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World's Greatest Con

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Brian Brushwood (Scam School, Modern Rogue, Scam Nation) brings you the hidden stories behind the most audacious con jobs, swindles and heists in history. Email the show at Worlds Greatest Con at Gmail dot comSupport us directly at Patreon dot com slash Greatest Con

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21 episodes
Avg 46 min
English

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S9 · E2
Monday · 38 min
How Did Mary Baker Become Princess Caraboo?
Princess Caraboo becomes Mary Baker once again. Behind the exotic language, the pirate kidnapping, and the faraway island was a poor young woman with a far more painful story. As the truth of Mary’s life comes into focus, her famous deception begins to look less like a clever prank and more like a desperate attempt to escape the world she was born into. One massive question remains: how will her once loyal patron Mrs. Worrall punish her humiliating deception? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S3 · E9
July 3 · 57 min
Project Alpha LIVE at CSICon 2026
We return to the Mac Lab one final time as Brian is joined by Mike Edwards and Banachek live on stage to discuss Project Alpha at CSICon 2026 in Buffalo, NY. Part two of Princess Caraboo is coming soon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S9 · E1
April 24 · 46 min
Who Is the Mysterious Princess Caraboo?
A mysterious woman walks into a small English village speaking a language nobody understands. She says her name is Princess Caraboo: royalty from a faraway island, kidnapped by pirates and shipwrecked near Bristol. Soon, doctors, newspapers, and wealthy hosts are all drawn into her story. But the bigger the legend grows, the harder it becomes to know who is fooling whom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S8 · E2
February 9 · 48 min
Do Rainmakers Believe They Make The Rain?
In 1915, San Diego is on the brink of becoming a major American city, if it doesn’t die of thirst first. Enter Charles Hatfield. He claims a secret chemical process can summon rain, end the drought, and sustain the city as it prepares to welcome the world for a critical international exhibition. And he’s right. It rains. The problem is, it doesn’t stop. Floods tear through the region. Dozens are dead. Millions of dollars in damage follow. Entire neighborhoods are washed away. In the aftermath, everything hinges on one impossible question: did he truly believe he was making the rain or was it all a con? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S8 · E1
Nov 27, 2025 · 41 min
Why Do We Call It A Ponzi Scheme?
Charles Ponzi conducted a financial fraud so audacious he became the biggest brand name in crime. Yet most people don’t know what he actually did and those who do are often hard-pressed to explain why it was special. So why, more than 100 years later, do we call so many financial scams a Ponzi scheme? Brian tells the story of a poor boy from Italy whose name is still on the lips of everyone worried they’re about to be made a sucker. BROUGHT TO YOU BY: 110.ScamStuff.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S7 · E2
Nov 27, 2024 · 42 min
Crazy Eddie - Part II
Eddie has a plan to make millions. It leaves him an international fugitive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S7 · E1
Nov 27, 2024 · 36 min
Crazy Eddie - Part I
A New York City upstart becomes a legend in the city that never sleeps. But his greed leaves him teetering on the edge of fame, wealth and death. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 26, 2024 · 38 min
Q Ships
The Germans have invented an aquatic killing machine the likes of which the world has never known. If you are one of its victims, how do you trick sure death? By pulling an all-in audacious scheme that only works if you have the element of surprise. How long can the Royal Navy keep the Q Ship con going before time runs out? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 15, 2024 · 46 min
The Greatest Magic Show of all Time was a Lie
The true story of how Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin is called out of retirement to help quell an uprising in French Colonial Algeria. What happens next is the most famous, high stakes magic performance in history. What the unbelievable story of Houdin tells us about or desire to believe and the distractions that lead con artists to take advantage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E2
Nov 22, 2023 · 47 min
EPCOT - Part II
Walt is dead. His dream of EPCOT isn't. Roy Disney puts off his own retirement to attempt to finish his brother's final plan. In his way is a new hostile governor and the bewildered residents of Orlando who have no idea what to expect from incoming Disney empire. The drive to make EPCOT a reality... just might be the World's Greatest Con. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E1
Nov 22, 2023 · 55 min
EPCOT - Part I
Walt Disney doesn't want to expand, he wants to build his masterpiece. He doesn't want to sell more popcorn, he wants to defeat communism. He doesn't want Disneyland East, he is driven to build EPCOT. Far from the adult binge drinking paradise we know in Orlando today, the original idea of EPCOT is a planned community that requires massive land acquisition and never-before-seen government permissions. And by the way, you need to do it in secret. Walt Disney's quest for total control just might be... the World's Greatest Con. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S3 · E8
Jul 17, 2023 · 1 hr 21 min
Uri Geller hijacks the New York Times, An Interview with Michael Shermer
Brian and Justin discuss an article in the New York Times alleging that magic has forgiven it's 50-year grudge with Uri Geller. Considering the subject matter of our Project Alpha investigation... World's Greatest Con disagrees. Also, an interview with Michael Shermer of Skeptic Magazine discussing the science and shame of being taken in by incorrect information and the legacy of Project Alpha. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S3 · E7
May 16, 2023 · 32 min
In James Randi's Own Words
A funny thing happened as we finished our season. We asked for listeners to unearth an old podcast WGC co-creator Justin Robert Young did with James Randi and it was indeed found. But one episode surprised us... James Randi in his own words describing Project Alpha in 2008. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S3 · E6
May 8, 2023 · 48 min
An Update On Project Alpha and Your Emails
Sometimes when you tell a story, you change it. We have an update on one of the central figures in Project Alpha. Brian Brushwood reads your emails and feedback including questions about James Randi and a moment when William Shatner blessed the podcast with an epic rendition of our title. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S3 · E5
May 1, 2023 · 1 hr 11 min
Back In The Lab - Project Alpha Part V
In a rare, candid, conversation Brian Brushwood sits down with Mike Edwards and Banachek to get even more stories from the Mac Lab and answer lingering questions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S3 · E4
Apr 23, 2023 · 41 min
Side Characters - Project Alpha Part IV
At a 1983 press conference in New York City, the entire charade is revealed. It’s recorded for a prime time NBC special set to air two weeks later. We unpack 40 years of consequences from the triumph and betrayal of Project Alpha. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S3 · E3
Apr 17, 2023 · 51 min
Demonic - Project Alpha Part III
The boys are a team, they’ve been fooling the Mac Lab for over a year but what comes next? Fame and fortune for the Project Alpha team, hopefully. Yet, that means total humiliation for the professors and researchers Mike and Steve have come to know and appreciate. It all comes to a head at a conference in Madison, Wisconsin where the boys have to witness a truly disturbing consequence to their deception. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S3 · E2
Apr 10, 2023 · 53 min
Alpha - Project Alpha Part II
Steve Shaw is an orphan who bounced around the globe. Mike Edwards is an Iowa choirboy who fulfilled every hope of his loving parents. They both see a world being defrauded by hucksters. They both apply to the Mac Lab study in St. Louis and are accepted. They both believe the other to be a liability in a long con. Can they coexist? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S3 · E1
Apr 10, 2023 · 42 min
Project - Project Alpha Part I
The Cold War is on, the threat of nuclear annihilation is constant. In a world of fear, a social contagion breaks out: the belief in psychic powers. Military, government and academia take it so seriously they spend millions to find people who can demonstrate these feats. Amidst this backdrop, the scion to one of America’s largest military contractors funds a study at Washington University in St. Louis to find child psychics. Two boys apply and are accepted, but they have something up their sleeve… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 3, 2023 · 2 min
Project Alpha Trailer - Season 3 of World's Greatest Con Begins April 10, 2023
Two boys demonstrate genuine psychic powers in a rigorous academic study in the late 1970s. When the results are revealed, the academics will be at the center of a new field of science coveted by governments, military and Hollywood. The only problem? The boys are frauds, out to debunk the very concept of parapsychology. For the first time ever, World's Greatest Con interviews the two boys, now men, at the center of the public embarrassment of a study funded for $4 million in today's money. You may have heard of it, you might even think you know the story but this season everyone will know the truth of Project Alpha. It all begins, April 10th. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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