‘The Polybius Conspiracy’ Podcast Explores Strange Theories About a Mysterious Arcade Game

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We love a good conspiracy theory — the X-Files kind, not the Trump kind. Enter Polybius, a 1981 arcade game that has been the subject of countless pop culture references — The Simpsons “Please Homer, Don’t Hammer ‘Em” ep, for starters — and urban legends amongst videogame geeks. The Polybius Conspiracy, a new seven-episode podcast that launches today, follows producers Jon Frechette and Todd Luoto as they investigate the decades-old urban legends surrounding the elusive game. In a press release, the creators share that Polybius, seemingly named after a Greek historian, “is purported to have briefly appeared in Oregon arcades for a few weeks in 1981 before abruptly disappearing. Since the late 1990s, its legend has evolved in the wake of online stories alleging everything from government conspiracies to internet hoaxes. But one man claims the game factored in the 1981 abduction of two teenage boys . . . and that he was one of them.” The podcast debuted on Radiotopia’s Showcase space and is full of all the Stranger Things vibes you are craving during the spookiest time of the year.