Cover Up: The Conspiracy Tapes

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The Illuminati - the infamous conspiratorial obsession - wasn't always that way. It was the work of one man that brought the illuminati from obscure to omnipresent - John Todd. In the 1970s, Todd burst into the public eye with tales of secret societies and dark rituals, claiming to be an ex-witch linked to human sacrifices among the elite. But as his tales spread and followers grew, his web of secrets unraveled, and ultimately - he vanished. 'Cover Up: The Conspiracy Tapes' exposes the twisted hidden story of a man whose myths influenced some of the most notorious events in recent history.

Unlock all episodes of Cover Up, ad-free, by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month. Just click ‘Subscribe’ on the top of the Cover Up show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you listen.

Cover Up is a series of investigative stories that take us on a journey into a world of subterfuge and secrecy - a world where the truth is concealed under a blanket of lies. From corrupt individuals to clandestine institutions, Cover Up exposes deceit, deception and the abuse of power. Explore all of the Cover Up stories:

SEASON 4: The Anthrax Threat
In the wake of 9/11, a series of letters laced with a deadly powder called anthrax appeared on the desks of prominent journalists and politicians in New York City and Washington D.C. Five people were killed, and seventeen more were infected. It was the worst case of bioterrorism in American history, setting off a surge of finger pointing, xenophobia, and fear.
But what started as an unprecedented case soon turned into an unsettling mystery. Who had sent these letters? And why?
On season 4 of Cover Up, we trace the FBI’s costly investigation into the attacks, which was stacked with a seemingly endless series of false leads, damaging leaks, and embarrassing blunders. Through revealing interviews with victims, agents, and suspects, we unpack the case in its messy entirety, all with an eye toward the question that remains today: Did the FBI identify the true killer, or is this case still unresolved?
From Campside Media and Sony Music Entertainment, this is Season 4 of Cover Up: The Anthrax Threat.

SEASON 3: Body Brokers
For eight years, Megan Hess ran Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in the small town of Montrose, Colorado. She promised clients discounts on normally expensive cremations, a seeming kindness in a town where many are poor. But in the back of the funeral home, Megan’s elderly mother Shirley was actually dismembering the dead. And then Megan was selling the body parts – heads, torsos, legs – to companies that claim to do medical research. Megan and Shirley were body brokers, trading on a dark network where people buy and sell bodies. What exactly were the two women after? Who was really buying those stolen bodies, and why?

SEASON 2: The Pill Plot
Back in the ‘90s, a ragtag group plotted an international drug smuggling scheme and set up a secretive lab to cook up tablets. But they weren’t trafficking narcotics—they were fighting to bring the abortion pill America. This season will take you inside the epic struggle facing activists who battled presidents, the Supreme Court, militant anti-abortionists, would-be assassins and murders.

SEASON 1: The Ministry of Secrets
Season one uncovers the story of The Ministry of Secrets, one of the great unsolved mysteries of the Cold War. At its heart is a missing person — a wartime hero and international celebrity. But that’s just the starting point. It involves the royal family, MI6, the CIA and the KGB. There’s conspiracies. And lies. This story is so sensitive, so secret - that the truth is being withheld for 100 years, until 2057. Presenter Giles Milton and producer Sarah Peters are on a quest to find out why…

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Recent Reviews

Nor’easter sawdust maker

Great show

Love the channel. Amazing what I thought I knew about history and find out that I was brainwashed. Thanks
Lightning121710

John Todd

Fascinating! I grew up during the Satanic Panic and only learned it was all inflated hysteria a few years ago; this podcast filled in the blanks! Also people need to learn how subscriptions work. You don’t have to subscribe to hear every episode, you just have to wait until the regular release. No one owes you free and instant entertainment.
Barry90909090

Pure establishment garbage

This is an embarrassingly one-sided joke of a podcast that reeks of the establishment. I’d give it negative 5 stars if I could.
Fhill123

Love it!

Can’t wait for each new episode!!! I’m hooked!
A Strand

Boot Licker’s Delight!

If you love authority qua authority, as long as you think authority has the same religious beliefs (or lack thereof) that you do, you’ll love this show! To take two of the most outrageous examples of government abuse and lack of accountability and to characterize them as the fault of their victims, and worse, to compare those victims to an actively violent hate group, while saying nothing about the gross misbehavior of the ATF in both cases, is unconscionable. The best possible explanation for how bad the history is in this show is that this is itself a piece of propaganda, and subsidized by people who want the public believe that if the government faces off against citizens, that alone is proof enough that the citizens deserve it. In this scenario, the researchers and writers are at least good at their job. You should issue an apology to the Weaver family for your disgusting misrepresentation of the horror visited upon them by the ATF. They fired on the boy’s dog without warning. All he knows is he’s walking his property with a shotgun and someone blows away his dog. He fires a warning shot in the direction of the shot - most likely thinking there were hunters in the area. Then they blow his arm off, and as he’s running home, with no weapon and one arm, they shoot him in the back, killing him. His last words were, “I’m coming home, Dad!” He was 14 years old. You monsters. Anyone who’s gotten this far should look up how Weaver’s wife and baby died. And whether by bungling the showdown or by actually starting the fire, the blood of the Branch Davidians is on the hands of the ATF, too. What an extraordinary and revolting example of the winners writing history. Everyone involved in this should be ashamed.
Fro-Joseph K.

Excellent 5--Star Podcast.

Great story and even better storytelling. Keep up the great work. Thank you! Joseph K.
JosTAussie

Important podcast

All seasons of this podcast are informative, well scripted and presented, and bring to light events that otherwise haven’t received enough attention. I do wish that the cult “The Family” or “Children of God” was more accurately described as a child sex abuse cult. More than one member predator has been convicted of those crimes and there are dozens and dozens of victims who’ve come forward.
ursula.s

Wow!

I am shook! I vaguely remember hearing about John Todd and the broken cross. The connections made in this work that shows how today’s fascist far right grew from his deceitful teaching in the 70s. Everyone needs to listen to this and wake up! Great work to all!
oldjohnhall

Blecccchhh

Dear The Binge, The paywall is SUPER ANNOYING. Your shows aren’t good enough to buy a subscription. Please understand this, please get over yourselves.
mysterymach

YES.

I am SO glad someone is doing a pod on John Todd. I heard his tapes years ago and wow, what a fraud. Having grown up in the satanic panic era he is a emblazoned on my memory. Never forget how stupid the eighties were.
joey bag of dounuts

More corporate propaganda

Wow ….. if you want subtle Marxist anti religious, anti morality, anti patriotic, anti truth, globalist propaganda…. this corporate owned podcast with communist shill hosts … could be for you.
ScoobieDooDog

Cover Up: The Conspiracy Tapes

Some of the most deadly violence in the US originated from fringe religions that promote conspiracies
🍏iPhone

⭐️

⭐️
FormerUXTester

Ripoff

This isn't a good enough podcast to justify $5 (once) or $34.99/year to get full access, and I'm not going to remember to listen to each episode as they drop. I'm out.
pod chap

Conspiracy Tapes

What a gripping story.
NSBCO

Body Brokers

The repeated mispronunciation of “Montrose” makes this season unbearable.
Kevin Geeks Out

season 5 is 5 stars

The season about John Todd is excellent. Focusing on audio tapes is a great use of the medium, using actual audio of bootleg recordings that were circulated by conspiracy theorists for decades. This series provides historical context and paints a detailed picture. The candid interviews bring the story to life. So often these kinds of events are framed with a hindsight of superiority. (i.e. “people were so naive back in the ‘70s”) But THE CONSPIRACY TAPES feels relevant today by focusing on how a charismatic leader gained power. A
kaydog6969

If you don’t like this you don’t like investigative podcasts

Leader of the pack Well done
LJ N

Ministry of Secrets!

Such an interesting story and incredible storytelling. 10 stars!!! And not for nothing but so interesting that what really happened to Lionel Crabb was the simplest and most logical of the possibilities.
Jerdpaul

Nah

Listened to season one and part of season two and decided to move on. It’s just not that interesting and not that well done
Gsaefghiysscbgf

Started at season 4 by episode 2 it’s about race

Are we really gonna compare the treatments of high level government officials to postal works and say it’s because the postal workers are black? Let’s be real here. That can’t be the only reason it was handled differently. Part of it? Probably. The only reason? Absolutely not and you’re an idiot if you believe it. The creators of this should be ashamed of themselves for putting out something like this that does nothing but divide people.
appleacid

Story well said

The host did a great job on telling the story. Not siding with anyone, she studied the story from both angles which inspired the listeners to not taking side on the prolife or pro choice issue.
jasoncarman

Body Brokers - Montrose

Overall, season 3 is good - well-put together and easy to follow. But every time I hear the host mispronounce Montrose it gets more grating - it’s over and over and over every episode and it drove me crazy! You said you talked to over a dozen locals but you still don’t know how to pronounce their city? Even if the host was just reading a script cold (and never actually spoke to the people herself) did the producers, editors, etc. never notice the difference and think to correct it? If not, it’s careless and sloppy; if they noticed but didn’t want to bother changing it, it’s lazy and a bit disrespectful.
Schway3190

Anthrax

Nor everyone wants to pay the subscription to listen.
Chefchik8

Excellent podcast

This story is so compelling and so important. People need to keep a close eye on our government and its various secretive agencies.
magnolia3🤍

bone chilling!

Season three is absolutely haunting, and I highly recommend it! Megan Hess ended up with 20 years in jail, and after hearing what she did, I think it should’ve been a lifetime sentence. Definitely a sensitive and heartbreaking story, so listen with care, but truly a great podcast.
Sissarae27

It’s always about race

Why did this have to be made about race?? We are tired of this.
j_a_x_

Anthrax Series

I knew very little about this case. Compelling story, well told 👏🏻
USA Mknitter

Organ donor on my driver’s license

Found Season 3 (Body Brokers) to be extremely interesting. Now I’m wondering what actually becomes of my body (via death by vehicular accident?) with “organ donor” marked on my driver’s license?
$$8675309

Antidote to anthrax???

.. the compound you just trashed in the previous series. LOL.
Mr.TN

Interesting story but not well told

There’s no question that true crime is the “It” genre of the day. This story is definitely worth telling, but the young woman who apparently did the research and narrates the podcast leaves much to be desired. She revisits the same interview subjects over and over who have nothing knew to contribute. Her delivery sounds almost snarky at times and doesn’t come across as relatable. She just isn’t pleasant to listen to. This is a story that probably could’ve been told in three episodes if the fluff was removed. Not all reporters are meant to be on mic or on camera, which is what makes the good ones so rare and appreciated.
crewsn811

Incredible story

Great narrating, compelling story and a subject I never knew anything about! Highly recommend!
Aterry1205

Great podcast and very interesting

I love true crime and this was such a well done podcast. I am from Colorado and never knew all the details. The idea of body brokers absolutely floors me and how these people get away from more serious consequences makes it feel even more scary. I highly recommend this show.
KareBearMommie

Research Pronunciation Please

The podcast itself was pretty decent, gave a lot of detail & for the most part seemed considerate of the victims, their perspective & pain. I was turned off by the way some of the interviews seemed to be lacking information and like some important statements were skimmed over instead of delved into more. My big gripe though is the constant mispronunciation of Montrose by the host. It wasn’t just once or twice, it was numerous times in EVERY episode. She did get it right a few times, I’ll give that. But it does feel like a bare minimum to be sure to research and then consistently use the proper pronunciation of a town you’re going to say repeatedly in a podcast. It does feel disrespectful to not use the proper articulation of the main town that this awful set of events & crimes took place in. Those saying it’s not a big deal, it may not be to you, but it comes across as cocky, lazy, rude and just plain distasteful to many others to say the least. It begs the question, if you can’t bother to even say the name properly, how good was the actual research?
Jeanette!?!

Interesting

I love true crime podcasts and this was a little different than that but entertaining. It kept me intrigued.
migsch1980

Fantastic Reporting

Season 3 Body Brokers was a very well reported story. I really enjoyed the way the host navigated the serious subjects with questions and investigative journalism.
KRH - Go Bucks

Informative and entertaining

Stories like these can be difficult to tell in a manner that is respectful of the victims, while not shying away from the cold, hard facts. I believe they accomplished this. The host and producers took the time to integrate experts and victims alongside grieving family members. There were many viewpoints shared that helped frame the overall story in an easily understood manner. A well told story, like this one, causes the listener to experience a wide range of emotions, while also being challenged to revisit everything you previously thought about cremation, medical research and funeral homes in general. Ultimately, greed and lack of empathy for others caused Megan to lose what she proclaimed to be the most important thing in her life – her daughter.
AlohaVivs

Forces you to subscribe

In season three the streaming service allows you to listen to all episodes (with adds) EXCEPT the very last one. When you attempt to click on the last episode the subscription page is displayed. You can’t listen to the episode. I think this strategy to get more subscribers might be counterproductive. I really enjoyed the season and probably would have subscribed ultimately. Now? No way! I’ll just google what happened in the end.
Science is sexy

Go there?

Did you even go there? And if so how could you pronounce it wrong. Dang, all you had to do was google! I enjoyed the podcast but every mispronunciation was annoying.
Mocanev

Story Interesting; Narrator Distracting

The story is interesting and worthy of a podcast. Like many other podcasts, it is too long. But I feel horrible for the families involved. The big issue for me is the journalist/narrator; she is a negative distraction. I get a mean-girl vibe from her as she interacts with some of the people, all women. You can tell who she respects and who she does not. I felt the eye rolls and the snark as she low-key described some of them unnecessarily unflatteringly. It totally turned me off. People displaying this behavior should not be rewarded with a platform like this.
Rafael rosado

Really good topic, but pace is too slow

This season was such a great topic and so much stunning information. But the narration was a bit too slow. It would be better if the pace of the story is faster, it would be a lot more engaging story.
montana raven

Keeping it authentic

I had to give the podcast 4 stars instead of 5 due to the repeated mispronunciation of the city of Montrose. The locals clearly pronounce it while the host continues to say it incorrectly. A little attention to detail takes anything like this to the next level.
Iwouldflyaway

Amount of ads

The story is interesting but out of a 30 minute episode you might hear 15 minutes of actual case facts. Its mostly ads. Whole season could probably be finished in 3 full episodes. I feel like when I do start a new one we are listening to recaps of the episodes prior. I haven’t learned anything new in the last 4 episodes.
ppleejkt

Mon-trose

Engrossing story and reporting, but the narrator saying Mont-rose instead of Mon-trose drove me nuts.
Fluffster Normalpaws

Commercials.

If you’re going to listen to this, keep your finger near the fast-forward button the whole freaking time. I’ve NEVER heard a podcast with So. Many. Commercials.
Nechua G

Misleading

Does not say requires subscription until you click on episode. Most have the courtesy to not mislead consumers on if the podcast is free on not. Instead listening through YouTube from an upload. It takes two seconds to add subscription required to episode header. Turned me off a listener and not interested in other pods from company.
Smariel3

Worth the listen

Interesting story and appreciated the background info given on the lack of regulation on this industry.
kgWYO

It’s Mon-trose

If you spend this much time investigating, writing and recording, you would think you’d get the name of the community correct. It is Mon-trose not Mont-rose. Simple and little things like this are important.
nantucket on my mind

Well done podcast covering a horrific story

I listen to many true crime podcasts and can honestly say that this one is very well done. Key people participate, it’s a unique story and it’s well reported. If listeners weren’t so strangely concerned with the pronunciation of Montrose the overall rating would be deservedly higher. My heart breaks for the families.
PB1334

Unbelievable

The story in this podcast is heartbreaking, and the reporters did a thorough job telling the whole story with dignity and respect. I have one complaint, and it has to do with sound editing. Background music should stay in the background. For me, a single noise, the reporter’s voice, would be ideal. In this case, off-key (intentionally dissonant), electronic tones competed with the narration for attention. Very annoying.