CLASSIC: The Surprisingly Unboring Story of Farm Subsidies

We all know weather can affect a person's mood, but just how far does it go? Could the activity of the sun be driving widespread human conflicts throughout history? In tonight's Classic episode, Ben, Matt and Noel explore the bisarre theory Alexander Tchijevsky stumbled across when he found wars across the planet seem to coincide with solar cycles. This prompted him to ask: Is human civilization enslaved to the sun?They 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.

15 Heinä 1h 6min

Despite numerous earlier statements, the US Department of Justice and FBI officially concludes that notorious human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein had no client list -- spoiler, chaos ensues. Akon's planned utopian city falls through. Elon Musk's Grok chatbot courts controversy as it makes pro-Nazi statements and (for unrelated reasons) is also banned in Türkiye. Akon's utopian city is abandoned. A 'click-to-cancel' rule is blocked, prompting questions about the influence of big business. All this and more this week's strange news segment.They 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.

14 Heinä 1h 9min

Are we living in a simulation? What's the future of AI? How can humans understand the past, present, and future of the universe -- assuming, of course, that time exists? In this interview segment, Ben, Matt and Noel welcome special guest Dr. Jorge Cham, the creator of the new hit podcast ScienceStuff, and pick his brain about some of the biggest questions in all of human civilization.They 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.

11 Heinä 1h 4min

Sloth inspires a round-up of recent news stories from the world of birds. Fae shares a story of real-life bars inside gas stations. Kevin prompts an exploration of hidden history -- the earth shaking Battle of Blair Mountain, and the resulting cover-up from the Powers That Be. Plus puns. All this and more in this week's listener mail segment.They 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.

10 Heinä 54min

It's an open secret that not everything is as it seems in the world of diplomacy -- a great many individuals operate with some degree of subterfuge and invisibility. So what happens when things go wrong, and these often disturbing, unseen things become visible? Tonight's story takes us to Lahore, Pakistan: on January 27, 2011, CIA contractor Raymond Allen Davis found himself in a brutal firefight in traffic. What follows becomes an international scandal reaching all the way to the President of the United States. Join Ben, Matt and Noel to learn more.They 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 Heinä 1h 16min

Australia is astonished as a full one-third of all residents of Tuvalu apply for the new, limited 'climate visa,' sparking concerns about the future of islands nations amid the global sea level rising. Chinese manufacturers are in hot water over an international scheme to flood markets with 'used' electric vehicles. A guy commits robbery dressed as Scooby-Doo, and studies prove cheese can give you nightmares. All this and more in the week's strange news segment.They 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 Heinä 52min

As the Aum Shinrikyo movements gains national, then global, attention, the founder Shoko Asahara begins to move his followers in a darker direction. Convinced that the world can only truly be saved through mass casualty events, Asahara first predicts massive disasters -- and then orders his followers to create these events themselves. In chapter two of this strange two-part series, Ben and Matt learn how Aum committed multiple acts of terror, murder, extortion and fraud leading up to their infamous sarin attacks on the Tokyo subway... and what happened to the cult in the aftermath.They 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.

4 Heinä 58min