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PODCAST

PRETEND

Creative Babble, LLC

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

true crime

All Episodes

1:54

Trailer: The Real Catch Me If You Can

PRETEND ·

2022/07/04

What if I told you that 90% of Frank Abagnale's claims are totally made up? Yeah, that's right. The most extraordinary con man in the world never actually did the crimes he claims he did. In the new season of PRETEND, host Javier Leiva debunks Frank Abagnale’s claims one by one, not with opinions but with court and prison records. This series also gives voice to new victim testimonies. In the end, Leiva travels to Las Vegas to confront Abagnale about his lies. This is the real-life Catch Me If You

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34:35

S1004: The Man Who Wears Many Hats part 2

PRETEND ·

2022/06/21

Fred Brito posed as a priest in order to hide from law enforcement. Find out how he ALMOST got away with it. __________ Follow PRETEND on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. __________ True Crime Podcast Festival 2022 in Dallas, TX We’re excited to announce that Criminal Conduct is going to be attending the True Crime Podcast Festival on August 26-28th in Dallas, Texas. The Festival is specially designed around your desire to mingle, interact, and have casual conversations with the

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31:52

S1003: The Man Who Wears Many Hats part 1

PRETEND ·

2022/06/07

Fred Brito worked as a psychiatrist, priest, and a Red Cross fundraiser—but it was all based on lies. ______________ Follow PRETEND on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. ______________ True Crime Podcast Festival 2022 in Dallas, TX We’re excited to announce that Criminal Conduct is going to be attending the True Crime Podcast Festival on August 26-28th in Dallas, Texas. The Festival is specially designed around your desire to mingle, interact, and have casual conversations with the

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36:05

S1002: The Sperm Donor

PRETEND ·

2022/05/24

David Berry took an at-home DNA test and discovered dozens of half-siblings. Was this a coincidence or the scheme of one sperm donor? ______________ True Crime Podcast Festival 2022 in Dallas, TX We’re excited to announce that Criminal Conduct is going to be attending the True Crime Podcast Festival on August 26-28th in Dallas, Texas. The Festival is specially designed around your desire to mingle, interact, and have casual conversations with the podcasters you listen to regularly. There will also

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44:21

S1001: The Dadbot

PRETEND ·

2022/05/10

Does death start when your heart stops beating? What if technology can extend our lives and gives us immortality? Today's episode is about one son who turned his dying father into a chatbot. Here After AI https://www.hereafter.ai/ Replika https://replika.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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20:45

S908: The Deepfake

PRETEND ·

2022/04/19

Today, we're talking about deepfakes. Deepfakes are video or audio of a person in which their face, body, and/or voice has been digitally altered so that they appear to be someone else. And we're not just talking about some harmless Snapchat filters. This tech can start wars and destroy lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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31:14

S907: The Forensic Musicologist

PRETEND ·

2022/04/05

Luxxury rips apart your favorite songs. Check out his TikTok feed for more videos on interpolation. https://www.tiktok.com/@luxxuryxx/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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46:15

PRETEND's 100th Episode

PRETEND ·

2022/03/22

Lauren Passell, the founder of Tink Media, interviews Javier in celebration of PRETEND's 100th episode. Subscribe to Lauren's incredible podcast newsletter: https://podcastthenewsletter.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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32:17

Javier Interviews a Serial Killer — Criminal Conduct...

PRETEND ·

2022/03/08

In Season 2 of PRETEND, I covered the story of a serial killer who murdered at least five American ex-pats. Three years after the story aired, I received a message from a listener who said she could put me in touch with the killer. I decided to turn my interviews with Wild Bill into an entire season of CRIMINAL CONDUCT. Listen to part 1 of Criminal Conduct season 3 then subscribe to listen to the rest: https://linktr.ee/criminalconduct Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

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60:44

S905: The Business of Cults part 3

PRETEND ·

2022/02/22

Rebekah Sebastian and Javier Leiva visit businesses run by cults. Also, what happens when a cult leader dies or goes to prison? Can the cult go on without its leader? Find out which cults are trying to continue the organization without any clear leadership. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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46:11

S904: The Business of Cults part 2

PRETEND ·

2022/02/14

Cults are businesses too. Like any company, cults recruit, have middle management, and some even have succession plans. Many of these religious sects are tax-exempt. Like Scientology, even some fringe religions are recognized by the Internal Revenue Service. Not all cults are religious. At first glance, some cults don't seem culty at all. For example, take a closer look at businesses such as multi-level marketing companies. These companies are masquerading as a business, but in reality, they're

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42:17

S903: The Business of Cults part 1

PRETEND ·

2022/02/08

Cults are businesses too. Like any company, cults recruit, have middle management, and some even have succession plans. Many of these religious sects are tax-exempt. Like Scientology, even some fringe religions are recognized by the Internal Revenue Service. Not all cults are religious. At first glance, some cults don't seem culty at all. For example, take a closer look at businesses such as multi-level marketing companies. These companies are masquerading as a business, but in reality, they're

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45:33

S902: Cons, Scams, and Flim-flams

PRETEND ·

2022/01/25

I'm working on a new series on cults that's really exciting. While you wait, here's a fun little bonus episode for you. Moxie LaBouche, host of the Your Brain on Facts podcast, and I talk about our favorite scams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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46:49

S901: The KGB Agent

PRETEND ·

2022/01/11

In this podcast episode A conversation with Jack Barsky, a former KGB spy. For 10 years, Jack Barsky was a sleeper agent spying for the Soviet Union. His job was to obtain secret or confidential information from inside the United States any way he could. The KGB Spy Jack Barsky spied on the United States from 1978 to 1988. And that entire time, his primary mission was to become an American. And that's precisely what he did. He moved to New York City, got a job as a computer programmer, and lived an

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26:14

S811: The Truth About Santa

PRETEND ·

2021/12/24

WARNING: This episode contains details about Santa Claus that younger listeners will not appreciate. If you have little ones around, plugin your headphones. Happy Holidays, everyone! Javier Check out the Christmas Past podcast with Brian Earl for more magical fun listening. https://christmaspast.media/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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43:43

S810: The Hypnotist part 4 - Alien Abductions and...

PRETEND ·

2021/12/21

John Mack, a respected Harvard psychologist, uses hypnosis to recover memories of alien abductions. Alien abductions and hypnosis Like they say on the X-files, "the truth is out there." Throughout history, people claimed to have seen many unexplainable things. Some have tangible proof, like the leaked U.S. Navy cock pit videos chasing unidentified flying objects. Other experiencers don't have any evidence at all. The only thing they have are their memories. Maybe the answer is buried deep in our

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52:45

S809: The Hypnotist part 3 - Is hypnosis admissible...

PRETEND ·

2021/12/07

Is hypnosis used in criminal investigations? Believe it or not, law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the US routinely use hypnosis as a form of forensic evidence. And in some states, evidence gained from forensic hypnosis is admissible in court. Even the federal government allows hypnosis under certain circumstances. What is investigative hypnosis? When law enforcement hits a dead end, they sometimes rely on investigative hypnosis to solve the case. Specially trained law enforcement

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41:23

S808: The Hypnotist part 2

PRETEND ·

2021/11/23

I got hypnotized to recall a childhood trauma. In part one of The Hypnotist, I interviewed several hypnotherapists to answer the question: what is hypnosis? The short answer is a trancelike state that resembles sleep but is induced by a person whose suggestions are readily accepted by the subject.* In part two, I try hypnosis for myself to see what all the fuss is about. You see, when I was 8-months old, I pulled the cord of an electric rice cooker and suffered 3rd-degree burns on the left side of

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54:07

S807: The Hypnotist part 1

PRETEND ·

2021/11/09

I want to undergo hypnotic regression, experience it for myself, and try to unlock memories from my childhood that should probably never resurface. Can hypnosis help me recover that memory? So, what the hell is hypnosis anyway? What is hypnosis? Is hypnosis even a real thing? The word "hypno" comes from the Greek word "hypnus," which means sleep. And the suffix "osis" describes a process or state. So, is hypnosis a state of hibernation? Or is it something in between? looked it up. Webster's

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40:54

S806: The Real Vampires

PRETEND ·

2021/10/26

John Browning investigates real blood-sucking vampires—people who need human blood to survive. In today's episode, we will talk about real people who claim to be real vampires. Self-harm You know, we bantered about tapping into veins and arteries from the vantage point of vampires feasting on blood. But if you remove the word vampire from our conversation, it starts sounding like a much more familiar crisis...self-harm. It's not uncommon for some of us with depression or anxiety to inflict

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