IS THIS ILLEGAL?

Where did InCels come from and why does everyone suddenly care? Why is the friend zone a problematic concept? How are pickup artists actually hurting you? All these questions answered and more. WARNING: This episode contains graphic content around sexual violence.   Our Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IsThisIllegalPodcast/

The lemon juice/maple syrup/cayenne pepper Master Cleanse...you've probably heard of it. But you've probably never heard of Stanley Burroughs, the man who decided this concoction could cure cancer, and put it into practice.   Our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/IsThisIllegalPodcast/

Through crowdsourcing and data mining, the Internet helped nail the Golden State Killer in more ways than you probably realized. Unfortunately the Internet failed missing person Brian Shaffer, who managed to vanish inside a bar. Should crowdsourcing crime-solving be legal?   Our Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IsThisIllegalPodcast/

You think it will never happen to you. According to Gene Weingarten, "there may be no act of human failing that more fundamentally challenges our society’s views about crime, punishment, justice and mercy." But it happens all the time, and then your life is never the same. WARNING: THIS EPISODE HAS GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF DEATH.  Our Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IsThisIllegalPodcast/

*(DUPLICATE OF EP#12--CORRECTED AUDIO)* One day, a series of innocent posts from Jaime Beebe landed her on the "Insane People of Facebook" page. Yes, Jaime Beebe is a grown mother of three who collects, photographs, and interacts with stunningly realistic baby dolls. But does that make her insane? And remember those fake baby simulators you had to carry around in high school? Studies found they may actually increase incidences of teen pregnancy, so why are they still in use?  Please follow our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/IsThisIllegalPodcast/

In 1996, an African American man named Curtis Flowers was sentenced to death for capital murder. Thus began a legal battle that continues today, a battle that has seen Flowers sucked into a world dominated by endless legal loopholes and rampant racial bias. It all leads us back to peremptory challenges--should they be illegal? 

In May of 2015,  JPMorgan Chase pleaded guilty to a felony count by the U.S. Justice Department for its role in rigging foreign currency exchange trading. That year, six big banks, including JP Morgan were fined billions of dollars for their role in market fixing. But by that point, the mysterious deaths had already begun...

Join host Alissa Fleck as she explores the ethics of the human hair market, and tries to find out if Disneyland is truly the happiest place on Earth. Included is a PSA about the Superbowl being the number one incident of human trafficking in the USA. You should tell somebody. www.humantraffickinghotline.org.

They say Erin Elizabeth is a raving lunatic for trying to connect what she sees as the suspicious deaths of more than 80 holistic doctors in the US in the last 2.5 years. But here at IS THIS ILLEGAL, we have a soft spot for lunatics.  Is Elizabeth a paranoid crackpot as they claim, or are efforts to silence her part of a much larger conspiracy? Join host Alissa Fleck for this week's MURDER MYSTERY. 

Multilevel marketing companies employ millions of people worldwide. Thousands of people join MLMs every single day, as others quit when they realize the possibility for growth is finite. Someone probably just signed up for an MLM in the time it took you to read this.  This is what makes these companies work, and people are going to extremes to be a part of it. But who really profits? 

Join host Alissa Fleck for a juicy investigation into companies that make up a big portion of the US economy: multi-level-marketing companies. Some love them, some call them thinly-veiled pyramid schemes or "a cancer on our society." Part I is just the tip of the iceberg in a journey to discovering the truth behind MLMs. If this podcast has surprised you so far, you won't believe the things you hear on IS THIS ILLEGAL? this week and next. Ft. new podcast theme by Jonathan Mann. 

This week on IS THIS ILLEGAL?, just in time for Halloween, Alissa Fleck examines claims that Nazis have infiltrated the Furry community and discusses the most disturbing case of "extreme haunted housing." These are some seriously bizarre stories of questionable legality. 

Join host Alissa Fleck as she explores death fraud and other hoaxes of questionable legality--and as she contemplates a career change. From the black market for unclaimed corpses to people who were never really there, this one's an emotional rollercoaster. You might even learn something. WARNING: This is NOT your mother's true crime podcast.