Slate Money – The Scams Edition (June 17, 2017)

Podcast: Slate Money
Host: Felix Salmon, with Anna Szymanski and Jordan Weissmann
Guest: Aminatou Sow (Call Your Girlfriend podcast)
Theme: Exploring scams in business, wellness, and everyday life, from upscale juice shops to multilevel marketing and internet fraud.

Episode Overview

In this episode, Slate Money devotes a full hour to the concept of scams—what they are, how they work, who they target, and why we fall for them. Spurred by a New York Times Magazine piece about Amanda Chantal Bacon (of Moon Juice fame), the hosts and guest Aminatou Sow dissect everything from “wellness” charlatans to internet phishing and the infamous Fyre Festival. The conversation ranges from lighthearted jabs at celebrity scammers to deep analysis of the socioeconomic damage of multilevel marketing (MLM) and the psychology of fraud.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Moon Juice Economy and “Scamming Rich People”

• Amanda Chantal Bacon & Moon Juice
  • Sells expensive smoothies and wellness products in LA.
  • Celebrity clients, e.g., Gwyneth Paltrow (“sex bark”).
  • Products often lack scientific merit, but are marketed aspirationally.
• Is it harmful or just capitalism?
  • "What is the harm in buying a $31 smoothie if you know exactly what you're getting into?" (Aminatou Sow, 04:11)
  • The team debates whether such businesses are harmless indulgences for the affluent or high-level scams.

2. The Gendered Lens on Wellness Scams

• Criticism falls differently on women like Paltrow and Bacon than men.
  • Women are criticized for "anti-science" more than similar male figures (e.g., Dr. Oz).
  • "But it is gendered. A lot of the Gwyneth Paltrow and Amanda Chantal Bacon attacks... you wouldn’t see in the same way with men." (Felix Salmon, 05:58)
• Dr. Oz Comparison:
  • Dr. Oz’s reach is larger and his pseudo-medical advice arguably more dangerous.
  • "Dr. Oz is actually a more dangerous anti-science person." (Aminatou Sow, 06:13)

3. Different Flavors of Scams for Different Communities

• Segmented Wellness and Wealth Scams:
  • Affluent women: Moon Juice, Goop
  • Middle class: Dr. Oz
  • Men: Tim Ferriss
  • Lower-income/minority communities: MLMs like Herbalife
• The harm of MLMs like Herbalife:
  • "They’re not just promising that you’ll lose weight... they’re also promising you will make money... and that combination just seems so evil." (Felix Salmon, 12:09)
  • Exploits trust in tight-knit communities, turns friendship into commodification, and preys on those least able to afford it.

4. MLMs, Social Media, and the Resurgence of Pyramid Schemes

• MLMs thrive on Facebook and in religious communities:
  • Stay-at-home moms and economic empowerment sales pitches.
  • Startup costs can be thousands, often with little chance of profit.
  • "You rope your, like, really good friends into this thing that you actually don't have the skill to sell." (Aminatou Sow, 16:17)
• Secrecy & Social Pressure:
  • Sellers share earnings only privately, fueling the hidden nature of the scam.
  • "If you ask for details, all of them always say, please privately message me." (Aminatou Sow, 19:06)

5. Social Media as a Force Multiplier for Scammers

• Targeted advertising makes finding victims easier.
  • "...social media has made that easier. It's easier to filter out your ideal audience." (Jordan Weissmann, 19:46)
• Scams go back centuries (“snake oil salesmen”), but digital targeting creates new scale and efficacy.

6. Internet & Email Scams: The Psychology and Evolution

• 419 (Nigerian) Scams:
  • "The thing I find fascinating about them is that [the misspellings] is entirely deliberate... you want only the most gullible people to respond." (Felix Salmon, 22:32)
  • Origins and evolution—no longer just Nigerians, many imitate the model.
• Phishing and Social Engineering:
  • Newer scams impersonate friends, prey on older or less digitally literate people, but even journalists are vulnerable.
  • "All it takes is for one person in your network to not know how to do this, and then we’re all compromised." (Aminatou Sow, 27:08)

7. Madoff, Fyre Festival, and the Secret Club

• Why do otherwise smart people fall for Bernie Madoff?
  • "There's nothing about this that was sophisticated... you are special because you're in this family." (Aminatou Sow, 29:34)
  • The allure of secrets—the promise of being in the know, whether financial or wellness.
• Fyre Festival: Scam as Spectacle
  • Lavish Instagram marketing, targeting the affluent with exclusivity.
  • "If in 2017, someone’s like, pay $10,000 to live on a cabana so you can listen to Blink-182 and you don’t know that's a scam—you deserve all of this." (Aminatou Sow, 32:06)
  • Fyre as “the most beautiful scam”—a case study in modern marketing disaster.

8. Common Themes:

• The Power of Trust and Social Capital
  • All scams discussed rely on manipulating trust, either through personal networks, social affirmation, or claimed expertise.
• The Universal Vulnerability to Scams
  • It's not about being too smart to be scammed; it's about whether someone invents the right scam for your psychological profile.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "[Amanda Chantal Bacon] kind of wafts around in a sort of blond linen clad way. And people aspire to being like her... she manages to charge astonishing amounts of money for various lotions and potions which have no actual effect."
  Felix Salmon, 02:47

• "What is the harm in buying a $31 smoothie if you know exactly what you're getting into, right?"
  Aminatou Sow, 04:11

• "Dr. Oz is actually a more dangerous anti-science person... gives you advice that is masquerading as like, medical advice. Because he's an actual doctor who is in the pocket of just like, terrible science."
  Aminatou Sow, 06:12

• "You rope your like, really good friends into this thing that you actually don't have the skill to sell. And also, you know, like, how are you going to scale leggings?"
  Aminatou Sow, 16:17

• "All it takes is for one person in your network to not know how to do this, and then we're all compromised."
  Aminatou Sow, 27:08

• "There's nothing about this that was sophisticated... you are special because you're in this family. It's like, what makes you special and what makes your money special?"
  Aminatou Sow, 29:34

• "If in 2017, someone’s like, pay $10,000 to live on a cabana so you can listen to Blink-182 and you don’t know that's a scam—you deserve all of this."
  Aminatou Sow, 32:06

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:10 – Introductions, outline of the scams theme
• 02:25–04:37 – Amanda Chantal Bacon, Moon Juice, "Scamming rich people"
• 05:24–08:15 – Gendered responses to wellness scams: Paltrow, Bacon, Dr. Oz
• 09:52–12:23 – Scams targeting different communities, MLMs like Herbalife
• 14:23–19:06 – MLMs, Facebook, social media’s role, exploitation of relationships
• 22:01–24:54 – 419/Nigerian scams, intention behind misspellings, filtering for gullibility
• 25:01–27:08 – Phishing, digital literacy, everyone's at risk
• 28:35–30:39 – Bernie Madoff, allure of financial secrecy and clubbiness
• 31:18–34:04 – Fyre Festival as the “most beautiful scam,” anatomy of large-scale events fraud
• 35:44–43:44 – Numbers round: wonder woman budget, supplement industry spending, index fund fees, the ‘driving in circles’ car service

Episode Tone

Conversational, witty, occasionally irreverent—the team pokes fun at wellness trends and Instagram excess, but treats financial exploitation and the psychology of scams with seriousness and depth.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Heard the Episode

This episode demystifies not just headline-grabbing scams but the everyday, insidious ones: from overpriced juice cleanses and MLM leggings to the dangers of social engineering emails and “secret” investment clubs. The hosts examine why scams work, how they adapt to different audiences, and why no one is truly immune. The discussion is equal parts sharp analysis and pop culture reference, making the depth of the topic accessible and compelling.

Further Listening or Action

• Share your own scam stories with the team (email: slatemoney@slate.com)
• Be vigilant, whether the offer is $31 smoothies, miracle supplements, or too-good-to-be-true festival tickets.
• Bonus tip: "Buy everything in the future with a credit card"—it’s your best protection against consumer scams. (Felix Salmon, 34:44)

Main takeaway:
Scams are not just the domain of Nigerian princes or shifty salesman—they’re everywhere, morphing to suit every demographic and exploiting the fundamental desire to feel special, safe, or in-the-know. And as the digital economy evolves, so does the art of the scam.