The Podcaster's Guide to the Conspiracy

Circumstances conspire against M and Josh for another week, but rather than deplete The Can any further, Josh records a filler episode covering an infamously conspiratorial incident from the world of professional wrestling.

Stuff is happening that means Josh and M can't record this week. But they did record two unreleased episodes back in January, so here's one of them. Consider this a prequel to the "Tunnel Vision" series. Also, it mentions the other "From the Can" episode that hasn't been released for reasons that maybe will become clear one day...

M is back in China with a functioning larynx, so we record a "Back to the Conspiracy" episode, taking another look at a subject we last covered ten years ago: the Dreyfus Affair. Why is a French soldier convicted of treason like Amber Heard? Listen and find out.

M's having voice issues, so Josh records a short episode on the NZ mockumentary "Forgotten Silver" to keep you happy until we're ready to record normally. Learn how Peter Jackson and Costa Botes fooled a nation, even though it seems like they didn't really mean to.

M guides Josh through chapter one of Dunedinite Ben Vigden's book 'State Secrets II' in this special and incredibly confusing edition of 'What the Conspiracy!'

The Podcaster's Guide to the Conspiracy tackles a story torn from today's headlines (about an issue that goes back to the late 90s), as we discuss the Horizon Post Office scandal. If you live in the UK, this may be a story you're familiar with, but for rest of us, it makes for a darkly fascinating affair. (Mentions of suicide, just in case that's problem for you.)

Josh and M review the third series of the podcast 'Bed of Lies', which deals with what the British were doing during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The answer is 'They were up to no good', but what kind of 'no good' was it?

This week we look into a 450-year-old compilation of 900-year-old prophecies about who's going to be the pope. Unless it's actually a 450-year-old fake about who we want to be the pope. In either case, it makes one thing clear: there are now Too Many Popes. (Which is like Too Many Cooks, but with fancier hats.)

Josh and M conclude their discussion of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd editions of "Tunnel Vision" by Martin Butler.

This is definitely the last time we'll talk about Martin Butler's book "Tunnel Vision" and the conspiracy theories it contains. We don't have a problem - we can stop any time we want! Or can we...?

Josh and M continue their review of not one, not two, but not quite three editions of Martin Butler's book "Tunnel Vision," the best argument yet for a hidden tunnel complex under Auckland's North Head. In this episode a lot of testimony is discussed...

Conspiracy theories about secret tunnels under the military base on North Head are essentially the reason why this podcast exists in the first place, so we probably should have looked at the book (books?) that puts forward the best case for these conspiracy theories a long time ago. But we didn't - we're doing it now. This will be part one of at least two, depending on how far down the rabbit hole...

Josh and M revisit the story of the mysterious disappearance of Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt by going to a website written and hosted by someone who claims to be at least partially responsible for the event...

We're revisiting a topic from over ten years ago (which we can do, because apparently this podcast is over ten years old, even though that can't be right), as we talk about notable cases of people disappearing in conspiratorial circumstances, never to be seen again. We hit the classics (Hoffa and Lucan) and more besides.

Josh talks to M about their recent presentation at the University of Waikato.

M is off living life, so Josh presents a solo episode about a big bang. But not the sexy kind, the World War I sabotage kind. Which, we think you'll agree, is worse.

We're back! The good news is that M and Josh are in the same country, so can record together in person; the bad news is that this means the usual recording setup isn't available, so the sound quality leaves something to be desired (the wind actually whistling around the building doesn't help either). Nevertheless, it won't stop Josh from making good on his promise to scour more of M's old radio sh...

It's a Xmas miracle: a formerly patron bonus episode made freely available to all. Here M talks with Brian L. Keeley about that LLM-generated podcast that was based upon his work.

Gather round, children! It's nearly Christmas time, and if you listen closely, you can hear the approach of that most Christmassy of things: a low-effort "year in review" episode to finish off the year! It's a Yuletide miracle probably!

Copyright be damned; Josh and M want you to know about a podcast about conspiracy theories, the contents of which are so scandalous that Josh and M play the entirety of that podcast in their very own!

M tells Josh about the Berners Street Hoax of 1810 in this, the return of "What the Conspiracy!"

Regular recording didn't work out this week, so Josh has recorded a short episode that acts as a companion piece to our last episode on the killings of political dissidents, followed by a brief Public Service Announcement on a matter close to his heart. Also, for some reason this time his microphone picked up every single rustle of fabric every time he moved, so watch out for that. 

This week we travel back in time to look at the death by poison-tipped umbrella of a Bulgarian dissident living in London in the 70s. Ah the past - things sure were wacky back then. Not like right now, when everything is as normal and stable as it could possibly be and if you'll excuse me I'm going to stand in a corner screaming for the next 17 months.

Josh and M use the excuse that the Golden Owl has been found to take a trip back to the conspiracy and look at treasure hunts like the Fenn Treasure, Masquerade, Hareraiser, the Eternity Puzzles, and the Publius Enigma. ominous tone.wav by mderr -- https://freesound.org/s/403184/ -- License: Attribution 3.0

"Cassamagain"? Why do we keep letting Josh come up with titles? True, this episode again looks at the work of Quassim Cassam; this time it's "Conspiracy Theories" - not the book, but its remake/sequel article from 2023. Is it the Evil Dead 2 of conspiracy theory theory, or is it the The Craft: Legacy? It's not Desperado, that's for damn sure.