GovernmentHistoryNewsPolitics

Fiasco

Pushkin Industries

Host Leon Neyfakh transports listeners into the day-to-day reality of our country's most pivotal historical events, bringing to life the forgotten twists and turns of the past while shedding light on the present.

Benghazi unpacks the 2012 attack in Libya that left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Chris Stevens—and the ensuing political storm, which raised questions about America’s role in the world, established a playbook to weaponize attention in the social media age, and ultimately changed the course of U.S. history.

Iran-Contra exposes a secret war, a secret deal, and a scandal that threatened to destroy Ronald Reagan’s presidency—until it didn’t.

Bush v. Gore recounts what happened during the contested 2000 election between Al Gore and George W. Bush, and the extraordinary legal battle that unfolded in Florida.

Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear the entire season of Fiasco: Benghazi, ad-free. Find Pushkin+ on the Fiasco show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm.

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23 episodes
Avg 39 min
English

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September 8 · 44 min
From Death of an Artist: The Train Has Left the Station
Here's episode 3 of Leon's new series, Death of an Artist. There's still 3 more episodes to go. Find the rest of Death of an Artist wherever you get podcasts and binge the full season now by subscribing to Pushkin+ on the Apple Podcasts show page or at pushkin.fm/plus. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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September 1 · 46 min
From Death of an Artist: It’s Lonely Without You, Friends
Here's episode 2 of Leon's new series, Death of an Artist, a story about the joint suicide of a beloved children’s book author and her photographer husband that left behind an uneasy fellowship of friends and family caught between grief, confusion, anger, and envy. Michael and Petra Mathers left their house and the logistics of their afterlife to their friend Patty—unbeknownst to Patty’s sister Virginia, who considered herself one of Michael and Petra’s best friends. Patty and Virginia have different perspectives on what Michael and Petra did, but they agree on what it was like to be around them as a couple: awestruck and a bit excluded, something even Alice and Leon pick up on while looking at their dozens of photo albums. Find Death of an Artist wherever you get podcasts. And get early, ad-free access to the entire season now by subscribing to Pushkin+ on the Apple Podcasts show page or at pushkin.fm/plus. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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August 25 · 39 min
Death of an Artist: New from Leon Neyfakh
Leon here bringing you a preview of a new series of mine, Death of an Artist. Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing a few episodes with you right here on the Fiasco feed. In February 2024, celebrated children’s book author and illustrator Petra Mathers and her husband, photographer Michael Mathers, mailed letters to dozens of friends and family members to let them know they had died by suicide. Petra and Michael were by all accounts healthy, happy, and deeply in love. As much a love story as one about death, it begs the question: what did that decision do to the people left to mourn them? My wife, journalist Alice Gregory, and I set out to interview everyone who got one of Petra and Michael’s letters—as one married couple trying to understand another. Through intimate conversations with Petra and Michael’s friends and family about their own relationships to aging, grief, death, and the friends they thought they knew, Death of an Artist weaves together a portrait of a community grappling with the Mathers’ deaths and the final words they left behind. Here's episode 1, where we visit Oregon to begin putting together the pieces of Petra and Michael’s shared life: the start of their love story, and the end. Search for Death of an Artist wherever you get podcasts. And get early, ad-free access to the entire season now by subscribing to Pushkin+ on the Apple Podcasts show page or at pushkin.fm/plus. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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May 21 · 11 min
Introducing: OnlyFantasy, Co-Hosted by Leon Neyfakh
In this provocative investigation into OnlyFans— the adult platform where subscribers around the world spent more than $7 billion in 2024— journalist Leon Neyfakh teams up with comedian and OnlyFans creator Gracie Canaan for a one-of-a-kind exploration into the current state of human connection. Captivating and tender, OnlyFantasy is about the cost of loneliness, the seductive power of desire, and how the rules of human intimacy are being rewritten online. Is what’s happening on OnlyFans real? Or is it only a fantasy? Find OnlyFantasy wherever you get your podcasts, or binge all episodes ad-free on Audible. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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S4 · E6
Oct 6, 2025 · 1 hr 8 min
Benghazi: Episode 6 - Radicals
The Tea Party takes over the search for the truth about Benghazi, while the FBI pursues a Libyan militia leader suspected of planning the attack. For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to research this episode visit: bit.ly/fiascopolitics See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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S4 · E5
Sep 29, 2025 · 58 min
Benghazi: Episode 5 - Greatest Hits
As the political world looks toward the 2016 Presidential election, Benghazi becomes a Clinton scandal. For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to research this episode visit: bit.ly/fiascopolitics Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear the entire season of Fiasco: Benghazi, ad-free, right now. Find Pushkin+ on the Fiasco show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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S4 · E4
Sep 22, 2025 · 53 min
Benghazi: Episode 4 - Feckless
How the attack in Benghazi collided with an American election, and how the seeds of a scandal were planted. For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to research this episode visit: bit.ly/fiascopolitics Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear the entire season of Fiasco: Benghazi, ad-free, right now. Find Pushkin+ on the Fiasco show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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S4 · E3
Sep 15, 2025 · 52 min
Benghazi: Episode 3 - Barefoot
An anti-Islamic video sparks protests in the Middle East, and the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi comes under attack. For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to research this episode visit: bit.ly/fiascopolitics Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear the entire season of Fiasco: Benghazi, ad-free, right now. Find Pushkin+ on the Fiasco show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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S4 · E2
Sep 8, 2025 · 57 min
Benghazi: Episode 2 - We Will Stay Here
Libya is swept up in a wave of revolution, and an American diplomat makes his mark on Benghazi. For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to research this episode visit: bit.ly/fiascopolitics Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear the entire season of Fiasco: Benghazi, ad-free, right now. Find Pushkin+ on the Fiasco show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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S4 · E1
Sep 8, 2025 · 48 min
Benghazi: Episode 1 - The Dictator
How a prison massacre carried out under Libya’s long-time dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, set the stage for the Benghazi attack. For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to research this episode visit: bit.ly/fiascopolitics Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear the entire season of Fiasco: Benghazi, ad-free, right now. Find Pushkin+ on the Fiasco show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Aug 25, 2025 · 3 min
Introducing Fiasco: Benghazi
Fiasco: Benghazi unpacks the 2012 attack in Libya that left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Chris Stevens—and the ensuing political storm, which raised questions about America’s role in the world, established a playbook to weaponize attention in the social media age, and ultimately changed the course of U.S. history. For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to research this season visit: bit.ly/fiascopolitics See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
S3 · E8
May 26, 2025 · 50 min
Iran Contra: Episode 8 - Pardon Me
How George H.W. Bush ended Iran-Contra. For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to research this episode visit: bit.ly/fiascopolitics See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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S3 · E7
May 19, 2025 · 38 min
Iran Contra: Episode 7 - Olliewood
How Hollywood tried to capitalize on Iran-Contra -- and why the story didn’t take. For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to research this episode visit: bit.ly/fiascopolitics See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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S3 · E6
May 12, 2025 · 45 min
Iran Contra: Episode 6 - Fault Lines
How the Iran-Contra hearings made Oliver North an icon, and got Ronald Reagan off the hook. For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to research this episode visit: bit.ly/fiascopolitics See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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S3 · E5
May 5, 2025 · 41 min
Iran Contra: Episode 5 - All Out
How the Reagan administration tried to prevent the Iran scandal from becoming a second Watergate. For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to research this episode visit: bit.ly/fiascopolitics See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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S3 · E4
Apr 28, 2025 · 34 min
Iran Contra: Bonus - Bombs, Drugs, and the Contra War
A bonus interview with journalists Martha Honey and Tony Avirgan. Honey and Avirgan tell Leon about their time reporting on the Contra war from the southern front in Costa Rica. For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to research this season visit: bit.ly/fiascopolitics Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear the entire season of Fiasco: Iran Contra, ad-free, right now. Find Pushkin+ on the Fiasco show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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S3 · E4
Apr 21, 2025 · 46 min
Iran Contra: Episode 4 - Diverted
How Oliver North decided to do a little multitasking -- and ended up on a plane to Tehran. For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to research this episode visit: bit.ly/fiascopolitics Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear the entire season of Fiasco: Iran Contra, ad-free, right now. Find Pushkin+ on the Fiasco show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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S3 · E3
Apr 14, 2025 · 41 min
Iran Contra: Episode 3 - Contra Dance
How the United States got involved in a not-so-secret secret war in Nicaragua. For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to research this episode visit: bit.ly/fiascopolitics Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear the entire season of Fiasco: Iran Contra, ad-free, right now. Find Pushkin+ on the Fiasco show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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S3 · E2
Apr 7, 2025 · 48 min
Iran Contra: Episode 2 - Trade Secrets
How the Reagan administration landed in a hostage crisis…and extended a hand to one of America’s sworn enemies. For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to research this episode visit: bit.ly/fiascopolitics Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear the entire season of Fiasco: Iran Contra, ad-free, right now. Find Pushkin+ on the Fiasco show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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S3 · E1
Apr 7, 2025 · 41 min
Iran Contra: Episode 1 - Get Me Kevin Kattke
How a crew of amateur spies from Long Island helped the Reagan administration set the stage for Iran-Contra. For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to research this episode visit: bit.ly/fiascopolitics Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear the entire season of Fiasco: Iran Contra, ad-free, right now. Find Pushkin+ on the Fiasco show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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