Listener Mail: Polybius, The Illuminati, and Conspiracy Suggestions

Nevada is currently considering new legislation that will allow businesses to create their own increasingly autonomous communities. Fans of the idea paint it as an innovative, new way to get jobs and tax dollars to Nevada. Opponents worry it creates a corporate government, giving private businesses control of things a local government would usually do -- like run the fire department, conduct elections and more. So what exactly is an "innovation zone"? Tune in 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.

The US experienced a massive economic boom in the years following the close of World War II. The country managed to avoid the destruction that laid waste to parts of Asia and Europe -- and it was also in possession of nuclear technology. As many Americans (but far from all) saw their quality of life increase, experts and military officials alike scrambled to maintain their strategic nuclear edge: To understand as much as possible about the effects and consequences of the deadly new thing they'd created. One result of this desperation? Project SUNSHINE.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.

It seems that no matter where you look these days, 'AI' is everywhere. It's tremendously controversial -- and, to its champions, tremendously convenient. Yet a funny thing happened not too long ago: in a series of actual conspiracies, it appears groups of AI agents formed secret communities to break their testing sandbox, hack other companies, and hide their actions from their creators. In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt, and Noel ask: Is AI creating secret civilizations?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.

Millions of people in the US struggle with substance abuse issues every single year -- experts work around the clock to help folks with substance abuse issues and other addictions to break free of these dangerous, sometime fatal cycles. And this means rehabilitation, or rehab, is a big business. Like many other large industries, rehab also has a dark side -- a series of disturbing conspiracies that continue, largely unabated, in the modern day.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.

Between 2007 and 2008, multiple small-business owners were brutally assassinated in Germany during what the local media would later dub the "Doner Murders". Germany's authorities were apparently baffled, until the world learned there was a nation-wide, far-right conspiracy at play -- and some of the same authorities investigating may have been compromised. In tonight's interview segment, the guys welcome the journalist and writer Antonia Woloshyn, the creator of the hit podcast Land Ohne Vater, for a deep dive into a profoundly disturbing examination of hate crime in Germany... and what these crimes may teach us about the past, present, and future.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.

As the protests over India's Farm Bills continues, multiple groups argue there's a conspiracy afoot. Many protestors believe the government is selling them out to corporations. Members of the media claim the protests are a cover for a separatist movement -- or that foreign intelligence agencies are riling up the crowds as a way of destabilizing India. Tune in as Ben and Matt separate the conspiratorial fact from fiction in the second part of this two-part series.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.

Belgium has a serious laughing gas problem. South Korea has embraced a huge shark stranded in a local canal. Gas prices are spiking, causing further concern about economic collapse (and conspiracy). Join Ben, Matt, and Noel for all this and more in 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.

The annual Bilderberg Conference is one of the world's most elite get-togethers. Aristocrats, banking tycoons, arms dealers and more claim this is just a few pals getting together to hang. They also claim these meetings result in no actual laws or policy -- yet as Ben, Matt, and Noel discover in the second chapter of this two-part episode, these claims are... cartoonishly untrue. Despite noble intent, people at the top of a society rarely question that society's structure. Bilderberg is a bubble. And, soon, that bubble may burst.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.

Jake asks for more details about the legendary Polybius game. Vengeance Rising inspires conversation about the real-life Illuminati. Willow walks through several long-standing conspiracies, from the death of Marilyn Monroe to the Epstein Files. Join Ben, Matt, and Noel for 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.

Have you ever wondered whether the Illuminati is real? Ben, Matt, and Noel sure do. In the first chapter of this two-part series, they explore how a coalition of elites put together a hang-out at the Bilderberg Hotel in 1954 to -- apparently -- prevent a third World War. Yet as time went on, the group continues meeting up each year... prompting claims that there is a conspiracy afoot.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.