Dubious

Four indigenous children survived a plane crash in the Colombian Amazon and spent 40 days alone in the jungle. Wilson, the hero dog who found them, is now missing.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. The children's ages range from 11 months old to 12 years old. After their plane crashed in the Colombian jungle, causing the instant death of the pilot and of another passenger, the siblings tried to save their mother who was still alive. She passed away after four days. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. 1 The eldest child, Lesly, is credited with keeping her siblings alive through her knowledge of the jungle. The children survived for 40 days in the Amazon by eating fruit and using large leaves to protect themselves from the rain. 2 The children were discovered in a forest clearing by rescuers, who were guided to their location by Wilson, a Belgian Shepherd and four-legged hero. The military released drawings made by the children, depicting Wilson in the jungle, highlighting his role in their survival. After the rescue of the children, the search for Wilson began as he was separated from the kids, had a “weird reaction” when seeing his handler, and then disappeared. There are reports of a drug-fueled search and rescue operation, suggesting that the military and various groups – including the dog handlers - had been using ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic tea, as a ritual to help them locate the children. Wilson, the 6-year-old hero dog, is still missing in the jungle. 1. By Ed Cumming and Mathew Charles, A hero dog, a drug-fuelled hunt, The Telegraph, June 2023. ⇤2. By John Otis, How Indigenous kids survived 40 days in Colombia's jungle after a plane crash, NPR, June 2023. ⇤

Mary Bell was only 10 years old when she killed two toddlers in Newcastle, England, in 1968. Her first victim was 4-year-old Martin Brown. Mary and her friend Norma then murdered and mutilated the body and genitalia of 3-year-old Brian Howe.In this episode we discuss the disturbing story of Mary Flora Bell, who tried to kill several children and eventually succeeded in killing two young boys by strangulation. Her friend Norma bell – no relation, just a name coincidence – helped Mary murder her second victim. 1 2 Mary Bell was sentenced to be imprisoned “at Her Majesty's pleasure,” a British legal term that denotes an indeterminate sentence. After 12 years, in 1980, she was released on license (probation) and now lioves a quiet, anonymous life with her daughter. 3 This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. 1. Leah Silverman The Chilling Story Of Mary Bell, The 10-Year-Old Murderer Who Strangled Two Boys All That's Intersting, September 2023 ⇤2. Linda Caroll A Judge Called Mary Bell A Monster When She Was Just 10 Years Old Independent, September 2022 ⇤3. MICHAEL SEAMARK & PAUL SIMS Child killer Mary Bell becomes a grandmother at 51: But all I have left is grief, says victim's mother Daily Mail, July 2023 ⇤

A 25 year old Alabama nursing student disappeared after calling 911 and claiming she was stopping to help a toddler in diapers who was walking alone on Interstate 459.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. Carlee Russel returned home two days later and claimed she had been kidnapped and had barely managed to escape. She said the toddler was used as bait. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. Carlee described how a man with “orange hair” emerged from the woods and picked her up and forced her into a vehicle. No, it wasn't Donald Trump. 1 She said the man then put her into the trailer of a tractor and drove her to an unknown location where he forced her to undress and took photos of her. Carlee also mentioned that the man had a female accomplice who fed her cheese crackers. 2 Police soon realized her story didn't add up. Carlee admitted she faked her own abduction. Her motives are unclear, but we suspect she was “inspired” by the kidnapping social media craze, a new “Satanic Panic” type of phenomenon which has been spreading like wildfire online, especially on Tik Tok. 3 This new trend, started by right-wing evangelicals, aims to terrify women, and convince them they can be abducted at any moment and sex trafficked. The scope is to distract from real social issues like overturning Roe v Wade, the gun violence epidemic, voting rights etc. Statistically, a woman in the US is more likely to get hit by lightning than get kidnapped and sex trafficked. 1. Ariana Baio & Andrea Blanco Carlee Russell smiles in mug shot as she's charged with false police report in kidnap hoax Independent, July 2023 ⇤2. Tiffanie Drayton ‘We will not be dismayed': What Carlee Russell's lie means for other missing Black women Daily Dot, July 2023 ⇤3. UNODC UNODC report on human trafficking exposes modern form of slavery UNODC, February 2009 ⇤

Anneliese Michel started exhibiting “strange symptoms” like eating spiders and coal when she was 16. Her devout family believed she's possessed by Lucifer and Hitler. Anneliese died after she underwent 67 exorcisms at the hands of two Catholic priests.In this episode we discuss the infuriating murder of Anneliese Michel by her parents and two catholic priests, in Bavaria, Germany, in 1976. Anneliese was suffering from Grand Mal Epilepsy and Psychosis. Her story inspired the 2005 film "The Exorcism of Emily Rose". 1 This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. Anneliese underwent 67 exorcisms over a period of about 10 months between 1975 and 1976. She eventually died from starvation and dehydration during the process. Her parents and priest were convicted of negligent homicide. Her parents do not regret what they've done, claiming “god told us to do it”. 2 At the time of her death, she only weighed 68 pounds. We also discuss the exorcism of 23-years-old nun Maricica Irina Cornici, who died during an exorcism at the Tanacu Monastery in Romania. 3 1. Michael Getle Cries of a Woman Possessed The Washington Post, April 1978 ⇤2. Elizabeth Day 'God told us to exorcise my daughter's demons. I don't regret her death' The Telegraph, November 2005 ⇤3. Alison Mutler Nun Dies After Convent Exorcism CBS News, June 2005 ⇤

A respected Russian professor dug up and mummified deceased children – only girls and young women - made them into “living dolls” and posed them in his apartment. The bodies of 29 girls between the ages of 3 and 25 were found in his home.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. Anatoly Moskvin is a former Russian university professor, cemetery expert / self-proclaimed “necropolyst”, researcher and necromancer. He was held in very high esteem in academic circles in his native city of Nizhny Novgorod. He taught himself 13 languages and is well-traveled. He also had a disturbing unhealthy obsession with death and dead bodies. He dug up deceased girls and young women only, all aged between 3 and 25, and turned them into "living doll”. He then posed them in his apartment. 1 Despite living with him, his parents claim they never suspected a thing. What caused this macabre behavior and his love of cemeteries? Are his parents lying? We discuss it all in this episode of Dubious. 2 1. William DeLon Anatoly Moskvin, The Genius Russian Historian Who Collected Dead Girls Like Dolls All That's Interesting, March 2023 ⇤2. Anna Nemtsova Russian Historian Anatoly Moskvin Collected Dead Girls at Home Daily Beast, July 2017 ⇤

Bridget Ziegler is embroiled in a sex scandal that exposes the hypocrisy of the “don't say gay” extremist education movement she co-founded: she was caught on tape having sex with another woman during a threesome encounter with her husband.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. Moms for Liberty is a Florida-based organization, with more than 300 chapters in 48 states. It claims to advocate for “parental rights at all levels of government.” 1 In reality, they push for banning children's books and literature, fight against diversity, inclusivity, LGBTQ children, and rail against sex education and the teaching of Black history. The Moms for Liberty cult-like following believes there's a widespread conspiracy in American schools to expose children to “woke “concepts about sexual orientation and gender identity that don't conform to their idea of traditional family values. Of course, they joined the Ron DeSantis' “Don't say gay” campaign. 2 But as it turned out, Moms for Liberty is right-wing education movement with a huge hypocrisy problem. Co-founder Bridget Ziegler, who's also a member of the Sarasota County School Board in Florida, and her husband Christian Ziegler have been caught in a sex scandal that threatens to end the organization. Moreover, Christian Ziegler who is also the chair of the Republican Party of Florida and a big Trump fan, was accused of rape. 3 1. Mary Ellen Klas Moms for Liberty Flunks Its Own Morality Test Bloomberg, December 2023 ⇤2. Chris Baynes Most Americans say ‘Arabic numerals' should not be taught in school, finds survey Independent, May 2019 ⇤3. Will Carless, Chris Ullery, & Alia Wong What's behind the national surge in book bans? A low-tech website tied to Moms for Liberty USA Today, October 2023 ⇤

Musk embodies the perfect hero turned villain story. We discuss his 180° political flip-flopping over time, how X will affect the 2024 presidential election, the simulation theory he adheres to, Cybertruck, and much more. Brace yourselves for big drama!This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. We discuss the FCC's denial of $900 M subsidies for Starlink, Maye Musk's “furious” reaction on X (Twitter) to the FCC's ruling and why Elon's mother, Maye Musk, had to get involved in her son's feud with the government. 1 Elon Musk's affinity for right-wing extremist figures like Alex Jones, Andrew Tate, Tucker Carlson, Jack Psobiec, Laura Loomer and Vivek Ramaswamy has been a worrying trend. Moreover, his erratic behavior at the New York DealBook conference where he told his advertisers to “go f*ck themselves” and indicated that he won't vote for Joe Biden but voting for Trump is “a hard choice” left many wondering if Musk is only acting based on profit optimization goals or he thinks of himself as a player character, while the rest of us are non-player characters - NPCs. 2 3 We also take a look at Musk's involvement on the geopolitical scene, especially his ties with Saudi Arabia: Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the richest Middle East players, is the second-largest investor in X (Twitter) after Musk's takeover of the social media platform. Elon also suggested that Ukraine should cede Crimea and parts of its territory to Putin, and that tensions between China and Taiwan could be resolved by handing over some control of Taiwan to Beijing. In Nov 2022, President Biden was asked by journalists whether Musk was a threat to national security. Biden responded: “I think that Elon Musk's cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at. Whether he is doing anything inappropriate, I'm not suggesting that. I'm suggesting they're worth being looked at.” 4 1. MIRANDA NAZZARO Elon Musk's mom ‘furious' at Biden after FCC denies Starlink subsidy The Hill, December 2023 ⇤2. Charlie Warzel Elon Musk Is a Far-Right Activist The Atlantic, December 2022 ⇤3. FOUAD KHAN Confirmed! We Live in a Simulation Scientific American, April 2021 ⇤4. Staff and agencies Elon Musk's mom ‘furious' at Biden after FCC denies Starlink subsidy The Guardian, November 2022 ⇤

François Duvalier claimed to be immortal, the reincarnation of a dark spirit: Baron Samedi. He built a torture room in the Presidential Palace, talked to the decapitated heads of his enemies, and used the Tonton Macoute to terrorize Haiti.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. Papa Doc Duvalier was one of the most ruthless dictators in history, ruling Haiti with an iron fist from 1957 to 1971. He was a medical doctor educated in Michigan, in the United States who then used voudou and his own Wagner type militia called the Tonton Macoute to spread terror and unimaginable violence to consolidate power.1 But he had a secret: he had diabetes. After a diabetic coma, he woke up even more ruthless than before. He changed the Constitution twice, won rigged elections with the help of voodoo priests and the lwas, and had absolute power. Papa Doc killed more than 60,000 Haitians. Haiti was France's richest colony in the 18th century, one of the most prosperous nations in the Caribbean. It was so fertile that it was was known as “the pearl of the Antilles.” Revolting against the French masters, Haiti became the first slave colony to overthrow its oppressors, the first free black republic in the world in 1803. Then the French asked for monetary reparations which Haitians had to pay to avoid invasion, and the U.S. occupied and robbed Haiti of its riches. Events like the Bay of Pigs, Fidel Castro's rise to power in Cuba and the assassination of John F. Kennedy played a role in Haiti's history as well. After Papa Doc Duvalier's death, his “fat playboy” son, Jean-Claude Duvalier aka Baby Doc, came to power and managed to continue his father's kleptocracy for 15 more years before finally being overthrown. Now, Port-au-Prince as well as the rest of the country are in complete chaos, ruled by gangs and with virtually no government, no state officials left: Haiti is a failed state. Evolution Of Evil E01: Papa Doc Duvalier | Full Documentary 1. Albin Krebs Papa Doc, a Ruthless Dictator, Kept the Haitians in Illiteracy and Dire Poverty The New York Times, April 1971 ⇤

A harrowing firsthand account of daily life in a dictatorship from our host Sandra, tragic family stories, and the many shocking but clear similarities between Ceausescu's tyrannical regime and Donald Trump's ambitions for a second presidency.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. Orange Jesus is a term coined not by democrats, but by Republicans themselves. In her new book entitled “Oath and Honor”, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) describes a scene in which a fellow House member called former President Trump “Orange Jesus.” Cheney says that while in the GOP cloakroom in the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, members were encouraged to sign onto electoral vote objection sheets: “Among them was Republican Congressman Mark Green of Tennessee. As he moved down the line, signing his name to the pieces of paper, Green said sheepishly to no one in particular, ‘The things we do for the Orange Jesus.'” 1 “Trump is not only a danger to the United States and our democracy, but also a danger to the world. And because I was born in Romania and lived part of my life under a dictatorship, I think the best way to go about this subject is to tell some personal stories, things that happened to my family under Ceausescu's regime in Socialist/Communist Romania, make some analogies and point out some striking similarities between what Nicolae Ceausescu did in my native country, the aftermath of his policies, what some other dictators did too, and what Trump has done and plans to do here in the United States. The 2024 Presidential Elections have the potential, if Trump wins, to impact and reshape the geopolitical order.” – Sandra, Dubious Creator and Co-Host. Identified similarities: Refusal to relinquish power; Disdain for the free press; Censorship, propaganda and disinformation; Isolationism; Abortion bans; Criminalizing homosexuality and eroding LGBTQIA rights; Dehumanizing rhetoric like “vermin” (usually leads to genocide); Rampant corruption; Using religion to manipulate and radicalize people; Limited freedom of movement for certain demographics; The cult of personality; A love for grandiose military parades; Political repression; Turning truth on its head: Trump recently said that Joe Biden is a danger to democracy. Trump says he never swore an oath to support the constitution. His lawyers, in their appeal against the Colorado lawsuit, reiterated that the wording of Section Three of the 14th amendment does not apply to people running for president and that Trump technically did not swear an oath to "support" the Constitution. Trump: “I'll be a dictator, but only on day one.” 23 Donald Trump is the biggest danger to the world in 2024. A second Trump presidency would be more dangerous than the first to the United States and globally by orders of magnitude. 4 1. BESS LEVIN The Most Damning Details From Liz Cheney's Book on the GOP, January 6, and “Orange Jesus” Vanity Fair, November 2023 ⇤2. Ewan Palmer Donald Trump Says He Never Swore Oath 'to Support the Constitution' Newsweek, November 2023 ⇤3. David Jackson Donald Trump says he will be a 'dictator' only on 'day one.' Then he'll focus on drilling. USA Today, November 2023 ⇤4. The Economist Donald Trump poses the biggest danger to the world in 2024 The Economist, November 2023 ⇤

The day before he was fired, Sam Altman said “Is this a tool we built, or a creature?” We discuss the Q* mysterious letter that warned the OpenAI board of a powerful AI discovery that could threaten humanity. Did OpenAI achieve AGI?This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. We discuss the five days of chaos and drama at OpenAI: an industry poster-child CEO double-crossed by his chief scientist, a cloak and dagger board coup, fears of killer AI, and a dead-of-the-night staff revolution that changed the balance of global tech power. Also: while Sam Altman is a billionaire, his younger sister Annie has supported herself doing sex work, “both in person and virtually”, on OnlyFans. OpenAI has a very unusual structure: it is a for-profit company overseen by a nonprofit board with a corporate culture somewhere in between. This recent coup seems to have ousted the non-profit faction of OpenAI, the people who were concerned with artificial intelligence tech safety and ethics. Money won. We analyze how this shift might impact AI tech globally. We also discuss Q* (pronounced Q-Star) and if Open AI has gotten close to or even achieved AGI – Artificial General Intelligence, which is the step before Artificial Superintelligence ASI. Before OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's firing, several staff researchers – including Ilya Sutskever, the chief scientist - wrote a letter to the board of directors warning of a powerful artificial intelligence discovery that could threaten humanity. The day before he got fired, Sam Altman said “Is this a tool we have built or a creature we have built?” "Four times now in the history of OpenAI, the most recent time was just in the last couple weeks, I've gotten to be in the room, when we sort of push the veil of ignorance back and the frontier of discovery forward, and getting to do that is the professional honor of a lifetime," he said at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. 1 2 We also talk about Sam Altman's history and his achievements: Y Combinator (Stripe, Airbnb), Worldcoin (which uses a silver orb to scan people's eyeballs in exchange for crypto tokens and might be a useful to discern humans from AI online in the future), and of course, his personal life - specifically his relationship with his sister Annie Altman. While Sam Altman is a billionaire, his younger sister Annie has supported herself doing sex work, “both in person and virtually”, on OnlyFans. 3 The recent changes at OpenAI will impact all of us, so it's important to understand the implications of these recent developments within the hottest company in tech right now. It is essential to put things into context and look at the global picture: US and China are in a race for AI supremacy. 4 5 1. Charlie Warzel The Money Always Wins The Atlantic, November 2023 ⇤2. Anna Tong, Jeffrey Dastin and Krystal Hu OpenAI researchers warned board of AI breakthrough ahead of CEO ouster, sources say Reuters, November 2023 ⇤3. Elizabeth Weil Sam Altman Is the Oppenheimer of Our Age OpenAI's CEO thinks he knows our future. What do we know about him? INTELLIGENCER, September 2023 ⇤4. David Brooks The Fight for the Soul of AI The New York Times, November 2023 ⇤5. Dave Lawler How the U.S. is trying to stay ahead of China in the AI race Axios, June 2023 ⇤

Armed with a waterproof bible and fish, a young American missionary and beef jerky marketer decided to bring Jesus to the reclusive tribe of North Sentinel Island. His body has never been recovered. But who was behind this kamikaze mission, really?This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. North Sentinel Island is a small island around seven kilometers by seven kilometers in size, roughly 23 square miles, located in the Bay of Bengal. It's a unique place, as it's forbidden to visit. The Indian government made it illegal for anyone to get within three miles of the island and its reclusive inhabitants. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. The Sentinelese are an indigenous tribe of hunter gatherers, living life in a not too dissimilar way to how our ancestors would've lived about 60,000 years ago. 1 The island made headlines in 2018, after John Allen Chau, a 26-year-old American evangelical missionary, blogger and beef jerky marketer set sail to the island in hoping to convert the reclusive tribe and welcome its members to Christianity. In 2017 he had been accepted to a boot camp run by All Nations, a Kansas City organization that works to see Jesus “worshipped by every tongue, tribe and nation”. All Nations urges Christians to live by a “wartime mentality” and “make strategic decisions in the battle we're waging against a real enemy”, waging a war against Satan. 2 John Chau was killed by the Sentinelese and his body was never recovered from the island, despite attempts made by authorities. In the last century, many anthropologists and scientists have tried to make contact with the Sentinelese. This usually never went well; many people were killed by the islanders and many islanders were killed by diseases brought by visitors. The only remotely successful people were Madhumala Chattopadhyay and Triloknath Pandit, two famous Indian anthropologists. The Sentinelese have no immunity to diseases carried by outsiders, and they learned over time that contact with others brings only death. Understandably, they do not welcome visitors. 1. J Oliver Conroy The life and death of John Chau, the man who tried to convert his killers The Guardian, February 2019 ⇤2. Leah McDonald Father of American missionary who was killed while trying to convert isolated Indian Ocean tribe blames evangelicals' 'extreme Christianity' for the death of his 'innocent child' Daily Mail, February 2019 ⇤

What do cute panda bears, US - China relations and Taiwan's microchip fabs have in common? The race for Artificial Intelligence supremacy. China recalled its furry diplomats a week before the Joe Biden - Xi Jinping APEC summit meeting in San Francisco.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. In this episode we discuss China's panda diplomacy, and how recalling the pandas is connected to US foreign policy, Taiwan's microchip fabs and AI supremacy. On Wednesday Nov 8, 2023, the two adult pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, and their 3-year-old cub, Xiao Qi Ji, were guided into metal crates and transported by truck to the airport. They took off in a FedEx Boeing 777 called the Panda Express. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian arrived at the Smithsonian National Zoo in 2000 under a 10-year agreement that has been renewed three times since 2010. Xiao Qi Ji, whose name means “little miracle,” was born in 2020 as a result of artificial insemination – and the little male cub is indeed a miracle, as his mom was considered too old to be able to get the pregnancy to term. Efforts to renew the zoo's current panda agreement, which ends on Dec. 7, have been unsuccessful. Not only did China refuse to renew the contract, but they're also taking the pandas back even earlier than previously agreed. 1 The timing of the panda recall is dubious, given that the Biden-Xi bilateral takes place a week later during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which the US is hosting in San Francisco from 11 to 17 November. The encounter on 15 November is their second face-to-face meeting during the Biden presidency. It will be wide-ranging, US officials said, with the Israel-Hamas war, Taiwan, war in Ukraine and election interference to be discussed. 2 China's posturing in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, the brushes with Philippine ships, and flying its planes dangerously close to American ones - all of this, is pretty much about Taiwan and who will control Taiwan, the world's largest producer of semiconductors. Chips are what powers AI: 60% of all microchips are produced on the island; 92% of logic semiconductors with components smaller than 10 nanometers, capable of fitting more processing capacity onto a minuscule area while also being faster and more energy-efficient, are made in Taiwan. A single strand of human hair is 90,000 nanometers thick. In 1971, an average transistor was already just 10,000 nanometers thick. Today, the most advanced chips are manufactured at 2 nanometers, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) already working on creating a 1 nanometer chip. Microchips mean economic power, and more importantly, military power: and military power means geopolitical power. Microchips also mean control of emerging and disruptive technologies, like Artificial Intelligence and synthetic biology. Countries that have the capability to successfully harness AI innovation will be strategically positioned for both improved national security and economic growth. 1. Larissa Gao and Megan Lebowitz With return of three pandas to China, U.S. could soon have none NBC News, November 2023 ⇤2. PHELIM KINE Biden to press Xi on Iran in APEC meeting next week Politico, November 2023 ⇤

Nurse Lucy Letby violently attacked and killed 7 newborns and attempted to murder 6 more. She is Britain's most prolific child serial killer. Why did she do it? Apparently, for “love”.Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. Lucy Letby has been found guilty of murdering seven newborn babies and attempting to kill six more at the Countess of Chester hospital in north-west England. Aged 33, the nurse attacked the babies between June 2015 and June 2016 at the neonatal unit where she worked. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. In this episode we discuss how the Countess of Chester hospital management dropped the ball and their series of failures and attempts to cover-up the severity of the situation that led to this tragic outcome. 1 During trial, Lucy Letby blamed the neonatal unit doctors for being out to get her - “the Gang of Four” she called them: John Gibbs, Stephen Breaery, Ravi Jayram and another pediatrician. In reality, these doctors were the ones who fought the hospital management in order to get police involved and stop the horrific murders. 2 Nurse Letby injected air into the newborn's tummies and veins (air embolus), poisoned them with insulin, overfed them milk, even hit them hard causing organ damage and showed metal objects down their throats causing them to bleed uncontrollably and go into cardiac arrest. Some of the babies that survived are left with permanent brain injuries from the lack of oxygen they endured before being resuscitated. An inquiry is ongoing as to why hospital management were so slow to act, but this is not a public inquiry which obliges witnesses to give statements under oath. In this episode we also discuss other medical professionals who killed their patients: nurse Beverley Allitt – known as the “angel of death”, doctor Harold Shipman and nurse Charles Cullen. We also look at an egregious case of malpraxis in which an Atlanta, GA doctor named Tracey St Julian decapitated a baby during childbirth. 1. Judith Moritz, Jonathan Coffey & Michael Buchanan Hospital bosses ignored months of doctors' warnings about Lucy Letby BBC, August 2023 ⇤2. Josh Halliday, Garry Blight, Harry Fischer and Ashley Kirk Timeline of Lucy Letby's attacks on babies and when alarm was raised The Guardian, August 2023 ⇤

We discuss Israel's use of white phosphorus incendiary bombs in Gaza and how Hamas planned the attack in plain sight, posting a training video in which they broke through a full-scale replica of the Israeli border wall just 2 weeks before Oct 7.Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. First, we look at the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the communications blackout and Israel's use of white phosphorus, violating international humanitarian law. Human Rights Watch verified videos “taken in Lebanon and Gaza on October 10 and 11, 2023, respectively, showing multiple airbursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus over the Gaza City port and two rural locations along the Israel-Lebanon border, and interviewed people who described an attack in Gaza. (…) Upon contact, white phosphorus can burn people, thermally and chemically, down to the bone as it is highly soluble in fat and therefore in human flesh. White phosphorus fragments can exacerbate wounds even after treatment, entering the bloodstream and causing multiple organ failure. Already dressed wounds can reignite when dressings are removed, and the wounds are re-exposed to oxygen. Even relatively minor burns are often fatal.” 1 Then we address the multiple and catastrophic security failures by Israel's intelligence community and military. We look at SIGINT, HUMINT and IMINT failures. How did Shin Bet, the Mossad and the IDF miss this attack? Here are the main points: Intelligence officers failed to monitor certain communication channels used by Palestinian attackers. Military personnel and intelligence officers over relied on border surveillance equipment that was easily shut down by attackers. The commanders were all in one place, clustered in a single border base, that was overrun in the initial phase of the incursion, preventing communication with the rest of the armed forces. Intelligence officers accepted at face value assertions by Hamas military leaders, made on private channels, that they were not preparing for battle. The officers were aware that Hamas knew these phone calls were being monitored by Israel. 2 Another issue we address is Israeli reservists' criticism for Yair Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu's son, who remains in Miami rather than joining the fight against Hamas. The 32-year-old is currently living in Florida, where he moved in April 2023, after he was sued for defamation in Israel over social media posts against a political activist. 3 We also discuss Israel's ground invasion (land incursion) in Gaza and the regional ripple effects: as Israel pushes ahead, regional players are preparing their next moves. Hezbollah might attack from the north, and Iran has hinted at getting involved directly. Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey might play crucial roles in the coming weeks. While Qatar is trying to negotiate with Hamas, Saudi Arabia is staying out of the mix. Also included: the Gaza tunnels, the hostages, similarities to 9/11 from an intelligence perspective, Benjamin Netanyahu's stance on a two-state solution and his policies which ensured Hamas is not eradicated, and what might come next. 1. Human Rights Watch Israel: White Phosphorus Used in Gaza, Lebanon Human Rights Watch, October 2023 ⇤2. Ronen Bergman and Patrick Kingsley How Israel's Feared Security Services Failed to Stop Hamas's Attack The New York Times, October 2023 ⇤3. Graeme Massie Israeli reservists question absence of Netanyahu's son who remains in Miami Independent, October 2023 ⇤

The Oct 7 Hamas attack on Israel coincided with Putin's 71st birthday. Russia has been supporting the terrorist group since 2006, with Hamas reportedly laundering illicit funds through a Moscow-based crypto exchange and the Wagner group training HamasThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. In this episode we discuss the Israel – Palestine war, we look at the history of the region and how the Middle East conflict initially started, and we analyze the close diplomatic relations between Russia and Hamas. Moscow's massive propaganda and foreign influence operation was turned into a pro-Hamas, anti-Western disinformation machine. Even before the war started, Russian media was promoting the idea that U.S. weapons for Ukraine have somehow ended up in the hands of terrorists plotting to strike Israel. 1 If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. We also discuss the geopolitical implications of the Gaza-Israel war, how it helps Putin and China, how Iran's support for Hamas might destabilize the region and turn this whole thing into a proxy war between the world's biggest powers, how the U.S. responded, how the United Nations reacted, the numbers of innocent victims on either side, and most importantly – what we need to retain from all of this: innocents were killed on each side, and Palestinians in Gaza need urgent humanitarian aid, more aid. 2 Hamas are a terrorist organization, but they do not represent the Palestinian people who have a right to exist, be safe and raise their children. Hamas does NOT stand for the Palestinians' right to self-determination. The international community must do more to protect civilians in Gaza, make sure more humanitarian aid trucks pass through the Rafah crossing, and that Israel's airstrikes and imminent land invasion will not result in senseless killings of tens of thousands of innocents. 34 Other points of conversation: freeing international and American hostages with the help of allies in the region (Qatar), How Russia, Iran (Hezbollah too) and China stand to win from this conflict, why Mossad and Shin Bet did not see this attack coming, the deadly explosion at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, and how Elon Musk's X helped amplify disinformation about the war and help the interests of Russia / Iran / Hamas. Links: 1. Josh Rogin Putin is helping Hamas to hurt the west The Washington Post, October 2023 ⇤2. BBC Israel Gaza war: History of the conflict explained BBC, October 2023 ⇤3. Niall McCarthy The Human Cost Of The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Statista, May 2021 ⇤4. Amnesty International Damning evidence of war crimes as Israeli attacks wipe out entire families in Gaza Amnesty International, October 2023 ⇤

Gilberto Valle, A New York City police officer, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to kidnap, torture, and eat women. In this dark story, the legal system grappled with the boundaries between fantasy and reality.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. In the "Cannibal Cop" case, Gilberto Valle was accused of using online forums to discuss disturbing cannibalistic ideation with other users: Moody Blues, Christopher Ashe, Michael Van Hise, and Richard Meltz – also a former policeman. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. The prosecution argued that Valle's online conversations were not just fantasies but actual plans to commit crimes. However, Valle's defense team claimed that his discussions were merely fantasy role-play, and he had no intention of carrying out any real harm. Ultimately, in 2013, Valle was found guilty of conspiracy charges, but the conviction was overturned on appeal in 2014, with the court ruling that his actions did not constitute a true conspiracy.1 In the United States v. Valle case, the legal system grappled with the boundaries between fantasy and intent to commit a crime. The case raised complex questions regarding online communication, freedom of speech, and the interpretation of criminal conspiracy. While the prosecution argued that Valle's online discussions were evidence of a genuine plan to harm others, the defense asserted that they were simply dark fantasies that should be protected under the First Amendment. The legal proceedings shed light on the challenges of distinguishing between genuine criminal intent and disturbing but ultimately harmless expressions, particularly in the context of online interactions.2 1. James Nye It isn't quite like pork, but very meaty anyway': Cannibal cop's online pal boasts of eating 'a black woman and white child' in vile computer chats Daily Mail, January 2013 ⇤2. Cathy Free ‘Cannibal Cop' defendant gets 7 years in prison New York Post, July 2018 ⇤

After a Lyft driver nabbed Tux the cat in Austin, TX, her human turned to social media for help. Palash Pandey's posts went viral, a massive search ensued, and Lyft CEO David Risher hired private investigators to locate the feline.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. The unprecedented chain of events began on September 30, 2023, when Palash Pandey ordered a Lyft to take his cat, Tux, to the vet at Banfield Pet Hospital in Austin, Texas. As he made his way around the vehicle to grab Tux, who was located on the passenger side, the driver sped off. Desperate, Palash tried to contact the driver, even offered him money to bring Tux back, but to no avail. 1 Palash then turned to Reddit and Twitter X. His posts went viral, galvanizing the online community and putting pressure on Lyft who was facing a PR cat-astrophe. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. After 36 hours, private investigators hired by Lyft CEO David Risher found Tux 1.2 miles away from the vet's office, where she had been kidnapped from. She was dehydrated, covered in fleas and terrified, but otherwise unharmed. The driver has been deactivated on the Lyft platform on October 2, and the Austin Police Department are investigating the case. 2 In this episode we also discuss the legal aspect related to pets being considered property instead of sentient beings, and we look at safe alternatives to ridesharing involving human drivers: Robotaxis such as Waymo made by Alphabet and Cruise made by General Motors are looking promising. 1. palashpandey9 Need help!! Lyft driver drove off with my pet cat Reddit, October 2023 ⇤2. Cathy Free Lyft passenger says driver took of with his cat. A Huge search ensued. The Washington Post, October 2023 ⇤

In 2018, Lady Gaga's producer RedOne introduced MMA fighter and former convict Abu Azaitar to the royal entourage of Morocco. Since then, king Mohammed VI has disappeared from public life and the three Azaitar brothers became all-powerful.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. In this episode we discuss King Mohammed's childhood and relationship with his father Hassan II, his marriage to Princess Lalla Salma the computer engineer, and his fascination with the cage fighters. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. Abu, Ottman and Omar Azaitar are three German brothers who grew to be very influential in Rabat, Morocco's capital. It is rumored that King Mohammed VI is entirely under their “spell”. Their parents were born in Morocco. The brothers have a background in mixed martial arts, fought and won in the UFC, and they were good fighters: two of the brothers have been dubbed as “the brutal twins.” 1 Abu Azaitar has an impressive rap sheet: his German criminal record lists: “Theft, extortion, fraud, physical violence, criminal conspiracy, robberies and recidivism, computer fraud, driving without a license, bodily harm causing permanent disability, assault and battery, drug trafficking, forgery and resistance to law enforcement.” He once doused a man in gasoline and stole his Ferrari. While at a Christmas market, he also punched an ex-girlfriend and punctured her eardrum. Since 2018, the Azaitars have monopolized the king at a moment in history when after the 2001 Arab spring, the pandemic and the Panama Papers scandal, Moroccan society is boiling and the makhzien (government and security apparatus) led by Hammouchi are not happy with the MMA fighters' influence over their king. 1. Nicolas Pelham The mystery of Morocco's missing king The Economist, April 2023 ⇤

Four indigenous children survived a plane crash in the Colombian Amazon and spent 40 days alone in the jungle. Wilson, the hero dog who found them, is now missing.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. The children's ages range from 11 months old to 12 years old. After their plane crashed in the Colombian jungle, causing the instant death of the pilot and of another passenger, the siblings tried to save their mother who was still alive. She passed away after four days. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. 1 The eldest child, Lesly, is credited with keeping her siblings alive through her knowledge of the jungle. The children survived for 40 days in the Amazon by eating fruit and using large leaves to protect themselves from the rain. 2 The children were discovered in a forest clearing by rescuers, who were guided to their location by Wilson, a Belgian Shepherd and four-legged hero. The military released drawings made by the children, depicting Wilson in the jungle, highlighting his role in their survival. After the rescue of the children, the search for Wilson began as he was separated from the kids, had a “weird reaction” when seeing his handler, and then disappeared. There are reports of a drug-fueled search and rescue operation, suggesting that the military and various groups – including the dog handlers - had been using ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic tea, as a ritual to help them locate the children. Wilson, the 6-year-old hero dog, is still missing in the jungle. 1. By Ed Cumming and Mathew Charles, A hero dog, a drug-fuelled hunt, The Telegraph, June 2023. ⇤2. By John Otis, How Indigenous kids survived 40 days in Colombia's jungle after a plane crash, NPR, June 2023. ⇤

Dubifriends, we'll be back on October 4th with a big surprise! Until then, we'll be working behind the scenes to bring you even better content. Enjoy the summer and stay dubious!This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy.

All about the secretive life of Vladimir Putin: his wives, girlfriends, children, and how they fit into his empire. How many children does Putin have, how many times was he married, is he married now? We try to solve the puzzle that is his private life!This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. In this episode we put together the puzzle that is Putin's private life. We discuss his first marriage with Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Ocheretnaya (ex Putina), their honeymoon in Ukraine, the birth of their two daughters that Mariya Vladimirovna Vorontsova and Katerina (or Yekaterina) Tikhonova – Masha and Katya, the divorce of Vladimir Putin and Lyudmila. If you like our content please become a patron, you'll get all of our episodes ad-free. 1 We also look into their post separation relationships: Lyudmila as since remarried a Russian entrepreneur/oligarch 21 years her junior named Artur Ocheretny and Putin has had a series of relationships, the first with Svetlana Krivonogikh, a shareholder in a major Russian bank, who also owns the elite property and a St Petersburg erotic nightspot. They allegedly have a child together, 18 years old Luiza Rozova (Elizaveta Krivonogikh). He then met and allegedly secretly married gymnast Alina Maratovna Kabaeva (also named Kabayeva by some sources). They allegedly have for children together, who are now living in Switzerland with their mother. 2 All of this leads to our next episode about how friends and family of the Putins do not just jet set to ski resorts in the Swiss Alps, but also play crucial roles in overseeing the family wealth which is controlled by the state, and guarded by the FSB. 1. Laurel Wamsley. Putin's Daughters Were Just Sanctioned. Here's What We Know About Them. NPR. April 2022. ⇤2. Vladimir Putin's 'Girlfriend' Sparks New Pregnancy Rumours. Telegraph. May 2015. ⇤

The FBI is investigating Inna Yashchyshyn, a woman with 4 passports and suspicious background, who befriended Donald Trump and Lindsey Graham, and mingled with 45's most inner circle at Mar-a-Lago.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. Inna Yashchyshyn, who presented herself as fake heiress Anna de Rothschild, was born in Ukraine, has American, Canadian, Russian and Ukrainian passports and a Florida driver's license and the authorities have no idea when she entered the country. If you like our content, please become a patron to get our public episodes ad-free. 1 Obviously, Inna Yashchyshyn is no member of the famous Rothschild banking dynasty but under that assumed persona she managed to infiltrate Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump's Florida residence – where top secret HUMINT and SIGNALS intelligence were illegally kept in an unsecured room, with just a lock on the door. The timing of fake banking dynasty heiress Anna de Rothschild's presence at Mar-A-Lago, where she played gold with Donald Trump and Lindsey Graham and ingratiated herself into the former's president inner circle, is suspicious: she first started to go there in May 2021. According to the New York Times, the CIA sent a top secret cable to chiefs of station – in all countries - warning them that too many agents were dying or were being turned into double agents.. So they should be extremely cautious. The cable said that the CIA knew exactly how many were executed but they have no idea how many were turned. 2 Inna Yashchyshyn is the daughter of an Illinois truck driver, which makes her marriage to her now ex-husband Sergey Golubev even more dubious: he said she married her to get a green card. 3 The FBI is also looking into her charity, United Hearts of Mercy, after the Sûreté du Québec Police Provincielle du Canada have launched investigations into Yashchyshyn's dealings too, also related to this foundation which claims to help immigrant families. In fact, this was a money laundering scam. Stripe, the money processing app, suspected fraud and halted the funds for the campaign – a campaign which was also supposed to help families devastated by the COVID pandemic. The United Hearts Charity of which Inna Yashchyshyn was president, was founded together with Valeriy Tarasenko, a Moscow-raised businessman who also has a very unclear background. 4 In this episode we discuss the possibility of Inna Yashchyshyn being a spy, knowing the honey pot strategy is used by foreign intelligence services such as Putin's SVR and GRU. 1. Michael Sallah, Jonathan Silver, Kevin Hall, and Brian Fitzpatrick. Inventing Anna: The Tale of a Fake Heiress, Mar-a-Lago, and an FBI Investigation. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette. August 2022. ⇤2. Julian E. Barnes and Adam Goldman. Captured, Killed or Compromised: C.I.A. Admits to Losing Dozens of Informants. New York Times. October 2021. ⇤3. Harriet Alexander and Nikki Schwab. Ex-husband of Ukrainian fraudster who posed as de Rothschild heiress to infiltrate Mar-a-Lago and meet Trump: Says former wife - who faces FBI probe 'needed a green card'. Daily Mail. August 2022. ⇤4. Inna Yashchyshyn. United Hearts of Mercy - Facebook Non-Profit Page. Facebook. October 2016. ⇤

Was Vladimir Putin born in Russia or in Georgia? Who is his biological mother – Vera Putina or Maria Ivanova Putina? Putin's autobiography says he was born in 1952 in Leningrad. But, there is an alternative, more credible story we tell today.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. The unofficial version of events places Putin's early years in Metekhi, Georgia and identifies his biological mother as a woman named Vera. In the Kremlin version, Putin's grandfather, Spiridon Putin, was a personal cook to Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. If you like our content and want to support Dubious, please become a patron to get our episodes ad-free. Putin's mother was a factory worker and his father was a conscript in the Soviet Navy, serving in the submarine fleet in the early 1930s. Early in World War II, his father served in the destruction battalion of the NKVD – which later became KGB, now FSB. He was severely wounded in 1942. Vladimir Spiridonovich and Maria Ivanovna, his parents, had two more children, two boys but they both died before Putin was born: Albert, born in the 1930s, died in infancy, and Viktor, born in 1940, died of diphtheria and starvation in 1942 during the siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany forces in WW2. In her memoir, Hard Choices, she shares a story Putin told her about this time in his life. This story does not fit the version Putin tells in his official autobiography. The then U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said he too had never heard it before. Putin also tells another story: one of his great teachers in life was a rat. 1 Putin's path was influenced by a movie called The Shield and The Sword - a 1968 Soviet spy series. It inspired him to join the KGB. Putin was impressed that “One man's effort could achieve what whole armies could not. One spy could decide the fate of thousands of people.” 2 There is an unofficial version of Putin's early years: Putin was actually born in Georgia. A woman named Vera who lives in Metheki, near Gori, in Georgia has been saying since 1999 that she is Putin's birthmother. Putina married a Georgian soldier Giorgi Osepahvili. In December 1960, the ultimatum from her husband, Putina travelled with "Vova" back to Ochyor, in Russia and she left the boy with her parents and returned to Georgia. Vera believes that the Leningrad "parents" referred to in Putin's official biography adopted HER son from his grandparents, so from her parents. The story was corroborated by Shura Gabinashvili, a former Russian teacher at the village school in Metekhi. She says Putin was her student and that she has received death threats about making these claims public. She remembers Putin by the same pet name Vera, his alleged biological mother uses: "Vova." 3 In this episode we also discuss Alexander Litvinenko, polonium 210, the suspicious death of BOTH Putin's Leningrad parents of cancer, AT THE SAME TIME. We also comment on the very peculiar deaths of Artyom Borovik who died in a plane crash coinciding with the documentary he was making about Vera and Putin's childhood & Italian journalist Antonio Russo who was also interested in Vera's story before was murdered while investigating Putin's war crimes in Chechnya. 1. Alex Kliment. Putin, Ukraine, and the Rat Story. Gzero. March 2022. ⇤2. Damien Sharkov. Straight Outta Leningrad: Putin Says Streetfights Taught Him How to Tackle ISIS. Newsweek. October 2015. ⇤3. Kate Weinberg. Could This Woman be Vladimir Putin's Real Mother?. Telegraph. December 2008. ⇤

Trump's first wife was found at the bottom of the stairs, unconscious and unresponsive in her Manhattan home on July 14, 2022. She was cremated and laid to rest at Donald Trump's Bedminster Golf Club in a “pauper's grave”, not far from the 1st hole.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. Mother of Ivanka, Don Jr. and Eric, Ivana Trump was 73 years old. An employee found her and called 911 at 1:40 pm. The autopsy was conducted in less than 24 hours and her death was ruled “an accident”, the official cause of death being “blunt force trauma to her torso”. If you like our content, please become a patron to get our episodes ad-free. She deserves to be remembered not only as Trump's first wife. She was a New York socialite, model and author but she was also an athlete who made the Czech skiing Olympics team. Ivana Trump was her own person: a mother, an author, fashion designer and New York socialite. In the first half we focus on Ivana's life before she met Donald Trump, as there are some tragic aspects like the death of the man she loved, George Staidl, a playwright and lyricist who died in a car crash, and her fourth husband, Italian actor Rossano Rubicondi who passed away at 49 with melanoma (a type of skin cancer). 1 Ivana Maria Zelnickova was an educated woman with a master's degree in Physical Education and she was a fighter: she fled from communism in her native country (then Czechoslovakia, part of the USSR) and built a new life for herself, starting off in Canada and then immigrating here, to the United States. In the second half we discuss the details of her death and the timing. Ivana passed away on July 14. Donald Trump and his three adult children were going be deposed the next day, separately, as part of New York Attorney General Letitia James' investigation into the Trump Organization. The depositions were postponed. We also discuss her golf course burial in an austere grave and the attempt by Donal Trump to designate the area as a cemetery to get a tax break. A cemetery in New Jersey avoids property, income, and sales tax, the holy tax trinity. 2, 3 Donald Trump is also selling an “eternal membership” for the Bedminster National Golf Club: people play to play and when they pass, they can be buried close to Ivana if they pay extra. 4 Ivana also loved dogs. Funeral guests and others, in lieu of flowers, were asked to donate to Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Florida and to “help save the lives of dogs that are in desperate need.” The charity was picked by her ex-husband and children, and this seems to be another of Trump's schemes where the money is not really going where they say it's going. Ivana's own dog, Tiger, is now living with her assistant. Episode #DubiMeter = 9 1. Kanishka Singh and Daniel Trotta. Ivana Trump, First Wife of Donald Trump Who Helped Build his Empire, Dies at 73. Reuters. July 2022. ⇤2. Hamish Mitchell Twitter account. Tweet: Pics of Ivana Trump's Grave. Twitter. July 2022. ⇤3. Edward Helmore. Will Ivana Help Donald Trump with Tax Breaks from Beyond the Grave?. The Guardian. July 2022. ⇤4. Sinéad Baker and Tom Porter. Trump's PAC Asked Fans to Donate Money While Announcing His Ex-wife Ivana's Death. Business Insider. July 2022. ⇤

Are zombies real? A Harvard biology PhD named Wade Davis went to Haiti to investigate the stories of voodoo priests turning people into “zombies” with a poison, and it turned out that the poison was tetrodotoxin - and it's real.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. Voodoo priests in Haiti make a poison concocted of human remains, snakes, frogs, sea worms, and most importantly... the venom of a puffer fish. The puffer fish venom is sort of the inverse of an anesthetic. Instead of dulling the pain, it dulls your ability to react to it. A person poisoned by the zombie powder is aware and conscious, but unable to move. Their metabolic rate slows to a crawl and they show signs of death, such as bluing of the extremities and lack of response to stimulus. And then when they're presumed dead and buried, the voodoo priest digs them up and tells them when they regain their freedom of movement that he has captured their soul, and they must serve him. This is a form of capital punishment in Haiti; a throwback to the colonial days when the only escape from bondage was death. But what if you can't die? What if you are resurrected and put back into bondage? This is the threat of the zombie poison: a fate worse than death, and it happened to the subject of Wade Davis' study. Clairvius Narcisse was pronounced dead and buried after he was poisoned by the zombie powder for the accused crime of stealing property from his brother after his parents died. The voodoo priest who poisoned him dug him up and sent him to work as a slave on a sugar plantation. If you like our content, please become a patron, you'll get all of our episodes ad-free. 1, 2 Not to be outdone, if you want to risk death from the zombie poison you can also get it by eating a puffer fish in Japan. In mild doses you get high and a little tingly, in extreme cases of eating too much puffer fish in Japan you might wind up like the man who was stuck in the morgue for 7 days, with everyone thinking he was dead. He woke up before being disemboweled and embalmed, thankfully... 3 All of this is still with us because of the late, great Wes Craven's movie about Wade Davis's trip to Haiti to study the zombie powder, called The Serpent and the Rainbow, it's one of the better 1980s horror genre films, check it out if you haven't seen it! The film and book also inspired the Godsmack song "Voodoo" over a decade later. 4, 5, 6 1. Gino Del Guerico. The Secrets of Haiti's Living Dead. Harvard Magazine. October 2017. ⇤2. Lakshmi Gandhi. Zoinks! Tracing The History Of 'Zombie' From Haiti To The CDC. NPR. December 2013. ⇤3. Patrick D. Hahn. Dead Man Walking. Biology Online. September 2007. ⇤4. Wade Davis. The Serpent and the Rainbow. Touchstone Publishers. 1997. ⇤5. Wes Craven, director. The Serpent and the Rainbow. Universal Pictures. 1988. ⇤6. Sully Erna, writer. Godsmack - Voodoo. Universal Music. 1999. ⇤

In 1970, King Charles III warned about the negative effects of plastic on the environment and the dangers of climate change, but was mocked for his views. He built an eco-town and supported “organic” farming long before the word became fashionable.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. The UK has a new monarch: King Charles III's coronation was watched by millions across the globe. Camilla became Queen Consort and William, the heir to the throne, became Duke of Windsor. Prince George is second in line to the throne. If you like our content, but want to listen to our episodes AD-FREE, please become a patron. Whether you're a monarchist or not, you have to admit that Elizabeth Regina II – Lilibet et as Prince Phillip used to call her - was a magnificent monarch and Uk's longest reigning monarch. 1, 2 When her father George VI died in February 1952, Elizabeth—then 25 years old—became queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (known today as Sri Lanka), as well as Head of the Commonwealth. During her reign, she had 15 Prime Ministers, from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss. King Charles III has a passion for gardening, plants and green spaces and was way ahead of his time with his care for the environment, a worry he expressed in his 1970 speech in which he warns about plastic, pollution and the dangers of climate change. He also loves sustainable architecture and built an eco-town called Pundbury on the outskirts of Dorchester, in Dorset. He enjoys organic farming and products, which he has been growing since before the word “organic” became fashionable. 3, 4, 5  1. Anneta Konstantindes. American tourists once met the Queen and had no idea who she was — so she played a joke on them. Business Insider India. June 2022. ⇤2. British Royal Films Youtube channel. Queen Elizabeth cracks a joke!. Youtube. March 2009. ⇤3. The Royal Family Youtube channel. The Prince of Wales reflects on 50 years since his first speech on the environment. Youtube. February 2020. ⇤4. Royal Institue of British Architects Facebook page. Next month marks 30 years since Prince Charles's (in)famous ‘Carbuncle' speech.... Facebook. April 2014. ⇤5. A speech by HRH The Prince of Wales at the 150th anniversary of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Royal Gala Evening at Hampton Court Palace. Prince of Wales Official Website. May 1984. ⇤

Reports say President Biden doesn't trust some of the Secret Service agents, or their biting incident accounts about his dog Major. A FOIA lawsuit regarding Commander Biden was filed against the DHS by the same GOP group who targeted Champ and Major.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. In this episode we're going to talk about the new Biden pets, Commander the German Shepherd, Willow the tabby cat and Poppet the unofficial White House rabbit, but also about Major and the late Champ Biden and how they were turned into political weapons and attacked by right wing groups, in court and on live TV. And we have some “barking news”: president Zelensky, Olena Zelenska, and their children have more than just two dogs: they also have a hamster and a cat. If you like our content, please become a patron. Major Biden is the only pet in history whose less than perfect behavior was considered reason enough to "file a FOIA lawsuit against the United Stated Department of Homeland Security for records of communication between Secret Service officials assigned to the White House regarding the Biden family dogs." One's pets and children are/should be off limits in politics, even if the politics of their humans is not your cup of tea. On that note, thanks to President Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush for adopting puppy Freddy Bush from the SPCA of Texas and rescuing kitty Bernadette from the side of the road and giving them a wonderful, spoiled life, along with Bob, the second Bush cat. We discuss the attack against a 13 year old dog, Champ, by a Newsmax host. Gregg Kelly and two guests presented agreed on live TV that Champ “is dirty, looks rough, disheveled, like a junkyard dog.” This attack was connected to senator Ted Cruz who fled to Cancun during the 2021 Texas freeze, leaving his poodle Snowflake alone in a house with no electricity and no heat. Texas monthly editor Michael Hardy brought this fact to light and the Twitter account The Oval Pawffice spread the Snowflake news. Newsmax attacked this account while lying to their viewers, stating the account belonged to Jen Psaki. Newsmax viewers mass reported the account until the Twitter algorithm banned it. But thanks to the adorable fox red Labrador retriever Gipper, Juris Dog-tor at Clare Locke, a boutique law firm, The Oval Pawffice was reinstated in 24 hours. Gipper wrote an official letter to Twitter's Legal Counsel making it clear that The Oval Pawffice didn't break any rules. This letter is a work of art, it's written in doggo, Gipper signed it with his own paw print. 1, 2 Next: fun stories about FDR's dog Major, Pete Roosevelt, Barney Bush, Juno and Satan Adams, parrot Poll Jackson, Old Ike the Woodrow Wilson ram and Rebecca Coolidge the racoon. We think wild animals should be protected and they should live in their own habitat. Sanctuaries yes, zoos no. Foreign presidential pets like Nemo Macron and Konni Putin (Konni sadly passed away) are included too. Farts, hair dye and Rudi Giuliani are also a thing in this episode. 3 We conclude by asking everyone to please donate to animal organizations on the ground in Ukraine. They need our help, now more than ever, so please help out if you can. And please ADOPT DON'T SHOP. 4 1. Joe Patrice. Twitter Bans Fan Account For Joe Biden's Pets… . Above The Law. February 2021. ⇤2. The Oval Pawffice twitter account. How to Help Pets in Ukraine. Twitter. April 2022. ⇤3. The Star Youtube account. Macron's Dog Pees in Elysee Meeting. Youtube. October 2017. ⇤4. Michael Hardy Twitter account. @mkerrhardy. Twitter. 2022 ⇤

William and Kate, Harry and Meghan, the pageantry, ceremony, the Crown Jewels, and a special chicken recipe: What should we expect from the coronation of King Charles III?This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. In 1937, the 11 year old Princess Elizabeth had watched her father, King George VI crowned in the elaborate ceremony and 16 years later on 2 June 1953, her own official coronation was to take place. Now, Prince Charles will become King the moment Her Majesty passes away. And William will be watching his father's coronation. Prince Charles was the first child to witness his mother's coronation as Sovereign. Princess Anne, his sister, did not attend the ceremony as she was considered too young. He received a special hand-painted children's invitation to his mother's Coronation. 1 The Coronation of King Charles will be scaled down, less expensive and more inclusive than any other previous similar ceremony. 2 Prince Charles and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall are to be crowned side by side, together, and I like that a lot. Camilla will become Queen Consort. The last time the honor was bestowed was in 1937 when the Queen's mother sat alongside King George VI. 3 In this episode we also discuss The Royal Mews – the Gold Coach, the royal cars and the horses - , as well as the Crown Jewels and their significance. The St. Edward's Crown, made in 1661, will be placed on the head of The King during the Coronation service. It weighs 4 pounds and 12 ounces and is made of solid gold and 44 gemstones, including rubies, garnets, sapphires and tourmalines. After the crown, the orb, also made in 1661, is the most important piece of regalia. It is a globe of gold surrounded by a cross girdled by a band of diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphire and pearls with a large amethyst at the summit. The Coronation ring, known as 'The Wedding Ring of England' – because the monarch's first duty is not family but country – will be placed on The King's fourth finger of his right hand in accordance with tradition. This ring was made for the Coronation of King William IV in 1831, William himself commissioned the British jeweler Rundell, Bridge & Rundell to create the symbolic sapphire ring with baguette-cut rubies in the form of a cross across the face. The rubies represent the cross of St. George (for England) and the sapphire represents the Scottish flag. 4 When Charles becomes King, he will change the royal insignia, he will put his own stamp on the reign by changing the designs of everything from mail boxes to police uniforms. Instead of the ER II insignia, during Charles' reign, the Tudor Crown design will be used. We also debate whether a traditional coronation recipe called Coronation Chicken is exceptional or.. disappointing. The recipe is linked below. 5 1. 50 Facts about The Queen's Coronation. The Royal Household. ⇤2. Mehera Bonner. This Is What Prince Charles's Coronation Will Be Like (Because Yep, It's Already Planned). Cosmopolitan. June 2022. ⇤3. Kate Mansey. Charles and Camilla to be Crowned Side by Side: Prince of Wales's Plans for a Scaled Down Coronation Codenamed 'Operation Golden Orb' that will be Shorter and Cheaper are Revealed. The Daily Mail. February 2022. ⇤4. Queen's Platinum Jubilee Final Day 05/06/22. Youtube. June 2022. ⇤5. Andrea Soranidis. The Original Coronation Chicken. The Petite Cook. February 2019. ⇤

Since we covered the SCOTUS, we also looked at the local judiciary around the U.S. Spoiler alert: not good. A judge from Arkansas named Mike Maggio posted himself from the bench to prison by revealing the details of a sealed adoption by Charlize Theron.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. Mike Maggio even took bribes from a nursing home corporation to reduce negligence / wrongful death judgments against the company and pinned all of this stuff on himself by posting about it on a college football forum. Maggio's flagrant abuse of the law was uncovered by Matt Campbell of Blue Hog Report, a great example of a blog for any would-be local issues journalist. 1 As it turns out, Maggio may be the norm rather than the exception. A study of judge misconduct nationwide found approximately 16-20% of them have had some sort of reprimand, but 90% remained in office after being punished. Of those nefarious judges, 2/3 were punished anonymously so that possible victims of those judges can't even pinpoint their names. 2 Sandra talks about her time volunteering for a Senate campaign for Beto O'Rourke in Texas and we close up by recommending that people pay a little more attention to their local offices and local issues. You can do a lot more with a few friends and neighbors in your hometown than the spectacle of a presidential election can do for you. All of this brought to mind the all-time great political speech from Jesse Jackson during the 1984 campaign. "Rocks, just layin' around..." 3 1. Matt Campbell. Who Have You Wronged, Mr. Maggio? Hog Nation Turns Its Angry Eyes To You. (Woo woo wooooo.). Blue Hog Report. March 2014. ⇤2. Michael Berens and John Shiffman. Thousands of U.S. Judges Who Broke Laws or Oaths Remained on the Bench. Reuters. June 2020. ⇤3. Jesse Jackson. Rocks Layin' Around Speech. Youtube. October 2020. ⇤

Despite claiming he enjoys Walmart parking lots and RV parks, Clarence Thomas is more of a yacht and private jet guy. His lavish life, bankrolled by GOP megadonor Harlan Crow, is far more glamorous than any of us imaginedThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. In this episode we discuss how Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has accepted tens of thousands of dollars' worth of gifts since joining the court, including $1,200 worth of tires, valuable historical objects and a $5,000 personal check. 1 He also received batteries and a jacket. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our content ad-free. These are the gifts he reported, but it turns out that Harlan Crow took good care of Clarence Thomas and his wife Ginni Thomas. 2 Justice Thomas lives the life of a movie star or tech bro billionaire, flying on private jets, cruising on million dollar yachts and vacationing in exotic places like the Indonesian islands. Thomas and Crow went together to Bohemian Grove, the rustic Bay Area men-only retreat for the rich and powerful, where rumor has it that captains of industry and powerful politicians roam the grounds naked or in robes, drink profusely and… urinate on trees, all in the spirit of male-bonding. 3, 4 1. Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott and Alex Mierjeski. Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire. Propublica. April 2023. ⇤2. Richard A. Serrano and David G. Savage. Justice Thomas Reports Wealth of Gifts. Los Angeles Times. December 2004. ⇤3. Jack Holmes. This Supreme Court Justice Definitely Does NOT Have a Sugar Daddy, They Are Just Friends. Esquire. April 2023. ⇤4. Michael Cabanatuan. Clarence Thomas and Bohemian Grove: Inside the secretive California retreat making headlines. San Francisco Chronicle. April 2023. ⇤

A Russian GRU operative posing as a Brazilian student in the U.S. was arrested, after the FBI and the CIA kept tabs on him for years. Moscow retaliated and detained American journalist Evan Gershkovich on trumped-up charges of espionage.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. In this episode we discuss the specifics of Sergey Cherkasov's arrest: Sergey is a Russian spy, an illegal, arrested by the Danish authorities in Brazil. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free. Cherkasov's legend – a made-up bio created by the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service – presented him as Victor Muller Ferreira, a Brazilian student in his late 20s. In reality, Sergey is 33 and a spy. Using fake documents, he managed to obtain a post graduate diploma from John Hopkins University. He then was offered a junior analyst position at the International Criminal Court, the same institution that recently issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine. The CIA and the FBI had been keeping tabs on him for a while, so he was arrested in Brazil in April 2022 and will spend the next 15 years in prison. 1 The Russian spy story broke on March 26 in The Guardian, and just 4 days later, on March 30, 2023, the Wall Street Journal reporter was arrested near Moscow. Not a coincidence, this was probably payback for the public embarrassment the Russian intelligence services are facing after a very sloppy operative they trained was caught. 2 Evan Gershkovich, a thirty-one-year-old reporter for the Wall Street Journal is the son of Soviet-born émigrés who came to the U.S. in the late seventies. He was detained while on a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg, a city 800 miles east of Moscow. The next day, he was brought to Moscow, formally charged with espionage in a closed hearing, and ordered to be held in Lefortovo Prison awaiting trial. Evan Gershkovich is accredited to work as a journalist in Russia by the country's foreign ministry. 3 1. Greg Miller. He came to D.C. as a Brazilian student. The U.S. says he was a Russian spy.. The Washington Post. March 2023. ⇤2. Joshua Yaffa. The Unimaginable Horror of a Friend's Arrest in Moscow. The New Yorker. March 2023. ⇤3. Daniel Michaels, Vivian Salama, and Jared Malsin. White House Condemns Russia's Detention of Wall Street Journal Reporter. The Wall Street Journal. March 2023. ⇤4. Greg Botelho. Dangerous diplomacy: A look at U.S. diplomats killed in the line of duty. CNN. March 2015. ⇤

Mixing fraud and fame is a bad idea. In this episode we discuss two scammers who inexplicably thought they could be both con men and social media influencers at the same time. Predictably, both found prison in addition to internet fame.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. Theodore Robert Wright III went from cell phone case kiosks as a teenager to crashing airplanes for fun and profit as an adult and took the bold move of filming himself after (intentionally) crashing a plane into the Gulf of Mexico and trying to pitch the accident to the cell phone case company to create a “Red Bull moment.” If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes AD-FREE. It's all very strange, and well detailed in the article written by Katy Vine for the Texas Monthly about our man Theodore, which details how his scheme to set a private jet on fire at the Athens, Texas municipal airport got Theodore in the sights of ATF agent Jim Reed, and ultimately landed him in the slammer. 1 We also discuss whether ostriches should be shoes, how it's totally fine to get a manicure as a man if she thinks you're hot already, how to bum money from a sultan for the CIA and then instantly lose it because you are bad with account numbers, and last but not least, how getting your secretary pregnant is a pretty good way to get divorced and thus lose your private flying hobby. Lastly, we cover the case of a guy who decided to be a fake Saudi prince. While it's not technically illegal to be an imaginary persona on Instagram, it is illegal to impersonate a diplomat apparently. And certainly illegal to use that persona to defraud foolish business partners out of about 8 million dollars. It turns out that Prince Khalid al-Saud from Instagram is really not Prince Khalid al-Saud, but rather Anthony Gignac from Michigan. In this part of the episodes we discuss whether a dog needs a grill, which is cooler out of gold beheading swords or gold stoning stones, and how botox may or may not give your camel an unfair advantage in the camel show. 2, 3 1. Katy Vine, The Wildest Insurance Fraud Case Texas has Ever Seen, Texas Monthly, September 2020. ⇤2. Ian Lecklitner, Braces For Dogs Aren't as Dicey as They Seem, Mel Magazine, 2020. ⇤3. Mohammed Tawfeeq and Jack Guy, Camels Ejected from Beauty Contest Over Botox Use and Other 'Tampering', CNN, December 2021. ⇤

Charles Taylor, the former warlord and president of Liberia, “sponsored” by the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, left a swath of death and destruction through the country in the 1980s and 1990s.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. Charles and Chuckie Taylor left a swath of death and destruction through the country of Liberia in the 1980s and 1990s, which culminated in both of them being run out of political office and tried and convicted of war crimes. If you like our content please become a patron to get all of our public episodes ad-free. Charles Taylor was the son of an Americo-Liberian judge from Monrovia, Liberia, and his privileged upbringing in private American schools prepared him for the future that would see him befriend the Firestone Tire and Rubber country, and orchestrate a bloody revolution which killed over 250,000 people and exiled a million more from his home country. 1 Taylor's rise began with a post in the administration of the dictator who came to power from a prior coup in Liberia. During that time Taylor was head of purchasing and procurement, and skimming the contracts in that office for personal profit landed him in jail in the US awaiting extradition back to Liberia, after he fled from fraud charges in Monrovia. But he struck a deal with the American intelligence agencies and Firestone to overthrow the current Liberian dictator, and the CIA helped him escape from the American jail and start his genocidal revolution on the borders of Liberia and neighboring countries like Guinea and the Ivory Coast. 2 Taylor's violent revolution ultimately failed to capture Monrovia, but he was elected to the country's presidency anyway. His revolution sponsored by Firestone had given him far better access to mass media facilities than his competitors, so despite running ads with the crazy slogan "he killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I'm voting for Charles Taylor," Taylor won the presidency of Liberia by an election in 1997. But his success would not last. Just a few short years after his election he was run out of office just as he had overthrown his predecessor, Sergeant Samuel Doe, a former Liberian army soldier who had in turn overthrown the government of his predecessor, William Tolbert. All of this is very well documented in an excellent series of articles published by PBS and ProPublica, which was later turned into a documentary for PBS as well. Charles Taylor is now serving a life sentence in prison for war crimes after having been convicted by the international court at the Hague. Chuckie Taylor is now serving a life sentence after having been convicted on a similar charge in the US, he's the first American citizen to be convicted of torture abroad. As of the writing of these articles we're citing from the early 2000s, Chuckie's sadistic commander Bill Horace, who was known for crucifying villagers he caught looting abandoned plantations, was still living a free life in Toronto, Canada. 3 1. T. Christian Miller and Jonathan Jones. Firestone and the Warlord. ProPublica. November 2014. ⇤2. Charles Taylor 'worked' for CIA in Liberia. BBC. January 2012. ⇤3. Michael Petrou. Safe haven for an alleged killer. MacLeans. March 2010. ⇤

Four Americans were ambushed and caught up in a cartel shootout in Matamoros, then held hostage for days – apparently, the gunmen thought they were Haitian drug smugglers. Two of them were killed, two survived.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. Four friends from North Carolina, Latavia “Tay” Washington McGee, Eric James Williams, Zindell Brown and Shaeed Woodard traveled to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, for a medical procedure. 1 Latavia McGee was supposed to get a tummy tuck, but things didn't go as planned. If you like our content, become a patron, you'll get all of our episodes ad-free. Their car was shot at and the four were taken hostage by the Scorpion division of the Gulf Cartel before they were able to reach the clinic where Latavia McGee had her abdominoplasty appointment. Sadly, Zindell Brown and Shaeed Woodard were killed. An innocent passerby was also murdered by the cartel, by mistake. 2 In this episode we discuss all the theories and rumors surrounding this case, the level 4 “do not travel” advisory issued by the State Department, the timeline and chain of events, medical tourism in Mexico, the cartel's apology letter and the verified facts that should be considered before jumping to conclusions. 3, 4 1. Lewis Pennock. Woman denied entry into Mexico with 'Tummy Tuck Four' claims group told her they'd return in just 15 MINUTES.... The Daily Mail. March 2023. ⇤2. David Wolf Twitter account. Just the usual dragging of bodies... (video: graphic). Twitter. March 2023. ⇤3. Nyamekye Daniel. Authorities Explore Drug Smuggling Motive As Apology Letter, Photos of Suspects from Cartel Raise Public Suspicion In Case of Americans Kidnapped In Mexico. Atlanta Black Star. March 2023. ⇤4. Jorge L. Ortiz, Rick Jervis, Kevin Johnson, and Josh Meyer. Mexican cartel apologizes for kidnapping, killing Americans, turns over 5 it says responsible. USA Today. March 2023. ⇤

How a sketchy aviation academy in Texas drove an immigrant flight student to suicide. Yan Yang was supposed to learn how to be an airline pilot. Instead, the 21 yo was bullied, made to mop floors and clean toilets.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. We're talking about an aviation school in Denton, Texas that is accused of driving a Chinese student to suicide in 2019. According to plaintiff accusations, this aviation school had Chinese students mopping floors, cleaning toilets, and holding the doors open for passers-by, rather than getting the flight training they had paid for when they came to the US to learn to be airline pilots. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all of our public episodes ad-free! 1, 2, 3 The school also let an airplane fly despite repeated engine failure events according to an NTSB Report about a crash that killed another Chinese student and the student's 25 year old American instructor. Predictably, at least one of the owners of this school lists a history of employment and contracts with companies like Halliburton, Texaco, etc. 4, 5 1. Marshall Reid. Chinese parents sue Denton County aviation academy over son's death archive copy. Denton Record-Chronicle. September 2020. (archive copy) ⇤2. Reddit: Chinese parents sue.... /r/denton subreddit. September 2020. ⇤3. Reddit: Denton aviation academy photos. /r/denton subreddit. October 2020. ⇤4. Megan Gray-Hatfield. ‘Our hearts are heavy': Memorial set up to honor 2 killed in plane crash. Gainesville Daily Register. July 2019. ⇤5. NTSB. Aviation Accident Summary CEN19FA238. Accidents App. August 2019. ⇤

This is a crazy, lesser-known story of Titan II missile silos, a poultry tariff with serious repercussions for the environment, and relations between France, US, and Germany after WW2.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. In the 1950s, Senator Fulbright from Arkansas politely told a gathering of NATO countries that he would withhold military aid if the French and Germans put a tariff on American frozen chicken. Arkansas was home to not only the largest chicken corporation in the world, but also dozens of Titan II missile silos. If you like our content, please become a patron to get more bonus episodes like this one, and all of our public episodes ad-free as well. This strange congruence of conflicting nefarious interests incidentally led us to the environmental catastrophe we face decades later. The Johnson administration's retaliation to the chicken tax was to put a tariff on trucks, and in response the American car companies doubled up on marketing trucks and SUVs to Americans due to that protected market. So in a manner of speaking, the reason that the sky here in Dallas is yellow with exhaust fumes on a hot summer day is because of fallout from a war over frozen chickens, although presidents after Johnson and Kennedy have done their part to push us further toward ruin as well. 1, 2 Not to be outdone: hog farms. We also discuss the abuses of the hog farming industry in North Carolina and how they inevitably pollute rivers after every single hurricane hits that state, from overflowing open-pit waste collection ponds. As we mention in the episode, this video was captured by a reporter investigating a coal ash spill after hurricane Florence in 2018. We found out later that the coal ash was mixed with pig feces. 3 1. Western Europe: Nobody But Their Chickens. Time Magazine. November 1962. ⇤2. Rod Leonard. The USDA Plan for Deregulating and Privatizing Meat and Poultry Inspection: A Short History. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. December 2013. ⇤3. ABC World News Tonight. DAM FEARS: Aerials show Florence floodwaters breaching a dam that contains a large lake at a Wilmington, North Carolina, power plant.... ABC News. September 2018. ⇤

On Feb. 3, a Norfolk Southern train transporting deathly chemicals derailed near East Palestine, Ohio. Weeks after the toxic train wreck, residents have reported a growing number of symptoms – from rashes and nausea to headaches and trouble breathing.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. After the train derailed at approximately 9 PM ET, the chemicals it transported, such as vinyl chloride, were intentionally burned off in a controlled explosion, which prompted a temporary evacuation of the area. If you like our content and want to support us, please become a patron to get all of our episodes ad-free. The waterways and creeks around East Palestine are covered in an oily sheen, fish died and now people and animals in the area are experiencing worrying symptoms. For almost two weeks, the media was silent. Similarly, the local authorities did not say much either. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, said in a press conference on Feb 14, 2023, ten days after the East Palestine ecological disaster: ‘Look, President Biden called me and said, “Anything you need.” I have not called him back after that conversation. We will not hesitate to do that if we're seeing a problem or anything, but I'm not seeing it.' The EPA and FEMA are on the ground, debate continues whether it is safe to breathe the air or drink the water in the area. Questions are being raised regarding the extent and reach of this environmental disaster, too. 1, 2 In this episode we also look at the peculiar similarities between the East Palestine toxic train derailment and the very similar fictional event described in the novel White Noise. This coincidence is reminiscent of another unbelievable case: the 1979 the film “The China Syndrome” with Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas, and Jack Lemmon. This movie about a nuclear plant explosion in Three Mile Island came out in theaters one week before the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster in Pennsylvania, which led to 140,000 people being evacuated out of their homes. 3 1. Alex Presha,Brandon Chase ,Morgan Winsor andIsabella Murray. Ohio train derailment: EPA administrator visits East Palestine, asks residents to 'trust the government'. ABC News. February 2023. ⇤2. This isn't a railway in a Third World County, This is in Ohio. Twitter. February 2023. ⇤3. Alison Stine. The eerie parallels between Netflix's "White Noise" and the Ohio train derailment disaster. Salon. February 2023. ⇤

After his secret girlfriend tipped off the authorities, McGonigal was arrested over ties with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska in Jan 2023. As Chief of FBI's Counterintelligence in New York, Charles McGonigal had near limitless access to US secrets.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. This week we tell the story of a top FBI agent, Charles McGonigal, and his ties with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, a close ally of Putin and the former employer of Paul Manafort, Trump's 2016 campaign chair. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all of our episodes ad free. 1 McGonigal took $225,000 in secret cash payments from someone who had served as an Albanian intelligence officer. McGonigal concealed that relationship, as well as his meetings with Sergey Shestakov, from the Bureau. FBI's New York Chief of Counterintelligence also had an extramarital affair with a woman named Allison Guerriero, who later became Rudy Giuliani's house guest and biggest supporter. The events are reminiscent of the Aldrich Ames and Robert Hansen spy cases. 2 During his time with the FBI, McGonigal led the WikiLeaks investigation into Chelsea Manning, and oversaw the search for a Chinese mole inside the CIA. McGonigal was arrested In January 2023 at Kennedy International Airport. Shestakov was arrested at his US home in a simultaneous operation. Both men are accused of receiving payments through shell companies and forging signatures to conceal the fact that Deripaska was paying them. [^3] They have both been charged with money laundering charges, in addition to charges for violating sanctions. Each of these counts carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. 3 1. Mattathias Schwartz. Exclusive: The FBI's McGonigal labyrinth. Business Insider. Feb 2023. ⇤2. Mattathias Schwartz. Inside the extramarital affair and cash-fueled double life of Charles McGonigal, the FBI spy hunter charged with taking Russian money. Insider. Jan 2023. [^3] Benjamin Weiser and William K. Rashbaum. Former Senior F.B.I. Official in New York Charged With Aiding Olig:arch. New York Times. Jan 2023. ⇤4. Craig Unger. Did the FBI's Charles McGonigal Help Throw the 2016 Election to Trump?. New Republic. Feb 2023. ⇤

A history of knife wielding assassins, from medieval times to Salman Rushdie's attempted murder in New York, in 2022. The word “assassin” comes from the Persian “hashshashin,” eater of hashish. Who was the first assassin in history?This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Go to https://betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS for 10% off your first month of therapy and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help. We're talking about the attempted killing of Salman Rushdie by Hadi Matar, a New Jersey man obsessed with the Ayatollah Khomeini's Fatwa issued to encourage Rushdie's assassination back in the 1980s after the publication of Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses. Please become a patron if you like our content, you'll get all of our public episodes ad-free. 1 Fatwas are mostly pretty silly, there are only three recent ones dealing with a person: one in the 1990s was issued for secular Egyptian writer Farag Foda who was murdered in 1992, one was issued in the early 2000s urging the assassination of Libyan president Muhammar al-Gaddafi, and the third for Salman Rushdie in 1989. Rushdie lived with a permanent security presence away from the public eye for a decade due to the threat of violence against him. The term assassin originated with Hassan as-Sabbah, an 11th century Shia revolutionary who seized Alamut castle and the surrounding region without killing soul... by disguising himself as a teacher and gaining the confidence of the castle's guards and diplomats while the ruler of the region was away. With co-conspirators in hand Hassan took control of the castle and founded both one of the medieval world's great libraries and centers of learning, as well as a school for hired killers. The word itself either came from the Persian word "eaters of hashish" or "hashashin" (because anyone who would kill a man who he had spent years befriending only to be killed by guards moments later must be high), or "hassa", the Arabic word for "killing a large population of people." Whichever was the true origin, the prevalence of the word in English comes from Shakespeare, who also used the word in Macbeth to describe the act of killing a king for profit and ambition. We finish by discussing a great article about the state of modern discourse by Kenan Malik printed in the Guardian in 2018, as well as quotes from Rushdie himself and the great fictionalized version of Hassan as-Sabbah's story written by Vladimir Bartol in 1938: the novel Alamut. 2, 3 Episode #DubiMeter = 8 1. Ray Sanchez, Adam Thomas, Kristina Sgueglia, Samantha Beech, Paul P. Murphy, and Lauren Said-Moorhouse. Authorities identify suspect who attacked author Salman Rushdie at western New York event. CNN. August 2022. ⇤2. Kenan Malik. The Satanic Verses sowed the seeds of rifts that have grown ever wider. The Guardian. September 2018. ⇤3. DJ Grothe. Salman Rushdie – Secular Values, Human Rights and Islamism. Point of Inquiry. October 2006. ⇤

Tyre Nichols was beaten to death by five policemen after being stopped illegally for an alleged traffic violation, in what looks like a targeted, personal attack.In this episode we're talking about some aspects of the Tyree Nichols' murder that are being discussed less, Memphis and LA deputy gangs, some crazy details of the actual murder that shocked us the most, things like implicit bias and how racism can happen against people of your own race. If you like our content please become a patron and get all of our episodes ad-free. 1 We also discuss the EMTs who didn't do their jobs properly, the aggravated kidnapping charges, the now disbanded Scorpion Unit, the history of Slave Patrols and why racism is central to policing in America, and many other insane things that make this case so different from other police killings. 2, 3 Nichols was supposedly stopped for reckless driving, but Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis said early Friday morning an investigation and review of available camera footage had found "no proof" of that. All five ex-officers who beat Tyree Nichols to death were charged with second-degree murder, two counts of official misconduct, one count of official oppression, one count of aggravated assault, and two counts of aggravated kidnapping. The officers involved — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith — were fired, Davis said, after they violated department policies during the January 7 stop that led to Nichols' death. They are now out on bail awaiting trial. 1. Theodore R. Johnson. Black-on-Black Racism: The Hazards of Implicit Bias. The Atlantic. December 2014. ⇤2. Dr. Gary Potter. The History of Policing in the United States, Part 1. Eastern Kentucky University. June 2013. ⇤3. Lynching In America: Confronting The Legacy Of Racial Terror. Equal Justice Initiative. 3rd ed 2017 ⇤

In a phenomenon dubbed "Sudden Russian Death Syndrome", over two dozen oligarchs, media executives, and high ranking military personnel have died in "accidental" deaths since the start of the Ukraine war.Most have "fallen" out of windows. One fell from his boat and "died instantly" upon hitting the water. One even died from the poisoned toad venom he took from a couple of guru-healers in Moscow who gave him the toxin as a hangover cure. All of these victims of SRDS have run afoul of Putin's favor, and met untimely deaths in the past couple of years. If you like our content please become a patron to support the podcast. You'll get all of our episodes ad-free. 1 We're also talking a bit about the Wagner group, recently declared an international criminal organization by the US State Department. Its leaders have a penchant for Nazi tattoos and brutality, but they also seem to have much more leeway in terms of criticizing the Kremlin than all of the unfortunate oligarchs who fell out of their balcony windows or fell down a flight a stairs. Recently the Russian Army took credit for taking the town of Soledar in Eastern Ukraine, and Wagner Group officials publicly corrected them and chastised the Kremlin for "stealing their victory." In a rare moment of backing down, the Kremlin apologized for the mis-statement. 2 Almost half of the two dozen or so "mysterious deaths" since the beginning of the Ukraine war happened prior to the summer of 2022. 3 1. Elaine Godfrey. Sudden Russian Death Syndrome. The Atlantic. December 2022. ⇤2. Leila Sackur. Victory claims over small Ukrainian town expose rift among Russian forces NBC News. January 2023. ⇤3. Giulia Carbonaro. Every Russian Official Who Has Died Since Putin Invaded Ukraine. Newsweek. April 2022. ⇤

What is truth? With George Santos, who knows. This week we're talking about the most prolific liar in the US Congress, Long Island's recent house member elect: George Santos.In this episode we're talking about who George Santos is and how he got here... here being both the United States and the House of Representatives. If you like our content, please become a patron if you'd like to support us directly. You'll get all of our episodes ad-free. The only thing we know for sure about George is that he is in fact a child of Brazilian immigrants, the rest is a very moving target. We only know that because he has a pending criminal charge in Brazil, apparently he stole the checkbook of a deceased man his mother was caring for and went shopping on the dead man's account. 1 More interestingly, George is apparently quite friendly with Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, via Viktor's cousin in the United States Andrew Intrater. Santos is the largest recipient of funds from Intrater / Vekselberg linked companies in the past election cycle and the only one to get individual donations from both Intrater and his wife. 2 Santos is also linked to an investment firm in Florida called Harbor City Capital which was shut down by the SEC for operating as a ponzi scheme, and directors of that company including Jayson Benoit and Devaughn Dames are now involved in other Republican fundraising and political organizations, such as WinRed and Red Strategies USA. WinRed in particular has some explaining to do, as Santos and another campaign affiliated with his former Harbor City buddies (Tina Forte who ran against AOC in 2022 and lost by 44 points) are accused of fraudulently over-billing donor credit cards via the WinRed payment processing service. 3 WinRed's treasurer is a man named Benjamin Ottenhoff who came up in the Senate campaigns of Rick Scott, the senator from Florida who, unsurprisingly, was the CEO of a company which at the time pled guilty to the largest Medicare fraud in US history. Funny how Republicans pretend to care about how things cost too much but are either throwing money at scams or perpetrating them all the time, isn't it? Predictably, an Ottenhoff firm was also paid quite a bit to "consult" on Kanye West's political campaign, too. 4 1. Grace Ashford and André Spigariol. Brazilian Authorities Will Revive Fraud Case Against George Santos. The New York Times. January 2023. ⇤2. Isaac Stanley-Becker and Rosalind S. Helderman . New details link George Santos to cousin of sanctioned Russian oligarch. The Washington Post. January 2023. ⇤3. Hunter Walker and Josh Kovensky. Campaigns Linked To Santos Left Donors Feeling Ripped Off After Questionable Credit Card Charges. Talking Points Memo. January 2023. ⇤4. Roger Sollenberger and William Bredderman. Kanye West's ‘Independent' Campaign Was Secretly Run by GOP Elites. The Daily Beast. ⇤

A Virginia school teacher was shot by her six-year-old student after she tried to confiscate the weapon from the child who was showing off the gun in class.Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said that the shooting was intentional, not an accident. After an altercation with his teacher, 25 year old Abby Zwerner, the first grader shot her twice, once in the abdomen and once in the hand, right there in the classroom. If you like our content please become a patron to support us, you'll get all of our episodes ad-free. Richneck Elementary went on immediate lockdown and first responders were called. The child was taken “into custody”. Besides the obvious discussion about gun control and why would such a young child be able to get hold of a gun, in this episode we discuss the story behind the story, and we'll analyze how the criminal justice system deals with such young offenders. We look at precedents, what the psychiatrists say and at the societal influence that make events such as this one possible. We are of the opinion that this child is also a victim. 1, 2 We also talk about the child sized gun industry and the lightweight, JR-15 weapon, inspired by the AR-15 and designed for juniors by an American company. 3 1. Antonio Planas and Helen Kwong. 6-year-old is unlikely to be charged in teacher's shooting, but parents could be, experts say. NBC News. January 2023. ⇤2. Erum Salam. Virginia teacher who was shot by six-year-old tried to confiscate gun – report. The Guardian. January 2023. ⇤3. Snejana Farberov. 'It shoots just like mom and dad's gun': Weapons manufacturer unveils AR-15 for KIDS - called JR-15 - that is 20% smaller and weighs just 2.3lbs. The Daily Mail. Feb 2022. ⇤

A Romanian and an American are discussing the twitter obliteration of Andrew Tate by Greta Thunberg, while focusing on the lesser known details of his criminal activity and arrest in Bucharest, his childhood, chess years and current girlfriend.The online feud between teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg and Andrew Tate is probably one of the best Twitter moments ever. Greta won by knockout, despite Tate's kickboxing background. If you like our content and want to support us, please become a patron. The Tate brothers – Andrew and Tristan – moved to Bucharest, Romania in 2017 because they thought rape charges are easier to avoid. In April 2022, following a tip-off from the US embassy that a 21-year-old American woman was being held against her will, their Pipera villa was raided. The police found two women being held captive, an American and a Romanian and the brothers were detained for 24 hours, on suspicion of human trafficking and rape. In December 2022, hours after posting a video reply to Greta Thunberg showing two Jerry's Pizza boxes, DIICOT - Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism – arrested the brothers again, as well as two women who were helping them: Luana Radu – an ex cop - and Georgiana Manuela Naghel, the latter being Andrew Tate's girlfriend. DIICOT alleged that the four suspects – the Tate brothers and their respective girlfriends - formed an organized criminal group that stretched from Romania to Britain and the United States, for the purpose of committing the crime of human trafficking. 1 The authorities say that the Tate brothers misled the victims “into believing that they intended to enter into a marriage/cohabitation relationship” – the loverboy scam - while transporting victims to Romania and later sexually exploiting them with physical violence and coercion. Authorities also said one of the suspects raped a victim on two separate occasions in March 2022. At least six victims were allegedly “sexually exploited by the organized criminal group”. 2 In this episode we also take a look at Andrew Tate's childhood in Chicago, Illinois and Luton, UK, his family history, chess years and kickboxing career. His father, Emory Tate, was a chess International Master. Tristan and Andrew claim that they were very poor, but according to Gandul, their father left them a hotel in Thailand. 3 1. Ovidiu Oanta. The Tate brothers could lose their entire fortune. DIICOT prosecutors seized the million-dollar villa and cars. Stiril Pro-TV. January 2023. ⇤2. Adina Anghelescu. The victims of Andrew and Tristan Tate are starting to make complaints to DIICOT and are asking for damages. Gandul. January 2023. ⇤3. Marius Olaru. Catching the Tate brothers, step by step. Gandul. December 2022. ⇤

How the Mormon church turned their practice of baptizing of the dead into a medical data empire, and managed to amass the world's largest genetic database, which was then sold to Blackstone for billions of dollars.What is Blackstone going to do with the largest archive of print newspapers, human genetic data, and vital records? Let's be honest, it's Blackrock/Blackstone, so it's probably not going to be good. This is a preview, if you like our content and would like to support us, become a patron to get all of our public episodes ad-free. In the 19th century the early Mormon church was expelled from two different American territories before arriving in Utah, where they remain concentrated to this day. In both cases, stuffing election ballots with overwhelmingly Mormon candidates, intimidation, and land fraud were among the things which got them into violent confrontations with their non-Mormon neighbors. The game was relatively simple: the whole church would move en masse to a small town and as of the next election after their arrival, elect themselves to every single public office. But Mormon aspirations did not stop at political power, it's wealth that people ultimately want, not redemption. In the early Mormon church's days Mormon doctrine said that the bible's bit about "thou shalt inherit the land of thy enemies" was specifically aimed at them. Non-Mormons in the towns that Mormons moved to in Missouri or Illinois found themselves harassed into selling their property to members of the Mormon church, and those who refused could be dealt with in "other ways" if the Mormons had full political authority in the territory. Fast forward to the last two decades, and the same Mormon church had not only amassed control of local county deeds and estate records, but also amassed America's largest newspaper archive, and the world's largest genetic data archive. They sold it all to Blackstone in 2018 for four and a half billion dollars, and subsequently, Blackstone was accused of buying apartment blocs in Denmark that were deed restricted against private landlord ownership. That sounds sort of familiar, doesn't it? 1 In the modern Mormon church's case, all of this data is wrapped up in the church doctrine of baptizing the dead. Mormons believe that they can posthumously baptize people who will be offered redemption in the afterlife. It's all very tech savvy and post-COVID, in that people who are dead and buried are baptized "remotely" by stand-in surrogates in Mormon temples. 2 In the US, a charity organization named "Reclaim the Records" is trying to fight back against the practice of hoarding vital records by private companies, by suing government agencies which refuse to honor FOIA requests from individuals, journalists, and non-profits while selling data to for-profit companies. 3 1. Katie Notopoulos. Ancestry.com Is In Cahoots With Public Records Agencies, A Group Suspects. Buzzfeed. October 2018. ⇤2. Kristofer Rhude. Mormons, Genetics, & Digitized Data. Harvard Divinity School. 2019. ⇤3. Reclaim the Records. Official Website. 2022. ⇤

How the notorious Jennings, Louisiana sherriff's and police departments covered up the murders of 8 young women between 2005 and 2010.In this episode we're talking about the murders of 8 young women in southwest Louisiana, as reported in the great book and documentary television series "Murder in the Bayou" by Ethan Brown. The story is not only a true crime television series, but also very close in plot details to the first season of the fictional HBO series True Detective, starring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, written by Nic Pizzolatto. If you like our content please become a patron to get all of our public episodes ad-free. 1 The Jennings, Louisiana law enforcement agencies were notorious nationwide before these murders took place. In the 1990s they made national news in an investigation by NBC's Dateline, into fraudulent drug charges related to vehicle seizures along Interstate 10 between Houston and New Orleans. The Jennings area police complicit in that scam were paying themselves bonuses for fake drug busts and buying lavish toys and properties with the ill gotten proceeds. But a lot is never enough, and those same police graduated to running protection for other criminal enterprises later on in the early 2000s. Most of the drug and sex trade in Jennings ran through a strip club owner named Frankie Richard, who was not surprisingly also the police's most prized informant. Frankie was implicated in at least two of the murders of the 8 women discussed in this episode, but was never tried for the crimes despite eye-witness accounts detailing the manner in which he and his niece killed the two victims. Another man was stabbed to death after only saying that he knew what happened to one of the dead girls. A third man was mysteriously hit by a train. 2 And last but not least, but perhaps most predictably, Republican congressman Charles Boustany was rumored to have frequented a motel in Jennings where the 8 dead girls often sold sexual favors. Frankie Richard said he had sex with 3 of the girls who wound up dead, and the motel was being managed and operated by one of Boustany's campaign staffers at the time. The accusations cost Boustany his 2008 run for the US Senate, but he remained the US House Representative from the district encompassing Jennings until 2017. Family values, folks. 3 1. David Renshaw. HBO executive admits he rushed ‘True Detective' writer into creating second season. NME. January 2016. ⇤2. Ethan Brown. Who Killed the Jeff Davis 8?. Medium. January 2014. ⇤3. Allegra Kirkland. What's The Deal With Those Wild Prostitution Claims Against A GOP Rep.?. Talking Points Memo. September 2016. ⇤

A Yoga school in Buenos Aires full of classical musicians has operated for over 30 years as a hidden international sex cult.We're talking about the recent raid by the Argentine Federal Police's Human Trafficking unit of a sex cult that has operated internationally from Buenos Aires for the past 3 decades... at least. If you like our content please become a patron to get our episodes ad-free. In late August the Argentine Federal Police raided a yoga school filled with cash, gold, property titles, cars, and oddly... sex toys. It turns out that this was the second time the school had been accused of running a human trafficking organization. In the 1990s the school was charged with similar crimes but the case never went to trial, presumably because of the wealthy participants involved. The organization's director Juan Percowicz is arrested and awaiting trial, along with pianist Susana Mendelievich, and renowned oboe performer Mariano Kraus. Opera soprano Verónica Iacono is currently an international fugitive, also facing charges related to the cult. The late violinist Rubén González was the director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra when he opened the Buenos Aires Yoga School's Chicago location back in the 1990s, as well. 1 This time, there are wiretaps detailing the cult's activities and those wiretaps contain multiple mentions of the world's most famous living opera singer: Placido Domingo. This isn't the first time Domingo has been involved in sex scandals. While paying for sex in Argentina is legal and he faces no criminal charges related to the sex cult in Buenos Aires, he was fired from his management roles in the Kennedy Center Opera Company and the LA Opera Company over complaints that he had sexually harassed female performers. 2 As it turns out Placido was a customer of the young girls which the cult provided to wealthy clients, but prostitution wasn't their main business. The larger share of their profits came from a scientology-type cult which promised people spiritual healing for everything from drug addiction to chronic pain. The young sex workers were just a way to lure in cult members who were then coerced into changing their wills to gift their property to the cult upon their deaths. 3 A man named Pablo Salum has extensive information on the cult going back to the time when his parents joined it in the 1990s when he was a teenage boy. Pablo has started an advocacy organization called "Libre Mentes" or, "Free Minds" in English, which advocates for laws to combat coercive religious cults in Latin America. 4 Episode #Dubimeter: 9.5 1. Phil Greenfield. ASO Concert Strikes Strange Chord. Baltimore Sun. November 1995. ⇤2. Anastasia Tsioulcas. LA Opera Finds 'Inappropriate Conduct' Claims Against Plácido Domingo Credible. NPR. March 2020. ⇤3. Frederico Molina. Sex, drugs and promises of happiness: The Buenos Aires Yoga School's money-making machine. El Pais. August 2022. ⇤4. Pablo Salum. Here I begin the THREAD where it will be clear to you with documentation, how the human rights organizations were complicit, helped and protected the #Secta who has my family!. Ley Antisectas Twitter account. March 2018. ⇤

A mysterious gunman opened fire on two grid substations in North Carolina, in a targeted attack during a drag show organized by Naomi Dix at a local theater which left more than 38,000 people in Moore County without power, in freezing temperatures.The Sunrise Theater in Southern Pines went dark in an instant. The drag show was called off early, and shortly thereafter a woman named Emily Rainey seemed to take credit for the power outage in a public Facebook post. The local sheriff has questioned her in relation to the Facebook posts and determined that she's not the culprit after "a word of prayer." ...Right. 1 If you like our content and would like to support us, please become a patron to get our public episodes ad-free. This wasn't the first drag show Emily Rainey has protested, she's been attending them in secret according to her Instagram posts for quite some time. She's also a regular guest on the podcast of a priest officially made into a hermit by the Catholic church due to his outrageous political opinions 2 This isn't the first time Emily Rainey has made national news, either. She was forced out of her Army commission after bringing a bus of 100 people to attend the January 6 riots in D.C. after Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. Since then she's rebranded herself as a right wing activist figure in charge of an organization called "Moore County Citizens for Freedom" but there's just one problem: according to voter records she doesn't even live in Moore County. 3 What she does do, according to her own social media history, is get pregnant after an affair with another woman's husband. The Calvary Christian School in Southern Pines was apparently very concerned about the drag show, but not as concerned with Emily's baby daddy situation. Shocker. 4 1. Khaleda Rahman. Emily Rainey Photo With Sheriff Amid North Carolina Outage Raises Questions. Newsweek. December 2022. ⇤2. Fr. Dave Nix. In Exile From a Kidnapped Bride. Padreperegrino.org. September 2022. ⇤3. Tom Cleary. Emily Grace Rainey: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. Heavy.com. December 2022. ⇤4. Taylor Shook. 'It was a beautiful moment': Moore County drag show goes on despite power outages. Fayetteville Observer. December 2022. ⇤

The concept of Russian Roulette has a very interesting history and over time, this soldiers' trick game became a dangerous film stunt.In this episode we're re-watching the Deer Hunter, the first film made about the Vietnam War after it ended, which featured scenes of POWs (and paid participants in back-alley gambling houses) playing what we know as "Russian Roulette", in which two participants shoot a revolver at their own heads with a bullet randomly placed into one chamber of the gun. If you like our content please become a patron to support us, and you'll get our public episodes ad-free. It turns out that the history of Russian Roulette started as a ficitonal plot device but became more "real" for lack of a better word when it made it to American film audiences, as multiple people have actually died imitating the scenes from the movie with real guns and real bullets. The film was a massive success for the director Michael Cimino, it was nominated for 9 Oscars and won 5 of them. It also launched the career of Meryl Streep, who was the lead actress of the film alongside her tragically dying lover at the time, John Cazale, who passed away from cancer shortly after the film was completed. Christopher Walken and Robert De Niro also starred in the film, and they of course went on to great acting careers as well. 1 Long term success was not in the cards for Cimino, however. He tried to rip off the author of the Deer Hunter, Deric Washburn, when the original story was modified into a film script but history has proven Washburn to be a more capable writer than Cimino. Cimino's next film, Heaven's Gate, was a massive failure that actually bankrupt United Artists, the studio which financed it. While the film industry is distinctly American, Sandra's home country was not spared having to sit through all 3 and a half hours of the Deer Hunter either, she has a hilarious story of the one lady who translated all bootleg American films during the last days of communism, to varying degrees of accuracy. Irina Margareta Nistor was the voice of everyone in a film she translated, and thus the voice of American film for many Romanians. Sadly the title of the Deer Hunter was not available when she translated it back in the 1980s and it came out as "Dear Hunter" which Sandra says is still a running joke today. 2 We also talk about other dangerous (or marketed as dangerous) film stunts, such as the tragic deaths of Vic Morrow and two children on John Landis's set for the film version of The Twilight Zone in the 1980s, The multiple cases of accidental shootings on film sets most notably Brandon Lee's fatal shooting on the set of The Crow, and Alec Baldwin's accidental shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust. 3, 4 1. Peter Biskind on Michael Cimino's Twisted, Tortured Legacy: “A Mystery in Death as He Was in Life”. Hollywood Reporter. July 2016. ⇤2. Kit Gillet. The Voice That Brought Hollywood Films to Communist Romania's TV Screens. The Guardian. December 2014. ⇤3. youtube user Seawyatt. "The Program" deleted scene. Youtube. September 2012. ⇤4. Pilot Voiced Fears, 'Zone' Co-worker Says. The Washington Post. January 1987. ⇤

In the second part of this series we discuss Putin's first years in office, in particular the Moscow apartment bombings and the Moscow theater hostage crisis. Both events were blamed on Chechen militants despite overwhelming evidence of state involvement.This episode picks up in Putin's first term as president, which almost immediately was overshadowed by the Moscow apartment bombings, which were blamed on Chechen terrorists despite all signs pointing to the KGB / FSB. The FSB had recently acquired large quantities of hexogen, an explosive found at the scene. Composite sketches of a suspect were circulated by police and local press, and then erased from existence at the behest of the FSB when they decided upon a suspect: Chechen rebellion leader Achemez Gochiyaev. Please become a patron if you enjoy our content and want to support us, you'll get all of our public episodes ad-free. Key to investigating the FSB's links to these bombings were three people we have mentioned before, former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko, former media oligarch Boris Berezovsky, and reporter Anna Politkovskaya, all of whom have since been murdered by Russian intelligence or mobsters since that time. If you want to read more on this subject, we recommend Blowing Up Russia by Litvinenok and Russian historian Yuri Felshtinsky, as well as From Russia With Blood by Heidi Blake. 1, 2 Following the bombings, the Moscow theater crisis was another event in which the FSB was complicit in killing Russian civilians and blaming the carnage on Chechen militants. An entire theater was taken hostage leading to a multi-day seige from Russian police and military, after which the FSB gassed the theater, killing indiscriminately both hostage-takers and hostages alike. It seems that the lone "Chechen militant" escapee from the crisis, Khanpasha Terkibayev, was kicked out of dozens of local Chechen resistance organizations, because everyone in his home region suspected him of being an informant for the FSB. 1. Alexander Litvinenko and Yuri Felshtinsky, Blowing Up Russia, Encounter Books, March 2007. ⇤2. Heidi Blake, From Russia with Blood: The Kremlin's Ruthless Assassination Program and Vladimir Putin's Secret War on the West, Mulholland Books, November 2019. ⇤

In the first of a two part series, we discuss Putin's assignment in Dresden to the KGB office that managed Soviet support of international leftist terrorists such as Carlos "The Jackal" Sanchez, the PLO, and the RAF.Putin's time in the Stasi represents his formative years as a KGB administrator working with the East German intelligence police. Putin was tasked with two activities during this time that carry through to the rest of his political career. Please become a patron if you enjoy our content and would like to support us directly, you'll get all of our public episodes ad-free. In addition to providing money and weapons to people like the RAF (Red Army Faction), PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization), and Carlos The Jackal, Putin was also on the board of directors for the first collaborative corporation formed between East Germany and Russia called SPAG. This company was later investigated by German authorities for connections to money laundering, particularly for organized crime syndicates like the Colombian cocaine cartels and the Russian mafia. We then discuss Putin's time on the staff of St. Petersberg mayor Anatoly Sobchak, the primary author of the Russian constitution that was established after the fall of the Soviet party, and how Putin continued his penchant for getting himself into positions tasked with distributing formerly state-owned property to private hands, and how Putin used this authority to buy favor within the ranks of Russia's oligarchy. We finally discuss Putin's time doing basically the same tasks for the Yeltsin administration on the staff of Pavel Borodin who was the Moscow figure also tasked with redistributing former state property to business interests, and finally Putin's appointment to the head of the FSB, after which Putin killed his law school mentor and long-time friend Sobchak during his first run for the Russian Presidency. The books of two authors were invaluable for the research for this episode. First, Dr Karen Dawisha at Miami Ohio University and her research into the Stasi records that survived from Putin's time in East Germany, and secondly the articles and books of Catherine Belton. 1, 2, 3, 4 1. Karen Dawisha, Vladimir Putin, Operation LUCH, and Matthias Warning: The Secret KGB-Stasi Relationship (appendix), Miami Ohio University, 2014. ⇤2. Catherine Belton, Did Vladimir Putin Support Anti-Western Terrorists as a Young KGB Officer?, Politico, June 2020. ⇤3. Catherine Belton, Putin's Name Surfaces in German Probe, The Moscow Times, May 2003. ⇤4. Catherine Belton, PUTIN'S PEOPLE: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 2020. ⇤