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From UFOs to psychic powers and government cover-ups, history is riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now or learn the Stuff They Don't Want You To Know ... an audio podcast from iHeartRadio.
In this week's listener mail segment: Poe inspires a conversation about the End of Ownership. Chewy Black Heart asks the guys for more about missing scientists. Nikki explores the Bell Witch Cave.
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When the Ammons family moved to their new home in Gary, Indiana, they weren't sure what to expect. Of course, they anticipated all the usual hassles of relocation -- but they weren't expecting demons. In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel explore the bizarre, tragic saga of a family beset by what they genuinely seemed to feel was demonic possession. The media, the clergy, and even members of law enforcement agreed with them. So: What actually happened?
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On July 17, 1944, over 300 people died in a massive explosion. These weren't soldiers fighting overseas -- they were sailors and civilians near the pier, where hurried loading operations inevitably went wrong. To this day, no one knows what triggered the explosion -- but, in a terrible way, this was only the beginning of the story.
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In this week's strange news segment: Ben and Matt explore a billionaire's mission to save Pablo Escobar's Hippos. Also, western oil profits skyrocket as the conflict in Iran continues, triggering drama in OPEC. But Ku-wait one second... the FBI investigated Bigfoot? What happened at the White House? Also, an epidemic of disappearing Chinese scientists. Tune in to learn more.
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For most of modern history, the concept of ownership was pretty simple. You paid for something, either all at once or over time, and boom: you owned it. However, as Ben, Matt and Noel discover in today's episode, powerful forces are conspiring to push consumers away from owning stuff, and into a world of constant, unending subscriptions. "You will own nothing," says the World Economic Forum, "and you will be happy." So what does this mean for the future? How long do we have before we live in a world without ownership?
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In this week's listener mail segment: Ben, Matt and Noel respond to an anonymous call about disappearing scientists and military officials. PCC38Lightning hips the guys to trucking and liberty. J-Ill explains the newer issues with environmental contamination in Coldwater Creek. All this and more -- most importantly, join the show: hit us up at [email protected].
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Tucked away in Suffolk, more than 60 miles from London, the tiny village of Borley is a 'blink-and-you'll-miss-it' spot on the map of the UK countryside. Yet despite its size, this little community was infamous for being home to one of England's most haunted places: the Borley Rectory. In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel discover the murky origins of the Rectory... and how one controversial man may have created the legend out of whole cloth.
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Ghislaine Maxwell, long time associate of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, is currently incarcerated, charged with helping recruit, groom and abuse minors as young as 14 as part of a sex-trafficking ring allegedly operated by Epstein. Observers around the world have voiced concerns that, one way or another, Maxwell might never see a day in court. Part of this fear comes from the fact that Epstein died while in prison -- but there's another thread here, as well: Years earlier, Ghislaine Maxwell's father Robert Maxwell also passed away under mysterious circumstances. Could these deaths be related? If so, what does this mean for the future of Ghislaine Maxwell?
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In this week's strange news segment, Ben, Matt and Noel discuss: the Onion's all-but-certain acquisition of Alex Jones's Infowars, pasta heists and pasta surveillance, zoonotic threats on the horizon, fuel concerns in the EU, and the hilarious fact of Meta/Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg creating his own AI avatar to skip meetings.
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By now, the story of Jeffrey Epstein is familiar to people across the globe. A once-obscure financier, fixer, child abuser and sex trafficker who died under murky circumstance in prison, Epstein is a parable of the dangers of power and perversion. Yet in tonight's episode, Ben and Matt explore a dangerous question that's haunted them ever since they began looking into the case: Was Epstein just a wealthy monster? What was his real motivation? Could it be possible that he was working for someone else, and gathering compromising information for a larger, more mysterious goals? What if Epstein wasn't just a well-heeled criminal?
What if he was a spy?
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In tonight's Classic episode, Ben, Matt and Noel return to a case that still haunts them: at just 24 years old, Rebecca Coriam had her whole life ahead of her. Her love of physical fitness and knack for teaching made her perfectly-suited for her job in Youth Activities aboard the Disney Wonder, an enormous, high-class cruise ship. On March 22nd, 2011, Coriam vanished from the vessel. The distraught parents and friends of Rebecca puzzled over the cruise line's official explanation -- that a rogue wave had swept her overboard. Over a decade later, the mystery remains: What happened to Rebecca Coriam?
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Are you an outdoorsy type? If so, you know the wilderness is beautiful and dangerous. Slippery terrain, lack of water, poisonous plants, wild animals and other humans can all be a threat... but out in Appalachia, folks are convinced there's another danger at play: supernatural, eerie voices in the woods, luring the unwary to their doom. Live from Baha Mar, Ben, Matt and Noel explore the mystery of the Appalachian Mimic Voice.
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It's true that the founders of the United States all too often failed to live up to the values they espoused in the Constitution and other related documents -- but it appears they were up to even stranger things. In the second episode of this two-part series, the guys delve deeper into some of the strangest, most obscure alleged secrets of the founding fathers, including one terrifying story that is absolutely true.
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The world's trade system is cartoonishly complex, and it depends on multiple factors: one of the most important being trucks. Without semis and truckers, the global economy will immediately collapse -- and, unfortunately, trucking is in trouble. In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel explore a catastrophe on the horizon. A spiraling economy, skyrocketing inflation, and disruptive new technology combine to put one of the world's most essential industries is on the verge of collapse. So what happens next?
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The world's trade system is cartoonishly complex, and it depends on multiple factors: one of the most important being trucks. Without semis and truckers, the global economy will immediately collapse -- and, unfortunately, trucking is in trouble. In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel explore a catastrophe on the horizon. A spiraling economy, skyrocketing inflation, and disruptive new technology combine to put one of the world's most essential industries is on the verge of collapse. So what happens next?
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In this week's listener mail segment: Xevious Wrecks hips Ben and Noel to 'hillbilly toothpicks', a euphemism for raccoon penises, inspiring the guys to never see the internet again. Uncle Bosco explores how you can hack encounters with police by using the alias 'FNU LNU' (spoiler, you get in situations). Jameson reveals a conspiracy afoot with the world's standing record for IQ tests. Sergeant Will proposes that at least a few UFOs are obscure, spooky rigid airships. In our Letters From Home, Trogoldyte shares a phenomenal real-life encounter with rutabagas.
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Nowadays, everyone knows lead is toxic. Yet for thousands of years, it was treated as a miracle substance. Ancient Romans used it in everything from water pipes to wine sweetener -- an ubiquity that may well have contributed to the fall of the Empire as the civilization's collective IQ decreased due to lead exposure. And in the U.S., lead was also widespread until relatively recently. There's fascinating -- and disturbing -- speculation about how lead exposure in childhood may have created a spike in crime in the 1960s and 1970s. And, as Ben, Matt and Noel discover in tonight's episode, some experts take the theory one step further: Could lead exposure have created a boom in serial killers?
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In this week's Classic episode, Ben, Matt and Noel explore some extremely weird dudes known as the Founding Fathers of the United States. They're memorialized in monuments, museums, currency, holidays -- the list goes on. For more than a century they were deified, held up as paragons of statecraft. Yet the way they've been portrayed in textbooks often skips over details that ran counter to the shining image sold to generations of school children. You see, the Founding Fathers had secrets... so many, in fact, that we had to make this a two-part episode.
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In this week's strange news segment, Ben, Dylan and Noel explore the story of the legendary Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto — and how the New York Times may have finally discovered his real identity. Also, scientists studying microplastics forgot to account for their plastic gloves! A kid finds a human skull during an Easter Egg hunt. All this and more in today's Strange News.
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Humanity has been obsessed with the idea of death well before the dawn of modern Homo sapiens -- civilization knows what happens to your body when you die, but still has yet to agree on what, if anything, happens to that intangible part of you called the soul. In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel explore a profound and disturbing rabbit hole: Will modern technology allow us to literally bring back the dead? If so, how? Most importantly, should we?
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In this week's listener mail segment: Neek the Greek prompts Ben, Matt and Noel to explore AI in live sports commentary. James weighs in with a Mormon perspective on Ben's earlier confirmation of intelligence agencies prioritizing LDS members. Inconspicuous asks the guys for more information about drones. Tune in for the segment, which may inform actual episodes in the future.
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Ben, Matt, and Noel love folklore. After all, stories are one of humanity's first technologies -- and they continue to shape the world today. Most of the modern world accepts that tales of the undead, spirits, oracles and so on are just that: stories. Yet as the guys discover in tonight's trippy thought experiment, there's a growing argument that modern technological breakthroughs aren't just leading to new advancements: when you think about it, technology is increasingly making some of these legends, in practice, real.
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Food is one of the few things that unites the human species -- so it's no surprise the world of food is chock-full of conspiracies. In today's episode, the guys return to the world of conspiracy and cuisine, fielding some of the strangest, most disturbing urban legends and rumors about everything from fast food to livestock and more.
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In this week's strange news segment: Ben, Matt and Noel discover their old conspiracy about VPNs might actually be true. Ben introduces the crew to the latest troubling updates on an orgasm cult. Noel explains how a Kit-Kat heist leaves more questions than answers. Matt shares news about the White House 'ballroom' construction drawing more attention, as it turns out Ben was *not* joking about a secret bunker. Kash Patel sure got hacked. All this and more in our weekly strange news segment.
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As Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, Ben, Matt and Noel explore ongoing claims that the Russian government may possess secret "superweapons" capable of changing the course of war. How much of this is sound and fury, signifying nothing? How much of this may lead to new, world-threatening tools of horror? Ben here: it turns out what we mean by "super".
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In this weekly listener mail segment, Jmodaez hips Ben, Matt and Noel to Peter Thiel's funding of 'cowcollars'. Over on Spotify, Sasha prompts a conversation about why intelligence agencies love former Latter-day Saint missionaries. Sean shares a new experience with sleep paralysis. Anon reveals more allegations of connections surrounding the disappearance of General McCasland. Tune in to learn how this weekly segment informs actual episodes in the future!
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As the United States debate over immigration continues to rage, Uncle Sam is constructing hundreds of controversial detainment centers. The official reasoning is that these facilities will hold people until they are cleared or deported... but is that the entire story? In this episode, Ben, Matt and Noel asks what happens to the centers in the future -- and who else, besides immigrants, might end up detained.
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The Russian government may soon pass an unusual law giving any former Russian president legal immunity -- not only from any crimes committed while in office, but for any acts before or after their presidency, as well. This lifetime immunity proposal has international spectators scratching their heads in confusion... and diving into conspiracy. Tune in to learn more in this week's oddly prescient Classic episode.
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In this week's strange news segment: Ben, Matt and Noel explore the oddly credible conspiracy that recent hours-long lines at US airports may be part of a larger conspiracy. Updates on the still-missing Major General William McCasland. Hilarious phone pranks as protest. Also, who the heck just made 580 million dollars in oil futures? Tune in for all this and more.
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Does hypnosis work? Can you really hack your brain into becoming a better person? On the flip side: Can you possibly push people to do what you want, without their knowledge? In tonight's interview, Ben, Matt and Noel welcome the legendary journalist and author Zoë Lescaze, co-creator of Kaleidoscope's hit new podcast Mind Games, to learn more about the strange, controversial evolution of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP.
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In this week's listener mail segment: Hootsifer hips Ben, Matt and Noel to the fascinating -- and disturbing -- process of using human brain cells on microchips to play the videogame Doom. Noah prompts the guys to plan a trip to the underground tunnels of Missoula, Montana. Sacratomato shares the strange story of Moltbook. Tune in to learn more.
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While the relationship between the United States and Venezuela has been tense in recent decades, things massively escalated earlier this year. The U.S. unilaterally invaded Venezuela, abducting sitting President Nicolás Maduro, along with his spouse, to face drug and terrorism charges. Yet the American public is increasingly skeptical about the official reasoning here. Could this really be about drugs? Oil? Something else? Join Ben and Matt to learn more.
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What makes a genre of music successful? Ideally, the art connects on a personal level with the audience, speaking truth to power, tapping into a universal experience.... but what if that isn't always the case? In 2012, an email from someone claiming to be a former music industry executive alleged that gangster rap was not an organic success. Instead, they claimed, the success of this genre was the result of a secret, high-level meeting in 1991, between members of the music industry's elite and representatives of the private prison industry. Making this music successful, they argued, would ensure the prison system became even more profitable for investors. It's a profoundly disturbing idea -- but could it be true? Tune in to learn more.
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In this week's Strange News segment, Ben, Matt and Noel explore the following: As the Iran conflict ramps up, a mysterious numbers station begins transmitting ominous codes in Farsi -- raising speculation about a possible conspiracy afoot. Legendary MC Afroman wins a bizarre court case in the wake of a raid on his Ohio home.
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Have you ever been starving? Ben, Noel and Dylan hope the answer is "no" -- however, as the guy's learn in tonight's episode, the world is currently on the precipice of a massive hunger crisis. As conflicts ratchet up, government programs close down and the climate becomes increasingly chaotic, the next great famine may have already begun. And, sooner than the media wants to admit, that famine may be on its way to you.
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World famous pop icon Britney Spears has sold millions of records, performed countless times, and regardless of whether you care for her music, you've certainly heard her hits. She also has an enormous, fiercely loyal fanbase that's convinced something is amiss, behind the scenes. You see, for years, Spears has been the subject of a legal conservatorship -- this arrangement, which the singer has described as voluntary multiple times, means Spears must have approval from several people for any financial decisions she wishes to make. In short, she does not control the financial side of her music empire. Some fans allege the singer sends coded messages to them via Instagram, asking for help. Others argue this conspiracy theory, as well-intentioned as it may be, will only make things worse for one of the world's most famous living musicians.
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By almost any measure, the United States military is by far the most powerful on the planet. The immense size of the military, combined with advanced technology and near-unimaginable funding, guarantees a fighting force like no other. However,the size of the organization has also led to some disturbing cases of conspiracy, crime and corruption -- cases that are often buried by the powers that be. In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel dive deep into the grand conspiracy of military cover-up. Please note this episode may not be appropriate for all audiences.
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Ben, Matt and Noel present a Classic episode: In cities across Canada, the US and other parts of the world, the cost of living continues to rise -- and housing becomes increasingly unaffordable. Rental rates outpace inflation. Owning a home becomes virtually impossible for millions. Economists have debated the usual causes of this crisis for years... but it appears there's a variable many people haven't considered, something a little stranger than domestic supply and demand. Investors from across the planet are pouring money into real estate, not for a home, but as a safe haven for storing cash.
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In this week's Strange News segment: Jeffrey Epstein invested thousands of dollars into telepathy experiments. Former Epstein guards were apparently talking about an Epstein cover-up on the day the disgraced financier officially die. A stunning multi-year investigation verifies that there may indeed be a secret energy weapon at the heart of the Havana Syndrome conspiracy. Award-winning restaurant Noma is back in the news for a new scandal. Tune in for all this and more.
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"Oligarch" - when we hear this word in the West, it's almost always associated with Russian business types who made loads of money during the collapse of the Soviet Union. However, as Ben, Matt and Noel discover in tonight's episode, oligarchs have always been around, in almost every single civilization... and the U.S. is no exception. In fact, despite being a democracy on paper, the U.S. itself is a lot more like an oligarchy than our rulers would have us believe.
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On September 1, 1969, numerous people in a rural area of Massachusetts reported seeing strange lights in the sky -- and that was just the beginning. As time went on, more people came forward claiming they had been spirited away by unknown forces, had lost time, or found themselves some distance from their original location. What exactly happened? Tune in as the guys explore the ins and outs of this strange -- and strangely consistent -- story.
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In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel return to the unfortunately ongoing saga of Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and sexual predator. In the wake of Epstein's still-controversial death in prison, millions of documents about his activities -- collectively known as the Epstein Files -- remain redacted or hidden from the public. Recent releases have, if anything, raised more questions than answers. So what exactly is going on? Tune in to learn more.
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In this interview segment, the guys sit down with seasoned conflict journalist Jake Hanrahan to hear his first-hand accounts of covering stories all too often ignored or misrepresented in the west -- as well learning more about his work exploring QAnon in his podcast, Q Clearance.
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In this week's Strange News segment, Ben, Matt and Noel dive into assassinations, the erosion of rights, China's reaction to the war against Iran, and more. Recents reveal Israeli spies hacked the entirety of Tehran's traffic cameras for years in the lead-up to the assassination of the Ayatollah. Infamous Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes had been murdered, and buried in a gold coffin. Kansas revoked transgender people’s IDs overnight – researchers anticipate cascading health and social consequences. The U.S. fired the FBI's counterintelligence just days before Uncle Sam struck Iran. Tune in to learn about all this and more.
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To some, Peter Thiel is a philosopher king. To others, he's real-life supervillain. One thing's for sure: this guy is making enormous waves in everything from tech to surveillance and government. In the chapter of this two-part series, Ben, Matt and Noel dive into one of Thiel's corporate crown jewels -- an enormous, shadowy "data analytics" company called Palantir. Tune in to learn why governments and investors love Palantir... and why numerous critics believe this outfit is ushering the new age of massive, inescapable and un-democratic surveillance.
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In this week's listener mail segment: Hootsifer hips the guys to a controversial "better babies" company called Nucleus. Duane Berry shares a story about the early nights of dynamic gas station pricing. Y2curious replies to the earlier episode about AI psychosis. A Benevolent Dungeon Master asks the crew to consider making a tabletop game for charity.
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If you're like Ben, Matt and Noel, you've probably kept a close eye on the tons of UAP/UFO news hitting the airwaves. But what can we make of all these stories? How do we parse the fact from the fiction? In today's interview segment, the guys welcome returning guest Payne Lindsey, creator of High Strange, as he explores some of the weirdest tales in all of UFO in the second season of his hit podcast.
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On August 19th, 2016 Saudi national and college student Abdulrahman Sameer Noorah was charged with first degree manslaughter for fatally hitting a 15 year old girl named Fallon Smart with his car in Portland, Oregon. Two weeks before his trial, he disappeared from the United States. Federal agents suspect he escaped with the help of the Saudi Arabian government -- and it seems he's not the only one. In fact, over the years, it seems dozens of Saudi nationals accused of various crimes in the US and Canada have illegally escaped prosecution, and will likely never see jail time or justice. And the US government hasn't done much to address this ongoing pattern of conspiracy. Tune in to learn more in this Classic episode.
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Robot exorcists. Waymo door gigs. Freedom dollars, Jeffrey Epstein, and more. Tune in as the guys explore this week's strange news.
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Despite being neither an official government department nor, arguably, all that efficient, Elon Musks's "Department of Government Efficiency" has made a lot of waves over its short life span. In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel explore the origin of DOGE... and why so many people are convinced there's a conspiracy at play.
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