Inside the Tent with Campside Media

This is an episode of Inside the Tent, a podcast going behind the scenes of Campside’s award winning shows.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Our thoughts are with colleagues and friends in Los Angeles.

A crew of 47 aboard an Alaskan fishing boat ominously nicknamed "The Danger Ranger" had been counting on a final run deep into the Bering Sea as a last-ditch effort to save a mediocre fishing season.

Before ever arriving, they had to abandon ship in 32-degree water amidst 20-foot swells and driving snow.

Their last hope? A cook making the key calls, a helicopter running out of fuel and a rookie rescue swimmer who had never saved anyone in open water.

This was initially recounted in Sean’s 2008 GQ article The Longest Night. Forty-seven people were on board and many spent hours floating in the frigid, dark waters.

Miraculously, forty-two were rescued, and thirteen years later Sean and the Campside team revisited the story to make The Bering.

Adam and Sean discuss the transition from print to audio and the magic of crafting the perfect sound design.

On the heels of tragic events, Sean has regularly interviewed people about the worst day of their lives. That proximity to death takes a toll, but here Sean was struck by how the survivors processed their emotions over the years and found ways to move on with their lives.

It was a reminder of how the luxury of time can change the tone and depth of a project.

Adam also explored the impact of time in a prior piece about the ongoing journey to adapt The Bering for television. No matter the medium, at its core it’s a story about people doing whatever it takes to save other people.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. And let us know what you think: [email protected]

We hope to see you inside the tent again soon. Subscribe now for updates on The Bering and all of Campside’s hit shows.

This is an episode of Inside the Tent, a podcast going behind the scenes of Campside’s award winning shows.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Happy holidays - see you in 2025!

When Matt received a letter from a man awaiting trial for a murder he swore he hadn't committed, a certain type of evidence was particularly noteworthy: "Touch" DNA — traces of human matter so small and complex that they require algorithmic software to make sense of.

This was a crime that received little press coverage, yet featured a deadly Halloween party and the potential perils of evidence collection.

Matt and Eric talk about the podcast company that passed on Suspect - big mistake! - and the desire to always do more reporting for a show.

Matt has shared in the past a letter from the suspect, Emanuel Fair, and notes in the episode what a difference just one individual can make, especially a juror.

They discuss the intersection of race, policing and the justice system. And the shocking admission by a prosecutor interviewed in Suspect who believed a second person was involved in the murder.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. And let us know what you think: [email protected]

We hope to see you inside the tent again soon. Subscribe now for updates on Suspect and all of Campside’s hit shows.

This is an episode of Inside the Tent, a podcast going behind the scenes of Campside’s award winning shows.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Laurie Bembenek was a Milwaukee police officer and Playboy Club bunny before being arrested for the murder of her husband’s ex-wife, a crime she insisted she did not commit.

When Vanessa learned about the story, she questioned everything she was told: was Bembenek really a feminist icon? Or was she the tabloid-friendly, killer Playboy bunny who escaped from prison?

Over two years, Vanessa and the team read Bembenek’s letters from prison and discovered a straight A student who also wanted to challenge the sexist status quo.

But how do you make a story feel relevant when so many people at the center of it are dead or dying? Start by relentlessly tracking down anyone still able to talk on tape. And be sure to read through all the material available to get any color on the story you can. In a past column, Vanessa explains what attracted her to the story of Bambi Bembenek in the first place.

With sound design and writing support from Campside’s Mark McAdam, Run, Bambi, Run became a stylized retelling of a complicated life.

Listen to the interview with Vanessa on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. And let us know what you think: [email protected]

We hope to see you inside the tent again soon. Subscribe now for updates on Run, Bambi, Run and all of Campside’s hit shows.

Run, Bambi, Run is an Apple Original produced by Campside Media.

This is an episode of Inside the Tent, a podcast going behind the scenes of Campside’s award winning shows.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

On March 16, 2000, two police officers were shot in one of Atlanta’s oldest neighborhoods.

One officer died and the other claimed the shooter was Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, the leader of a local mosque. Once known as H. Rap Brown, Al-Amin was a charismatic leader of the Black Power Movement, and an honorary officer in the Black Panther Party.

He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. But was Al-Amin truly guilty? Or was it payback for decades of work against the establishment?

Secret, a former reporter for The New York Times and ProPublica, speaks with Matt about learning to write for audio and his personal connection to the case at the center of Radical.

He singles out producer Johnny Kauffman’s relentless pursuit of public records and how reporters can be blocked from accessing what they have a legal right to review.

It’s been one year since the release of the show, and Secret reflects on investigating what really happened the night of the shootout in Atlanta and who really deserves to be called ‘radical.’

Thanks for listening. Let us know what you think: [email protected]

We hope to see you inside the tent again soon. Subscribe now for updates on Radical and all of Campside’s hit shows.

Radical is a production of Campside Media, Tenderfoot TV, and iHeart Podcasts.

This is an episode of Inside the Tent, a podcast going behind the scenes of Campside’s award winning shows.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

James Dolan was born into immense privilege. He could have done anything with his life. But he chose the family business — a cable television empire that came to include ownership of the New York Knicks, a valuable and beloved franchise that, during Dolan's tenure, has been one of the least successful teams in all of sports. Which has made his relationship with the fans, and the city, quite an adventure!

Reign of Error chases the answer to one elusive question: Why won't James Dolan just sell the team?

Greene is formerly the host of NPR’s Morning Edition and Up First. He and Josh discuss facial recognition at Madison Square Garden, having your voice recognized at restaurants and the incredible success of the Sphere in Las Vegas.

And Greene of course highlights his passion for his hometown Pittsburgh teams.

Thanks for listening. Let us know what you think: [email protected]

We hope to see you inside the tent again soon. Subscribe now for updates on Reign of Error and all of Campside’s hit shows.

Reign of Error is a co-production of Campside Media and Smartless Media.

This is an episode of Inside the Tent, a podcast going behind the scenes of Campside’s award winning shows.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

In 1992, the deadliest year in Chicago’s history, seven-year-old Dantrell Davis was shot and killed in front of his elementary school inside the public housing complex Cabrini-Green.

Through first-person accounts, original reporting, and dramatized scenes, Ben Austen and Harrison David Rivers tell the story of Dantrell Davis and his mother Annette Freeman – while at the same time exploring how Cabrini-Green’s rise and fall changed the course of American public housing.

Ashleyanne and Ben discuss the ambitious blend of fiction and non-fiction that transports listeners back to The Last Days of Cabrini-Green.

They also reflect on a visit to freezing Chicago to spend time with Annette and what the show says about the city itself.

Thanks for listening. Let us know what you think: [email protected]

We hope to see you inside the tent again soon. Subscribe now for updates on The Last Days of Cabrini Green and all of Campside’s hit shows.

An Audible Original produced by Campside Media and At Will Media, available now to Audible subscribers, with a free sample available to everyone.

This is an episode of Inside the Tent, a podcast going behind the scenes of Campside’s award winning shows.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Behind every infamous news story is a journalist trying to hold power to account. And behind the Campside podcast Infamous are Vanessa Grigoriadis, Natalie Robehmed, Lily Houston Smith, Julia Case-Levine and more.

Infamous covers everything from the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders to The Apprentice, from Mr. Beast to The Truth About Ruby Franke.

Listen now for insight into how the show mixes medicine and sweets - much like classic issues of Vanity Fair. Hear what it takes to shine an unflattering light on the world’s most powerful people.

Thanks for listening, and let us know what you think by emailing [email protected]

We hope to see you inside the tent again soon. Subscribe now for updates on Infamous and all of Campside’s hit shows.

This is an episode of Inside the Tent, a podcast going behind the scenes of Campside’s award winning shows.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Dr. Ronald Dante was a talented hypnotist (and not an actual doctor) whose mind-bending schemes spanned decades.

Dante worked the smoke-filled nightclubs of 1960s Hollywood and rode the self-help craze of the 1980s and 90s, hypnotizing women out of their fortunes, taking out his rivals and opening up one of the biggest fake universities in history.

Host Sam Mullins says Dante loved being onstage and loved controlling people - hypnotism was his calling. Dante was even the person whose relationship with Lana Turner made her swear off men forever.

Mullins (host of Campside’s chart-topping Wild Boys) tracks him through yacht clubs, prison cells, trailer parks and theme parks to uncover the unbelievable true story of the greatest con man you’ve never heard of.

Thanks for listening. Let us know what you think: [email protected]

We hope to see you inside the tent again soon. Subscribe now for updates on Dr. Dante and all of Campside’s hit shows.

This is an episode of Inside the Tent, a podcast going behind the scenes of Campside’s award winning shows.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

In the fall of 2020, 14 men were arrested across three states in a series of FBI raids that shocked the nation. The government alleged that these men conspired to kidnap, and possibly even kill, the sitting governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. But is that really what happened?

Season 7 of Chameleon explores that notorious plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer, from its inception, by taking listeners on an unprecedented journey inside the investigation. Here you can learn how Jessica and Ken brought this series from the page to your podcast app.

Ken notes, “It was a reminder of how powerful the government can be.” And “how even unsympathetic people deserve fair treatment.”

Through hundreds of hours of wire recordings that had never before been heard by the public, listeners had the chance to ride along in the pocket of an FBI informant posing as a militia member, as he infiltrated an anti-government group that seemed dangerous. But were they?

The Michigan Plot asks if a plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer was the sophisticated plan the government said it was, or just the stoned fantasies of a group of down-on-their-luck gun nuts? Did the FBI stop a dangerous plot in motion…or did it help to create it?

If this sounds like it could be a television show, you’re not wrong. And you can learn more about the adaptation journey here, as the series makes its way from audio to video.

Thanks for listening. Let us know what you think: [email protected]

We hope to see you inside the tent again soon. Subscribe now for updates on The Michigan Plot and all of Campside’s hit shows.

This is an episode of Inside the Tent, a podcast going behind the scenes of Campside’s award winning shows.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Doctor Miracle explores a wellness center some called Miracle Ranch, nestled in the scenic mountains of Southern California, that promised a luxurious escape and a path to wellness through clean, alkaline living.

Its leader, Dr. Robert O. Young, attracted wealthy clientele with his “groundbreaking” health protocols and friendly, family-man persona.

But beneath the serene surface, Miracle Ranch harbored a dark secret. The people who stayed there didn’t get better; they got worse. 

Through legal documents and candid interviews with former patients and employees, this series unravels the chilling true story of one man who convinced scores of people that cancer is not a cell but an “acidic, poisonous liquid”, and how his popular “alkaline diet” turned deadly.

One document we’ve shared with you comes from Dolores McCullough, a sick mom who spent time on the alkaline diet ranch trying to be healed.

In this episode, Campside Co-founder Vanessa Grigoriadis and host Larrison Campbell talk about how popular the alkaline diet became and how Miracle Ranch took advantage to attract patients desperate for their diseases could be cured.

Thanks for listening. Let us know what you think: [email protected]

We hope to see you inside the tent again soon. Subscribe now for updates on Doctor Miracle and all of Campside’s hit shows.

Doctor Miracle is a production of Campside Media, Sony Music Entertainment, and Dorothy Street Pictures.