The Nitro Files

An Investigative Podcast by Seth Sturm

What if you learned that one of the most dangerous scientific experiments was nearly conducted in the 21st century, in the United States, right in the heart of West Virginia?

The Raëlian Movement, a fringe cult obsessed with human cloning as a means to immortality, set up a secret lab in Nitro, WV, with the support of local politician Mark Hunt with the goal of cloning human beings. Real people were set to be part of this experiment.

In The Nitro Files, Seth Sturm seeks to uncover how these events were allowed to unfold without significant consequence. How did the government turn a blind eye? Why didn’t the media take the danger seriously? And how did the Raëlian cult manipulate its members into participating in something so heinous?

With interviews from experts in bioethics, cult psychology, and other relevant fields, The Nitro Files re-examines this 2021 story through a 2024 lens. Why no one was ever held accountable and why the experiment was quietly forgotten.