On Very Special Episodes, we tell one incredible story each week. Stranger-than-fiction tales about normal people in extraordinary situations. Stories that make you say, “this should be a movie.” Follow Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.

Listen here or on the iHeartRadio app. 

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Who Killed JFK? For 60 years, we are still asking that question. In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's tragic assassination, legendary filmmaker Rob Reiner teams up with award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien to tell the history of America’s greatest murder mystery. They interview CIA officials, medical experts, Pulitzer-prize winning journalists, eyewitnesses and a former Secret Service agent who, in 2023, came forward with groundbreaking new evidence. They dig deep into the layers of the 60-year-old question ‘Who Killed JFK?’, how that question has shaped America, and why it matters that we’re still asking it today. Listen to Who Killed JFK? on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-who-killed-jfk-127000428/

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Hi, Stealing Superman fans! iHeartPodcasts is pleased to introduce the second installment of the "What Happened to" series, which covers the tragic story of Libby Caswell. You can expect host Melissa Jeltsen's same in-depth, thorough reporting and exceptional storytelling in each episode of "What Happened to Libby Caswell," starting on November 2nd. Here's a peek into the season, so check it out and start listening to Libby's story today!

Show Description: In 2017, Libby Caswell was found dead in a motel room in Independence, Missouri. Police quickly ruled her death a suicide. But her mother Cindy thinks she was murdered — and she believes she has proof the crime scene was staged. Award-winning investigative reporter Melissa Jeltsen dives deep into Libby’s final days, finding new evidence that unravels the official story and threatens to implicate more than just those in the motel room that day. In her search for answers, Jeltsen exposes the web of failures that left Libby vulnerable, and explores how her story fits into one of America’s most deadly epidemics.

Listen to What Happened to Libby Caswell on the iHeartRadio app, or wherever you get your podcasts!

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Since she was a little girl, Marcy DePina felt drawn to a man called Daddy Grace, a charismatic immigrant from Cabo Verde, West Africa, who – during the violent Jim Crow and Civil Rights eras – traveled around the United States preaching, healing, and building his megachurch. 

But who was Daddy Grace? For all his accomplishments, he seems to raise more questions than answers. Like why isn’t he more known and celebrated in the Cape Verdean community? And when Marcy brings him up to her family, why do some people refuse to talk about him? And most importantly: Marcy wants to know, are she and Daddy Grace actually related?

Listen to Sweet Daddy Grace now on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

For more on Sweet Daddy Grace, check out SweetDaddyGrace.com

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Hi, Stealing Superman fans! Learn more about Bishop Charles Manuel “Sweet Daddy” Grace who was once the richest Black man in America! Six decades after his death, his descendants grapple with his life and legacy. Listen now on Sweet Daddy Grace.

About Remus: Sweet Daddy Grace: A personal deep dive into the life of Bishop Charles Manuel ‘Sweet Daddy’ Grace, an ambitious and gifted African immigrant and one of the 20th century’s most fascinating and overlooked figures. With hundreds of churches across the country and a congregation said to be upwards of three million, he was thought to be one of the richest Black men in America—but was he an anointed genius or a blasphemous opportunist? Marcy DePina lifts the veil on Sweet Daddy’s triumphs, scandals, and fascinating eccentricities—all the while trying to understand her own unique bond with him.

Listen to Sweet Daddy Grace now on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

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Bob Crawford of The Avett Brothers explores the post-presidential legacy of America’s sixth president: John Quincy Adams. Though often only seen as a failed one-term president and the son of a Founding Father, Adams spent his final decades in Congress fighting the slavocracy and forming a bridge between the founding of America and the era of Lincoln. Founding Son features Patrick Warburton as the voice of John Quincy Adams, Nick Offerman as the voice of Andrew Jackson, and Grey DeLisle as the voice of Louisa Adams. Listen to Founding Son: John Quincy Adams on the iHeartRadio App or wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-founding-son-john-quincys-111619900/

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Hi, Stealing Superman fans! The biggest black market you’ve never heard of might be blooming right under your nose. Bad Seeds explores a variety of cases involving illegal plant poaching and the larger environmental impact of plant smuggling.

Listen to Bad Seeds now on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

About Bad Seeds: “Bad Seeds” explores a variety of cases involving illegal plant poaching - from the US Fish and Wildlife catching obsessives stealing cacti to the Gibson Guitar lawsuit when the company purchased illegally harvested wood from Madagascar. Along with telling these stories, the show also focuses on the larger environmental impact of plant smuggling.

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Let’s look back at the internet communities that were thriving before MySpace — even before Friendster. Why did MySpace get ahead when there was strong competition from other social networks at the time? 

To explore the earliest days of social media, Joanne is joined by investor and entrepreneur Benjamin Sun, who co-founded Asian Avenue in 1997, and Katie Notopoulos, senior technology reporter for BuzzFeedNews.

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The MySpace era was incredibly influential, and incredibly messy. And it remains largely underexplored. Young people talk about MySpace like a cool scene they wish they could have experienced. Like CBGB, or Studio 54.

But before we get into the experiences that users had — from bored teens to up-and-coming musicians to soldiers stationed abroad — let’s start at the very beginning. Because MySpace does not have a typical Silicon Valley origin story.  

Special thanks to our guests Julie Angwin (author of Stealing MySpace) and Taylor Lorenz (author of the forthcoming Extremely Online). You can share your MySpace story with Joanne McNeil on Twitter @jomc.

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While history books and Hollywood like their stories in simple black and white, real life is much more complicated. So, what made Major General Butler the ideal candidate to lead a coup? In this week’s episode – against Smedley’s wishes – Ben and Alex dive into the Major General’s dark backstory to explore why the bankers believed he was the man they were looking for.

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