Season 16
11 episodes in season 16.
Confessions of a Ponzi Schemer
This episode offers an unprecedented look into the life of the 'Timepiece Gentleman' Ponzi schemer, Anthony Farrar, whose love for luxury watches spiraled into a deceitful web of lies, culminating…
The Treasure Hunter Revisited
In today's episode, we revisit the captivating story of Seafarer Exploration and its quest to unearth a 300-year-old treasure buried beneath the ocean waves off Florida's coast. Join us as…
How to find people who don’t want to be found
I recently spoke at the Triangle Content Creators Meetup in Raleigh, NC, about using OSINT techniques to locate and research your next guest. OSINT stands for Open Source Intelligence. As…
1609: The Truth Experts part 2
Previously on Pretend, we dived deep into the murky waters of academic fraud. Celebrity behavioral scientist Dan Ariely of Duke University, alongside Francesca Gino from Harvard and other distinguished behavioral…
1608: The Truth Experts part 1
Everything we believe about what drives us to be honest might be a lie. A scandal rocks the behavioral science world, casting shadows over renowned researcher Dan Ariely and the…
1607: The Fake Lawyer
I discovered a little-known realm of con artists within the legal system. I found story after story of people impersonating attorneys, prosecutors, and even judges. One woman hacked into the…
1606: The Grave Detector (Junk Science Bonus)
Think all forensic evidence is foolproof? You'd be surprised. In our latest bonus episode of PRETEND, we're taking a deep dive into the murky world of forensic science with M.…
1604: The Grave Detector part 3
Dr. Arpad Vass touts his Quantum Oscillator, a contraption made of plywood and PVC pipe, as a revolutionary tool capable of locating missing persons' remains with 92% accuracy from up…
1603: The Grave Detector part 2
In today’s episode of Pretend, we're zeroing in on Dr. Arpad Vass's invention called the Quantum Oscillator—a device straight out of a sci-fi plot with the audacious promise of finding…
1602: The Grave Detector part 1
In "The Grave Detector," we delve into the enigmatic practice of using dowsing rods with a focus on the work of Dr. Arpard Vass, a forensic anthropologist renowned for his…
1601: The High School Hoax (Shelby Hewitt)
In "The High School Hoax," the latest episode of "PRETEND," we explore the true story of Shelby Hewitt, a 32-year-old woman who enrolled as a high school student in Boston.…