The Conspiracy Theory Your Parents Are Falling For

<p>What if I told you there was a machine that, using powerful energy and frequencies, could cure everything from common colds to cancers to missing limbs? Well, I’d be lying. And yet, a not-insignificant part of the internet is waiting with baited breath for the arrival of “medbeds,” a QAnon-adjacent conspiracy theory that President Trump has even acknowledged himself. On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Slate staff writer Molly Olmstead, who spent<u><a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/09/medbeds-conspiracy-theory-donald-trump-origins.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> a year investigating</a></u> how the myth of medbeds came to be, and found the man behind it all. He regrets everything. </p><br><p>This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.</p><p>Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our <a href="https://slate.com/podcastfaqs#plusbenefits" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FAQ</a> at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>