Mission Implausible

Investigative journalist Leah Sottile, author of Blazing Eye Sees All, draws on years of direct reporting on anti-government movements, Christian nationalism, New Age spirituality, death cults and online radicalization to explains how fringe belief systems gain power amongst women in America. It’s very different from the path that men take. Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod

Drawing on her leadership roles with Planned Parenthood Global and humanitarian organizations in Africa, actor & activist Stephanie March (ADA Alex Cabot on Law & Order: SVU) describes how ill-conceived policy decisions —particularly the dismantling of USAID programs — have immediate, devastating consequences. Plus, is there any actual nation-building happening in Venezuela, why CIA doesn’t use honey traps and the truth about Area 51.

From wellness culture and yoga influencers to QAnon forums and January 6, the pathways into conspiracy extremism aren’t always obvious — especially for women. Identity and meaning can quietly turn misinformation into ideology. Author and researcher Noelle Cook discuss did direct fieldwork with women involved in conspiracy movements and the Capitol attack. Extremism doesn’t always look extreme. Sometimes it looks like community. Radicalization — it’s not just for men. Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod

Our team gives their analysis of a disturbingly familiar year in power and politics, normalization and surprises. Much of it was predictable, some was worse, and some was worse that worse. Yet conspiratorial thinking cuts both ways, and 2025 illuminated some “theories” as being actual conspiracies. What trajectories might actually improve in 2026? Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod

We didn't always assume the government was hiding aliens. The Manhattan Project was a crash course in how to run a secret program. Some secrets were real and necessary. Some were real and needing exposure - The Vietnam War, The Pentagon Papers, Watergate. So now people distrust everything the government tells us -- from UFO's to 9/11. Bestselling author and historian Garrett Graff has been reporting on this phenomenon via oral histories. Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod