New episodes come out every Tuesday for free, with access to binge all episodes ad-free now for Wondery+ subscribers. Hosted and narrated by John Stamos, The Grand Scheme: Snatching Sinatra is a complicated, nuanced story of one imperfect man trying to redeem himself by pulling off the perfect crime. Did you ever feel like everything’s broken, and it’s your job to fix it? That’s how Barry Keenan was feeling back in 1963. He was broke, unemployed, hooked on booze and pills, and his family was falling apart. Barry needed a miracle. And against all odds, he got one. One day the voice of God came over the radio in Barry’s car and told him there was a simple solution to all his problems: all he had to do was kidnap Frank Sinatra, Jr. For the first time ever, Barry Keenan shares his version of the bizarre story in his own words, from beginning to end.
Hosted by Ash Kelley and Alaina Urquhart from the hit show Morbid.When 90-year-old Laurence Pilgeram drops dead on the sidewalk outside his condo, you might think that's the end of his story. But, really, it's just the beginning. Because Laurence and others like him have signed up to be frozen and brought back to life in the future. And that belief will pull multiple generations of the Pilgeram family into a cryonics soap opera filled with dead pets, gold coins, grenades, fist fights, mysterious packages, family feuds, Hall of Fame baseball legends, and frozen heads — lots of frozen heads. From Wondery, comes a story about life, death, and what comes next.Follow Frozen Head on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery+ in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery App. Listen to Frozen Head: Wondery.fm/FH_SSSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Vanished is a true crime podcast that explores the stories of those who have gone missing. The Vanished goes beyond conventional news reports to take a deep dive into the story of a different missing person each week.Host Marissa Jones brings you exclusive interviews with family members, friends, law enforcement and experts on mainstream cases, as well as little known ones.Listen in, to hear what The Vanished will uncover next: wondery.fm/SS_TheVanishedSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Generation Why Podcast released its first episode in 2012 and pioneered the true crime genre in the podcasting world. Two friends, Aaron & Justin, break down theories and give their opinions on unsolved murders, controversies, mysteries and conspiracies.One of the longest running true crime podcasts out there, Generation Why has a little something for every true crime listener.Follow The Generation Why Podcast on Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Or you can listen ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Listen here: wondery.fm/SS_GenWhyKBSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Welcome to the Hellmouth Weirdos! Your favorite Morbid hosts Ash and Alaina are branching out from true crime and heading to Sunnydale for the ultimate Buffy the Vampire Slayer Rewatch podcast! Alaina is a Buffy superfan and Ash has never watched a single episode, so whether you're Team Angel, Team Spike, or have no clue who those people are…they've got you covered! Join them each week as they slay their way through the series, episode by episode, re-watching, and watching for the very first time. They'll break down Buffy and her friends adventures through weekly recaps, categories, and awards while Ash takes some (wooden stake) stabs at predicting what she thinks will happen next. They'll also welcome the occasional Buffy cast member, guest star, or celebrity superfan to join in the slaying. Listen to The Rewatcher: wondery.fm/SS_REWATCHERSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Buried Bones is the new historical true crime podcast from the Exactly Right network. Each week, Buried Bones explores some of history's most dramatic true crime cases from centuries ago. Using their individual expertise, journalist Kate Winkler Dawson and retired cold case investigator Paul Holes bring new insights to old mysteries, like the Lindbergh kidnapping, the assassination of President James Garfield, and the suspected murder of the founder of Rice University. wondery.fm/buriedbones-ssSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Our family members are not always who we think. When Eleonore Richland exposed her father's dark legacy, she vowed to clean up the family business – and hired her half-brother, Santino Reyes, to help her do it. But old habits die hard. In the shocking new third season, Eleonore reckons with what her father always taught her growing up: medicine is a bloody business. From Wondery, the makers of “The Shrink Next Door” and “Dr. Death,” Blood Ties stars Gillian Jacobs (Community, Love), Christian Navarro (13 Reasons Why), and Peter Stormare.Listen to Blood Ties: wondery.fm/SS_BTS3See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
When a car bomb kills Daphne Caruana Galizia on the beautiful Mediterranean island of Malta, the hunt for her killers exposes secrets with consequences that go far beyond its shores. In the aftermath of her death an international team of journalists comes together to continue her work. Along the way they start to uncover clues that might lead to her killers. From Wondery, comes a new story about power, corruption and one woman's fight for the truth. Hosted by investigative reporter Stephen Grey.Listen to Who Killed Daphne: wondery.fm/SS_DAPHNESee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
On May 4, 2001, Bonny Lee Bakley was found fatally shot in a car on a dark North Hollywood street. The prime suspect was her husband, famed actor Robert Blake. But Bonny, a longtime con artist, had plenty of enemies. She left behind a trail of men she'd scammed, and she had a volatile relationship with Christian Brando, the troubled son of movie star Marlon Brando. Not since the O.J. Simpson case had the eyes of the nation been so fixated on a homicide. The search for Bonny's killer took detectives on an eleven-month odyssey across the country and through Hollywood's underbelly of hustlers, drug addicts, and would-be hitmen. It would be the most expensive murder investigation in LAPD history to date. This is the story of Robert and Bonny's toxic relationship, her shocking murder, and his chaotic trial. Did actor Robert Blake kill his wife? Or was the murder someone else's vendetta?From Wondery, and the team behind the hit series Hollywood & Crime (The Dating Game Killer, The Wonderland Murders, Death of Starlet) comes a six-part series about love, obsession and fame gone wrong. Co-hosted by Tracy Pattin and Josh Lucas.Listen to The Execution of Bonny Lee Bakley: wondery.fm/Sinatra_TEOBLBSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Introducing the true crime podcast Persona: The French Deception— the story of Gilbert Chikli, one of the greatest con artists of all time.What does it feel like to pick up the phone and scam someone out of $50 million? Host and award-winning journalist, Evan Ratliff, investigates how Chikli successfully duped some of the world's most powerful people into handing over their fortunes. He explores how Chikli evaded the law for years and became a Robin Hood-like hero. More than just a tale of criminal genius, this is a show about the moment we're living in right now — the golden age of scammers — and the power of seduction. But what happens when the fantasy we've been lured into finally crumbles away?For all that and more, follow “Persona: The French Deception” wherever you get your podcasts. Or you can listen early on Amazon Music or early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery Plus in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery app: wondery.fm/Sinatra_PersonaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
You never really know someone…especially online. In today's world, the power of influence can be the quickest path to money and fame, and it often ends in ruin. These are the stories of the world's most insidious Scamfluencers. And we are their prey. On Wondery's new weekly series, join co-hosts Scaachi Koul and Sarah Hagi as they unpack epic stories of deception from the worlds of social media, fashion, finance, health, and wellness. These influencers claim to be everything from charismatic healers to trusted financial insiders to experts in dating. They cast spells over millions. Why do we believe them, and how does our culture allow them to thrive? From Black Swan Murder to a fake social media influencer to an audacious Hollywood Ponzi schemer, each season will take the listener along the twists and turns, the impact on victims, and what's left when the facade falls away.Listen to Scamfluencers: wondery.fm/Sinatra_ScamfluencerSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
During the 1-900 number craze of the Nineties, one company provided the vast majority of phone sex. American Telnet was an empire founded by the man who called himself “The Telephone Pimp.” He ran the company “like General Motors” and got filthy rich doing it. But for the (mostly) women who answered the calls and delivered fantasies 24-7, it was a different story. The powerful stigma against sex work was always lurking just beneath the surface, until it threatened to tear apart the whole company. Hosted by Tina Horn (Why Are People Into That?), OPERATOR is an eight-part series about big ambitions, Shakespearean-level corporate backstabbing, men and women at the cutting edge of a technological revolution...and on the front lines of a sexual one.Listen to new episodes 2 weeks early and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. https://wondery.app.link/OperatorSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Back on the streets after four and a half years behind bars, Barry gets right back to scheming. Before long, he finds himself rich with casino money, and retires to a farm. But as the years go by, something starts to nag at him: even though the Wes gambit failed at trial, the narrative that Junior plotted his own kidnapping lingers in the popular imagination. Barry longs to tell his side of the story - but what if Frank Sinatra Senior won't let him?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Barry's trial is an overnight circus, and the evidence against him is overwhelming. But when Junior takes the stand and reveals his compliance with the demands of Barry and his accomplices, the defense team smells an opportunity. Determined to convince the jury that Junior's kidnapping was engineered by the Sinatra family as a publicity stunt for his concert tour, Barry cooks up a story about a mysterious operative named Wes who put him up to the kidnapping. It's a bold gambit - and, it turns out, a spectacular failure.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Barry makes one last attempt to ride off into the sunset with Pam, but by the time he makes it to her house, she's got company. And it turns out the FBI's been listening in on their phone calls. After a series of narrow escapes, Barry finally finds himself handcuffed and brought up on serious charges. And then, just as he's writing out a confession, the man Barry hoped would be saved by the Plan of Operation (his dad) intervenes to save Barry from the Plan of Operation.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
While hiding out at a friend's house, Barry counts out cash as the plot thickens around him. He's lost track of his accomplices, and when he switches on the radio, he discovers he's also lost Frank Sinatra Jr. By the time Barry tracks down John Irwin and Joe Amsler, there are sketches of his face on the front page of the LA Times. Time is running out - but as usual, Barry has a plan. And that plan is: to go Christmas shopping.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Barry and Pam sneak back into his hotel room in Lake Tahoe to clean up the evidence he mistakenly left behind the previous night. The place is crawling with cops and FBI agents, so Barry and Pam go undercover as honeymooning skiers, and take to the bunny slopes to evade capture. The plan works like a charm. But when Barry gets back to Los Angeles, he's got a mutiny on his hands. Forced to improvise, Barry re-jiggers his ransom plan on the fly, and before long, he finds himself in a stand-off with the FBI.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
With Junior successfully nabbed at last, Barry and Joe make a death-defying escape from Lake Tahoe in the middle of a blizzard. Junior proves surprisingly compliant - even lending Barry a hand in his attempts to evade the police. Convinced that Junior's cooperation is evidence of the divine inspiration fueling the Plan of Operation, Barry arrives back in Los Angeles after an all-night road trip feeling exhausted but hopeful...until Junior abruptly stops cooperating and starts playing hardball.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Junior's about to head to Europe for a run of concerts, and there's no way Barry can afford to follow him there. After multiple failed attempts at the kidnapping - not to mention the seismic upheaval of President Kennedy's assassination - Barry has a dark night of the soul. He resolves to give up on the Plan of Operation, and decides to give the scheme a send-off by drinking a bottle of whiskey. But somewhere towards the bottom of the bottle, Barry realizes he can't bear to abandon his vision. When he discovers Junior's making a pit-stop in Lake Tahoe before heading overseas, Barry decides to roll the dice one more time.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Having scraped together some cash and settled on Frank Sinatra, Jr. as his target, Barry assembles his rogues gallery of accomplices. In short order, he recruits his mom's ex-boyfriend (and small-time mafioso) John Irwin, as well as an old friend he used to pull pranks with back in high school, Joe Amsler. But then, something unexpected happens: Barry falls in love with a woman named Pam. He's certain she'll dump him when she finds out about the kidnapping scheme, but much to his delight, Pam instead wants in on the caper. With his crew assembled, Barry heads for a state fair in Arizona to stake out Junior's hotel…See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Bestowed by God with a divine prophecy for his salvation, Barry heads to a local bar to brainstorm his kidnapping. Deploying the business strategies he once relied on as a securities trader, he cobbles together what he considers to be an airtight plan: kidnap someone with rich parents, use the ransom money to invest in real estate, and pay everyone back with interest. Nothin' to it. All he needs is a target, and some seed money to get things moving - both of which, he discovers, are hard to come by.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
A young Barry Keenan becomes obsessed with salvation after an angel appears to him in his mother's basement. Convinced by the nuns at his Catholic elementary school that he'll be doomed to an eternity of harsh penance if he doesn't take drastic action, Barry starts looking for shortcuts to the promised land.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Series writer Sam Dingman joins John for a discussion about John's early interactions with the legend of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, how working in his dad's restaurant laid the groundwork for his long career in showbiz, and why Barry Keenan's story matters.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
John talks to Dean Torrence, Barry Keenan's high school buddy and fellow Baron. Dean tells the story of his harrowing visit from the FBI in the days after Barry's arrest, and how he unwittingly helped them uncover a damning piece of evidence.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In 1963, Barry Keenan was broke, alone, and desperate to save his family from personal and financial ruin. In a final “Hail Mary” attempt to set things right, he rolled the dice on an elaborate scheme so bizarre it's hard to believe it actually happened: He kidnapped Frank Sinatra Jr. For the first time, Barry Keenan tells his version of the story in his own words, from beginning to end, to host John Stamos.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.