Strange News: The Mystery Drones, AI Granny Versus Scammers, Santa as a "Foreign Agent," YMCA, Grocery Store Monopolies, DRC Mystery Disease, Elite Russian Goats and More.

What would you do if you woke up one day and found yourself in a world without electricity, cellphones or the internet? It sounds like the plot of a science fiction film, but if a powerful enough solar flare hits Earth's magnetosphere this could become a frightening reality. Join Matt and Ben as they explore the likelihood of a solar apocalypse in today's Classic episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comThey don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

13 Loka 202021min

Recently the US -- and the world at large -- learned that the President of the United States tested positive for COVID-19. As reporters and the public scrambled for more information, conspiracy theories proliferated like wildfire. In this week's Strange News segment, Ben, Matt and Noel explore the questions about the official timeline, other infections in the White House, and how world governments might react. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comThey don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

12 Loka 20201h 10min

Almost a thousand years after the reign of the original Order of Assassins, you might think assassination tactics would be universally illegal -- however, that's not the case. Assassination is a valuable tool for both corporations and nations alike. It's also a big business, a web of conspiracies with an at-times global reach, evolving in step with the world's latest technological innovations. Listen in to learn more about assassination in the modern day in the second part of this two-part series. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comThey don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

9 Loka 202052min

The guys dive into a bizarre website that may be an art project, the ramblings of a lunatic, or something more sinister. For years, LEGO bricks have been washing up along the coast of the UK. Multiple scientists, asking to remain anonymous, write in with disturbing details on the problem of micro- and nanoplastics. The good news? The guys were right about the problem. The bad news? The guys didn't know just how right they were. All this and more in this week's installment of Listener Mail. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comThey don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

8 Loka 202055min

What's the difference between an assassination and a garden-variety murder? Where does the term 'assassin' actually come from, and how did an obscure sect founded almost one thousand years ago fundamentally change the course of history as we know it? Tune in for the answers to these questions and more in the first part of this special two-part series. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comThey don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

7 Loka 202057min

It's true - the Soviet government really did have its own parapsychological research program. And, unlike MKULTRA and other US operations, the Soviet version continued until 2003, when it officially ended. Tune in to learn more with Ben and Matt in today's Classic episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comThey don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

6 Loka 202023min

Have scientists discovered a new building material for future Martian colonies? Why might a vaccine for COVID-19 lead to the deaths of thousands of deep-sea sharks? Is it true that crows can think about thinking (and are they really in an unending, existential war with owls)? All this and more in today's Strange News segment. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comThey don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

5 Loka 20201h 8min

Sometime between between c. 1250 - c. 1150 BCE, civilization as we knew it simply... collapsed. Once-thriving empires fell one after another. Trade routes disintegrated. Literacy plummeted. Mysterious raiders from the sea pillaged city after city. In less than a century, the known world became a distant dream. So what exactly happened? Perhaps more disturbingly, what can the Bronze Age collapse tell us about the modern day? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comThey don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2 Loka 20201h 3min