The truth is rarely the only story. Every Wednesday, we take a skeptical look at history's most controversial events and cover-ups… What's really at Area 51? How did Princess Diana die? Are the Illuminati controlling everything? Conspiracy Theories premieres Wednesday January 31st. Here is a sneak peek.
In 1997, Princess Diana of Wales died in a car accident in Paris. The news shocked the world, and many people weren’t so sure this was an accident. In the first episode of two on Princess Diana, we explore her life...and perhaps her not-so-accidental death.
Two years after Princess Diana died in a car crash, the French authorities concluded the death was accidental. But people around the world weren’t so sure this is what really happened, and many believed she was killed. We investigate the theories about MI6, medical sabotage, and the mysterious death of a photojournalist.
From its founding in 1955 until 2013, Area 51 was completely top-secret. The CIA did everything to keep it this way, from denying its existence to trying to wipe images of the base off of every map. But how was Area 51 founded… and why?
For years, Area 51—and the conspiracy theories surrounding it—has inspired many movies, books and internet debates. Is the government developing incredibly advanced technology? Are they hiding evidence of extraterrestrial life? Did they fake the moon landing, and use Area 51 to film it? We explore these theories and more as we search for the truth.
We’ve all seen it: the long trailing cloud as a plane flies across the sky. These clouds, called aircraft contrails, are officially said to pose no threat to our health or environment. Contrails are reported to be water vapor from the aircraft’s engine…but is this the truth? Or are they actually dangerous chemtrails being released by the government to control everything from the weather, to our minds?
In 1997, a viral email spread across the internet claiming chemicals were being released from planes. No one questioned the news — it was accepted as fact, and has grown since then to become one of the most popular conspiracy theories of our time. We examine theories about chemtrails: what they are, who controls them… and why.
Please note that today’s episode is going to sound a little different than a typical episode of Conspiracy Theories. We felt it was important for us to share the founding and history of the Illuminati before diving into the conspiracy theories. The Illuminati has stirred up fear and controversy for well over 200 years. This secret society began as a small group, born from the Freemasons, and ended only a few years after its founding… or did it?
The root of hundreds of conspiracy theories, the modern Illuminati is shrouded in mystery and secrecy. And at the top of the rumored group are the most illuminated ones, 12 ruling bloodlines that control every major event. We dive deep into the Illuminati, investigating the theories that surround this secret society, including their apparent current plan for global domination and possible members and leaders.
At the turn of the 20th century, pharmacies sold medicines containing cannabis regularly. There was no stigma surrounding it. But in the 1930s, a few powerful men stirred up fear about marijuana. The official story: in 1937 the government passed the Marijuana Tax, essentially prohibiting weed because it presented a danger to the public in the form of Reefer Madness. ...But is this the truth? Or are there more sinister motives behind this prohibition?
Reefer Madness and the war on drugs swept the United States in the 1930s but was this war truly started to protect the public? Or did a few powerful men have more personal reasons to ignite this battle?
Kurt Cobain’s fame as the lead singer and guitarist of Nirvana, and his tumultuous marriage to Courtney Love, thrust him into the spotlight. But Kurt felt misunderstood by the media, and his drug addiction brought trouble for the young musician. When he was found dead in his home on April 8, 1994, it looked like suicide. But do the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death point to murder?
Kurt Cobain, the famed musician who influenced grunge music and voiced the emotions of thousands of people, was found dead at only 27 years old. Officially, he lost his battle with depression and drug addiction. But with several suspicious events surrounding his death, many have wondered for years if he was murdered… by his own wife.
At the command of Jim Jones, more than 900 followers of The Peoples Temple drank a beverage laced with cyanide in an act that Jones labeled “revolutionary suicide”. Jones himself was found dead from a shot to the head. But the details of this mass suicide doesn't quite line up. Was this truly a mass suicide, or was it a mass murder? And did Jim Jones fake his own death?
With more than 900 people dead, the Jonestown Massacre has sparked many theories over the past 40 years. Did the government have a hand in these deaths? Could the cult have been connected to the mysterious MK-Ultra program? And was Jim Jones murdered, or did he fake his own death?
Chandra Levy was a graduate student from the University of Southern California working at an internship in Washington D.C., when her life was tragically cut short in 2001. After details of Levy’s affair with California congressman Gary Condit surfaced, the press began asking questions about the mysterious details surrounding Levy’s disappearance and the flawed investigation that followed.
The body of Chandra Levy was found over a year after her disappearance. After numerous missteps by investigators during the homicide investigation, it remains unsolved. Were the investigators covering for somebody? What could this D.C. intern have learned that would lead to her untimely demise?
Over the past two decades, private prisons have increased exponentially to accommodate the rising incarceration rate. But many people wonder: Were the number of private prisons built as a response to the rising incarceration rate…or were they the cause of it?
Did the CIA create the crack epidemic by planting the drug in the inner cities? Was the War on Drugs actually a pretense to attack and weaken black communities? Why does the U.S. have the highest incarceration rate in the developed world? And are government-led conspiracies behind it all?
Following WWII, a secret CIA mission was put in place to recruit Germany’s top scientific minds in an effort to help America’s space and defense program stay ahead of the Soviets during the Cold War. What is the legacy of these Nazis in America? Did the U.S. overlook war crimes for the sake of technological advancement?
After World War II, the U.S. and Soviet Union raced to capture top German scientists in order to utilize the advanced technology the Nazis had used during the war. The U.S. called this Operation Paperclip. But was Operation Paperclip really organized by the U.S. government? Or was it organized by a larger, international group planning something more ominous?
The Men in Black are a secret organization that are believed to cover up UFO sightings and alien encounters. The government denies its existence, yet many citizens claimed to have encounter them. Are these people lonely souls looking for attention? Or is the government keeping a tight lid on one of the biggest conspiracies in U.S. history?
Who are the Men in Black? Are they are part of a shadow government designed to conceal alien activity on earth? Or are they part of the alien race, living among us on earth to learn our secrets. Or are they something else entirely?
In 1980, the federal government’s Dietary Guidelines recommended Americans restrict their saturated fat intake to reduce their risk of heart disease. Since then, America’s obesity rate - a risk factor for heart disease - has sky-rocketed. Did the government get it wrong about fat?
We now know that sugar plays a large role in the risk of developing heart disease. But this wasn’t always the case. Did the government know that sugar was the culprit all along? Or did the sugar industry finance specious studies to blame heart disease on saturated fat?
Officially established in the late 1300s, the Freemasons were initially an oversight committee for other stonemasons in Europe. Over the years, their requirements and mission changed. From Founding Fathers to various U.S. presidents, many of the country’s most famous and influential men belong to the secretive fraternal organization. Did these men join the Freemasons because of their power, or did they gain their power from being a Freemason?
The Freemasons are seen as a secretive and elusive fraternal organization. But with their secrecy comes questions and theories. Do their ubiquitous landmarks and symbols reflect a secret link to Devil Worshippers? Why do they only recruit powerful individuals? And do they use their charitable contributions to shield others from noticing their nefarious practices?
Diamonds are considered one of the world’s most valuable gemstones. But what if their prices are high due to brilliant marketing and supply monopoly tactics, not because of their rarity? And if that’s the case, are diamonds just a run-of-the-mill gemstone?
Diamonds are considered to be the rarest and most valuable gemstone. Is that really true? Or is making diamonds appear more valuable than they actually are and monopolizing the diamond trade the first step in consolidating power to form a New World Order?
Norma Jeane Mortenson adopted the name and persona of Marilyn Monroe when she began modelling as a teenager in Hollywood. She would become one of the most recognizable movie actresses of her time, but also have affairs with very famous and powerful men. When she was found dead of an apparent overdose, the coroner concluded it was suicide. Based on eyewitness testimony and autopsy analysis, it could have been murder. But if she was killed, who did it and why?
Officially, Marilyn Monroe died of suicide on August 5th, 1962. But in the last weeks of her life, the CIA, the FBI, the Mafia, labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa, and possibly 20th Century-Fox were all surveilling Marilyn Monroe’s house. At the 56th anniversary of her death, we take another look at the conspiracies surrounding it. Evidence was missing, no one can agree on a timeline, and Robert Kennedy himself lied about that night. Was Marilyn Monroe involved with the mafia, a communist spy, or an inconvenient mistress? Or was she a victim of mental illness who never got the help she needed?
This is a crossover episode with the hosts of Conspiracy Theories and Unexplained Mysteries. Listen to part two right after this episode on the Unexplained Mysteries feed. Less than one hour into its flight, Malaysia Airlines flight 370 disappeared from the skies. Despite all of the geo-location technology that exists, and more than $160 million in a search and recovery effort, the whereabouts of flight MH370, and the circumstances of its disappearance over the Indian Ocean in 2014 remain a mystery. Listen to part 2 now on the Unexplained Mysteries feed. Part 2 will not be on the Conspiracy Theories feed. Thanks!
Welcome Conspiracy Theories listeners! We hope you enjoy the conclusion to our Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 special. This is a crossover episode with the hosts of Conspiracy Theories and Unexplained Mysteries. In part one we explored the official story behind the flight's disappearance, in this episode we analyze the theories and mysterious circumstances surrounding this event. Was the plane brought down by a rogue passenger, or a cyber-attack? What kind of information might governments be hiding from the families who lost loved ones?
GMOs include foods that have been genetically modified or grown in labs. Opponents claim that GMOs cause health issues, and harm the environment. Advocates insist they help safely and cheaply increase food supply and are more environmentally conscious. Are GMOs a sinister bid by major corporations to take control of our food system, or a high-tech science that could solve world hunger? Or, is it something much worse?
GMOs include foods that have been genetically modified or grown in labs. Some people claim scientists are distorting facts to silence the discoveries of non-GMO activists. Others say biotech companies are allowing dangerous products to be released to the public… possibly for mass mind control.
Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols met in army basic training during the 1980s. In 1995, they would kill 168 innocent people when a bomb they constructed detonated outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City. Was McVeigh angry at the government. Or was this part of a government plan to distract the public from a scandal involving the President?
The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing carried out by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols was the deadliest act of domestic terrorism ever carried out by American citizens on their own country’s soil. Were they secretly funded by a middle eastern terrorist cell? Or worse, were they patsies for a plan hatched by the U.S. government?
In 1919, America had two favorite pastimes: baseball and corruption. The two coincided in 1919, when eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of conspiring with gamblers to intentionally lose the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds...but did they conspire?
In 1919, eight members of the Chicago White Sox, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, were accused of throwing the World Series. But new evidence casts doubt on Jackson’s involvement. Was Shoeless Joe Jackson framed by mobster Arnold Rothstein? Or was this all an elaborate scheme by U.S. government to prevent Major League players from unionizing?
Were organizations like the United Nations, NATO, and The Warsaw Pact truly designed to prevent another world war? Or were these the first steps in the consolidation of power by the New World Order?
Is this organization planning to dominate the world through a sudden coup and implementing martial law? Are they using mass surveillance to bring us into a Brave New World scenario? Or has the takeover been so gradual over generations that nobody is aware it’s already happening?
Nations routinely advance themselves by creating schematics from stolen or recovered technology. Could we be doing the same thing by reverse engineering alien spacecraft?
The Human Genome Project allowed us to understand the genetic blueprint of a human being. What could the reverse engineering of UFOs teach us about life beyond our world? Subscribe now to our new podcast HOSTAGE, featuring the riveting story of Patty Hearst's abduction by the Symbionese Liberation Army.
These injections provide long-term, sometimes lifelong protection against a disease, but are there side-effects we don’t know about?
Vaccines are universally accepted and overwhelmingly deemed safe and effective by medical professionals today. Yet, controversy remains about what’s inside of them, who’s controlling them, and for what purpose?
Lee Harvey Oswald is the sole person responsible for Kennedy’s assassination. Or is he? Many Americans think the government’s official story is flawed and Oswald didn’t act alone. Is there someone else out there responsible for JFK’s death?
Most Americans don’t believe the theory that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in Dallas, Texas in 1963. He must have been working for the Cubans or possibly the Soviets. Or was it an accident? Or was the US Government behind the most examined assassination in modern U.S. History.
FEMA, The Federal Emergency Management Agency, helps millions of people recover after a natural disaster. However, some say FEMA might not be the solution to disasters, but the cause of them. FEMA is alleged to have established hidden “death” camps for one ominous reason: to detain, and possibly kill, American citizens who don’t conform to the New World Order.
Is the agency known for helping the United States rebuild after natural disasters, actually responsible for the deaths of millions of people? The fear of FEMA “death” camps have deep implications for the future of the United States and the agency.
After the U.S. military dropped the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world roared with questions: what long-term health risks could atomic weapons carry? How did the Soviet Union build their own bomb so quickly? And did the Manhattan Project's scientists have help from extraterrestrials?
After the U.S. military dropped the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, the world roared with questions: what long-term health risks could atomic weapons carry? How did the Soviet Union build their own bomb so quickly? And did the Manhattan Projects scientists have help from extraterrestrials?
Cell phones are a ubiquitous element of society today. We use them for just about everything. In many ways, they are beneficial to a person’s well being. We set alarms on our smartphones to wake us up, and fall asleep watching videos or texting with friends. Still, questions remain as to whether these devices are safe to use, or if they could actually be hazardous to our health.
Pretty much everyone in the United States owns a cell phone today. Yet, they might be detrimental to our health. Some believe they can even be weaponized in the form of lasers, heat rays, and particle beams. The only major health study conducted to this point was funded by telecommunications companies, raising questions about the credibility of the results.
James Earl Ray, a 40-year-old escaped convict, pleaded guilty to the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. He was sentenced to 99 years in prison without trial. But years later, Ray claimed he didn’t act alone. He was a mere pawn at the center of a dark and twisty conspiracy to kill the civil rights activist.
April 4th, 1968 marks the day one of the most powerful public speakers and civil rights activists was tragically murdered by James Earl Ray. Many people believe, including some of Martin Luther King Jr.’s very own children, that the “lone” gunman didn’t actually act alone. Authorities have investigated the case, but haven’t found conclusive results.
One morning in 1947 a rancher discovered debris on his property in Roswell, New Mexico. The debris didn’t look recognizable and the army was quickly called to the scene to declare it as a crashed weather balloon… but that’s not the only story. Many believe aliens were found at the scene of the crash, even leading a mortician to request a coffin that could fit alien bodies. Extraterrestrial! - Thank you Bill and Tim for joining us!
What many thought was a weather balloon turned out to be a top-secret surveillance craft being used to spy on the Soviets. Surviving witnesses have all given different and contradictory versions of what happened, some more sensational than others. Regardless of what theory you believe, UFOlogists have been captivated by Roswell ever since the 1950s. Extraterrestrial! - Thank you Bill and Tim for joining us!
War criminal and powerful Nazi, Rudolf Hess, was sentenced to 50 years in prison at the Nuremberg Trials. In 1987, official reports agreed he died from suicide by hanging himself inside the Spandau Prison. However, Hess' son claims he was murdered by the British Secret Intelligence Service to prevent him from revealing pertinent information.
When a 93-year-old Nazi war criminal was found dead in Spandau Prison in 1987, some refused to believe the official verdict of suicide by hanging. Doctors were baffled that the weak, elderly prisoner had the strength to hang himself. The timing of Rudolph Hess’s death was suspicious as well. After spending 50 years in prison, he was finally going to be released.
Half a billion viewers around the world tuned in to watch Neil Armstrong take his first steps on the moon's surface in 1969. It was one of the greatest television moments in history - and many suggest Stanley Kubrick should have received a Best Director award for the broadcast. Even today, there's considerable speculation that putting a man on the moon is a task too difficult for even the best astronauts to accomplish.
Low-resolution footage. Shadows that don't quite line up. Visible prop markers on rocks. If the 1969 moon landing was staged, it wasn't done meticulously. Questions remain about the discrepancies in the photos and videos taken aboard the Apollo 11 mission. Perhaps faking a moon landing was even harder than actually putting a man on the moon.
In the late '70s, a mysterious disease cropped up in the U.S. where healthy young people were suddenly dying and doctors couldn't explain why. By the early 1980s, nearly 1000 U.S. citizens had died from AIDS. Some wonder if the U.S. government was intentionally ignoring the disease, or if they engineered the epidemic as a population control scheme.
While thousands of previously healthy people were suddenly falling ill and dying throughout the '80s and '90s, everyone was looking for answers. Some of these answers might be found in the resume of Robert Gallo, a U.S. military contractor who developed bioweapon viruses in the late '60s and early '70s...and was one of the first people to identify the HIV virus in 1983.
In April 1959, Fidel Castro visited the White House to meet with Vice President Richard Nixon. By the end of the meeting, Nixon knew they would never be friends, but he couldn't have imagined how formidable an enemy Castro would become. Parcasters - Crimes of Passion is covering the Fred Jablin murder today, if you're into conspiracies, you won't want to miss this one!
In 1962, the CIA proposed staging a false flag operation to drum up public support for a war on Cuba. Officially, this plan never went into effect. But some believe a plan based on Operation Northwoods was carried out nearly 40 years later, on September 11th, 2001.
At the close of the Civil War in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was killed by a conspiracy of Confederate sympathizers led by actor John Wilkes Booth. But some contend that the conspiracy didn't begin or end with Booth and his accomplices - someone much more powerful was pulling the strings.
When Union troops cornered John Wilkes Booth in a remote barn after his assassination of President Lincoln in 1865, they were given strict orders to take him alive. However, Booth was shot to death, without provocation, dying before he could be interrogated or tried for the crime.
A legend, used as a political allegory by the ancient philosopher Plato. But over the centuries, countless amateur historians and archaeologists have asserted that the lost island really existed - and one of them may have actually located it.
Atlantis has captivated scholars and theorists for generations. It’s potential existence presents an existential question for every modern society. Will advanced technology save us in the face of overwhelming peril? Finding Atlantis could be the key to answering this question.
Since its founding in 1906, the Food & Drug Administration has been responsible for protecting the health and safety of American consumers. But some worry the FDA might be doing more harm than good, especially when it comes to one of the most fatal diseases in modern history: cancer.
If a cure for cancer was discovered, millions of lives would be saved - and billions of dollars would be lost by the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture chemotherapy drugs. How far would Big Pharma go to protect their profits?
In the mid-2000s, rumors began to circulate that President George W. Bush, Mexico’s President Vicente Fox, and Canada’s Prime Minister Paul Martin were conspiring to fuse their borders, currencies, and policies. The new super nation would be called the North American Union.
In 2007, a lone conspiracy theorist proposed that the greatest threat to American sovereignty wasn’t a foreign enemy, or even a rising dictator - it was the North American Union, a secret plot to unite the US, Canada, and Mexico into one super-country.
In the 1980s, a super-potent new form of cocaine swept through the streets of America, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. At the same time, the Reagan administration was doing business with drug traffickers all over Latin America, and turning a blind eye to the chaos.
Over the past three decades, more and more details about the US government’s involvement in cocaine trafficking have trickled into the public eye. With each new revelation, it starts to look less like the Reagan administration was merely complicit in the crack epidemic - and more like they actively conspired to create it.
In the fallout of the Watergate scandal, a number of the CIA’s black ops operations were revealed to the public in the early 1950s. Among them was a decades old operation that saw CIA agents using journalists, both domestic and foreign, to gather intelligence and spread pro-American propaganda.
Officially, Operation Mockingbird was a brief wiretap of two journalists in the early 1960s. But there has long been a conspiracy that Mockingbird was really a much broader endeavor that involved some of the most prominent journalists of the 20th century.
In 1995, the Denver International Airport opened 16 months over schedule and nearly 2 billion dollars over budget. In the nearly 25 years since, all manner of conspiracies have plagued the airport, centered around the weird art, unusual architecture, and unanswered questions about the airport's construction.
The Denver International Airport is the largest airport in the United States. Since it opened in 1995, the weird art and unanswered questions about the construction have led to all manner of conspiracies about secret bunkers, sinister societies, and hidden messages.
On July 18th, 1969, Ted Kennedy, the youngest son of Joseph Kennedy Sr., drove his car off of a single lane bridge into a pond, resulting in the death of his female passenger. He wouldn't report the accident for ten hours, and in doing so set the scene for an investigation that would lead to more questions than answers.
In the summer of 1969, Senator and Presidential hopeful Ted Kennedy crashed his car into a pond on Chappaquiddick Island and killed his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne. The fallout of the incident and Kennedy's suspicious would haunt his political career for the rest of his life.
The early days of the Catholic church were plagued by dissent, infighting, and uncertainty. After centuries of arguments about the nature of Jesus Christ, a cohesive Christian Bible finally emerged. But was it really the word of God, and if not, could a secret society known as the Priory of Sion hold the key to Biblical truth and the true Holy Grail?
In 1885, French priest Bérenger Saunière discovered a pair of ancient scrolls hidden in the altar of his church. Soon after, he became mysteriously wealthy. Could he have uncovered evidence of a secret church order known as the Priory of Sion and the Holy Grail?
On June 17th 1972, 5 men were caught breaking into the offices of the DNC at the Watergate Complex in Washington D.C. Over the next two years, journalists and congressional investigators worked to expose the White House’s involvement and cover-up of the crime, ultimately leading to the end of Richard Nixon’s presidency.
Richard Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, but Watergate was far from over. The scandal spawned a number of bizarre and mysterious conspiracy theories, linking the break-in and Nixon's administration to the kidnapping of an attorney general's wife, the crash of a Boeing 737, and the assassination of J.F.K.
The ancient world proved itself capable of remarkable feats of construction. Thousands of years later, historians and archeologists are still unsure of how such marvels were constructed. As our understanding of the capabilities of ancient empires as grown, so has the suspicion that these ancient peoples were assisted by extraterrestrial visitors.
The Great pyramid of Giza. The Nazca Lines. The Moai Statues of Easter Island. Long considered engineering feats of ancient civilizations, there are some theories that are still discussed today that these ancient monuments may be the work of extraterrestrial civilizations.
A bizarre monument made of granite and bearing a list of instructions for humanity’s survival exists on a hill in Georgia. While these Guidestones may just be an eccentric project of an anonymous man with too much time and money, there has long been a theory that they actually link to the dogma of some secret, sinister society.
For nearly four decades, locals and tourists have wondered at the purpose behind the bizarre granite slabs that sit on a hill in Elbert County, Georgia. Though they may just be the passion project of an eccentric rich man, the instructions that are inscribed on the slabs hint at something more sinister.
Elvis Presley was one of the most successful musicians of all time and was one of the most famous men on the planet at the time of his death in 1977, at the young age of 42. But some question the official story of his passing and claim instead that the King faked his death to escape the immense pressures of his unprecedented fame.
Did the King of Rock ‘n' Roll kick the bucket due to a drug overdose? Or did an out of shape—past his prime—lonely rockstar intentionally find his way out of the spotlight?
A record-breaking aviatrix who became a symbol for adventure vanishes in 1937. During an ambitious global circumnavigation, Amelia and her navigator fell prey to technical difficulties and crashed into the ocean. But not everyone is convinced that this could have led to the death of the greatest pilot of her time.
What would have been a historic global circumnavigation in 1937, turns into the disappearance of one of the world’s greatest pilots. But not everyone is convinced by the “facts” surrounding the crash.
Many historians believe William Shakespeare is the greatest playwright who ever lived. Many don’t—citing theories of theft to explain his library of work.
If William of Stratford never received a proper education, how could he have written such learned plays? Historians have their own ideas, providing possible explanations about the person—or people—behind the pen.
For as long as humans have believed the Earth was round, there have been skeptics. But could Aristotle, Magellan, NASA and over 2,000 years of historical beliefs all be wrong?
In 1838, Samuel Birley Rowbotham waded into the shallow waters of England’s Old Bedford River to conduct an experiment. His findings would conclude, according to him, that the Earth was flat. His teachings have since sparked a movement of believers called the "flat earthers."
Is the human mind capable of seeing far off places or objects without needing to be physically there? The CIA claims their scientific attempts to prove its existence failed. But not everybody agrees.
Not everyone is so convinced that the CIA terminated Stargate Project in 1995 because remote viewing wasn’t working. All of which posit that Stargate Project found out too much information—not too little.
She was an American journalist and T.V. personality who died while investigating the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The official cause of death was a lethal combination of alcohol and barbiturates. Did Dorothy Kilgallen die from her own vices, or did she know too much?
Did Dorothy Kilgallen really die from an accidental overdose? Or was the famous journalist murdered because of information she uncovered during her investigation into JFK and Lee Harvey Oswald's assassinations?
Between 1920 and 1933, it was illegal to make, sell, or transport alcohol in the United States. Bootleggers and rum-runners, funded by gangsters, flooded the United States with alcohol. When the government still couldn’t get people to stop drinking alcohol during Prohibition, they hatched a plan that put lives at risk.
By Christmas 1926, New York City hospitals were flooded with those suffering from alcohol poisoning. As medical examiners began to investigate the rising death toll, they deduced that the consumed moonshine contained poisonous ingredients that could only come from one organization—the U.S. Government.
Between November 1896 and May 1897, thousands of mysterious flying objects were spotted across the continental U.S. All that remains of the official story are the newspaper articles. But were they part of the cover-up?
After thousands of witnesses reported mysterious airship sightings across the continental United States in the late 1890s, three major conspiracy theories arose—offering three very different explanations.
In the year 1000 CE, Otto III and Pope Sylvester II met to discuss their plans on how to emulate the Second Coming of Christ. Their meeting may have resulted in a 297 year jump that immediately placed them in the new millennium...meaning we may not be living in the year 2020, but instead, 1723.
In the late 1980s, historical revisionist, Heribert Illig recognized a massive discrepancy in our calendar. Illig began to construct his Phantom Time Hypothesis in an effort to prove that Otto III fabricated 297 years of history, therefore explaining why the Dark Ages were so dark after all.
Deep in the heart of the redwood forests is a 2,700-acre plot of land called the Bohemian Grove, home to an exclusive, secret gentleman’s fraternity known as the “Bohemian Club.” Each July, the club hosts a two-week festival that could be described as a bacchanal for the world’s most prominent and influential men.
Paganism. Human sacrifice. A “New World Order.” The Bohemian Club has been accused of plenty since its founding in 1872. But what's really happening in the depths of Bohemian Grove? And why don't they want the world to know?
Technologies exist today that could lay the groundwork for the development of fully conscious artificial intelligence. It begs the question: could our own technology replace us as the dominant intelligent species on Earth?
We’ve made enormous strides in the development of intelligent machines. But officially, the Technological Singularity is a long way off. Some computer scientists even think it will never happen. But some theories suggest that it could actually play out—or has already.
During the height of the Cold War, the United States scrambled to compete with the Soviets. As paranoia over espionage and mind control festered, the C.I.A. decided to create their own "Special Interrogation" Program that inevitably led to testing hallucinatory drugs on unwitting American Civilians.
Dr. Sidney Gottlieb ran the CIA's mind control program up until the 1970s without the public's knowledge. He may have even ordered hits on his employees to keep the project under wraps. But some still believe sub-projects under MKUltra's heading may have gone on to thrive...
In the 1970s, author and researcher Zecharia Sitchin discovered the prospect of an additional planet in our solar system called Nibiru. After a close examination of ancient Sumerian texts, Sitchin wrote a series of books to prove that the ancient people had not only found the planet, but had been in contact with its inhabitants.
After publishing his books in the 1970s, followers of Zecharia Sitchin began to search for clues that the inhabitants of Nibiru actually visited Earth. Some even claim that Nibiru was tied to the Mayan Apocalypse theory—and that future contact with the mysterious planet is inevitable.
We are thrilled to bring you a brand new episode of Conspiracy Theories today and for the foreseeable future. We thank you for your patience during this unprecedented time. Many have wondered how someone as evil as Adolf Hitler came to power. Between his rise from anonymous artist to fanatical dictator, his obsession with so-called miracle weapons, and his final days in an underground bunker, some feel as though there is more to Hitler's story.
Demonic possession, alien technology, and a secret base in Antarctica—it all seems like the stuff of science fiction. But for many, it's the explanation for how Adolf Hitler rose to power...and how he might have survived World War II.
In the 1930s, many felt that Franklin Delano Roosevelt’'s New Deal program erred too far on the side of socialism. A former U.S. General was subsequently roped into a plan to overthrow FDR in an attempt to establish a new fascist regime.
After General Butler's claims were heard by the Special Committee on Un-American Activities in 1934, he was called a liar and a fraud. But others believed the respected General's testimony was authentic, and the Committee may have been in on the fascist plan.
After his sudden death in 1943, Nikola Tesla never saw his plans for an earth-shaking death ray to fruition. But in the late 1980s, it's possible the government did. Switching hands from major gas corporations to U.S. Department of Defense teams, the High Auroral Research Program in Alaska raised far more questions than they did answers.
When a major earthquake hit the Caribbean in 2010, conspiracy theorists started studying the skies—noting peculiar low-frequency wavelengths. Between environmental catastrophes, a failed NASA mission, and government mind control technologies, HAARP's weather-modifying apparatus has been blamed for altering far more than just the weather.
The Matrix is considered to be one of the greatest science fiction films of all time. But what if its central idea was based more in fact than fiction? The Simulation Theory suggests that every living thing today is living inside of a computer simulation. And some of the greatest minds of our time believe it may be true...
In 2010, word spread online that things around the world were changing. From beloved children's books to the titles of movies, people were finding out that what they had once remembered as fact was now false. This is now known as the Mandela Effect, and people are still trying to figure out its cause.
In 1910, six wealthy bankers met in secret on Jekyll Island, Georgia. There, they drafted up the plans for America's centralized bank, better known today as, The Federal Reserve. "The Fed" is completely autonomous from the U.S. government making it one of the most powerful private organizations in the world.
Since its establishment in 1913, the Federal Reserve has been primed for conspiracies. Some believe it was the Fed that intentionally caused the Great Depression. Others claim they had a hand in JFK's assassination. While many feel the Fed might be part of a secret society's plot to establish a New World Order.
By the 1930s, John Dillinger pulled off 24 bank heists and three jailbreaks—making him Public Enemy Number One. He was one of the most famous celebrity criminals in history, until he was shot and killed by the FBI outside Chicago's Biograph Theater in 1934.
He was killed by police outside Chicago's Biograph Theater on July 22nd, 1934. But some theorists believe John Dillinger used an innocent man as a decoy to fake his own death. And he may have even had help from the FBI and other inside sources throughout his criminal career.
In 1996, rap artist Tupac Shakur was shot and killed just off the Las Vegas Strip. Many believe his assailants were members of the Los Angeles Southside Crips, but no one has ever been convicted of his murder. In fact, some say that Tupac Shakur may still be alive...
His untimely death in 1996 left fans searching for answers. Some say Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight helped orchestrate his murder, but sightings of the late rapper have sparked theories that Tupac is still alive… And that he may even be performing in disguise.
When the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage in 1912, over 1,500 people lost their lives… and to this day, many wonder if poor planning, negligent design, and undertrained crew members played a role in the devastating event.
After the Titanic sank, people searched for something—or someone—to blame. Millionaire J.P. Morgan, insurance fraud, and even a cursed mummy were all speculated to be the malevolent force behind the ship’s demise.
On December 5th, 1791, one of the greatest composers of all time died at the age of 35. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s death immediately sparked questions about what befell him. Some wondered if it was a strange illness, while others believed there was a more sinister cause…
To this day, no one is quite certain of how composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died. He was well-liked by the public, but had enemies all around. Was he poisoned by his rival, Antonio Salieri? Or did his connections to the Freemasons get him killed?
In October 1943, the U.S.S. Eldridge became enveloped in a green fog and disappeared in the Philadelphia Shipyard. Years later, Carlos Allende's claims about what happened were dismissed as a hoax—until more witnesses came forward.
When the U.S.S. Eldridge disappeared in a green fog, theories surrounding the failed Naval project ran rampant. Some say it sparked other government operations. Others say they saw the ship teleport to Norfolk, Virginia. And one first-hand witness claims the project allowed him to travel through time.
The lance that pierced Jesus on the cross is said to hold mystical powers. Passed down through history from Charlemagne to Otto I to Adolf Hitler, the Spear of Destiny brings impossible victories to those who wield it… and tragic death to those who abandon it.
Some theories about the Spear of Destiny are as old as the lance itself. Does it actually hold occult powers and a terrible curse? Was it the reason Hitler invaded Austria? And is it possible that many of history's conquerors shared the same sword—or were there duplicates?
From the 1950s to 1970s, Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa was America's working class hero. But his ties to the mob landed him in hot water, and on July 30, 1975, Hoffa vanished outside of a Detroit restaurant—never to be seen again.
Fifty years after Jimmy Hoffa's disappearance, no one knows how he died or where he was buried. Did the FBI push him out of a plane? Was he murdered by the notorious serial killer "The Iceman"? Or was it his best friend and mob associate, Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran?
2020 marks the 25th anniversary of this devastating attack: On April 19, 1995, a U.S. Army veteran named Timothy McVeigh detonated a truck bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and injuring hundreds more. Join us on a four-part series examining the event. In this first episode, we look at the historic underpinnings of domestic terrorism in the U.S., and chronicle the events that triggered McVeigh’s revenge against the government.
After coming of age in the early ‘90s, Timothy McVeigh became increasingly radicalized against the U.S. government. Witnessing tragic events at Ruby Ridge and Waco motivated him to plan and execute the most devastating incident of domestic terrorism in American history.
On the morning of the attack, McVeigh parked a rental truck below the Murrah building’s daycare center. At 9am, he ignited the bomb’s two-minute fuse and fled. The explosion was catastrophic, and the day thereafter was filled with tragic deaths, miraculous survivals—and the hunt for the person at the center of it all.
Investigating the blast and compiling evidence was a huge undertaking. And in the 25 years since the Oklahoma City bombing, McVeigh was turned into something of a folk hero, with his rhetoric inspiring copycats and seeping into mainstream politics.
Nearly three out of four U.S. communities add fluoride to their water. Officially, the compound strengthens teeth and helps prevent cavities—but recent studies have suggested it might increase cancer risks and lower IQ. Is fluoridated water a medical marvel, or a poison? And why is the U.S. government afraid to address the evidence against it?
Fluoridated water may be one of the most controversial federal programs of the past century. In the 1950s, watchdogs argued fluoride was part of a communist plot. More recently, it's been linked to big business interests and mind control programs.
For centuries, human cultures around the world have maintained the earth is hollow—home to spiritual beings or monsters. The idea persisted through Norse legends, Greek mythology, Hindu texts… and into the modern era.
If the world really is hollow, why have so many scientists covered up the evidence? Is it because the earth's interior holds the key to surviving an apocalypse? Or because it's home to an alien species. Or perhaps we've been living on the inside this whole time.
Charles “Sonny” Liston was once the heavyweight boxing champion of the world: a human dreadnought built for fighting. But during a match with a newcomer in May 1965, Liston was sent to the mat by an unremarkable punch few spectators even noticed. How could the champion go down so easily?
In his 1965 rematch with Muhammed Ali, heavyweight boxing champion Sonny Liston went down a little too easily. The suspicious defeat followed him until his mysterious death in 1971, which only fueled the rumors of foul play.
Officially decommissioned in 1981, the Montauk Air Force Base in New York is rumored to have been the site of government experiments with time travel and mind control. Its decades-old secrets began to unravel in 1984, when engineer Preston Nichols allegedly uncovered repressed memories of their sordid research.
The U.S. government refuses to comment on what went on at the Montauk Air Force Base. But several so-called "Montauk boys" have testified about their experiments with sex trafficking, brainwashing, and terrorism. Was Montauk a gruesome, predatory experiment? Or is the truth even more twisted than that?
It’s been hailed as a “shrine of democracy,” but Mount Rushmore’s history is filled with strong-arming and contention, starting with the stolen land it sits on. And though the sculptor’s designs were never officially completed, some say the U.S. government still has plans for the monument.
The Black Hills Forest in South Dakota is home to Mount Rushmore. Some say that the area is a magnet for paranormal phenomenon. Others claim the monument itself serves as a Presidential Doomsday bunker. Or perhaps, the landmark is a time capsule meant for future civilizations.
On March 16, 1978, a radical terrorist cell kidnapped former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro, killing his bodyguards and snatching him from his vehicle with tactical precision. How did a tiny, underequipped guerrilla cell pull off one of the most notorious crimes in Italian history? And did they do it alone?
According to a CIA dossier, the Red Brigade was an unimpressive group of barely competent terrorists. Yet somehow, they managed to kidnap former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro, hold him hostage, and murder him while avoiding capture. Was the Red Brigade getting bolder? Or did they get help from the CIA?
Most historians believe literary icon Edgar Allan Poe died in 1849 of alcohol poisoning. But the circumstances of his death are baffling: Four days before he died, Poe turned up incoherent, wearing someone else’s clothes. What really happened during his delirious final days?
The official story of Poe’s ill-fated final journey isn’t the only story. Some believe he was robbed and died from a resulting injury. Or that he was murdered by his future in-laws. Or maybe he was taken prisoner by a gang and tortured…
Throughout the 1980s, Ronald Reagan's administration ran an illegal weapons trade right under Congress's nose. Even today, it's impossible to say for sure who was involved, due to the changing stories and possible cover-ups surrounding the Iran-Contra Affair.
Did the Republican Party plot to hide evidence of Ronald Reagan’s wrongdoing? What was Vice President George H.W. Bush's true role? And did the CIA help the Contras smuggle drugs — and kick off the 1980s crack epidemic?
Since it was first reported in England in the 1970s, this low-frequency humming has spread around the world. No one has been able to trace its source.
It’s distracting at best, and destructive at worst — but what actually causes the Hum? Some say it’s produced by active natural gas lines. Others point to military planes sending low-frequency transmissions. And a few suggest it’s a government attempt at mind control.
After witnessing multiple UFO sightings around Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, researcher Paul Bennewitz took matters into his own hands — and in 1981, uncovered a secret base where he believed aliens were conspiring with the U.S. government.
Paul Bennewitz’s 1981 report sparked multiple conspiracy theories, particularly around the Majestic 12 — a secret government group tasked with investigating extraterrestrial life. It also suggested the use of alien technology in developing spacecraft, and proposed evidence of otherworldly interference.
The official story of the Bush family’s rise in America is one of adventure, accomplishment and power. Where does that story begin, and how did they become one of the most powerful political dynasties in American history?
Three generations of the Bush political dynasty have conspiracy theories swirling around them, involving a connection to JFK’s death, the grave of a Native American leader, and a war undertaken for questionable motives.
A sleepy Canadian fishing town gained international attention in 1967 when hundreds of people witnessed an unidentified flying object crash off the coast of Nova Scotia. There is still no official account as to what the object was, and the government claims to have found nothing in the water. The only clue left behind was a thick, shining foam.
Over the decades, numerous theories have been proffered as to what, exactly, crashed in Shag Harbour, Canada. But whether it was a piece of Cold War technology, or an alien craft, there is ample evidence that it was extremely out of the ordinary.
In the late summer of 1977, Private John Vasquez was allegedly abducted by aliens at Fort Benning, Georgia along with 1500 of his fellow soldiers.
After spending years investigating the alien attack at Fort Benning, John Vasquez only found one other serviceman who remembered the events. Do both men share the same delusion, or did they really recover false memories?
A hidden code embedded within Hebrew Scripture has predicted some of the world’s biggest events, from the Gulf War and the Great Depression to the 1969 moon landing.
Ever since the Bible code was deciphered, theorists have wondered who was responsible. Was it a gift from extraterrestrial life forms? The work of time travelers? Or perhaps the code lies only in the minds of those who believe it…
Ships vanish. Planes disappear. And no wreckage ever seems to surface. The Bermuda Triangle in the Atlantic is known for its mysteries and deathly claims on countless lives — dating all the way back to ancient Greece.
This patch of ocean is at the center of famous disappearances, from the U.S.S. Cyclops to Naval Flight 19. Are they just coincidences? Or are more mysterious powers at play?
Originally billed as an education center for people with intellectual disabilities, the Fernald School exploited thousands of kids for free labor. The institution was rife with abuse even before it became a testing ground for radiation experiments in the 1940s and ‘50s.
During the Cold War, the U.S. government funded radiation experiments on unwitting civilians — including a group of boys at Fernald. Who else was subjected to lab-rat treatment by the government? And can we be sure their covert experiments have stopped?
Early Christmas day in 1945, Jennie Sodder woke up to her house on fire. The blaze consumed her home, and five of her young children. Or did it? Strange events, prescient remarks, and a lack of human remains hinted at more nefarious — though no less tragic — outcomes. This episode is presented by Unexplained Mysteries, a Spotify Original from Parcast. For more of history’s greatest puzzles, follow Unexplained Mysteries free on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
In the aftermath of the fire, a startling number of tips, twists, and witnesses came forward regarding the fate of the Sodder children. Their father, George, followed the clues for decades, driven by a suspicion of the “official” story and a belief that the blaze was no accident.
For decades, family members and sleuths have tried to determine what really happened the night of the fire. As of yet, they have been unsuccessful. But the clues remain, the questions linger, and the case unofficially stays open…
Once called a “magical mineral,” asbestos was used in everything from curtains to cigarette filters in the 20th century. But as its health hazards became alarmingly apparent, America’s asbestos giants buried the truth of their deadly product.
Secret files, vanished reports, called-in favors… How far did corporations, lobbyists, and possibly even high-ranking U.S. politicians go to protect the billion dollar asbestos industry?
During the Cold War, a secret military operation hid hundreds of weapons caches throughout Europe. They trained resistance fighters and prepared for a Communist invasion, and may have also orchestrated a series of devastating terrorist attacks.
For decades, the C.I.A. funded Operation Gladio and hid it from the public. They may have also used their weapons and agents in an attempt to assassinate Pope John Paul II, and kill former Italian Prime Minister, Aldo Moro.
Her breakout role in 1995’s “Clueless” made her America’s sweetheart. But was Brittany Murphy also a murder victim? The 32-year-old died under mysterious circumstances in 2009, and when her widower died of the exact cause just months later, Murphy’s mobster father cried “murder.”
Fans believed it was no coincidence that Brittany and her husband Simon died six months apart from the same complications. Some suspected toxic mold in the home. Others found a suspicious connection to the DHS. And her estranged father began casting doubt on her mother, claiming foul play.
In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and then sank, kickstarting one of the largest oil spills in history. The companies who ran the rig became targets of lawsuits and heavy government regulation — but was the world looking at the wrong culprits?
Theories multiplied in online and radio discourse about the true perpetrators of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Was it the oil companies themselves, North Korea, or even radical environmentalist groups?
Could one of America's favorite pastimes be a silent killer? For decades, the National Football League overlooked the effects of repeat concussions in their athletes — and some players continue to pay the cost in the form of depression, violent behavior, even suicide.
What took the NFL so long to admit the threat of traumatic brain injuries? Some suggest the dangers are widely overblown. Others claim the NFL took a page from Big Tobacco’s disinformation playbook. And still others insist the League ignored the issue because of systemic racism.
In the early ‘90s, investigative journalist Danny Casolaro claimed he’d stumbled upon a clandestine organization made up of top government officials. Just as he was preparing to publish an exposé, he was found dead in his hotel room.
Was Danny Casolaro murdered for getting too close to The Octopus? What had his investigations uncovered? And were his sources framed and defamed for helping him?
In 1859, a prospector invented modern drilling technology and kicked off an oil rush in the United States. Countless corporations made themselves rich through mass extraction — but according to one geologist and physicist, the world is on track to run out of fuel by 2050. When that happens, society as we know it may collapse.
Many experts believe the world will run out of oil in the next 30 years, and some people think the looming scarcity inspired unconscionable acts — like the Iraq War in 2003. But there might be massive reserves under our feet that oil companies don't want you to know about.
In 1996, during a trade mission to Croatia, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and 34 other passengers died in a plane crash — one that seemed too bizarre to chalk up to an accident.
On April 3rd, 1996, the weather in Croatia wasn't great — but it wasn't bad enough to explain why experienced Air Force pilots crashed into a mountain. Many suspect that Ron Brown's flight was sabotaged by a terrorist organization, the Croatian government, or maybe even by the Clintons themselves.
J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye has been held as a seminal book of required reading in America. But after multiple acts of violence were linked back to it, people wondered if the text could incite people to do malicious things…
19th century author Mary Shelley is known for penning the classic horror novel, Frankenstein. But many contest her authorship. Were Mary and other female authors victims of a sexist industry? Or was there more going on behind the scenes?
In 1886, an Atlanta-area pharmacist created an American institution: Coca-Cola. Seven years later, their rival, Pepsi, debuted. Since then, the soda giants have battled for market dominance. How far would they go to come out on top?
New Coke was one of the biggest commercial flops in American history, and a massive success for Coca-Cola. Executives collected huge bonuses while original Coke sales spiked. Which leads some to wonder: Was New Coke's failure the plan all along?
After Iran nationalized its oil fields, a seminal coup erupted in 1953. It appeared to be a spontaneous revolution — but many began to wonder if it had in fact been engineered by international intelligence agencies in order to reclaim the oil industry.
CIA agent Kermit Roosevelt led a covert operation to overthrow Iran's Prime Minister in 1953. But Operation Ajax didn’t go according to plan. Theories about it continue to this day, ranging from whether Roosevelt went rogue and hatched his own plan, to what Iranian politics would look like today without foreign intervention.
Meteor crashes with no remains, metallic objects over small villages, and jellyfish creatures hovering above city centers... These were just a few UFO sightings within the Soviet Union in the last century. Did the USSR cover up the truth about its extraterrestrial visitors?
During the Cold War, many believed the Soviet’s greatest weapon was fear. Did they fake a UFO landing in New Mexico to terrify Americans? Or were they actually equipped with highly advanced aircraft that was only confused for — or inspired by — alien technology?
In the aftermath of 9/11, the government-approved PRISM surveillance program was meant to help keep America safe from terrorist attacks. But NSA contractor Edward Snowden blew the whistle in 2013, implicating an invasive system that spied with impunity on everyday citizens.
When it comes to government surveillance, most people likely have little to hide. But did a partnership with Silicon Valley unlock unprecedented levels of personal data? And how effective was the PRISM program at catching terrorists after all?
Today, Vatican City is known as an elegant seat of divine power and prestige. But the centuries-long history of the Vatican is marked by bloodshed, corruption — and more secrets than the Church would like to admit.
Over the centuries, a stash of secret documents kept by priests ballooned into millions of documents. Known as the Vatican Secret Archive, it’s rumored to contain the world’s largest collection of pornography, proof of Jesus Christ, and even predictions of the end of the world.
In 1917, three children in Fatima, Portugal received a series of prophetic messages that were kept secret for decades — first at the behest of the heavenly message-giver, and then by the Vatican itself. When all three secrets were finally revealed, they made for an apocalyptic story of war, destruction… and redemption.
The world looked on in shock when an assassin shot Pope John Paul II in May 1981. The official story was that a crazed lone gunman was to blame, but some theories suggest the attack may have been part of one of the biggest international coverups of all time…
Over the last century, the fossil fuel industry has exploded. Carbon emissions are at an all time high. Wildfires and hurricanes are on the rise. Our planet's temperature is heating up at an exponential rate. But is global warming a misunderstood phenomena — and is it too late to turn back the clock?
Is the threat posed by global warming as imminent as it seems? Is it possible that corporations are manipulating data (and exploiting our fears) to make an extra buck? And how likely is it that humans aren’t to blame after all?
Every year, thousands of people flock to a tiny French village to solve an ancient mystery. A 19th-century priest acquired a massive fortune while renovating a local parish, but was it treasure — or knowledge — that garnished him with such wealth?
To this day, no one knows what made Berenger Saunier so incredibly wealthy. Some believe he uncovered ancient treasure from the Knights Templar. Others claim he held secrets about Jesus Christ. Maybe the priest was nothing more than a conman with a side hustle.
As one of Mexico’s biggest pop stars, Juan Gabriel’s talent and rags-to-riches story were legendary. But despite his fame, he was able to keep an astonishing number of secrets — ones that resulted in speculation over his life and death, and a fight over his vast estate.
After boarding a plane to visit her estranged husband in 1986, Marcela Basteri disappeared. Her whereabouts are still a mystery. Some believe she suffered a psychotic break, or abandoned her family to start a new life. But others point to a different theory: the mother of the famed Luis Miguel was murdered.
A spy device developed during the Cold War has evolved into ubiquity, used for everything from tracking cow medications to locating nuclear materials. But when companies began using the technology to gain intel on their customers, consumer and privacy groups sounded the alarm — igniting fears of unprecedented surveillance and even associations with the antichrist.
RFID tags have become a paper-thin, barely detectable building block of our economy — but they aren’t without controversy. Skeptics cite concerns over data theft and privacy violations, while rumors of a Bill Gates-funded government plot to implant chips in people exploded in 2020.
An enigmatic creator. A much-hyped cryptocurrency. Bitcoin might be paving the way for a financial revolution, but critics say the digital dollar is a perfect cloak for criminals and cybercrimes.
In April 2021, Bitcoin hit its all time high of over 60K per coin — and it's still growing. While Bitcoin's creator still remains in the shadows, there are whispers that the cryptocurrency will one day replace the U.S. dollar as the world's global currency. Although some fear it will lead to the apocalypse… since Bitcoin was seemingly predicted in the Bible.
Formed at Yale in 1832, a fraternal secret society counts media moguls, CIA operatives, even U.S. presidents in its roster. But with only 800 living members, those odds seem too good to be true — which is why some wonder if Skull and Bones is part of a plan for world domination.
They say a Bonesman is for life… Their secret bond might have led to the creation of another clandestine organization: the CIA. Some even wonder if it was the Bonesmen who ordered the hit on JFK. But these might just be a few small steps in a master plan for a new world order.
It’s the most-glimpsed creature that doesn’t exist. A mysterious ape-man whose legends date back centuries. But while the stories shift and morph, some elements remain the same: The giant footprints. The rancid smell. The hairy, humanoid shape. And the lingering question — if Bigfoot isn’t real, why does he keep showing up?
Even expert primatologists can’t agree on whether Bigfoot exists. Is it all a hoax, or is the creature more intelligent — or cosmic — than we give it credit for? Maybe there really is undeniable evidence that could lay the sasquatch question to rest… but it’s being squashed by government agencies.
Reptile overlords. Pizzagate. QAnon. What makes conspiracy theories so alluring, and why are some more unshakeable than others? Today’s episode breaks down the driving forces behind false narratives, and what happens when true believers take extreme actions.
When do conspiracy theories stop being theories? Today’s episode visits real accounts of deadly misconduct committed at scale by governments and businesses. Poisoned alcohol, contaminated medicine, mind control experiments — in every case, the truth came out… eventually.
Was the 1985 NBA draft lottery rigged? Facing disillusioned fans and dwindling TV viewers, NBA commissioner David Stern changed how the draft was done. Goodbye coin toss, hello televised lottery. But some fans think he did more than change the rules — he bent them.
After the mysterious death of his father in 1993, Michael Jordan retired unexpectedly. The decision sparked rumors of mob connections, gambling addictions, and covered-up suspensions that NBA fans are still trying to get to the bottom of.
The deaths of kings. The makings of popes. Famines of entire civilizations. Nostradamus became famous in the 16th century for his predictions of the future. But was he nothing more than a con man?
Centuries after his death, Nostradamus is still a household name, but his accuracy, methods, and reputation are all up for debate. What do we know about how he made his prophecies, and how does he get connected to modern global crises — including 9/11 and the COVID-19 pandemic?
From the ancient Egyptians to 16th-century scientists to NASA today — fascination with the Red Planet spans thousands of years. But Mars holds endless mysteries. How close are we to finding them out?
Twenty years after NASA landed the first rover on Mars, theorists believe there’s more to the Red Planet than reported. Has NASA uncovered hints of an ancient civilization? Did our ancestors receive help from the Martians? Or better yet, is man already colonizing Mars?
He’s famous for being a Founding Father and a groundbreaking inventor. But behind his electric experiments, Benjamin Franklin kept dark secrets not taught in the history books — stories marked with adultery, betrayal, manslaughter, and possible treason.
Among his many high-profile roles, Franklin still managed to keep some affairs out of the public eye. The figurative and literal skeletons hiding in his closet posed many questions: Was Franklin a serial killer? Did he serve as a double agent during the Revolutionary War? And how far would he go to cover up his sexual escapades?
It’s an American icon, and an important piece of United States history. When Grand Central Station opened its doors in 1913, it stood as an opulent monument to ingenuity. But the glittering surface covered decades of complicated history, and more than a few winding secrets…
During World War II, hidden power stations below Grand Central Station may have been the target of a Nazi attack. A hidden tunnel might still be reserved for U.S. government officials. And reports suggest that police have orchestrated — and covered up — brutal acts of violence within the storied station.
In 1944, a group of Adolf Hitler's top-ranking officials devised a plot to kill the Nazi leader and end his reign for good. But things didn't exactly go as planned... For the next two weeks, Conspiracy Theories is examining what happened when secret plots brought the world to the brink of monumental change — then backfired. Don’t miss this four-part series, running through the end of July!
Remember, remember the 5th of November? You might remember it differently had Guy Fawkes and his team successfully blown up Parliament back in 1605.
In the 15th century, the Medicis were the most powerful banking family in Italy. Members of a rival banking family known as the Pazzi attempted to overthrow them but failed. What would the world look like today if the Medici line had ended in 1478?
In the 1st century B.C.E., competition between Roman senators was stiff — even deadly. When a politician named Catiline learned he'd been knocked out of the running, he organized a coup to overthrow the Roman government entirely. And let's just say, he didn't end up getting his way.
When the 1984 Summer Olympics generated a massive profit for Los Angeles, cities around the world competed to host the next games. Salt Lake City, Utah was a strong contender for years — but after losing their bid in 1991, they pulled out all the stops to ensure a win. And they weren’t the only place to woo the International Olympic Committee for votes.
At the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov was accused of doctoring thousands of urine samples for Russian athletes. He claimed he was a pawn in a state-sponsored conspiracy. Still, the allegation shocked the sporting community and sent Dr. Rodchenkov into hiding — but not before he presented his evidence to the world.
Formed after WWII as a way to unite the divided nations, the Bilderberg Group consists of some of the world's most elite politicians, businessmen, and royalty. But its members are secret, its meetings are confidential, and outsiders are unwelcome. Is their stated purpose really their true purpose?
Where there's a group of powerful world leaders, there's whispers of conspiracy and a New World Order. The Bilderberg Group is no exception. Some believe their funding comes from the CIA, others say they may have used the COVID-19 pandemic to their advantage...
In 1976, following an abrupt resignation, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson claimed he was forced out of Parliament. As a socialist, he’d provoked liberals and conservatives alike — but with a conspiracy afoot, everyone became suspect in the alleged coup.
In 1976, Prime Minister Harold Wilson made a daring confession — someone had tried to overthrow him and his cabinet. Was this the work of a media mogul, Wilson's own security forces, or did this have to do with the fact that Wilson himself was a Soviet spy?
On June 12th, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were brutally stabbed to death. Today, the homicides remain officially unsolved, but many still have questions about how the prosecution handled the case against Nicole's ex-husband, football Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson.
In the case of the century, O.J. Simpson was found not guilty of double homicide in 1995, despite a wealth of DNA evidence. Did prosecutors let a cold-blooded killer go free — or was Simpson the innocent victim of a police frame-up?
When U.S. forces invaded Iraq in 2003, investors began buying up Iraqi currency. Some expected a massive payup, others were scammed by unethical dealers. And some believe that terrorist cells or an international alliance of government agencies may be manipulating the dinar's value to reshape the global economy.
The morning of September 11, 2001 changed the world. Twenty years later, questions still linger about the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history. In this special six-part series, we’re taking a look back at what we do and don’t know about the tragedy that unfolded, starting with a moment-by-moment account of the attacks.
The horrific attacks of September 11th come to an end. In the aftermath, rescuers and volunteers clean up while military and government leaders decide how to respond.
We trace the path through history to 9/11, then examine how the official 9/11 Commission Report gave conspiracy theorists a foothold.
Throughout the 1990s, a private equity firm called the Carlyle Group began purchasing and investing in a multitude of private defense contracting and weapons companies. In the months after 9/11, they made millions as the U.S. prepared for war. Some of Carlyle's most prominent investors and associates included the Saudi royal family, the bin Laden family, and the Bush family. Did they profit off 9/11? And did George W. Bush help cover up for the Saudis?
How much did the U.S. government actually know about the 9/11 attacks before they happened? Was President George W. Bush angling for war since his first day in office?
In the final episode of our 9/11 series, we examine the legacy of that day, and how its memory impacted — and still impacts — the world.
For nearly 60 years, a fire has been raging beneath a small town in Pennsylvania. Centralia was once an epicenter of coal mining. But after the blaze sparked in 1962, toxic fumes and sinkholes forced residents to evacuate. Now, it’s a ghost town with its own haunting questions — like who really started the fire, and why.
Locals are sure that big corporations are after their coal, and started the Centralia Fire to smoke them out. Others insist the blaze was nothing more than bureaucratic incompetence. Then again, it may have sparked decades before anyone ever thought…
In Turin, Italy there’s a piece of cloth that has perplexed religious experts for decades. Is the Shroud of Turin one of the greatest antiquities known to us? Or nothing more than a medieval hoax?
For centuries, people have debated whether or not Jesus Christ rose from the dead. From graverobbers, to Jewish High Priests, to Jesus's own disciples — a flurry of potential thieves has been placed at the scene of his empty tomb.
In 1957, the Pentagon received an unexpected visitor. His name was Valiant Thor, and allegedly, he was from Venus. His mission on Earth was to convince world leaders to deactivate their nuclear arsenals. He didn't succeed — but there might be other alien visitors assisting his agenda today…
Valiant Thor's story has sparked a flurry of theories regarding our government's knowledge of UFOs. Have presidents met with extraterrestrials in the past? Are alien spacecraft shutting down nuclear facilities? And is the Pentagon actively trying to keep this information under lock and key?
On February 28th, 1993, government agents raided a compound in Waco, Texas, belonging to a religious group known as the Branch Davidians. A 51-day standoff ensued, ending in a violent siege. Eighty-one people lost their lives, many of them children — but to this day, no one knows which side fired first.
Nearly two decades after the Waco Siege, people are still wondering what transpired at the Branch Davidian compound. Though the government officially investigated and exonerated the FBI, some have found evidence of a massive cover-up. Did the government actually fire the first shot that led to 81 deaths?
The release of The Exorcist in December 1973 caused a global wave of panic and trauma. Due to a series of on-set accidents and untimely deaths, many believe the film was cursed. Others say the hype was nothing more than manipulation by the filmmakers…
When critics didn’t understand Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror masterpiece, fans stepped in to explain the secrets behind its signature dread.
Around the 9th century C.E., a new pope rose to power. For years, the congregation was certain Pope John filled the role perfectly... until he went into labor during an Easter processional. Had a woman ascended to the papacy in secret?
When President Woodrow Wilson suffered a paralyzing stroke in 1919, First Lady Edith Wilson stepped in to maintain order in the White House. With the power she held, some have speculated that she was America’s first female president.
In winter 1959, a group of experienced mountaineers went missing in a remote part of Siberia. When their bodies were eventually found, their injuries — and radioactive clothing — confounded investigators. The incident became one of Russia’s most enduring mysteries.
The deaths of the Dyatlov Nine didn’t just seem bizarre — they seemed violent. What could explain the brutal injuries, missing tongue, radioactive clothing, and burnt trees?
In the 20th century, the mass production of cigarettes fueled a global addiction — but Big Tobacco had a problem. Cancer rates were skyrocketing, and smoking-related illnesses became the leading cause of preventable death in America. This is the story of how an industry in peril conspired to survive — by keeping generations of smokers in their grip.
Today, the health risks associated with smoking cigarettes aren’t a secret. But since the mid-1900s, researchers have pointed out the harmful effects of these cancer sticks. How much of this did the tobacco companies know – and when?
The Great Pyramids of Giza are some of the largest, most foreboding structures on the planet, but the mystery of how they were built still plagues historians today. Some Egyptologists think aliens provided advanced technology, while engineers see evidence they were ancient nuclear power plants.
There are so many unresolved mysteries surrounding the iconic monument, like whether it’s really a sphinx, and if it could be a relic from the lost city of Atlantis. We look at a stone beard, a story from Plato, and patterns of erosion to investigate.
In the summer of 1941, as hostilities between the two nations escalated, wartime negotiations officially broke down. Combat was imminent — but where? This is the second part of our crossover special with Dictators, another Spotify Original from Parcast, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
In the final episode of our crossover special, we examine the theories suggesting the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor wasn’t a surprise to the U.S. government at all.
Ever since “flying saucer” entered the lexicon, the U.S. government’s public stance on UFO sightings was to doubt and debunk. But all that changed in 2017, with an explosive report on UFO intelligence. And again in June 2021, when the government acknowledged — for the first time in history — that some UFOs are truly inexplicable… and maybe even threatening.
A new wave of extraterrestrial discourse began in June 2021 after the release of the U.S. government’s UFO report. But was the report just a smokescreen? Today we investigate secretive programs, bizarre encounters, and suspicious dealings propping up conspiracy theories that the government still knows more than it’s letting on.
In 1818, a member of a hunting party in the American West spotted a glimmer on a hillside — gold. Two hundred years later, treasure hunters are still trying to locate the dug-up riches.
Finding Beale’s treasure would be the thrill — and payout — of a lifetime. Without the key to the ciphers, it doesn’t seem likely. But there could be other reasons the riches are never recovered…
A secret intelligence project led by the FBI used illegal methods to spy on organizations and people from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s. It claimed to be acting in the name of U.S. security — but was it really?
After a dozen major campaigns and thousands of planted bugs and wiretaps, COINTELPRO was finally exposed to the public. But the job of untangling its impact would take decades. Was J. Edgar Hoover’s belief that Communists instigated the civil rights movement true? And how far did the FBI go to sabotage the leaders of the movement?
In 1854, as tensions between the American North and South were brewing, a physician named George Bickley called his closest friends to a secret meeting. His agenda: form a fraternity that would aid Southern states and protect the institution of slavery. Their first plot: invade Mexico.
After the Civil War, multiple caches of Confederate gold were discovered around the country. Were they buried by the Knights of the Golden Circle? Was the pro-slavery organization behind multiple assassination attempts on Abraham Lincoln’s life? And did Lincoln’s eventual assassin, John Wilkes Booth, take orders from the KGC?
The Love Canal was supposed to be a suburban idyll. Instead, it became a dumping ground for chemical waste. After the land changed hands in the 1950s — from the Hooker Electrochemical Company to the Niagara Falls Board of Education — a school and 900 homes were built atop the toxic landfill. Decades later, residents are still battling adverse health outcomes and government negligence. This is the first episode in our four-part series, “They Knew,” covering four times corporations and government officials knew their actions could cause harm, and forged ahead anyway.
An emergency plan to cut costs in Flint, Michigan resulted in a contaminated water supply for the city’s residents. The water looked, tasted, and smelled foul – because it was tainted with toxic chemicals, harmful bacteria and lead from old pipes. But government officials repeatedly dismissed the community’s concerns. So today, we’re tracing what officials knew about the burgeoning crisis, and when — and how they’re paying for their negligence now. This is the second episode in our four-part series, “They Knew,” covering four times corporations and government officials knew their actions could cause harm, and forged ahead anyway.
In March 2011, the worst nuclear meltdown since Chernobyl took place in northern Japan. The incident was triggered by a natural disaster, but it was decisions made by the facility’s operators that led to such catastrophic damage.
In November 2018, equipment from the largest utility provider in America sparked a fire that killed 86 people and destroyed thousands of homes. The devastation was unprecedented, but the Camp Fire is far from the only disaster caused by Pacific Gas & Electric. Are their political donations protecting them from stricter regulation?
The fate of the ten tribes of Israel has been a mystery for thousands of years. Some legends say they are trapped in a mythical land. One mysterious traveler in the 9th century CE claimed differently. All we know for sure is that the members of the ten tribes suffered invasion and exile before seemingly disappearing from history.
In the 1800s, a movement spread across Great Britain that convinced thousands of Englishmen they were part of an ancient Jewish tribe. It was based on a legend about an evangelizer, Joseph of Arimathea. Another ancient legend — this time about Prince Menelik and the stolen Ark of the Covenant — places the lost tribes in Ethiopia. More recently, claims by the Lemba people of South Africa spurred one researcher, known as the British Indiana Jones, even deeper into the mystery.
A man was found dead on a beach in Australia in 1948 with his clothing tags cut out and 18 teeth missing. Who was he? How did he die? A cryptic note in his pocket has kept the mystery alive for over 70 years.
Untraceable poisons. Soviet espionage. Modern codebreaking. Any, none, or all of these things may have something to do with why nobody can identify the Somerton Man.
CERN’s Large Hadron Collider is helping scientists make breakthrough discoveries about the nature of our universe. But some researchers think the machine has the power to destroy our world... or open a portal to another.
Cats become creatures of warfare, pigeons are given a mission, insects are turned into spy bugs... Throughout history all manner of animals have been trained up as wartime allies and agents. But have governments gone too far?
Long before the days of expiration dates and ingredient labels, the drug and food industries were an unregulated Wild West plagued by false advertising, fake cure-alls, and manufacturers that would do anything to cut costs. The public health scandals weren’t far behind.
In 1999, an FDA food investigator found traces of mercury in America’s favorite sweetener. But when she presented her findings, she was told to stop her research. The incident rang alarm bells — was the FDA covering up threats to public health? More recently, the agency’s sources of funding and their role in the Opioid Crisis have drawn suspicion and criticism.
In 2010, Randy and Evi Quaid alleged they’d been targeted by a shadowy cabal bent on ruining their reputations. The same group, they claimed, may have been responsible for the downfalls and deaths of stars like Heath Ledger and Michael Jackson.
Ever since his death in 1973, Bruce Lee’s fans have wondered how the 32-year-old martial artist could’ve died so suddenly. Some believe his death was supernatural – the result of a family curse. Others look to an operation the actor underwent shortly before his demise.
After a deadly residential fire in London broke out on the 4th floor of a concrete highrise, 71 people died. Survivors and loved ones were left asking: How did the fire spread so quickly — when it never should have spread beyond the 4th floor at all?
In 2019, a report from a public inquiry identified the main cause of the devastating Grenfell Tower fire. But it left one question unanswered: Who was ultimately to blame? Some have suggested charging the landlords with corporate manslaughter. Others point the finger at shady contractors. And still others are looking at a larger pattern — that stems from the British government.
How did an ordinary couple from New York become Communist spies during the height of the Cold War? And how much of the case against them... was actually true?
After the Rosenbergs’ death sentence is announced, protests erupt around the world. Famous figures, including Einstein and the Pope, weigh in. But Julius and Ethel’s conviction would never be overturned. They would die by electric chair in 1953. The questions and controversies around their trial — one of the most sensational in history — would remain: Why was the death penalty ever on the table for a conspiracy charge? And how did Ethel’s fate come to rest on her own brother’s false testimony?
In March 1990 two men pretending to be police officers stole 13 pieces of art worth over $200 million from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Then they vanished.
The FBI’s investigation led them to some of Boston’s most notorious criminals, but for ten years, promising leads continued to fizzle out. Was the mafia ever really involved? Or was the heist of the century actually an inside job? In 2000, a world-famous art detective entered the scene. Could he finally achieve what the FBI could not?
In the 1960s a counterculture revolution was upending traditional norms of life, and the Grateful Dead were providing the soundtrack... and the drugs. LSD was having a revolution of its own, and the Dead were rubbing elbows with its biggest proponents. They headlined Ken Kesey’s acid tests and put acid guru Owsley Stanley to work as their audio engineer. Of course, this put them right in the crosshairs of the FBI. But while the feds had a file on the band, did they also have a deal together? Some say the disastrous Altamont Music Festival has all the markings of sabotage...
The Nitrous Mafia have been a fixture at Grateful Dead shows and other jam band concerts since the ‘90s. They deal nitrous oxide to fans who want a taste of euphoria, but critics claim the cutthroat racket is taking shows’ atmospheres from mellow... to menacing.
After winning the 94th Kentucky Derby, the champion racehorse failed his drug test. It was unprecedented news that stunned the racing world and led to the Derby’s first-ever disqualification. But for owner Peter Fuller, the drug scandal didn’t add up. Was his horse, Dancer’s Image, sabotaged?
A legendary colt became the pride of Ireland after dominating the 1981 Epsom Derby. Two years later, he was taken from his stable, ransomed for millions… and never seen again. The theories around his disappearance tie together revenge, a Libyan dictator, and the IRA.
J. Edgar Hoover was eager and ruthless. The young intelligence officer believed wholeheartedly in the communist conspiracy, and he’d do anything to protect his country. Raids, deportations, mass arrests. He targeted everyone from Russian anarchists to American labor unions in his frenzy to curb the communist threat. No matter what the law said. This is the first episode in our six-part crossover special from Conspiracy Theories and Dictators.
By the 1930s, Hoover was America's top cop. He went after bank robbers and bandits in his War on Crime, never losing sight of his real nemesis: communism. Every maneuver went toward Hoover’s carefully crafted narrative of the FBI. As their prestige grew, so did their power. But while Hoover had FDR’s ear, he also faced the ire of embittered political rivals. This is episode two of our six-part crossover special from Conspiracy Theories and Dictators.
A new president in the White House meant a new opportunity for a power play. Unfortunately for Hoover, Truman already thought the Bureau was becoming a secret police force. So he checked their power, and created a separate foreign intelligence agency — what will become the CIA. Meanwhile, Hoover was still bent on rooting out communist infiltrators and Soviet spies. Soon enough, he began handing intel over to Congressional committees like HUAC... and to his new friend and ally: a rising senator named Joseph McCarthy. This is the third episode in our six-part crossover special from Conspiracy Theories and Dictators.
In the 1960s, the Director’s adversaries included the Kennedy brothers and leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, which he believed to be part of a larger communist conspiracy. He would do everything in his power to undermine them all. When JFK was assassinated — two weeks after Lee Harvey Oswald emerged onto the FBI’s radar — Hoover strangled the investigation to protect the Bureau’s reputation. This is episode four in our six-part crossover special from Conspiracy Theories and Dictators.
While antiwar and Civil Rights movements charged forward, Hoover unleashed the FBI upon his enemies and adversaries. By the end of the 1960s, he was proclaiming that America’s greatest domestic threat was the Black Panther Party — and he was determined to smear, discredit, even destroy anyone even remotely associated with them. This is the fifth episode of our six-part series from Conspiracy Theories and Dictators.
The death of the Director in 1972 put an end to a reign that spanned 48 years, and left America to live in his outsized shadow. What happened to Hoover’s secret files? How is the modern FBI still shaped by his legacy? And what have we discovered about the true nature of his surveillance projects? This is the final episode in our six-part series from Conspiracy Theories and Dictators.
In the summer of 1951, a French town became ground zero for a mysterious illness that caused hallucinations, convulsions, and in some cases, death. For decades, the most popular explanation was ergot poisoning via contaminated bread. Another theory emerged in 2009: the CIA’s mind-control experiments had gone international.
In 1669, the French government imprisoned a man whose identity they went to great lengths to keep hidden. The conditions of his lifelong incarceration — hide his face, keep him quiet — inspired rumors that he was the secret twin brother of King Louis XIV, or an unlucky valet who knew dangerous information.
When mafiosos rose to power in 20th century America, they were untouchable criminals with an unbreakable code. Their origins in Sicily left them with a taste for extreme loyalty, secrecy, and violence. And even before notorious gangster “Lucky” Luciano remade them into an organized criminal empire, they were raking in millions.
When the Navy needed to catch Nazi spies during WWII, they turned to an unlikely source of help: the mafia. How deep did their alliance go? And where else did the rumored entanglements between the mafia and the U.S. government allegedly take them?
In 1964 an attack by North Vietnamese forces on U.S. naval destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin helped catalyze a war that would claim millions of lives. There was just one problem: the attack never happened.
When historians began dissecting the intelligence that spurred U.S. destroyers to retaliate in the Gulf of Tonkin, they came up short. In fact, there seemed to be first hand accounts that proved the opposite: there weren’t any enemy ships that night. So why did the Navy ever believe there were? And did President Johnson know the truth?
Days before Christmas 1988, scorched metal rained from the sky over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. Its source: Pan Am flight 103, headed from London to New York. The explosion killed 270 people and was declared a terrorist attack by investigators. The only question: Who was responsible?
After the explosion of Flight 103, investigators followed a trail of clues to two suspects, both Libyan men believed to be carrying out orders from Muammar Gaddafi. But some theorists suspect Libya wasn’t behind the bombing at all.
Across centuries, inventors have theorized machines that could produce endless power at little cost. The technology would be revolutionary, if it existed. What if it already does?
Is free energy already available to us? Some believe the technology exists today. If so, who is suppressing it and how far will they go to keep it under wraps?
When the U.S. needed a place to study rare animal diseases during the Cold War, it established a research center on an island off the New England coast. Then the disasters began to strike.
A Nazi scientist. An unleashed disease. A legendary monster. Can they all be traced back to Plum Island?
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 Unexplained Mysteries as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of one of the biggest UFO events in history, and investigate just how much of the story is still under wraps.
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 with Unexplained Mysteries, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Roswell UFO crash.
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 Roswell anniversary special.
For so long, the government’s stance when it came to UFOs was to deny and debunk. But when declassified and new information started hitting the mainstream — thanks to the work of engineers, private investors, and even musician Tom DeLonge — a new era began. One that chipped away at the taboo surrounding ufology… and has paved a way for incredible new research. This is the last episode of our four-part special with Unexplained Mysteries, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the infamous Roswell crash.
In 1975, a Senate panel known as the Church Committee began investigating CIA abuses, including its alleged assassinations. Their probe came after decades of CIA-backed violence and spying, both abroad and in America. How did they go unchecked for so many years? And what did the public do once they found out?
The Church Committee found that the CIA had in fact tried to assassinate foreign leaders – but never succeeded. But given what we know about the agency’s violent operations in places like Guatemala and Afghanistan, how likely is that conclusion? And what did President Ford’s ban on assassinations do — if anything — to curb CIA abuses?
Ever since his flight in 1961, Yuri Gagarin has been considered the first person to go to space. What if he wasn’t?
There are a few different theories about how our moon was formed. One of them proposes it didn’t form naturally — it was designed. And what’s more, it may even be harboring alien life inside. NASA’s Apollo space program might’ve uncovered the evidence.
A brilliant playwright fell out of favor with Queen Elizabeth I. Then he was murdered. Officially, his killer acted in self-defense. But for centuries, scholars have wondered if there was more to the story.
Was Marlowe’s death truly a tragic accident? Unsatisfied with that explanation, some believe his death was ordered by a scorned wife seeking revenge. Others think his connections with a secret society sealed his fate. And most mysteriously of all, there’s the theory that Marlowe faked his death, and for the rest of his life wrote under a pen name: William Shakespeare.
A trove of gold is rumored to be hidden in Arizona’s Superstition Mountains. Legend has it, a German immigrant named Jacob Waltz found the cache in the late 1800s and later revealed its location in a deathbed confession. But no one’s been able to find it since... and for good reason.
Who will strike it rich next? The gold mine that made Jacob Waltz a wealthy man has apparently never been found again. But maybe there are still those who know exactly where the gold came from, who’s protecting it, and what it’ll cost to discover it again...
It was commissioned in 1960 to monitor Soviet submarines. Fast, agile, and heavily armed — the USS Scorpion was a nuclear sub built to be stealthy, but not to actually vanish. In May of 1968, it did.
By October of 1968, the search for the USS Scorpion was over. Discovered at the bottom of the Atlantic, theories as to how it sank began to emerge. Was it the result of a Soviet standoff? A machinery malfunction? Or something far more alien?
As a child, Philip Taylor Kramer looked to the stars to map his future. After a quick detour as a rock star, Kramer graduated with a degree in aerospace engineering and worked on a top secret project for the DoD. The sky seemed to be the limit. Then he disappeared. When his body was found four years later, authorities suspected suicide. Other theories suggest he knew too much... and had become a target.
Twenty-five years ago, the British monarchy was forever changed upon the death of the “People’s Princess.” Today, we’re revisiting her story, looking back on a moment that impacted not only the royal family, but the world. We jump back to the 1980s, when Diana Spencer is ushered into a fairy tale. But from the beginning, it eats away at her — until she’s left simultaneously isolated and dangerously exposed.
As the world mourns, speculation runs wild. How could this have happened? Who was to blame? British paparazzi, who hounded the vehicle into its passengers’ final moments, are an easy target. But rumors arise that lay the fault at the feet of the royal family — a possibility that Diana herself had predicted.
From a royal to a humanitarian to a victim, Princess Diana significantly impacted the world during her short time here. Her recent portrayals in TV and film prove that although her passing happened twenty-five years ago, her story still lives on.
In the early 1940s, journalist Stetson Kennedy tried to undermine the KKK’s recruiting power by exposing their darkest secrets — through a children’s radio show.
Over 16 episodes, listeners tuned in to hear Superman and his allies battle against the Clan of the Fiery Cross — a thinly veiled reference to the KKK. To strike a blow against the real Klan, producers of the show incorporated intel provided by a man on the inside: Stetson Kennedy. Today, we examine whether their plan worked to hamstring the hate group’s recruitment efforts... and investigate the claim that Kennedy’s accounts were all based on a lie.
Famed novelist. Accomplished outdoorsman. Intrepid spy? Today we examine the evidence suggesting one of the greatest writers of the 20th century was also involved in espionage — whether as a Soviet asset, or a double agent for the U.S., it all depends on who you ask.
For 11 days in December 1926, a famed writer — the “Queen of Crime” herself — vanished. Agatha Christie was used to concocting fictional mysteries. Now, she was at the center of one in real life. But was this a stress-induced reprieve from unending responsibilities? Or a masterfully coordinated jab at her cheating husband?
Decades ago, a top-secret group of scientists, military officials and researchers reported on extraterrestrial activity to the president. When a documentary filmmaker caught wind of the operation, he followed a trail of breadcrumbs that led him to a trove of government secrets.
When the papers referring to MJ-12 were released to the public, the news was a bombshell. But scrutiny wasn’t far behind. Accusations of forgery and fraud began to surface, and eventually, all that was left to examine was motive. Why would someone go to extraordinary lengths to reveal a secret cabal that potentially never even existed?
Forty years ago, cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules led to the deaths of seven people all around the Chicago area. America was gripped by paranoia and fear. Why was this happening? Who would be next? Police grasped for suspects who might be the so-called “Mad Poisoner.” This is a crossover special with Serial Killers.
If Roger Arnold wasn’t behind the murders, who was? Police turn their focus to a new suspect: a disgruntled accountant named James Lewis. But the more police dig into Lewis’s life, the more questions they have. The road to truth is paved with extortion, false identities, and revenge. This is a crossover special with Serial Killers.
By 2011, the FBI was ready to reexamine the evidence. A theory emerged: What if the Mad Poisoner was actually the Unabomber? Ted Kaczynski had proven he was a revenge-seeking terrorist, and he had connections to Chicago. Perhaps he traded homemade bombs for poisoned pills. Or maybe the deadly concoctions came straight from the Johnson & Johnson facility itself. In the absence of clear answers, only theories remain… and rumors that someone is still out there, replacing Halloween treats with fatal tricks. This is a crossover special with Serial Killers.
From an early age, Brian Jones showed a creative edge and an interest in self-destruction. His rebellious spirit derailed him out of school and into the world of music. In 1962, he would help form the Rolling Stones. By 1969, Jones was out of the band, and soon after, dead. Officially, it was ruled an accidental drowning. But tensions with the law, with his band, and in his business dealings prompted theorists to suggest otherwise.
When Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon set out for Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, they hoped to uncover secret tombs, lost in the sand. In 1922, their expedition succeeded — making history with a life-changing discovery. Then the untimely deaths began, and a rumor spread of a dark curse, unleashed by the trespassers.
In the years following the unveiling of King Tut’s burial chamber, tragedy seemed to follow those involved with the excavation. Many believe these injuries and deaths were merely a series of cryptic coincidences, while others claim they proved the Pharaoh's Curse was real — and powerful enough to sink the Titanic.
For decades across America’s heartland, cattle ranchers have found healthy livestock dead, with their body parts removed, sexual organs missing, and blood drained. When the FBI investigated, they could not offer a plausible explanation.
In the 1960s and ‘70s, farmers across America were waking up to find that their cows had been slaughtered. Because the cattle were found missing eyes, ears, tongues, and sex organs, some thought it was part of a satanic ritual. Others believed that the animals were test subjects for an alien race. But the truth may have been on the farms all along.