Every day, we’re seeing advancements in artificial intelligence with the potential to radically change lives. Question is, will they change for the better — or worse? Will machines be our saviors after the dawn of the Singularity? Or will sentient A.I. tip us toward an apocalypse of our own making? 

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We don’t have to rely on our imaginations to predict what an all-out atomic war would do to us, and everything else on the planet. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombings tell us enough, and even if they didn’t, we have examples of atomic accidents and reactor meltdowns to relay the horrors of nuclear fallout. The question today is, how close have we come to an atomic WWIII — and if it happened, would we be able to survive it?

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Threats from space aren’t limited to extraterrestrial life forms. Celestial rockfall can do damage on a global scale — and it already has. From the KT Event 65 million years ago that wiped out the dinosaurs, to the Tunguska Event in 1908 Siberia that felled 80 million trees, cosmic collisions have apocalyptic aftermaths. Luckily for us, systems are being developed to protect our planet — whether from massive stray asteroids, or supercharged solar winds. 

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If the prophecies of a mystic named Baba Vanga are true, Earth is due for an alien invasion any minute now. And she’s not the only one who’s sounded the alarm. Scientists have voiced concerns for years, fueled by credible reports of UFO sightings that suggest we’re far from alone in the galaxy. The only question is, do our interstellar neighbors come in peace? Or with a will to conquer the cosmos… and harvest our planet for their gain?

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Ancient texts can paint a grim picture of humanity’s demise — but what’s in store depends on your source. We could be in for anything from global disasters and epic wars, to supernatural ascensions, to enlightened beings shepherding us into the next age. With prophets to warn us, and preppers to guide us, what do major religions tell us about the end times? And how do we know if we’re living in them… right now?

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In 1980, a massive British carrier disappeared in a region of the North Pacific — adding to the area’s bleak legacy of lost ships. It’s said these waters are one of the twelve “vile vortices” of the world… and that the strange things that happen within them are decidedly paranormal.

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Over the ages, arsenic has had many lives — beauty fad, household product, medical prescription… and weapon of choice wielded by killers everywhere from Alabama to ancient Rome. Brine your turkey, knead your dough, and listen to our Thanksgiving Special on the regime-changing, assassination-aiding King of Poisons.

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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 fabric of space-time back on itself... and breaking free from the constraints of time as we know it?

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Is it possible… and has it happened already? Today we’re investigating the most famous — maybe even most credible — timeslip in history (involving two respected academics and Marie Antoinette!), and the alleged time traveler from 2036 who’s connected to a mystery no one’s been able to crack.

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For years after his daring hijack, there was no sign of DB Cooper or even any evidence that he made it to the ground alive. But a chance discovery in 1980 breathed new life into an old case, and for the first time, the FBI had real hope that they'd find their man. As it turned out, there were far more twists and turns than they could possibly have imagined. Today, DB Cooper isn’t just a name. It’s a legend. One that has taken on a life of its own. But who was the man who hurled himself out of a plane all those years ago, and how did he stay ahead of the law for decades? This episode originally aired on Deathbed Confessions. 

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