Conspiracy Theories

In 1997, Princess Diana of Wales died in a car accident in Paris. The news shocked the world, and many people weren’t so sure this was an accident. In the first episode of two on Princess Diana, we explore her life...and perhaps her not-so-accidental death.

Two years after Princess Diana died in a car crash, the French authorities concluded the death was accidental. But people around the world weren’t so sure this is what really happened, and many believed she was killed. We investigate the theories about MI6, medical sabotage, and the mysterious death of a photojournalist.

From its founding in 1955 until 2013, Area 51 was completely top-secret. The CIA did everything to keep it this way, from denying its existence to trying to wipe images of the base off of every map. But how was Area 51 founded… and why?

For years, Area 51—and the conspiracy theories surrounding it—has inspired many movies, books and internet debates. Is the government developing incredibly advanced technology? Are they hiding evidence of extraterrestrial life? Did they fake the moon landing, and use Area 51 to film it? We explore these theories and more as we search for the truth.

We’ve all seen it: the long trailing cloud as a plane flies across the sky. These clouds, called aircraft contrails, are officially said to pose no threat to our health or environment. Contrails are reported to be water vapor from the aircraft’s engine…but is this the truth? Or are they actually dangerous chemtrails being released by the government to control everything from the weather, to our minds?

In 1997, a viral email spread across the internet claiming chemicals were being released from planes. No one questioned the news — it was accepted as fact, and has grown since then to become one of the most popular conspiracy theories of our time. We examine theories about chemtrails: what they are, who controls them… and why.

Please note that today’s episode is going to sound a little different than a typical episode of Conspiracy Theories. We felt it was important for us to share the founding and history of the Illuminati before diving into the conspiracy theories. The Illuminati has stirred up fear and controversy for well over 200 years. This secret society began as a small group, born from the Freemasons, and ended only a few years after its founding… or did it?

The root of hundreds of conspiracy theories, the modern Illuminati is shrouded in mystery and secrecy. And at the top of the rumored group are the most illuminated ones, 12 ruling bloodlines that control every major event. We dive deep into the Illuminati, investigating the theories that surround this secret society, including their apparent current plan for global domination and possible members and leaders.

At the turn of the 20th century, pharmacies sold medicines containing cannabis regularly. There was no stigma surrounding it. But in the 1930s, a few powerful men stirred up fear about marijuana. The official story: in 1937 the government passed the Marijuana Tax, essentially prohibiting weed because it presented a danger to the public in the form of Reefer Madness. ...But is this the truth? Or are there more sinister motives behind this prohibition?

Reefer Madness and the war on drugs swept the United States in the 1930s but was this war truly started to protect the public? Or did a few powerful men have more personal reasons to ignite this battle?

Kurt Cobain’s fame as the lead singer and guitarist of Nirvana, and his tumultuous marriage to Courtney Love, thrust him into the spotlight. But Kurt felt misunderstood by the media, and his drug addiction brought trouble for the young musician. When he was found dead in his home on April 8, 1994, it looked like suicide. But do the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death point to murder?

Kurt Cobain, the famed musician who influenced grunge music and voiced the emotions of thousands of people, was found dead at only 27 years old. Officially, he lost his battle with depression and drug addiction. But with several suspicious events surrounding his death, many have wondered for years if he was murdered… by his own wife.

At the command of Jim Jones, more than 900 followers of The Peoples Temple drank a beverage laced with cyanide in an act that Jones labeled “revolutionary suicide”. Jones himself was found dead from a shot to the head. But the details of this mass suicide doesn't quite line up. Was this truly a mass suicide, or was it a mass murder? And did Jim Jones fake his own death?

With more than 900 people dead, the Jonestown Massacre has sparked many theories over the past 40 years. Did the government have a hand in these deaths? Could the cult have been connected to the mysterious MK-Ultra program? And was Jim Jones murdered, or did he fake his own death?

Chandra Levy was a graduate student from the University of Southern California working at an internship in Washington D.C., when her life was tragically cut short in 2001. After details of Levy’s affair with California congressman Gary Condit surfaced, the press began asking questions about the mysterious details surrounding Levy’s disappearance and the flawed investigation that followed.

The body of Chandra Levy was found over a year after her disappearance. After numerous missteps by investigators during the homicide investigation, it remains unsolved. Were the investigators covering for somebody? What could this D.C. intern have learned that would lead to her untimely demise?

Over the past two decades, private prisons have increased exponentially to accommodate the rising incarceration rate. But many people wonder: Were the number of private prisons built as a response to the rising incarceration rate…or were they the cause of it?

Did the CIA create the crack epidemic by planting the drug in the inner cities? Was the War on Drugs actually a pretense to attack and weaken black communities? Why does the U.S. have the highest incarceration rate in the developed world? And are government-led conspiracies behind it all?

Following WWII, a secret CIA mission was put in place to recruit Germany’s top scientific minds in an effort to help America’s space and defense program stay ahead of the Soviets during the Cold War. What is the legacy of these Nazis in America? Did the U.S. overlook war crimes for the sake of technological advancement?

After World War II, the U.S. and Soviet Union raced to capture top German scientists in order to utilize the advanced technology the Nazis had used during the war. The U.S. called this Operation Paperclip. But was Operation Paperclip really organized by the U.S. government? Or was it organized by a larger, international group planning something more ominous?

The Men in Black are a secret organization that are believed to cover up UFO sightings and alien encounters. The government denies its existence, yet many citizens claimed to have encounter them. Are these people lonely souls looking for attention? Or is the government keeping a tight lid on one of the biggest conspiracies in U.S. history?

Who are the Men in Black? Are they are part of a shadow government designed to conceal alien activity on earth? Or are they part of the alien race, living among us on earth to learn our secrets. Or are they something else entirely?

In 1980, the federal government’s Dietary Guidelines recommended Americans restrict their saturated fat intake to reduce their risk of heart disease. Since then, America’s obesity rate - a risk factor for heart disease - has sky-rocketed. Did the government get it wrong about fat?

We now know that sugar plays a large role in the risk of developing heart disease. But this wasn’t always the case. Did the government know that sugar was the culprit all along? Or did the sugar industry finance specious studies to blame heart disease on saturated fat?

Officially established in the late 1300s, the Freemasons were initially an oversight committee for other stonemasons in Europe. Over the years, their requirements and mission changed. From Founding Fathers to various U.S. presidents, many of the country’s most famous and influential men belong to the secretive fraternal organization. Did these men join the Freemasons because of their power, or did they gain their power from being a Freemason?

The Freemasons are seen as a secretive and elusive fraternal organization. But with their secrecy comes questions and theories. Do their ubiquitous landmarks and symbols reflect a secret link to Devil Worshippers? Why do they only recruit powerful individuals? And do they use their charitable contributions to shield others from noticing their nefarious practices?

Diamonds are considered one of the world’s most valuable gemstones. But what if their prices are high due to brilliant marketing and supply monopoly tactics, not because of their rarity? And if that’s the case, are diamonds just a run-of-the-mill gemstone?

Diamonds are considered to be the rarest and most valuable gemstone. Is that really true? Or is making diamonds appear more valuable than they actually are and monopolizing the diamond trade the first step in consolidating power to form a New World Order?

Norma Jeane Mortenson adopted the name and persona of Marilyn Monroe when she began modelling as a teenager in Hollywood. She would become one of the most recognizable movie actresses of her time, but also have affairs with very famous and powerful men. When she was found dead of an apparent overdose, the coroner concluded it was suicide. Based on eyewitness testimony and autopsy analysis, it could have been murder. But if she was killed, who did it and why?

Officially, Marilyn Monroe died of suicide on August 5th, 1962. But in the last weeks of her life, the CIA, the FBI, the Mafia, labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa, and possibly 20th Century-Fox were all surveilling Marilyn Monroe’s house. At the 56th anniversary of her death, we take another look at the conspiracies surrounding it. Evidence was missing, no one can agree on a timeline, and Robert Kennedy himself lied about that night. Was Marilyn Monroe involved with the mafia, a communist spy, or an inconvenient mistress? Or was she a victim of mental illness who never got the help she needed?

This is a crossover episode with the hosts of Conspiracy Theories and Unexplained Mysteries. Listen to part two right after this episode on the Unexplained Mysteries feed. Less than one hour into its flight, Malaysia Airlines flight 370 disappeared from the skies. Despite all of the geo-location technology that exists, and more than $160 million in a search and recovery effort, the whereabouts of flight MH370, and the circumstances of its disappearance over the Indian Ocean in 2014 remain a mystery. Listen to part 2 now on the Unexplained Mysteries feed. Part 2 will not be on the Conspiracy Theories feed. Thanks!

GMOs include foods that have been genetically modified or grown in labs. Opponents claim that GMOs cause health issues, and harm the environment. Advocates insist they help safely and cheaply increase food supply and are more environmentally conscious. Are GMOs a sinister bid by major corporations to take control of our food system, or a high-tech science that could solve world hunger? Or, is it something much worse?

GMOs include foods that have been genetically modified or grown in labs. Some people claim scientists are distorting facts to silence the discoveries of non-GMO activists. Others say biotech companies are allowing dangerous products to be released to the public… possibly for mass mind control.

Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols met in army basic training during the 1980s. In 1995, they would kill 168 innocent people when a bomb they constructed detonated outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City. Was McVeigh angry at the government. Or was this part of a government plan to distract the public from a scandal involving the President?

The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing carried out by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols was the deadliest act of domestic terrorism ever carried out by American citizens on their own country’s soil. Were they secretly funded by a middle eastern terrorist cell? Or worse, were they patsies for a plan hatched by the U.S. government?

In 1919, America had two favorite pastimes: baseball and corruption. The two coincided in 1919, when eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of conspiring with gamblers to intentionally lose the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds...but did they conspire?

In 1919, eight members of the Chicago White Sox, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, were accused of throwing the World Series. But new evidence casts doubt on Jackson’s involvement. Was Shoeless Joe Jackson framed by mobster Arnold Rothstein? Or was this all an elaborate scheme by U.S. government to prevent Major League players from unionizing?

Were organizations like the United Nations, NATO, and The Warsaw Pact truly designed to prevent another world war? Or were these the first steps in the consolidation of power by the New World Order?

Is this organization planning to dominate the world through a sudden coup and implementing martial law? Are they using mass surveillance to bring us into a Brave New World scenario? Or has the takeover been so gradual over generations that nobody is aware it’s already happening?

Nations routinely advance themselves by creating schematics from stolen or recovered technology. Could we be doing the same thing by reverse engineering alien spacecraft?

The Human Genome Project allowed us to understand the genetic blueprint of a human being. What could the reverse engineering of UFOs teach us about life beyond our world? Subscribe now to our new podcast HOSTAGE, featuring the riveting story of Patty Hearst's abduction by the Symbionese Liberation Army.

These injections provide long-term, sometimes lifelong protection against a disease, but are there side-effects we don’t know about?

Vaccines are universally accepted and overwhelmingly deemed safe and effective by medical professionals today. Yet, controversy remains about what’s inside of them, who’s controlling them, and for what purpose?

Lee Harvey Oswald is the sole person responsible for Kennedy’s assassination. Or is he? Many Americans think the government’s official story is flawed and Oswald didn’t act alone. Is there someone else out there responsible for JFK’s death?

Most Americans don’t believe the theory that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in Dallas, Texas in 1963. He must have been working for the Cubans or possibly the Soviets. Or was it an accident? Or was the US Government behind the most examined assassination in modern U.S. History.

FEMA, The Federal Emergency Management Agency, helps millions of people recover after a natural disaster. However, some say FEMA might not be the solution to disasters, but the cause of them. FEMA is alleged to have established hidden “death” camps for one ominous reason: to detain, and possibly kill, American citizens who don’t conform to the New World Order.

Is the agency known for helping the United States rebuild after natural disasters, actually responsible for the deaths of millions of people? The fear of FEMA “death” camps have deep implications for the future of the United States and the agency.

After the U.S. military dropped the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world roared with questions: what long-term health risks could atomic weapons carry? How did the Soviet Union build their own bomb so quickly? And did the Manhattan Project's scientists have help from extraterrestrials?

After the U.S. military dropped the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, the world roared with questions: what long-term health risks could atomic weapons carry? How did the Soviet Union build their own bomb so quickly? And did the Manhattan Projects scientists have help from extraterrestrials?