Enjoying the show? Support our mission and help keep the content coming by buying us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/deepdivepodcastThe most terrifying threats in our world are the ones we can’t see, the dangers that defy proof and logic, and sometimes, the ones that come from the people we trust the most. This episode journeys into the dark reality of invisible attacks—from a sound with no source to a weapon that attacks the body, and a betrayal that attacks the spirit.
Imagine a constant, low, maddening drone, like a diesel engine idling, that never stops and is only audible to a tiny fraction (estimated at 2%) of the local population in Taos, New Mexico. This is the Taos Hum, an invisible, physical torment that causes headaches, nausea, and dizziness. Despite a full-blown investigation commissioned by the US Congress and involving top scientists from Los Alamos and Sandia National Labs, they found nothing. The hum defied every attempt to pin it down, leaving behind a vacuum of science filled by theories of industrial noise, a rare form of tinnitus, or even secret military signals. The core mystery remains: why these people, and why this place?
What happens when an unsettling sound isn't a mystery, but a weapon used on purpose? We explore the frightening reality of sonic weapons—purpose-built devices that concentrate sound energy into a physical force. Unlike the Taos Hum, these devices are very real. The Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), used by military and police worldwide, can blast a focused beam of sound at a staggering 160 decibels (louder than a jet engine at 100 feet). While classified as nonlethal, the impact ranges from severe pain and disorientation to ruptured eardrums and permanent hearing loss. Sonic weapons are a chilling fact of modern life, used to repel pirates and disperse protesters globally.
The most damaging unseen attacks often come from the one place we'd never expect. We recount the chilling story of a high schooler who received a relentless, vicious stream of hundreds of anonymous hate messages that used her private nickname—a detail only her inner circle knew. After months of investigation, the digital trail led back to one person: her own mother.
Investigators believe this was a case of Cyber Munchausen by Proxy—a disturbing disorder where a caregiver creates a fake crisis (in this case, cyberbullying) to gain attention and sympathy. By creating the threat herself, the mother got to play the part of the loving, concerned protector, ensuring her daughter's constant dependency.
We connect these three devastating threats: the Taos Hum (an environmental mystery that torments the mind), Sonic Weapons (a man-made technology that attacks the body), and Cyber Munchausen (a psychological deception that destroys the spirit). Each is completely unseen, but their impact is devastatingly real. The final, unsettling question: which is more terrifying—the mystery we can't explain, or the calculated cruelty we can explain, coming from the very people we're supposed to trust?
1. The Taos Hum: A Sound Without a Source2. The Weaponization of Sound3. The Ultimate Betrayal: Cyber Munchausen
