logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2017
3m 12s

Next on Showcase: The Polybius Conspirac...

Radiotopia
About this episode

Introducing our new Showcase series! In The Polybius Conspiracy, producers Jon Frechette and Todd Luoto investigate the decades-old urban legend of Polybius, a mysterious arcade game from the '80s whose alleged existence in the Pacific Northwest is fueled by myth and an obsessive online fan base, and which may have factored in the abduction of two teenage boys. Told as a hybrid documentary/fictional story, the series is an artful meditation on how urban legends take hold and spread, and an exploration into how we consume and perpetuate information in the internet age.

Stay tuned for the first episode, “The Player,” coming up October 6th.

Up next
Oct 2017
The Polybius Conspiracy #1 – The Player
Introducing our new Showcase series! In The Polybius Conspiracy, producers Jon Frechette and Todd Luoto investigate the decades-old urban legend of Polybius, a mysterious arcade game from the '80s whose alleged existence in the Pacific Northwest is fueled by myth and an obsessive ... Show More
35m 36s
Oct 2017
The Polybius Conspiracy #2 – The Missing
In The Polybius Conspiracy, producers Jon Frechette and Todd Luoto investigate the decades-old urban legend of Polybius, a mysterious arcade game from the '80s whose alleged existence in the Pacific Northwest is fueled by myth and an obsessive online fan base, and which may have ... Show More
31m 1s
Oct 2017
The Polybius Conspiracy #3 – The Cassette
In The Polybius Conspiracy, producers Jon Frechette and Todd Luoto investigate the decades-old urban legend of Polybius, a mysterious arcade game from the '80s whose alleged existence in the Pacific Northwest is fueled by myth and an obsessive online fan base, and which may have ... Show More
28m 47s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2023
Urban Legends in the Internet Wilderness with the Digital Folklore Podcast
For this episode we chat about the sensational tales of cyberspace, from Slenderman to the Momo suicide game, with the guys behind the new podcast Digital Folklore, an immersive experience that explores online culture, internet monsters, memes, and urban legends as an accessible ... Show More
57m 40s
Jun 2023
Cautionary Tales Presents: Lost Hills - The Dark Prince
Today, we're sharing an episode of the gripping Pushkin series Lost Hills: The Dark Prince. The brand-new season takes a deep dive into the surf world to explore the legacy of Malibu's Dark Prince: Miki Dora. A surfer known for his style, grace and aggression, he ruled Malibu fro ... Show More
42m 32s
Jul 2022
Polybius - Death by Video Games
The earliest known reference to Polybius comes from coinop.org, a forum for arcade cabinet collectors that was active in the early 2000's. There are anecdotal accounts of the game being discussed on usenet forums in 1994, but those have not been confirmed. All we know is, there a ... Show More
29m 22s
Oct 2022
Urban Legends
In 1998, Jamie Blanks and Silvio Horta released "Urban Legend," a slasher film determined to explore the urban legend in all of its creepy glory. The film features a college campus terrorized by a serial killer whose crimes are inspired by classic urban legends, bringing them to ... Show More
27m 47s
Jun 2024
Introducing Fur & Loathing
Thanks for listening to The Sound: Mystery of Havana Syndrome. You might be interested to know that Nicky Woolf is back with a new investigative podcast – and we think you're going to like it. It's called Fur & Loathing, and this time he's digging into another very different unso ... Show More
27m 20s
Mar 2024
Gang Initiations pt. 2
For the second part of this Urban Legends Hotline episode, we are continuing to explore various tall tales of ruthless gang initiations from the 1990s onward, as well as looking at the sweeping anti-gang laws of the 80s and 90s that had devastating effects on communities and cate ... Show More
54m 10s
Jan 2023
Introducing The Sound: Mystery of Havana Syndrome
In December 2016, a US official in Havana went to the embassy medical centre to report a debilitating and confounding  illness. The symptoms included headaches; nausea; hearing loss; problems with memory and vision – and its onset was characterized by hearing… something. A buzzin ... Show More
2m 12s