What would you do if one handwritten letter from a psychic promised to change your life forever? This is the story of 1 million hopeful Americans, the global scam that took $200m from them, and the mastermind who managed it all by sending out thousands of letters a week. Investigative journalist Rachel Browne exposes the shocking details of this massive scam on this season of Smoke Screen: The Greatest Scam Ever Written - available now wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribers to The Binge can listen to all episodes right now, completely ad-free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, we're bringing you a special preview of the new season of the New Yorker investigative podcast In the Dark, hosted by Madeleine Baran. The series examines the killings of twenty-four civilians in Haditha, Iraq, and asks why no one was held accountable for the crime. In Episode 1, a man in Haditha, Iraq, has a request for the In the Dark team: Can you investigate how my family was killed? In the Dark is available wherever you get your podcasts: https://link.chtbl.com/itds3exfeeddrop Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hysterical investigates a mysterious illness that spreads among a group of high school girls in upstate New York. What is causing their sudden, often violent symptoms? Is there something in the water or inside the school? Or is it “all in their head?” The series examines the outbreak in LeRoy, NY, believed by some to be the most severe case of mass hysteria since the Salem Witch Trials. In his search for answers, Dan Taberski (9/12, Missing Richard Simmons, Running from Cops) explores other seemingly inexplicable events of the last few years – CIA officers being crippled with nausea and vertigo; cops OD'ing from exposure to fentanyl – and discovers they’re far more connected than we realize. From Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios, this 7-part series forces us to grapple with the mysteries of our own minds, and reckon with a contagion that we thought was long dead, but may be the defining disorder of our time. Follow Hysterical on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Hysterical early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery+ at Wondery.fm/Hysterical_CoverUp Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Listen on Infamous to the story about stay-at-home mom Ruby Franke breaking bad. She starts a YouTube channel, joining a popular niche of Mormon women sharing their lives online as mommy vloggers. Bu she’s then accused of child abuse and more, alongside a controversial female therapist with whom she begins sharing a bed. Hear The Truth about Ruby Franke on Infamous - available now wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribers to The Binge can listen to all episodes right now, completely ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the creators of Cover Up: Body Brokers and The Anthrax Threat: Shootings are not unusual in Belize. Shootings of cops are. When a wealthy woman – married into one of the most powerful families  in Belize – is found on a pier late at night, next to a body, it becomes the country’s biggest news story in a generation. Episode are released on a weekly schedule starting today! Find out more about Campside Media at campsidemedia.com and  follow us @campside_media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the mid-1970s, a man burst onto the evangelical scene with a shocking tale: claiming to be a former witch involved in human sacrifices among elite circles. After converting to Christianity, he toured the nation warning of hidden Satanists and spoke about a secret organization known as the Illuminati. John Todd preached salvation to frightened congregations, urging them to prepare for a world takeover by stockpiling weapons and retreating to remote areas.   But John Todd was no saint; he was not the good, honest Christian he claimed to be. He was running from his past. As his influence peaked and his teachings spread through countless tapes, his facade crumbled, and he vanished. Yet, his legacy endured, inspiring acts of extreme violence from Ruby Ridge, Waco, PizzaGate, QAnon right through to the steps of the Capitol on January 6th.    A Magnificent Noise & Sony Music Entertainment production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname.  Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers (who all say they are innocent!) turned jailhouse-lawyers. In prison they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away. They set out to turn the tables on Scarcella while still in prison. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they would succeed.  Thirty years later, more than 20 people Scarcella helped put away have walked free. In the media he’s the “disgraced detective,” the rogue cop who hoodwinked an entire system.  For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast ... where justice is done (and undone).  To listen to the full episodes of The Burden please find and follow wherever you get your podcasts.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the wake of 9/11, a series of letters laced with a deadly powder called anthrax appeared on the desks of prominent journalists and politicians in New York City and Washington D.C. Five people were killed, and seventeen more were infected. It was the worst case of bioterrorism in American history, setting off a surge of finger pointing, xenophobia, and fear. But what started as an unprecedented case soon turned into an unsettling mystery. Who had sent these letters? And why? On season 4 of Cover Up, we trace the FBI’s costly investigation into the attacks, which was stacked with a seemingly endless series of false leads, damaging leaks, and embarrassing blunders. Through revealing interviews with victims, agents, and suspects, we unpack the case in its messy entirety, all with an eye toward the question that remains today: Did the FBI identify the true killer, or is this case still unresolved? Subscribe now to unlock all shows on The Binge and you’ll be the first to access Cover Up: The Anthrax Threat as soon as it drops on March 1, 2024. A Campside Media & 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

Power, greed, religion and sex: historian Dan Jones brings the drama of mediaeval history alive through compelling stories, larger-than-life characters and vivid scenes. Season 4 tells the story of two kings, Henry and Edward, who are desperately trying to save their dynasty. Their conflicting personalities will be put to the ultimate test as an old friend, Simon de Montfort, and his growing powerbase threaten to destroy the Plantagenets for good.  A Sony Music Entertainment production.  Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts  To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For eight years, Megan Hess ran Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in the small town of Montrose, Colorado. She promised clients discounts on normally expensive cremations, a seeming kindness in a town where many are poor. But in the back of the funeral home, Megan’s elderly mother Shirley was actually dismembering the dead. And then Megan was selling the body parts – heads, torsos, legs – to companies that claim to do medical research. The families who trusted Megan –- they had no idea what she was really up to. When they came to pick up the ashes of their loved ones, they instead received a mixture of ashes of various people. They had no idea of their betrayal until some received a strange phonecall from the FBI. Megan and Shirley were body brokers, trading on a dark network where people buy and sell bodies. What exactly were the two women after? Who was really buying those stolen bodies, and why? Subscribe now to unlock all shows on The Binge and you’ll be the first to access Cover Up: Body Brokers as soon as it drops on January 2, 2024. A Campside Media & 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

Meet Ashley Randele. Ashley’s Dad, Thomas Randele, was her favorite person in the world. A great dad, a great golfer, and the love of her Mum’s life. Ashley thought she knew him better than anyone. But at 38 years old, that notion would be shattered. Ashley’s dad wasn’t Thomas Randele, he was Ted Conrad - a wanted fugitive who had evaded authorities for over half a century. The mystery of Ted Conrad haunted law enforcement for decades, and now, for the first time, the secrets of his story are finally being revealed. Join host Jonathan Hirsch as he teams up with Ashley herself to unravel the truth behind her father’s secretive past on Smoke Screen: My Fugitive Dad. Subscribers to The Binge can listen to all episodes of Smoke Screen: My Fugitive Dad right now, completely ad-free. Catch new episodes of Smoke Screen: My Fugitive Dad every week wherever you get your podcasts or subscribe to The Binge and unlock all episode’s ad-free today. Just click ‘Subscribe’ on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How far would you go to save the world from itself? Dr. Eugene Mallove believed that a new form of world-changing free energy — cold fusion — was just around the corner. Even when his work was pushed to the fringes, he dreamed of a brighter future. But before Dr. Mallove could usher in that future, he was found dead in the driveway of his childhood home. Everyone had their own ideas of who killed him, and investigators were looking in all the wrong places. From QCODE and Faceplant, in association with No Smiling, Crime Waves: Cold Truth is a story about one man's quest to expose the truth, the lengths he would go to save the world, and how his dream caught up with him. Visit qcodemedia.com for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's the 1990's and in the world of show horses, Rita Crundwell was the name on everyone's lips. Known as "The Horse Queen," she was the proud owner of hundreds of champion quarter horses on her ranch outside the small city of Dixon, Illinois. But something wasn't adding up with Crundwell's equestrian empire. A shocking FBI investigation revealed a decades long scam that Rita was running from inside the halls of Dixon City Hall, a scam that drained the town completely dry. How did this horse-crazed criminal get away with the largest municipal embezzlement in American history? Reveal the secrets of The Horse Queen on the new season of Crooked City: Dixon IL. Subscribers to The Binge can listen to all episodes of Crooked City: Dixon, IL right now, completely ad-free. Catch new episodes of Crooked City: Dixon, IL every week wherever you get your podcasts or subscribe to The Binge and unlock all episodes ad-free today. Just click ‘Subscribe’ on the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you listen. A Truth Media & 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

When Kylie Jenner launches her lip kits of matching lipsticks and lip liners, it appears the youngest Kardashian-Jenner is suddenly at the helm of a sky-rocketing makeup company — one that catches the interest of Forbes magazine. But what's really happening behind the scenes? Listen to never-before-heard recordings of Kris and Kylie from the journalist who found herself at the center of a scandal. 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. Listen to Infamous: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/infamous/id1652941051?i=1000619393215 Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Back in the ‘90s, a ragtag group plotted an international drug smuggling scheme and set up a secretive lab to cook up tablets. But they weren’t trafficking narcotics—they were fighting to bring the abortion pill America. The new season of Cover Up—The Pill Plot—will take you inside the epic struggle facing activists who battled presidents, the Supreme Court, militant anti-abortionists, would-be assassins and murders. Subscribe now to unlock all shows on The Binge and you’ll be the first to access Cover Up Season 2: The Pill Plot as soon as it drops on July 1st or listen weekly starting July 3rd wherever you get your podcasts. A 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

MINISTRY OF SECRETS is one of the great unsolved mysteries of the Cold War. At its heart is a missing person — a wartime hero and international celebrity. But that’s just the starting point. It involves the royal family, MI6, the CIA and the KGB. There’s conspiracies. And lies. This story is so sensitive, so secret - that the truth is being withheld for 100 years, until 2057. Presenter Giles Milton and producer Sarah Peters are on a quest to find out why… Subscribe now to unlock all shows on The Binge - All Episodes. All at Once… and you’ll be the first to access Cover Up: Ministry of Secrets as soon as it drops on March 1st 2023. A Somethin’ Else & 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