The Paranoid Strain

The Paranoid Strain

The podcast that explains why so many people believe ridiculous conspiracy theories.

Recent Episodes

New! Unidentified--UFOs over Russia, the Black Mailbox, and Meet Bob Lazar
March 3, 2026

New! Unidentified--UFOs over Russia, the Black Mailbox, and Meet Bob Lazar

In case the Chads didn't bring enough bullshit about UFOs over Russia, we've got a few more tall tales about aliens from the Soviet Union. Then, we begin our miniseries on famous UFO "whistleblower" Bob Lazar, by way of the i...
New! Unidentified--Annie Jacobsen's folly, and Art Bell takes on Area 51
Feb. 3, 2026

New! Unidentified--Annie Jacobsen's folly, and Art Bell takes on Area 51

We continue the sad story of the very silly Stalin/Roswell story that the otherwise solid Annie Jacobsen decided was fit to print, and then we provide you with the minimum recommended daily requirement of Art Bell content, in...
New! Unidentified--Dirty bombs and dirty deeds at Area 51
Jan. 6, 2026

New! Unidentified--Dirty bombs and dirty deeds at Area 51

We continue our exploration of the (actual) history of Area 51, this time emphasizing some of the truly awful, irresponsible, and dangerous stuff that went on there--not just nuclear tests, but a simulated dirty bomb explosio...
New! Unidentified--U2. No, not that one. The spy plane.
Dec. 23, 2025

New! Unidentified--U2. No, not that one. The spy plane.

Merry Christmas, or Happy Hannukah, or like whatever you're into, folks. This time, we talk about Area 51's original raison d'etre , the notorious U2 spy plane. We learn how and why this odd-looking thing was built, how it pl...