A loophole allows for legal cannabis-like substances in Japan. Unexplained deaths plague the Bahamas and South Africa. Ghislaine Maxwell receives a 20-year sentence, a 'human-flavored' vegan burger wins a marketing award -- and something left mysterious craters on the Moon. It was almost certainly a rocket... so why won't any world government own up to launching it? All this and more in this week's Strange News.

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Strange News: Japanese Drug Loopholes, Mysterious Deaths in the Bahamas, Someone Crashed into the Moon (and No One Will Admit It)

What is the nature of reality? How much of it is objective -- and how much a matter of the ways in which we encounter the world around us? In today's interview, the guys sit down with Jeff Hull, the creator of Nonchalance, the Jejune Institute, the Latitude Society and more for a wide-ranging conversation touching on everything from the splintering of subjective reality to the future of gaming and more.

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Alternate Reality Gaming, with Jeff Hull

In the conclusion of their two part interview with Robert Mazur, the guys explore the ins and outs of money laundering. Tune in to learn how dirty money gets clean - and what happens (or doesn't happen) to the bad guys when they're caught.

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CLASSIC: Banks, Drugs and Money: Part 2

The Wagner Group is sometimes described as a paramilitary group, a private military company, or a loose group of mercenaries working directly for Russian President Vladimir Putin. While you may not have heard of them, they've been active in conflicts across the world, earning a dubious reputation for their actions. But what is the group, exactly? Tune in to learn more.

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Wagner: Russia's "Shadow Army"

In the first part of this two-episode series, the guys interview the legendary US Customs and Drug Enforcement agent Robert Mazur. Using the cover identity of Bob Musella, Mazur and his team tracked the shadowy financial dealings of drug traffickers all the way to the international bank that aided them - and brought that bank down. Listen in as Mazur gives an eyewitness account of his harrowing experience, close calls, ultimate victory and more.

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CLASSIC: Banks, Drugs and Money: Part 1

A quick-thinking Florida man stops his own kidnapping, prompting a conversation about how to handle these and similar situations. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog is detained in Washington, DC. The government of China goes public with their goal of reviewing every single social media comment going forward -- and, in their statement, they ask for comments on the proposed legislation. All this and more in this week's Strange News.

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Strange News: Surviving a Kidnapping, Puppet Arrested in DC, China Aims to Censor All Social Media

If you live in the US, you may not have heard of Adnan Oktar. Yet if you live in Turkey or practice Islam, you’re almost certainly familiar with charismatic, controversial figure. Up until recently, he was a well-known media mogul; an author and spiritual leader with his own, distinct take on Islam. In today’s episode, Ben and Noel explore Oktar’s rise and fall, from his origins to his heyday as a cult leader surrounded by scantily-clad followers — to his ultimate arrest on multiple charges, from the sexual abuse of minors to complicity in a coup.

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Messiahs, Abuse and Espionage: Adnan Oktar’s Sex Cult

Jasper writes in with an excellent explanation of how cancer works -- and how cancerous cells can be stopped. Tall Pockets relays an interesting encounter with an inventor, asking for glamour shots of something that is "most definitely not a bomb." Justin and Joe from Facebook ask for more information about a recent groundbreaking innovation: Could humans, one day soon, acquire a bootleg form of telekinesis? All this and more in this week's listener mail.

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Listener Mail: Real-life Telekinesis (Sort of), Hatchet Drones and Immunology

What can history teach us about the present? How can the average person use critical thinking to avoid being taken in by slick infographics and ardent pundits? In today’s interview, Ben, Matt and Noel sit down with legendary economist, author and podcaster Tim Harford to learn more about the importance of critical thinking, economics, and empathy.

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Cautionary Tales, with Tim Harford

Modern civilization relies on the concept of debt. Wars are fought over it, loves lost and revolutions launched. So what would happen if, one day, it disappeared? Is it even possible? Tune in to learn more.

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CLASSIC: Could someone erase the world's debt?

Google employee Blake Lemoine is on leave after going public with his belief that the company's "Language Models for Dialog Applications," or LaMDA, is alive. A high-ranking member of Mexican law enforcement has been sanctioned for his long-standing, deeply illegal arrangement with a drug cartel. Over in Utah, a bank has been flagged for issuing 189% interest loans through auto repair shops. All this and more in this week's Strange News.

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Strange News: Is LaMDA alive? Cartel Corruption, Predatory Banking in Utah

It may sound hard to believe, but a great deal of Earth's modern electronics -- everything from jets to your smartphone -- depend on just a few substances, things called rare earth metals, or rare earth elements. While you might not hear about them too often, they're one of the hottest commodities on the planet. As you check out today's episode, countries, companies, and a few very powerful people across the world are scrambling to get a piece of the profits -- and they're increasingly less concerned with who might get hurt along the way.

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The Rare Earth Metals Gold Rush

An instagram user hips the guys to a bizarre, frightening study of fish off the coast of Florida -- they're testing positive for pharmaceutical drugs, in huge amounts. A caller asks for more information on a little-understood spike in brain tumors in New Jersey. Ben and Matt share phone calls from across the United States responding to recent episodes. All this and more in this week's listener mail.

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Listener Mail: Fish in Florida are on Drugs, A Disturbing Rash of Brain Tumors in New Jersey

Each and every year, billions of children take some form of standardized tests. In theory these tests help measure how much a child has learned, allowing educators to gauge each kid's progress. Yet standardized testing in the US has a troubling origin story, one that's not often talked about. Tune in to learn more.

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The Hazards of Standardized Testing

Public wifi can be an enormously convenient thing -- it helps people dodge data charges in coffee shops, airports and other places around the globe. But how safe is it? Tune in to learn more.

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CLASSIC: Free Wifi: Gambling with Your Privacy

The CEO of Axon thought he had a solution to mass shootings in schools: putting taser-equipped drones in public facilities. Axon's ethics board resigned, but the story's not over yet. Researchers reveal an unprecedented finding -- it seems a new drug has completely eliminated all traces of a very specific type of cancer. All this and more in this week's Strange News.

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Strange News: Historic Cancer Breakthrough, and a Company Decides Not To Put Drones in Schools

Most Americans can agree that society isn't perfect -- in fact, most people in other parts of the world can say the same about their own societies. But how can we attempt to address these issues? Is there genuinely a conspiracy between the world's wealthiest people to keep the disadvantaged divided? This week, the guys welcome special guest, author, comedian and philosopher Baratunde Thurston to explore these questions and more.

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How To Citizen, with Baratunde Thurston

For the majority of human history, a failing vital organ was a death sentence. Yet hard-won lessons from countless tragic medical experiments have given modern humans the amazing ability to swap a failing organ from a healthy one, often with good odds of surviving the operation. So where do the organs come from? Is there really any truth to the rumors of an illegal organ trade?

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CLASSIC: Crime, Kidnapping and Organs: The Red Market

For some, outsourcing is perfectly fine -- for others, it's dangerous. In today's episode, the guys dive into the ins and outs of outsourcing, from the advantages to the drawbacks... to the conspiracies and corruption surrounding it.

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The Dangers of Outsourcing

For millennia humankind has dreamed of reaching the heavens, and in recent decades several countries have begun turning these dreams into reality. Yet the path to the stars isn't all altruism and noble scientific advancement -- in fact, human activities in space have often been shrouded in secrecy, and the practice continues today.

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Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

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