Ripley's Believe It or Notcast

Nostradamus has a prediction about it. Christians have a whole book detailing it. And scientists are right now preparing for what they will do when we face their version of it. In fact, they’re so confident they say it’s only a matter of time before the human race may be threatened.

This week, we examine theories about the end of the world.

Imagine a world where in one second everything changes. The lights go out. Your electronics shut down. And everything with a computer is rendered useless. Will you be ready? Will you know how to survive?

This week on the Notcast, we look into the world of doomsday preppers, imagining how life would change for many of us without modern conveniences. We also speak to Jason Charles, a prepper who has been preparing for almost every disaster imaginable.

While the movies might have you thinking the Ark of the Covenant is a Biblical superweapon, real scholars and holy men have some other ideas about this holy relic. Some believe it's in Ethiopia, while others claim it has remained in the same place for millennia.

This week, we talk to three people who have searched for the lost Ark of the Covenant. Grab your fedora and bullwhip as Brent and Ryan explore their stories...

For decades, people have joined the Ordo Templi Orientis society, which incorporates dark magic and sexual rituals into their presentations.

This week, we talk to Marguerite—a magazine writer who snuck into the Ordo Templi Orientis society for a story. It started out innocent enough. Then things got weird.

After the War in Europe ended with the fall of Berlin, allied nations began using any means necessary to bring on Nazi scientists to enhance their own military technology.

This week on the Notcast, we explore Operation Paperclip, a covert project to bring former Nazi scientists that could have been tried for war crimes to the U.S. in order to build America's space powers.

Did you ever have an imaginary friend? Did you ever wish you could make it real? Some people believe they’re doing just that. For centuries, Buddhist mystics have told legends of the Tulpa, or entities that can be “thought” into existence. Now, the practice is becoming more popular thanks to online chat forums.

This week, we examine the science and even talk to a Tulpa.

Despite winning four Olympic gold medals and breaking three world records, when Jesse Owens returned home to the United States, he was treated like a second-class citizen.

This week on the Notcast, come back to the Berlin Olympics of 1936 as we introduce you to an amazing young track star named Jesse Owens—a track star who wanted to defeat the Nazis at their own Olympic Games.

The Shed at Dulwich is a unique boutique eatery that was able to crawl from the worst-ranked restaurant in London to the number one restaurant in the city on Tripadvisor. Its meteoric rise took just a few months despite the menu's avant-garde dishes that were based on moods.

This week on the Notcast, listen to the unbelievable—literally—story of how one man's restaurant earned the top spot on Tripadvisor without anyone ever visiting it.

Dr. Clare Johnson is a practiced Lucid Dreamer. A vivid nightmare when she was a young child—about drowning in a pool—led her to realize she could control her dreams, so she forced herself to wake up. Now, she teaches others about lucid dreaming.

This week on the Notcast, we talk to those who use their dreams as a personal playground. They claim to be able to control the characters and plots. So, are you ready to tell your own dream story?

What caused supernatural skeptics to doubt their beliefs when they visited a country music hall? Do spirits from what was once a slaughterhouse follow people to their homes?

This week on the Notcast, we explore the rumors and claims that Bobby Mackey's music world is a gateway to Hell. We interviewed the skeptic owner and even sent our own team to investigate. What they experienced set them running away in tears.

Do dryads and tree spirits stalk the Appalachain mountains? Could the biblical Cain stalk the woods of Ohio?

This week on the Notcast, we go deep into the woods of North America to confront the menacing and unknown. Brent and Ryan talk to people with firsthand accounts of strange and frightening experiences and ask what it is that makes moments in forests frightening.

What if you woke up, but couldn't speak again? What if you could only speak in another accent? From foreign language syndrome to terminal insomnia, and even hiccups lasting for years, medical mysteries afflict people all over the world.

This week on the Notcast, we talk to a man who had the hiccups for three years, and to a woman who woke up one day with an entirely different accent.

For the past several decades, cows have been found all over the American West mutilated in strange and horrific ways. Often drained of blood, with tongues and sexual organs removed, ranchers, local police, and even the FBI have struggled to explain these mysterious mutilations.

This week on the Notcast, we talk to a rancher who witnessed the results of cattle mutilations himself, before diving deep into the theories as to whether aliens, cults or just natural predators are to blame.

Whether it be surviving a fall in the remote mountains of Himalaya, fighting through an inferno engulfing your hometown, or spending a lifetime preaching lightning safety only to be struck yourself, surviving in many situations is not only against the odds, but also takes unbelievable effort, skill, and even luck.

This week on the Notcast, we talk to three incredible people who are thankful to have survived some of the most horrifying incidents in history.

After collecting rare artifacts for nearly 80 years, wealthy artifacts broker Forrest Fenn decided to hide a treasure in the Rocky Mountains. He released a cryptic poem, giving people clues as to where they could find it.

This week on the Notcast, we talk to two treasure hunters who have been chasing Fenn's buried chest for years, then ask Forrest Fenn himself what motivated him to start such a prolific treasure chase.

In the town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, tales of a giant winged figure is said to haunt the rolling hills of an old World War II munitions plant. Its presence has been accompanied by tragedy and the unexplained, but that hasn't stopped people from seeing his glowing red eyes.

This week on the Notcast, we talk to people who claim to have seen the Mothman for themselves and ask the people of West Virginia what they think of this mysterious figure.

A long overdue golden age of stuntwomen has taken hold in Hollywood as more female performers are recognized for their massive contributions to movies throughout the decades.

This week on the Notcast, Brent and Ryan crash headfirst through a plate of glass into the history of stuntwomen. Meet Heidi Moneymaker, a woman who has flipped cars as a runaway racer and crashed through walls doubling as a Marvel superheroine.

Dubbed one of the most haunted places in America, the Waverly Hills Sanatorium saw thousands of tuberculosis patients die as the disease ravaged early 20th-century America.

This week on the Notcast, Brent and Ryan take a step inside the now-defunct hospital. They talk about the building's history—including the infamous death chute—and Ryan talks about his encounter with the unexplained while touring the facility.

The search for the Lost City of the Monkey God has gone on for over a century. One claimed to have found it, in the 1940s, but he died before being able to return. Today, explorers and scientists have used cutting-edge technology to once again locate this mysterious city.

This week on the Notcast, Brent and Ryan talk to Douglas Preston about his search for the lost city, and the dangers his team faced along the way. These dangers included mile-high mountains, venomous snakes, drug cartels, and even a mysterious flesh-eating illness.

When Pauline Dakin was seven years old her family went on vacation in Winnipeg, Canada. When they got there, her mother said they could never go back home.

This week on the Notcast, Brent and Ryan are back with season two! They delve deep into the mysteries surrounding Dakin's family. This was a family where food was thrown out without explanation, vacations turned into new homes, and family movements were a secret from everybody.

The largest president by all measurements, William Howard Taft is said to have spent four “uncomfortable years” in the White House, but did he really get so stuck in his bathtub that six people had to pry his naked body out?

This week on the Notcast, we investigate the stories of the portly president’s bathtub and uncover what might explain how his legacy became tainted by pernicious porcelain.

While the myth of lightning never striking twice has been perpetuated for years, meteorologists have long debunked the idea as nonsense.

This week on the Notcast, we explain why lightning can and will strike twice. We also examine the lives of two people who thought they were cursed after being struck by lightning several times throughout their lives.

While gilded retellings of the settlement of Jamestown may include a star-crossed romance between John Smith and the Native American princess, Pocahontas, how history has another tale to tell.

This week on the Notcast, we discuss the true nature of the pair's relationship. Were they lovers or even friends? And did Pocahontas really put her life on the line to save the English explorer?

It’s common knowledge that Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear, but what scholars are still trying to piece together is why the Dutch artist was driven to such a desperate act and whether he was the one who actually did it.

This week, we look into the theory that fellow artist Paul Gauguin cut off van Gogh's ear with a sword, and whether a letter from his brother led to a mental breakdown.

We’ve all heard the story of George Washington, the Founding Father who led America’s colonies to victory in 1781, having wooden teeth. It reminds us that even the greatest heroes have flaws. Some stories even say he carved his teeth himself, a reflection of the admirable ability for a person to solve their own problems. This idea may make for a great story, and compelling lesson in character but is any of it true?

This week on the Notcast, we look through historical accounts and Washington’s own writings to find out what his teeth were actually made of and why his dentures were treated like a state secret.

The idea of a moat imparts a sense of impassibility and danger. For one to fall into the waters of a castle moat seems to spell inevitable death at the jaws of crocodiles, the pets of a sinister count or king, but is there any historical precedence for crocodile-filled moats?

This week on the Notcast, we look through the history books to find out how moats worked and if any contained killer reptiles.

Cockroaches are renowned for how hard they are to kill; they’ve even been rumored to be tough enough to survive nuclear Armageddon. But is their resilience exaggerated?

Is the roach's body tough enough to survive nuclear detonation and fallout? This week on the Notcast, we break down the research behind a cockroach and atomic bomb confrontation.

Lemmings have a reputation for being suicide-obsessed cliff-diving rodents, but what explains this curious behavior?

While Brent and Ryan work on season two of the Notcast, we explore the "Or Not" side of Ripley's Believe It or Not!. This week, we look into the mystery of lemming behavior, and how our understanding of these rodents became so warped.

Could your grocery store clerk, the nurse at your local clinic, or even your priest be a real vampire? Whether it's biological or not, vampirism has long been used as a way to describe the differences between certain groups of people.

On the season one finale of the Notcast, Brent and Ryan interview real vampires, delving into the bizarre and sometimes bloody underground world of these unique individuals.

What began as an investigation into the life of accused witch Giles Corey, culminated in an interview with modern-day witch Lori Bruno.

This week, Brent and Ryan discuss the horrors perpetrated in association with the Salem Witch Trials. One man chose to be squished to death by rocks, rather than falsely admit to being a witch.

In 1824, a merchant working between Singapore and Bangkok saw what he thought was some kind of human animal—a creature with two heads, but only two arms, swimming in the Chao Phraya River.

This week, Brent and Ryan discuss the legendary conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker. These twins began as duck sellers in their humble village, traveled as sideshow performers, and eventually became wealthy slave-owners in the American South.

Many have heard that Japanese game shows can be ruthless environments where anything goes.

This week, Brent and Ryan talk to American contestants and game show experts to separate the facts from the fiction.

"An inventor needs enemies." These are the words of the man who brought electricity into the home, Thomas Edison. While many will argue the particulars of what he invented, Edison was perhaps the most influential man in technology during the turn of the century.

This week, Brent and Ryan talk to Dr. Paul Israel, the Director and General Editor of the Edison Papers at Rutgers University. They explore the competitive nature of the "Wizard of Menlo Park," and how this led him to be involved in the use of electricity for capital punishment.

Picture a cramped tour bus packed with self-proclaimed human oddities, sword swallowers, fire-breathers, glass eaters, and vaudevillian-style performers all getting ready to take the stage.

The conviction that demons exist, and that they exist to harass, derange, and smite human beings stretches back as far as religion itself.

This week on the Ripley's Believe It or Notcast, Brent and Ryan talk to Father Vincent Lampert, a Catholic priest and the official exorcist for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.  Father Lampert trained under long-time Italian exorcist, Father Carmine de Filippis, assisting in over 40 exorcisms.

WARNING: This story contains the descriptions of off limits places where people are not allowed to go. Listen, but watch your step. Things could get dangerous.

For even the most seasoned travelers—the ones who have been to every state and every continent—there are still places that for whatever reason—be they geographical, political, or even for your own personal safety—you just can’t visit.

We're taking you all the way from Snake Island in Brazil to the Vatican Archives to find out what makes these places off limits. Lonely Planet destinations editor Ben Buckner joins in to explain his favorite places no one is allowed to go, and aerospace historian Peter Merlin even discusses the mystery site of Area 51.