New podcast explores a global experiment that's gone out of control

A new Audible Original podcast series produced by BBC Studios Audio tells the untold story of perhaps the internet's first conspiracy theory.

“This is Not a Game” is like nothing you've ever heard before, says host Mark Fennell, as he travels back to the internet's early days in the '90s, exploring the elaborate global experiment that spun out of control and captivated generations.

Mark explores the previously unexplored world of tech hippies, quirky web subcultures, and smoldering obsessions, revealing how a tongue-in-cheek artistic experiment backfired for its creator and influenced many of the internet's problems today.

As part of his investigation, Mark travels to an undisclosed location in Eugene, Oregon to meet with Joseph Matheny, the man who coined one of the internet's first conspiracy theories and is the alleged Svengali behind “Ong's Hat,” who has agreed to give his final interview on the subject.

Mark Fennell said: “Joe experienced the good and the bad of the internet and it changed him forever, so the question is, why did he start this hoax in the first place?”

Producer and co-writer Emma Weatherill said: “The story is straight out of The X-Files with Mulder and Scully, about a portal to another dimension hidden in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. In reality, there are many more hackers and it's a story of how early internet cyberpunk tricked the world.”

This is Not a Game by Marc Fennell is available now exclusively on Audible.