March 31, 2014

EP. 28 — Insane Conspiracies That Actually Happened

Hey, did you know a group of America’s wealthiest business owners once tried to lead a military coup against the President? It sounds like something a lunatic would shout at you from a bus stop, but it actually happened while FDR was President. And did you hear about the time the U.S. Air Force bombed San Francisco with viruses just to see what would happen? Or the time when our government poisoned 10,000 Americans to death with tainted liquor? And of course there’s the time the Church of Scientology pulled off the largest intelligence breach in American history.

 

It’s easy to listen to the ranting of 9/11 truthers or watch insane videos about the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappearance and dismiss all conspiracy theories as pure strain crazy. But conspiracies happen — and on today’s podcast, Cracked editors Jack O’Brien, Soren Bowie and Jason Pargin (aka David Wong) try to sort out the difference between the crazy ones and the crazy real ones. Throw on your headphones and click play above.

This episode is sponsored by AMC’s Turn. Tune in for the premiere on Sunday April 6, 9/8c on AMC

Recent Episodes

January 26, 2020

Freedom sucks…and that is why we have to defend it. Because our democracy involves doing a lot of stuff that takes energy, takes time, and lacks that Michael Bay Quality that only a surprise missile launch can provide. So on this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt and special guest Jason Pargin (who writes for Cracked as David Wong) are exploring the ways being afraid of everything (an easy action) can stop us from being free. Discover the decades-long tradition of some Americans wanting to give up everything in exchange for not needing to think, the centuries-long tradition of people inciting fake panics, and the reasonable ways you can help change things for the better.

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/why-fear-based-democracies-arenE28099t-free-with-jason-pargin/

January 19, 2020

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Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/5-parts-u.s.-economy-that-are-stranger-than-you-think

January 12, 2020

Movies, TV, gaming: three things that are theoretically a waste of time. Oh sure, they deliver value in the art sense, and comfort in the goofing-off sense. But what if they’re more valuable than that? What if consuming shows and playing video games (accidentally) turns people into real-life heroes? On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by comedians/writers Caitlin Gill and Alex Watt for a look at the surprising number of times that exact thing happened. They’ll explore stories of regular people who saved a life thanks to skills gained randomly from cartoons, sitcoms, ‘World Of Warcraft’, and more silly entertainment.

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/9-times-pop-culture-accidentally-taught-people-to-save-lives/