For hundreds of thousands of tourists each year, the sandy beaches on the island of Koh Tao provide some of the best diving, relaxing, and partying Thailand has to offer. That was the goal of British tourists Hannah Witheridge and David Miller when they met one another on the island in September of 2013. However, after the pair were found murdered on Sairee Beach just outside of their hotel, numerous questions came up surrounding the involvement of police, potentially innocent people getting framed, torture, and the little-known Koh Tao Mafia pulling the strings.

On May 1st, 2023, a plane carrying Magdalena Mucutuy and her family crashed into one of the most remote sections of the Colombian Amazon. After the plane was discovered over a week later, it was found that her children were still alive and at the mercy of the dangerous jungle. What followed was nearly 40 days of searching, the military working with indigenous tribes, and hundreds of people combing the brush trying to find and save the lost children of the Amazon.

Chances are, you or your family has a box of Celestial Seasonings somewhere in your house. Easily the highest-selling tea brand of all time, Celestial Seasonings has come a long way since founder Mo Siegel and his friends were picking herbs in the Rocky Mountains. But the truth behind the brand is that it has its roots in a strange early 20th-century cult, involving everything from Jesus, Aliens, and Corn Flakes. The cult is named Urantia, and it has come under fire recently for having some extremely controversial takes on race and the foundations of humanity that followers might still believe to this day.

In 1994, Mexican Scientist Jacobo Grinberg was at the height of his career. His studies, which focused on the scientific elements of paranormal and psychic phenomena, had gained international recognition as he studied the brain waves of shamans, healers, and other practitioners of indigenous cultures. That’s why it shocked everyone that he disappeared only two days before his birthday. Could it have been the CIA, which was interested in the military applications of spiritual work? Could Jacobo have suffered a mental break following heavy use of psychedelics? Or could a rival and cult leader have convinced someone close to him to get rid of the famous doctor?

Since the 1970s, Northern California’s Humboldt County has been a major weed distributor across the country. When Medical marijuana was legalized in the 90s, this created a “green rush” of traveling workers, profitable farms, and more dangerous people looking to turn a buck on the grey and black markets. An area known as Murder Mountain had a reputation for violence and more dangerous individuals. Following the 2012 disappearance and murder of Garret Rodriguez, the mountain would soon be filled with more crime, a lack of investigation, and outlaw justice.

In August of 2012, Katelyn Markham seemed to have a flourishing life ahead of her. Just days away from her 22nd birthday, Katelyn was about to graduate from Art School and had planned to move to Colorado with her longtime fiancé, John Carter. However, one night after John left Katelyn’s house, she simply disappeared without a trace. What followed was over a decade of false leads, lies to investigators, and strange coincidences that all tried to answer the question: What happened to Katelyn Markham?

By the time Stephen Callahan was about to turn 30, his life needed direction. He had spent his 20s designing sailboats but found himself in a failed marriage and with little to no money. Looking for clarity, Steve took what he had left to build Napoleon Solo, a small sailboat capable of crossing the Atlantic. Steve made the passage without incident on his first voyage, from the Caribbean to England. However, on his return trip, Steve hit something during a rough storm, and his ship sank in the middle of the night. Now, surviving only off of a small life raft and the winds, Steve was forced to survive for 76 days in the middle of the Atlantic, eating only what he could fish and drinking water he could purify, all while trying to keep his mind sane.

On June 18th, 2023, the Titan Submersible operated by Oceangate Expeditions lost contact with its mothership, the Polar Prince, while on a commercial dive to visit the Titanic wreck. Hours later, the Polar Prince alerted the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards, and the search was on to locate the Titan’s pilot and Oceangate CEO Stockton Rush, along with four other passengers. The imploded remains of the submersible were found on the ocean floor just a short distance away from the Titanic itself. Since then, dozens of ex-employees, submersible specialists, and friends of Stockton have come out since the disaster and pointed to his narcissism, debt to investors, and insistence on an experimental carbon fiber hull that ultimately killed Stockton and his passengers. On top of that, there's even a theory that Stockton knew the sub was going to implode, and wanted to take people down with him.

During the winter of 1996, 16-year-old Damien Nettles seemed to have it all: a close, loving family, friends and bandmates he saw most days, and an excellent academic career that he hoped one day would turn into a job in Marine Biology. However, being situated on the Isle of Wight just off the mainland of England, Damien and his friends had become associated with some of the most notorious drug traffickers and dealers in the island’s history. In November of 1996, Damien was last seen on CCTV cameras acting strangely before he disappeared forever. Now, nearly thirty years later, his family is still asking the question: What happened to Damien Nettles?

Australian Elly Warren had a bright future ahead of her when she volunteered to work with a marine biology organization based out of Mozambique in November 2016. As a seasoned solo traveler, even at the age of 20, Elly had already been across the world and had made friends with locals and colleagues alike. However, that all changed when she was found dead outside of a public toilet block in the tourist town of Tofo. What followed was years of police cover-up from both Mozambican and Australian authorities, independent investigations into the nature of her death, and her father’s tireless search for answers in Elly’s still-unsolved murder.

The 70's were a crazy time to be alive. Between the war in Vietnam, dozens of political assassinations, and hundreds, if not thousands, of domestic bombings, it seemed as though you couldn't go a day without some new form of armed, radical action. However, the most famous came when, in 1974, Patty Hearst, who was raised in ultra-rich high society, was kidnapped by members of the Symbionese Liberation Army. The country watched as she sent messages to her family, and police instigated a massive manhunt. However, no one expected that Patty herself would rob a bank in Northern California alongside her kidnappers, and those images would go on to live in infamy. What followed was years of bombings, shootouts, and brainwashing. Still, no one knows the answer to what actually happened to Patty Hearst?

In the summer of 1996, 31 year old Blair Adams seemed like he had gotten his life together. He had a successful job working for a family construction company, done work overseas, and had even gotten completely sober after attending weekly AA meetings. However, out of nowhere, that all changed. He stopped showing up to meetings, quit his job, and took all of his saved cash and valuables out of the bank. When asked why he did this, Blair said someone was going to kill him. This led to bizarre decisions, international travel in a rented car, and a 7 hour road trip that ended at a truck stop in Knoxville, Tennessee. The question still remains: what happened to Blair Adams?

At 8 AM on September 10th, 1999, Kathy Semansky called the police. Her coworker, Girly Chew Hossencofft, was ten minutes late for her shift at a Bank of America branch in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Kathy knew something was wrong. Her soon-to-be ex-husband, Diazien (Die-Zen) Hossencofft, had not only abused Girly but had tricked several women into believing he was a 400-year-old alien who had injections that could secure eternal youth. What followed was a police search across state lines, ninja swords, diy blood transfusions, and allegations of cannibalism. Still, the question remains: what happened to Girly Chew Hossencofft?

Throughout history, there have been miraculous tales of survival in the harshest environments. However, none may be more intense than that of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed on Friday, October 13th, 1972. For 72 days, the survivors of the crash survived in -30 degree weather using scavenged pieces of luggage, improvised sunglasses, and sleeping bags made from the airplane wreckage, and, most famously, ate the bodies of the dead to avoid starvation. While their story of survival has become famous for the cannibalism involved, it is also a story of how much a person can overcome even the steepest of obstacles to survive.

Dozens of geniuses have fundamentally changed our understanding of the world around us, and a select few have even developed working “Theories of everything” that use mathematics and physics to describe the nature of our reality, our consciousness, and our universe. What if there was a guy among us with the highest measured IQ in the world and a working metaphysical theory of everything? What if he wasn’t a respected academic but a former bouncer and current horse farmer in Missouri? What if he believed in god and his own form of science in equal measure, and a few other, more unsavory theories about the earth? Meet Christopher Michael Langan, who, at the age of 73, still claims to be the most intelligent man in the world, with a reported IQ of between 195 and 200. He has spent the past 30 years dedicated to the Cognitive Theoretic Model of the Universe, the only theory of everything that goes beyond physical science to explain the nature of existence itself. However, his theory has co

Bethany Leidlein thought she had found a community of like-minded individuals when she began her Junior year at Southwestern College near Austin, Texas. The community, run by the charismatic Tyler Deaton, met regularly to discuss their favorite fantasy novels, such as Narnia and Harry Potter, and prayed together. However, once Tyler got involved with the International House of Prayer, a Christian end times sect, their little college community turned into a full-fledged cult. Things would only get worse until 2012, when Bethany died under suspicious circumstances only weeks after getting married to Tyler. Following a bizarre confession from another group member, it was alleged that the group wasn’t just obsessed with preparing for the rapture, but engaged in sex rituals, drugging of other group murders, and maybe even murder.

For many in the West, Yoga’s ancient roots have been taken and twisted by scam artists, woo-girl bosses, and capitalist marketers using spiritual liberation as a selling point. Perhaps none have been more successful in this line of work than Katie Griggs. After celebrity endorsements from Alicia Keys, Kate Hudson, and Russell Brand skyrocketed her to fame, it was revealed that Katie was engaged in activities not exactly associated with light and love: scamming customers, verbally abusing staff, and spreading far-right conspiracy theories. So, what’s the truth about Katie Griggs? An earnest guru who just wanted to spread teachings as a devoted disciple? Or a con artist who used Yoga as a way to scam hundreds of people?

Over-the-top violence and shame, dramatized into an absurd religious haunted house, traumatized evangelical youth for decades— all in the name of Jesus. In this episode, we dig into the bizarre and disturbing theatrical violence portrayed in Christian hell houses and the vulnerable indoctrination that comes along with them. The moralistic goal of these haunted attractions might not be as pure as the evangelicals claim…

Nichol Olsen, a 37-year-old mother of three, had finally achieved what many would call her “dream life”, Nichol had made a life for herself as a successful hairstylist and business owner. Around 2017, she moved in with her wealthy boyfriend, Charlie Wheeler, who owned a massive estate in the Anaqua Springs neighborhood near San Antonio, She lived with her two daughters, Alexa Montez, who was 16, and London Bribiescas, who was 10. While their life seemed like a “fairytale romance” to those outside of the relationship, there was a hidden tension between them that would culminate on January 10th, 2019.

Throughout history, objects, structures, and stories have intrigued and enticed us to wonder where we really came from. On today’s episode, we cover underground structures found beneath the Pyramids of Giza, the mysterious origin of the shroud of Turin, and the esoteric writing known as the emerald tablet that may have created modern science as we know it. Are these objects and theories real, or is believing an act of faith?