Stuff They Don't Want You To Know - The Mysterious Star-Shaped Towers of Sichuan Province

True story: throughout China's Sichuan province right along the border with Tibet, the land is riddled with ancient towers of unknown origin. No one knows who built them, nor why. In tonight's episode, Ben and Noel explore the fascinating hidden history of architecture that withstood millennia of chaos -- and how an ancient series of towers survived the rise and fall of empires into 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.

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Stuff They Don't Want You To Know - CLASSIC: Closed Cities: Secret Towns Kept Off Your Maps

The majority of human beings currently live in urban areas -- and this trend seems set to continue. According to the most recent estimates, two-thirds of humanity will live in urban areas by 2050. However, not all cities are created equally. In fact, countries throughout the world are home to cities that, in one sense or another, do not officially exist. So what exactly are these secret, closed cities. What goes on there? Why are these areas hotbeds of the stuff they don't want you to know? Join Ben, Matt and Noel as they unravel the mystery in today's Classic episode from 2019.

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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It Could Happen Here - The USA’s Impending Telemedicine Cliff

James is joined by Venktesh Ramnath and Kaveh Hoda to discuss the potential for an end to Medicare funding for Telemedicine and challenges for healthcare under Trump.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It Could Happen Here - The Last Trial of the Fight Against Mountain Valley Pipeline

Margaret reports from her time at the trial of 12 environmentalists in Virginia who fought against a fracked gas pipeline through Appalachia.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Stuff They Don't Want You To Know - CLASSIC STDWYTK, Live: Real-life Covens

True story: Ben, Matt and Noel know 'witches.' We’re all familiar with the spooky, stereotypical witch depicted in film, fiction and folklore – a creepy crone with a pointy hat, riding a broom through the sky and cackling at the moon, often accompanied by her animal sidekick. But how accurate are these depictions? Were there ever really any covens, any infernal Black Masses and secret rituals dedicated to the powers of darkness? Join Stuff They Don’t Want You To Know as the guys explore fact, fiction and controversy around the real-life stories of witches and covens. (Spoiler, this is a live show, which means the thing they call Ben is required to stay on the rails.)

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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It Could Happen Here - The Future of Peacekeeping In Africa

James talks to Kevin McDonald about the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the history and future of peacekeeping there.

Buy Kevin's book: https://www.mayobooks.ie/A-Life-Less-Ordinary-Kevin-McDonald

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It Could Happen Here - CZM Book Club: Cool Zone 2055: The Peace Department

Margaret from the future reports on the dinosaur creche in Finland.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It Could Happen Here - It Could Happen Here Weekly 171

All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file. 

  1. The President of Argentina's Meme Coin Scandal

  2. How Trump is Changing Trans Healthcare

  3. Textbooks and Holy Books feat. Steven Moncelli & Dr. Michael Phillips

  4. Democratic Insiders Are Sharing A Warning About Curtis Yarvin, Elon Musk & Neoreactionaries
  5. Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #5

You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today!

http://apple.co/coolerzone 

Sources/Links:

The President of Argentina's Meme Coin Scandal

https://www.citationneeded.news/issue-77/

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/argentina-main-stock-index-falls-after-milei-crypto-scandal-2025-02-17/

https://crimethinc.com/2024/06/17/six-months-in-a-neoliberal-dystopia-social-cannibalism-versus-mutual-aid-and-resistance-in-argentina

Textbooks and Holy Books feat. Steven Moncelli & Dr. Michael Phillips

Dana Goldstein, “Two States.  Eight Textbooks. Two American Stories,” New York Times, January 12, 2020.

Kevin M. Kruse, One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America (New York: Basic Books, 2015.)

James W. Loewen, Lies My History Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995.)

Alan Nadel, Containment Culture: American Narratives, Postmodernism, and the Atomic Age (Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1995.) 

Michael Phillips, White Metropolis: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion in Dallas, 1841-2011  (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2006.)

Democratic Insiders Are Sharing A Warning About Curtis Yarvin, Elon Musk & Neoreactionaries

https://shatterzone.substack.com/p/democratic-insiders-are-sharing-a

Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #5

https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-reins-in-independent-agencies-to-restore-a-government-that-answers-to-the-american-people/

https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/02/trump-signs-order-declaring-only-president-and-ag-can-interpret-us-law-for-executive-branch/ 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/reevaluating-and-realigning-united-states-foreign-aid/ 

https://pages.devex.com/rs/685-KBL-765/images/109160-memo.pdf?version=0 

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.277336/gov.uscourts.dcd.277336.21.0_7.pdf

https://www.one.org/us/what-we-do/the-issues/foreign-assistance-pause-faq/ 

https://mutualaidsudan.org/

https://www.state.gov/emergency-humanitarian-waiver-to-foreign-assistance-pause/

https://oig.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2025-02/USAID%20OIG%20-%20Oversight%20of%20USAID-Funded%20Humanitarian%20Assistance%20Programming%20021025.pdf

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy7x87ev5jyo

https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/permanent-workers/employment-based-immigration-fifth-preference-eb-5/about-the-eb-5-visa-classification

https://www.npr.org/2025/02/24/nx-s1-5306990/dan-bongino-fbi-deputy-director

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/new-fbi-director-kash-patel-plans-relocate-1500-119064886 

https://www.dailyuw.com/news/washington-state-congressional-candidate-set-to-lead-counterterrorism-center/article_251db152-f32f-11ef-b56b-d7ae1ea3885f.html

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/fbi-kash-patel-antifa-blm-terror-groups

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/24/neo-nazi-trump-fbi-chief 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Stuff They Don't Want You To Know - CLASSIC: Cryptids You’ve Never Heard Of

Everyone's heard of Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster -- but what about the hundreds of other cryptids rumored to exist around the world? Join the guys as they delve into the stories of cryptids you may have never heard of.

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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It Could Happen Here - Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #5

The gang talks about Germany's election, USAID, the new podcast driven FBI, and how gay the Navy may or may not be.

Sources:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-reins-in-independent-agencies-to-restore-a-government-that-answers-to-the-american-people/

https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/02/trump-signs-order-declaring-only-president-and-ag-can-interpret-us-law-for-executive-branch/ 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/reevaluating-and-realigning-united-states-foreign-aid/ 

https://pages.devex.com/rs/685-KBL-765/images/109160-memo.pdf?version=0 

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.277336/gov.uscourts.dcd.277336.21.0_7.pdf

https://www.one.org/us/what-we-do/the-issues/foreign-assistance-pause-faq/ 

https://mutualaidsudan.org/

https://www.state.gov/emergency-humanitarian-waiver-to-foreign-assistance-pause/

https://oig.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2025-02/USAID%20OIG%20-%20Oversight%20of%20USAID-Funded%20Humanitarian%20Assistance%20Programming%20021025.pdf

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy7x87ev5jyo

https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/permanent-workers/employment-based-immigration-fifth-preference-eb-5/about-the-eb-5-visa-classification

https://www.npr.org/2025/02/24/nx-s1-5306990/dan-bongino-fbi-deputy-director

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/new-fbi-director-kash-patel-plans-relocate-1500-119064886 

https://www.dailyuw.com/news/washington-state-congressional-candidate-set-to-lead-counterterrorism-center/article_251db152-f32f-11ef-b56b-d7ae1ea3885f.html

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/fbi-kash-patel-antifa-blm-terror-groups

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/24/neo-nazi-trump-fbi-chief 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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