Conspiracy Theories

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? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices