Show overview
Mission Implausible has been publishing since 2024, and across the 2 years since has built a catalogue of 118 episodes, alongside 1 trailer or bonus episode. That works out to roughly 70 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a weekly cadence, with the show now in its 7th season.
Episodes typically run thirty-five to sixty minutes — most land between 30 min and 41 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-US-language Society & Culture show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 5 days ago, with 19 episodes already out so far this year. Published by Jonathan Stern.
From the publisher
Do you want to know the truth behind the world’s wildest conspiracy theories? Former CIA officers John Sipher & Jerry O’Shea try to determine where misinformation is coming from, when we’re being lied to and when a conspiracy theory is an actual real conspiracy. In the world of espionage, they were part of creating conspiracies. Now they and their circle of experts probe what’s true and when we’re being manipulated. New episodes every week. Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod Executive Producers: Adam Davidson, John Sipher, Jerry O'Shea & Jonathan Stern. Producer: Rachel Harner A production of Honorable Mention and Abominable Pictures
Latest Episodes
View all 118 episodesHow the CIA Decides What’s Legal (with James Petrila)
Crypto: The Trump Family Business (with Zach Everson)
Serving in the Middle East, then Writing About It (with Ilana Berry)
Modern Conspiracy Culture: How Real Scandals Fueled False Narratives (with Kathryn Olmsted)
S7 Ep 13The Terrible Thing People Say When They Think No One Is Listening (with Ben Palmer)
Comedian Ben Palmer (Palmer Trolls) does sort-of-pranks that have evolved from satire to social experiment. Using aliases, fake websites and a “deportation hotline,” Palmer reveals how easily ordinary people are drawn into exposing their own bad behavior and unabashed racism (he would make a terrific CIA case officer). Watch his video about pretending to be the social media person for three months for Republican Congressman Ted Yoho. Palmer’s work reveals truths about human behavior and predatory systems, exposing the parallels of American’s current experience to that of authoritarian regimes. Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod
S7 Ep 12What the Steele Dossier Got Right—and Why It Still Matters (with Christopher Steele)
In 2016, former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele produced a series of intelligence memos that were leaked and widely called “The Steel Dossier” containing allegations about Russia's interference in the US election and links between Trumpworld and the Kremlin. In a highly unique conversation, Steele and John & Jerry look into the many hot-button conspiracy theories and real conspiracies that Steele has intelligence on — going all the way back to the death of Princess Diana and through Jeffrey Epstein’s involvement with Russian espionage. And how Trump’s behavior has made America so untrustworthy that it can no longer function effectively at worldwide intelligence gathering. Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod
S7 Ep 11Havana Syndrome Is Real - and They Tried to Bury It (with Michael Weiss) - Part Two
We continue to look at Havana Syndrome and Russian intelligence operations. Investigative journalist Michael Weiss expands on evidence suggesting that a covert unit within Russian military intelligence may have targeted Western operatives, particularly those involved in countering Russian activities in Ukraine and other strategic regions. We discuss geopolitical miscalculations, including U.S. responses to Russian aggression, the war in Ukraine, and election interference. The greatest victories for adversaries like Russia often come not from their own capabilities, but from America’s tendency to overreact, politicize, and fracture from within. Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod
S7 Ep 10Havana Syndrome Is Real - and They Tried to Bury It (with Michael Weiss) - Part One
Havana Syndrome wasn’t a mystery. It was a coverup. And it wasn’t just Havana. Investigative journalist Michael Weiss (The Insider) returns to the show to break down his explosive reporting on the unexplained brain injuries suffered by U.S. diplomats, CIA officers, and military personnel around the world. Weiss lays out compelling evidence linking these incidents to a covert Russian intelligence unit and a new kind of directed-energy weapon. But the real story may be inside CIA itself. Was this a failure of intelligence, a clash of institutional power, or something deliberate? Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod
S7 Ep 9The CIA Analyst Who Knows Why Intelligence Fails (with David McCloskey)
Former CIA analyst and bestselling spy novelist David McCloskey (“The Rest Is Classified” podcast) explains how Israel manipulated Trump to get him to attack Iran and what Netanyahu’s real plan is. The new answers on Havana Syndrome and whether there was a CIA coverup. And the tragic events of Jordanian triple-agent Balawi. Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod
S7 Ep 8The Singularity War and How to Hack Minds (w/ Anthony Vinci)
Former senior intelligence officer and author of The Fourth Intelligence Revolution explores how artificial intelligence, big data, and information warfare are fundamentally reshaping global intelligence. He forsees the coming “Singularity War” — a future of fully autonomous intelligence and warfare systems. Now AI enables small groups or even individuals to carry out attacks once reserved for nation-states, including psychological manipulation. How do we defend against this? What tools does a democracy have that others don’t? Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod
S7 Ep 7The Art of the Pardon: How The Dept. of Justice Became a Favor Bank (with Liz Oyer)
Former U.S. Pardon Attorney Liz Oyer was fired by Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche after she refused to recommend giving a domestic abuser back his gun. That criminal was Trump’s “Ambassador to Hollywood” Mel Gibson. Oyer explains how presidential pardons and clemency is supposed to work. With Trump’s Dept. of Justice, it’s been supercharged. Pardons seem to be driven by personal favors, political alliances and outright cash payoffs. Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod
S7 Ep 6The Midterm Power Grab (w/ Will Sommer)
Will Sommer (of The Bulwark) returns to unpack threats to federalize elections to renewed efforts to “prove” 2020 was stolen. We also diagnose the strange incentives and rivalries inside MAGA world — the influencers, grifters, true believers, and opportunists. Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod
S7 Ep 5What Ghislaine Maxwell Knows and Why She’s Being Protected (with Tara Palmeri & Adam Davidson)
Tara breaks down what Ghislaine Maxwell’s current treatment, legal positioning, and pardon speculation actually signal. They describe the difference between the public narrative and the private reality journalists encounter inside the MAGA ecosystem. From pardon strategy to media pressure to the survival instincts of those closest to Trump, Tara and Adam connect the dots between Maxwell’s continued silence and the political incentives surrounding it. Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod
S7 Ep 4The Hawaiian Cult that raised Tulsi Gabbard (with Christine Gralow)
Our current Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was born into The Science of Identity Foundation, a secretive, authoritarian religious group led by guru Chris Butler. What are the beliefs of The SIF and how did they influence Gabbard's political career? Some believe that she's still under their direction, if not outright control. If so, the international criminal investigations of the organization, along with the local Hawaiian suspicions of it, raises serious national security questions for someone in that role. Then why does it appear that even a standard FBI background check of Gabbard was skipped? The reporting on Gabbard's origins had been sparse... until now. Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod
S7 Ep 3Alex Jones and the Conspiracy Economy (with Jordan Holmes)
The co-host of the Knowledge Fight podcast knows too much about Alex Jones. How are conspiracy ecosystems built, monetized, and sustained? From cult psychology and propaganda laundering to Sandy Hook, supplement grifting, and political power, what are the conditions that keep figures like Jones alive and influential? Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod
S7 Ep 2Eating Bugs, Shooting Bobby Kennedy, The Deadly Double: Conspiracy Theory Grey Areas (with Adam Tod Brown)
The host of CONSPIRACY! THE SHOW has insights on why people believe wild things and how grifters and media personalities turn paranoia into profit. With questions about his own conspiracy theories: - Was an ad in The New Yorker for a board game a tipoff about Pearl Harbor? - Did the CIA want to kill Reagan? - Why are there bans on lab-produced meat? - Is there proof of The October Surprise? - Do CIA Assassination Manuals exist? - How much does the government lie to us? Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod
S7 Ep 1The Overlooked Radicalization Crisis: How Women Become Extremists (with Leah Sottile)
Investigative journalist Leah Sottile, author of Blazing Eye Sees All, draws on years of direct reporting on anti-government movements, Christian nationalism, New Age spirituality, death cults and online radicalization to explains how fringe belief systems gain power amongst women in America. It’s very different from the path that men take. Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod
S6 Ep 15From Hollywood to Human Rights: The Real Cost of Conspiracy Thinking (with Stephanie March)
Drawing on her leadership roles with Planned Parenthood Global and humanitarian organizations in Africa, actor & activist Stephanie March (ADA Alex Cabot on Law & Order: SVU) describes how ill-conceived policy decisions —particularly the dismantling of USAID programs — have immediate, devastating consequences. Plus, is there any actual nation-building happening in Venezuela, why CIA doesn’t use honey traps and the truth about Area 51.
S6 Ep 14Wellness to Weaponization: How Women Are Drawn into Conspiracy Extremism (with Noelle Cook)
From wellness culture and yoga influencers to QAnon forums and January 6, the pathways into conspiracy extremism aren’t always obvious — especially for women. Identity and meaning can quietly turn misinformation into ideology. Author and researcher Noelle Cook discuss did direct fieldwork with women involved in conspiracy movements and the Capitol attack. Extremism doesn’t always look extreme. Sometimes it looks like community. Radicalization — it’s not just for men. Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod
S6 Ep 13What Fresh Hell: 2025 in Conspiracy Theories and Disinformation
Our team gives their analysis of a disturbingly familiar year in power and politics, normalization and surprises. Much of it was predictable, some was worse, and some was worse that worse. Yet conspiratorial thinking cuts both ways, and 2025 illuminated some “theories” as being actual conspiracies. What trajectories might actually improve in 2026? Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod