Writer and reporter Susan Burton joins to talk about her podcast The Retrievals, a five-part narrative series from The New York Times and Serial. The Retrievals tells the story of dozens of women who underwent IVF treatment at the Yale Fertility Center and the excruciating pain that followed. Susan shares her experience producing the podcast and how her own journey with eating disorder recovery shaped her interest in stories about women’s bodies.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-retrievals/id1691599042

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Intellectual property and entertainment lawyer Joshua Greenberg joins to explain the Shein lawsuit and what actually constitutes copyright infringement. They also discuss potential issues arising from Elon’s X-branded Twitter pivot.

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Danny is back with a conman from New York history, Ferdinand Ward, who earned the nickname “Young Napoleon of Finance” and later, the “Best-Hated Man” in the country. Danny dives into Ward’s early scams and how he escalated into a bank-collapsing Ponzi scheme that landed him in Sing Sing—though that wasn’t the end of his misdeeds.

RESOURCES:

https://moneyweek.com/economy/people/601293/great-frauds-in-history-the-downfall-of-ferdinand-ward-the-napoleon-of

https://archives.nypl.org/mss/22284

A Disposition to Be Rich: Ferdinand Ward, the Greatest Swindler of the Gilded Age by Geoffrey Ward

“Read all about Geneseo’s dirty rotten scoundrel” - Livingston County News

https://www.brooklynpaper.com/family-guile-historian-discusses-his-criminal-ancestor/

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This week, Danny covers the ongoing legal drama between Michael Oher, and the Tuohy family, best known for their portrayal in the 2009 film The Blind Side (based on a book of the same name). Michael is suing the Tuohys, alleging that they lied about adopting him, and in fact placed him under a conservatorship instead, which cheated him out of millions of dollars while they continue to profit off of him. Danny gets into the lawsuit, the Tuohy family's lavish life, and where this is all heading.

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This week, Danny covers Leah Remini’s new harassment and defamation lawsuit against the Church of Scientology. Next, he dives into some international elder scams: first, a 73-year-old New York grandmother named Jean, who outsmarted a scammer posing as her grandson; then, police in Thailand dismantling an international operation that cheated the elderly out of $87 million; and finally, Japan’s plan to curb elder scams—by taking away their bank cards.

RESOURCES:

https://variety.com/2023/film/news/leah-remini-sues-church-of-scientology-1235686180/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/01/24/elder-scam-grandma-long-island/

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/thai-police-bust-call-scammers-swindled-older-americans-rcna76271

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3229623/japan-plans-combat-phone-scams-taking-elderlys-bank-cards-away-people-are-going-panic

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This week, Danny covers a bizarre catfishing case in which a romance scammer posed as Stranger Things actor Dacre Montgomery to scam thousands of dollars in gift cards. Next, a Miami realtor is serving time for misusing COVID relief funds. Finally, Ghislaine Maxwell has reportedly embraced her late father’s Jewish faith—presumably for better food and time off on the Sabbath.

RESOURCES:

https://nypost.com/2023/08/16/kentucky-woman-mckayla-catfished-out-of-10k-by-scammer-posing-as-stranger-things-dacre-montgomery/

https://people.com/real-estate-broker-who-misused-covid-relief-funds-jailed-for-3-5-years-7724766

https://www.the-sun.com/news/8775674/ghislaine-maxwell-prison-benefits-embracing-jewish-religion/

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Danny bids a sweaty farewell to summer with a roundup of recent festival fiascos—and one on the horizon. First, Burning Man, the week-long Nevada desert festival where participants erect (and dismantle) Black Rock City, faced extreme rainfall this year, creating disastrous mud and trapping 70,000 people who were forced to shelter in place.

Next, NYC’s Electric Zoo festival became a massive organizational nightmare, leaving thousands of ticket holders stuck in endless lines. Finally, Billy McFarland is trying his hand at Fyre Fest again, with tickets already selling out for the December 6, 2024 event at a yet-to-be-disclosed Caribbean destination.

SOURCES:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/04/us/burning-man-storms-shelter-monday/index.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/electric-zoo-attendees-frustrated-chaos-disorganized-three-day-festiva-rcna103258

https://www.insider.com/fyre-festival-2-tickets-lineup-location-billy-mcfarland-2023-8

https://www.curbed.com/2023/08/whats-going-on-at-the-brooklyn-mirage.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/mayor-eric-adams-says-city-will-take-action-against-electric-zoo-festival-organizers/

https://www.billboard.com/pro/electric-zoo-festival-canceled-friday-didnt-have-permits/

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This week, Danny covers Cassie Chadwick—also known as Betty Bigley, Madam Marie Rosa, and Madame Lydia Devere—a scammer with an unbelievable track record of defrauding banks and millionaires. He dives into her many crimes and identities, the immense sums she swindled, and her ultimate downfall.

RESOURCES:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-high-priestess-of-fraudulent-finance-45/

Crime in Cleveland Cassie Chadwick: The Con Artist of Millionaires’ Row

CLEVELAND: THE BEST KEPT SECRET by George E. Condon

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This week, Danny goes back to the 1800s to cover C.L. Blood, a con man who posed as a doctor and claimed that “oxygenized air” (aka nitrous oxide) could cure a wide range of ailments. He dives into Blood’s shady associates, his run-ins with the law, and how it all led to a botched blackmail scheme and a gruesome murder.

RESOURCES:

“A Wily Doctor: The Career of Charles L. Blood, Once of Boston” - The Boston Weekly Guide

“A Man of Ominous Name”: The Inter Ocean

“The Crime of Cain” San Francisco Call

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Sara and Danny are joined by criminal defense attorney Jason Goldman, who shares his unique insight and perspective on the justice system, as well as some past and present high profile cases, including the Idaho murders, Natalie Holloway, Scott Peterson, and Adnan Syed. Jason explains why the alibi defense is his least favorite, what the biggest misconceptions people get from crime TV shows are, and the story behind how he chose to go into this area of law.

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