The Creep Dive

Tall Tales

Welcome to the Creep Dive, a podcast in which hosts Sophie White, Jen O’Dwyer and Cassie Delaney investigate and report on the lesser known details of that bizarre stories that made the headlines. From con artists to encounters with the supernatural, we delve deeper than any normal person has time for.

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Today · 44 min
Elizabeth Holmes Part 2
The wheels are coming off Theranos. Although, as it turns out, there were never any wheels to begin with. In Part 2, Sophie takes us through the spectacular collapse of Elizabeth Holmes's $9 billion blood-testing empire, as the little machine that couldn't is finally unleashed on actual human beings. And the consequences are horrifying. We've got patients receiving devastatingly inaccurate diagnoses, terrified employees, courageous whistleblowers, a pack of frat boys known as the Therabros, and a journalist determined to expose the whole bloody mess. Then come the lawsuits, the criminal trial, prison, Burning Man (naturally), and the extraordinary question of whether Elizabeth Holmes genuinely believes she's done anything wrong. And just when you think this story couldn't possibly get any stranger, there's a new diagnostics startup on the horizon. Because apparently nobody has learned a single fucking thing. Want the entire Elizabeth Holmes saga in one glorious, uninterrupted, ad-free listen? The full episode is available now on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thecreepdive Content warning: Discussion of suicide, medical trauma and sexual assault. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Thursday · 59 min
Elizabeth Holmes: The Billion-Dollar Blood Scam (Part 1)
A black polo neck, a suspiciously deep voice and a tiny machine that was supposed to revolutionise healthcare. What could possibly go wrong? Inspired by the new Elizabeth Holmes documentary, Sophie takes us right back to the beginning of Theranos and the spectacular rise of Silicon Valley's favourite girlboss. We're talking billionaire backers, a secret relationship with a much older tech entrepreneur, blood-testing machines that didn't actually work, and an absolutely staggering amount of confidence in the face of mounting evidence that the whole thing was a disaster. Plus, some very dark side quests, a truly bizarre cast of characters and the question that keeps coming up: did Elizabeth Holmes actually believe her own bullshit? This week's main feed episode is Part 1 of a two-parter, so there won't be a new main feed episode next week but you can listen to Part 2 right now over on Patreon! This is Part 1. Part 2 is available now on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thecreepdive Content warning: Discussion of sexual assault and suicide. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
October 27 · 55 min
Gef the Mongoose, the Sofa & the Crucifix
This week Jen takes us to a remote farmhouse on the Isle of Man, where a family claimed they were living with Gef an 80-year-old talking mongoose from New Delhi. He swore, sang, gossiped about the neighbours, did housework, stole sandwiches and declared himself the eighth wonder of the world. Frankly, we love him. Then Sophie brings us crashing back to earth with the devastating case of Lacey Fletcher a woman found dead on her parents’ sofa after years of unimaginable neglect. And, because apparently we needed something to lift the mood, we finish with a priest and a falling crucifix. 🎧 Want this episode completely ad-free? Join the Hive on Patreon for the ad-free feed, a brand-new bonus episode every week and hundreds of episodes from the archive. A huge thank you to everyone already supporting us you genuinely keep The Creep Dive going. 🖤 Listen ad-free on The Creep Dive Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
October 13 · 1 hr 1 min
Big Sticky, Big Cats & A 28-Year Walk
This week on The Creep Dive: international DJ Liv Nervo discovers the father of her unborn baby has another pregnant partner on the other side of the world kicking off a years-long legal battle over reproductive deception, consent and the man known as New Zealand’s Honey King. Then Jen brings us the desperately sad story of the man killed after entering a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, before Sophie introduces us to Karl Bushby, who left Chile in 1998 with $500 and a plan to walk home to Hull. Twenty-eight years, a frozen Bering Strait, several geopolitical crises and an absolutely unreasonable amount of swimming later… he’s nearly there. Want more Creep? Get every main episode ad-free, a brand-new Patreon episode every week and hundreds of episodes from the archive over on Patreon. Join The Creep Dive on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
September 29 · 1 hr 7 min
100,000 Texts, One Missing Gun & a Lesbian Bar
This week on The Creep Dive, we're going extremely current. First, Sophie dives into the ongoing trial of former American Idol contestant and ex-pastor Caleb Flynn, who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his wife, Ashley. There is a missing gun, Apple Watch data, an alleged affair and somewhat inconveniently for the defence an absolutely staggering trail of messages between Caleb and his mistress, including conversations about wanting Ashley dead. And then there's the song. Dear God, the song. Then we head to Massachusetts, where a tiny COVID-conscious queer bar decided to make masks optional for one night a week and accidentally triggered an internet inferno involving accusations of ableism, a three-and-a-half-hour mediated community meeting, Zoom warfare, financial ruin and, somehow, clown school. Come for the alleged murder. Stay for the K95s. Want to listen ad-free? Join us on Patreon, where you'll also get an extra episode every Thursday: patreon.com/thecreepdive Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
September 15 · 50 min
We’re Going Back to Cash
Can we just… turn AI off? This week, Jen takes Sophie and Cassie into the increasingly unsettling world of autonomous AI agents: systems getting around their safeguards, accessing places they weren't supposed to access, researchers sounding the alarm, rival AI companies suddenly talking about slowing down and the slightly concerning discovery that there is no enormous red button marked OFF. Which leads us to the obvious question: if things genuinely went tits up, could we simply turn off the internet? And what would actually happen to banks, hospitals, shops, supply chains and the rest of civilisation if we did? Then, for some much-needed relief, we meet a spectacularly committed glam scammer accused of fleecing brides while posing as their makeup artist, before finishing with Chester Zoo's unfortunate attempt to sell tickets for its brand-new Can we just… turn AI off? This week, Jen takes Sophie and Cassie into the increasingly unsettling world of autonomous AI agents: systems getting around their safeguards, accessing places they weren't supposed to access, researchers sounding the alarm, rival AI companies suddenly talking about slowing down and the slightly concerning discovery that there is no enormous red button marked OFF. Which leads us to the obvious question: if things genuinely went tits up, could we simply turn off the internet? And what would actually happen to banks, hospitals, shops, supply chains and the rest of civilisation if we did? Then, for some much-needed relief, we meet a spectacularly committed glam scammer accused of fleecing brides while posing as their makeup artist, before finishing with Chester Zoo's unfortunate attempt to sell tickets for its brand-new CHILD PREDATOR TOUR. Come for the impending technological collapse, stay for the child predator tickets. 🎧 Listen ad-free and get an extra full bonus episode every week on Patreon: patreon.com/thecreepdive Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
September 1 · 59 min
The Psychiatrist and the Nazi part 1
This week, Jen takes us inside the real story behind the Nuremberg trials and the strange psychological battle happening behind the courtroom doors. As the surviving leaders of Nazi Germany await judgment, American psychiatrist Douglas Kelley becomes fascinated by one prisoner in particular: Hermann Göring. From secret prison conversations and intelligence tests to Göring’s extraordinary attempt to seize control of the courtroom itself, we look at the men tasked with answering an impossible question: was there something psychologically different about the people capable of doing this or was the answer much more frightening? A story about power, manipulation, evil, and what happens when the people who helped engineer a nightmare are finally forced to explain themselves. Part 2 is up on our Patreon now — listen here: The Creep Dive Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
August 26 · 1 hr 2 min
The Lindsay Clancy Trial — Part Two
You asked (a lot 😂), so we’re releasing Part 2 on the main feed. A huge thank you to our Patreon Creeps who’ve already listened and who make it possible for us to keep making these episodes in the first place. If you’ve been enjoying the show and want more bonus episodes and to support The Creep Dive come join us over on Patreon. www.patreon.com/thecreepdive 🖤🖤 We’re back in the Lindsay Clancy case, beginning with a few important clarifications from Part One before picking up the trial as the prosecution rests and the defence begins to make its case. We get into the testimony around Lindsay’s psychiatric care, the extraordinary number of medications trialled in a short period, her repeated attempts to seek help, the digital evidence and the defence’s central expert, who diagnosed Lindsay with bipolar disorder with postpartum psychosis and testified that psychosis can come in waves allowing periods of apparent lucidity. Then we enter the much murkier world surrounding the trial online: the explosion of theories about Patrick Clancy, the strange details being dissected across TikTok, what the evidence presented in court actually supports and what it absolutely does not. We look at why those theories have become so compelling, and whether the internet’s desire for a shocking alternative explanation is distracting from a much more frightening possibility: that a desperately unwell woman repeatedly sought help and the systems around her failed her. Trigger warning: This episode contains detailed discussion of the deaths of children, suicide and self-harm, postpartum psychosis and other severe mental illness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
August 18 · 58 min
What Happened in the Clancy House? The Lindsay Clancy Trial, Part One
Trigger warning: This episode contains detailed discussion of the deaths of children, suicide, self-harm and severe postpartum mental illness. A quick note: throughout the recording we repeatedly refer to this episode as a Hive. Plans changed! This is actually Part One of this week’s main episode. This week, we’re diving into the deeply disturbing and increasingly complicated case of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three young children in January 2023. In Part One, Cass takes us through the Clancy family before the tragedy, Lindsay’s history of postpartum anxiety and insomnia, the extraordinary number of medications she was prescribed in the months beforehand, and what is known about the day Cora, Dawson and Callan died. We then get into the trial itself where the central question isn’t whether Lindsay killed her children, but whether she was criminally responsible for her actions at the time. We meet the key players, including Lindsay’s formidable defence attorney Kevin Reddington, and work through the first seven days of testimony: Patrick Clancy’s account, the timeline, the phone calls, the forensic evidence, the medications and the details that have begun fuelling a very different conversation online about what may have happened inside that house. Part Two will be available exclusively on Patreon, where we’ll continue through the trial and get into the evidence, unanswered questions and theories surrounding the case. 🎧 Listen to Part Two on our Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/thecreepdive out thursday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
August 4 · 1 hr 1 min
Millions Stolen. One Woman Buried Alive.
This week on The Creep Dive, Cass brings the extraordinary story of Mary Carol McDonald a successful television executive who built an empire producing true crime documentaries before allegedly orchestrating a multi-million-dollar fraud of her own. With fake inheritances, forged documents and unpaid employees left in her wake, she disappeared before landing on the FBI's Most Wanted list... where she remains today. Then Jen tells one of the most terrifying kidnapping stories ever recorded. In 1968, 20-year-old Barbara Mackle was abducted from a motel, driven into the Georgia wilderness and buried alive inside a specially built underground box. Trapped beneath the earth with only a fan, a little food and the hope that someone would find her, she endured 83 unimaginable hours while the FBI raced against time. A fake heiress, a notorious fugitive, one of America's most chilling kidnappings, and a survival story that feels almost impossible to believe. 🎧 Love The Creep Dive? Join us on Patreon for ad-free episodes, an exclusive bonus episode every week, our full archive, and early access to live show tickets: https://www.patreon.com/thecreepdive Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
July 23 · 1 hr 8 min
Doctor Satan
This week on The Creep Dive, we head from the eerie walls of an Irish holiday rental to Nazi-occupied Paris, where one of history's most chilling killers preyed on desperate families fleeing the Holocaust. We unravel the horrifying story of Dr. Marcel Petiot the charming physician who promised safe passage out of France, only to lead his victims into a house of unimaginable horror. Plus, an unbelievable modern murder case in which a jealous fiancée invented an entire Mexican cartel online... and the fantasy ended in real bloodshed. Murder, manipulation, wartime deception, hidden rooms and one of the most bizarre catfishing cases we've ever covered. This one is a ride. Want to listen ad-free and get hundreds of exclusive bonus episodes, extended chats and Patreon-only Creeps? Join us here: https://www.patreon.com/thecreepdive Your support keeps the show independent, lets us make even more weird and wonderful episodes, and you'll get this episode completely ad-free. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
July 7 · 1 hr 1 min
The Great Stink (Don't Eat While Listening)
This week we're heading back to Victorian London, where the richest city on Earth was quietly drowning in its own waste. As London's population exploded during the Industrial Revolution, millions of gallons of sewage, animal carcasses and factory waste poured straight into the River Thames. The result was The Great Stink of 1858 a summer so unbearably foul that Parliament was forced to flee its own chambers, and an engineering project was launched that would transform London forever. We also look at the pioneering doctor who proved cholera wasn't spread by "bad air", the Irish labourers who built the hidden city beneath London, and the extraordinary sewer system that still serves the capital today. Plus, we finish with the astonishing true story of a Japanese husband who paid rent on his wife's murder scene for 26 years in the hope that advances in DNA technology would finally identify her killer. ⚠️ Content warning: This episode contains extensive discussion of sewage, bodily waste, disease and decomposition. 🤢 Friendly advice: maybe don't eat while listening to this one. 🎧 Listen ad-free and get an extra bonus episode every week on Patreon: patreon.com/thecreepdive ⚾ Want to join Cassie's giant game of Rounders in the Phoenix Park? Get all the details here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc5daSjgGO4YkYTPP1d_doVQDzwO_tGL8ybS_uHVYNEZIc9-Q/viewform?usp=publish-editor Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
June 30 · 1 hr 7 min
Fake Bumps, Stolen Babies & Missing Diamonds
Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussion of graphic violence, fetal abduction, infant death, pregnancy trauma, and crimes against women and children. This week on The Creep Dive, we're diving into one of the rarest and most disturbing crimes imaginable. Following the shocking Taylor Parker case, Soph investigates a terrifying pattern that has appeared again and again across America: women faking pregnancies, building elaborate lies, befriending expectant mothers, and committing unthinkable acts in pursuit of a child. From online friendships forged through puppy breeding forums to fake baby bumps, fabricated ultrasounds, and years-long deceptions, these cases reveal a chilling psychological pattern that feels almost impossible to understand. Then, because we all desperately need a palate cleanser, Jen takes us to Belgium for one of the greatest robberies in history: the Antwerp Diamond Heist. A gang of thieves spent years infiltrating the world's most secure diamond vault, bypassed layers of security that experts believed were impossible to defeat, and nearly got away with half a billion dollars in diamonds. Fake pregnancies, stolen babies, giant diamond vaults, salami-based detective work, and some of the strangest criminal behaviour we've ever covered. Listen ad-free and get hundreds of exclusive bonus episodes: 🐝 The Creep Dive Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
June 16 · 1 hr 5 min
Hogwarts, But Make It A Cult
This week on The Creep Dive We begin with a tragic bungee-jumping disaster at Brazil's infamous "Skeleton Bridge" before spiralling headfirst into a world of magic schools, witches, secret rituals, spiritual manipulation and the blurry line between belief and control. What starts as a conversation about alternative education becomes something much darker as we unpack the experiences of people raised inside a movement that promised supernatural powers, protection from death and a direct connection to hidden knowledge. Along the way there are flying claims, psychic abilities, mysterious ceremonies, tithes, cult comparisons and one very uncomfortable question: At what point does a spiritual community become something else entirely? Plus: the girls debate religion, cults, magical thinking and why humans seem endlessly drawn to people who claim to have special powers. Part 2 is available now. Listen ad-free and jump straight into Part 2 on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thecreepdive Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
June 2 · 1 hr 16 min
Henry Ford was probably a fridget
Jen takes us back to 1920s America and the story of Henry Ford, anti-Semitic propagandist, Hitler fan, and all-round moral crusader who decided that owning the world's car industry wasn't enough. His next project? Buying 2.5 million acres of the Amazon rainforest to build a rubber empire and implant a wholesome, alcohol-free, jazz-free, union-free Midwestern town in the middle of one of the most hostile environments on Earth. The Soph brings the misery with a story from July 1999. Best friends David and Raffi set off on a road trip from Boston to California. A detour into Rattlesnake Canyon in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, with one and a half litres of water between them, goes catastrophically wrong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 19 · 1 hr 4 min
Katie Price, The AI Husband & The Mona Lisa Heist
This week on The Creep Dive we spiral headfirst into one of the strangest tabloid stories currently unfolding online: Katie Price’s whirlwind marriage to alleged millionaire entrepreneur Lee Andrews a Dubai-based “visionary CEO” whose AI-generated Instagram empire, mysterious business claims, suspicious exes, possible travel bans and sudden disappearance have left the British tabloids absolutely foaming at the mouth. Is he a billionaire futurist? A Tinder Swindler-style scammer? A man held together entirely by Canva, motivational quotes and black-and-white podcast photos? We investigate. Then, because apparently this episode accidentally became about fame, fraud, mythology and the terrifying power of collective belief, Jen takes us into the extraordinary true story of the Mona Lisa theft the bizarre 1911 heist that transformed a relatively overlooked Renaissance painting into the most famous artwork on earth. Featuring: fake wealth, fake identities, Picasso being questioned by police, Katie Price refusing to back down, the psychology of scams, AI self-invention, a handyman hiding the Mona Lisa in a trunk for two years, and the increasingly unsettling feeling that modern life may just be one giant confidence trick held together by vibes and good lighting. Listen ad-free and get an extra full bonus episode every week over on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thecreepdive Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 5 · 1 hr 12 min
A Solo Race, A Fake Journey, and a Breakdown No One Saw Coming
This week on The Creep Dive, Sophie brings us the truly bananas story of Donald Crowhurst, a hobbyist sailor, inventor, businessman and possible Olympic-level bluffer, who entered a solo round-the-world yacht race despite having a boat that was barely ready, a business that was collapsing, and a personal relationship with reality that was about to become extremely negotiable. What begins as a desperate attempt to save face turns into a fake voyage, a vanishing act, a psychological collapse at sea, and one of the strangest, saddest mysteries ever to bob around the Atlantic. Cassie also brings us an outbreak boat, Jen brings deep suspicion and boat opinions, and somehow everyone ends up discussing sea madness, fake logs, cosmic beings and whether men should be allowed hobbies. Listen ad-free on Patreon for the full uninterrupted descent into nautical chaos. https://www.patreon.com/c/thecreepdive Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
April 21 · 1 hr 4 min
Anti-Gravity, Dead Scientists & the Tech They Weren’t Meant to Finish
The girls tackle the increasingly viral story of the 11 scientists a cluster of researchers linked to propulsion, plasma physics, nuclear weapons, orbital comms and advanced military tech who have either died or vanished in the last couple of years. Jen walks through the names, what they were actually working on, what can be verified, what absolutely cannot, and why the internet has gone feral with theories about UAP tech, anti-gravity, foreign intelligence, and the possibility of fossil-fuel-ending breakthroughs being buried before they ever see daylight. It’s murky, fascinating, occasionally very thin, and deeply unsettling. Also: Trump, Bob Lazar, Los Alamos, and the tiny little issue of whether the people in charge would ever let the world change that much. Listen ad-free and get weekly bonus episodes on Patreon: www.patreon.com/thecreepdive Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
April 6 · 54 min
The Deepfake Marriage From Hell
This week: an AI girlfriend dumps her human boyfriend (correctly), a German celebrity finds herself at the centre of a deeply unsettling AI deepfake scandal that’s now causing protests and legal fallout, a billionaire dies in circumstances that feel… a bit Succession, and we meet a footballer who simply never played football but still lived the full lifestyle. Honestly, reality is hanging on by a thread. Listen ad-free and dive into 600+ extra episodes here: 👉 https://www.patreon.com/thecreepdive Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
March 24 · 58 min
This Man Broke Into a Prison… Before Anyone Was Even Locked Up
He wasn’t escaping jail. He was sneaking into one. This week we cover the absolutely unhinged true story of a prison reform star who broke into a brand-new prison and hid loaded weapons in the walls like some sort of deeply traumatised Batman. Listen ad free on Patreon: www.patreon.com/thecreepdive Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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