Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

A listener writes in with a bizarre story of experiments with blood substitutes in the US and Brazil. The DuPont family is rumored to own a mysterious structure near a place called Devil's Road. Colorado courts controversy with new facial recognition requirements. All this and more in this week's listener mail. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com They don't wan...

In the folklore of Spain, Latin America, the Philippines and more, a duende is a supernatural creature known for its mischievous (and at times sinister) behavior. For outsiders this may seem to be little more than a regional variation on other legends of things like gnomes, sprites and so on -- but there's one big difference: in multiple parts of Latin America, people are convinced they've encount...

Why did the US practice prohibition? Do current prohibition policies really protect the public, or are they meant to do something else entirely? Learn more in this classic episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com 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...

A breakthrough in the case of the Atlanta Child Murders may lead to further revelations. The US Government clarifies that recent billionaires in space are not officially astronauts. A study in the UK may indicate long-term cognitive consequences for those who've contracted COVID. All this and more in this week's Strange News. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com...

Is money a form of free speech? This question has plagued US politics for decades, prompting frenzied debates about the role of big business and private wealth in the process -- or industry -- of writing laws. In the second part of this two-part series, the guys dive into recent lobbying scandals, controversial court rulings, and the often disturbing reality of just how many laws end up being writ...

Why did the US government have a secret group of scientists known as the Jasons? Why would someone hide Blackhawk helicopters in an abandoned Walmart? What exactly are Melungeons? All this and more in this week's listener mail. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-rea...

In the US, voters elect officials to represent their concerns in local communities as well as in Washington. These officials, in theory, work to advance the causes of their constituents, whether they're representing individuals, groups of individuals, or businesses and special interests. But there's another, unelected group fighting to represent a given special interest: lobbyists. In part one of...

It's often said money can't buy happiness -- but what exactly can it do? Could it change the way you think? ...could it make you a bad person? Listen in to this classic episode to learn more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com 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...

Documentarian Morgan Neville stirs controversy with the decision to use computer-generated audio. In India, locals raise objections over Uttar Pradesh's proposed bill to lower population growth. A massive leak implicates Israeli tech company NSO Group in troubling cases of state-level surveillance (and possibly assassinations) via their hacking software, Pegasus. All this and more in this week's S...

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is responsible for some of the most profound breakthroughs in the history of space exploration. Since NASA's creation in 1958, the organization has been touted as an explicitly civilian organization. Yet there's more to the story -- the history of space exploration, as it turns out, is literally the Stuff They Don't Want You To Know. Learn more abo...

What exactly were those blobs of gunk that fell in Oakville, Washington in 1994? Does the streaming platform Twitch have a dark side? Is Bosnia really home to an ancient set of gargantuan pyramids with bizarre physical properties? All this and more in this week's listener mail. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com They don't want you to read our book.: https://s...

The concept of religion predates civilization and the written word -- from its earliest days, the human species looked to religion to explain the ineffable. Religion has been the inspiration for some of humanity's noblest acts (and the rationalization for some of its most horrific crimes). Some have been enormously successful, spreading across the globe... but what happened to the rest? How many r...

Are psychic powers actually possible? Join Ben and Matt as they investigate the truth about clairvoyance in this classic episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com 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.

Who ordered the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse? What does one billion sea animals being cooked alive by a heat wave in Western North America mean for the future of humanity? Why are Indian medical professionals conspiring to swindle people with fake vaccines? All this and more (including Ben's obsession with radioactive Fukushima boar-pig hybrids) in this week's Strange News. Lea...

John McAfee lived a life of extremes, from working as a tech entrepreneur to becoming an international fugitive, Presidential candidate and more. As time went on, he became increasingly paranoid, certain that powerful forces were out to get him. And on June 23rd, he was found dead in a Spanish jail cell. The authorities concluded he committed suicide. Numerous people disagree with this conclusion...

An Exxon lobbyist is caught on camera explaining the villainous logic he used to move members of Congress toward his company's side. Ray Gricar and Jerry Sandusky produce an endless, disturbing rabbit hole. A mysterious murder remains unsolved in Oregon. All this and more in this week's listener mail. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com They don't want you to r...

Born in 1933, Donald Henry "Pee Wee" Gaskins Jr was a prolific serial killer and rapist in South Carolina. Authorities still aren't sure how many people he may have murdered. In this episode, the guys join Jeff Keating, the host of Pee Wee Gaskins Was Not My Friend, to learn more about the this murderer's early life, his crimes, and how he eventually got caught. Learn more about your ad-choices at...

Did North Korea really wage cyberwar to stop The Interview from airing? How did this happen -- and is there a conspiracy afoot? Join Ben and Matt as they welcome tech expert Jonathan Strickland for the second part of their series on the Sony hacks. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib...

Companies are increasingly interested in infiltrating your dreams, science proves magic mushrooms physically repair parts of the brain, and a cryptocurrency scandal rocks the world of gaming. All this and more in this week's Strange News. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you...

After years of rumors, recent releases have confirmed the US government knew much more about UFOs than they'd originally let on. And, despite the recent waves of revelations and classifications, Uncle Sam is still refusing to release everything. When pressed on the issue, the government stated that disclosing certain files would pose "an extraordinarily grave threat to national security" -- so wha...

Flying saucers are perhaps the most iconic genre of UFO -- since the 1940s they've become the mainstay vehicles for extraterrestrials in all sorts of fictional stories. But, according to declassified files, the US Government was intensely interested in building some flying saucers of its own. So far did they get? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com They don't w...

UFO researchers, also known as ufologists, make frequent appearances in pop culture, and many are professional, full-time experts in their field. But how exactly does one become a ufologist? Join the guys as they dive into this question, searching for the most (and least) credible paths to becoming a genuine ufologist. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com They d...

Over the course of his career with NASA, legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin changed the course of human history. From his groundbreaking work with EVA techniques to his walk on the moon with Apollo 11 mission commander Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin has seen and done astonishing things. In 2018, news outlets claimed Buzz Aldrin had one more astonishing achievement under his belt, an event kept secret un...

Is there really a secret hotspot of paranormal and UFO activity just southeast of Ballard, Utah? Join Ben and Matt as they explore the fact (and fiction) surrounding the bizarre Sherman Ranch. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for...

On March 13th, 1997, thousands of people in Nevada, Arizona and Mexico reported seeing bizarre lights in the evening sky -- today, more than two decades later, the Phoenix Lights are still considered to be one of the most significant UFO sightings in recent history. But what exactly were they? What really happened that night in March? Tune in to learn more. Learn more about your ad-choices at http...