When Russia invaded Ukraine, hundreds of starving dogs were trapped inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. For years, Oregon-based veterinarian Dr. Jenn Betz had been their lifeline. Now, with Putin’s troops occupying the site, she had only one thought: How do I get back there?

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If you would like to help the dogs of Chernobyl, visit CleanFutures.org.

Today's episode is a production of iHeartPodcasts and School of Humans. 

Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Lucas Reilly
Senior Producer is Josh Fisher
Story Editor is Virginia Prescott
Editing and Sound Design by Jesse Nighswonger
Mixing and Mastering by Jesse Nighswonger
From School of Humans, producers are Emilia Brock, Edeliz Perez and Gabbie Watts
Research and Fact-Checking by Lucas Reilly and Austin Thompson
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Social Clips by Yarberry Media
Executive Producers are Virginia Prescott and Jason English

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1989, Boris Yeltsin walked into a Houston supermarket — and walked out ready to end an empire. What he saw in Texas that day would shake the foundations of the Soviet Union.

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On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story each week. Follow us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday. 

Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Dave Roos
Senior Producer is Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Jonathan Washington
Additional Editing by Mary Dooe
Mixing and Mastering by Josh Fisher
Research and Fact-Checking by Dave Roos and Austin Thompson
Voice Actor is Tom Antonellis
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Social Clips by Yarberry Media
Executive Producer is Jason English

Special thanks to composer Evan Mack for letting us play a clip of “Make Your Move,” from his original opera Yeltsin in Texas. Learn more at evanmack.com. 

And thanks to Yelena Biberman for sharing her story. Check out her excellent podcast How to Kill a Superpower. 

We've got a mailbag episode coming later this month. Got a question for Dana, Zaron, or Jason? Email us at [email protected]. 

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How did America’s presidents really make—and manage—their money? Bob Crawford sits down with financial expert and author Megan Gorman to explore the personal finances of presidents from George Washington to Donald Trump. Drawing from her new book, All the Presidents’ Money: How the Men Who Governed America Governed Their Money, Gorman reveals who thrived, who failed, and what their choices say about leadership, power, and legacy.

Discover why Thomas Jefferson died in debt, how Abraham Lincoln overcame his impoverished childhood, why FDR’s polio treatment transformed presidential fundraising, and how modern presidents like Obama, Clinton, and Trump built post-White House fortunes. 

Also, do you have to be wealthy to become president? Or has the oligarchy already began? 

GUEST: Megan Gorman: All the Presidents’ Money: How the Men Who Governed America Governed Their Money

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In 1897, a Swedish engineer set out to reach the North Pole ... by balloon. With two companions, a crate of champagne, and the faith of a nation, he rose into the Arctic fog — and vanished. Decades later, their frozen journals and undeveloped film emerged from the ice, revealing the haunting truth behind one of exploration’s great mysteries.

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Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Marisa Brown and Mac Montandon
Senior Producer is Josh Fisher
Story Editor is Marisa Brown
Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs
Additional Editing by Mary Dooe
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Research and Fact-Checking by Marisa Brown and Austin Thompson
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Social Clips by Yarberry Media
Special thanks to our voice actors Tom Antonellis, Chris Childs, and Josh Fisher
Executive Producer is Jason English

You can email the show at [email protected].   

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the golden age of 1980s television, few faces were more familiar — or more dishonest — than Joe Isuzu’s. Actor David Leisure brought the fast-talking car salesman to life, turning a parody of advertising into one of its greatest icons. In this Very Special Interview, the man behind America’s favorite liar revisits the campaign that changed commercials forever.

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Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and Jason English
Written by Zaron Burnett
Senior Producer is Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

Question? Comment? Idea for which advertising icon we should try to interview next? Email us at [email protected].   

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Which witch is which? You probably heard a lot of lawyers saying that in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. That was the year of America's largest witch hunt ever. But what sparked this mass hysteria that led to false accusations, sham justice and wrongful executions? Teenagers, of course. 

Bob is joined by historian Emerson Baker (A Storm of Witchcraft) to explore how religion, politics, and panic fueled the Salem Witch Trials. A time when no one was above suspicion! 

Guest: Emerson Baker, author of A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience

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In the 1960s, there were 36,000 Americans living in the Canal Zone. They had Friday night high school football games, sock hops, and Hollywood movies at the local theater. It looked like a mid-century American town had been dropped into the Panamanian jungle — because that’s exactly what it was. But many Panamanians weren’t happy with this “country-in-a-country” arrangement. What would it take to get the Americans to leave? The answer, it turns out, was a bunch of teenagers.

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Check out Marixa Lasso's Erased: The Untold Story of the Panama Canal and Wendy Tribaldos' books about the history of Panama and the Canal Zone.

Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Dave Roos
Senior Producer is Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Additional Editing by Mary Dooe
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Research and Fact-Checking by Dave Roos and Austin Thompson
Special thanks to our voice actors Chris Childs and Josh Fisher
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Even after the book Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors was linked to a triple murder in 1993, the true identity of the author has remained hidden. Rex Feral’s actual name can’t be found in court documents, it’s been redacted from case files, and it’s never come out in public. Until now.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who was America's most successful spy? What happens to a spy that's captured? How can you tell if your child is lying? We interrogate a former member of the CIA to get some info about American intelligence. 

GUEST: Brittany Butler, former targeting officer within CIA’s Directorate of Operations, Counterterrorism Center. Author of The Syndicate Spy: A Juliet Arroway Novel. 

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Why did so many women in the 1800s turn to poison to solve their problems? (Sorry husbands).  Poisons like mercury, arsenic and strychnine were so cheap and readily available in the Victorian Era that it was called the "Golden Age of Poisoning." Besides being readily available, there were very few tests to detect murder by poison. Combine this with a society where women were powerless and poison becomes "the great equalizer for women in the 19th Century," as science historian Daniel Kevles wrote. 

But not all poisonings in the 1800s were acts of desperation. Plenty were just good old fashioned murder. DUN DUN DUUUUN!!! 

Joining Bob Crawford to help sort out the means, motive and opportunity of these Victorian Era women poisoners is Lisa Perrin. 

GUEST: Lisa Perrin, author and illustrator of the book, The League of Lady Poisoners: Illustrated True Stories of Dangerous Women  

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