Varnamtown

Launching January 24, 2024: Two years ago, Kyle MacLachlan, the star of Twin Peaks, called investigative journalist Joshua Davis with a strange story. Kyle had heard a rumor that Pablo Escobar did a deal in the early 1980s with a remote, coastal Southern town of 300 people. In exchange for vast wealth and limitless cocaine, Escobar would be allowed to land planes and ships in the area. Over the last 24 months, Josh and Kyle investigated the rumor, journeying to Varnamtown to knock on doors and find out what really happens when a firehose of money and cocaine is turned on a small, tight knit community.

In 1981, REO Speedwagon’s airplane landed outside of Varnamtown, a remote town in North Carolina. The cargo: a massive amount of drugs from Barranquilla, Colombia. The shipment revealed a startling connection between Colombia and Varnamtown, population 300. Did Pablo Escobar really do a deal en masse with the entire town? Kyle MacLachlan and investigative journalist Joshua Davis begin their journey into the swampy backwaters of the coastal South to uncover the truth. Thank you for supporting our sponsors! Hello Fresh: Go to https://HelloFresh.com/VarnamtownFree and use the code VARNAMTOWNFREE to get FREE breakfast for life. One breakfast item per box while subscription is active. Better Help: This podcast is sponsored by Better Help. Visit https://BetterHelp.com/TOWN to get 10% off your first month.

A cargo ship filled with drugs runs aground outside of Varnamtown. To make matters worse, the grounding happens in front of Roger Morton’s house, one of the only people in the area set on stopping the influx of drugs. Roger decides he needs to take serious action, setting up a titanic struggle between him and his neighbors. Thank you for supporting our sponsors! Better Help: This podcast is sponsored by Better Help. Visit https://BetterHelp.com/TOWN to get 10% off your first month.

DEA agent Mike Grimes arrives in North Carolina from Washington D.C. thinking he’d have plenty of time to fish in this sleepy region. Instead, he finds himself in the middle of a massive smuggling operation hidden in the swamps and coastal inlets. Roger Morton should be a natural ally, but things go quickly sideways at the local Tasty Freeze, and Roger is forced to write President Ronald Reagan a letter asking for help. Thank you for supporting our sponsors! Hello Fresh: Sign up at https://HelloFresh.com/VarnamtownFree for free breakfast for life! One breakfast item per box while subscription is active. Better Help: This podcast is sponsored by Better Help. Visit https://BetterHelp.com/TOWN to get 10% off your first month. OneSkin: Get 15% off OneSkin with the code TOWN at https://www.oneskin.co/TOWN #oneskinpod

When the REO Speedwagon plane botched its landing, the pilots took off into the forest. Mike Grimes launches a manhunt and steadily closes in on one of the pilots while local Sheriff's deputy Larry Joyner chases down a van full of Colombians. Eventually, the chase leads Mike and Larry on an adventure in Miami. Thank you for supporting our sponsors! Hello Fresh: Go to https://HelloFresh.com/VARNAMTOWNFREE and use the code VARNAMTOWNFREE for free breakfast for life. One breakfast item per box while subscription is active One Skin: Go to https://OneSkin.co and use code TOWN to get 15% off Viia Hemp: Go to https://ViiaHemp.com & use code TOWN to receive 15% off PLUS one free sample of their Sleep Dreams gummies. 21+

Mike Grimes expands the REO Speedwagon investigation and discovers layers of corruption all around Varnamtown, from the Sheriff's office to within Roger Morton’s family. We delve into the Shakespearean tragedy of Roger’s relationship with his brother Duane, a local “clam cop.” Thank you for supporting our sponsors! Factor: Go to https://FactorMeals.com/Varnamtown50 and use code VARNAMTOWN50 to get 50% off. Better Help: This podcast is sponsored by Better Help. Visit https://BetterHelp.com/TOWN to get 10% off your first month.

Corey Duber, a cop from Brooklyn, arrives in Varnamtown to take down Dale Varnam’s drug empire. He wins Dale’s trust and suddenly Dale starts naming names…a lot of them. Thank you for supporting our sponsors! Factor: Go to https://FactorMeals.com/Varnamtown50 and use code VARNAMTOWN50 to get 50% off. G-Defy Shoes: Visit https://GDEFY.com, and use discount code TOWN for an exclusive $30 off orders of $150 or more. Better Help: This podcast is sponsored by Better Help. Visit https://BetterHelp.com/TOWN to get 10% off your first month.

At long last, we venture inside Fort Apache, the town within a town constructed by Dale Varnam. For months, we have heard about Dale’s reputed deal with Pablo Escobar, the deal that transformed Varnamtown. Now we’ll venture inside Dale’s lair in search of the truth. But can he be trusted? And why does everyone have a different perspective on him? Thank you for supporting our sponsors! Viia Hemp: Go to https://ViiaHemp.com & use code TOWN to receive 15% off PLUS one free sample of their Sleep Dreams gummies. 21+ Wooga: Discover your inner detective when you download June’s Journey for free today on iOS and Android. G-Defy Shoes: Visit https://GDEFY.com, and use discount code TOWN for an exclusive $30 off orders of $150 or more.

In our final episode, we hear from Mike Easley, the guy who prosecuted the locals in Varnamtown and eventually became governor of North Carolina. In the end, was Varnamtown a major transshipment site for Pablo Escobar’s cocaine? Or was the whole thing a giant ruse that Dale Varnam concocted to entertain his friends and neighbors? Thank you for supporting our sponsors! G-Defy Shoes: Visit https://GDEFY.com, and use discount code TOWN for an exclusive $30 off orders of $150 or more. Better Help: This podcast is sponsored by Better Help. Visit https://BetterHelp.com/TOWN to get 10% off your first month. Wooga: Discover your inner detective when you download June’s Journey for free today on iOS and Android.

Deep Cover is a show about people who lead double lives. Season four, The Nameless Man, tells the epic tale of two federal agents who investigate a rumor about a murder that supposedly took place 15 years prior. It is also the story of a family searching for answers about why their brother was killed. These two storylines collide in a courtroom in Philadelphia, where murder, memory, and morality go on trial. If you enjoy this clip, listen to Deep Cover: The Nameless Man wherever you get your podcasts.