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Trouble in River City

A show about scams, flim flam, grifts, and graft with Dan Boeckner, Riley Quinn, Hesse Deni, and Charles Austin.

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23 episodes
weekly
Avg 27 min
English

Episodes 23

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Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.

October 13 · 5 min
[PREVIEW] 40 - PiGlobalComDotCom
Dan reflects on his time working in scammy call centers in Montreal. Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.
October 6 · 45 min
39 - Funding the Royal Mind Palace Renovations
Charles rounds up stories about scammers hitting the DNC, RNC, and political campaigns, plus a Nigerian prince who scammed the Nigerian government. Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.
September 29 · 5 min
[PREVIEW] 38 - The Westminster Ice Cream Wars (ft. Jim Waterson)
Jim Waterson returns to the show to discuss the time he confronted illegal ice cream vendors on Westminster Bridge by pulling up with his own "completely legal" ice cream van handing out desserts for free. Read London Centric. Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.
September 22 · 48 min
37 - What Was George Washington's First Girlfriend's Birthday?
Hesse tells Charles the story of Twenty-One, a quiz show that sullied the sterling reputation of television with a rigging scandal. Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.
September 16 · 5 min
[PREVIEW] 36 - Trouble in Jiangxi Province 2
This time in 17th Century Chinese swindles: a fox that steals your yang essence, swindling the salt commissioner while disguised as daoists, and the origin of the common phrase "shut up about him!" Remember, you can't snatch the pearl from under the dragon's neck unless you plumb the depths of the pool. Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.
September 8 · 47 min
35 - 45,376 Years and Six Months Was the Case They Gave Me
Charles tells the story of Turkish wunderkind Mehmet Aydın, who pivoted from rapping to Ponzi scheming via a Farmville knockoff. Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.
September 1 · 5 min
[PREVIEW] 34 - Boiler Room
The gang opens a dot-com-era time capsule: the 2000 Ben Younger film Boiler Room. Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.
August 25 · 57 min
33 - Wild West Hornswogglin': The Tale of Soapy Smith
Dan shares the story of Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith II, the king of the frontier conmen. Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.
August 18 · 5 min
[PREVIEW] 32 - The Ensorcelled Scousers (Part 2)
Hesse concludes the story of how Magic Alex ensorcelled those inimitable lads famed for walking across London's Abbey Road Street. Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.
August 11 · 41 min
31 - The Ensorcelled Scousers (Part 1)
Hesse tells the story of Magic Alex, a dubious engineer that ensorcelled a wily band of Liverpudlian moptop Scousers known only as The Beatles. Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.
August 4 · 5 min
[PREVIEW] 30 - Lurking Uncle, Hidden Dragon
Riley tells the story of teen millionaire Barry Minkow, who made his fortune by running a carpet cleaning business and did not do any fraud of any kind. Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.
July 28 · 1 hr 6 min
29 - Cheeky Todger (ft. Devin O'Shea)
Devin O'Shea joins Hesse and Dan for a freewheeling episode covering book-tour life, harassment by Veiled Prophet thugs, an AI scam afflicting a band and its fans, and Herman Melville's The Confidence Man. Buy Devin's book "The Veiled Prophet". Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.
July 21 · 5 min
[PREVIEW] 28 - Trouble in Jiangxi Province
Using the 17th Century Chinese text The Book of Swindles as our guide, we intend to inform listeners of strategies to avoid falling victim to common deceptions. This episode covers the following real-life situations: —Stealing silk with a decoy horse —Chen Quan scams his way into the arms of a famous courtesan —Using broom handles to play a joke on sedan bearers Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.
July 16 · 46 min
27 - The First Monégasque Astronaut
Riley unspools an elaborate telemarketing scam that begins in the Monégasque Community and ends in Dnipro. Plus an update on the BC ostrich farm. Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.
July 7 · 5 min
[PREVIEW] 26 - Now You See Me
Hesse forces Charles and Dan to watch the 2013 blockbuster film Now You See Me. Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.
June 30 · 48 min
25 - Little Miss Muffet Nation (ft. John Semley)
John Semley discusses his Wired article about GLP-1 telehealth scams. Read John's article for WIRED. Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.
June 23 · 5 min
[PREVIEW] 24 - Chinese The Sting
Charles tells the story of a phony Chinese bank that went to great lengths to set up a believable brick-and-mortar location. Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.
June 16 · 49 min
23 - Field Werehouse
Riley tells the story of a hands-on salad oil swindle (and explains what salad oil is). Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.
June 9 · 5 min
[PREVIEW] 22 - Climbing Mt. Gox
Hesse chronicles the rise and fall of the Magic the Gathering / Bitcoin site Mt. Gox. Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.
June 2 · 1 hr 9 min
21 - Afscamistan (ft. Nate Bethea)
Nate Bethea joins us to explore the large-scale fraud and graft that took place during the American occupation of Afghanistan. Listen to Nate's album. Subscribe to Trouble in River City on Patreon. Join our Discord server.

Showing 1–20 of 23 episodes