World's Greatest Con

By Dog And Pony Show AudioSociety & Culture Documentary True Crime History

World's Greatest Con episodes

September 27, 2022 Presenting Don't Explain
Brian is in the booth recording Season Three of World's Greatest Con but in the meantime, Dog and Pony Show Audio has a new series for you: Don't Explain.

Every time you go to the theater, you're experience an onslaught of movie tropes. Every romantic comedy has the down-on-her-luck best friend. Every action movie has the badass one-liners. Every Oscar-bait drama has that tear-jerker ending.

But where do those tropes come from? How do audiences become so aware of Hollywood's bag of tricks, parody movies can become a massive genre on their own?

This series explores the birth, death, and rebirth of one of the most successful cinematic genres ever: the rockstar biopic. In this episode, we start from the beginning, focusing on the earliest established tropes of the genre.

Lady Sings the Blues, The Buddy Holly Story, and 8 Mile.

The first episode is available now in this feed and the reminder of the season is ready to binge on the Don't Explain feed on all podcast platforms.
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51 min
September 15, 2022 From Revisionist History: Way to Go, Ohio
Brian Brushwood brings you an update on the work of World's Greatest Con season three.

Meanwhile...

We’re sharing a bonus episode from our friends at Revisionist History, Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast about things misunderstood and overlooked. This season, Malcolm’s obsessed with experiments – natural experiments, scientific experiments, thought experiments. In this preview, you’ll learn about a mysterious and disfiguring disease plagued parts of the world. No one could find a remedy, until a doctor in Ohio conducted a controversial experiment and finally found a cure …with an everyday condiment. You can hear more of Revisionist History at:

https://podcasts.pushkin.fm/rhs7?sid=con.
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42 min
May 11, 2022 Interview with John Madden, Director of "Operation Mincemeat"
Brian chats with John Madden about his new film Operation Mincemeat available on Netflix in America now. The film is adapted from the same book we used for the bulk of our research in Season One.
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36 min
April 08, 2022 From Cautionary Tales: Fairies or Fakes?
Here’s a special preview of the Cautionary Tales podcast from Pushkin Industries. On Cautionary Tales, bestselling author Tim Harford shares stories of human error, natural disasters, and tragic catastrophes from history that contain valuable lessons for today. In this preview, you’ll hear about two young girls who faked an image of fairies so compelling that expert photographers could not explain it and esteemed figures like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were left believing in the existence of tiny nymphs. Hear the full story, and more from Cautionary Tales, at https://podcasts.pushkin.fm/ctcon.
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18 min
April 04, 2022 Television Game Show Questions - Game Shows Part VI
Brian is joined by WGC co-creator Justin Robert Young to answer your questions from this season.
Ad Free Episodes: Patreon.com/GreatestCon
Support The Show:
http://Blinkist.com/WGC
http://geologie.com/greatestcon
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46 min
March 28, 2022 The Price Is Right's Perfect Bid - Game Shows Part V
Only one man has guessed the exact amount on the Price Is Right's Final Showcase Showdown in the modern history of the show.
He says he came up with the number by himself. Not so, says another super fan in the audience who says he fed him the answer. But wait, people backstage believe a bitter ex-producer has something to do with it.
Who is lying? We find out using all of their own stories in their own words.
Support The Show:
http://betterhelp.com/WGC
http://ExpressVPN.com/WGC
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51 min
March 21, 2022 Super Password Put This Liar In Jail - Game Shows Part IV
A wanted con decides to fund his escape from the law on the television game show Super Password. He plays fairly. He wins. All hell breaks loose.
Hi, Matthew.
Ad Free Episodes: Patreon.com/GreatestCon
Support The Show:
Manscaped // Code: ModerenRogue20
HulloPillow.com/wgc
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53 min
March 14, 2022 Charles Ingram and the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire scandal - Game Shows Part III
A ranking member of the military finds himself in the center of pop culture, the hot seat on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in 2001. After an embarrassing first day, he goes on an unlikely run to riches. A turnaround so unlikely he is accused of cheating with quite possibly the dumbest plan in deception history.
Ad Free Episodes: Patreon.com/GreatestCon
Support The Show:
http://geologie.com/greatestcon
http://AdamandEve.com Code: CON
http://Blinkist.com/WGC
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 5 min
March 07, 2022 Michael Larson broke Press Your Luck - Game Shows Part II
The largest single-day haul in game show history. An Ohio conman exploits Press Your Luck so cleanly they're forced to admit it and hand him the cash. That's only the beginning of his strange, sad story.
Ad Free Episodes: Patreon.com/GreatestCon
Support The Show:
http://betterhelp.com/WGC
http://geologie.com/greatestcon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
50 min
February 28, 2022 Twenty One and the 1950s Quiz Show Scandals - Game Shows Part I
A producer decides to juice his quiz show by feeding answers to contestants. The attention makes them rich and famous but the revelation of the scheme extracts a terrible societal cost from everyone who took the bargain.
"...Baby One More Time" Piano Cover: Björn Gottschall http://www.bjoerngottschall.com
Ad Free Episodes: Patreon.com/GreatestCon
Support The Show:
http://betterhelp.com/WGC
http://ExpressVPN.com/WGC
http://Blinkist.com/WGC
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 16 min

About World's Greatest Con

From the publisher's feed

Brian Brushwood (Scam School, Modern Rogue, Scam Nation) brings you the hidden stories behind the most audacious con jobs, swindles and heists in history. Email the show at Worlds Greatest Con at…