PRETEND+

Get exclusive access

US$4.99/mo or US$49.99/yr after trial

PRETEND

PRETEND+

PRETEND is an investigative true crime podcast about real people who lie for a living — con artists, scammers, and the victims caught in their web. Hosted by journalist Javier Leiva, PRETEND exposes the human psychology behind deception and fraud. Each episode follows a real case of manipulation — from financial scams and Ponzi schemes to digital hoaxes and emotional cons. PRETEND explains how and why deception works without shaming victims, combining ethical journalism with cinematic storytelling. Featured in lists of the best podcasts about con artists and scams, PRETEND investigates crimes of persuasion, trust, and betrayal. New episodes drop regularly with stories that reveal how manipulation shapes modern life, both online and off. PRETEND is produced by Creative Babble, LLC. © 2026 Creative Babble LLC [CLAIM:B6BT3XC4]

  1. How to Spot a Fake ICE Agent

    18 HR AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    How to Spot a Fake ICE Agent

    Criminals have been impersonating ICE agents, using fake badges to rape, rob, kidnap, and terrorize communities across America. These imposters have conducted workplace raids, street stops, and home invasions. They wear tactical gear, drive unmarked vehicles, and ask "Are you a U.S. citizen?" Our investigation documented 13 cases spanning from 2016 to last week. We also talk with Laura Jajeed, a reporter who received a job offer from ICE despite skipping most of the application process. Content Warning: This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault, police violence, and the deaths of U.S. citizens. Listener discretion is advised.

    30 min
  2. Listener Reaction: Didn't See It Coming Part 3

    2 DAYS AGO · BONUS

    Listener Reaction: Didn't See It Coming Part 3

    Patreon supporter Kenito Wills joins Javier to break down the finale of the "Didn't See It Coming" series. They talk through Susanne Wilson calling off the reading at the last minute. Did she know it was a sting? Did she just have a bad feeling? Javier shares a detail that got cut from the episode: Suzanne actually arranged for the fake family to get a reading with another medium in Europe, which suggests she wasn't 100% sure it was a setup. Plus: Kenito and Javier swap palm reading stories from college. Kenito was told he'd have five kids (he didn't). Javier was told he'd meet the love of his life right after a bad breakup (he did). The takeaway isn't that psychics aren't real or that you can't grieve however you want. It's that if someone mentions Reynolds Wrap and your maiden name is Reynolds, maybe ask some questions. Susan Gerbic's YouTube channel "Psychics Explained" has dozens of videos documenting Operation Banana Cream Pie and other investigations. Link in the show notes. Watch the full videos of Operation Banana Cream Pie on Susan Gerbic's YouTube page: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcSfdioxwHQGkyFZ68maphdIJuYcb8xln Want to see more psychic stings? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    17 min
  3. Didn't See It Coming (Part 3)

    6 DAYS AGO

    Didn't See It Coming (Part 3)

    The sting is set. The bait is in place. Six skeptics are logged into a Zoom call, pretending to be grieving siblings. They've paid $1,400 for a private reading with a medium Susan Gerbic believes is a hot reader. Months of planning have led to this moment. And then... the medium does something no one expected. In the finale of this three-part series, we find out what happened to Operation Banana Cream Pie. Then, Susan shares recordings from other readings she's analyzed, walking us through what she believes is evidence of hot reading in action. We break down the techniques, examine the receipts, and let you decide what it all means. Watch the full videos of Operation Banana Cream Pie on Susan Gerbic's YouTube page: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcSfdioxwHQGkyFZ68maphdIJuYcb8xln Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    43 min
  4. Listener Reaction: Didn't See It Coming Part 3

    6 DAYS AGO · BONUS • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Listener Reaction: Didn't See It Coming Part 3

    Patreon supporter Kenito Wills joins Javier to break down the finale of the "Didn't See It Coming" series. They talk through Susanne Wilson calling off the reading at the last minute. Did she know it was a sting? Did she just have a bad feeling? Javier shares a detail that got cut from the episode: Suzanne actually arranged for the fake family to get a reading with another medium in Europe, which suggests she wasn't 100% sure it was a setup. Plus: Kenito and Javier swap palm reading stories from college. Kenito was told he'd have five kids (he didn't). Javier was told he'd meet the love of his life right after a bad breakup (he did). The takeaway isn't that psychics aren't real or that you can't grieve however you want. It's that if someone mentions Reynolds Wrap and your maiden name is Reynolds, maybe ask some questions. Want to see more psychic stings? Susan Gerbic's YouTube channel "Psychics Explained" has dozens of videos documenting Operation Banana Cream Pie and other investigations. Link in the show notes. Watch the full videos of Operation Banana Cream Pie on Susan Gerbic's YouTube page: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcSfdioxwHQGkyFZ68maphdIJuYcb8xln

    15 min
  5. Listener Reaction: Didn't See It Coming part 2

    24 JAN · BONUS

    Listener Reaction: Didn't See It Coming part 2

    Patreon supporter Christine Harnos (not the Star Trek actress, the other one) joins Javier to break down Part 2 of the "Didn't See It Coming" series before listening to the finale. They get into the weeds on Susan Gerbic's sting setup: the Facebook accounts she's been maintaining for years, the fake obituary, the hog farm detail. If a psychic mentions pigs, you know something's up. They also discuss the difference between hot reading and cold reading, why "scientifically tested" doesn't mean what mediums want you to think it means, and the troubling relationship between psychic mediums and grief support organizations like Helping Parents Heal. Christine also shares a strange, unexplainable moment from her own life involving her daughter and a daycare power outage. Want more? Susan Gerbic documented the entire Operation Banana Cream Pie sting on her YouTube channel "Psychics Explained"—20+ videos of behind-the-scenes footage. Link in the show notes. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcSfdioxwHQGkyFZ68maphdIJuYcb8xln Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    25 min
  6. Didn't See It Coming (Part 2)

    20 JAN

    Didn't See It Coming (Part 2)

    In Part 1, we watched skeptic Susan Gerbic dissect a celebrity psychic's cold reading techniques. But cold reading is the little leagues of the psychic industry. In Part 2, Susan sets her sights on something harder to catch... a hot reader. Hot reading is when a psychic does their homework, researching their clients before the reading even starts. So Susan devises an elaborate sting: fake Facebook accounts, fake obituaries, fake family members, and $1,400 worth of bait designed to catch a medium in the act. Six skeptics go undercover as grieving siblings. They don't know each other. They don't know the backstory. And they have no idea what's about to happen. This episode takes you inside "Operation Banana Cream Pie." Let's just say, the moment the medium logs onto the Zoom call, no one saw it coming. ABOUT SUSAN GERBIC: Susan Gerbic is a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and founder of Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia, a group that has written over 2,000 Wikipedia articles on science and pseudoscience — viewed more than 200 million times. Her most famous investigation, "Operation Pizza Roll," was featured in The New York Times Magazine and exposed medium Thomas John's hot reading techniques. Susan runs the nonprofit About Time, which funds her ongoing psychic investigations. Want more? Susan Gerbic documented the entire Operation Banana Cream Pie sting on her YouTube channel "Psychics Explained"—20+ videos of behind-the-scenes footage. Link in the show notes. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcSfdioxwHQGkyFZ68maphdIJuYcb8xln LINKS & RESOURCES: Susan Gerbic's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PsychicsExplained About Time Project: https://www.abouttimeproject.org/ NYT Magazine feature on Operation Pizza Roll: https://archive.ph/20190226135004/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/26/magazine/psychics-skeptics-facebook.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    33 min
  7. Listener Reaction: Didn't See That Coming Part 1

    17 JAN · BONUS

    Listener Reaction: Didn't See That Coming Part 1

    Longtime Patreon supporter Rebecca Catalfu joins Javier to unpack her firsthand experience going undercover at Matt Fraser's psychic readings. Rebecca went into this investigation as a believer and came out the other side with a very different perspective. In this conversation, she and Javier break down the patterns they observed across multiple readings: the decision tree (grandparent, parent, or mystery), the "who is that to you?" fishing technique, the stop statements psychics use when they're not getting hits, and the emotional bell curve that takes grievers to rock bottom before lifting them back up with platitudes. Rebecca also shares what it was like to make it into the virtual "panelist waiting room," the inconsistencies she noticed while analyzing readings for Susan's YouTube channel, and why she's most concerned about the predatory potential these readings pose to vulnerable people. Plus: Javier attempts his own cold reading. It does not go well. LINKS: Susan Gerbic's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PsychicsExplained Matt Fraser Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcSfdioxwHQGkyFZ68maphdIJuYcb8xln Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    27 min
  8. Didn't See It Coming (Part 1)

    13 JAN

    Didn't See It Coming (Part 1)

    Skeptic Susan Gerbic invited PRETEND inside one of her psychic sting operations. In Part 1 of this three-part series, we go inside "Operation Gobble Gotcha," a Thanksgiving sting targeting celebrity psychic Matt Fraser. Susan and her team of volunteers infiltrate one of Matt's online group readings to observe his techniques in real time. What they witness isn't a connection to the other side. It's a technique called cold reading. And once you see it, you can't unsee it. BINGE ALL THREE EPISODES: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/didnt-see-it-2-147839354?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link PRETEND+ on Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/pretend/id6443456985 ABOUT SUSAN GERBIC: Susan Gerbic is a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and founder of Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia, a group that has written over 2,000 Wikipedia articles on science and pseudoscience — viewed more than 200 million times. Her most famous investigation, "Operation Pizza Roll," was featured in The New York Times Magazine and exposed medium Thomas John's hot reading techniques. Susan runs the nonprofit About Time, which funds her ongoing psychic investigations. LINKS & RESOURCES: Susan Gerbic's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PsychicsExplained About Time Project: https://www.abouttimeproject.org/ NYT Magazine feature on Operation Pizza Roll: https://archive.ph/20190226135004/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/26/magazine/psychics-skeptics-facebook.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    39 min
See All (344)

Trailers

Shows with Subscription Benefits

PRETEND+

Get exclusive access

US$4.99/mo or US$49.99/yr after trial

View Subscription FAQs

Hosts & Guests

About

PRETEND is an investigative true crime podcast about real people who lie for a living — con artists, scammers, and the victims caught in their web. Hosted by journalist Javier Leiva, PRETEND exposes the human psychology behind deception and fraud. Each episode follows a real case of manipulation — from financial scams and Ponzi schemes to digital hoaxes and emotional cons. PRETEND explains how and why deception works without shaming victims, combining ethical journalism with cinematic storytelling. Featured in lists of the best podcasts about con artists and scams, PRETEND investigates crimes of persuasion, trust, and betrayal. New episodes drop regularly with stories that reveal how manipulation shapes modern life, both online and off. PRETEND is produced by Creative Babble, LLC. © 2026 Creative Babble LLC [CLAIM:B6BT3XC4]

Information

  • Channel
    PRETEND+
  • Creator
    Creative Babble, LLC
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    344
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Creative Babble, LLC. All rights reserved 2025
  • Show Website
    PRETEND
  • Provider
    Javier Leiva

More From PRETEND+

You Might Also Like