HowStuffWorks_Conspiracy_Theories

You've heard of MKULTRA in the US, Soviet psychotronics and so on, but the USSR had another program that might surprise you: For several years they searched Mongolia, Tibet and Eurasia for the fabled city of Shambhala. Learn what they found.

For centuries, the achievements of the past baffled modern societies. How could ancient empires build architectural marvels like the pyramids or the Nazca lines? Tune in and learn more about the theorists who think they've found the answer.

In the 1960s, UN Security Chief Dag Hammarskjöld died in a plane crash over modern-day Zambia. For decades the files on the crash were classified or suppressed -- and now, it seems, the truth is finally coming to light.

You've probably heard some of the accusations regarding recent tragedies -- that the official story is wrong, and aspects of certain events are either misrepresented or staged completely. But could that be true? What are 'crisis actors?"

60% of Americans believe in psychic powers. What about you?

It sounds like something out of the Uncharted series, but it's true: the Nazi party poured millions into a quest to discover lost civilizations. Tune in to learn more.

In 1977, astronomer Jerry Ehman may have stumbled across the most significant discovery in human history - or, at least, found one of the strangest observable things any human being has ever witnessed. Listen in to learn more about the WOW! signal.

Between 1966 and 1967, witnesses across Point Pleasant reported a rash of paranormal activity, leading up to the largest bridge collapse in US history. But what actually happened -- and what on Earth is the Mothman? Tune in and learn more.

What do Ouija boards actually do? Have some games really predicted the future? Tune in to learn more about conspiracy theories in the world of gaming.

Imagine if a government disguised its operatives as members of some other organization -- and then attacked itself. While this might sound crazy, several historians have argued that false flag attacks are more than just conspiracy theories.

The DEA considers marijuana a Schedule I Controlled Substance, meaning it's as harmful as heroin or ecstasy. But how did it become illegal in the first place? Tune in to learn more about marijuana and conspiracy theories.

What exactly lurks in catacombs? Where are the world's largest? Join Ben and Matt as they dive into the murky world beneath our feet.

Nostradamus. Edgar Cayce. Baba Vanga. Have any of history's alleged psychics successfully predicted the future? Learn more as we look at humanity's efforts to predict the future, from ancient oracles to the bleeding edge of science.

Although sightings of the Chupacabra were first reported in Puerto Rico, eyewitness reports soon began to arrive from across the Americas. But what exactly is this thing? Is it even real? Learn the craziest Chupacabra conspiracy theories in this episode.

Project STARGATE may sound like something out of a science fiction novel, but for years taxpayer cash funded experiments with psychic powers. Tune in to learn more about the Cold War psychics -- and why some people believe these programs continue.

Several gaping craters recently appeared in the Yamal Peninsula of Siberia -- but what created them?

Did an electrical engineer from the 1920s really invent a device capable of harnessing zero-point energy? What happened to it?

Journalist Michael Hastings was a promising young journalist, until he died in a tragic car accident. However, some believe it wasn't an accident.

Why do so many people think there's an underground base in Dulce, New Mexico? Join Ben and Matt as they look at the three primary sources of these claims, as well as what the skeptics and the supporters have to say.

A large part of North America is sitting on a geological time-bomb. Could it explode in your lifetime?

In the early hours of February 25th, 1942, air raid sirens resounded across Los Angeles, California. The military fired roughly 1500 anti-aircraft machine gun rounds and artillery shells at some unknown object in the sky. So what really happened?

Journalist Danny Casolaro swore to his friends that he'd stumbled upon something big -- a massive conspiracy at the heart of the US government, spanning the globe. His life, he believed, was in danger. But what, exactly, is "The Octopus"?

For centuries people have tried to invent perpetual motion machines and many inventors have claimed they successfully cracked the laws of thermodynamics. But have they?

What is a "chemtrail," exactly? Experts agree that jet contrails are harmless, yet thousands of people think the vapors are evidence for anything from massive drug dosing to weather wars. Why? Learn more in this episode.

From 1979 to 1986, an unknown serial killer assaulted and murdered at least 10 people. He remains uncaught to this day. So who was he? Is it possible to find the Original Night Stalker?