
118 episodes

ScamWow More Banana
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- Comedy
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3.8 • 258 Ratings
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Scammers, swindlers, and con-artists: they’re all woven into the fabric of what it means to be an American. We even live in a time where a reality TV star can scam his way into the White House! ScamWow is the gripping podcast about infamous cons that will make you angry and awestruck at the same time. Comedians Sue Smith and Caitlin Brodnick walk you through the best scams ever, from current events to historic mobsters, and everything in between. Above all, the podcast focuses on great storytelling, with a fascination on fraud that might be… unhealthy?
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113: You Look Great & You’re Perfect! w/ Ellen Haun
Diets are a scam, so tell your New Year's resolution to suck it. Caitlin brings on special guest host, Ellen Haun, to talk about the diet trends that have clawed their way into our lives. These scammy diets have claimed for years to be the golden ticket to a perfect body but even your BMI is a total scam! It was even used in the 80s by insurance companies to overcharge and discriminate against clients. We’re not bringing that foolishness in 2021!
Diet and wellness culture is crippling and Ellen and Caitlin are here to tell you YOU LOOK GREAT and YOUR BODY IS PERFECT!
Resources:
NY Times: The Great Diet Crash: A crusade against Tanya Zuckerbrot’s F-Factor diet.
British Dietician’s 2019 Worst Diets to Avoid
“The Omnivore's Dilemma” by Michael Pollan
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Dietetic Associations
From McDonald's To Organic Valley You're Probably Eating Wood Pulp, NPR
Adolphe Quetelet and the Evolution of Body Mass Index (BMI): A 19th century 'Renaissance man' devised a ratio we use today. Psychology Today
Your Fat Friend
You’re Wrong About Podcast: The Obesity Epidemic
Maintenance Phase Podcast
Virgie Tovar
Rebel Eaters Club Podcast
I’m not going to answer the same question about being fat any more, by Lindy West
“Hunger” by Roxane Gay
Top 10 Reasons Why The BMI Is Bogus, NPR
Why BMI Is a Big Fat Scam, Mother Jones
Why BMI is inaccurate and misleading, Medical News Today
The Bizarre and Racist History of the BMI, Elemental
Ellen’s Book Cinderella and the Glass Ceiling
And Other Feminist Fairy Tales
Ellen’s Insta
Caitlin’s Youtube Channel
DISCLAIMER: We are comedians and this is satire. C’mon
Send us your scams!
scamwowpodcast@gmail.com
Or call: 347-509-9414
scamwowpodcast.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
112: ¡ESCANDALITO! Hilaria Baldwin
This week, Sue bursts forth from maternity leave to talk about Hilaria Baldwin with Caitlin. You know her: the famous mom, yogi, wife, and admirer of all things Spanish.
Sue and Caitlin discuss the current headlines and Reddit threads buzzing over this grift. If you travel to Spain a few times and come back with a full accent and a spray tan, forgetting the English word for cucumber ... you might be the Latina Rachel Dolezal?
Resources:
Original Twitter thread- https://twitter.com/lenibriscoe/status/1341095257233125379
Hola Magazine featuring Hilaria - https://us.hola.com/celebrities/20180503fufntomh9c/hilaria-baldwin-alec-baldwin-parenting-children-swng
Instagram post about her skin color - https://twitter.com/Housewiveslie/status/1343712024866541577?s=20
Daily Mail article - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2613937/Pushing-Miss-Baldwin-Hilaria-ropes-posh-pads-doorman-yoga-pose-day.html
Epic thread on DC Urban Moms - https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/828844.page
Hilaria’s father’s blog post - https://internationalintegrators.org/food-and-relationship-slowing-down-to-enjoy-both/
And, of course, the Hilaria subreddit https://www.reddit.com/r/HilariaBaldwin/
DISCLAIMER: We are comedians and this is satire. C’mon
Send us your scams!
scamwowpodcast@gmail.com
Or call: 347-509-9414
scamwowpodcast.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Happy Holidays from Scam Wow!
Send us your scams!
scamwowpodcast@gmail.com
Or call: 347-509-9414
scamwowpodcast.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
111. Jesus Will Dropship You A Horse Mask
Why was Newsweek raided? Is Olivet University trying to sell you mealworms?
The International Business Times, Newsweek, Jesus II, and drop shipping all make an appearance in this scam that combines religion, e-commerce, and a shady department store.
Journalist (and Caity’s husband) Allen Arthur brings a (probably purposely) convoluted scam even the journalists reporting on it don’t fully understand. Grab your pencil, students, and start taking notes from minute 19. The story takes so many twists and turns we can barely keep it straight. And we are living for it!
Happy holidays from Caity, Sue, and Cait! We love you and special thank you to our Patreon patrons for all your support this year!
Resources:
https://www.manhattanda.org/da-vance-announces-indictment-of-olivet-university-officials-and-christian-media-ceo-in-25-million-fraud-probe-arising-out-of-newsweek-investigation/
https://www.motherjones.com/media/2014/03/newsweek-ibt-olivet-david-jang/
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/27/style/what-is-inside-this-internet-rabbit-hole.html
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsweek.com/newsweek-office-servers-searched-manhattan-district-attorney-probe-785148%3famp=1
https://www.newsweek.com/newsweek-manhattan-da-olivet-university-david-jang-fired-new-york-media-813949
Jenny Odell
Allen Arthur
Caitlin’s New YouTube Channel
https://www.patreon.com/scamwowpodcast?fan_landing=true
DISCLAIMER: We are comedians and this is satire. C’mon
Send us your scams!
scamwowpodcast@gmail.com
Or call: 347-509-9414
scamwowpodcast.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
110. Ding Dong, it’s the Cops! With Josh Gondelman
Comedian and writer Josh Gondelman is this week’s guest, and he just might be the nicest comedian in New York City. Plus, if you are a scammer, you will love this guy.
Josh shares his long history with scams, how a carny changed his life, and the flirty drunk-girl texts that apparently everyone is getting.
Plus, so many questions came out of this episode like: Where is all Josh’s dog food? Can a teddybear be pointy? And most importantly, do you just want to be treated like a princess, and are you from Malden LOLz?"
Josh writes for Desus and Mero, has earned four Emmy Awards, two Peabody Awards, and three WGA Awards. He’s been published in New York Magazine, The New Yorker, and had his standup debut on Conan.
Check out his pop culture and politics game show podcast Make My Day because it's hysterical. Make My Day
Resources:
Washington Post Article
23 and Oh Geez: Bloomberg article & Forbes article
Last Seen Podcast
The Marris Review Podcast
Josh’s Book, Nice Try
https://twitter.com/joshgondelman
http://www.joshgondelman.com
https://www.sho.com/desus-and-mero
DISCLAIMER: We are comedians and this is satire. C’mon
Send us your scams!
scamwowpodcast@gmail.com
Or call: 347-509-9414
scamwowpodcast.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
109. Oh No? More like, Au Pair!
She’s a talent scout, devoted babysitter, and sometimes impersonates Florida judges: It’s Australian con artist Samantha Azzopardi. Our special guest this week, comedian Ariel Elias, unpacks the many scams and uncomfortably basic aliases of Azzopardi. Azzopardi traveled around the globe conning unsuspecting families, young girls, and even entire police stations. Is she schizophrenic, is she creative, or is she just craving attention à la Caroline Calloway? Ariel Elias is a nationally touring standup and was recently praised by the New York Times for having a perfect joke. It’s a fun one!
Resources:
Ariel Elias Twitter
New York Times, Live Comedy Is Back in New York! But Outdoors. Is This a Good Thing?
https://www.arieleliascomedy.com
New Yorker Article How Stories Deceive
The Age, Australia Samantha Azzopardi 'posed as a talent scout called Marley', court told
Daily Mail Serial fraudster 'forces a 12-year-old girl to perform a series of increasingly bizarre tasks - including telling Centrelink she had seen a ghost'
News.com.au CCTV of alleged conwoman dressed as a schoolgirl emerges
DISCLAIMER: We are comedians and this is satire. C’mon
Send us your scams!
scamwowpodcast@gmail.com
Or call: 347-509-9414
scamwowpodcast.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Customer Reviews
Entertaining show
People need to stop being such babys and complain about everything. Keep doing what you guys do.
Scamtastic!!!
Simply wonderful, witty and alluring! Sue and Cait have great chemistry, along side all the amazing folks they introduce! Past present potential future Scams! They cover it all! (All roads lead back to Caroline Calloway)
Sad
Get over yourselves.