Smoke Screen: Deadly Cure
Smoke Screen: Deadly CureSubscribed: 109,663Played: 731,260
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Smoke Screen is an investigative documentary series on people with complex motives and morals. Follow characters on the fringes of society — con artists, cult leaders, corrupt politicians — as they seduce their marks and bend communities to their will. Join us as we unravel their stories and bring justice to the people they’ve deceived. For advertising opportunities, contact podcastadsales@sonymusic.com.
SEASON 5: Smoke Screen: Deadly Cure is a podcast about a family on the fringe who convinced tens of thousands of people across the globe to buy a miracle liquid made of poison, the international conspiracy they ignited, and the people who fought to take them down. Subscribe now to unlock all shows on The Binge - All Episodes. All at once… and you’ll be the first to access Smoke Screen: Deadly Cure as soon as it drops on February 1.
A Neon Hum Media, Bloomberg & 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
SEASON 4: Puppy Kingpin
Americans are used to being on the lookout for a scam, but authorities are warning of a new kind of fraud. Puppy Kingpin shines a spotlight on Jolyn Noethe, a secretive businesswoman from Iowa who is accused of laundering puppies much like drug money. Investigative reporter Alex Schuman exposes the scheme and an underground part of the industry bringing us the pets we love. From Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment. Smoke Screen: Puppy Kingpin is available June 16th. Subscribe on apple podcasts to binge all episodes or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.
Smokescreen: Puppy Kingpin is part of The Binge - a new podcast channel from Sony Music Entertainment.
The Binge: All Episodes, All at Once. Coming Soon.
SEASON 3: The Sellout
Councilperson Jose Huizar grew up in Boyle Heights – a working-class Latinx neighborhood in L.A. For the most part, people trusted Huizar... until the day the FBI raided his home and offices, looking for evidence of a criminal enterprise. He stands accused of taking bribes from luxury developers as his constituents were displaced from their homes. Produced in collaboration with LA Taco, journalist and host Mariah Castañeda investigates how Huizar got the power to do what he did, and how the community that raised him paid the price.
SEASON 2: I Am Rama
To some he was an enlightened master, and to others a dangerous cult leader. One thing’s for sure, the spiritual leader Rama was a product of the 80s: designer clothes, a rock band, sports cars and a modern message were only some of the things that made Rama a fascinating and complex teacher. Host Jonathan Hirsch explores his life and untimely death.
SEASON 1: Fake Priest
Ryan Scott, known to some as “Father Ryan,” was no ordinary con man. He’d been accused of abusing followers and enriching himself with their money. He's left a wake of angry people across multiple states. And that’s not all. There are questions surrounding the brutal deaths of two priests he associated with. Investigative reporter Alex Schuman explores Scott's bizarre, quizzical, and sometimes dangerous world.
SEASON 5: Smoke Screen: Deadly Cure is a podcast about a family on the fringe who convinced tens of thousands of people across the globe to buy a miracle liquid made of poison, the international conspiracy they ignited, and the people who fought to take them down. Subscribe now to unlock all shows on The Binge - All Episodes. All at once… and you’ll be the first to access Smoke Screen: Deadly Cure as soon as it drops on February 1.
A Neon Hum Media, Bloomberg & 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
SEASON 4: Puppy Kingpin
Americans are used to being on the lookout for a scam, but authorities are warning of a new kind of fraud. Puppy Kingpin shines a spotlight on Jolyn Noethe, a secretive businesswoman from Iowa who is accused of laundering puppies much like drug money. Investigative reporter Alex Schuman exposes the scheme and an underground part of the industry bringing us the pets we love. From Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment. Smoke Screen: Puppy Kingpin is available June 16th. Subscribe on apple podcasts to binge all episodes or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.
Smokescreen: Puppy Kingpin is part of The Binge - a new podcast channel from Sony Music Entertainment.
The Binge: All Episodes, All at Once. Coming Soon.
SEASON 3: The Sellout
Councilperson Jose Huizar grew up in Boyle Heights – a working-class Latinx neighborhood in L.A. For the most part, people trusted Huizar... until the day the FBI raided his home and offices, looking for evidence of a criminal enterprise. He stands accused of taking bribes from luxury developers as his constituents were displaced from their homes. Produced in collaboration with LA Taco, journalist and host Mariah Castañeda investigates how Huizar got the power to do what he did, and how the community that raised him paid the price.
SEASON 2: I Am Rama
To some he was an enlightened master, and to others a dangerous cult leader. One thing’s for sure, the spiritual leader Rama was a product of the 80s: designer clothes, a rock band, sports cars and a modern message were only some of the things that made Rama a fascinating and complex teacher. Host Jonathan Hirsch explores his life and untimely death.
SEASON 1: Fake Priest
Ryan Scott, known to some as “Father Ryan,” was no ordinary con man. He’d been accused of abusing followers and enriching himself with their money. He's left a wake of angry people across multiple states. And that’s not all. There are questions surrounding the brutal deaths of two priests he associated with. Investigative reporter Alex Schuman explores Scott's bizarre, quizzical, and sometimes dangerous world.
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Genesis II has recently gained a significant following in some South American countries, according to local reports. Hundreds of buyers have been lining up outside makeshift MMS distribution centers in poor rural communities as the pace of Covid vaccination falls behind that of major cities.
What does the story of MMS tell us about the future of public health in the U.S. and abroad? How we can foster informed, trusted dialogue around science and health globally?
A Neon Hum Media, Bloomberg & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcastsormed, trusted dialogue around science and health globally.
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1From prison in Colombia, to a detention facility in Texas to federal detention in Florida, the Grenons continue to fight for their freedom, and promote their product.
Meanwhile, Mark Grenon remains defiant. MMS, he insists, will never stop.
A Neon Hum Media, Bloomberg & 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
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In the summer of 2020, the government raided Grenon's compound and arrested two of Mark Grenon’s sons. But where in the world were Mark and his other son?
This episode traces the Grenons’ moves around the world, and examines both how they rose to international stardom … and how they were ultimately brought down.
A Neon Hum Media, Bloomberg & 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
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As MMS continued its rise, so did the Federal Drug Administration’s attention on the so-called cure.
But MMS would prove difficult to clamp down on. Between eBay and Amazon, sales of the vials were reaching the millions. In 2019, a special agent with the FDA began buying MMS, gaining information on the church and its founders.
But the Genesis II Church would receive a major boost in March 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic rattled the world. Unapproved Covid cures were rampant, leading to the formation of the FDA’s Operation Quack Hack. The operation targeted 700 groups accused of fraud and Genesis II was one of them. It seemed as though the government was gaining on the Grenons. Until the man inside the Oval Office tacitly endorsed their miracle solution.
A Neon Hum Media, Bloomberg & 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
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Self-appointed archbishops Jim Humble and Mark Grenon begin hosting seminars around the world, and charging $450 per person to attend. But it wasn’t just locals expressing interest in the so-called cure: now, national media was catching wind of the group, thrusting the Genesis II Church further into the limelight.
A Neon Hum Media, Bloomberg & 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
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What starts for Daniel Smith as an attempt to regain trust in medicine quickly becomes "Project Green Life" – a top distributor of MMS. Then, the feds catch wind of his operation, hoping to take him down.
The Grenons use Daniel's prosecution as a rallying cry for the Genesis II church, claiming that their church status is what would insulate them from future attempts by the feds to shut them down.
A Neon Hum Media, Bloomberg & 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
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Meet Mark Grenon, Jim Humble, and the Genesis II church. Mark Grenon, a missionary in the Dominican Republic, contracts MRSA. He discovers the Miracle Mineral Solution, and claims that it has miraculously cured him of numerous ailments.
This takes him to the founder of MMS, Jim Humble, a man who claims to be a billion-year-old god from the Andromeda galaxy, and has treated thousands of people with what he calls "my malaria solution.” Together, they start the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing.
A Neon Hum Media, Bloomberg & 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
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Fiona O'Leary is a fearless firebrand, and mother of four autistic children. She is also an online vigilante who will stop at nothing to take down proponents of MMS. She's part of a loosely affiliated group of keyboard warriors known as "The Bleach Hunters.” Her Nemesis is Kerri Rivera, a former real estate agent who created something called "The Autism Protocols", which promote using MMS as a "cure" for autism. Meanwhile, a tragic death in the South Pacific of someone using MMS alerts the FDA that something might be terribly wrong.
A Neon Hum Media, Bloomberg & 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
Smoke Screen: Deadly Cure is a podcast about a family on the fringe who convinced tens of thousands of people across the globe to buy a miracle liquid made of poison, the international conspiracy they ignited, and the people who fought to take them down. Subscribe now to unlock all shows on The Binge - All Episodes. All at once… and you’ll be the first to access Smoke Screen: Deadly Cure as soon as it drops on February 1.
A Neon Hum Media, Bloomberg & 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
Behind every infamous news story is a journalist trying to hold power to account. Join reporters Vanessa Grigoriadis and Gabriel Sherman as they take an in-depth look at the most explosive scandals of this century. From high-profile divorces to sex cults to the lies that started a war, they’ll guide you through the juiciest, most outrageous, celeb-filled stories of the last two decades, and give you a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to shine an unflattering light on the world’s most powerful people.
A Campside Media & Sony Music Entertainment production.
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Alex Schuman, host of Puppy Kingpin, spoke to Deborah Howard, the president of CAPS, the Companion Animal Protection Society, and an undercover investigator who goes by the pseudonym Pete Paxton. In this bonus episode, they discuss the patterns they see breeders using to skirt laws, why the USDA falls short, and Deborah and Pete defend their use of undercover videos to expose what's happening on the ground.
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Chameleon: Scam Likely host, Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, sits down with Alex Schuman to chat about the newest season of the blockbuster Chameleon franchise. The duo dig into another scam you should be wary of - telefraud. Ordinary citizens all around the U.S. have lost their life savings to scam callers, many originating from India. These fraudsters often target especially vulnerable populations, including immigrants and the elderly. Listen as Yudhijit shares the jaw-dropping story of how a small team of investigators went on the hunt to dismantle the shadowy multinational mob behind the con in what became the biggest telefraud case in U.S. history.
From Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment, listen to Smoke Screen: Puppy Kingpin and other seasons wherever you get your podcasts.
Chameleon is a Campside Media & Sony Music Entertainment production.
Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Chameleon: Scam Likely ad-free right now. Click ‘try free’ at the top of the Chameleon: Scam Likely show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
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Jolyn Noethe faces a class action lawsuit that accuses her of a federal crime and might cost her up to 5 million. The puppy pipeline isn’t going to change overnight, but Alex meets with a breeder who has nothing to hide and hears about a movement among breeders to go above and beyond USDA requirements.
A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.
Unlock all episodes of Smoke Screen: Puppy Kingpin, ad-free right now by subscribing to The Binge - a new podcast channel that gives you all episodes, all at once. Just click ‘try free’ on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
Your subscription also unlocks the entire network of podcasts on The Binge with a brand new story dropping every month - that’s all episodes, all at once, all ad-free. Visit apple.com/thebinge to browse all the great stories included in your subscription.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts
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The Iowa AG’s lawsuit against Jolyn comes to a conclusion as she faces challenges from multiple sides. Alex looks more closely at the USDA as a growing number of breeders and animal rights activists think a USDA license doesn’t mean much anymore.
A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.
Unlock all episodes of Smoke Screen: Puppy Kingpin, ad-free right now by subscribing to The Binge - a new podcast channel that gives you all episodes, all at once. Just click ‘try free’ on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
Your subscription also unlocks the entire network of podcasts on The Binge with a brand new story dropping every month - that’s all episodes, all at once, all ad-free. Visit apple.com/thebinge to browse all the great stories included in your subscription.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts
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Alex heads to Britt, Iowa where Jolyn Noethe grew up and her for-profit enterprise, J.A.K.’s Puppies, is headquartered. He discovers that a family dispute is part of the reason she started her own brokering business.
A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.
Unlock all episodes of Smoke Screen: Puppy Kingpin, ad-free right now by subscribing to The Binge - a new podcast channel that gives you all episodes, all at once. Just click ‘try free’ on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
Your subscription also unlocks the entire network of podcasts on The Binge with a brand new story dropping every month - that’s all episodes, all at once, all ad-free. Visit apple.com/thebinge to browse all the great stories included in your subscription.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts
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Multiple lawsuits now accuse Jolyn Noethe of creating rescues to sell commercially-bred puppies where they’ve been outlawed. Alex learns how the scheme reaches beyond the Midwest and meets Lizette Chanock. She claims her rescue’s name is being used to sell unhealthy puppies.
A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.
Unlock all episodes of Smoke Screen: Puppy Kingpin, ad-free right now by subscribing to The Binge - a new podcast channel that gives you all episodes, all at once. Just click ‘try free’ on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
Your subscription also unlocks the entire network of podcasts on The Binge with a brand new story dropping every month - that’s all episodes, all at once, all ad-free. Visit apple.com/thebinge to browse all the great stories included in your subscription.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts
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Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Spectacle: True Crime host, Mariah Smith, sits down with Alex Schuman to chat all things about the newest season of Smoke Screen, Puppy Kingpin. She puts host Alex Schuman in the hot seat and they dig into true crime – how we report these stories, why we’re so fascinated with them and what this fascination says about us. Mariah gets juicy behind-the-scenes bits from Alex about reporting Smoke Screen: Fake Priest and Puppy Kingpin. Plus, Mariah tells Alex about the new season of Spectacle, which is a dissection of our messy obsession with true crime.
From Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment, listen to Spectacle: True Crime wherever you get your podcasts.
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Authorities learn of unusual “rescue puppies” starting to turn up in Chicago and begin an investigation. Soon, they are on the trail of the secretive businesswoman responsible.
A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.
Unlock all episodes of Smoke Screen: Puppy Kingpin, ad-free right now by subscribing to The Binge - a new podcast channel that gives you all episodes, all at once. Just click ‘try free’ on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
Your subscription also unlocks the entire network of podcasts on The Binge with a brand new story dropping every month - that’s all episodes, all at once, all ad-free. Visit apple.com/thebinge to browse all the great stories included in your subscription.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts
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Alex sets out to learn more about Jolyn Noethe, but ends up getting an inside look at a puppy mill and how they operate legally. We’ll hear audio of the day authorities descended on the farm of Barbara Kavars, an Iowan breeder who got in way over her head.
A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.
Unlock all episodes of Smoke Screen: Puppy Kingpin, ad-free right now by subscribing to The Binge - a new podcast channel that gives you all episodes, all at once. Just click ‘try free’ on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
Your subscription also unlocks the entire network of podcasts on The Binge with a brand new story dropping every month - that’s all episodes, all at once, all ad-free. Visit apple.com/thebinge to browse all the great stories included in your subscription.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts
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When Mindi Callison finds out a local pet shop might be selling puppies from a puppy mill, she takes action. Soon, she’s tracking dogs being transported from state to state and stumbles onto a company that hides the source of puppies.
A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.
Unlock all episodes of Smoke Screen: Puppy Kingpin, ad-free right now by subscribing to The Binge - a new podcast channel that gives you all episodes, all at once. Just click ‘try free’ on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
Your subscription also unlocks the entire network of podcasts on The Binge with a brand new story dropping every month - that’s all episodes, all at once, all ad-free. Visit apple.com/thebinge to browse all the great stories included in your subscription.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts
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I think California has the biggest demand for pure bread rescue dogs. The law doesn't address the heart of the issue just creates this mess.
Eye opening series. Well done.
Why does there need to be a bad guy in Brenda's case? She was an adult and made very adult decisions. Her choosing to leave her family she created to follow Rama was very selfish. She was constantly searching for something that she could never seem to find. Brenda created that life for herself.
What a moron. “They’re vegans” WOW
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where are the first few episodes of this series?
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I just want to say that you two recommended a thing based on a thing based on other thing. both of you!
cool
It’s just really slow and kinda a cookie cutter podcast. Cult podcasts have been done before and this one doesn’t offer anything interesting really.
Yes, Brenda was in a cult where the leader, by her own admission, made her feel like an ass. Then she was publicly humiliated by and drummed out of the second cult she tried to join -- the misogynistic incel coders boy club.
IT'S. A. CULT!
How can they say this is not a cult. Sure he made it hard to stay, but that kept those who did stay even closer to him. Also people who joined were pushed away from their families because of the teachings. That's a cult.
I think the journalist is too harsh on Tony. And not harsh enough on Rama.
And no coaches do not need to be predators in order to see results.
Did Will have a sexual thing for Rama? I just don't get it.
Hey, the Fake Priest story was excellent. It's just the Rama story was average and boring. Sorry.
Did you seriously delete my negative post?