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In a case that stunned the FBI, a linguist assigned to a high-profile terrorism case disappeared—only to resurface behind enemy lines, married to her target.   WRITTEN BY: MICHAEL LAPOINTE REPORTED BY: EMILY DISCHE-BECKER AUDIO: DOMINIC GOZO NARRATED BY: EMILIA CLARKE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A conversation with journalist Serena Coady, author of THE BEANIE BABY BANDIT '97. HOST: MICHAEL LAPOINTE EDITING: THOMAS CURRY MUSIC, SCORING & SOUND-DESIGN: NATALIA RODRIGUEZ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's Chicago in the summer of '97, and criminal defense attorney Kathleen Zellner (of Making a Murderer fame) is feeling worn out. After once defending a serial killer, she promised herself never to defend a guilty person again, and has devoted her life to exonerating the innocent. But after years of gruesome murder trials, she needs a holiday. When a lemon-yellow stretch Cadillac bounces into her parking lot, and out hops a five-foot-tall, 77-year-old man named Ben Perri, that holiday arrives. Ben has been accused of a bizarre crime: the theft of hundreds of ultra-rare Beanie Babies from the manufacturer's secret warehouse. With Beanie Baby mania in full swing, the toys are fetching stratospheric prices, and Ben will gladly hook you up with an elusive Digger the Crab or Radar the Bat. The press calls him the Beanie Baby Bandit, but he swears he's innocent. As this jovial grandfather and veteran charms Kathleen and her team, his carefree way of life gives her a new outlook on the difficult job she's chosen. But still, she can't quite answer whether he's guilty, and whether she's broken her promise to herself. Is Ben just an innocent lover of toys, or is he really the Beanie Baby Bandit? JOURNALIST: SERENA COADY EDITING: THOMAS CURRY SOUND-DESIGN & AUDIO MIX: ALICE BOYD VOICE: JILL WINTERNITZ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A conversation with journalist Shaun Raviv, author of THE MOCKBUSTER. HOST: MICHAEL LAPOINTE EDITING: THOMAS CURRY MUSIC, SCORING & SOUND-DESIGN: NATALIA RODRIGUEZ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When small-time money counterfeiter Edward L. Montoro nearly dies in a plane crash, he decides to reinvent himself as a filmmaker. It's the late 1970s, the dawn of the age of the blockbuster, and Montoro pioneers the "mockbuster"—knock-off productions that capitalize on the popularity of mainstream Hollywood films. But as his little studio attracts the wrath of the movie industry, Montoro makes a desperate decision, sparking one of the great unsolved mysteries in cinematic history. JOURNALIST: SHAUN RAVIV EDITING: THOMAS CURRY SOUND-DESIGN & AUDIO MIX: ALICE BOYD VOICE: ERIC JASON MARTIN Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A conversation with journalist Alex Mayyasi, author of The Way We're Built. HOST: MICHAEL LAPOINTE EDITING: THOMAS CURRY MUSIC, SCORING & SOUND-DESIGN: NATALIA RODRIGUEZ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Facing hard times in the early 1990s, Subaru of America is trying to understand who exactly buys their sturdy but drab brand of cars. That's when one marketing executive notices a peculiar niche in their focus groups—lesbian women. In the conservative corporate culture of Subaru, a group of marketing executives will try to turn the company's fortunes around through a secretive marketing campaign. JOUNALIST: ALEX MAYYASI EDITING: THOMAS CURRY MUSIC, SCORING & SOUND-DESIGN: DOMINIC GOZO VOICE: NESBA CRENSHAW Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A conversation with journalist Yochai Maital author of "The Badir Brothers". HOST: MICHAEL LAPOINTE JOURNALIST: YOCHAI MAITAL AUDIO: NATALIA RODRIGUEZ FORD Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a small Israeli village in the 1980s, three Arab brothers are born blind. When a payphone is installed at the end of the block, the brothers discover they can use their supersensitive hearing to manipulate the lines to do their bidding, the first step in what will become the largest telecom fraud in Israeli history. JOURNALIST: YOCHAI MAITAL EDITING: THOMAS CURRY MUSIC, SCORING & SOUND-DESIGN: DOMINIC GOZO VOICE: ALI SULIMAN REPORTING BY: ADAM BIZANSKI Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A conversation about fakes, hustlers, and how to rip off the Grateful Dead with Harmon Leon, author of “Blinkers. Host: Michael LaPointe Journalist: Harmon Leon Audio: Natalia Rodriguez Ford Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Teenage hustler Conor MacKay makes his living selling counterfeit tickets—or blinkers—at concerts and sporting events across the United States. It’s the early 1990s, the golden age of the blinker game, but as the federal authorities and Ticketmaster close in, Conor has to find what’s authentic in this world of fakes. A fictional story based on real events. NARRATOR: CARTER BELLAIMEY JOURNALIST: HARMON LEON AUDIO EDITING: MADDIE HICKISH MUSIC, SCORING & SOUND-DESIGN: DOMINIC GOZO Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's Los Angeles in the mid-2000s and Nina is chasing the LA dream. She falls into sex work and gets caught up in her boyfriend/pimp's latest scheme: robbing banks. A disparate group of sex workers are transformed into a gang of bank robbers named The Starlet Bandits... Narrator: Jurnee Smollett Journalist: Lexi Pandell Audio Editing: Natalia Rodriguez Music, Scoring & Sound-Design: Dominic Gozo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's Los Angeles in the mid-2000s and Nina is chasing the LA dream. She falls into sex work and gets caught up in her boyfriend/pimp's latest scheme: robbing banks. A disparate group of sex workers are transformed into a gang of bank robbers named The Starlet Bandits... Narrator: Jurnee Smollett Journalist: Lexi Pandell Audio Editing: Natalia Rodriguez Ford Music, Scoring & Sound-Design: Dominic Gozo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the great Russian writer Anton Chekov visits the penal colony on the remote island of Sakhalin in 1890, he is astonished to learn that they’re holding a famous prisoner—Sonya Golden Hand. He finds the legendary con-artist in solitary confinement, her legs clamped in iron chains. Chekhov kneels down beside her on the filthy prison floor. Tell me the story of how you ended up in chains... A fictional story inspired by historical events. Writer: Michael LaPointe Voice: Olga Kurylenko Audio Editing: Maddie Hickish Music, Scoring & Sound-Design: Dominic Gozo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A woman grapples with the mysterious murder of her husband in their Denver home. All the doors were locked from inside, there is no sign of break-in, but her husband lies there, stabbed to death. The murder haunts the house, already a place of mourning after their son Anthony did not return from World War II. As a local detective struggles to pry apart the puzzle of the murder, Helen begins to see a ghost in her dead son's room. The killing isn't over. A fictional story inspired by historical events. Writers: C.Avery & Maggie Milstein Voice: Lauryn Allman Audio Editing: Thomas Curry Music, Scoring & Sound-Design: Dominic Gozo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.