Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

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? They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 conspiracy@iheartmedia.com. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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? They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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? They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When a group of women from all over the country realize they all dated the same prolific romance scammer they vow to bring him to justice. In this brand new season of global number 1 hit podcast, The Girlfriends, Anna Sinfield meets a group of funny, feisty, determined women who all had the misfortune of dating a mysterious man named Derek Alldred. Trust Me Babe is a story about the protective forces of gossip, gut instinct, and trusting your besties and the group of women who took matters into their own hands to take down a fraudster when no one else would listen. Listen here and subscribe to The Girlfriends: Trust Me Babe on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts! They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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? They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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? They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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? They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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? They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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? They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.