Podcast Summary: "The Hipster Grifter" | The Hidden Third with Mariana van Zeller (Feb 11, 2026)

Overview

In this candid and absorbing episode of The Hidden Third, host Mariana van Zeller sits down with Carrie Farrell—better known in the media as the "Hipster Grifter." Their conversation dives deep into Farrell's extraordinary path from childhood in Utah as an adopted Korean-American, to infamous scammer in New York, to prison inmate, and eventually, to published author and advocate for prison reform. Farrell brings humor, self-awareness, and a critical lens to her story, exposing the forces that shaped her, the real lives affected by her crimes, and the challenges of reinvention in the shadow of viral infamy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Adoption, Early Life, and Identity Struggles

• Growing up adopted in Mormon Utah

  • Carrie describes being raised by loving adoptive parents, moving from Phoenix to Salt Lake City after her parents converted to Mormonism ([03:27]).
  • Despite a supportive home, Carrie was acutely aware of her difference and isolation: "I was always hyper aware... realizing that you are very much able to feel multiple ways about the same thing" ([06:28]).
  • Adoption and racial identity created dualities: accepted at home, feeling “othered” at school and church, especially given Mormon teachings around race and gender ([09:42]).
  • Memorable moment: Carrie's use of humor and self-deprecation as a defense mechanism from a young age, e.g., claiming to be a literal “alien” at show and tell ([07:40]).

• The impact of being the “only”

  • Recounts being one of the only Asian kids in school and the confusion and curiosity (sometimes cruelty) of other children ([31:59], [32:20]).
  • Quotes the lack of Asian female visibility: “The only Asian woman anyone could name at the time was Lucy Liu... I was just so different” ([33:59]).

2. The Beginnings of Deceit and Escalation into Crime

• From shoplifting to check fraud

  • Early petty theft as a thrill and relief from pressure; not learning from getting caught shoplifting but seeing her “gift of gab” as powerful ([16:17]).
  • Transitioned to writing bad checks to friends and boyfriends, initially rationalizing she’d repay them before the checks bounced ([19:28]).
  • "It became this thing and eventually just snowballed out of control. And I want to be very clear that I’m the one who was rolling that snowball" ([21:44]).

• Relocation and reinvention

  • Escaped Utah amid mounting warrants (mostly from banks, not individuals—who mostly let things go), and tried for a fresh start in New York ([44:28]).
  • “I did not think about how I had warrants for my arrest and leaving the state is very illegal. I was just... survival” ([44:52]).

• Scamming the Williamsburg indie scene

  • In NYC, she targeted mostly wealthy, white “trust fund” men met at bars and shows, sometimes rationalizing it, sometimes not ([50:38]).
  • Developed a memorable persona, passing funny, flirtatious notes with bold lines (“I want to give you a hand job with my mouth”—signed “Korean Abdul Jabbar”, [53:06]), which furthered both her scams and notoriety.

3. Media, Infamy, and the "Hipster Grifter" Label

• Vice, exposure, and going viral

  • Brief stint as executive assistant at Vice ended when her Utah mugshot and story went viral after a coworker Googled her ([70:31]-[74:28]).
  • Media frenzy included sensational, often racially and sexually charged coverage; the term “Hipster Grifter” was coined by the Observer ([75:14]).

• Distorted narrative and its impact

  • Exasperated by inflated claims (e.g., $60,000+ total theft, which she says was $10–15K with banks being the biggest “victims” ([65:29])).
  • Sex and race were central to the narrative, with one outlet even linking to leaked nude photos ([79:18]).

4. Prison, Humanity, and Redemption

• Life in jail

  • After being outed and going into hiding, was turned in by someone in a band and extradited to Utah ([89:13]).
  • Incarcerated for nearly a year; describes Utah's system as “pay to stay”—inmates are billed daily for jail time ([91:54]).

• Realizations from fellow inmates

  • Profound empathy for other incarcerated women, especially women of color: “...either shouldn’t have [been incarcerated] or were literally surviving” ([28:46]).
  • Quote: “The majority of women there... were defending themselves. They were getting themselves out of a bad situation. It was literally survival.” ([28:46])

• Prison relationships and community

  • Shares how kindness and care were common among inmates, trading ramen, “baking” cakes for birthdays, and supporting each other through hardship ([106:18]).
  • “There was like a weird acceptance... okay, we’re all sort of at the bottom... we band together and we look out for one another...” ([107:35]).

5. Aftermath: Reentry, Shame, and Advocacy

• Post-prison struggles

  • Left prison with no resources, was briefly homeless in Utah before transferring probation and returning to NYC ([113:36]).
  • "Just a good example of showing how hard it can be to even attempt to do the right thing, you know?” ([116:10])

• Redefining her life

  • Eventually met her now-husband, found stability, and leveraged her notoriety for advocacy rather than infamy ([117:41]).
  • Writes, speaks, and works on prison reform, especially for marginalized women ([119:39]).
  • “Now my con is to go up against… the real scammers… All through dark comedy and like, yeah. A salacious Internet presence.” ([114:40], [120:15])

• Media ethics and the cost of a viral story

  • Frustrated but resigned to being forever associated with her crimes; strives to use her story as a “cautionary but uplifting” tale ([124:51]).
  • “I’m so over telling my story, you know… now let’s look to the future… education through entertainment…” ([121:16], [121:45]).

Notable Quotes & Moments

"The irony of a scammer being born out of a scam is not lost on me." — Carrie Farrell ([04:44])

"Everyone loves to think, ‘oh, everyone’s born good, then they turn bad.’ ...I try not to see good people, bad people; I think of it as people who make good decisions or bad decisions." — Carrie ([26:52])

"One of my defense mechanisms my entire life has been to sort of make fun of myself before others can… so I’ve always been a natural storyteller—whether or not the stories that I’m telling are truthful." — Carrie ([07:40])

"I wanted to assimilate. I didn’t want to be me." — Carrie ([26:50])

"People will take their own paths and they can do what they want. But I feel very strongly about, if you have a platform, you need to use it for good." — Carrie ([125:29])

“If you have a platform, you need to be doing something with it that makes some sort of change…” — Carrie ([125:30])

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Topic | Timestamp | |--------------------------------|---------------| | Carrie's adoption & Korean roots | [02:49]–[06:25] | | Mormon upbringing & racial doctrine | [09:42]–[11:42] | | Show-and-tell “alien” story | [07:40] | | Early lying & shoplifting | [13:39]–[16:17] | | First check frauds & escalation | [19:28]–[21:44] | | Leaving Utah for NYC | [44:28]–[46:10] | | Targeting trust fund kids & bar scams | [50:38]–[54:30] | | Memorable flirting lines: "Korean Abdul Jabbar" | [53:06]–[53:41] | | Lying about illness/cancer | [58:56]–[66:08] | | Discovery & media spiral ("Hipster Grifter") | [70:31]–[75:24] | | Media and gender/race narratives | [76:10]–[82:10] | | Going viral, hiding, and wanted posters | [83:22]–[85:20] | | Extradition, jail experience | [93:01]–[97:26] | | Life inside, community, and prison reform | [103:42]–[110:54]| | Aftermath, homelessness, advocacy | [113:27]–[119:55]| | On telling her own story & future goals | [121:16]–[124:51]|

Tone & Language

Carrie is consistently disarmingly honest, self-effacing, and candid, often injecting dark humor even as she confronts serious regrets and systemic injustices. Mariana meets her with empathy, curiosity, and clear-eyed analysis, allowing for a nuanced, humane portrait of both offender and the world that made her.

Memorable Moments

• Carrie's deceptively lighthearted “Korean Abdul Jabbar” pick-up note ([53:06])
• Reflecting on her mugshot going viral while she’s riding a crosstown NYC bus ([70:31])
• The engraved iPod she stole from a college graduate ([58:03])
• Discovering fellow inmates baking makeshift birthday “cakes” from commissary treats ([106:18])
• Carrie on her viral label: “Like every hipster, I was like: ‘I’m not a hipster!’ That was the part that I had more of a problem with.” ([75:16])

Conclusion

The episode deftly unpacks the complexities of identity, harm, accountability, and transformation. Farrell emerges as both a cautionary tale and a testament to the possibility of change, reminding listeners that life on the margins—in underground economies or the penal system—is rarely as clear-cut as the headlines suggest. This conversation is both an entertaining confessional and a call for compassion, nuance, and systemic reform.

Book plug:
[You’ll Never Believe Me: A Life of Lies, Second Tries, and Things I Should Only Tell My Therapist] — by Carrie Farrell ([127:59])