Pat brings Kath a rundown of the year in scams, including some superlative awards for the finest scammers. This one was going to be a bonus but we decided to make it free in honor of the new year!
This week, Pat tells Kath about a big name in the world of true crime that turned out to be a fraud himself.
Kath tells Pat about Pageturner Press and Media, one of many fraudulent "author services" companies based in the Philippines and targeting self published authors.
Most of the info in this episode comes from the July 2025 Bloomberg article by Brent Crane titled "Pageturner's 44 million dollar fraud casts a spotlight on author services". You can read it here.
Kath and Pat discuss "Chatfishing", the name The Guardian has coined for people who use Chat GPT to help with (deceive?) their matches on dating apps.
The information in this episode comes from the Guardian article on Chatfishing, by Alexandra Jones, which you can read here: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/oct/12/chatgpt-ed-into-bed-chatfishing-on-dating-apps
Pat tells Kath about the pseudoscientific history of the IQ test, and how eugenicists used the idea of innate genius to justify their racist aims.
Kath tells Pat about a political corruption story from a simpler time: Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich follows in a long line of Illinois politicians in his efforts to enrich himself off the spoils of his political office, including his ability to appoint Obama's successor in the senate.
Pat tells Kath about the strange life of Robert F. Kennedy Jr - chronicling his bizarre childhood, his years as a functioning drug addict practicing environmental law, and finally his descent into vaccine skepticism and his ascent to the top of Trump's DHS.
Kath tells Pat about a embezzling sugar daddy who used his massive ill gotten gains to support a camgirl to the tune of millions of dollars and a real estate empire.
Pat tells Kath about two Christian Nationalist billionaires using their fortunes to put their thumbs on the scale of Texas' politics.
Kath tells Pat about a theft that rocked the foundations of the close knit world of Star Wars collectors, where a single plastic Boba Fett can sell for tens of thousands of dollars.
The info in this episode is from the 2019 Popular Mechanics article "The Great Star Wars Heist" by Alexander Huls. Read it here: https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/movies/a26364375/star-wars-toy-theft/
Pat tells Kath about Huey Long, the most influential politician in the history of Louisiana, for better and for worse. Is he a member of the good guy club? Decide for yourself!
Kath tells Pat about a mysterious caller who bewitched famous and powerful men throughout the 1980s, and her surprising true identity.
Much of the information in this episodes comes from Bryan Burroughs 1999 Vanity Fair article, "The Miranda Obsession". Read it here: https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/1999/12/miranda-catfish-movie-199912
In honor of our latest war-based-on-nothing, Pat tells Kath about some historical examples of leaders using trumped up or fully manufactured circumstances in order to justify starting a war.
PS - Cuomo conceded like 20 minutes after we finished recorded this, and the Liver King got arrested a couple hours after that. LOL
Kath tells Pat about a crypto scam that took a small town in Argentina by storm.
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Kath tells Pat about a local Brooklyn mystery, that when unraveled reveals a predatory real estate scheme run by a notorious slumlord.
The information in this episode is from investigative reporting from The City, which can be read here: https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/05/19/sherita-billboard-dinosaur-mystery-real-estate-deed-theft/
Pat tells Kath about the Shaun King of 1880s Scotland, Annie Gordon Baillie.
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Pat explains how our new "technofeudalist" economy, where increasingly, goods and services are rented rather than paid for outright (our podcast subscription is the exception of course).
Kath tells Pat about the King of Bougainville, Noah Musingku, who turned a ponzi scheme borne of an economic crisis into a would-be monarchy in the emerging island nation of Bougainville.
Much of the information in this episode comes from the Harper's article The Island King by Sean Williams, which you can read here: https://harpers.org/archive/2024/11/the-island-king-sean-williams-bougainville/
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Kath tells Pat the story of Alan Todd May, who turned an engaging personality and a small inherited oil claim into a Ponzi scheme that had him living large across the country with a series of young boyfriends.
Much of the info in this episode comes from Charles Bethea's article on May in the New Yorker, "The Fake Oilman", which you can read here: https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-south/the-fake-oilman
Pat and Kath talk some topical scams, frauds, and thefts. We cover some pope-related shenanigans, Fyre Fest 2, a Looney Tunes-style break-in, and more in this roundup episode.
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