Podcast
World's Greatest Con
Hosted by Dog And Pony Show Audio · EN
Brian Brushwood (Scam School, Modern Rogue, Scam Nation) brings you the hidden stories behind the most audacious con jobs, swindles and heists in history. Email the show at Worlds Greatest Con at Gmail dot comSupport us directly at Patreon dot com slash Greatest Con
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
13episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Who Is the Mysterious Princess Caraboo?
3w ago00:46:03Tap to summarizeA mysterious woman walks into a small English village speaking a language nobody understands.She says her name is Princess Caraboo: royalty from a faraway island, kidnapped by pirates and shipwrecked near Bristol.Soon, doctors, newspapers, and wealthy hosts are all drawn into her story.But the bigger the legend grows, the harder it becomes to know who is fooling whom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Do Rainmakers Believe They Make The Rain?
Feb 900:48:26Tap to summarizeIn 1915, San Diego is on the brink of becoming a major American city, if it doesn’t die of thirst first.Enter Charles Hatfield. He claims a secret chemical process can summon rain, end the drought, and sustain the city as it prepares to welcome the world for a critical international exhibition.And he’s right.It rains.The problem is, it doesn’t stop.Floods tear through the region. Dozens are dead. Millions of dollars in damage follow. Entire neighborhoods are washed away.In the aftermath, everything hinges on one impossible question: did he truly believe he was making the rain or was it all a con? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Why Do We Call It A Ponzi Scheme?
Nov 2700:41:11Tap to summarizeCharles Ponzi conducted a financial fraud so audacious he became the biggest brand name in crime. Yet most people don’t know what he actually did and those who do are often hard-pressed to explain why it was special.So why, more than 100 years later, do we call so many financial scams a Ponzi scheme?Brian tells the story of a poor boy from Italy whose name is still on the lips of everyone worried they’re about to be made a sucker.BROUGHT TO YOU BY: 110.ScamStuff.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Crazy Eddie - Part II
Nov 27, 202400:42:24Tap to summarizeEddie has a plan to make millions. It leaves him an international fugitive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Crazy Eddie - Part I
Nov 27, 202400:36:06Tap to summarizeA New York City upstart becomes a legend in the city that never sleeps. But his greed leaves him teetering on the edge of fame, wealth and death. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Q Ships
Aug 26, 202400:38:32Tap to summarizeThe Germans have invented an aquatic killing machine the likes of which the world has never known. If you are one of its victims, how do you trick sure death? By pulling an all-in audacious scheme that only works if you have the element of surprise. How long can the Royal Navy keep the Q Ship con going before time runs out? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →The Greatest Magic Show of all Time was a Lie
Jul 15, 202400:46:27Tap to summarizeThe true story of how Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin is called out of retirement to help quell an uprising in French Colonial Algeria. What happens next is the most famous, high stakes magic performance in history. What the unbelievable story of Houdin tells us about or desire to believe and the distractions that lead con artists to take advantage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →EPCOT - Part II
Nov 22, 202300:47:52Tap to summarizeWalt is dead. His dream of EPCOT isn't.Roy Disney puts off his own retirement to attempt to finish his brother's final plan. In his way is a new hostile governor and the bewildered residents of Orlando who have no idea what to expect from incoming Disney empire. The drive to make EPCOT a reality... just might be the World's Greatest Con. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →EPCOT - Part I
Nov 22, 202300:55:19Tap to summarizeWalt Disney doesn't want to expand, he wants to build his masterpiece. He doesn't want to sell more popcorn, he wants to defeat communism.He doesn't want Disneyland East, he is driven to build EPCOT.Far from the adult binge drinking paradise we know in Orlando today, the original idea of EPCOT is a planned community that requires massive land acquisition and never-before-seen government permissions. And by the way, you need to do it in secret. Walt Disney's quest for total control just might be... the World's Greatest Con. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Uri Geller hijacks the New York Times, An Interview with Michael Shermer
Jul 17, 202301:21:10Tap to summarizeBrian and Justin discuss an article in the New York Times alleging that magic has forgiven it's 50-year grudge with Uri Geller. Considering the subject matter of our Project Alpha investigation... World's Greatest Con disagrees. Also, an interview with Michael Shermer of Skeptic Magazine discussing the science and shame of being taken in by incorrect information and the legacy of Project Alpha. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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