Creating a Con: The Story of Bitconned

What would you do if you learned you were adopted, your biological mother was a convicted murderer and your father’s true identity was a mystery? This is what happened to Becky Babcock, the daughter of the infamous Diane Downs. Join Melissa Moore, host of Happy Face Season 1, as she helps Becky unravel the strange tale of her family, searching for answers to decades-old mysteries that remain unanswered in the modern day.

In Season 1, The Girlfriends told the story of how a group of incredible women came together to bring down one bad ex-boyfriend and seek justice for the murder of Gail Katz. But there’s one part of that story that’s still a mystery. During the investigation into Gail’s case, a torso washed up on Staten Island and was misidentified as Gail. Nobody knows her name or what happened to her after she was ruled out from the case. In Season 2, the amateur ladies detective club are back with a new mission: to uncover the identity of this woman and finally find Our Lost Sister. The Girlfriends: Our Lost Sister is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts. For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

The real estate market has never been hotter. Houses sell as soon as they’re listed. Bidding wars lead to all cash deals far above the asking price. But there is one kind of property that often sits on the market for years, no matter how much of a bargain it seems to be. Potential buyers come and go, the price keeps going down, and still the house stands empty.  In real estate jargon, it’s called a “stigmatized property” because the home comes with a history. An unfortunate one – a horrible death occurred here. But what few people know is exactly what happened.... or why.  Each week, Murder Homes tells the story of a single property. Who lived there? What secrets did they keep, and what did they leave behind? Part history, part murder mystery, this podcast mixes expert interviews, witness accounts, and court records to pull back the curtain on the hidden stories each property has to tell.  Would you be able to live somewhere that seems perfect, if it weren’t for the ghosts of its past?

It’s the dead of summer, 1989, in the heart of the Ozarks. An 18-year-old woman goes missing from Bella Vista, Arkansas. As the search moves forward, several suspects emerge. Then… a body is found not far from the Missouri border, and a homicide investigation begins. Soon, a second body is discovered nearby. What was a mystery transforms into the hunt for a possible serial killer stalking young women throughout the Ozarks. M. William Phelps digs in nearly 35 years later and begins to understand that things aren’t always what they seem.

Missing in Alaska is a deep dive into the mysterious disappearance of Congressmen Hale Boggs and Nick Begich, whose plane vanished in Alaska in 1972. Despite the largest search in American history, no sign of the men ever surfaced. Officials blamed ice, and a nation consumed with Watergate and Vietnam quickly moved on. Two decades later, a murderer and bomber with mafia ties made a startling claim to the F.B.I.: The plane was bombed. Was he lying? Journalist Jon Walczak, who has investigated the case since 2011, travels from Arizona to the Arctic Circle trying to uncover the truth.

This is the true story of Georgia Durante, an All-American beauty, once named “Kodak Girl” as the most photographed model in the world, who moves to New York and becomes a Mob wife and getaway driver for the Gambino crime family. Then, as a means to save her daughter and escape her abusive marriage and criminal ties, she moves to Los Angeles with $7 in her pocket, reinventing herself as Hollywood’s first female stunt driver. It’s a story that’s as wildly entertaining as it is powerful and poignant, addressing contemporary issues through the incredible experiences of a beautiful, smart, tough, dynamic, badass woman.