Parcast Presents

In the 1st century B.C.E., competition between Roman senators was stiff — even deadly. When a politician named Catiline learned he'd been knocked out of the running, he organized a coup to overthrow the Roman government entirely. And let's just say, he didn't end up getting his way. For more episodes like this one, follow Conspiracy Theories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 15th century, the Medicis were the most powerful banking family in Italy. Members of a rival banking family known as the Pazzi attempted to overthrow them but failed. What would the world look like today if the Medici line had ended in 1478? For more episodes like this one, follow Conspiracy Theories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Remember, remember the 5th of November? You might remember it differently had Guy Fawkes and his team successfully blown up Parliament back in 1605. For more episodes like this one, follow Conspiracy Theories free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1944, a group of Adolf Hitler's top-ranking officials devised a plot to kill the Nazi leader and end his reign for good. But things didn't exactly go as planned… For more episodes like this one, follow Conspiracy Theories free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Freedom of Information Act allowed civilian UFOlogists to access information the government had kept under wraps. But after the millennium, the U.S. government itself decided to get back into the game — and discover once and for all where UFOs come from. For more episodes like this one, follow Unexplained Mysteries. Every Tuesday and Thursday, unravel the stories behind history’s most compelling puzzles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1952, the Air Force created a third project, pursuing objective UFO data without a bias. After examining thousands of cases, and dismissing many as planes, birds, or clouds, Project Blue Book was left with several UFO sightings that no one could explain. For more episodes like this one, follow Unexplained Mysteries. Every Tuesday and Thursday, unravel the stories behind history’s most compelling puzzles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1949, the Air Force launched a new UFO research project: Project Grudge. But this time, they had a new mandate to follow: extraterrestrial UFOs did not — and could not — exist. For more episodes like this one, follow Unexplained Mysteries. Every Tuesday and Thursday, unravel the stories behind history’s most compelling puzzles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1947, a team of Air Force officials and scientific experts began studying unidentified flying objects spotted in American skies. Their investigations under Project Sign marked the beginning of a decades-long battle for objectivity and transparency in UFO research. For more episodes like this one, follow Unexplained Mysteries. Every Tuesday and Thursday, unravel the stories behind history’s most compelling puzzles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the final installment of our Astrology takeover, we look at Pisces, Aries, and Taurus — the twin fish, the ram, and the bull of the zodiac. For more celestial stories, keep listening across Parcast Network for episodes on the rest of the Zodiac signs, constellations and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our astrology takeover continues, with Sagittarius, Capricorn, and Aquarius — the archer, the sea goat, and the water-bearer. For more celestial stories, keep listening across Parcast Network for episodes on the rest of the Zodiac signs, constellations, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our astrology takeover continues with the stories behind Virgo, Libra and Scorpio — the maiden, the scales of justice, and the vicious scorpion. For more celestial stories, keep listening across Parcast Network for episodes on the rest of the Zodiac signs, constellations and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The stars can tell us our fates, but they also have stories of their own. Today, hear the tales behind Gemini, Cancer and Leo — the cosmic twins of Rome, a monstrous crab, and the ferocious Nemean Lion. For more celestial stories, keep listening across Parcast Network for episodes on the rest of the Zodiac signs, constellations and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From creating costly “healing instruments” to engaging in group sex activities, the Gentle Wind Project claimed to address traumas through spiritual energy work in the 1980s and ‘90s. When former members spoke out about the cult’s abuse, it disbanded, only to reemerge in 2007. If you enjoy this Cults episode and want to hear more international crime cases, follow International Infamy with Ashley Flowers, a new Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Known as “Babu” to locals, former pastor Ambilikile Mwasapile gained international attention after claiming in 2010 that he had found a cure for cancer, diabetes and AIDS. His alleged medical breakthrough was inspired by divine dreams — but it cost potentially thousands of people their lives. If you enjoy this Cults episode and want to hear more international crime cases, follow International Infamy with Ashley Flowers, a new Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Around 2007, a new miracle healer stepped on stage in Brazil, claiming to cure cancer, heart disease and HIV. Followers flocked from all over the world… But the healer wasn’t a traditional preacher, or even a flashy snake oil salesman. She was a 3-year-old girl named Alani Santos. For more international crime cases, follow International Infamy with Ashley Flowers, a new Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ukrainian psychotherapist Anatoly Kashpirovsky led hypnotic TV healing sessions in the late 1980s and ‘90s, drawing millions of viewers across Eastern Europe. He laid low after a series of controversies — but made his comeback in 2009, and is still allegedly healing the masses on his hit YouTube channel. For more international crime cases, follow International Infamy with Ashley Flowers, a new Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An Amityville, New York home was the site of a brutal family murder in 1974. When a new family moved in less than a year later, they lasted just weeks before being driven out by bizarre and horrifying events. The house is featured in the opening scenes of The Conjuring Two. For more episodes like this one, follow Haunted Places free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1980, a family in Connecticut encountered a demon while checking out a rental home. Paranormal experts Ed and Lorraine Warren were brought in to help, inspiring The Conjuring film franchise's third installment, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. The building became known as the Brookfield House... and many believe the demon still lurks there, waiting for its next victim. For more episodes like this one, follow Haunted Places free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A single mother and her four children are plagued by paranormal activity at their house in Enfield, England. Everyone who visits has a different explanation for its terrors — medieval yeomen, an evil magician, “ten naughty things''... The haunting becomes one of the most well-publicized cases in modern history, and the inspiration for The Conjuring 2. For more episodes like this one, follow Haunted Places free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The original film of The Conjuring franchise was inspired by a centuries-old Rhode Island property. Built in 1736, the Old Arnold Estate was allegedly once the home of a satanic witch. When the Perron family moved into the home in 1973, they reawakened her spirit — and famed paranormal experts Ed and Lorraine Warren showed up to investigate. For more episodes like this one, follow Haunted Places free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wrapping up our deep dive into the world of whistleblowing, we're examining its current state. We look at where marquee whistleblowers like Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange, and Edward Snowden are today. And we look ahead at what will happen to whistleblowers in the future. Will technological advances help them — or make their jobs even more deadly? For more episodes like this one, follow Espionage free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2013, NSA systems administrator Edward Snowden handed over thousands of classified documents to journalists. The subsequent revelations of government mass surveillance re-defined whistleblowing in the 21st century and sparked an international conversation about privacy. For more episodes like this one, follow Espionage free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ambiguity and risk are par for the course with whistleblowing. The space between people’s rights to government transparency and the government’s need to keep certain secrets can seem nebulous. But whatever a potential whistleblower decides, one thing is clear: whistleblowing stories are most often tragedies. For more episodes like this one, follow Espionage free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The WikiLeaks releases in 2010 came almost entirely from a single source: Chelsea Manning. While deployed in Iraq, the struggling U.S. Army private was also fighting a private war with her identity. When she was given access to classified information, Manning finally found an opportunity to assert her true beliefs to the world. For more episodes like this one, follow Espionage free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hacker and transparency activist Julian Assange founded the website WikiLeaks in early 2006. In 2010, he garnered worldwide attention for several massive information drops that exposed some of the darkest aspects of U.S. foreign relations — and set himself up as one of the most compelling figures of contemporary whistleblowing. For more episodes like this one, follow Espionage free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The modern origins of whistleblowing reach all the way back to a surprising source: Benjamin Franklin. The act has developed significantly into the 20th century — and so have the legal consequences. For more episodes like this one, follow Espionage free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Investigating the blast and compiling evidence was a huge undertaking. And in the 25 years since the Oklahoma City bombing, McVeigh was turned into something of a folk hero, with his rhetoric inspiring copycats and seeping into mainstream politics. For more episodes like this one, follow Conspiracy Theories free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the morning of the attack, McVeigh parked a rental truck below the Murrah building’s daycare center. At 9am, he ignited the bomb’s two-minute fuse and fled. The explosion was catastrophic, and the day thereafter was filled with tragic deaths, miraculous survivals — and the hunt for the person at the center of it all. For more episodes like this one, follow Conspiracy Theories free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After coming of age in the early ‘90s, Timothy McVeigh became increasingly radicalized against the U.S. government. Witnessing tragic events at Ruby Ridge and Waco motivated him to plan and execute the most devastating incident of domestic terrorism in American history. For more episodes like this one, follow Conspiracy Theories free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On April 19, 1995, U.S. Army veteran Timothy McVeigh detonated a truck bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and injuring hundreds more. For more episodes like this one, follow Conspiracy Theories free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The world looked on in shock when an assassin shot Pope John Paul II in May 1981. The official story was that a crazed lone gunman was to blame, but some theories suggest the attack may have been part of one of the biggest international coverups of all time… For more episodes like this one, follow Conspiracy Theories free on Spotify! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1917, three children in Fatima, Portugal received a series of prophetic messages that were kept secret for decades — first at the behest of the heavenly message-giver, and then by the Vatican itself. When all three secrets were finally revealed, they made for an apocalyptic story of war, destruction… and redemption. For more episodes like this one, follow Conspiracy Theories free on Spotify! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over the centuries, the Vatican Secret Archive has ballooned to millions of documents contained in over 50 miles of shelves. It’s rumored to contain the world's largest collection of pornography, proof of Jesus Christ... even predictions of the end of the world. For more episodes like this one, follow Conspiracy Theories free on Spotify! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, Vatican City is known as an elegant seat of divine power and prestige. But the centuries-long history of the Vatican is marked by bloodshed, corruption — and more secrets than the Church would like to admit. For more episodes like this one, follow Conspiracy Theories free on Spotify! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Between the relentless accusations and physical assaults, the early 2000s were a dangerous time to be living in the Polk household. No one knew that more than their three kids, all caught in the middle of their parents’ tempest. On October 13th 2002, it all came to a head. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Espionage, a Parcast Original. For more episodes like this one, subscribe to Espionage on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. After moving to Florida in the 1990s, George Trofimoff thought he had left all traces of his espionage back in Europe. However, as the FBI got wind of what he had done, a team of determined agents were committed to make him pay for his treason. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Espionage, a Parcast Original. For more episodes like this one, subscribe to Espionage on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. In 1969, American intelligence officer George Trofimoff agreed to provide copies of highly classified documents to the Soviet Union. Driven by a lust for wealth, he was willing to give up his adopted country's biggest secrets for the chance to live a life of luxury. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Not Guilty, a Parcast Original. For more episodes like this one, subscribe to Not Guilty on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. After the protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention devolved into riots, the country demanded answers. Who was responsible for the rampant violence in the streets? In the end, eight of the protest organizers stood trial, referred to as "The Chicago 8." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Not Guilty, a Parcast Original. For more episodes like this one, subscribe to Not Guilty on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. The Democratic National Convention was hotly contested in 1968 - the future of the Vietnam War and the fates hundreds of thousands of soldiers stationed overseas were tied to the presidential nominee selection. On the streets of Chicago, liberal protesters turned out in droves. Much to the dismay of Mayor Richard Daley, who enforced a hard line of law and order. When the two sides clashed, the whole world was watching. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Extraterrestrial, a Parcast Original. For more episodes like this one, subscribe to Extraterrestrial on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. With the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a plan for a joint mission to the moon between the United States and Russia was cancelled before it begun. Decades later, as NASA's documents on the moon landing became declassified, some came to suspect that Kennedy's assassination occurred because he was preparing to reveal to the world the truth about UFOs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Extraterrestrial, a Parcast Original. For more episodes like this one, subscribe to Extraterrestrial on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. During the summer of 1969, the Apollo 10 lunar mission orbited the far side of the moon encountered unfamiliar signals coming from the moon's surface. After the famed Apollo 11 moon landing later that summer, word began to spread that the astronauts had encountered something alien. And thus, a decades-long conspiracy was born. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Survival, a Parcast Original. For more episodes like this one, subscribe to Survival on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. The terrible storm of August 18th, 1969 utterly devastated the Gulf Coast. However, a coordinated effort from the National Guard, the Seabees, truckers and the federal government returned the area to its former glory. But was the aid distributed fairly, or were marginalized groups ignored? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Survival, a Parcast Original. For more episodes like this one, subscribe to Survival on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Riding a summer high, the citizens of the Mississippi Coast, also known as the “Riviera of the South,” never expected that on August 18th, 1969, their community would be destroyed by the most powerful storm ever to hit the United States up to that point. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Haunted Places, a Parcast Original. For more episodes like this one, subscribe to Haunted Places on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Built in 1884, the Chelsea Hotel has been a beacon of New York City counterculture for over a century. Its bohemian community has included Andy Warhol, Sid Vicious, and Stanley Kubrick. But where there is great creativity, there is often great tragedy. And some residents of this hotel simply refuse to leave. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Crimes of Passion, a Parcast Original. For more episodes like this one, subscribe to Crimes of Passion on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. In the early morning of August 9, 1969, Charles Manson’s followers stewed in the aftermath of their murderous actions. They had never done anything like that before, but their passion for Charlie made it feel right. Their gruesome crimes would shock the world and impact the psyche of America for decades to follow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Crimes of Passion, a Parcast Original. For more episodes like this one, subscribe to Crimes of Passion on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. When 32-year-old Charles Manson was released from prison in 1967, he made his way to the free-thinking streets of Haight-Ashbury. There, gurus, shamans, and yogis taught the young people who flocked to the city how to think in new ways and reshape their consciousness. Charles became another one of these teachers, mastering the arts of infatuation and manipulation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Conspiracy Theories, a Parcast Original. For more episodes like this one, subscribe to Conspiracy Theories on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. In the summer of 1969, Senator and presidential hopeful Ted Kennedy became embroiled in a scandal surrounding the death of Mary Jo Kopechne. The fallout of the incident and Kennedy's suspicious actions would haunt his political ambitions for the rest of his career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Conspiracy Theories, a Parcast Original. For more episodes like this one, subscribe to Conspiracy Theories on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. On July 18th, 1969, Ted Kennedy, the youngest son of Joseph Kennedy Sr., drove his car off of a single lane bridge into a pond, resulting in the death of his female passenger. He wouldn't report the accident for ten hours, and in doing so set the scene for an investigation that would lead to more questions than answers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Historical Figures, a Parcast Original. For more episodes like this one, subscribe to Historical Figures on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Today, Muhammad Ali is one of the most celebrated athletes and activists in history, but he was not always so appreciated. In 1969, Ali was stripped of his fighting license and his title after being convicted of draft evasion. In 1970, he would return to the ring, and continue to speak truth to power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Female Criminals, a Parcast Original. For more episodes like this one, subscribe to Female Criminals on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. As the Manson Family turned onto Cielo Drive, time slowed to a crawl. On August 8, 1969, the most infamous cult slayings in American history would take place. The “Manson Girls” intended to start a riot that would burn Los Angeles to the ground. Instead, they destroyed the counterculture movement their generation had built. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices