Conspiracy Theories

Several murders have been dubbed “the crime of the century," but the Lindbergh kidnapping case of 1932 might actually deserve the title. According to some, it shaped the culture of conspiracy theories in America. Was Bruno Richard Hauptmann really guilty, or was he framed? Did he have co-conspirators? Or was the crime perpetrated by the victim’s own father: the American icon with a dark side, Charles Lindbergh Sr.? If you enjoy this episode, you might also like The Death of Ned Doheny—a case that revolves around a powerful family, and that remains a source of rumor and speculation. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠@theconspiracypod⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠@conspiracy.pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

November 5th, 2025 is the 50th anniversary of the events that inspired the 1993 film, Fire in the Sky. Seven lumberjacks saw a UFO… and one was pulled inside. Some say the men invented the story to dodge a work deadline. But the lumberjacks claim their chief debunker… is a government disinformation agent. ​We mention Operation Mockingbird in today's episode. If you want the full story, check out Operation Mockingbird Pt. 1 and Operation Mockingbird Pt. 2! Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠@theconspiracypod⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠@conspiracy.pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Supernaturally-high leaps. Glowing red eyes. Fire breath. This monster violently assaulted young women, and terrorized others across London. Was he a band of upper-class criminals? A ghost? Or a business plan? Historian Dr. Mike Dash joins us to uncover the truth. For more from Mike Dash, check out: www.mikedashhistory.com and his AskHistorians archive: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/profiles/mikedash/. His book,  Spring Heeled Jack: Representation and Interpretation, A Multidisciplinary Approach releases next year. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠@theconspiracypod⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠@conspiracy.pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In July 2025, researchers discovered an interstellar object entering our solar system. It’s only the third we’ve detected – ever – and it’s been dubbed Comet 3I/ATLAS. NASA says it does not pose a threat to us. But one Harvard scientist suggests 3I/ATLAS isn’t necessarily a comet – there are too many anomalies. He says, this object may not be natural…it might be alien technology. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠@theconspiracypod⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠@conspiracy.pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shakespeare’s First Folio is an incredible historical treasure. It also might be an encrypted treasure map. According to the theories, the First Folio’s secret code reveals the “real” Shakespeare author, a royal cover-up, a Freemason conspiracy, and of course, a map to priceless buried treasure. Treasure that may still be out there. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠@theconspiracypod⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠@conspiracy.pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Candy Jones had an impressive résumé: Miss Atlantic City, Model of the Year, highest-paid cover model of the 1940s, entrepreneur, radio personality, author…and an unwitting undercover CIA agent, brainwashed by the government. Or, so she claimed. To find out more, we’re digging into Candy’s story and speaking with author and historian John Lisle. Check out his new book, Project Mind Control: Sidney Gottlieb, the CIA, and the Tragedy of MKULTRA, available now! Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠@theconspiracypod⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠@conspiracy.pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Germany conquered Europe in 1940, the UK desperately needed foreign reinforcements. When the American people hesitated to help, MI6 conspired to secretly change their minds. But how far did the influence go? Conspiracy theories suggest the US President may have conspired in the psy-op on his own people… and together with MI6, may have concealed tips to prevent Pearl Harbor. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠@theconspiracypod⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠@conspiracy.pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Most of what we know about Helena Blavatsky’s life seems improbable. In her 59 years on Earth, she was a young Russian aristocrat. A Parisian circus performer. A concert pianist in England. A clairvoyant. A medium. A telepath. An author. A missionary. A descendant of a Rosicrucian Freemason. And some would say: a chain-smoking degenerate liar…possibly even a serial killer. What’s the truth? That’s a great question. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠@theconspiracypod⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠@conspiracy.pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Driving through the remote Utah desert on the way back to his military base, 23-year-old Private Gerry Irwin witnessed what he thought was a plane crash. He pulled over and ran off into the darkness to help the survivors… and woke up in the hospital 24 hours later with no memory of what happened next. According to the sheriff, he had to be mistaken—there was no evidence of a plane crash. No one had any idea what Gerry saw or what happened to him that night. Was it a mental breakdown? A UFO abduction? A CIA mind control experiment? Over 65 years later, and there are still more questions than answers… Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast⁠ Instagram: ⁠@theconspiracypod⁠ TikTok: ⁠@conspiracy.pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1973, Jack and Janet Smurl move into a modest duplex in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, hoping for a fresh start. What follows is more than a decade of escalating disturbances: strange smells, disembodied voices, levitations, physical assaults, and eventually, a demonic entity said to stalk the family even outside their home. With no help from the Catholic Church, the Smurls turn to controversial paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, who declare their house the site of one of the most terrifying hauntings they’ve ever encountered. But was it really a case of supernatural torment—or something else entirely? This is the true story that inspired The Conjuring: Last Rites, in theaters 2025. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast⁠ Instagram: ⁠@theconspiracypod⁠ TikTok: ⁠@conspiracy.pod⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Fidel Castro overthrew Cuba’s dictator in 1959, the Communist leader and provocateur quickly became a threat to the U.S. government. The CIA has been proven responsible for at least eight plots against Castro’s life. Despite the creativity of their attempts—including everything from an exploding cigar to a mafia hit—they were ultimately unsuccessful. But if there were reportedly over 600 attempts on Castro’s life during his reign, just how many were the CIA actually responsible for? Keep up with Conspiracy Theories!YouTube: @ConspiracyTheoriesPodcastInstagram: @theconspiracypodTikTok: @conspiracy.pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On July 17th, 1996, about 13 minutes into a direct flight from New York to Paris, TWA Flight 800 exploded in mid-air, killing all 230 people on board. An extensive investigation concluded that the most likely culprit was a mechanical issue. But the official story didn’t stop rumors that a missile brought down the airliner – and that the government was covering up the truth. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast⁠ Instagram: ⁠@theconspiracypod⁠ TikTok: ⁠@conspiracy.pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

First, they said Pine Gap was for space research. Then, it was a weather station. It’s now called a defense base, but Australians often refer to it as their country’s Area 51. Some suspect the facility is housing alien life and giant UFOs that have crash landed on earth. Others say its satellites and surveillance technology are part of a global war machine. What’s really going on at the top-secret military base located in Australia’s desert? You could ask the hundreds of people who work there, but they probably won’t tell you. Loose-lipped employees have apparently disappeared in the past. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast⁠ Instagram: ⁠@theconspiracypod⁠ TikTok: ⁠@conspiracy.pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1695, “The Pirate King” Henry Every pulled off a heist, evaded a global manhunt, and vanished with his newfound treasure. He was never found…or was he? A new theory suggests the King of England not only knew what happened to Henry – he hired the “missing” pirate as a spy. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast⁠ Instagram: ⁠@theconspiracypod⁠ TikTok: ⁠@conspiracy.pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Imagine you wake up tomorrow and the person you depend upon most in this world is gone. No trace, no goodbyes, just vanished. Then, you find out they planned their disappearance — and have no intention of returning. In Japan, this phenomenon has a name: Johatsu, or “evaporated people.” Is it a silent escape from societal pressures or something more sinister? From clandestine "night-moving" services to whispers of a hidden underworld, we dive into the intriguing, and sometimes unsettling, world of Japan's missing. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast⁠ Instagram: ⁠@theconspiracypod⁠ TikTok: ⁠@conspiracy.pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Earlier this year, Dr. Corrado Malanga and Dr. Filippo Biondi claimed they’d made a massive discovery at the Giza Complex in Egypt. Using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, combined with their own new technology, they said they’d located massive structures hidden below the Pyramid of Khafre. The news went viral; excitement and speculation ran rampant. Experts were quick to question the results. So what’s the debate all about? Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast⁠ Instagram: ⁠@theconspiracypod⁠ TikTok: ⁠@conspiracy.pod⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We can’t hop in a time machine and set it to a specific year…yet. But what if we can unwittingly slip through time, briefly, to another year – with no control over when or where it happens? There have been multiple documented cases of alleged time-slips, and strangely, many of them have occurred in Europe. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast⁠ Instagram: ⁠@theconspiracypod⁠ TikTok: ⁠@conspiracy.pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did Germany secretly establish a base in Antarctica prior to World War II? In 1947, the U.S. Navy launched the largest expedition to the southernmost continent ever attempted. Some believe they were hunting Nazis. And the idea that the Germans built one, or more, Antarctic bases is just beginning. UFOs? Super weapons? Gateways to Hell? Subterranean alien species? The South Pole is like a one-stop shop for popular conspiracy theories. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! YouTube: ⁠@ConspiracyTheoriesPodcast⁠ Instagram: ⁠@theconspiracypod⁠ TikTok: ⁠@conspiracy.pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Power is having impunity.” In January 1997, a photojournalist is found murdered on the side of the road in General Madariaga, Argentina. The investigation into his death becomes a cultural flashpoint, exposing a sprawling conspiracy with ties to some of the most powerful forces in the country. More than 25 years later, some still believe the man who orchestrated it all…got away. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories!YouTube: @ConspiracyTheoriesPodcastInstagram: @theconspiracypodTikTok: @conspiracy.pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For over a century, common belief was that Vincent Van Gogh died by suicide. But in 2011, two Pulitzer Prize-winning biographers suggested the art world had it all wrong, and Vincent covered up his own homicide. Keep up with Conspiracy Theories!YouTube: @ConspiracyTheoriesPodcastInstagram: @theconspiracypodTikTok: @conspiracy.pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices