If someone told you they could read your mind, levitate, walk through walls, or make your heart explode in your chest, you’d probably say they were crazy.

But for over 30 years, the US government spent tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer money attempting to create psychic super soldiers of the future, with all those skills and more. This is the ShortHand on Jim Channon, and the First Earth Battalion.

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After the search of Vancouver’s missing women finally brought them to the gates of Robert ‘Willie’ Pickton’s grisly pig farm, Canadian police faced the gigantic task of bringing the country’s most prolific serial killer to justice. 

But with much of the evidence literally eaten by the pigs, how much would be left to piece together this puzzle? 

And even long after the cell doors clanged shut on old Willie Pickton, the case raised serious questions about the plight of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Canada – many of which remain unanswered to this day.

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Long before the ‘90s cartoon version painted with all the colours of the wind, a real Native American woman named Pocahontas inspired a romantic tale that would endure for centuries…

But how much of her story is fact – and how much is a convenient colonial fiction?

Featuring gold-hunting colonists, grisly cannibalism and more than a splash of imperialist violence, let’s just say the true story isn’t exactly a Disney fairytale. 

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As part of our virtual road trip around North America inspired by the 2026 World Cup, we're revisiting some of our most classic cases – with a stop in Massachusetts sparking spooky memories of our visit to the Lizzie Borden house...

The brutal hatchet murders of Andrew and Abby Borden are still among the most infamous and hotly debated cases in true-crime history.

Truly springing from the pages of your favourite murder mystery – with seemingly innocent housekeepers, “evil stepmothers”, and precocious ladies of luxury aplenty – there’s a lot of fact and a lot of fiction to wade through. 

Join us as we discover the real story behind the infamous Lizzie Andrew Borden, and the trial that swept the English-speaking world.

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Any moment now, we might experience an explosion that emits the power of 1,000 atomic bombs every second. An explosion so fierce that it would reduce the world’s most powerful country to an ash-covered wasteland – and, if it was feeling particularly gnarly, could lead to the extinction of the entire human race.

This week we take a look at just how royally f***ed we’d be if the world’s largest above-ground supervolcano blew its top. How likely is it? When could it happen? And is there anything we can do?

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For years, women were vanishing from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside…

But the police refused to admit it.

In the first of a two-parter on the grisly crimes of Robert ‘Willie’ Pickton, we uncover the investigation into the missing women, the community whose cries for help went unheard, and the systemic failures that kept the authorities from discovering what was really going on at the pig farm from hell…

This is the disturbing story of Canada’s most notorious serial killer: the so-called ‘Butcher of Vancouver’.

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People who seem to have suddenly burst into flames – leaving just a pile of ash, a foot or skull, and a puddle of strange grease – have left biologists and police stumped for hundreds of years. And as recently as 2010, a medical examiner in the UK was forced to write ‘spontaneous combustion’ on a real death certificate.

But there are some very strong scientific theories, and they are… unpleasant. Join us to find out why we think people go WHOOMP – and the very disturbing ‘human wick effect’.

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The gold-lined, intact tomb of Tutankhamun is without a doubt the most important archaeological discovery in Egypt's history. But what if Tutankhamun, the teenage God King, took something in return? 

After the young Pharaoh was found, several people connected to his discovery died in “mysterious circumstances”, including the man who had financed the whole operation. Was this King Tut’s price for gold and riches beyond anyone's wildest dreams? We dig a little deeper…

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Tom Cressman’s brutal murder – beaten with a cricket bat by the ex-royal dresser to Sarah Ferguson, the ex-Dutchess of York – was a truly British tragedy.

Jane Andrews’s act of violence dominated the headlines in the UK, and for good reason. The obsessive social climber had spent a lifetime getting herself into rooms with some of the richest and most influential people in the country. All she had left to do was marry one of them, and she’d be set for life. But just when she was rubbing shoulders with the family of the soon-to-be-disgraced Prince Andrew, it all came tumbling down. 

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Reliably living to 100 years old – a once unthinkable goal – is slowly creeping closer to becoming a reality. But there’s a catch: we’re still not entirely sure how it works…

On the one hand, a healthy, stress-free, and activity-rich lifestyle (with a bit of actually-rich thrown in for good measure) does seem to have a legitimate effect on your mortality. However, some people seem to be able to rip ciggies, drink wine, and still live to a ripe old age. So what gives?

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You’re free falling towards the ground at 120mph, and below you all you can see is an expanse of open wilderness. What are you going to do? Had you not listened to this ShortHand, you’d most likely panic and die. Luckily for you though, we’ve decided to give you a comprehensive (without assuming any legal responsibility) guide to what to do if you find yourself in a spot of bother.

From the best way to hit the ground to finding your way back to civilization, this is the ShortHand.

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