The Polybius Conspiracy artwork

Science Fiction · Jon Frechette, Todd Luoto

The Polybius Conspiracy

by Jon Frechette, Todd Luoto

Originally heard on Radiotopia's Showcase, THE POLYBIUS CONSPIRACY tells the story of a mysterious arcade game from the '80s whose alleged existence in the Pacific Northwest is fueled by a blending of fact and fiction. ** Coming soon: THE SKIES ARE WATCHING. A new podcast from the creators of THE POLYBIUS CONSPIRACY & THE INCIDENT AT ONG'S HAT. Launches July 5th via BBC Radio 4. **

Chart trend

Position in the Science Fiction chart (US), last 90 days.

#5
all-time peak
17
days in the top 10 since Nov 2024

Latest episodes

Showing 11 · updated from the feed

The Skies Are Watching (Tribeca '24 Festival Preview)

Hello! This week we're at Tribeca Festival in New York debuting the pilot episode of our new audio fiction series, The Skies Are Watching starring Caitlin Stasey, Jake "T

Jun 11 2024
28 min

A message from...

A message from the makers of The Polybius Conspiracy... BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds host The Incident at Ong's Hat, a new audio drama created from the creators of The Pol

Feb 18 2023
1 min

Introducing...The Incident at Ong’s Hat

Ong’s Hat is rumored to have once been the site of a gateway to another dimension. After meeting on a forum devoted to the urban legend, yoga instructor Sarah Larsen, and

Jan 24 2023
2 min

Episode Seven: The Final Level

Fact, fabrication, history and hoax converge as the search for Marc comes full circle.

Aug 18 2022
36 min

Episode Six: The Code

Questions about Bobby result in a surprising lead, as Rubin comes to believe he's cracked the code on Polybius.

Aug 18 2022
26 min

Episode Five: The Seller

New clues about the whereabouts of Rubin's missing partner shed light on secrets Bobby might prefer stay hidden. The team looks into how one might go about vetting the au

Aug 18 2022
28 min

Episode Four: The Rewind

Sometimes journalists pursue a mystery; other times, it pursues them. An unexpected phone call from Naomi Halbrook leads to more revelations, while a competing documentar

Aug 18 2022
22 min

Episode Three: The Cassette

The search for answers leads the team to a retired journalist with a bizarre connection to Coin Kingdom, and unsettling allegations of abuse at an international youth aca

Aug 18 2022
28 min

Episode Two: The Missing

As a man comes forward to potentially corroborate Bobby's story, the path forward plunges into the darkness of another Oregonian legend: the infamous Shanghai Tunnels.

Aug 18 2022
30 min

Episode One: The Player

An investigation into the origins of the Polybius legend leads to Bobby, who claims the game was responsible for his abduction as a teenager. In the thirty-five years sin

Aug 18 2022
35 min

The Polybius Conspiracy: Teaser

The Polybius Conspiracy is a seven-part series, originally heard on Radiotopia's Showcase in 2017, which tells the complex story of two men united by a decades-old urban

Aug 18 2022
3 min

Chart positions

Where The Polybius Conspiracy ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 4, 2026).

#112 ▲ 3 Science Fiction US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

This story has all the things you need for a perfect unsolved mystery. As a 90s child from the PNW I am here for it all!

UnsolvedCouplePod · May 2025

Really found myself enthralled by the storytelling. What’s real is a mystery, but who doesn’t love a spicy mystery?

Sheluvs · Jan 2025

I really wanted to like this show. I tried to give it every benefit I could. I had my suspicions going into it, that it would be unsatisfying, but I was hoping that if that were true, the journey at least would be memorable. But I was wrong. This is one of those podcasts that I will no doubt completely forget about in less than a week. This whole show plays like a rough draft. The story is all over the place, with only the thinnest of threads, connecting one episode to the next. The story would certainly have benefited from a few more revisions. And then there’s the story itself. Be prepared to have absolutely none of your questions answered. I expect this to a degree, but I was hoping that some of it at least would come together. But no, it didn’t. The show asked me to go on a journey, and I really felt like we ended right where we began. The show also has a nasty habit of asking its audience questions instead of answering them. And this trend continues through until the final minutes of the final episode.

Bhoelle1809 · Jun 2023

Should’ve made it clear to the listener that it was all fiction. The fact that there actually is a Polybius game rumor/conspiracy made me believe this was a real deep dive into it. Not cool to waste so much of my time. Also, I got really invested in the story and the people not knowing they weren’t even real. Ugh! I told some friends to listen and when I followed up to tell them it wasn’t real they all stopped listening. I wish someone had warned me.

Skallawagg · Sep 2025

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Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of The Polybius Conspiracy, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.

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