Pretend - a true crime podcast about con artists
PRETEND exposes the masterminds behind some of the most notorious scams and cons. From cult leaders to con artists and undercover FBI agents, this podcast pulls back the curtain on those who've pretended to be someone they're not.
Episodes
June 4, 2017 • 1 min
PRETEND is a documentary-style podcast about con artists and real people pretending to be someone else.
Javier Leiva interviews real con artists, snake oil salesmen, and former cult members–anyone living a lie.
PRETEND is consistently in the top True Crime Podcasts in U.S., UK, Canada, and Australia.
It has been featured in the New York Times, the BBC, and New York Magazine. In 2018, Vulture named PRETEND one of the top 52 Tru...
Mark as Played
June 6, 2017 • 24 mins
///UPDATE///
Start with Season 3, episode 1. After covering this cult, I was personally invited by the cult leader to spend the day with her. You won't want to miss it.
///UPDATE///
The Prophet part 1 explores The Word of Faith Fellowship. You will hear about the accused cult leader, Pastor Jane Whaley, who many inside the sect believe is a prophet with direct communication with God. John Cooper describes the day 20 to 30 sect m...
Mark as Played
June 20, 2017 • 23 mins
John Cooper remembers one of the Word of Faith Fellowship ministers commanding him to beat his wife. He also describes his family’s attempt to what he describes as a cult. Then it finally happened. John escaped. We’ll listen to secret recordings of pastor Jane Whaley trying to lure him back.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mark as Played
June 22, 2017 • 21 mins
In the Prophet part 3, we’ll look at the Word of Faith Fellowship from a completely different lens. We’ll hear from current sect members and get their version of the story. Plus, you'll hear the latest on trial against five ministers accused of beating and kidnapping Michael Fenner. If you enjoy the show, consider donating a dollar: https://patreon.com/user?u=5971503&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=creatorshare2 F...
Mark as Played
July 25, 2017 • 23 mins
In part one of the Birth of a Con Man, hear how man became a career criminal—a con-man. First, he started scamming auto insurance companies. Then the con got bigger and more elaborate. You see, that’s how it works. Once a con man gets away with it, they have to do it again. But the next time, the con is bigger and more complex.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mark as Played
July 27, 2017 • 19 mins
Previously on Pretend Radio we witnessed the birth of a con man.
A man started his criminal career as a street thug and worked his way up to car insurance scam artist.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mark as Played
August 9, 2017 • 27 mins
This week’s story is about self-professed serial killer Todd Kohlhepp. What’s terrifying about Todd Kohlhepp? He’s not the type of serial killer you see in the movies. He doesn’t collect body parts in his fridge. He doesn’t taunt the media with riddles. He seems like a normal guy who owns a successful real estate company. Listen as his last surviving victim describes how he killed her boyfriend and locked her up in a shipping conta...
Mark as Played
August 10, 2017 • 22 mins
South Carolina serial killer Todd Kohlhepp confesses to the Superbike Motorsports mass murder. This is part 2 of "The Real Estate Agent." I suggest starting with part 1. It was a Thursday morning. Kohlhepp walked into the Superbike motorsports store and started scoping out the place. He’s not shopping for motorcycle. He’s looking for his next victims. Kohlhepp: "I got there. Not everybody was there. I went in sat on a few bikes, di...
Mark as Played
August 23, 2017 • 23 mins
Sharon McConnell-Dickerson is preserving the Mississippi Delta blues with her own two hands. She's doing it by creating molds of some of the most influential blues musicians of our time. The lifecasts include a mask of Bobby “Blue” Bland, Little Milton from Memphis, “Honeyboy” Edwards from Chicago, and Pinetop Perkins from Clarksdale, just to name a few – almost 60 musicians total. http://mcconnelldickersonart.com/blues-lifecast
Le...
Mark as Played
August 27, 2017 • 19 mins
Before Marc Ruskin was an undercover FBI agent, he was an assistant DA in Brooklyn. Why did he give up his career as a powerful attorney to join the FBI academy? Well, in order to prosecute criminals, you have to catch them first. It didn’t take long for Marc to become an undercover agent. For 27 years, he slipped into various different characters busting criminals ranging from drug dealers to Wall Street insiders. At one point, Ma...
Mark as Played
September 5, 2017 • 26 mins
The Pretender - Marc Ruskin FBI undercover agent Remember the name Marc Ruskin: because if you run into him, chances are he will introduce himself as Alex Perez, H. Marc Renard, or Sal Morelli – just a few of his FBI undercover personas. Marc Ruskin started his career as an assistant DA in Brooklyn and left it all behind to join the FBI Academy. It didn’t take him long to become an FBI undercover agent. His first big undercover cas...
Mark as Played
September 13, 2017 • 33 mins
Mary Turner Thomas says she married a bigamist. She claims her husband, William Allen Jordan, was involved with 8 different women and fathered 13 kids. At one point, he had two wives, two fiances and a girlfriend on both sides of the Atlantic. William Allen Jordan and Mary Turner Thomson How in the world did Mary not know about these other relationships? How can one man pull off a con this big? It's easy to dismiss Mary as being na...
Mark as Played
January 31, 2018 • 25 mins
I stumbled upon a group of people who self-medicate with chlorine dioxide, a bleach like substance. They claim it cures everything from headaches, malaria, HIV, & cancer. In this episode, you'll hear from the man who discovered the "miracle cure" and from the people who take it. Thanks to Chris Cogswell w/ the Mad Scientist Podcast & Dr. Zuckerman with the TOXnow Podcast. toxnow.org/ themadscientistpodcast.com/ The Disgraceland Pod...
Mark as Played
February 7, 2018 • 26 mins
Last time, I spoke with a group of women who drink a bleach-type chemical that they claim cures everything from cancer to depression. I soon discovered that parents are forcefully giving bleach enemas to kids with autism. In this episode, I interview Kerri Rivera, the woman leading this movement, and find out why she thinks this chlorine dioxide treatment is the cure for autism.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoic...
Mark as Played
February 14, 2018 • 20 mins
Candis Cox and her husband Adam live in North Carolina. This is their love story. Their story is unremarkable in many ways. They met at a bar, went on a date, and eventually married after years of dating. What makes this story special is listening to them retell it. But love doesn’t come without sacrifice. This is a story about being your true self, even when the world is making you pretend to be someone else. The boy and the girl ...
Mark as Played
February 20, 2018 • 26 mins
Karl comes from a long line of con men. He says both his grandfather and father were swindlers. It's only natural that Karl slipped into the family business.
In today's episode, Karl talks about bribing corrupt company building managers. He says he sold them cheap light bulbs, trash can liners, and cleaning supplies at a premium price. In exchange for buying overpriced products, Karl would send these building managers gifts and cas...
Mark as Played
February 28, 2018 • 27 mins
Warning, this episode may be disturbing for some listeners. It describes a shooting that resulted in the death of two people. While this story is not technically about a mass shooting, it has every characteristic of one. This is the story of Bryce Williams, the reporter who murdered Alison Parker and Adam Ward live on television. It turns out Bryce Williams is not his real name. Bryce Williams is just a pseudonym for his on air per...
Mark as Played
March 7, 2018 • 21 mins
This is the story of disgraced Ohio State quarterback Art Schlichter.
In order to understand Art Schlichter’s crimes, you first have to understand how his story ends. Anita Barney, heiress and widow of a former Wendy’s CEO, lost every single penny her husband left her.
Art Schlichter and Anita Barney
How did it happen? Art Schlichter gambled away her entire fortune.
This episode was written and produced by Javier Leiva
M...
Mark as Played
March 13, 2018 • 21 mins
Previously on Pretend Radio, we learned how Art Schlichter’s gambling habits destroyed Anita Barney life. She went from being the wealthy widow of a Wendy’s CEO to becoming broke and struggling to pay her light bill. In part two of The Gambler, we’re going to talk about how Anita went from being Art Schlichter’s victim to his accomplice. You can find Anita Barney's memoir titled "Quarterback Sneak: Exposing the Criminal Game Plan o...
Mark as Played
May 9, 2018 • 34 mins
A lie is only powerful if you choose to believe it. So why do we fall for it every time? In this episode, we’ll hear four different stories. Each describes a tall tale, so persistent, that it’s hard to imagine someone keeping all the lies straight in their head.
Each one of these stories reminds me of the movie The Truman Show. It seems like everyone I spoke with lived in a world carefully created just for them.
Now it’s time t...
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Anna Sale explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.
A straightforward look at the day's top news in 20 minutes. Powered by ABC News. Hosted by Brad Mielke.