Last updated on July 23rd, 2021

In a post fake news, post digital literacy era, it seems like every creator-focused medium has a curious genre growing in popularity: conspiracy theories. Between podcasts like QAnon Anonymous and You’re Wrong About confronting real life conspiracies to true crime podcasts like Death in Ice Valley blurring the lines between reporting and solving crimes, it’s hard to define what exactly is and is not conspiracy-focused in podcasting right now.

Where does true crime end and conspiracy begin? Why are podcasts such a compelling form for conspiracy theorists? How do debunking podcasts like Oh No Ross & Carrie fit into the culture? And what the hell is in box 953 in Wolf 359? (That’s a joke. That one was a goof. Please don’t tweet at Gabriel Urbina asking what is in box 953.)

We’ve delved into how podcasts handle the truth, how what you listen to shapes who you are, and what happens when shoddy journalism gets simps. Now, it’s time for us here at Discover Pods to dig even deeper.

In this inaugural theme week for Discover Pods, I gave our writers a simple prompt: pitch me a piece for Conspiracy Week. I let the writers take this prompt to mean whatever they wanted, whether it be takedowns of big-name podcasts or nitty gritty dives into esoteric fiction. This week, we’ll be bringing you a different piece on the theme every week day.

Want an insider look into what may or may not be, allegedly, theoretically, up our sleeves? Here’s our purported lineup of articles coming:

For legal reasons this is a joke. Don’t @ us, NSA. Pieces will be linked here as they’re released, and they can also be found on the CONSPIRACY WEEK tag.

Have your own podcast conspiracy theories? Hit us up on Twitter; we’ll be waiting, and watching. Closely.