Parcast Presents

Unimaginable wealth. Unchecked corruption. America is known for industrial tycoons hoarding control, manipulating the economy, and wielding more power than politicians. But this isn't new. It started in The Gilded Age. From Dictators, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’ve reached the end of our series, but if we’ve learned anything so far, it’s that the end is just the beginning... So for our final episode, let’s explore how Spiritualism looks now, in the 21st century. And why it’s still a springboard for communing over grief, death... and whatever comes next. From Mediums, a Spotify Original from Parcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She was a gifted psychic during WWII, performing seances for soldiers and their families... and spilling top secret intelligence. Officials became so concerned with silencing her, they invoked a 200-year-old law against witchcraft to have her locked up. From Mediums, a Spotify Original from Parcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we’re bringing you straight into the heart of a 19th-century seance. So please, dim the lights and take a seat — there’s a spirit here who would like to make your acquaintance. From Mediums, a Spotify Original from Parcast! Parcasters, we have exciting news! Our first book hits bookshelves July 12th. Don’t miss this chilling summer read that takes you deep into the darkest sides of human nature. Learn more and grab your copy at www.parcast.com/cults! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Male mediums were relatively rare in Spiritualism — but they did exist, and a few even became world-famous. With decidedly different reputations than their female counterparts, men like the dashing D.D. Hume and the Davenport brothers helped bring the movement to the cutting edge… while pulling off remarkable cons. From Mediums, a Spotify Original from Parcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The biggest showdown of the Spiritualism movement pitted an amateur medium against the greatest magician alive. Margery Crandon was on the verge of winning a cash prize for proving her powers when Harry Houdini became obsessed with debunking her — and it may have cost him his life. From Mediums, a Spotify Original from Parcast! Parcasters, we have exciting news! Our first book hits bookshelves July 12th. Don’t miss this chilling summer read that takes you deep into the darkest sides of human nature. Learn more and grab your copy at www.parcast.com/cults! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The rapid growth of Spiritualism meant mediums needed to find new ways to communicate with the dead, and captivate the living. Their innovations spanned from the ingenious to the bizarre, and ultimately proved them capable of impressing even the most skeptical of critics. From Mediums, a Spotify Original from Parcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Madame Blavatsky: Ingenious Imposter She's the most famous woman you've never heard of. By the mid-19th century, Madame Blavatsky had toured the world, communed with the dead, and created plenty of juicy scandals. In fact, she was a household name, famous for decoding the mysteries of the dead. From Mediums, a Spotify Original from Parcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She might not be the most famous medium to ever live, but at the height of the Spiritualist movement, she was the only one they couldn't debunk. After thirty years of successful predictions, Leonora Piper proved that she was either the real deal... or the best con artist who ever lived. From Mediums, a Spotify Original from Parcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Parcast’s newest show takes you into the minds of history’s greatest detectives during the biggest cases of their careers. Every week, follow in their footsteps as they hunt down suspects and solve “perfect” crimes. Scotland Yard Confidential is produced in partnership with Noiser. Start listening here, then follow Scotland Yard Confidential for new episodes every Thursday! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The death of the Director in 1972 put an end to a reign that spanned 48 years, and left America to live in his outsized shadow. What happened to Hoover’s secret files? How is the modern FBI still shaped by his legacy? And what have we discovered about the true nature of his surveillance projects? This is the final episode in our six-part series from Conspiracy Theories and Dictators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While antiwar and Civil Rights movements charged forward, Hoover unleashed the FBI upon his enemies and adversaries. By the end of the 1960s, he was proclaiming that America’s greatest domestic threat was the Black Panther Party — and he was determined to smear, discredit, even destroy anyone even remotely associated with them. This is the fifth episode of our six-part series from Conspiracy Theories and Dictators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 1960s, the Director’s adversaries included the Kennedy brothers and leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, which he believed to be part of a larger communist conspiracy. He would do everything in his power to undermine them all. When JFK was assassinated — two weeks after Lee Harvey Oswald emerged onto the FBI’s radar — Hoover strangled the investigation to protect the Bureau’s reputation. This is episode four in our six-part crossover special from Conspiracy Theories and Dictators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new president in the White House meant a new opportunity for a power play. Unfortunately for Hoover, Truman already thought the Bureau was becoming a secret police force. So he checked their power, and created a separate foreign intelligence agency — what will become the CIA. Meanwhile, Hoover was still bent on rooting out communist infiltrators and Soviet spies. Soon enough, he began handing intel over to Congressional committees like HUAC... and to his new friend and ally: a rising senator named Joseph McCarthy. This is the third episode in our six-part crossover special from Conspiracy Theories and Dictators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By the 1930s, Hoover was America's top cop. He went after bank robbers and bandits in his War on Crime, never losing sight of his real nemesis: communism. Every maneuver went toward Hoover’s carefully crafted narrative of the FBI. As their prestige grew, so did their power. But while Hoover had FDR’s ear, he also faced the ire of embittered political rivals. This is episode two of our six-part crossover special from Conspiracy Theories and Dictators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

J. Edgar Hoover was eager and ruthless. The young intelligence officer believed wholeheartedly in the communist conspiracy, and he’d do anything to protect his country. Raids, deportations, mass arrests. He targeted everyone from Russian anarchists to American labor unions in his frenzy to curb the communist threat. No matter what the law said. This is the first episode in our six-part crossover special from Conspiracy Theories and Dictators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In our fourth and final adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s most macabre tales, a midnight visitor interrupts the silent, mournful reveries of a grieving widower. From Haunted Places: Ghost Stories, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can you ever escape a plague? When a privileged soon-to-be doctor seeks shelter from a deadly disease, he learns no place is safe from the terror of death. From Haunted Places: Ghost Stories, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Caring for the ailing and eldery has taken its toll on Philip Langdon. He insists on his sanity, but proof of his deteriorating mental health lies pulsing beneath the surface. From Haunted Places: Ghost Stories, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we’re celebrating the genius of Edgar Allan Poe with four chilling tales! Today’s story: Sickly and desperate, Roderick Usher calls upon a childhood friend to join him in his ancestral home. There, the weight of the Usher family’s wicked legacy threatens to overwhelm them both. From Haunted Places: Ghost Stories, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Nitrous Mafia have been a fixture at Grateful Dead shows and other jam band concerts since the ‘90s. They deal nitrous oxide to fans who want a taste of euphoria, but critics claim the cutthroat racket is taking shows’ atmospheres from mellow… to menacing. This is the final episode in our two-part special from Conspiracy Theories. Follow for new conspiracies every Monday and Wednesday! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 1960s a counterculture revolution was upending traditional norms of life, and the Grateful Dead were providing the soundtrack… and the drugs. Of course, this put them right in the crosshairs of the FBI. But while the feds had a file on the band, did they also have a deal together? Some say the disastrous Altamont Music Festival has all the markings of sabotage... Enjoy this special two-part series from Conspiracy Theories, a Spotify Original from Parcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She's perhaps the most famous femme fatale of the 20th century. And yet, Mata Hari's supposed crimes are shrouded in mystery. Who was this woman who captivated all of Europe? How did she become embroiled in the espionage of WWI? And who masterminded her ultimate fate? From Female Criminals, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In espionage terms, honeytraps are the stuff of legend: a beautiful temptress so seductive that she can convince even the most cunning of men to reveal state secrets. But in the case of Shi Pei Pu and the affair known as M. Butterfly, seduction would turn to love, and a decades-long deception which would ultimately expose a very different kind of secret. From Female Criminals, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The beautiful Soviet seductress is a well-known figure of femme fatale lore. She's patriotic, irresistible, and deadly. But how much of that is true? Did the KGB really train women to seduce and kill men? Or were the "sparrows" just women desperate for a better life? From Female Criminals, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A cunning puppetmaster, Catherine de Medici is most vividly remembered as a one-time queen of France who dispatched beautiful women in her court to manipulate the men of France. Except… that’s not really the case. But hidden in the spectacular legends lie kernels of truth about Catherine and her Flying Squadron. From Female Criminals, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The term "femme fatale" conjures up noir vixens whose sole purpose is to bring the story's male hero to his knees. But sometimes, women behaving badly are just getting things done the only way society will allow. Enjoy this series from Female Criminals, a Spotify Original from Parcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the days count down to Hale-Bopp’s arrival, 39 people prepare for ascension. They’d abandoned their old lives, embraced a new ideology, weathered the death of a beloved leader… and finally, made themselves worthy of the Next Level. Now, the comet was coming. And with it, the spaceship that would ferry them onward. In March of 1997, they left everything behind. From Cults, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The group’s belief system had never been infallible. There had been adjustments along the way; revisions meant to keep the wheels turning whenever prophecies didn’t manifest. But then, in 1985, Bonnie Lu Nettles died. And her passing threw Heaven’s Gate’s whole world askew. From Cults, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1976 was a turning point for Heaven’s Gate. The spaceship that was promised had not arrived. Members were defecting. Nettles and Applewhite gathered their truest believers in Wyoming and made it clear: Things were going to be different from here on out. Much different. From Cults, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Bonnie Lu Nettles and Marshall Applewhite meet in Houston in 1972, it’s not for the first time — at least, not according to their birth charts. They’ve known each other in a past life. And in this lifetime, they have a joint mission. They set out, amid a wave of social and political upheaval, to find it. From Cults, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In November 2018, equipment from the largest utility company in America sparked a fire that killed 86 people and destroyed thousands of homes. The devastation was unprecedented, but the Camp Fire is far from the only disaster caused by Pacific Gas & Electric — and yet they remain California’s largest energy provider. From Conspiracy Theories, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In March 2011, the worst nuclear meltdown since Chernobyl took place in northern Japan. The incident was triggered by a natural disaster, but it was decisions made by the facility’s operators that led to such catastrophic damage. From Conspiracy Theories, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An emergency plan to cut costs in Flint, Michigan, resulted in a contaminated water supply for the city’s residents. The water looked, tasted, and smelled foul – because it was tainted with toxic chemicals, harmful bacteria, and lead from old pipes. But government officials repeatedly dismissed the community’s concerns. So today, we’re tracing what officials knew about the burgeoning crisis, and when — and how they’re paying for their negligence now. From Conspiracy Theories, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Love Canal was supposed to be a suburban idyll. Instead, it became a dumping ground for chemical waste. After the land changed hands in the 1950s, a school and 900 homes were built atop the toxic landfill. Decades later, residents are still battling adverse health outcomes and government negligence. From Conspiracy Theories, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

28-year-old Hans Peterson spent four years nursing his rage against a dermatologist who prescribed a drug that turned his life upside down. In October 2006, Peterson rented a car and drove it to Chicago for a final confrontation. From Medical Murders, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A hospital murder unfolded at the intersection of grief and illness in January 2015. From Medical Murders, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In June 1992, Dr. John Kemink was fatally shot by a former patient, retired car salesman Chester Leo Posby. Posby blamed the doctor for an injury that had upended his entire life. But he also believed that Dr. Kemink was conspiring to kill him. From Medical Murders, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In January of 2013, Dr. Ron Gilbert was shot and killed in his office by a new patient who said his name was Allen Gold. Only he wasn't a new patient and his name was actually Stanwood Elkus. It had been 20 years since Dr. Gilbert originally diagnosed him, and Elkus was back for revenge. From Medical Murders, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the fall of 2011, a 17-year-old model struck up an online relationship with NBA player Chris “Birdman” Andersen. But someone else was pulling the strings of their ill-fated romance. From Crimes of Passion, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Jenelle Potter's crush, Billy Payne, started dating another woman, she used Facebook to spread rumors about the couple. But when a CIA agent contacted her parents, informing them that Payne was a threat to Jenelle's life, they took matters into their own hands. From Crimes of Passion, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An online love triangle between 18-year-old Tommy, 17-year-old Jessi, and 22-year-old Brian turned tragic when their romantic fantasy world collided with their harsh realities. From Crimes of Passion, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After an ascendant rise to the papacy, Pope Leo X began draining the massive treasury left by his predecessor. The nonstop feasting and over-the-top festivities were partly strategic, mostly indulgent, and at the root of a controversy that would produce the sale of indulgences, Luther’s 95 Theses… and Leo’s suspicious death. This episode first aired on Dictators. New episodes every Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Giovanni de' Medici was a shrewd strategist who became pope before the age of 40. As a cardinal, he ended the Medicis’ exile in Florence, returning the dynasty to their seat of power. As pope, he would nearly bankrupt the Vatican — and upend the Christian world. This episode first aired on Dictators. New episodes every Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Seated atop the papal throne, Pope Julius II was determined to bring order along the Italian Peninsula — by any means necessary. This episode first aired on Dictators. New episodes every Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Later nicknamed ‘The Warrior Pope,’ Giuliano della Rovere always nurtured visions of personal glory. As a cardinal, he thought he could obtain glory on the battlefield. But he was constantly embroiled in feuds with family and rivalries with former allies. This episode first aired on Dictators. New episodes every Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Now wearing the papal tiara, Pope Alexander VI was determined to root out the corruption that plagued Rome and the Vatican. But rumors spread that the Spanish pope was guilty of his own corruption, murder, and incest. This episode first aired on Dictators. New episodes every Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elevated into power by his uncle, Pope Calixtus III, Rodrigo Borgia became instrumental in settling affairs throughout the Papal States. As a cardinal, he orchestrated the election of popes for decades — biding his time before making moves to become a pope himself. This episode first aired on Dictators. New episodes every Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2020, the founder of the World Economic Forum proposed a new set of policies called The Great Reset. The initiative was a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but conspiracy theorists smelled a power play. It begged the question: How might a New World Order promise utopia, while enacting an agenda far more sinister? This is the final part of an Unexplained Mysteries series. Follow Unexplained Mysteries for new episodes twice a week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if our leaders weren’t elected, but installed? Today we’re investigating relationships that positioned people for power and re-shaped our world. From the Bilderberg Group ushering politicians into the White House, to Citizens United and the insidiousness of super PACs. This episode originally aired on Unexplained Mysteries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices