Smoke Screen: The Greatest Scam Ever Written
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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
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
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The blatant cultural appropriation, narcissism and leveraging of white privledge is mind boggling. WTAF.
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highly intelligent investigator is taking advantage of a low IQ person .... no wonder prisons r crowded with innocent people. as long as the word lawyer is said, they should get a lawyer...
let's now look at all the Vax complications and the Lefties
Beautiful ❤️
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🤦♀️ America has no concept of the complexity of human nature, you want your 'bad guys' to be irredeemable, like in movies, Ted was pretty much an adolescent influenced by a Hollywood movie that glorified theft & the thief who escaped, this podcast is a let down because it's American authors have gone looking for a monster only to find a little boy with his hand in a cookie jar, who however, under a punative legal system, would have lost his life to a jail term out of proportion to his crime
hi
So interesting ! one 40minutes per week isn't enough...good job👍
DEA Agent Joseph Bongiovanni. A Buffalo, NY agent who sold out to the Italian Mob. It includes a judge who jumped in front of a train, and another witness who died prior to testi- lying.
As a lifelong vegetarian, I care about the way animals are treated. As someone who lives in the Midwest, I would say that a little bit of the culture is not given air space. It seems like the breeders and puppy mills are just run by exceedingly cruel people, but that is a little bit of the culture. Most jobs out here are factory jobs. The factories run much of the products that the coastal U.S enjoys. The factories however, are like human farms. They people are not paid enough and the conditions are not great. You know out here that unless you have power or money, you are not special. People are just a replaceable product out here. I wish that we were as focused on how people are being treated as we are dogs. I say all of this while hoping that the situation for both changes.
wasn't expecting that bombshell!
Manipulation, fraud, exploitation and abuse using religion? Say it ain't so! lol happens all the time
DEA badge = government issued permit to commit crimes
It’s funny how that vaccine ended up be the THING that killed you.
This is a great podcast. Fantastic storytelling skills backed with pertinent interviews and a really interesting case. Really easy and enjoyable to listen to 👍
I believe the pizza defense! I don't eat Papa John's if someone said to me I was at a crime scene and they know because the Papa John's pizza box was there I could definitively say it was not m************ me because I don't like Papa John's I'll get it frozen pizza before I get Papa John's. or I won't eat pizza at all LOL
what these people are pushing is terrible but again this lady talking about how bad it was for her to be doxed after she was doxing a bunch of people that is insane
this lady seems horrible horrible but I'm sure she's the type of person that would say it's okay to cut your child's penis off