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

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Florida man unhappy with life. Florida man move to Europe. Florida man change name. Florida man take phony title. Uh oh, Florida man get in trouble. 

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What does it take to fix the World Series? You'll need players willing to tank the most important games of their careers, a powerful criminal element, and a solid plan. Well, two out of three's not bad. In 1919, a crew of gamblers convinced members of the Chicago White Sox to throw the World Series in order to make a big payday. This was appealing, since their salaries were meager and treatment was dismal. But the plan was weak as creek water, and the whole plot went on to nearly destroy baseball itself. 

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A modern flim flam artist, Billy McFarland was known for scheming and coming up with ways to make money and have fun doing it. His magnum opus was the epic Fyre Festival. Intended as a luxurious concert on a tropical island, it fell apart before it even began. But not far enough in advance to avoid disappointing and fleecing ticket holders. But at least Ja Rule was there.

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Imagine you have the power to mint millionaires. But to do it you have to engage in crime. Specifically, you have to rig the McDonald's Monopoly game. Now, would you pick as your partners in this crime a made man from the Colombo Crime family and a former cocaine smuggler? If you said yes, you are Uncle Jerry, who did just that!

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In honor of the new Paramount Pictures movie Roofman, we’re re-releasing this episode from May 2024. Paratrooper Jeff Manchester used his skills to burgle Corporate America as The Roofman. First, he'd focused on McDonalds and other fast food. Then, like a criminal butterfly, he morphed into a Toys 'R' Us Man who built a secret apartment in an open store –– it was the ultimate inside job.

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Young George Weyerhaeuser was snatched off the street back when kidnapping the child of a wealthy family seemed to be all the rage. Neither horrific nor violent nor ending in tragedy, this kidnapping is an offbeat adventure with a heartwarming ending.

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Lots of idealistic young folks come to believe the world is a rigged game run by immoral fat cats. Many get motivated to change the state of things. Some even fantasize about robbing those same fat cats to get even. Stephen Jackley didn't just fantasize, he acted on it. He became a wannabe Robin Hood, a crimer who wanted to rob from the rich to give to the poor. But then life sorta got in the way.

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Elizabeth Taylor looooved diamonds. Some had storied histories going back to royal palaces and forgotten empires. Others came from exotic locales. And then there was the Krupp Diamond. Before Liz donned it on her finger, it belonged to the ex-wife of a Nazi. And that's not the craziest part of this story.  

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It was just like Ocean's 11...except instead of a stylish crew of longtime pro criminals, it was a guy with a BB gun and another in a Ford Mustang. And instead of the glitz and glamor of Las Vegas, it was Riverside County, California. And instead of jetting off to Europe to hide, the criminals holed up in a Motel 6. So maybe it wasn't just like Oceans 11 when Rolando Ramos and Eric Aguilera went to work at a casino and robbed their employer. But they felt like it was. And that's ridiculous.

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