18 episodes
Cover Story New York Magazine
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- True Crime
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4.3 • 118 Ratings
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What can a billionaire get away with these days? A secret bat cave? A harem of women? An international spy operation? Stealing the soul of a small town in Montana? A Silicon Valley venture capitalist was accused of running a massive sex-trafficking operation by his best bro friend. And we unravel the truth about both of them - their business, their break-up, their lies, and their embarrassing text messages. The story of a billionaire with a hero complex, the ex-spy who turned his life inside out, and us, the reporters who got caught up in their macho drama.
Cover Story is an investigative podcast series featuring original reporting from New York Magazine. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. New episodes every Tuesday.
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Mind Your Own Business
In a cabin in Whitefish, Montana, two ex-spies tell us an outlandish story: right here in town, a billionaire philanthropist is allegedly running a sexual enterprise, importing young women into safehouses. One of the spies knows this because he was the billionaire’s right hand man, and best bro friend. He claims to know a shocking amount about this billionaire’s affairs, personal and professional.
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They Were Relationships... Nothing Yucky
The billionaire is into…Batman. Is that because he’s an actual hero, or because he’s using showy philanthropy to cover up his bad deeds? We track down some women he’s paid millions of dollars to. And we talk to the billionaire about his hero complex.
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Mission Creep
We dig into the billionaire and ex-spy’s bromance and business partnership – which means a detour into the world of spies for hire. The rich cozy up with former intelligence personnel and try to, for better or worse, carry out missions the government can’t seem to do on its own. We are guided by a powerful female ex-spy who was in Matt and Mike’s circle and who explains, “it’s all about the size of your freaking penis. It’s true!”
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Baby, You’re Fine With Me
Where does sex with a billionaire land you? We talk to three women who soured on Mike, at different points. We examine a court case, a police investigation, and one woman’s memories. We weigh the question: if none of it adds up to a crime, what does it add up to?
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I Am the Victim
The ex-spy is under arrest for fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion. And, in a surprise move, he pleads guilty to all three. What? We start to closely examine his dealings with the billionaire to figure out what really happened between them and the threads start to unravel, and keep unraveling. By the end, one person stands up in court and declares, “I am the victim.”
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All the Voids
An episode of reckoning. We catch up with Matt in prison, Mike in Whitefish, and everyone else – wherever they’ve scattered. Both of the men's wives have surprising news. And we add our final touches to what has turned into an uncomfortably intimate portrait of a modern billionaire.
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Customer Reviews
Season 2 Holds You
In a sea of true crime podcasts, “Seed Money” stands out as a fascinating and engaging story. Hanna Rosin has become one of my favourite story tellers. The team knows how to lay out a plot and keep it fair.
Cover Story - Season 2 - Seed Money
Brilliant series. Inside the venture cap billionaire & wannabe hero azh*les club. High level reporting, writing, narration, music & effects skills in full effect. 👍👍
Important
As a psychotherapist who works with complex trauma and who is beginning my training in psychedelic integration, I believe this podcast should be required for anyone who is about to set forth in this work. It has provided an important critical analysis for psychedelic therapy and will enrage you as an ethical clinician based on what can be corrupted in the name of healing. I believe in psychedelics as one option for some clients under strict guidelines for care, and this podcast has firmed up my boundaries around this. Thank you for this work, thank you for these stories.