Rewind: The Denver Airport

Summary

Conspiracy Theories Podcast

Episode: Rewind: The Denver Airport
Date: July 22, 2026
Host: Carter Roy (Spotify Studios)

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Episode Overview

This episode revisits one of the most intriguing and unsettling conspiracy theories in America: the true purpose of Denver International Airport (DIA). Steeped in rumors of occult imagery, secret societies, apocalyptic art, and vast underground tunnels, DIA is a hotbed for speculation connecting it to the New World Order, Freemasons, Nazis, aliens, and even doomsday prepping billionaires. Host Carter Roy dives deep into the history, key figures, alleged evidence, and the cultural phenomenon behind why so many believe there’s more to DIA than meets the eye.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins of the DIA Conspiracy

• Strange Presidential Visits and Elite Protection
  • [00:06 - 03:04] Carter Roy opens with theories stemming from President Obama's 2011 visit to Denver as Comet Elenin approached Earth. Suspicious timing led conspiracy theorists to suspect Obama's true reason was seeking shelter in a supposed doomsday bunker beneath DIA.
• Early Art and Rumors
  • DIA’s dark murals and massive blue horse statue ('Blucifer') fueled conspiracy speculation from the very beginning.

2. The Art That Fuels Theories

• Leo Tanguma’s Murals
  • [06:39 - 11:04] Roy describes “Children of the World Dream of Peace,” a mural showing a stormtrooper in a gas mask stabbing a dove—a subject of years of speculation.
  • Tanguma’s art style, intent, and biography are examined. While intended as anti-war and pro-peace, some theorists see hidden apocalyptic or Nazi messages.
  • “He and his daughter, who helped him, have been open about their intention. They don't call the man with a sword a Nazi stormtrooper. He's simply a figure of war.” — Carter Roy [44:14]
• Mustang/Blucifer’s Haunting Backstory
  • [08:14 - 10:29] "Blucifer" is a 32-foot blue horse with red eyes. The artist Luis Jimenez died tragically during the sculpture’s construction, inspiring rumors of a curse.
  • The statue has become core to DIA’s creepy persona.

3. Masonic Symbols and the New World Order

• The Capstone Plaque and Symbolism
  • [15:04 - 22:22] The capstone in the main hall, marked with a Freemason symbol and the phrase “New World Airport Commission,” is said to be proof of elite control and conspiracy.
  • DIA and the local library have conflicting stories about whether the “Commission” was real or fabricated for the plaque.
  • “Their symbol is on the DIA capstone simply because they, the local Masonic lodge, gave it to the airport along with the time capsule it contains. They're essentially signing their gift.” — Carter Roy [23:19]

4. Origins of Outlandish Theories

• Alex Christopher & Phil Schneider
  • [14:04 - 21:09, 25:07 - 29:11] Alex Christopher is one of the first to write about DIA conspiracies, bringing tales of alien overlords, Nazi connections, and child-slave concentration camps to wider audiences.
  • Schneider, an alleged government engineer famous in conspiracy circles, claims he battled aliens at “Dulce Base” and led tours beneath DIA, describing underground cities, “bullet trains,” and secret facilities for the global elite or even alien beings.
  • Unverifiable claims fuel the legend:
    • “He points out how the capstone even has a section that he calls a little keypad area. Perhaps it's used to type out and send messages to the ships.” — Carter Roy [27:19]
    • (The supposed keypad is just Braille.)

5. Underground Structures and Presidential Escape Tunnels

• Tunnels and Bunkers
  • [28:09 - 34:02] DIA’s extensive tunnels, originally built for an automated baggage system, never worked as planned—feeding stories about secret uses.
  • Some believe the tunnels connect to Cheyenne Mountain (NORAD) to ferry high-ranking officials in case of nuclear attack.
  • “Allegedly, during that long DIA construction period, crews dug up over 110 million cubic yards of dirt ... unless they were digging a much larger tunnel from DIA right to Cheyenne Mountain.” — Carter Roy [31:14]

6. Conspiracy Theories Collide: New World Order, Nazis, and Aliens

• Interpretation of Symbolism and Murals
  • [35:17+] Theories abound that the airport’s art and markings point to a future genocide via chemical weapons, supposedly referencing symbols like “AU AG” (gold/silver vs. a hepatitis strain).
  • Fears of gas chambers and holding pens derive from mundane features like basement cages (meant for storage) and fire sprinkler systems.
• Alien Base Lore
  • [37:31+] More fringe theorists, including Alex Christopher, interpret the tunnels as bases for reptilian aliens, who (according to her) enslave and consume children in preparation for the coming Rapture.

7. The 2029 Prophecy

• Phil Schneider’s Alien Takeover Date
  • [38:06 - 39:58] Schneider prophesied the aliens he battled would rise and kill 8% of humans in 2029—a date bolstered (albeit dubiously) by NASA signals sent to distant stars in 2002, which could hypothetically yield a response by that year.

8. Mysterious Deaths and Coverups

• Schneider’s Death
  • [40:12 - 41:39] Shortly after going public, Schneider died in what was reported as a suicide but is widely suspected by believers to be an assassination for revealing too much.
  • His research and recordings allegedly vanished after his death.

9. Modern Embrace and Debunking

• Airport’s Self-Aware Response

  • [42:49 - 43:49] DIA now leans into the rumors with cheeky signs (“Gargoyle breeding grounds,” etc.) and dedicated web pages, transforming from defensive to tongue-in-cheek engagement.
  • The art’s true intent, per its creator and the host, is social commentary on war and peace, not a roadmap for global domination.

• Art and Urban Legend

  • “How your art gets interpreted is not in your hands, but you definitely have an idea of what you want it to mean.... They're meant to bring social awareness to the world's injustices.” — Carter Roy [44:05, 45:29]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Welcome to the Illuminati headquarters.” — Voice of animatronic gargoyle at DIA (paraphrased by Carter Roy) [03:29]
• “Blucifer’s startling red eyes are a nod to Luis’s father, who owned a store selling neon signs.” — Carter Roy [09:02]
• “The terrifying images lead to the ideals of humanity searching for peace.” — Carter Roy on Tanguma’s murals [18:07]
• “AU AG is sometimes used as an abbreviation for a deadly strain of hepatitis, the very strain the New World Order may use to wipe us out.” — Carter Roy [35:34]
• On airport’s response: “If you can't beat them, join them.... These signs point people to their website that goes into full detail on some of the airport's conspiracy theories.” [43:14]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Presidential Visits and Cataclysmic Timelines: 00:06 – 03:04
• Creepy Art and ‘Blucifer’: 06:39 – 11:04
• Origins and Rise of Conspiracies: 12:20 – 15:04
• Freemason & NWO Symbolism: 15:04 – 23:19
• Phil Schneider & Alien Base Myth: 25:07 – 29:11
• Tunnel System and Bunker Allegations: 28:09 – 34:02
• Chemical Weapons and Elimination Theories: 34:55 – 35:43
• Alien Prophecy & NASA Signal: 38:06 – 39:58
• Phil Schneider’s Death & Coverup: 40:12 – 41:39
• DIA’s Cheeky Embrace & Artist Intent: 42:49 – 45:29

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Tone and Style

Carter Roy narrates with a dual tone of bemused skepticism and genuine curiosity. The language interweaves deadpan retelling (“Um, no. In fact, he says point blank: ‘Welcome to the Illuminati headquarters.’” [03:29]), clear recitation of fringe claims, and thoughtful context, particularly when considering the intent behind the art and the psychology of conspiracy belief.

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Summary

Delving into the decades-old question of what’s really under the Denver International Airport, this episode presents the full mythos: bizarre art, tragic sculpture deaths, Freemason iconography, tunnels for billionaires—or aliens, or both—, a suicide steeped in questions, and a future dated apocalypse. The airport’s history, botched baggage systems, and notable quirks make for fertile ground, but host Carter Roy offers a balanced view—inviting listeners to imagine, question, and (mostly) laugh at the depths of America’s conspiratorial imagination. In the end, DIA leans into its legend, reminding us that sometimes, urban myths can become cultural treasures—even as some still peer at the murals, searching for hidden meaning.

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For further information:

• The Westward article: “DIA conspiracies take off”
• Alex Christopher’s 1996 KSE op interview (Leading Edge Research Group)

Transcript

[Carter Roy]

It's September 2011, and a comet, Elenin, barrels toward Earth.

According to some reports, NASA has been tracking it for about a year. And for good reason.

A comet this big hit Earth one

time before and killed all the dinosaurs. But that was millions of years ago. Unlike then, humanity is prepared for this kind of disaster. We're going to protect mankind. Well, at least the most important members, the elite.

Around the time Lennon is on its way, President Barack Obama heads to Denver, Colorado. Officially, he's visiting the swing state to

fundraise and drum up support for his American Jobs Act. But supporters of today's conspiracy theory find the timing a little suspicious, considering that if Elnin were to hit, Obama's safety

would be the government's top priority. After all, Colorado is home to the

Cheyenne Mountain Complex, a military base about 90 minutes outside of the city, buried

beneath 2,000ft of granite and. And meant to shield the president along with other government officials during a nuclear war.

However, it's said that President Obama goes somewhere else to hide out. For Elenin, a place filled with secrecy,

occult images, and even the pale horse

ridden by death in the book of Revelations. Sounds terrifying, but the place I'm describing is Denver International Airport, also known as dia.

By some accounts, DIA is not your usual transportation hub. Many believe that for Roughly the last 30 years, its elaborate underground tunnels have served as a doomsday bunker, capable of protecting the elite and their secret societies from civilization ending events.

Like, for instance, a comet. Luckily, we don't have to test that theory. Back in 2011, Elenin disintegrates in a solar storm before it gets to Earth. And instead of hiding out at dia,

Obama speaks at a local high school during his visit.

That was all part of the plan while he was in Colorado. The comet thing was all a coincidence. Or was it?

Because Obama came to the airport in 2008 as well as all while another

intergalactic threat raced towards Earth.

This time, a meteor. The timing of that earlier visit was

confirmed by the DIA's Public Information Office.

Granted, Obama was still a senator for

the majority of 2008, not president, but

that high position may still qualify him

for secret DIA protection. It makes you think.

Is the Denver airport actually an elite doomsday bunker?

Well, if it is, DIA's not exactly hiding it after all.

The main hall has an animatronic gargoyle that welcomes passengers.

His name's Greg.

Does he wish you a safe flight?

Um, no. In fact, he says point blank.

Welcome to the Illuminati headquarters.

Welcome to Conspiracy Theories A Spotify Podcast I'm Carter Roy.

New episodes come out every Wednesday. This July, we're taking another look at

five fan favorite topics as part of our series we're calling Conspiracy Theories. Rewind.

Today we're heading to the Denver International Airport.

Because nothing says summer travel like a layover.

And in a place that surrounds you with killer statues, frightening murals, and tales

of never ending subterranean tunnels, we would love to hear from you. So if you're listening on the Spotify app, swipe up and give us your thoughts. Or check us out on Instagram heconspiracypod. This episode contains discussions of suicide. Consider this when deciding how and when you'll listen. If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or feeling hopeless, visit Spotify.com resources stay with us for adults with

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[Carter Roy]

Picture this.

You've just gotten off a four hour

flight with a two hour delay. A All you want is to race to baggage claim, grab your bags and go home. And then you see something that stops you in your tracks.

A Nazi stormtrooper stands above innocent children.

A procession of crying adults circle them. The stormtrooper seemingly ignores them. His face is covered in a terrifying gas mask and his gun is pointed

toward a dilapidated building. The soldier's sword pierces a white dove,

the universal symbol of peace. What am I describing?

A horrible real world event?

Well, not yet. More on that later.

This is actually a mural painted by Leo Tenguma titled Children of the Dream of Peace.

It's a prominent display in Denver International Airport, and the dark, violent imagery from

this section of the mural has been the subject of speculation for for years now.

DIA isn't the only American airport with one of a kind art.

Take Oregon's Portland International Airport. They have a whole exhibit of stop motion puppets from local animation studios and

they even have a fun sculpture of an airplane delivering gallons of ice cream.

It doubles as a play area for children to climb and have fun.

You compare that to Children of the Dream of Peace. Or for that matter, another installation at DIA.

Titled Mustang, it's a 32 foot tall blue horse sculpture with devilish red eyes.

Its local nickname, Blucifer. It was put up in 2008, though not without tragedy. In 1993, Dia hired artist Luis Jimenez to build Mustang, Lucifer's real name.

Despite its eerie look, its inspiration is wholesome. Luis works with bright colors influenced by

Mexican muralists, and Blucifer was originally going

to be yellow or pink. Luis settles on blue because his own

horse, Blackjack, has a bluish tint to his coat. Lucifer's startling red eyes are a nod

to Luis's father, who owned a store selling neon signs. Everything about the sculpture seems rooted in

Luis's loves art, his horse and his father. Not something devilish and dark.

The sculpture takes years for him to build.

Its fiberglass frame, weighing 9,000 pounds, is split into three parts, the head, the body and the hind legs. These parts are mostly completed by June 13, 2006, the day Blucifer's infamous legacy begins. Writer Delilah Montoya, in an essay about Blucifer, details the day. It's about 11am Luis has the horses, hindquarters and a hand operated hoist, but

as he lifts it into the air, it gets stuck.

Not only that But Luis's assistant notices that the sculpture isn't secure.

At this point, the piece must be pretty high up, as Luis has to

climb an I beam to try and fix whatever's jammed. But then Lucifer breaks loose.

Its hindquarters swing out of the supports, crushing Luis into the beam.

According to a medical investigation investigator, this likely rips open Luis's femoral artery. Tragically, Luis dies from his injuries at the hospital.

It takes another two years for his estate to complete the sculpture, debuting it

at DIA in 2008.

The artwork is installed outside the terminal, where it can greet travelers on their drive. But Luisa's death forever haunts Lucifer.

Some believe it left a curse. Others think the sculpture may be a sign of the Apocalypse, representing the Pale horse of Revelations, its writer, Death, who came for Luis. If Lucifer is really a sign of

the apocalypse, hopefully another DIA sculpture can help us. Notre Denver. Two gargoyles that emerge from cast bronze luggage, watching over DIA's 82 million annual

passengers as they move through baggage claim.

They're meant to protect the travelers walking

beneath them, as well as their suitcases. Honestly, they freak me out a little bit.

I am not used to seeing gargoyles in an airport. So what gives? Why is DIA so creepy?

Well, it depends on who you ask.

Over the last couple of decades, it's become the world's 10th busiest airport and

a hub for conspiracy theories. The headquarters of the New World Order.

Or the Illuminati or lizard people. Or all three. And the artwork is supposedly how those

organizations hide in plain sight. To truly understand how deep the conspiracy goes, we need to go back to the beginning. It's 1989. Colorado's main airport is Denver's Stapleton International Airport. Stapleton is fine.

It serves its purpose. But it's built practically smack dab in

the middle of suburbia. The surrounding neighborhoods constantly sue over noise complaints.

The location also makes it difficult for the airport to expand.

Stapleton can't just demolish people's homes for more runways.

The area is so starved for space, the highway runs right underneath the airfield. This inability to grow becomes a huge problem.

Denver is in the middle of the US which makes it a prime location for commercial flights and flight shipping goods across the country. And as more and more airlines fly

into Stapleton each day, Denver wants to accommodate them all. So the city decides to start building

a new airport that can dia. But DIA is a problem right from the beginning.

Construction is supposed to take four years,

ending by 1993 at a cost of $1.5 billion. However, there are tons of delays that Postpone the opening three times, bringing it way over budget.

That 1.5 billion balloons to 5.2 billion

before the first flight takes off.

Newspapers from the time call the whole thing a civic embarrassment. It's said that the airport keeps changing contractors. One crew starts one project, another finishes it.

They start a new one, get fired,

yet another crew takes over.

Rinse and repeat. No wonder they can't get anything done. Denverites are starting to get annoyed, and their complaints fall on the ears of Alex Christopher.

Around 1994, Alex is giving a lecture

at Denver's Global Sciences Congress. While the convention is for Global Sciences,

she's talking to the audience about something more.

Intergalactic aliens. Alex is a firm believer that aliens are behind all earthling affairs. We would need a whole series to

fully cover her theory, which details how

everything from the Holocaust to Atlantis traces back to extraterrestrials. Even JFK's assassination is rooted in America

allowing aliens to enslave the human race.

Oh, also, the Queen of England seems to be involved in everything. But the reason we're talking about Alex

today is that she's believed to be the first person to to research and publish the conspiracies.

Or as she'd call it, the truth about dia. At the conference, she listens to people's complaints.

Why is DIA taking so long to finish? Then Alex sees a picture of the airport's capstone.

It's a small granite plaque commemorating the construction. It's located right there in the Great Hall.

You've probably noticed it under those white tent like structures. And in the near center of the

capstone is a symbol that Alex is very familiar.

The mark of the Freemasons.

Oh, and what's right under that?

The words New World Airport Commission.

It's not lost on people that this

sounds like New World Order.

You're probably no stranger to the New World Order, but here's a refresher just in case. Conspiracy theorists, including Alex, believe everything in

the world is secretly controlled by an elite group.

They have their hands in politics, media, pandemics, everything. Their purpose is to dismantle society and

introduce one totalitarian government themselves. While the New World Order isn't technically

the same group as the Illuminati, the

names are often used almost interchangeably, especially when it comes to DIA conspiracies.

Alex has been researching the New World Order for about a decade at this point.

So when she sees the symbol of the Freemasons, another group believed to control

the entire world, along with New World Airport Commission. Well, she's hooked.

Alex starts looking into everything dia, especially Leo Tenguma's murals. There's the first one we mentioned, with

the stormtroopers stabbing a dove.

But that's just one half of the

Children of the World Dream of Peace.

A rainbow ascends from the crying girl, flowing around the stormtrooper and over to

the second half of the the painting. In this portion, children of different nationalities

gather together underneath the rainbow, destroying the stormtrooper and his sword. Now he lies beneath them, defeated. Okay, the Children of the World Dream

of Peace name now makes sense. Even in the midst of war and

destruction, the little girl is envisioning this idealized world.

Then there's Leo's other DIA mural.

This one is called In Peace and Harmony with Nature.

At first glance, it can be terrifying. Trees burn in the background. A bird is trapped in a glass cage.

Children cry over the coffins of two

women and a young girl.

Again, that's just one half of the mural. The other half depicts a crowd of people, adults and children alike, celebrating an

environment that has been restored to its natural state. Officially, this is all part of Leo's message.

The terrifying images lead to the ideals of humanity searching for peace.

But Alex sees something different.

The children destroying the stormtrooper's sword. Alex sees all of these children bringing weapons to one central figure, the blonde

boy with what looks like a literal iron fist. Perhaps she says this is a German boy.

Although she doesn't say it, it seems like she's insinuating he's meant to represent an Aryan boy.

The stormtrooper was one thing, but now

Alex wonders if there's a German secret

society involved with the construction of Diagnosis,

one that's in cahoots with the New World Order.

Okay, quick side note.

Remember how I mentioned DIA changing construction crews over and over again? Conspiracy theory royalty. George Norrie, on his radio show coast to coast, notes that this is the old German formula of construction. This way, no workers actually know what

terrible things they're building. Others have pointed out that an aerial

view of dia's runways looks sort of like a swastika.

To be fair, you kind of have

to pick and choose what parts of the Runway you're looking at to get that image.

So Alex is getting suspicious. What is this dark, possibly Nazi symbology doing in Diagnosis? To get to the bottom of it,

she visits artist Leo Tanguma at his studio.

She basically asks him, what's the deal?

According to Alex, Leo received a guideline,

presumably from the airport committee, of what to paint. He doesn't seem to think there's anything nefarious underneath the work. So Alex tells him what she thinks the symbols mean. It's not clear what she says exactly,

but it could be her overall theory that the murals depict what they plan to do to us and the world as a whole. We, everyday citizens are the children in the coffins being terrorized and defeated by

the New World Order. And all of the world's leaders are going to hand everything they have to that blond boy with an iron fist representing the New World Order, or maybe even the Nazis. Leo doesn't agree with Alex, allegedly.

The next time they talk, he denies that he ever received a guideline. To this day, Leo says he answered

a call for entries put out by the airport he and his daughter painted

in his trademark social realist style, in the tradition of Mexican muralists. His murals at Diagnosis are about humanity putting down their weapons and abolishing violence.

But Alex doesn't buy it. There are just too many signs the DIA is hiding something, especially when you consider what she finds underneath the airport.

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[Carter Roy]

See terms Around 1994, Alex Christopher investigates the Denver International Airport, the art that seems apocalyptic, the much delayed construction, and of course the capstone branded with the mark of the Freemasons.

Officially, the Freemasons are just a fraternal organization, basically a social club built around the idea that men of good character can come together in the fatherhood of

God and the brotherhood of mankind. However There have been whispers for centuries that they're actually part of some grander conspiracy. Many believe they're a part of the

New World Order, that the Freemasons help

influence world events in accordance with their world domination plot. Despite being a secret society, the Freemasons are pretty open.

Their symbol is on the DIA capstone simply because they, the local Masonic lodge,

gave it to the airport along with the time capsule it contains. They're essentially signing their gift.

Regardless, Alex is disturbed by the symbol being there, along with the name New

World Airport Commission, which, as we said

before, sounds an awful lot like the New World Order. Now, just because the two groups share a couple words in their name doesn't

make them the same.

The thing is, the New World Airport

Commission may not actually exist. Well, that's what DIA says anyway.

Sometimes this is where things get a little confusing. The airport has said that the New World Airport Commission was a temporary group

organizing events around the airport's initial construction and opening.

The commission's name came From Dvorak Symphony no. 9, the New World Symphony, but the DIA sometimes denies this. In a 2020 video made by United Airlines about the conspiracies, the DIA's public information officer explicitly states, New World Airport Commission is a completely made up name. That group never existed. Now I should mention the Denver Library

says the organization is absolutely real and

they have the archives to prove it.

I don't know about you, but I don't think it's ever a good idea to cross a librarian. So what is going on with dia?

Why can't they get their story straight?

Well, that's Alex Christopher's question exactly. And her friend may have some answers. Alex is taken to DIA for the first time by a man named Phil Schneider. Phil is a bit of a celebrity in conspiracy circles. He's an engineer who claims to have worked for the government. He says he took part in a top secret construction project to build an underground facility known as Dulce Base. The remote spot in New Mexico allegedly houses human alien hybrids underground.

According to Phil, there are several alien races living on Earth, some of which have made deals with the US government. The main one being the 1954 Greta Treaty signed by the Greys and President Eisenhower, wherein the Greys promise not to meddle with our world.

In exchange, we would keep their existence a secret. They'd also provide us with advanced technologies and we'd allow them to abduct a human every once in a while. For experiments, sacrifices have to be made. But not every alien race living on Earth is so diplomatic.

Phil claims that while working on the Dulce base's bunkers, they discovered another alien

species living underground and a shootout occurred.

60 Earthlings were killed in the battle,

but Phil managed to take out a few aliens himself.

He unfortunately lost some fingers in the process and was shot in the chest,

resulting in a scar that he shows off during his lectures.

It's a wild claim that many believe, including Alex. Phil tells her that DIA is yet another facility for alien life forms in hiding. The capstone is a homing beacon meant to bring ships right into dia.

He points out how the capstone even has a section that he calls a little keypad area. Perhaps it's used to type out and send messages to the ships. Another side note.

What if I told you that to this day, Freemasons have reportedly been seen walking up to the plaque and swiping their Masonic ID cards. Supposedly this is to see if the time capsule opens.

But most plaques that I know of don't have badge scanners. Now this so called keypad Phil Schneider talks about is actually Braille. You may hear that and think, oh, so this is all bs Phil just doesn't know what Brehl looks like.

Well, clearly it's not his area of expertise.

But if any of his claims about his work history are true, then Phil might know more about DIA's most suspicious area. The tunnels underneath DIA is a 3.5

million square foot tunnel system.

It's used by employees to transport luggage across the airport. Construction was so delayed partially because these tunnels were supposed to house a state

of the art, completely automated baggage system.

It never actually worked, which is why employees still need to drive everything around in carts. Alex claims that she and Phil are

somehow allowed access to these tunnels, perhaps because, according to Phil, he was offered to head the tunnel's construction in the 80s. It's unclear how deep they go, but

Phil tells Alex that there are eight floors in total. And he says down there is a whole underground city.

It's equipped with mach speed bullet trains, a highway, medical labs, and even stores. Who is this city for? Why, the elite, of course.

After seeing the tunnels firsthand, Alex continues researching dia. One of her sources tells her that

the tunnels are meant to be the western sector of the New World Order. She finds a statement by Rodney Stich,

the federal agent turned author who wrote several books about government corruption.

Rodney contends that the CIA paid the

Denver mayor $1.5 million in cash to get the airport's construction approved. Perhaps this was due to the New World Order putting the screws on the CIA to get them some new digs. Or perhaps the CIA didn't need it

completed for the new world order. But for someone a tiny bit lower

on the world domination totem pole, the President. You see, 100 miles away from DIA is Cheyenne Mountain, home to NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command. It's a literal army base built inside a mountain like some comic book villain lair. On most days, NORAD is a military training facility. More importantly, though, military officers keep their eyes on the sky for an attack. And if that were to happen, NORAD is ready.

The facility is built to survive a nuclear blast 1,000 times stronger than Hiroshima.

If enemy nuclear missiles ever head toward the U.S. the president is shipped right to Cheyenne Mountain.

But how are they supposed to get

there while the nation is being nuked? Well, some believe that's where the DIA tunnels come into play. Allegedly, during that long DIA construction period,

crews dug up over 110 million cubic

yards of dirt, which is apparently too

much considering what the plans called for.

Unless they were digging a much larger tunnel from DIA right to shore. Cheyenne Mountain. Well, think about it. If the US Were under a catastrophic

attack, getting the President to Cheyenne through

a car or even an Air Force One could be difficult.

Maybe the skies are filled with falling missiles.

Roads are packed with cars trying to flee.

So some believe whether facing an attack or a threatening comet, the President is supposed to use the DIA tunnels to

reach the North Rad bunker.

Either that or officials could hole up somewhere more secret, somewhere the enemy won't

think to look for them, like underneath a public airport. And perhaps they'll have company. If the DIA is truly the New World Order headquarters, it probably wouldn't just be the President hiding there.

Conspiracy theorist Jay Widener believes that the tunnels are a sort of Noah's Ark for the elite.

When the world ends, anyone with money and influence will be brought there to ride out the apocalypse. You may be thinking the idea is a bit silly.

A billionaire would be too stuck up

to hide out in some bunker, living off canned beans. That's doomsday prepper uncle behavior. Well, no one said they wouldn't be surviving in style. I mean, the official bunker. NORAD has its own convenience store and even a subway, as in the sandwich shop.

These days, commercially available doomsday bunkers costing

between $25,000 to $7.5 million are much more than a metal hole in the ground. The higher the price tag, the more amenities you get. Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter in 2024,

one bunker company CEO says he's building one that can hold a car collection. Another bunker builder claims he has a literal moat that can become a ring of fire, warding off any threats.

If that's the kind of safe haven billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates are buying from public companies, who knows

what a secret global power like the New World Order would be able to

get for their DIA bunker.

But some people, including Alex Christopher, wonder if the DIA tunnels aren't meant for the elite to live in. Perhaps they're meant for everyday people like

you and me only. They're not planning on protecting us. They're planning to eliminate us. Denver International Airport has been a hotbed for conspiracy theories since Construction began in 1989.

The two biggest pieces of this lore

surround the underground tunnels and the murals.

Conspiracy theorists would say they both come together in one New World Order Order doomsday plot.

And the painting of a Nazi wearing a gas mask could be a clue to their plan. Some believe that it represents how the

New World Order is going to use chemical warfare to depopulate the world, killing anyone who's not part of the elite.

The rainbow that painter Leo Tanguma meant

to be the dreams of children. This theory goes that it really represents the toxin the elites are going to spray into the air. And what will that toxin be? Well, underneath the mural etched into dia's floor is a miner's cart with the

symbols AU and ag.

Officially, this represents Colorado's famous mines, as

AU and AG are the atomic symbols for gold and silver. However, conspiracy theorists think it stands for something else.

AU AG is sometimes used as an abbreviation for a deadly strain of hepatitis,

the very strain the New World Order may use to wipe us out. The thing is, this strain is preventable. Its vaccine has been available since 1981, more than a decade before the airport even opened.

But ok, for the sake of argument, let's say the New World Order is

planning a new variant.

Now, how exactly will the New World

Order hit us with this chemical attack?

Through DIA's tunnel sprinkler system. Like many places, the tunnels have fire safety sprinklers on the ceiling. Conspiracy theorists believe these can be used like a gas chamber to poison all

of us non elites.

They may even have cages built and

ready to take us out. Alex says she notices some fenced in areas of the tunnels. I mean, okay, that's not too odd. Some apartment building basements have cage like fences for storage.

According to this theory, though, the DIA's fences are topped with barbed wire. It points inward like it's meant to

stop someone from Climbing out.

As if the Elite's plan is to herd us into these, jailing us until

the gas hisses out of the sprinklers above. By the way, we've been calling these

captors the Elite or. Or the New World Order. I'm not sure. But I bet you were envisioning these to be humans.

Not quite. Remember, this is Alex Christopher we're talking about. She claims she was shown around the tunnels by Phil Schneider, two big alien aficionados.

Alex believes the DIA is an alien base. They use it as a concentration camp

where they enslaved, enslave human children. Whatever work they have the kids doing

is grueling right up until the point

when the aliens supposedly eat the children for dinner.

It's believed that the aliens are doing all of this while they wait for the Rapture. When's that going to be? There's been a lot of apocalyptic prophecies and potential dates suggested over the years, like the Mayans 201212 prediction.

And so far, we're still here.

But Phil has thrown out another date that's not too far in the future.

DIA recently announced some plans for a remodel.

A portion of their tunnels will be

converted into a pedestrian walkway. It's meant to take passengers from one concourse to another more quickly.

Construction is expected to start in 2027

and end in 2029. Guess what? 2029 is the year Phil Schneider says

aliens are going to finally rise up and take over the Earth. He believes they'll kill about 8% of

the population in the process. Not sure what happens to the rest of us now. Phil made this prediction sometime around 1995,

and you may not believe him, but get this. In 1972, NASA launches their space probe Pioneer 10 through our atmosphere and into our solar system. It snaps photos of Jupiter and even reaches Neptune. NASA is able to download these photos through radio waves sent back and forth

between their base and the probe.

But the transmissions don't stop there. The radio waves continue past Pioneer 10

and go deeper into space.

In 2023, University of California, Berkeley scientists figure out that the transmissions reached another

star 27 light years away. And that actually happened back in 2002.

If some alien race around that star caught that signal, it would take years for us to get their response.

Berkeley did the math.

The earliest it would hit earth is 2029.

So whether you trust fringe sources like

Phil or legit science, 2029 could be

a big year for aliens. Unfortunately, Phil won't be here to see if his theories can be proved.

About a year After Phil goes public

with his 2029 alien agenda, claim he in January 1996, he is found dead in his apartment. Cause of death, strangulation by a catheter wrapped around his neck. At first his death is ruled a suicide, but those who know him say that doesn't make sense.

For one thing, he repeatedly warned his

friends, family, even his audiences that he wasn't suicidal. If anyone ever told them he died by suicide, he said, just know it was foul play.

After all, he claimed he was telling

people the government's secrets about aliens. That doesn't make you any friends in high places.

If you'll recall, Phil was also missing

fingers, which he said resulted from his infamous alien shootout.

Realistically, this would have made it pretty difficult to tie the catheter and strangle himself. Allegedly. When Phil's ex wife goes to pack

up his apartment after his death, all of his alien research is missing, as well as his lecture recordings.

Then an obituary is published. Only it didn't come from his family. They don't know who wrote it or what, why it lists his death as a stroke.

Many believe that these odd details point to Phil being murdered. Someone, whether it be the government, the New World Order, or perhaps the Grey Aliens themselves, needed to silence him. Now Alex has also been exposing the government's alien secrets. The According to a 2007 Westward article, she worries that she's going to be killed Next. So in 1996, after Phil's death, she

puts the world of conspiracy theories behind her and goes into hiding.

But her research and interviews about DIA spread online.

What was once a niche conspiracy amongst Denverites becomes what's been called one of

the top 10 conspiracy theories around. So if everyone is figuring out DIA's secrets, what is DIA doing about it? Are they covering up their murals and erasing any evidence of their doomsday tunnels? No. Perhaps they tried to when the theories initially started picking up steam.

Nowadays, though, as far as DIA is

concerned, if you can't beat them, join them. In 2018, DIA starts renovation construction. This is separate from the tunnel walkway project I mentioned earlier.

While other airports may divert passengers from construction areas or put up pardon our

appearance signs, DIA decides to have a little fun.

They put up one sign that states

what's happening behind this wall?

A Gargoyle breeding grounds. B B A top secret freemason meeting.

C An improved airport experience. Another poster says under construction or underground tunnels. These signs point people to their website that goes into full detail on some of the airport's conspiracy theories. And if the Denver International Airport is being so open and jokey. I mean, do we really have anything to worry about? Some would say no.

If they were really some sort of

secret alien New World Order base, they would keep their mouths shut, hide the gapstone, maybe even paint over the murals. I'm a painter and visual artist myself, and I really feel for Leo Tanguma.

How your art gets interpreted is not in your hands, but you definitely have

an idea of what you want it to mean. He and his daughter, who helped him,

have been open about their intention.

They don't call the man with a sword a Nazi stormtrooper. He's simply a figure of war. In interviews, Leo has mentioned being stationed in Germany back in the 60s. While serving in the army.

He stayed long enough to make friends

and learn to speak German, so his

time there could explain what inspired the villain's design.

But honestly, it doesn't seem like Leo

meant for the figure of war to be the focus. In 2023, Leo tells his local PBS

station about a drawing he did in the fifth grade. It wasn't a painting. It was chalk on a blackboard in his classroom. While his teacher wasn't looking, Leo drew the local sheriff not as a gun slinging hero, but as a criminal receiving justice. As the artist tells it, the real sheriff had killed several Mexican Americans around town, including members of Leo's family.

So Leo envisioned his classmates getting together

and avenging their neighbors by killing the sheriff. These dark themes have always existed in Leo's art, but they're not meant to evoke fear.

They're meant to bring social awareness to the world's injustices.

Knowing that it's difficult to reconcile his

life's work with a theory that Leo, of all people, would play ball with

the global elites in their plans for world domination. In some ways, the Denver airport's offbeat details feel like a bunch of urban legends that simply got out of hand.

But the airport has embraced its new identity, which is kind of a beautiful thing. With thousands of people coming and going

day in and day out, visiting loved ones, seeking adventure, getting a fresh start somewhere new, the airport has become almost like a living, breathing entity. That being said, will you find me down in those tunnels alone?

[Ryan Reynolds (Mint Mobile Advertiser)]

No.

[Carter Roy]

No, you will not. Thank you for listening to conspiracy theories. Rewind. We're here with a new episode every Wednesday. Be sure to check us out on Instagram, heconspiracypod. If you're watching on Spotify, swipe up and give us your thoughts.

Our sources for today's episode include The Westward article, DIA conspiracies take off and

Alex Christopher's 1996 KSE op interview transcribed by the Leading Edge Research Group. Until next time. Remember, the truth isn't always the best story, and the official story isn't always the truth. This episode was written and researched by Brandon Rizzuto, edited by Justin Sayles and Miki Taylor. Fact checked by Sophie Kemp, engineered by Sarah Reddy and video edited and sound designed by Alex Button. I'm your host, Carter Roy.

[Anya Cain]

I'm Anya Cain.

[Kevin Greenlee]

And I'm Kevin Greenlee. I'm a journalist, I'm an attorney, and

[Anya Cain]

we actually met and got married while investigating the Burger Chef murders. We decided to build a life around nerding out about true crime on our podcast, the Murder Sheet.

[Kevin Greenlee]

On the Murder Sheet, we bring that same obsessive curiosity to cases like Delphi Burger and now the killing of Jared Bright. Again, our next big Deep dive.

[Anya Cain]

This summer, tune in for our Deep Dive series, Cases of the Week and weekly crime Roundups on the Murder Sheet. Wherever you listen to podcasts.