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PODCAST

Mission Implausible

As former high-level CIA operatives, John Sipher and Jerry O"Shea would create fake conspiracies around the world. Now, with the help of experts, they execute their own fun and fearless investigation into conspiracy theories past and present to assess what"s real. And how. And why. - Executive Producers: Adam Davidson, John Sipher, Jerry O"Shea & Jonathan Stern - Associate Producer: Rachel Harner - A production of Honorable Mention and Abominable Pictures

society & culture politics

All Episodes

41:22

How Everyone Else Sees America (with Gabriel Gatehouse)

Mission Implausible ·

2025/05/18

Gabriel Gatehouse is a journalist and broadcaster and author of “The Coming Storm” that looks at Q Anon and the January 6th conspiracies. And he’s British!

en-US

38:52

Weapons of Mass Destruction (with Valerie Plame)

Mission Implausible ·

2025/05/11

Former undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame was outed by The Bush Administration when her husband exposed the lie behind the claim of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq that was used as justification for the U.S. to invade. - A REAL government conspiracy

en-US

42:20

Get Read for Martial Law (with Joe Walsh)

Mission Implausible ·

2025/05/04

Former Tea Party Republican Congressman, and now hardcore Anti-Trumper, Joe Walsh has dire warnings for all of us. America's failure has been a failure of imagination -- unable to imagine what Trump would try to do. Prepare for the 2026 elections to be cancelled, for the military to go after civilian protesters, and anything else you thought was far-fetched. Walsh has an inside understanding of "the MAGA cult" but he also has a gift for constructively engaging with them. Listen to find out more!

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34:03

Alpha Make Brent Terhune

Mission Implausible ·

2025/04/27

Hoosier comedian Brent Terhune finds the inspiration behind his viral MAGA character.

en-US

38:54

"Bad Astronomer" Phil Plait

Mission Implausible ·

2025/04/20

In classic Mission Implausible style, astronomer Phil Plait comes on to debunk a litany of space conspiracy theories and other pseudo-science scams.

en-US

41:30

Michael Ian Black Has the Answers

Mission Implausible ·

2025/04/13

Michael Ian Black -- humorist, political blogger, comedian, team captain of CNN's "Have I Got News for You," and generational poker talent -- brings all his skills to making sense of Trump and those who enable (or take advantage of) him. He also has something to say about the establishment and lifting of tariffs this week... actually, during the actual recording of the episode. (with guest Michael Ian Black, if that wasn't clear)

en-US

34:13

The Army of God (with Stephanie McCrummen)

Mission Implausible ·

2025/04/06

The New Apostolic Reformation is a growing anti-democratic religious movement that believes that God speaks through modern-day apostles and prophets. How did they become energetic allies of Trump?

en-US

41:12

JFK Assassination Convert Phil Robinson

Mission Implausible ·

2025/03/30

Last week’s dump of the remains of the JFK Assassination files were a complete dud (except for the sloppy non-redaction of social security numbers and the names of intelligence sources). Hollywood movie director Phil Robinson wasn’t surprised. For years, he’d grown up a JFK Assassination conspiracy theorist. But when he dug deep enough he found… nothing. Now he extols the sadly mundane truth — it was just Lee Harvey Oswald acting alone. How did he climb out of this,

en-US

33:06

The First Two Months (with Mike Rothschild)

Mission Implausible ·

2025/03/23

The first two months of Trump's term have been a tour de force of chaos, bizarre hires and indecipherable decisions. Conspiracy theories operate on both sides of the equation. They are attempts to find an underlying rationale for moves by Trump and Musk, often presuming nefarious motivations of self-interest. Conspiracy theories are also being used as a tool tojustify actions that are unpopular or destructive. From USAID to Fort Knox to anything "deep state," are these false conspiracy theories

en-US

21:25

Opus Dei: A Real Conspiracy (with Gareth Gore) - Part...

Mission Implausible ·

2025/03/16

We continue with Gareth Gore, author of: Opus: The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking and Right-Wing Conspiracy inside the Catholic Church. Opus Dei has worked behind the scenes for decades to build up political influence and power in the U.S., bankrolling many right-wing causes.

en-US

25:11

Opus Dei: A Real Conspiracy (with Gareth Gore) - Part...

Mission Implausible ·

2025/03/09

Opus Dei is a secretive, ultra-conservative Catholic sect. Gareth Gore uncovered how it pushed its radical agenda within the Church and around the globe, using billions of dollars siphoned from one of the world’s largest banks. His book is: Opus: The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking and Right-Wing Conspiracy inside the Catholic Church.

en-US

28:23

Encore Presentation: The Deepest State (with Mark Zaid)

Mission Implausible ·

2025/03/02

D.C. lawyer Mark Zaid is in the news this week, having been specifically targeted by Trump for representing a whistleblower involved with Trump's first impeachment. As such, we're revisiting this episode from last year in which Mark Zaid talks about the cases he's taken over the years and the fictional concept of The Deep State. As someone recently blueskyed, "If there really was a 'Deep State' it would have shut this s**t show down already!"

en-US

42:17

Trae Crowder, The Liberal Redneck

Mission Implausible ·

2025/02/23

Comedian Trae Crowder is from a tiny town in Tennessee, so he has a unique point of view on conservative, liberals, MAGA and especially J.D. Vance… what’s the deal with that guy?? Well, Trae knows a thing or two.

en-US

35:29

The Cult of Trump (with Steven Hassan)

Mission Implausible ·

2025/02/16

Steven Hassan was once sucked into The Moonies. He broke free and has devoted the subsequent 50 years to becoming and expert on mind control and cults and then using that knowledge to help others escape cults and rejoin their lives. Cults take many forms, but their tactics are very similar. Which brings us to MAGA. Does it fit the definition of a cult? If so, how are people indoctrinated and how can they be supported in leaving?

en-US

27:44

How Easy Is It for Our Government to Pull off More...

Mission Implausible ·

2025/02/09

Previously, we talked with Tim Weiner about an actual U.S. government conspiracy, The Iran Contra Affair, and a conspiracy theory, the Iranian hostages October Surprise. It was almost kept undetected, and plenty of people escaped accountability. In a continuation of that conversation, we look at the many routes to our executive branch pulling off similar actions in secrecy. Specifically, the INCOMING executive branch, which seems to be being designed for it. And if it’s that doable, there must

en-US

33:51

Did CIA Kill JFK? (with Gus Russo)

Mission Implausible ·

2025/02/02

Gus Russo’s research into the Kennedy Assassination is second only to The Warren Commission. He’s been to primary sources. He’s seen documents few ever have. And he’s ready to address the question of whether CIA was involved in the assassination. Here’s his answer: No. So why DO people still suspect CIA? And who else WAS involved? He’s got answers to that too. Also, why the government shouldn’t release the JFK files.

en-US

38:32

The JFK Assassination: A New Clue, Never Before...

Mission Implausible ·

2025/01/26

In our first live (sort of) episode, a former investigator for the Chicago District Attorney shares a connected story about Jack Ruby that has never been heard before. John & Jerry & Jon and their guest review the prevailing theories in the first of our occassional search for a conclusion to the biggest conspiracy theory of all time.

en-US

35:23

Codes & Ciphers & Puzzles (with A.J. Jacobs)

Mission Implausible ·

2025/01/19

A.J. Jacobs (host of The Puzzler podcast and author ofThe Puzzler book) swaps tales of secret messages in the world of spycraft. But A.J. is an expert on many things, and another one of those areas is The U.S. Constitution (he's the author of the new-ish books The Year of Living Constitutionally). What are the conspiracy theories behind and about The Constitution? He also wroteThe Year of Living Biblically, so there's stuff about that too. Long story short, it's a fascinating, multi-disciplinary

en-US

28:12

The Iran-Contra Affair: An Actual, Real Government...

Mission Implausible ·

2025/01/12

We often talk about government conspiracy THEORIES, but under Ronald Reagan, there was a bona-fide CONSPIRACY involving illegally selling arms to Iran in exchange for hostages, and then using that money to fund guerillas in South America. So… pretty complicated. If you don’t remember, the hearings captivated the country and almost got Reagan impeached. There’s also the theory that Reagan made a deal with Iran before his election to withold releasing the hostages to hurt Carter

en-US

33:41

More Religion and Conspiracy Theories (with Drew McCoy)

Mission Implausible ·

2025/01/05

"Exvangelical" Drew McCoy (aka The Genetically Modified Skeptic) continue to explore how religion and conspiracies overlap. Are non-believers playing followers? What's Drew's personal journey to becoming the atheist and conspiracy buster he is now?

en-US

96 results

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