Unexplained Mysteries

By the late 1940s the U.S. government knew it had a problem on its hands. “Flying saucers” posed a threat to other aircraft, and possibly even the planet. So they created programs to study UFOs in secret, and stored the evidence in the highly classified Hangar 18. What do we know about their discoveries? And what exactly did they find in the Roswell wreckage? This is the third episode of our 75th...

Less than a week after the Roswell wreck, the U.S. Department of War issued a statement claiming the debris came from a weather balloon. And for decades, that was the official story. But what if it was a lie? Today, we’re examining how the government silenced eyewitnesses, spread misinformation, and squashed stories of alien encounters. This is the second episode in our four-part crossover series...

In 1947 the U.S. military seized an unidentified object that had crashed in the New Mexico desert. Ever since, the area has been a hotspot for conspiracy theories and supernatural speculation. Join us for a four-part crossover with Conspiracy Theories as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of one of the biggest UFO events in history, and investigate the mysteries of alleged alien encounters. Learn m...

Numerous radio operators allegedly heard from Amelia Earhart after she disappeared. Many believe she didn't actually crash, but set her plane down on an island called Nikumaroro, hundreds of miles south of the Howland Islands. Though some think that the real reason for her global flight was because she was a spy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about...

Her goal was to circumnavigate the earth along the equator, and she had the equipment and the skillset to make it happen. The greatest difficulty would be getting across the expansive Pacific Ocean. Everything was set for a record-breaking journey with a plan to refuel at the Howland Islands. Except, Amelia Earhart never showed up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoic...

Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch. Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated into pieces after re-entering the earth's atmosphere. NASA admits that both of these tragedies could have been prevented. So why weren't they? Parcasters, we have exciting news! Our first book hits bookshelves July 12th. Don’t miss this chilling summer read that takes you deep into the darkest sides of...

A fabled route connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans lured sailors to the Arctic, where the temptation of discovering the Northwest Passage brought many to their deaths. The most infamous of these expeditions was led by Sir John Franklin, who set sail from Europe with nearly 130 crewmen in two ships: HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. They never returned, and investigations revealed the voyagers were...

While over half of the Donner Party survived, what's remembered most about their expedition is how survivors resorted to cannibalism. Though that's only part of the reason why some people lived to tell the tale and others perished. Countdown to the CULTS book release! Parcast’s first book hits shelves July 12th. It’s an unflinching exploration of shame, secrecy, power, exploitation, and destructio...

Glen and Bessie Hyde were newlyweds who attempted to raft down the Colorado River in 1928. Their goal was to become famous. Instead, they would become infamous — an attention-seeking couple who ignored safety precautions and never made it out of the canyon. Countdown to the CULTS book release! Parcast’s first book hits shelves July 12th. It’s an unflinching exploration of shame, secrecy, power, ex...

George Mallory and Andrew Irvine set out in 1924 to summit the world’s tallest peak. Then they disappeared. Their fate has left a lasting mystery in Everest lore: Did they actually make it to the top, thirty years before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay?  Parcasters, we have exciting news! Our first book hits bookshelves July 12th. Don’t miss this chilling summer read that takes you deep into...

Our dreamscapes can be terrible, wonderful, and truly bizarre. What if we could control them? In the late 1800s an aristocrat studying sleep became legendary for his ability to direct his dreams. A century later, researchers broke new ground with their studies of the cycles of slumber.  Parcasters, we have exciting news! Our first book hits bookshelves July 12th. Don’t miss this chilling summer re...

In 18th-century England, inbred sheep are afflicted with a disease that leaves them with an unscratchable itch. In New Guinea, a group of indigenous people blame sorcery for “kuru,” a disease causing tremors and uncontrollable fits of emotion. By the 1980s, scientists discovered they shared a groundbreaking link — one that could help explain why an Italian family was dying of insomnia.  Parcasters...

Generations of a Venetian family succumbed to a mysterious illness that stopped them from entering a state of deep rest. Without sleep, they died. Faced with an early and terrible death, members of the family grew determined to unlock the secrets of their wicked inheritance.  Parcasters, we have exciting news! Our first book hits bookshelves July 12th. Don’t miss this chilling summer read that tak...

War veterans, celebrated wolf hunters, even the king’s own gunbearer all tried to slay the blood-thirsty Beast of Gévaudan. It was finally brought down in 1767, three years and dozens of deaths after it first appeared. Some believe it was a werewolf, or perhaps a serial killer in disguise. An autopsy of the monster points to a possible royal conspiracy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podc...

Villagers in 18th-century France suffered through a years-long spree of grisly attacks from an unstoppable predator they couldn’t identify. The carnage was so bad, one bishop claimed the beast was a punishment from God.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After Roberto Calvi’s mysterious death in 1983, his wife Clara immediately rejected the idea that he had killed himself. She argued instead that he was murdered for threatening to expose a powerful organization’s criminal ties. The only question was: Which one? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Roberto Calvi was a notorious banking bigwig whose criminal co-conspirators included a Vatican archbishop, a man known as “The Shark,” and the Mafia. By the time his body was found underneath a bridge in London, his empire was coming undone, and his death was ruled a suicide. But was it?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit p...

As eyewitness accounts start cropping up in the mainland, the chupacabra becomes less like a spiny alien-reptile, and more like a mangy coyote. But chupa-believers hold firm, and theories abound. Maybe the creature was invented by NASA. Maybe it was an extraterrestrial. Or maybe the real vampire was something else entirely. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn...

Vicious fangs, leathery wings, and the lingering scent of sulfur... These are the terrifying encounters and conspiracy theories that have breathed life into the legend of Puerto Rico’s blood-sucking chupacabra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The origins of this treasure hunt are as complex as the ciphers themselves. Who really was the man behind the codes? And why are they seemingly still eluding the most advanced cryptographers in the world? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Three coded messages have been drawing treasure-seekers to Virginia for over a century. Supposedly written by an adventurer named Thomas J. Beale, the ciphers contain instructions for how to find millions of dollars worth of gold, silver, and jewels.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two investigations attempt to unravel the mystery of the Aurora aircraft, looking for a smoking gun that will prove once and for all that the small Texas town was once the crash site of extraterrestrial visitors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1897 a wave of airship sightings occurred across America, but one incident in Aurora, Texas, stood apart from the rest... because the UFO crashed. Metal debris littered a farm in the area, and locals recovered the body of the pilot: an extraterrestrial they buried in a graveyard.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcas...

In the last episode of our four-part series, we’re examining climate change from a historical perspective — and envisioning what the world will look like if the global temperature continues to rise unchecked. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What was life like for our earliest ancestors? Which of our qualities are uniquely human, and which are just... primal? From the discoveries of paleoanthropologists, to the experiments of evolutionary biologists, today we’re examining the mysteries of our species — and what exactly makes humans, humans.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad...