Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

From the Opium Wars to prohibition and the modern drug trade, human civilization has been irreversibly influenced by wars over drugs. Has it worked? Could it ever? Find out 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...

It appears the government of China is testing a camera system that uses AI and facial recognition to reveal unspoken emotional states in the oppressed Uyghur population. After a creepy personal experience with social media, privacy expert Robert G. Reeve busts the myths about our phones hearing us -- and reveals, instead, what he sees as the much more disturbing reality of automated online stalkin...

From the "Employees Only" doors of local businesses to vast swathes of ocean and secret labs in some of the world's most remote locations, planet Earth is filled with restricted areas. In today's episode, the guys explore the nature of restricted zones -- and the rumors about the Stuff They Don't Want You To Know going on inside. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork...

Just how many people have spotted unusual, faerie-like creatures on the frontier? Why do some medical institutions still use electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)? What if some inanimate objects are not only self-aware, but resentful? 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://sta...

In July of 1985, Greenpeace sent a ship named the Rainbow Warrior to New Zealand, then to Moruroa to monitor controversial French nuclear tests in the area. However, the Rainbow Warrior never made it out of New Zealand -- instead, terrorists sank it. At least, that was the official story. Tune in to learn more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com They don't wan...

Could there really be groups of people conducting Satanic rites -- not philosophical stances, but actual devil worship via ritual or even sacrifice? Where are these groups, if they exist? Find out 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...

Authorities in El Salvador are excavating a clandestine cemetery at the house of a former detective which is believed to contain as many as 40 bodies – most of them thought to be women. A fungi containing psilocybin could cause emerging cicadas to become hypersexual, spreading their infection. Convicted crime boss Sedat Peker has flung accusations of rape, drug dealing and suspicious deaths agains...

Firearms are banned in many countries across the world, and it is highly difficult to acquire one. That is changing. The combination of 3D printing technology and the Internet - for better or worse - is moving the power of weapons manufacturing to the public domain. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmil...

Will we ever know the true purpose of the ancient, mysterious Gobekli Tepe? Are campus police using their authority to protect students -- or to protect their school's reputation? Ben and Matt reenact a dramatic reading of one listener's encounter with disappearing (and reappearing) objects. All this and more in this week's listener mail. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodca...

How can we navigate conspiracies in a post-truth environment? Is it true that many conspiracy theories do, in fact, have a grain of truth at their heart? In today's episode, the guys join up with Langston Kerman, creator of My Momma Told Me, to discuss the world of conspiracies, their effects on communities, and how best to explore them. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcas...

Sure, cults are weird. The doomsday prophecies, claims of superpowers and tendency toward brainwashing are all strange, but what if the situation got even weirder? What if intelligence agencies were secretly involved with everything from the Manson family. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/st...

Real estate appraisers exhibit nation-wide, currently legal discrimination against homeowners based on the perceived skin color of the owners. People are dressing up in costume and attempting to "fight crime" for attention on social media. The Pentagon may release classified info on UFOs -- which they call Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, or UAP -- next Tuesday (Ben doubts it). All this and more in...

As authorities continue to unravel the enigmatic, at-times disturbing life of Jeffrey Alan Lash, they dig into what little is known about his past, seeking to uncover answers. How did he get all those weapons? What about all that hard currency? In the course of their investigation, they begin to notice a pattern: Lash seemed to be targeting people, turning them into supporters of his vague mission...

Could fur farms be responsible for COVID-19? Why are people burning down Masonic lodges? And over in Texas, in turns out Tesla may be building a real-life company town to support SpaceX -- and, by hook or by crook, driving the existing residents out. All this and more in this week's listener mail segment. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com They don't want you...

In some ways, Jeffrey Alan Lash's story begins after his death, when his body was found decomposing in a parked SUV on Palisades Drive -- but as investigators looked further into the case, they learned increasingly bizarre and troubling things. Was Lash a gunrunner? A criminal on the lam? An operative for a top-secret government agency? An alien hybrid? Tune in to learn more about this mysterious...

It's no secret that inequality is rising in countries around the world, but what does this mean for the future? What is the middle class, exactly -- and why do some people believe it's going extinct? Find out 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-shou...

After decades without leads, investigators use DNA evidence to finally arrest John Daly III, the infamous East Valley Rapist. An Iraqi prank show sparks controversy by staging fake acts of terrorism. A mysterious hacker collective shuts down the Colonial Pipeline, prompting fears of a gas shortage. All this and more in this week's Strange News. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.ihear...

As one of the biggest bands in human history, it's no surprise that The Beatles are the subject of numerous conspiracy theories. Is the real Paul McCartney dead? Was the government stalking John Lennon? Is there a a secret cache of unreleased Beatles music hidden away somewhere? In today's episode, the guys sit down with Brian Ray, host of the On Tour podcast and guitarist for Paul McCartney, to e...

How easy is it to use the National Crime Information Center for nefarious ends? Is the musician Blueface running a reality show, or a TikTok cult -- and what's the deal with TikTok, cults and online radicalization anyhow? How many people feel they've encountered a real-life haunted object? All this and more in this week's listener mail. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcast...

What if future explorers never have to physically travel anywhere? It's an odd question, but according to proponents of remote viewing, government-paid psychics were doing this as early as 1984 -- and breaking the known laws of time and space in the process. In today's episode, the guys re-enact one of the CIA's most ambitious (and strangest) classified experiments: Using ESP as a new method of ex...

Is it possible that one day all the world's decisions will be made by AI? Find out 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.

Should people be allowed to order, print and assemble guns at home? The rise of so-called ghost guns has resulted in a glut of firearms with no serial numbers -- and the people buying them don't need background checks, either. Over in Kansas City, the death of a young, enterprising journalist leads the guys to discuss the possible causes of the tragedy, while also exploring the overall rise in vio...

Most people associate San Antonio, Texas with the Alamo -- yet ghost hunters look across the street, where the structure currently known as the Emily Morgan Hotel has stood since the 1920s. This building, often called the "third most haunted hotel in the world", is home to numerous reports of unusual events. In today's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel explore the strange story of the Emily Morgan. Lear...

Multiple dormant White House IP addresses went active moments before Donald Trump left office. A listener details the strange behavior of his daughter while she sleeps, prompting a conversation about the mysteries of parasomnia. A Conspiracy Realist asks for more information about the rumors that the US purposely abandoned soldiers in Vietnam... and, if so, where those people may be today. Learn m...

As the guys continue exploring the strange, silent war over who gets to own nuclear weapons, they stumble across the little known story of Operation Outside the Box. When the Israeli military learned its regional rival Syria might be building a nuclear facility, they felt they had only one course of action -- and they were certain that, whatever the consequences, they must do anything in their pow...