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Smoke Screen: The Greatest Scam Ever Written
Sony Music Entertainment - sonymusic.com
Latest episode: Thu Jul 25 2024
Smoke Screen is an investigative documentary series on people with complex motives and morals. Follow characters on the fringes of society — con artists, cult leaders, corrupt politicians — as they seduce their marks and bend communities to their will. Join us as we unravel their stories and bring justice to the people they’ve deceived. SEASON 10: The Greatest Scam Ever Written - Coming August 1st What would you do if one handwritten letter promised to change your life forever? All of us want magic, to feel like there is some sort of exterior force guiding our next steps, to believe our fate is written in the stars. This is the story of 1 million hopeful Americans, the global scam that took $200m from them, and the mastermind who managed it all by sending out thousands of letters a week.Investigative journalist Rachel Browne takes us through the facts of the fraud, from its brilliantly simple conception to the revelation and imprisonment of the fraudster themselves. Speaking through letters from behind bars, the con artist maintains their innocence, saying: ‘Maybe it's not moral, maybe it's bullshit, but it doesn’t mean it's fraud.’ And that is the question at the heart of The Greatest Scam Ever Written: What happens if you want to believe that sending $50 to a psychic will change the course of your destiny? Are you a victim, or a willing participant? SEASON 9: My Friend, the Serial Killer In the 1970s, Steve Fishman was an intern at his local newspaper, when one day he hitched a ride back from Boston with Robert Carr III, better known as “Red.” Red seemed trustworthy enough, but he was hiding a secret: by the time he had picked up Steve, he had already killed three people—and all of his prior victims were hitchhikers themselves. Unlock all episodes of Smoke Screen, ad-free, by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month. Just click ‘Subscribe’ on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you listen. SEASON 8: My Fugitive Dad Ashley’s Dad was her favorite person in the world. He drove fast cars and sold them for a living. He was a scratch golfer and the love of her Mum’s life. Ashley thought she knew him better than anyone. But at 38, she found out he wasn’t who he said he was. Inspired by his favorite movie the Thomas Crown Affair, he had pulled off a robbery in Cleveland then disappeared. It turns out he evaded the authorities for half a century, living in their sleepy Massachusetts town. His secret upended his family’s life, but another family’s too. Because from the moment this 20-year-old vault teller escaped with $215,000 in 1969, Deputy U.S. Marshal John Elliott made it his life’s mission to bring him to justice. After he retired, his son even took up his mantle. For this six episode podcast, host Jonathan Hirsch teams up with Ashley Randele to unravel the mystery of how her Dad got away with it, and ultimately, why he left behind everyone and everything to start over. SEASON 7: Betrayal on the Bayou For almost two decades, DEA Special Agent Chad Scott ruled the streets just North of New Orleans. He controlled a network of snitches by convincing people he arrested to work for him as informants. Chad would stop at nothing to put drug dealers behind bars. His successes won awards at the DEA, but his willingness to bend the rules earned him a terrifying reputation on the streets. Some called him the Golden Boy. Others called him the White Devil. But when one of guys on Chad's team is caught dealing drugs, Chad’s life is overturned. His right-hand men betray him and confess everything to the FBI. Investigators go over his career with a fine-toothed comb, asking the question: is Chad Scott the greatest DEA Agent in the South, or is he a criminal? SEASON 6: Just Say You're Sorry SEASON 5: Deadly Cure SEASON 4: Puppy Kingpin SEASON 3: The Sellout SEASON 2: I Am Rama SEASON 1: Fake Priest
89 total episodes
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- Jul25Introducing: The Greatest Scam Ever Written3mins
- Jul8My Friend, the Serial Killer | 6. Unfinished Business36mins
- Jul1My Friend, the Serial Killer | 5. Donna45mins
- Jun24My Friend, the Serial Killer | 4. The Exclusive40mins
- Jun17My Friend, the Serial Killer | 3. Take Us To The Bodies32mins
- Jun10My Friend, the Serial Killer | 2. Confessions32mins
- Jun3My Friend, the Serial Killer | 1. Local Man35mins
- May28Introducing: My Friend, the Serial Killer2mins
- May6The Most Dangerous Man You've Never Heard Of - Who is John Todd?3mins
- Feb2Introducing The Runaway Princesses from In The Dark and The New Yorker14mins
- Jan8My Fugitive Dad | 6. Settling Accounts50mins
- Jan1My Fugitive Dad | 5. Tom's Very Last Round33mins
- Dec25My Fugitive Dad | 4. The Ringer40mins
- Dec18My Fugitive Dad | 3. The Last Randele46mins
- Dec11My Fugitive Dad | 2. The Hunt30mins
- Dec4My Fugitive Dad | 1. Becoming Thomas Crown41mins
- Nov17Introducing: My Fugitive Dad2mins
- Nov8Introducing *Crime Waves: Cold Truth*3mins
- Sep18Betrayal on the Bayou | 8. Approximation of Justice47mins
- Sep11Betrayal on the Bayou | 7. Inside the War Room44mins
- Sep4Betrayal on the Bayou | 6. Cops to Canaries47mins
- Aug28Betrayal on the Bayou | 5. Deal at the DoubleTree39mins
- Aug21Betrayal on the Bayou | 4. A Sign of Good Faith39mins
- Aug14Betrayal on the Bayou | 3. Kid Gloves48mins
- Aug8Betrayal on the Bayou | 2. The A-Team42mins
- Aug1Betrayal on the Bayou | 1. The White Devil44mins
- Jul18Introducing: Betrayal on the Bayou3mins
- Jul10Assassins, Heists, & Nazis - The Untold Story of the Abortion Pill in America7mins
- Jun5Just Say You’re Sorry | 6. Closure Doesn’t Exist48mins
- May29Just Say You’re Sorry | 5. The Serial Killer Whisperer54mins
- May22Just Say You’re Sorry | 4. Memory, Taste and Odor54mins
- May15Just Say You’re Sorry | 3. The Grand Canyon53mins
- May8Just Say You’re Sorry | 2. The Word of God47mins
- May1Just Say You’re Sorry | 1. Not That I Recall36mins
- Apr24Introducing: Just Say You're Sorry2mins
- Mar15Deadly Cure | 8. The Rattlesnake King29mins
- Mar8Deadly Cure | 7. Doing Time35mins
- Mar1Deadly Cure | 6. The Raid42mins
- Feb22Deadly Cure | 5. Operation Quack Hack40mins
- Feb15Deadly Cure | 4. The Limelight35mins
- Feb8Deadly Cure | 3. The Martyr36mins
- Feb1Deadly Cure | 2. The Bleach Hunters35mins
- Feb1Deadly Cure | 1. Genesis38mins
- Jan18Introducing: Deadly Cure3mins
- Jan5A New Investigation: The Last Days of the NXIVM Sex Cult6mins
- Aug4GOING UNDERCOVER7mins
- Aug1A New Case: The Criminal Empire of Scam Calls15mins
- Jul22A Q&A with Smoke Screen host Alex Schuman16mins
- Jul21Puppy Kingpin | 7. Consequences34mins
- Jul14Puppy Kingpin | 6. License to Sell38mins
- Jul7Puppy Kingpin | 5. Small Town Secrets34mins
- Jun30Puppy Kingpin | 4. A Kind of Identity Theft38mins
- Jun23Puppy Kingpin | 3. Hobo K940mins
- Jun16Puppy Kingpin | 2. Inside a Puppy Mill49mins
- Jun16Puppy Kingpin | 1. Follow the Puppies52mins
- May25Coming Soon: Puppy Kingpin2mins
- May20Bonus episode: Where's my money?19mins
- Dec14The Sellout | 9: There's A Fire38mins
- Dec7The Sellout | 8: The Downfall37mins
- Nov30The Sellout | 7: The Coverup31mins
- Nov23The Sellout | 6: The Heyday37mins
- Nov16The Sellout | 5: How Downtown Was Won37mins
- Nov9The Sellout | 4. Progress Over People38mins
- Nov2The Sellout | 3. Red Flags37mins
- Oct26The Sellout | 2. Gentrification is Warfare29mins
- Oct26The Sellout | 1. The Gem of Boyle Heights38mins
- Oct22Introducing The Sellout and Smoke Screen Plus1min
- Oct12Coming Soon: The Sellout3mins
- Aug17I Am Rama | 10. Legacy36mins
- Aug10I Am Rama | 9. Conscience Bay32mins
- Aug3I Am Rama | 8. Public Opinion31mins
- Jul27I Am Rama | 7. Accused28mins
- Jul20I Am Rama | 6. Deprogramming44mins
- Jul13I Am Rama | 5. Brenda42mins
- Jul6I Am Rama | 4. Spiritual Contract47mins
- Jun29I Am Rama | 3. California Dreaming32mins
- Jun22I Am Rama | 2. Becoming31mins
- Jun22I Am Rama | 1. Golden Light40mins
- Jun8Coming Soon: I Am Rama3mins
- Oct8Fake Priest | 9. How To Get Away With Fraud41mins
- Oct1Fake Priest | 8. Origin Story41mins
- Sep24Fake Priest | 7. Two Dead Priests33mins
- Sep17Fake Priest | 6. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished39mins
- Sep10Fake Priest | 5. Meet The Browns39mins
- Sep3Fake Priest | 4. Llama Drama38mins
- Aug27Fake Priest | 3. The Teacher37mins
- Aug20Fake Priest | 2. Coming Home38mins
- Aug13Fake Priest | 1. An Unholy Priest37mins
- Jul31Introducing Smoke Screen: Fake Priest2mins