Conspiracy Theories

Episodes

• The Possessed Nuns of LoudunBeginning in 1632, a convent of young Ursuline nuns made startling claims – from seeing dead priests, to being possessed by a horde of Satan’s demons. A team of priests presided over daily exorcisms – some of them public – for months…until the blame was directed toward one man: Father Urbain Grandier, a controversial figure who’d made a number of foes. Despite his claims of innocence, Grandier was executed. Was he in league with the devil? Were the young women hallucinating? Or…were the nuns coerced into pulling off a bizarre case of sabotage? Help us reach 10k followers on Instagram! @⁠theconspiracypod⁠ Try ZipRecruiter FOR FREE at https://ziprecruiter.com/THEORY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  592|50M
• Panic in the Streets: The War of the Worlds Radio BroadcastOn Halloween Eve, 1938 Orson Welles' The War of the Worlds aired on CBS radio. It detailed an alien invasion so realistic that, according to legend, it caused widespread panic among listeners. People really believed aliens were invading Earth. The mass hysteria is an important part of media history. However, some believe that there was never actually any panic at all. So why do we think that there was? It could all be a conspiracy by the newspaper industry to take down their new rival: radio. Help us reach 10k followers on Instagram! @⁠theconspiracypod⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  591|43M
• Did a Psych Experiment Turn Ted Kaczynski into the Unabomber?On April 3, 1996, Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski – better known as the Unabomber – was arrested, ending a 17-year-long bombing spree that left 3 dead and 23 injured. He promised to end his campaign of terror only after outlets published his 35,000-word manifesto; in his view, technology is an uncontrollable and dangerous system that could only be stopped by revolutionary means. But where did his ideology come from? Some suggest he was pushed to the brink during a three-year human psych experiment he took part in while a young student at Harvard University, overseen by a popular, prominent – and sometimes controversial – father of personality testing, Henry A. Murray. Help us reach 10k followers on Instagram! @⁠theconspiracypod⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  590|39M
• Did Andy Kaufman Fake His Own Death?No comedian surprised people like Andy Kaufman. He was always one step ahead of the audience. In fact, he was so good at pulling pranks that when he died in 1984, some of his friends thought it was a joke. But what if it really was? Today, some people still believe that Andy faked his own death. Maybe, just maybe, Andy hasn’t left the building. Help us reach 10k followers on Instagram! @⁠theconspiracypod⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  589|44M
• Missing Heiress: The Disappearance of Juanita NielsenOn July 4th, 1975, journalist and Sydney heiress Juanita Nielsen disappeared. Most assumed she was the victim of foul play. After all, for years she’d been fighting a land developer determined to turn her charming, low-income neighborhood into a bunch of high-rises. She was last seen inside a nightclub operated by the developer’s associate, and owned by Sydney crime boss Abe Saffron. The case should have been a slam dunk – so why was nobody ever charged with Juanita’s murder? Help us reach 10k followers on Instagram! @⁠theconspiracypod⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  588|41M
• The Chupacabra: Puerto Rico’s Vampire CryptidThe chupacabra is considered the third most widely known cryptid in the world, behind Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster – kind of mind-blowing, considering the fact that this mythical creature’s origins are relatively recent. Reports of el chupacabras began in Puerto Rico in 1995… where one theory holds that the creature is the result of a U.S. military experiment gone horribly wrong. Help us reach 10k followers on Instagram! @⁠theconspiracypod⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  587|44M
• Chuck Barris: Game Show Host and CIA Assassin?Chuck Barris created game show classics like The Dating Game and The Gong Show. However, his memoir claims his prolific career was all a cover for his classified missions as a CIA assassin. The agency says his claim is 100% false, but as Barris notes, "Have you ever heard the CIA acknowledge someone was an assassin?" So who should we believe? Help us reach 10k followers on Instagram! @⁠theconspiracypod⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  586|48M
• Conspiracy of Silence: The Town That Killed Ken Rex McElroy1981, Skidmore, Missouri. Ken McElroy, the “bully of Nodaway County,” is gunned down in the street – in broad daylight, and in front of his wife and an untold number of witnesses. Despite multiple investigations and grand juries, nobody has ever been indicted in the case, thanks to an airtight conspiracy of silence among neighbors. But what’s the real reason they’ve all refused to talk? Help us reach 10k followers on Instagram! @⁠theconspiracypod⁠ Try ZipRecruiter FOR FREE at https://ziprecruiter.com/THEORY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  585|45M
• Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and the Laurel Canyon ConspiracyIn the 1960s, a new musical revolution emerged from Laurel Canyon, California. Bands like The Beach Boys, The Doors, and Crosby, Stills & Nash sang hit songs protesting the Vietnam War. However, while these tunes spoke to war protesting "hippies," some believe that they were created by the very people they spoke out against: the US government. Help us reach 10k followers on Instagram! @⁠theconspiracypod⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  584|52M
• UFO Over the Bass Triangle? The Disappearance of Fred ValentichOn October 21st, 1978, 20-year-old pilot Fred Valentich disappeared while flying across the Bass Strait, off the southeastern coast of Australia. Moments before vanishing, Fred described a bizarre encounter over the radio. He claimed an unidentified object seemed to be harassing him – moving at impossibly fast speeds, disappearing and then reappearing, and hovering above his Cessna. His final transmission? “That strange aircraft is hovering on top of me again. It is hovering, and it’s not an aircraft.” Help us reach 10k followers on Instagram! @⁠theconspiracypod⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  583|49M