PRETEND

S602: How to disappear part 2


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In the last episode, we talked about the wrong way to disappear. Faking your own death rarely works. But did you know that there are real people out there who legitimately need to fade away into society? 

Who needs to disappear?

There are many reasons to live anonymously. However, we’ve broken it down to four different archetypes: the executive, the celebrity, the victim, and the government employee. 


The executive

CEOs and business executives are easy targets. They take all the credit when things go right. But they’re also responsible any time something goes wrong. And when that happens they have to minimize the threat. It could be a disgruntled employee, or they'be a target because of their wealth. Recently, a Silicon Valley CEO was kidnapped and murdered by two former employees. Hear tactics executives use to live privately.

The celebrity

Today’s celebrities are more accessible than ever. Stars like Taylor Swift, Eminem, and UFC fighter Anthony Smith have had their homes broken into. Alison Sweeney, from Days of our Lives and the Biggest Loser, talks about balancing the limelight with basic privacy rights. 

The victim

Often times, domestic violence victims need to disappear in order to survive. Hear the story on how one victim fled her attacker. 

The government employee

Judges and prosecutors are often targets of intimidation and death threats. And police are targets too due to the heightened attention on police brutality and racial profiling. Learn how government employees eliminate the threat by making themselves impossible to find.


This series is a collaboration with Michael Bazzell. In the next few episodes, we’re going to show you to successfully vanish from society. You too can live undetected. It’s not just for wealthy CEOs. 


For more than 20 years, Michael Bazzell worked on behalf of the US government investigating computer crimes. He was also a consultant on the hacker show Mr. Robot. He no longer works for the government. These days, Michael Bazzell helps people disappear.


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Get Michael Bazzell's book:

Extreme Privacy: What it takes to disappear


Affiliate link disclaimer.


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Story idea?

If you have a story to share, email Javier a voice memo or short written description at [email protected].


For more episodes like this visit pretendradio.org.


To get early releases and bonus episodes go to pretendradio.org/donate

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