Author: iHeartPodcasts

Beginning in 2019, locals in rural areas of Nebraska and Colorado were astonished to witness multiple mysterious lights and objects in the sky. Everyone agreed something was up there, but no one seemed to know what this stuff could be. In this interview segment, Ben, Matt and Noel welcome Gabe Lenners, the creator of OBSCURUM, to learn more about his continuing investigation into a "circus in the sky."

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.

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Verify your signal number! The gang talks about anti-genocide protesters being hunted by ICE, an update on the rendition of Venezuelan immigrants, and how a journalist learned about airstrikes in Yemen from a Trump admin group chat.

Sources:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/trump-administration-accidentally-texted-me-its-war-plans/682151/

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/26/politics/the-atlantic-publishes-signal-messages-yemen-strike/index.html

https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12581

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9930/

https://x.com/presssec/status/1904875629612331123?s=46

https://t.co/JYbx0FtHc9

https://x.com/kyledcheney/status/1904884072763044089

https://t.co/kOhUqcypOJ

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-administration-deportation-flights-el-salvador-doubles-down/

https://t.co/eFo00blJBh

https://x.com/David_J_Bier/status/1904526812434084143

https://truthout.org/articles/tufts-student-activist-rumeysa-ozturk-abducted-by-ice-on-her-way-to-iftar/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The guys explore the legend of the mysterious Piasa Bird. A Conspiracy Realist at the US Post Office inspires an exploration of post-human automation. Uncle Sam writes in with thoughts on discovering a possible scientific basis behind astrology. The guys crack up reading infamous Australian town names. 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.

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Mia and Gare discuss the social and political role of gamers and why people like Elon Musk and Sam Bankman-Fried spend so much effort portraying themselves as gamers.

Sources:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2024/09/15/deshaun-watson-trade-details-texans-browns/75189022007/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ykCc588Zw

https://thecourier.com/news/549130/browns-need-to-start-asking-questions-about-depodesta/

https://www.georgiaentertainment.com/2024/04/georgias-got-game-why-the-gaming-industry-is-larger-than-film-television-and-music-combined/#:~:text=The%20dominant%20entertainment%20industry%20is,than%203%20billion%20active%20gamers

https://app2top.com/news/the-gaming-industry-in-2024-by-the-numbers-a-review-by-gamesindustry-276003.html

https://www.ign.com/articles/asmongolds-twitch-channel-banned-following-racist-rant-about-palestinians

https://g-mnews.com/en/global-games-market-will-generate-usd-187-7-billion-in-2024/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Forget pretty much everything you've heard about James Bond. While loosely based on espionage tactics of yesteryear, actual human-based tradecraft is far less glamorous -- around the globe, intelligence organizations make long-term investments in games that run for decades, carefully cultivating assets with such secrecy that, true story, some folks genuinely don't know who they're working for. In recent years, an extraordinary amount of these individuals have been arrested, tortured, murdered, or simply... disappeared. So what's going on? Why are so many spies getting busted? Tonight, Ben, Matt and Noel aim to find out.

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.

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Robert, James, and Gare discuss the question of fleeing the country, various demographics under threat, and the politics of escape.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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In the United States, people accused of crimes are entitled to certain well-known protections under the law. And, in the international sphere, global agreements theoretically guarantee certain rights to prisoners of war. However, in the wake of 9/11 elements of the US government felt these protections were preventing them from obtaining justice. They needed locations off the books. Places where the normal rules didn't apply -- places that, officially speaking, did not exist. Tune in to learn more about the rise of black sites.

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.

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Mia talks with Emma and Sathya, who do advocacy and support work for unhoused people, about Oakland's brutal regime of encampment sweeps.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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A phenomenally powerful international lobbying group -- Freedom Cities -- pushes the idea of US communities run by corporations. An opioid update reveals the Sackler family will pay money rather than prison time. A threat in Antarctica, while astronauts finally return home. 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.

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James and Gare discuss the rendition of 238 Venezuelan migrants to a prison labor camp in El Salvador.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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