When Jan Lewan escapes to the United States from Poland in the 1970s, he uses his musical talent to become a larger than life polka star and pursue the American dream. Fueled by his charm and charisma, he performs for presidents, gets nominated for a Grammy, and attracts a devoted following. But like any good showbiz story, there’s a dark underbelly to Jan’s world: he uses his fanbase to fuel a Ponzi scheme. But when his wife’s pageant competition gets mired in a mysterious scandal, Jan’s shady dealings come to light, and his career unravels in bitterness and tragedy. Until, that is, a legit Hollywood star steps in to give him an unlikely third act.

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By the late 1980s, Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter is now known as New York City bond trader Christopher Crowe. But even the Wall Street lifestyle is not quite glamorous enough for him. So he decides to transform once again, this time into a billionaire heir: a Rockefeller. With his new last name, he meets the woman of his dreams and settles into the leisurely life he’s always wanted. But when his past catches up with him — skeletons and all — it’ll all go up in flames. 

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We’ll be back in one week with all-new Scamfluencers episodes. In the meantime, we’re returning to one of our favorites. 

In the late 1970s, Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter leaves his small Bavarian village in pursuit of the American dream. He enrolls in high school in Connecticut and tries to impress his classmates with fake accents, fancy suits, and grandiose stories. Over the years, he spins even bigger lies and creates fake names and new identities all over the country, winning over unsuspecting women along the way. By the time his victims figure out he’s been hiding a gruesome secret, it’ll be too late. 

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We’ll be back in two weeks with all-new Scamfluencers episodes. In the meantime, we’re returning to one of our favorites. 

It’s hard to know what to believe about George Santos’ wild origin story. Since being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022, almost every facet of his life has been called into question — from his name and religious background to his former marriage and previous employment. But when the Justice Department starts digging into his campaign fundraising reports, they discover an even bigger bombshell. Since our original episode aired, George Santos has been expelled from congress and he has pled guilty to wire fraud and identity theft and is currently serving an 87-month sentence in federal prison.

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As Erika Jayne’s pop star career blossoms, questions continue to mount about her husband Tom Girardi’s finances and his legal practice. His clients have been waiting in limbo to receive the settlement money owed to them, and they’re not the only ones getting angry with Tom. In the finale to this two-part series, Tom’s own legal woes overshadow his storied career. The revelations from multiple lawsuits and investigations will upend his reputation, his marriage, and even his freedom.

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Think business is boring? What about when your streaming bill goes up, or your favorite restaurant files for bankruptcy? Do you ever wonder what’s going on behind the scenes? Business Wars gives you a front row seat to the biggest moments in business, to explain how they shape our world. In the latest season, they explore the AOL Time Warner merger, a deal that became one of the most expensive and chaotic corporate disasters on record, one that permanently scarred both companies. 

Listen to Business Wars: The AOL Time Warner Disaster right now wherever you get your podcasts: Wondery.fm/BW_IFD

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We’ll be back in four weeks with all-new Scamfluencers episodes. In the meantime, we’re returning to one of our favorites.

Tom Girardi dreams of being a do-gooder lawyer like his childhood hero on the TV show “Perry Mason.” When he starts his own legal firm in the 1960s, he does just that, representing clients against the huge corporations that wronged them. One of his biggest cases even gets the Hollywood treatment in the movie “Erin Brockovich.” But behind the scenes, Tom isn’t the hero he makes himself out to be. And when his extravagant home life with wife Erika Jayne gets broadcast on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” his fraudulent schemes will finally come under the microscope.

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Frustrated by the racist, sexist stereotypes keeping her down, Doris Payne started swiping precious jewels out of spite as a teen. For the next seven decades, she executed heists across nine countries, with thefts totalling an estimated $2 million. She spent her life dodging the FBI, Interpol, and countless precincts all over the U.S. by being fabulous, charming, and absolutely relentless. Now in her 90s, she’s still regarded as America’s most prolific jewel thief.

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It’s not that hard to kill a planet. All it takes is a little drilling, some mining, a generous helping of pollution and voila! Earth over. When you take stock of what’s left, it starts to look like a crime scene: decapitated mountains, poisoned rivers, oil-soaked pelicans, maybe a sun-bleached cow skull in a dried-up lake bed. The only thing missing is yellow caution tape. On each episode of Lawless Planet, host Zach Goldbaum reveals the scams, murders and cover-ups on the frontline of the climate crisis, and the life and death choices people are making to either protect our world – or destroy it.

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Guo Wengui was a billionaire real estate mogul in China, but when the government cracks down on his empire, he flees to the U.S. From a Manhattan apartment and a luxury superyacht, Guo publicly decries corruption in the CCP, which earns him devoted friends in the MAGA movement. But behind the scenes, Guo’s media company, crypto venture, fashion line, and fledgling rap career are all masking the fact that he’s ripping off his loyal followers for hundreds of millions. In the end, a disillusioned follower finds the bravery to hold Guo accountable and expose his global grift.

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