logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2023
31m 13s

The Grand Can-Spiracy

Wbur
About this episode
In 1909, the Arizona Gazette ran an article titled "Exploration in Grand Canyon." It said that an explorer by the name of G.E. Kincaid went into the National Park for the Smithsonian and found caves full of mummies and ancient Egyptian treasures that put everything we thought we knew about civilization on its head. Well, the Smithsonian called the articles ... Show More
Up next
May 29
The Church of Speedrun!
Try reading this description as fast as you can: Ben and Amory zoom through two internet stories connected to speed running, including a look at a mysterious object on Reddit and an online trend directed at the Church of Scientology. Show notes: Found in my son’s room (Reddit) St ... Show More
25m 33s
May 22
Endless Egg
Some Internet trends are temporary, but eggs are forever. Today, host Ben Brock Johnson serves up a story about a recipe that, according to the people of r/pickled, can't be beat, and producer Kalyani Saxena egg-splores online discourse around Korean mayak eggs, and why it matter ... Show More
23m 41s
May 15
Manifesting an online rom-com existence
Of all the internet communities in all the world, you walked into ours. Hosts Ben and Amory pay homage to the magic of chance encounters with producer Grace Tatter. Together, they explore the ways in which the internet fuels random yet delightful meetings between strangers online ... Show More
27m 6s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2023
DEEP DIVE: Smithsonian Cover-Up: Ancient Egyptians and Giants in the Grand Canyon
In 1908, President Teddy Roosevelt wanted to declare the Grand Canyon off-limits to all timber and mining operations. It would take another 11 years for Congress to designate the Grand Canyon a national park.Sensing a final opportunity for adventure, explorer G.E. Kincaid took a ... Show More
41m 45s
Apr 2024
Kinkaid’s Cave (Egypt & the Grand Canyon)
tail spinning
1h 14m
Jul 2023
The Longyou Caves and Nan Madol: Two Mysterious Ancient Wonders
GET‌ ‌EVERY‌ ‌EPISODE‌ ‌AD FREE PLUS BONUS‌ ‌CONTENT‌ ‌AT:‌ ‌‌www.patreon.com/crackpotpodcast‌ In the 1960s, a group of farmers in China were digging for water when they made a startling discovery: a vast network of underground caves, carved by hand out of solid rock. The Longyou ... Show More
44m 9s
Jan 2023
Uncovering Tutankhamun
January 3, 1924. Archeologists crowd into an ancient Egyptian tomb to uncover what awaits them in the unopened burial chamber. The world is waiting to find out. That’s because two years before, the discovery of the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun revealed antiquities so dazzling ... Show More
35m 41s
May 2022
Why does ancient stuff get buried?
<p>Digging and excavating are bywords for archaeology. But why does history end up deep under our feet?</p><p>This question struck CrowdScience listener Sunil in an underground car park. Archaeological remains found during the car park’s construction were displayed in the subterr ... Show More
29m 49s
Mar 2022
The Case of the Most Famous Fake Human Fossil
This episode is a mystery in the most classic literary sense of the word. It’s a whodunit detective story that spans more than a century - the saga of the Piltdown Man Hoax. From a gravel pit in Sussex, we follow the faked fossils through history, to what’s now the Natural Histor ... Show More
19m 22s
Mar 2023
Judith Bunbury: Unearthing the secrets of Ancient Egypt
Think Sahara Desert, think intense heat and drought. We see the Sahara as an unrelenting, frazzling, white place. But geo-archaeologist Dr Judith Bunbury says in the not so distant past, the region looked more like a safari park.In the more recent New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, fr ... Show More
27m 24s
Dec 2021
Descendants of Cahokia
How did people create Cahokia, an ancient American Indian metropolis near present-day St. Louis? And why did they abandon it? Archaeologists are piecing together the answers—but Cahokia’s story isn’t finished yet. Hear how an Osage anthropologist is protecting the remaining buria ... Show More
29m 37s