logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2024
21 m

The Russian Roswell

Sam Kean, Bleav
About this episode
In 1959, nine Russian hikers mysteriously died on a trek through the snowy wilderness—fueling a half-century of hysterical conspiracies. Has science finally cracked the case? 
Up next
Nov 18
Bringing an Extinct Owl Back to Life
<p>The work of Richard Meinertzhagen helped convince biologists that the Forest Owlet of India had gone extinct. But after Meinertzhagen’s frauds were exposed, one biologist grew obsessed with finding out whether it just might be alive still. (Part 2 of 2)</p><br/> <p>Hosted by S ... Show More
19m 23s
Nov 11
Trickster, Birder, Soldier, Spy
<p>He was a brilliant ornithologist—and a spy so colorful that James Bond was based on him. Richard Meinertzhagen was also a liar and a thief, and perpetrated the biggest fraud in biology history. Episode below!</p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="h ... Show More
18m 3s
Nov 4
Why Not Just Rename the “Hitler Beetle”?
<p>Taxonomy has a sadly ugly history of naming species after despicable people—even Adolf Hitler. Given the controversy these names generate, there have been many calls to drop them. But taxonomists have so far resisted most of these efforts, for reasons both good and bad...</p>< ... Show More
19m 18s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2018
If These Bones Could Talk
<p>While we’re hard at work on some exciting new things, we wanted to start the new year off with one of our favorites from 2017: If These Bones Could Talk. Explorer, scholar and 19th Century Smithsonian darling Robert Kennicott seemed destined to lead a full and adventurous li ... Show More
26m 55s
Jun 2025
60. The Truth About UFOs: The CIA's Alien Obsession (Ep 3)
In 1955, a United States Senator claimed he saw a "greenish-yellow ball rising rapidly" over the Soviet Union. Was it a Soviet secret weapon, an extraterrestrial visitation, or something else entirely? And why was the CIA so intent on keeping its UFO investigations under wraps? F ... Show More
32m 37s
Jun 2025
The Tunguska Event
<p>June 30, 1908. A massive and mysterious explosion occurs near the Tunguska River in Siberia, Russia that will puzzle scientists and researchers for over a century. This episode originally aired in 2023.</p><p><br></p><ul><li><strong>Support the show!</strong>&nbsp;Join&nbsp;<a ... Show More
15m 44s
Aug 2020
Ep. 15 - Roswell
In 1947 in the desert of New Mexico, something strange crash landed, that much is certain. Many eyewitnesses claimed it was something not of this world, while the US government did everything they could to keep it under wraps. But why, what were they hiding? Is there a grand cons ... Show More
49m 58s
Jun 2024
The Alaska Triangle! Aliens, Missing People, & Government Conspiracies
<p>Join The Parajunkie Fam &amp; Livestream with us every week! www.patreon.com/savannahunderground</p> <p>Send in your ghostmail here! ghostmail@hauntedcitypodcast.com</p> <p>Welcome to a chilling new episode of "The Most Haunted City on Earth Podcast" where we delve into the ee ... Show More
50m 3s
Nov 2024
CLASSIC: Project 1794: A Real-life Flying Saucer
Flying saucers are perhaps the most iconic genre of UFO -- since the 1940s they've become the mainstay vehicles for extraterrestrials in all sorts of fictional stories. But, according to declassified files, the US Government was intensely interested in building some flying saucer ... Show More
50m 49s
Jul 2012
The Skeptics Guide #365 - Jul 14 2012
Guest Rogue: Daniel Beauley; This Day in Skepticism: Jane Goodall; News Items: UFOs in National Geo, Seeing Inside Tissue, GOP on Critical Thinking, Alternative Chocolate; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Who Owns Space; Science or Fiction 
1h 19m
Jun 2025
58. The Truth About UFOs: The Roswell Incident (Ep 1)
The date was July 8th, 1947. The Roswell Daily Record boldly announced: "RAAF Recovers Flying Saucer." How did this headline ignite a global obsession with UFOs, and why has the official narrative shifted so many times since? From eyewitness accounts of glowing objects zooming ac ... Show More
33m 51s
Aug 2023
Strange News: Wagner Leaders in Plane Crash, Fyre Festival, and Modern Moon Missions
Leaders of the notorious Russian mercenary group Wagner are believed to have died in a plane crash north of Moscow just a few months after what appears to have been a rebellion against Russian president Vladimir Putin. Fyre Festival returns, with no sign of Ja Rule. In a big week ... Show More
51m 28s
Jun 2025
59. The Truth About UFOs: Alien Sightings (Ep 2)
In the mid-1970s, new, more outlandish claims about the Roswell incident began to surface: not one, but multiple crash sites, military recovery of alien bodies, and secret autopsies. What do these reports of "bald" creatures in "silver unitards" have to do with the original 1947 ... Show More
36m 9s