
40 episodes

The Dream Pushkin
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- Society & Culture
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4.5 • 14.5K Ratings
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From Little Everywhere and Pushkin Industries, and hosted by Jane Marie, comes the third season of The Dream. Past seasons of this award-winning investigative podcast looked at pyramid schemes and the world of wellness. This season we're getting to know the gurus and life coaches who claim they know the secret to living our best lives. Is it all in our mindset? Or our privilege? Or are we all under a spell? Find out this September.
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S3 E1: Becoming a #Boss
What's it like to hand your life over to someone who claims they’ll make it better? Jessie Lee Ward, the self-proclaimed “#1 network marketer in the world,” charges her coaching clients thousands of dollars for a trip to Colombia that's described like a work retreat. The reality is more like a brutal 15 hour hike, with late night hypothermia. Is this what it takes to be successful in life and business?
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S3 E2: What Ever Happened to Happy Jane?
Despite regular therapy, Jane is in a funk. She and Dann discuss what's happened to them, and what she hopes (and fears) life coaching might do for her — or teach her to do for herself. Jane embarks on a hunt for a professional life coach of her own.
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S3 E3: The MLM-to-coaching pipeline
Jennifer Rajala got sucked into the MLM-to-coaching pipeline. A social worker from northern Michigan, Jennifer rose quickly through the Arbonne ranks. She earned the right to lease an Arbonne branded Mercedes. But she still wasn’t making any real money. Then Jenn discovered Rankmakers, the life coaching program that promised to truly maximize her potential.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
S3 E4: Think and Grow Duped
Napoleon Hill, ever heard of him? He wrote "Think and Grow Rich," one of the favorite self-help handbooks of all time. His fans include Tony Robbins and life coaches of all stripes. But Napoleon Hill was not a genius of self-help. He was a scam artist who never practiced what he preached. Journalist Matt Novak tells Jane what he’s found (and what he hasn’t) about one of the biggest architects of modern coaching.
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S3 E5: I Never Said Hate
Now a life coach herself, Jennifer Rajala is lauded at Rankmakers; she’s a hustler who can inspire others to buy coaching packages better than just about anyone else. That is, until she realizes she’s selling empty promises.
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S3 E6: The MVP of NLP
Neuro-linguistic programming, or NLP, is the communication technique used by coaches and cult leaders alike. John James Santangelo—a fan of Napoleon Hill— is an NLP expert who gives Jane a crash course. Jane is mesmerized, and according to Santangelo, might've even been hypnotized.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Customer Reviews
Fascinating
The investigative reporting in season one was top rate. I always knew that MLM businesses were not for me, but I never knew how predatory and destructive they are. What a shame that our elected officials chose to accept money from these corrupt businesses instead of legislating them out of businesses and protecting consumers.
Hypocritical ads
I would give the content of this show a much higher rating but it’s impossible to ignore the hypocrisy of criticizing the supplement/vitamin/weight loss industry and then have ads promoting those exact products. The ethical implications are disturbing and the hosts need to take responsibility for this.
Outstanding
As a very selective (aka picky) podcast listener, I am here to tell you that this podcast is excellent. The reporting is solid, the deep dive Jane Marie does is impressive, and besides that, it’s just fun to listen to. Jane and her colleagues are smart, sincere journalists. Most importantly, this topic is extremely important. I hope to God this podcast can make a difference with the FCC and other regulatory bodies.