Chameleon: Dr. Miracle

The incredible true story of the Hollywood Con Queen scam, and the hunt for the sick mastermind behind it. With Josh Dean and Vanessa Grigoriadis. A production of Campside Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The stranger-than-fiction tale of a two-year FBI undercover sting in Las  Vegas that went bust, with no one convicted of crimes. Hosted by Trevor  Aaronson. A production of Campside Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2003, two half-starved brothers emerged from the wilderness, telling  an incredible story of survival. A small Canadian community took them  in. The only problem? The boys weren't who they said they were. Hosted  by Sam Mullins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When a small team of government investigators learns that ordinary citizens all around the U.S. are losing their life savings to scam callers, they go on the hunt for the shadowy multinational mob behind  the con, unraveling their plot from strip malls in suburban Texas to office towers in one of India's largest cities. In the latest season of  Chameleon, host Yudhijit Bhattacharjee retraces the steps of the cops and the crooks, and goes deep into the Indian underworld looking for the alleged masterminds who got away.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Ronald Dante is a talented hypnotist (and not an actual doctor)  whose mind-bending schemes span decades. Dante worked the smoke-filled  nightclubs of 1960s Hollywood and rode the self-help craze of the 1980s  and 90s, hypnotizing women out of their fortunes, taking out hits on his  rivals and opening up one of the biggest fake universities in history.  Host Sam Mullins tracks Dante through yacht clubs, prison cells, trailer  parks and theme parks to uncover the unbelievable true story of the  greatest con man you’ve never heard of. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He partied with Andy Warhol. He helped Jeff Koons create a 43-foot-tall puppy made out of flowers. Commissioned a daring Keith Haring mural. He made millions, owned several homes, and dozens of vintage classic cars. And then he lost it all. Get ready to meet the most famous criminal you’ve never heard of. Subscribe now to unlock all shows on The Binge and you’ll be the first to access Chameleon: Gallery of Lies as soon as it drops on September 1st. A Campside Media & Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the fall of 2020, 14 men were arrested across three states in a series of FBI raids that shocked the nation. The government alleged that these men conspired to kidnap, and possibly even kill, the sitting governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. But is that really what happened? On season 7 of Chameleon, we’ll explore that notorious plot to kidnap governor Whitmer from its inception by taking listeners on an unprecedented journey inside the investigation. Through hundreds of hours of wire recordings that have never been heard by the public, you’ll ride along in the pocket of an FBI informant posing as a militia member, as he infiltrates an anti-government group that seems dangerous. But are they? Was the plot to kidnap governor Whitmer the sophisticated plan the government said it was, or just the stoned fantasies of a group of down-on-their-luck gun nuts? Did the FBI stop a dangerous plot in motion…or did it help to create it? From Campside Media and Sony Music Entertainment, this is Season 7 of Chameleon: The Michigan Plot.  Subscribe now to unlock all shows on The Binge and you’ll be the first to access Chameleon: The Michigan Plot s as soon as it drops on February 1st,  Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A wellness center some called Miracle Ranch, nestled in the scenic mountains of Southern California, promised a luxurious escape and a path to wellness through clean, alkaline living. Its leader, Dr. Robert O. Young, attracted wealthy clientele with his “groundbreaking” health protocols and friendly, family-man persona. But beneath the serene surface, Miracle Ranch harbored a dark secret. The people who stayed there didn’t get better; they got worse. Through legal documents and candid interviews with former patients and employees, law enforcement officials, and affected family members, this series unravels the chilling true story of one man who convinced scores of people that cancer is not a cell but an “acidic, poisonous liquid,” and how his popular “alkaline diet” turned deadly. From Campside Media, Dorothy Street Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment, this is Season 8 of Chameleon: Dr. Miracle  Subscribe now to unlock all shows on The Binge and you’ll be the first to access Chameleon: Dr. Miracle s as soon as it drops on July 1st, Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the winter of 2002, police discovered more than 300 bodies on one property in the tiny town of Noble, Georgia. What followed was one of the biggest and most expensive investigations in the history of the American South. To get to the bottom of this forgotten case, journalist Shaun Raviv visits a rural community with plenty of secrets. He discovers the epic history of the well-respected family who owned the property, uncovers the fates of the bodies sent to a crematory called Tri-State, and searches for the mysterious man at the center of it all. And in the process, Shaun explores one of the most primal and vexing questions we face as human beings: What do the living owe the dead? Listen, rate and subscribe where ever you get your podcasts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eddie, an aspiring film industry trainer, gets a  call from a powerful producer offering him the opportunity of a lifetime  -- a major film project, in Indonesia. But when Eddie gets to Jakarta,  there is no movie. And after some friends back home do a little sleuthing, Eddie realizes that he's been pulled into something far bigger than just a little scam.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eddie wasn't the first person to fall into this fake movie trap. Not even close. Two years before Eddie got  that call, Heather, a make-up artist in London, heard from a different  producer, about a different movie, also in Indonesia. But Heather's trip  was far more harrowing. She feared for her life. And her story pulls us deeper into the tangled web of the Hollywood Con Queen scam. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Hollywood Con Queen scam is far bigger and more complicated than anyone recognized. Each victim seems to lead to five more victims, and the more Josh and Vanessa unpack this baffling con, the weirder things get. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nicole, the private investigator, joins us inside the rabbit hole, and begins to chip away at some of the scammer's defenses. That work also uncovers one incredible secret. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The scam has a whole other set of victims — the female producers and studio execs who had their names and reputations damaged by the Con Queen. Josh goes to visit Deb Snyder, one of the biggest film producers in Hollywood, and finds that she has some very interesting things to share about our scammer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just when you thought the Con Queen scam couldn't get any more mind-boggling, a new twist emerges — one that makes the depravity of this scammer abundantly clear. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With no sign of the case being resolved, and the Con Queen very much still racking up victims, the team decides to go hunting for this elusive scammer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The hunt for the scammer continues, and frustration is at an all-time-high — until our team gets the big break it's been looking for. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At long last, the team penetrates the scammer's inner circle — and zeroes in on the Con Queen's identity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What makes con artists tick. In this special episode, we speak with author/journalist Maria Konnikova and psychoanalyst Alexander Stein. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Friends, classmates, even prison officials help us assemble a story of the Con Queen suspect that goes all the way back to his childhood. Chameleon has been a production of Campside Media Chameleon was developed, created, and written by Josh Dean and Vanessa Grigoriadis. The Executive Producer is Mark McAdam. The Associate Producer is Abukar Adan. Fact checking by Callie Hitchcock Editorial support by Doug Slawin, Natalia Winkelman, Rod Sherwood, and Ashleyanne Krigbaum. Our technical consultant and disinfo specialist is Ben Decker, of Memetica. Our theme song is “Bad Checks” by Houses. Sound design and additional music by Mark McAdam. Our Consulting Producers are Andy Horwitz at Atlas Entertainment and Charles Mastropietro, at Circle of Confusion The Executive Producers at Campside Media are Josh Dean, Vanessa Grigoriadis, Adam Hoff, and Matt Shaer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices