PRETEND

Mar 25 2025 239 ep. 39 mins 9.8k
PRETEND Podcast artwork

From cult leaders to con artists and undercover FBI agents, PRETEND exposes those pretending to be someone they're not.

  True Crime  Technology  Society & Culture
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The Sham: I Married a Narcissist

Mar 25 2025 52 mins  
In this episode of PRETEND, we meet “Ashley”—not her real name—who recorded hours of arguments with her husband in an effort to understand what was happening inside her marriage. From the outside, it looked like petty spats over groceries or laundry. But when you hear the audio, you realize this was something darker. Ashley’s husband was emotionally abusive, manipulative,

2010: The Keepsake Scandal

Mar 21 2025 35 mins  
It started with a missing breast milk keepsake. But when Cheyna Lee joined an online group of frustrated customers, she uncovered something much bigger—hundreds of victims, stolen mementos, and a scam artist hiding in plain sight. This is the story of Destiny Magoon, a small business owner who promised sentimental jewelry made from ashes, hair, and even breast milk—but left hea

2009: The Gambler Revisited

Mar 11 2025 43 mins  
Episode Summary: While working on the new season of Pretend, I wanted to bring back an episode from 2018 that’s worth another listen. It’s the story of Art Schlichter, a former Ohio State football star whose gambling addiction wrecked his life—and the lives of others. One of those people was Anita Barney, the widow of a Wendy’s CEO, who lost everything after trusting the wr

2008: Licensed to Kill part 2

Mar 04 2025 34 mins  
n part two of Licensed to Kill, we continue the shocking investigation into doctors who exploit their patients for profit. This episode follows Patty Hester, a fitness instructor who was misdiagnosed with a rare blood cancer and nearly subjected to years of unnecessary chemotherapy—all at the hands of Dr. Farid Fata, a Michigan oncologist who built his fortune by treating healthy

2007: Licensed to Kill part 1

Feb 25 2025 42 mins  
What if your doctor wasn’t trying to save you, but trying to cash in on you? In this episode of Pretend, we uncover the shocking case of Dr. Thomas Weiner, an oncologist accused of prescribing years of brutal chemotherapy treatments to patients who may not have even had cancer. We follow the story of Scott Warwick, a man who was told he had stage 4 lung cancer and endured 11 year

2006: Operation Cock Block

Feb 18 2025 51 mins  
A group of women, all with eerily similar stories, say they were deceived—emotionally and financially—by the same man: William Sullivan. But instead of staying silent, they took matters into their own hands. They formed Operation Cock Block, a coordinated effort to expose what they claim were Sullivan’s deceptive tactics and warn others before they fell victim. Learn more abo

2005: The Telepathy Tapes B-side part 3

Feb 11 2025 39 mins  
Facilitated Communication is marketed as a miraculous tool for non-speaking autistic children. But what happens when this controversial method leads to devastating consequences? In this episode, we hear from Kevin Plantin, a father who was falsely accused of assault based solely on messages typed with the help of a facilitator. Despite the evidence, some courts and institutions sti

2004: The Telepathy Tapes B-Side part 2

Feb 04 2025 50 mins  
A mother kills her autistic son. Why? Because he asked her to. The mother claims he used facilitated communication to ask her to help him die. This case is just one of many tied to the controversial method that claims to give a voice to non-speaking autistic individuals. But what if the voice wasn’t theirs at all? Share Your Thoughts: Have you listened to The Telepathy Tapes? W

2003: The Telepathy Tapes B-Side part 1

Jan 28 2025 46 mins  
The Telepathy Tapes podcast shot to the top of the charts, making bold claims about telepathic abilities in non-verbal autistic children. But are the claims rooted in science—or something else entirely? In this episode of PRETEND, we take a closer look at the phenomenon, the controversies, and the skepticism surrounding these extraordinary claims. We’ll discuss: ➜ The premi

Criminal Conduct S5: The Life and Death of Buffalo Jim

Jan 21 2025 32 mins  
Hello PRETENDERS! I'm excited to announce that the new season of my other podcast, Criminal Conduct Season, is here! To listen to the rest of the story, search for Criminal Conduct and subscribe. ____________________ Buffalo Jim Barrier was a wrestling promoter, mechanic, and Las Vegas icon. He faced off against Rick Rizzolo, a powerful strip club owner with alleged mob ties. Their