If you've ever had the dubious pleasure of watching daytime TV in the US -- possibly in a waiting room -- then you've probably witnessed a particular genre of programming: the TV court show. From far enough away, these shows look a lot like an actual court. You've got the usual courtroom cast, along with an escalated version of actual courtroom events. In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel ask: Are these shows real? What exactly do we mean by "real"?

If you've ever had the dubious pleasure of watching daytime TV in the US -- possibly in a waiting room -- then you've probably witnessed a particular genre of programming: the TV court show. From far enough away, these shows look a lot like an actual court. You've got the usual courtroom cast, along with an escalated version of actual courtroom events. In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel ask: Are these shows real? What exactly do we mean by "real"?

From UFOs to psychic powers and government cover-ups, history is riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now or learn the Stuff They Don't Want You To Know ... an audio podcast from iHeartRadio.

From UFOs to psychic powers and government cover-ups, history is riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now or learn the Stuff They Don't Want You To Know ... an audio podcast from iHeartRadio.

Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

From UFOs to psychic powers and government cover-ups, history is riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now or learn the Stuff They Don't Want You To Know ... an audio podcast from the iHM Podcast Network.

From UFOs to psychic powers and government cover-ups, history is riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now or learn the Stuff They Don't Want You To Know ... an audio podcast from the iHM Podcast Network.

Stuff They Don't Want You To Know - UK

From UFOs to psychic powers and government conspiracies, history is riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now or learn the Stuff They Don't Want You To Know ... an audio podcast from iHeartRadio.

From UFOs to psychic powers and government conspiracies, history is riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now or learn the Stuff They Don't Want You To Know ... an audio podcast from iHeartRadio.

Are TV Court Shows Real?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/93af3cc0-9560-4940-a1b5-b22701535997/transcript

It's our first listener mail segment of 2026! The Grease Weasel gives an inside look at faith healing. Bonita C. provides more context on the terrifying hidden history of Africville. Alpha Flight and Betty share strange Christmas stories. Inspired by Noah, the guys vow to do a full episode on oligarchs. William writes a beautiful letter all the way from Malaysia. All this and more in this week's listener mail segment.

It's our first listener mail segment of 2026! The Grease Weasel gives an inside look at faith healing. Bonita C. provides more context on the terrifying hidden history of Africville. Alpha Flight and Betty share strange Christmas stories. Inspired by Noah, the guys vow to do a full episode on oligarchs. William writes a beautiful letter all the way from Malaysia. All this and more in this week's listener mail segment.

Listener Mail: Faith Healing, Christmas Conspiracies, Africville, a Letter from Malaysia, and More

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/19555061-28e9-475b-9bae-b3d200ead9ad/transcript

Have you ever heard the story of "shrunken heads"? In the West, a ton of people sadly associate this with their own self-centric pop-culture experiences. However -- as Ben, Matt and Noel discover in tonight's episode -- the ancient practice of creating tsantsas is far more fascinating than any nostalgia reference. Tune in to learn the true conspiracy behind the popularity of "shrunken heads".

Have you ever heard the story of "shrunken heads"? In the West, a ton of people sadly associate this with their own self-centric pop-culture experiences. However -- as Ben, Matt and Noel discover in tonight's episode -- the ancient practice of creating tsantsas is far more fascinating than any nostalgia reference. Tune in to learn the true conspiracy behind the popularity of "shrunken heads".

The True Story of Tsantsas, or "Shrunken Heads"

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/d99f9d26-2db0-4f08-9331-b3d1016f5cc8/transcript

It's 2026. Fellow Conspiracy Realists, stuff is getting weird. This inspires Ben, Matt and Noel to return to a Classic episode about the last time a civilization fell: Sometime between between c. 1250 - c. 1150 BCE, civilization as we knew it simply... collapsed. Once-thriving empires fell one after another. Trade routes disintegrated. Literacy plummeted. Mysterious raiders from the sea pillaged city after city. In less than a century, the known world became a distant dream. So what exactly happened? Perhaps more disturbingly, what can the Bronze Age collapse tell us about the modern day?

It's 2026. Fellow Conspiracy Realists, stuff is getting weird. This inspires Ben, Matt and Noel to return to a Classic episode about the last time a civilization fell: Sometime between between c. 1250 - c. 1150 BCE, civilization as we knew it simply... collapsed. Once-thriving empires fell one after another. Trade routes disintegrated. Literacy plummeted. Mysterious raiders from the sea pillaged city after city. In less than a century, the known world became a distant dream. So what exactly happened? Perhaps more disturbingly, what can the Bronze Age collapse tell us about the modern day?

CLASSIC: The Mystery of the Bronze Age Collapse

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/da423d4e-fd54-44f2-92c3-b3d10136c83b/transcript

Are TV Court Shows Real?

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