Conspiracy Theories

When Union troops cornered John Wilkes Booth in a remote barn after his assassination of President Lincoln in 1865, they were given strict orders to take him alive. However, Booth was shot to death, without provocation, dying before he could be interrogated or tried for the crime. Sponsors! BetterHelp - Conspiracy Theories listeners get 10% off the first month with discount code CONSPIRACY at BetterHelp.com/CONSPIRACY. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At the close of the Civil War in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was killed by a conspiracy of Confederate sympathizers led by actor John Wilkes Booth. But some contend that the conspiracy didn't begin or end with Booth and his accomplices - someone much more powerful was pulling the strings. Parcasters - If you haven’t checked out Extraterrestrial, this week is the time to start! Catch up on our Dulce Base episodes now, and follow the riveting investigation of cattle mutilations in New Mexico. Available now at parcast.com/extraterrestrial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1962, the CIA proposed staging a false flag operation to drum up public support for a war on Cuba. Officially, this plan never went into effect. But some believe a plan based on Operation Northwoods was carried out nearly 40 years later, on September 11th, 2001. Sponsors! Robinhood - Robinhood is giving listeners of Conspiracy Theories a FREE stock like Apple, Ford, or Sprint to help you build your portfolio. Sign up at Conspiracy.Robinhood.com. Upstart - Hurry to Upstart.com/CONSPIRACY to find out HOW LOW your Upstart rate is. Checking your rate only takes 2 minutes—and won’t affect your credit! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In April 1959, Fidel Castro visited the White House to meet with Vice President Richard Nixon. By the end of the meeting, Nixon knew they would never be friends, but he couldn't have imagined how formidable an enemy Castro would become. Parcasters - Crimes of Passion is covering the Fred Jablin murder today, if you're into conspiracies, you won't want to miss this one! Check it out: parcast.com/passion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While thousands of previously healthy people were suddenly falling ill and dying throughout the '80s and '90s, everyone was looking for answers. Some of these answers might be found in the resume of Robert Gallo, a U.S. military contractor who developed bioweapon viruses in the late '60s and early '70s...and was one of the first people to identify the HIV virus in 1983. Parcasters - Check out our new show, Survival! In our first episode we covered Shin Dong-hyuk’s escape from a North Korean internment camp. Available now at parcast.com/survival Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the late '70s, a mysterious disease cropped up in the U.S. where healthy young people were suddenly dying and doctors couldn't explain why. By the early 1980s, nearly 1000 U.S. citizens had died from AIDS. Some wonder if the U.S. government was intentionally ignoring the disease, or if they engineered the epidemic as a population control scheme. Parcasters - Interested in political dealings? You won’t believe what we’ve covered on our Assassinations podcast! Check it out at parcast.com/assassinations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Low-resolution footage. Shadows that don't quite line up. Visible prop markers on rocks. If the 1969 moon landing was staged, it wasn't done meticulously. Questions remain about the discrepancies in the photos and videos taken aboard the Apollo 11 mission. Perhaps faking a moon landing was even harder than actually putting a man on the moon. Sponsors! BetterHelp - Conspiracy Theories listeners get 10% off your first month with discount code CONSPIRACY. Go to BetterHelp.com/Conspiracy. Robinhood - Robinhood is giving listeners of Conspiracy Theories a FREE stock like Apple, Ford, or Sprint to help you build your portfolio. Sign up at Conspiracy.Robinhood.com. Upstart - Hurry to Upstart.com/CONSPIRACY to find out HOW LOW your Upstart rate is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Half a billion viewers around the world tuned in to watch Neil Armstrong take his first steps on the moon's surface in 1969. It was one of the greatest television moments in history - and many suggest Stanley Kubrick should have received a Best Director award for the broadcast. Even today, there's considerable speculation that putting a man on the moon is a task too difficult for even the best astronauts to accomplish. Parcasters - To learn about an iconic event in American history, check out our our new episode on John McCain on HOSTAGE, wherever you get your shows. Listen now at parcast.com/hostage Sponsors! BetterHelp - Go to BetterHelp.com/Conspiracy to get 10% off your first month with discount code CONSPIRACY. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When a 93-year-old Nazi war criminal was found dead in Spandau Prison in 1987, some refused to believe the official verdict of suicide by hanging. Doctors were baffled that the weak, elderly prisoner had the strength to hang himself. The timing of Rudolph Hess’s death was suspicious as well. After spending 50 years in prison, he was finally going to be released. Sponsors! Robinhood - Get a FREE stock like Apple, Ford, or Sprint to help you build your portfolio. Sign up at Conspiracy.Robinhood.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

War criminal and powerful Nazi, Rudolf Hess, was sentenced to 50 years in prison at the Nuremberg Trials. In 1987, official reports agreed he died from suicide by hanging himself inside the Spandau Prison. However, Hess' son claims he was murdered by the British Secret Intelligence Service to prevent him from revealing pertinent information. Parcasters - You might call the death of Rudolf Hess unsolved. You can check out our UNSOLVED MURDERS podcast if you want to try to solve more puzzling deaths. Listen now at parcast.com/unsolved Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What many thought was a weather balloon turned out to be a top-secret surveillance craft being used to spy on the Soviets. Surviving witnesses have all given different and contradictory versions of what happened, some more sensational than others. Regardless of what theory you believe, UFOlogists have been captivated by Roswell ever since the 1950s. Extraterrestrial! - Thank you Bill and Tim for joining us! Check Parcast's new podcast Extraterrestrial now to hear more ET stories with Bill and Tim! Just search for Extraterrestrial wherever you listen to podcasts Sponsors! BetterHelp - Conspiracy Theories listeners get 10% off your first month with discount code CONSPIRACY when you go to BetterHelp.com/Conspiracy. Torrid - Go to Torrid.com and use Promo Code CONSPIRACY15 for $15 off every $50 you spend! That means you can get up to $150 off a $500 order! Upstart - Hurry to Upstart.com/CONSPIRACY to find out how low your Upstart rate is! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One morning in 1947 a rancher discovered debris on his property in Roswell, New Mexico. The debris didn’t look recognizable and the army was quickly called to the scene to declare it as a crashed weather balloon… but that’s not the only story. Many believe aliens were found at the scene of the crash, even leading a mortician to request a coffin that could fit alien bodies. Extraterrestrial! - Thank you Bill and Tim for joining us! Check Parcast's new podcast Extraterrestrial now to hear more ET stories with Bill and Tim! Just search for Extraterrestrial wherever you listen to podcasts Sponsors! BetterHelp - Conspiracy Theories listeners get 10% off the first month with discount code CONSPIRACY. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

April 4th, 1968 marks the day one of the most powerful public speakers and civil rights activists was tragically murdered by James Earl Ray. Many people believe, including some of Martin Luther King Jr.’s very own children, that the “lone” gunman didn’t actually act alone. Authorities have investigated the case, but haven’t found conclusive results. Parcasters - After this episode of Conspiracy Theories, check out our new show Extraterrestrial and learn about the abduction of Barney and Betty Hill. Listen at parcast.com/extraterrestrial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Earl Ray, a 40-year-old escaped convict, pleaded guilty to the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. He was sentenced to 99 years in prison without trial. But years later, Ray claimed he didn’t act alone. He was a mere pawn at the center of a dark and twisty conspiracy to kill the civil rights activist. Sponsors! Zola - To start your free wedding website and also get $50 off your registry on Zola, go to Zola.com/CONSPIRACY. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pretty much everyone in the United States owns a cell phone today. Yet, they might be detrimental to our health. Some believe they can even be weaponized in the form of lasers, heat rays, and particle beams. The only major health study conducted to this point was funded by telecommunications companies, raising questions about the credibility of the results. Sponsors! Torrid - Go to Torrid.com and use Promo Code CONSPIRACY15 for $15 off every $50 you spend! That means you can get up to $150 off a $500 order! Upstart - Hurry to Upstart.com/CONSPIRACY to find out HOW LOW your Upstart rate is! Checking your rate only takes 2 minutes—and won’t affect your credit! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cell phones are a ubiquitous element of society today. We use them for just about everything. In many ways, they are beneficial to a person’s well being. We set alarms on our smartphones to wake us up, and fall asleep watching videos or texting with friends. Still, questions remain as to whether these devices are safe to use, or if they could actually be hazardous to our health. Parcast News - Be sure to check out Parcast’s first fictional crime show MIND’S EYE at Parcast.com/MindsEye! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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? Sponsors! Care/of - For 25% off your first month of personalized Care/of vitamins, visit TakeCareOf.com and enter code CONSPIRACY. Sun Basket - Go to SunBasket.com/CONSPIRACY today to learn more and get $35 off your first order! Torrid - Go to Torrid.com and use Promo Code CONSPIRACY15 for $15 off every $50 you spend! That means you can get up to $150 off a $500 order! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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? Parcast - Listen to our new show Mythology where ever you listen to Podcasts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Sponsors! ModCloth - To get 15% off your purchase of $100 or more, go to ModCloth.com and enter code THEORIES at checkout. Upstart - Hurry to Upstart.com/CONSPIRACY to find out how low your Upstart rate is! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Sponsors! StoryWorth - For $20 off, visit StoryWorth.com/CONSPIRACY when you subscribe! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Sponsors! Parcast - Rate, review and subscribe to our new show Assassinations which premieres November 19th! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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? Sponsors! Parcast - Rate, review, and subscribe to our new podcast Hostage! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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? Sponsors! Upstart - Hurry to Upstart.com/CONSPIRACY to find out how low your Upstart rate is! Checking your rate only takes 2 minutes—and won’t affect your credit! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

These injections provide long-term, sometimes lifelong protection against a disease, but are there side-effects we don’t know about? Sponsors! Parcast - Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to our new podcast Kingpins! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Sponsors! Parcast - Subscribe to our new shows Hostage and Kingpins! Head to Parcast.com/Hostage and Parcast.com/Kingpins now so you don’t miss an episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nations routinely advance themselves by creating schematics from stolen or recovered technology. Could we be doing the same thing by reverse engineering alien spacecraft? Subscribe to our new show - Hostage - today! Sponsors! Parcast - Sign up for the Parcast Monthly Newsletter at Parcast.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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? Sponsors! Parcast - Sign up for the Parcast Monthly Newsletter at Parcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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? Sponsors! Parcast - Sign up for the Parcast Monthly Newsletter at Parcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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? Sponsors! Parcast - Sign up for the Parcast Monthly Newsletter at Parcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

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

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

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

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

This is a crossover episode with the hosts of Conspiracy Theories and Unexplained Mysteries. In part one we explored the official story behind the flight's disappearance, in this episode we analyze the theories and mysterious circumstances surrounding this event. Was the plane brought down by a rogue passenger, or a cyber-attack? What kind of information might governments be hiding from the families who lost loved ones? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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