are claiming the government of Ukraine, with the help of the US, is experimenting on soldiers. The West keeps calling these alleged supersoldiers 'mutants' -- problem is, that's not what the Rus...

Recently, Google engineer Blake Lemoine made international news with his claims that the company's creation LaMDA - Launguage Model for Dialogue Applications - has become sentient. While Google does describe LaMDA as "breakthrough conversation technology," the company does not agree with Lemoine -- to say the least. In part one of this two-part series, Ben and Matt explore the nature of sentience,...

In today's episode, Bill, Mark and Neil receive a series of new packages seeming to, for the first time, reveal the true fate of the infamous University Six.  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.

Did the Quaker Oats company really do experiments on children? Join Matt and Ben as they dig into the checkered past of this cereal monolith. 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.

A man in Oklahoma claims he committed murder to prevent the victim from summoning Bigfoot. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is assassinated. It turns out millions of people believe experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider may have pushed reality into "another timeline." All this and more in this week's Strange News. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/st...

How can we better understand the growing, mainstream interest in UFOs? In this interview, Ben, Matt and Noel are joined by MJ Banias, host of Alien State, to explore his anthropological approach to humanity's attempt to understand those things it cannot yet explain. MJ agrees with Ben's description of UFOs as modern folklore -- and expands upon that concept. They don't want you to read our book.:...

What is permaculture, exactly? Why does the US have a law allowing them to invade the Hague? Anonymous sources reach out to Ben to ask about a strange conspiracy: is Amazon supporting a Tik Tok grift to swindle writers? 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/lis...

What if you had a credit score that measured more than just your wallet? What if it took into account your political leanings, Internet traffic, and social media statements -- and what if the same stuff from your friends could affect your score? These are the concerns of Sesame Credit. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystu...

In today's episode, Bill, Mark and Neil receive a strange package with no return address only to find it contains a mysterious video that may, for the first time, reveal the true fate of the infamous University Six.  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 gang reacts to the news about the partial destruction -- and then total demolition -- of the Georgia Guidestones. People get various medical operations to avoid restroom breaks on the trek from Manhattan to Long Island. Other people seem set on using cosplay to make the new Minions film a cult classic. And... could a newly-researched variety of plastic-eating worms save humanity from the loomi...

Months after the murder of Teresita Basa, her former coworker began falling into trances, a voice identifying itself as Teresita issuing from her mouth. Whether or not you believe in ghosts, these statements turned out to be true, leading to the conviction of 32 year-old Allen Showers. But what's the real story? Was this justice beyond the grave or beyond the law? They don't want you to read our b...

Alexandra looks for more information on a cult called the Body. On Instagram, Jessica explores the strange stories of cartels and exotic animals. Travis and Sam in Japan describe their own experiences with blood donation bans. Ben and Matt explore 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/ Se...

Academic journals are vital to the advancement of science -- and the advancement of scientists' careers. These subject-specific periodicals play a huge role in dispersing the latest knowledge in any given field. In short, they're a good thing. But they're also a huge business, which means they have a dark side. In today's episode, Ben and Matt dive deep into the stuff this industry doesn't want yo...

In 2016 Wikileaks released a cache of internal emails from the Democratic National Committee. "Unnamed experts" trace this event back to Russian hackers. But who are these hackers? What proof exists? And, most importantly, who hacked democracy? 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.