Cheat!

When Zoey Ellis lands a contract with a publisher to write a novel, she is thrilled. It's a dream come true. That is until she gets hit with accusations of plagiarism, and takedown notices are filed with all the e-book publishers.

Her fantasy novel is set in the Omegaverse, a fan-created universe online populated by wolf-like creatures called Alphas, Betas and Omegas (A/B/O). The Omegaverse has its roots in erotic slash-fiction from fandoms for CW shows like Teen Wolf and Supernatural.

Fantasy stories are known for their world-building, but what happens when building the world started as an online collaborative endeavor? Can it be plagiarism? Can you copyright a trope?

A Somethin’ Else & Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Pigs on planes? Snakes in stores? Alpacas in pharmacies? Most are emotional support animals (ESAs). And the demand for ESAs has grown considerably over the last few years, giving rise to a certification factory—all you need is the internet and some cash, and you can get a letter from a therapist designating your pet as an ESA.

How has the rise in ESA certifications complicated the landscape for the folks who need Service Animals (SAs)? How should psychologists approach the growing demand from their clients to certify their pets? And how do we, as a society, establish reasonable guidelines when it comes to the question of where animal companions can or can’t go?

A Somethin’ Else & Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Anyone growing up in the US in the 90s probably remembers hearing about how important it was to recycle.  By the early 1990s, the US’s landfills were overcrowded with plastic waste, and local governments were talking about banning certain types altogether. That is, until we all started working together to reduce, reuse and recycle.

A years-long ad campaign taught us how to recycle, what to recycle and that why we should all do our part by recycling. The only catch?

It was a multi-million dollar idea that didn’t deliver. Funded largely by plastic and oil companies. And 30 years later, most of your plastics aren’t being recycled – and end up in places that may surprise you.

A Somethin’ Else & Sony Music Entertainment production.

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How far would you go to eat a food that reminds you of home? Would you be willing to smuggle it over the border from Canada? Drive four hours each way just to taste it? 

In this episode, we hear about a community of Pakistani Americans so obsessed with Pakistani mangos that they’ve developed their own supply chain--all to get a bite of a variety of mango you’ll never find in the grocery store.

A Somethin’ Else & Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Instagram influencer Hushpuppi earned millions of followers by posting a window into the life of the ultra-rich, with his runway-ready designer outfits, garages full of Rolls Royces, private planes, glimpses into the glamorous parties. He had “made it” from nothing and he loved to be a symbol to that his followers they could do it too.

But there was just one question: where did he get all his money?

It’d all come out in an FBI sting operation. And the source of Hushpuppi's wealth is much more common than you’d ever guess.

A Somethin’ Else & Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

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For 30 years, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper served as the principal of St. James Elementary—a Catholic school in Torrance, California. She implemented a curriculum that emphasized piety and Christian values—and was loved by parents.

But financially, the small school struggled. There never seemed to be enough money for updated textbooks, field trips, or even lunch tables. Sister Mary Margaret spent years raising funds to help the school. But, despite the raffles, festivals, and calls to donate, nothing seemed to be getting better, that is, until the truth came out about where the money was really going.

A Somethin’ Else & Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

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Cheat! returns with new episodes weekly. Hosted by award-winning journalist and comedian Alzo Slade, Cheat! dives into the epic stories behind the biggest cheats and scandals out there, looking for answers about who they are and why they skirt the rules.

From the allure of get rich quick schemes to the motivations of an imposter, Cheat! brings you stories of huge heists, online scams, dirty nuns, and asks what would you do if you could get away with it?

A Somethin’ Else & Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]

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New Cheat episodes weekly starting in August with a whole new season of Cheat!

Greg Priore was thrilled to be named the head archivist and manager of the special collections room at the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He’d been trained in archives management and had an appreciation for the rare books he was now expected to protect.

25 years after Priore’s appointment to the role, the library decided to do an inventory of their special collection. That’s when they discovered that over three hundred rare and valuable items were missing.

And there had only been one person who’d had constant access to the collection for all those years: Greg Priore.

A Somethin' Else production.

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New Cheat! episodes weekly starting in August with a whole new season of Cheat! Here’s the final installment of fan favorites.

In the mid-2000s a young guy from Indonesia single handedly changed the world of fine wine. He bought and sold hundred thousand dollar bottles without a second thought.

He was a hero to a new generation of fine wine connoisseurs who had cash to flash in the boom years before the recession.

But what a lot of those connoisseurs didn’t know was that this one guy, this guy that they idolised and adored, was actually carrying out one of the biggest frauds the wine world – or any world for that matter – had ever seen.

A Somethin' Else production.

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New Cheat! episodes weekly starting in August. While we’re away working on the new season, we’re highlighting some of our fan favorites, including this one from July 2021. 

In the late noughties a woman appeared in New York. She was edgy and cool and she had a tattoo on her chest that read I Love Beards. 

But she was hiding a secret. A secret that – when it came out – would turn her from just an ordinary hipster into a con woman who helped define a generation.

A Somethin' Else production.

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