The Boiling River Pt. 1

What happens when a teenager goes missing in the world’s smallest, and supposedly safest, country? Emanuela Orlandi’s sudden disappearance remains the only missing person’s case in Vatican City, yet more than 40 years later we still have no idea what really happened behind the pa ... Show More

When it comes to sudden memory loss, the most common forms of amnesia are often short-term, and stem from trauma to the brain. But some cases are much more inexplicable. People with Dissociative Amnesia don't experience brain damage, but still lose large chunks of time… and can e ... Show More

How would a time machine work? Physicists have been engaging the question for decades — and building theoretical frameworks to make it happen. From designs like the Tipler Cylinder, to the paradoxes that imply time travel's improbability, how close are we really to folding the fa ... Show More

In Southeast Asia, there persists a tale of a vampiric spirit more ghastly than almost any other. Legend has it: an affair discovered—a burning at the stake—and a protection spell cast too late. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 

Romania's Transylvania region is notorious for its connection to vampires, but it’s also home to one of the most haunted places in the world. And while the Hoia Baciu Forest may seem like a place of great beauty, it’s a hotspot for paranormal activity, disappearances, and murder. ... Show More

In Algernon Blackwood’s classic tale, two rafters on the Danube River wash up on a strange island. It’s overgrown with dense willows… and the spirits within those willows are out for blood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 

On a stretch of beach in Southern California, a Black couple once created an oasis for Black joy. A place to swim, a place to breathe. This is the story of how it was destroyed, and the fight for its legal and spiritual reclamation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcast ... Show More

In 1692, Salem was a colonial outpost teetering on the edge of a precipice. In this episode we’ll explore what life was like in the New England settlement, and consider whether environmental pressures – from the threat of attack to an inhospitable climate – could have played a ro ... Show More

Once called a “magical mineral,” asbestos was used in everything from curtains to cigarette filters in the 20th century. But as its health hazards became alarmingly apparent, America’s asbestos giants buried the truth of their deadly product. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis ... Show More

Theories multiplied in online and radio discourse about the true perpetrators of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Was it the oil companies themselves, North Korea, or even radical environmentalist groups? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices