Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

More than 500 feet long and carrying missiles the size of small planes, the giant, nuclear-powered Kursk submarine was an apex predator of the high seas. At least, that is, until it was destroyed in one of the most catastrophic peacetime submarine accidents in history. The entire crew was lost and, decades later, some still believe this 'accident' was no accident at all. Learn more about your ad-c...

It's no secret that strong emotions can influence our thought processes, but just how much of a difference can they actually make? Can you trust your own brain? Don't be so sure. Join Ben and Matt as they explore the bizarre, at times deceptive, side of neuroscience in this episode of classic Stuff They Don't Want You To Know. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.co...

As swarms of flying ants overtake the UK, radar in multiple cities is overwhelmed, mistaking the waves of flying insects for rain. Anti-mask sentiment is not unique to 2020. In New Jersey, an assassin posing as a FedEx driver shot the husband and son of Jude Esther Salas -- in a case that only grows stranger the further down the rabbit hole you go. Tune in for this weekly round up of some of the w...

For most of modern history, the world has run on oil. In the US and abroad, the price of gasoline is often the subject of intense concern, and prices at the pump vary widely. The difference of a few dollars per gallon can incite widespread unrest. But there's a question rarely asked: How much should gas actually cost? Join Ben, Matt and Noel as they explore the numerous factors, forces, institutio...

What's the deal with those secret train stations rumored to exist beneath various cities? Could the upcoming US election be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic? Do gas manufacturers intentionally mix in additives to limit the shelf life of petrol? Join Ben, Matt and Noel as they explore these questions and more in the first installment of Stuff They Don't Want You To Know's new listener mail...

If you're not from Nova Scotia, you may have never heard of Africville -- it was a small community in Halifax. The larger government of Halifax seemed content to pretend Africville simply didn't exist. After the infamous Halifx Explosion of the early 1900s, the government changed their tactic, and aggressively conspired to erase Africville from history. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://...

Nowadays, Edward Bernays remains a relatively obscure historical figure. His legacy, however, is thriving around the globe, and his techniques are found in everything from the food we eat to the things we believe. But who was this man? How did he get his start, and how does his work affect you today? Join Ben and Matt for this classic episode on the man who made bacon a breakfast food, tied smokin...

Why is Kim Jong Un's sister getting special permission to watch DVDs of US holiday celebrations? Why do so many countries want to ban TikTok? How did a woman win the lottery based entirely on a vision from her dreams? Join Ben, Matt and Noel as they introduce the new Strange News segment, a once-a-week round up of some of the weirdest news -- and the Stuff They Don't Want You To Know? Learn more a...

In a world of ubiquitous information, protests, activism and propaganda exist in the digital world as much as the physical. The war for control of a given narrative is waged as much online as it is on the street. So how do we as individuals understand the discrepancy between the stories presented between various factions of the media? Join the guys as they sit down with Linqua Franqa and Dope Knif...

How can a star disappear? Recently, an enterprising group of astronomers and astrophysicists found themselves transformed into full-on space detectives when a cursory observation of a luminous blue variable star located in the Kinman Dwarf galaxy revealed the star had simply... vanished. This is, according to what our species understands, impossible. Something this big should leave some sort of tr...

Located in Surrey, the Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut (more often known as the Deepcut Barracks) was once the headquarters of the British Army's Royal Logistic Corp. On paper, Deepcut seemed to be a successful military installation -- yet it had a dark side. Young trainees were routinely bullied and abused, with little high-level oversight. A series of controversial trainee deaths between 1995 a...

Ships across the planet rely on sonar to safely navigate the world's oceans. This fascinating technology has revolutionized everything from maritime research to international trade and war -- but, somewhere along the way, experts realized sonar might have a hidden price. Listen in to learn more about sonar's effects on marine animals -- and why, for decades, it was the stuff the world's militaries...

When a young missionary named Renee Bach left her life in the US to start a malnutrition program in rural Uganda, she was one of thousands of like-minded people hoping to make the world a better place. But as her work in Uganda continued, rumors and speculation grew... and people began blaming Bach for the deaths of patients. So what exactly happened? Join the guys as they interview journalist Raj...

While democracy isn't always predictable, one thing's for sure -- no matter who wins an election, for any party, in any country, some part of the population will claim the game is rigged. That's what happened in Mexico in 1988, when Carlos Salinas de Gortari became president in a hotly-disputed election. For years rumors circulated about the illegal actions that led to this outcome, an opposition...

The US civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s sparked nationwide protests, marches and action, resulting in fundamental changes for a nation that had long touted democracy and equality abroad while oppressing vast swathes of its own citizens at home. It remains one of the most significant times in recent history, but there's another twist to the story -- half a world away, the USSR joined the...

It seems the nearly 8 billion people living on Earth can't seem to agree on anything, much less cooperate to achieve a goal. But what if there was some way to unite them, to push the millions of different communities on the planet toward working together? One of the proposed answers is something called 'Project Blue Beam' -- the idea that, if you can't find a messiah, you can use technology to mak...

Juarez, located just over the US-Mexico border, has an ongoing crisis that hasn't made the news: hundreds of women have gone missing, and many of the ones who disappear are later found dead, their wrists often bound, with strange symbols carved on their bodies. Journalists Monica Ortiz Uribe and Oz Woloshyn dive deep into this tragic mystery in their podcast Forgotten: Women of Juarez, searching f...

Most people have heard of Three Mile Island — but what about the multiple other nuclear events on US soil? Join Ben and Matt as they explore the strange, largely untold story of the Tatum Salt Dome. 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/listene...

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, long-standing inequalities have exacerbated the crisis in historically neglected US communities. In today's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel explore the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the native US community. 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...

You've probably heard of the Atlantis before, but have you heard the legends of another lost city, somewhere out in the endless sands of the Arabian Peninsula's Rub' al Khali (or "Empty Quarter")? Tales of this city, known as Ubar or Iram of the Pillars, surface in countries throughout the region. The city is even mentioned in the Quran. And, like Atlantis, over the centuries numerous people have...

Protests against systemic injustice and police brutality are sweeping the United States and the world at large. In the US, protesting isn't just a tactic -- it is a right, explicitly described in the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Protests can be powerful tools to push for change, but other forces, from corporations to militias, intelligence agencies and more also seek to use the power...

Typically, when you hear someone bring up the concept of chemtrails, it's either to dismiss the idea as a conspiracy theory or to claim there's something dangerous up there in the sky -- something the mainstream doesn't want you to know about. But a growing group of experts think something like chemtrails might just be the key to literally saving life on Earth. Tune in and learn more about stratos...

Most US residents are vaguely familiar with the nuclear disaster known as Three Mile Island -- but that's only one of several similar stories. Join the guys as they explore the strange events of July 1959, when the Santa Susana Field Laboratory partially melted down -- and the government conspired to cover it up. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com They don't w...

Mere days after the horrific events of 9/11, someone began sending letters laced with anthrax spores to senators and the offices of major media outfits -- by the time the attacks ended, seventeen people were seriously injured, and five victims had died. Today the FBI maintains the case has been solved: scientist Bruce Edwards Ivins, acting alone, was responsible. Ivins died of an overdose in an ap...

A few years back, Julian Assange was a household name in the West. The founder and face of Wikileaks, one of the world's most well-known destinations for leaks of classified information, Assange was hailed as a hero by some and a villain by others. And, whether you think he's a soldier in the war for transparency or some sort of super-villain, there's no denying that many people in power wanted hi...