Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

A look at how supermarkets transformed from markets to tech-driven machines. They explore store layout psychology, logistics and inventions that shaped shopping. The episode covers big data, loyalty programs and the rise of real-time and dynamic pricing. It ends with surveillance concerns like facial recognition, electronic shelf labels and proposals for consumer data rights.

They trace how phones went from phones to constant companions that shape daily life. They explore persuasive app design and why screens capture our attention. They unpack how metadata and app behavior can reveal socioeconomic status and predict creditworthiness. They look at uses beyond ads, from health tracking to policing, and discuss privacy trade offs and simple steps people try to protect themselves.

Sudden FAA airspace shutdown in El Paso sparks conspiracy talk and a strange 11-hour reversal. Fresh Epstein document revelations and European political fallout draw scrutiny. Bizarre phone-call cover-ups and an NSA whistleblower allegation raise questions about surveillance. Reports of a rogue virology lab in Las Vegas and an airport Wi Fi prank that triggered a security scare add to the oddities.

A deep look at Iran's spiraling crisis: economic collapse, water shortages, and soaring prices fueling massive street protests. Discussion of internet blackouts, violent state repression, and disputed casualty reporting. Exploration of Iran's geopolitical role, historical foreign interventions, internal factionalism, and the tense diplomacy and military posturing shaping what might come next.

A mysterious inscribed slab found in 1898 sparks a debate about Vikings possibly reaching the American interior. The hosts trace the discovery, runic translation claims, and the surprising geographic and logistical problems. They dig into linguistic red flags, dating tests, local pride, and why many scholars call it a likely hoax.

A deep dive into a Cold War nuclear bunker hidden beneath Denton, Texas. They explore why Denton was chosen and how the facility was built to sustain officials. Listeners hear about missile batteries, hardened communications, and life-support systems. The conversation also digs into FEMA's takeover and local rumors of bricked-up tunnels and wider subterranean networks.

A deep dive into how assassination survived into the modern era and adapted with new technologies. They trace legal gray areas, historical political murders, and Cold War escalation. The conversation covers drones, deniable tactics, corporate and state motives, and the rise of a global assassination industry.

A deep dive into where the word 'assassin' came from and how a secretive medieval sect shaped history. They trace legends from Alamut to Marco Polo and separate myth from propaganda. Discussions cover tactics of fedayi operatives, famous killings that shifted politics, and the group's long cultural legacy in literature and games.

A deep dive into claims of a secret multi-generational program to recover and reverse-engineer extraterrestrial technology. They examine insider testimony, historical precedents like the Manhattan Project, and how extreme compartmentalization might be maintained. Funding tricks, transport methods for sensitive cargo, and which agencies could be central are all explored.

They explore how plastic became everywhere, from everyday objects to the highest mountains. The show traces plastics' invention and rise after WWII. It examines how industry pushed recycling as a convenient narrative. The conversation covers why large-scale recycling often fails and how plastic waste was shipped abroad. They also dig into microplastics, wildlife impacts, and signs of consumer-driven change.