Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

What's the difference between an assassination and a garden-variety murder? Where does the term 'assassin' actually come from, and how did an obscure sect founded almost one thousand years ago fundamentally change the course of history as we know it? Tune in for the answers to these questions and more in the first part of this special two-part series. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://ww...

It's true - the Soviet government really did have its own parapsychological research program. And, unlike MKULTRA and other US operations, the Soviet version continued until 2003, when it officially ended. Tune in to learn more with Ben and Matt in today's Classic episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com They don't want you to read our book.: https://static...

Have scientists discovered a new building material for future Martian colonies? Why might a vaccine for COVID-19 lead to the deaths of thousands of deep-sea sharks? Is it true that crows can think about thinking (and are they really in an unending, existential war with owls)? All this and more in today's Strange News segment. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com...

Sometime between between c. 1250 - c. 1150 BCE, civilization as we knew it simply... collapsed. Once-thriving empires fell one after another. Trade routes disintegrated. Literacy plummeted. Mysterious raiders from the sea pillaged city after city. In less than a century, the known world became a distant dream. So what exactly happened? Perhaps more disturbingly, what can the Bronze Age collapse te...

Could the contagious schoolyard panics in Malaysia be caused by ergot poisoning or some other environmental contaminant? Join Ben and Noel as they dive into this question and more, exploring some of their favorite listener comments 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.c...

Love it or hate it, there's no denying that reality TV -- also known as unscripted television -- is a titan of the entertainment industry. In fact, if you have cable and turn on your TV right now, you'll probably find a reality show of some sort playing on multiple channels. Most people know this sort of programming isn't as 'real' as it may purport to be... but what made this stuff so successful?...

Serial killers are insane, prone to exaggeration and delusion, and often inveterate liars. Amid some of their wilder claims, several notable serial killers, such as David Berkowitz and Henry Lee Lucas, have stated that they were killing on the orders of a cult. Is there any way it could be true? Join Ben and Matt as they dive into the twisted stories of the Hand of Death, Four Pi and other alleged...

What exactly did scientists find in the atmosphere of Venus? A former Facebook employee claims the company actively ignored widespread political manipulation, and recently leaked documents highlight serious financial crimes by multiple international banks. All this and more in this week's Strange News segment. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com They don't want...

The world of professional sports is a multi-billion dollar industry -- and even the most ardent fans may not know what actually happens away from the bright lights and cheering crowds. Join Ben and special guest, journalist Tim Livingston, the creator of Whistleblower, as they dive into the strange, twisting tale of one of the NBA's biggest conspiracies -- a gambling scandal that rocked the indust...

As recent allegations of forced hysterectomies surface in the US, Ben alleges genocide. An anonymous caller asks Matt for more information about Eternal Blue. 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-read/ See omnystudio.com...

Look around -- how many objects in your immediate vicinity contain plastic? This malleable, durable material has become ubiquitous -- you can find in the depths of the oceans, at the summits of the highest mountains. And, if you're like most people, plastic will be here long after you're gone. Historically, manufacturers have claimed plastic pollution can be solved by recycling... but what if ther...

For much of recorded history, humans beings have been trying to devise unbreakable codes (and break the codes of their rivals). But is there any truly unbreakable code? And what exactly is Cicada 3301? Join Ben and Matt as they decipher cryptography 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://stati...

A pod of Orcas is attacking ships. An 'artificial intelligence' writes an op-ed. Portland, Oregon, bans facial recognition. 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-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For millennia, people in civilizations across the planet have claimed to perceive intangible energy emanating from people, animals, plants -- and even inanimate objects. And, in recent centuries, scientists and mystics alike have sought to explain this phenomenon. As you might imagine, not everyone agrees on what an aura could be -- or whether it exists -- in the modern day. Learn more about your...

What is life like for the actual staff of a cruise ship? Could Reiki function as physical healing? What exactly is Iron Mountain? All this and more in this week's edition of 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-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

Flordelis dos Santos de Souza is a politician and cultural icon in Brazil. For a time, she and her husband Anderson Do Carmo were an evangelical power couple - along with their more than 50 adopted and biological children. In June of 2019, Anderson was murdered. The family said it was a robbery gone wrong. The investigators disagree. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnet...

What was the most widespread infiltration of the US government? According to some sources, it came from within. Tune in to learn more about the story of Operation Snow White -- and why the Church of Scientology and the US government still don't agree on what actually happened. Join Ben and Matt for this startling -- and bizarre -- classic episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.ih...

A 'gender reveal' party in California has created a massive wildfire. Someone dumped loads of mail in the parking lot of a beauty salon. Science reveals how plants grow differently around corpses -- and how this may help us learn more about humanity's grisly past. 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...

Up until July of 2018, 17-year-old Siti Nurannisaa was like many other kids finishing up their last year of high school - she was stressed out by exams, not sleeping well, and looking forward to getting the school year over with. However, her life took a sudden, unexpected turn when a sharp tap on her shoulder sent her into a strange, nightmarish series of visions from which she could not escape....

Do ghosts wander the tunnels of Gibraltar? Why are so many families (Ben's included) convinced they receive mysterious omens of the future in their dreams? Multiple listeners respond to the episode on the deaths at Deepcut, raising question about the deaths at Fort Hood, Texas, as well as the suicide epidemic in Bridgend, Wales. All this and more in this week's listener mail segment. Learn more ab...

How much power does the mind wield over physical matter? Could certain human beings, through the force of focused thought alone, walk on fire, lay on nails, and survive being buried alive for days at a time? Listen in to learn more about the fact, fiction and controversy surrounding the famous feats of the mystics. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com They don't...

The placebo effect is pretty freaky when you think about it: just believing that a harmless substance is a medicine can really produce measurable benefits. It sounds crazy, but the placebo effect is real, and its implications continue to fascinate scientists. So why does it appear to be getting stronger? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com They don't want you t...

An enterprising UK resident has found a new way to profit from the pandemic -- taking people on tours of the nearly-abandoned 'ghost ships' floating off the coast as the cruise industry struggles to survive the disastrous economic effects of COVID-19. The X-Files universe may soon have a new, animated spin-off. Investigations continue as US Marshals bust an enormous, insidious child trafficking ri...

In the world of spirits and apparitions, the poltergeist is a unique type of ghost -- one known for its alleged ability to move physical objects (often in violent, unpredictable ways), to target and torment specific human beings and, perhaps strangest of all, to suddenly, one day, disappear. While not everyone uses the name 'poltergeist,' legends of these and similar creatures occur in numerous ci...

Is pop superstar Britney Spears really being held hostage? What is it like to witness a derecho firsthand, and live to tell the tale? Can human beings really, without warning, burst into a ball of mysterious, fatal flames? Learn the answers to these questions 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...