Best Inverted Mystery Podcasts (2024)

1
The Scientific Way to Fool a Nazi 19:21

17h ago19:21

19:21

Physicist Gyorgy Hevesy had a talent for tricks and stunts—including one that prevented Nazi stormtroopers from stealing a gold Nobel Prize. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyBy Sam Kean

1
Missing Cats and Ducks 59:58

12d ago59:58

59:58

In the formerly quiet, blue-collar community of 60,000 residents of Springfield, Ohio there is a crisis. The town is trying to accommodate more than 20,000 illegal migrants from Haiti who’ve flooded the city and stretched public resources. Unfortunately, only those living in town noticed it until they started focusing on the animals in the city.…

1
S4 Ep55: Sayaka Murata's Earthlings Is One-Dimensional 53:51

14d ago53:51

53:51

In this episode, the Spider hosts discuss the shortcomings of Sayaka Murata's Earthlings.By Xi Draconis Books

1
Connective Dependence 41:00

17d ago41:00

41:00

If the internet went down globally, the impact would be enormous, affecting nearly every aspect of modern life. Could YOU survive?By Hale Broadcasting

1
In GAD We Trust – Episode 33: Agatha Christie’s Marple: Expert on Wickedness (2024) by Mark Aldridge [w’ Mark Aldridge]

24d ago

—

Another surprise episode of my increasingly-irregular podcast In GAD We Trust, this time featuring Mark Aldridge in discussion about his new book, Agatha Christie’s Marple: Expert on Wickedness (2024). Yes, finally some good news: four years on from his excellent Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Greatest Detective in the World (2020), in which he char…

1
S4 Ep54: Pacing and Tragedy in Mary Shelley's The Last Man 1:01:46

29d ago1:01:46

1:01:46

The Spiders encounter Mary Shelley's The Last Man, in which grief is transfigured into a radically inventive and astonishingly bleak post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel whose impact and legacy are undone by a complete lack of editing.By Xi Draconis Books

1
S4 Ep53: Gelatinous Eggs and Dead Anti-Worlds: The Mystery of Stanisław Lem's His Master's Voice 1:03:05

1M ago1:03:05

1:03:05

In this episode, the Spiders discuss the heady and intriguing His Master's Voice, a first-contact novel that turns the trope upside down, to good effect.By Xi Draconis Books

1
The Hook Hoax 1:14:07

2M ago1:14:07

1:14:07

When they say “Question everything” they don’t mean question only the events which are socially acceptable to question. Let’s take a second look at the events and controversy surrounding the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting which happened on December 14th 2012. It is quite clear that we are not being told the truth about what really happened. …

1
Mysteries of Antarctica 37:48

2M ago37:48

37:48

Most people have never been to Antarctica, but who would want to. Because it is so remote, there have been many conspiracies surrounding the icy continent. The Earth is hollow and Antarctica is the gateway A 15th-century map and modern pictures of pyramids confirm a lost civilization lies under the ice Capsules containing ‘ancestors’ were found ben…

1
Human Cloning 32:28

2M ago32:28

32:28

Cloning human embryos has been possible for eleven years.By Hale Broadcasting

1
Enough is Enough - Justice for Chance 28:10

2M ago28:10

28:10

Five years and still no answers, and very little information released to the public. Where IS this investigation? Is it a Missing Persons case, or is it indeed like investigators told his mother, 'no longer a missing persons case'.By Hale Broadcasting

1
S4 Ep52: Despicability and Empathy in Patrick Barney's Gusano 1:13:51

2M ago1:13:51

1:13:51

In this episode, the hosts of Book Spider, along with special guest Eddie Kim, discuss the recently released horror novel Gusano, written by founding spider himself, Patrick Barney.By Xi Draconis Books

1
S4 Ep51: Accepting the mushiness of Jeff Vandermeer's Acceptance 54:27

2M ago54:27

54:27

In which the Spiders consider Acceptance, the third book in Jeff Vandermeer's Southern Reach trilogy, and a step down from the focused mood and mystery of the first two installments -- though not without its virtues.By Xi Draconis Books

1
S4 Ep50: Transparent Satire and Opaque Plotting in Jeff Vandermeer's Authority 48:20

3M ago48:20

48:20

A discussion of Jeff Vandermeer's Authority, the second book in the Southern Reach Trilogy. The spiders find that it strikes an uncommonly good balance between that which is understood readily and that which can't be understood at all.By Xi Draconis Books

1
The Mysterious Mote 18:00

3M ago18:00

18:00

A summer bonus episode: Russ Schnell's professors mocked him for believing that plants somehow caused hailstorms. He not only proved them wrong, but uncovered profound connections between life, earth, and the air above... Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy…

1
S4 Ep50: Inverted Emotional Polarities in the two Annihilations 50:33

3M ago50:33

50:33

A discussion of Jeff Vandermeer's novel Annihilation, in which the Spiders can't help comparing it to Alex Garner's film adaptation, in particular the ways in which one character's arc turns her outward while the other's turns her inward.By Xi Draconis Books

1
S4 Ep49: Part 3 of DeLillo's Underworld 1:10:48

4M ago1:10:48

1:10:48

In which we finish the Underworld Triptych.By Xi Draconis Books

1
Man Made Auroras? 40:13

4M ago40:13

40:13

Those Unbelievable 'Northern Lights', they just keep getting less and less northern... Auroras are a natural occurance around the poles, but when have they ever been seen in the south? We wanted to look into this oddity, but found nothing showing that they have ever been seen so far south. That lead us to a possible fabricated event? What about HAA…

1
S4 Ep48: DeLillo's Underworld, part 2 and Patrick Barney's new novel, Gusano 1:16:37

4M ago1:16:37

1:16:37

In this episode, we navigate the challenging and beautiful middle sections of DeLillo's Underworld. Before that, though, we listen to an excerpt from cohost Patrick Barney's new novel, Gusano.By Xi Draconis Books

1
The Science of D-Day 19:49

5M ago19:49

19:49

Ahead of the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, a look at the surprisingly important role science played in shaping—and remaking—an invasion that could have easily been a disaster... Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyBy Sam Kean

1
Mysterious Cattle Mutilations 36:23

5M ago36:23

36:23

Between April and October of 1975, nearly 200 cases of cattle mutilation were reported in the state of Colorado alone. Throughout the 1970s, cases had continued to mount throughout the American heartland. And in 1979—after thousands of reported cattle mutilations, causing millions of dollars of livestock losses—the FBI finally opened an investigati…

1
Understanding Chemotherapy 23:44

5M ago23:44

23:44

Chemotherapy, the go-to for oncologists. But have you ever wondered how it was discovered? Cancer chemotherapy can be traced back to Germany’s introduction of chemical warfare during World War I. After the war, researchers noticed that mustard gas destroyed bone marrow and lymphatic tissue, and thought it might also be able to kill cancer cells in …

1
Can Plastic Surgery Keep You out of Prison? 20:09

5M ago20:09

20:09

One doctor’s controversial crusade to keep men and women out of prison through nose jobs, eye lifts, and other plastic surgery. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyBy Sam Kean

1
S4 Ep47: Enjoying the Longest DeLillo - Underworld - Part 1 57:10

5M ago57:10

57:10

The first in a three-parter in which we tackle DeLillo's meganovel, Underworld. In this episode we discuss just about the first third of the novel. And: We crack ourselves up imagining a Werner Herzog baseball documentary.By Xi Draconis Books

1
The Russian Roswell 21:00

5M ago21:00

21:00

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? Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyBy Sam Kean

1
Subsidizing Blue Sky 30:03

5M ago30:03

30:03

Carbon dioxide, carbon emissions, carbon credits, and carbon sequestration? What in the world! We are all made of carbon, so are we all bad? Mike Adams puts this war on the elements into perspective.By Hale Broadcasting

1
When Tenure Means Life and Death 20:15

5M ago20:15

20:15

After a tenure dispute, mechanical engineer Valery Fabrikant murdered four colleagues in cold blood at his university in Montreal. So why is he still allowed to publish scientific papers? Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyBy Sam Kean

1
Unexplained Outages; Chinese Hackers? The Russians? US? 20:18

5M ago20:18

20:18

Is someone intentionally sabotaging the country, or doing so unknowingly due to incompetence? Or is it our enemies abroad attacking us in an attempt to bring down our infrastructure? Either way, or neither way, it's bad. Their job is to protect the infrastructure. The government is failing miserably. One of these days they will have to get a new st…

1
Preparing for #TEXIT 30:55

6M ago30:55

30:55

TEXIT is the term used to refer to Texas exiting the union and becoming an independent, self-governing nation. TEXIT is not Texas independence. Rather, TEXIT is the process that gets Texas to independence. TEXIT means that Texans determine our own laws and not 2.5 million unelected bureaucrats in Washington. It means that we get a government that b…

1
A Deadly Soup for Babies 20:16

6M ago20:16

20:16

Chemist Justus von Liebig was perhaps the most famous scientist in the world in the mid-1800s—but quickly became infamous for his role in the killing of four starving infants. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyBy Sam Kean

1
A Nineveh Eclipse 22:56

6M ago22:56

22:56

To say that there is much buzz online concerning the upcoming April 8th solar eclipse would be a vast understatement. Just exactly why is this particular eclipse causing such a fuss??? Check out this amazing article from author Michael Snyder!By Hale Broadcasting

1
How the “Worst Serial Killer in Holland’s History” Went Free 20:58

6M ago20:58

20:58

Patient after patient died under the care of a single nurse in Holland. So why did so many statisticians think Lucia de Berk was innocent? Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyBy Sam Kean

1
S4 Ep46: The Opacity of Violence: Elias Khoury's Gate of the Sun 55:40

6M ago55:40

55:40

In this episode, the Spiders try to analyze Elias Khoury's Gate of the Sun, a harrowing novel of the decades-long occupation of Palestine by Israel. However, the challenge is overwhelming, as it appears that violence may not be interpretable.By Xi Draconis Books

1
The Eclipse that Killed a King 19:33

6M ago19:33

19:33

Rama IV of Siam (from the “King and I” musical) used an eclipse to save his kingdom from greedy colonial powers. But it cost him his own life in the end. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyBy Sam Kean

1
Bridge Conspiracies 37:39

6M ago37:39

37:39

The Dali container vessel that collided on Tuesday with a bridge in Baltimore was chartered by shipping company Maersk at the time of the accident, the Danish company said in a statement. “We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all of those affected,” Maersk said. The Dali was set to depart Baltimore early on …

1
When Generosity Turns Pathological 18:46

6M ago18:46

18:46

One Brazilian man’s brain damage transformed him into a selfless giver. So why did he infuriate so many people—and what does his case say about the biological roots of generosity? Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyBy Sam Kean

1
S4 Ep45: The boundary between golden myth and secret history in Don DeLillo's Pafko at the Wall 50:11

6M ago50:11

50:11

The spiders consider the novella Pafko at the Wall, the first fifty pages of Don DeLillo's Underworld. Does its careful examination of its period kitsch reveal a deeper thematic weight? I mean, probably.By Xi Draconis Books

1
Life on Mars 24:20

6M ago24:20

24:20

Elon Musk wants to go to Mars and he wants your help. Even as one of the richest humans in exsistence, he doesn’t have the money to build what he believes is entirely possible . . . a livable colony on Mars! Welcome to Truman’s Matrix! We are not going to explore if we think that’s even possible or not. After all, NASA doesn’t believe so. In fact, …

1
The Sex-Cult “Antichrist” Who Rocketed Us to Space (part 2) 21:47

7M ago21:47

21:47

Jack Parsons was a devil-worshipping FBI rat who led a sex cult and was bosom buddies with L. Ron Hubbard. He was also one of the most important rocket scientists in history. (Episode 2 of 2) Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyBy Sam Kean

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Inverted Mystery Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide