June Podcast Club Discussion: Con Artists (4th Wednesday)

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**PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE MEETING ON THE 4TH WEDNESDAY AGAIN THIS MONTH**

For June, we’re tuning into the sweet sound of swindlers. Join us as we dive into the art of the con, where lies are polished, schemes are slick, and trust is the ultimate currency.

How It Works:

We typically follow the Podcast Brunch Club listening lists covering a different topic each month. Members can also make suggestions for future topics.
Listening lists are composed of episode selections related to the month's theme and are pulled from a variety of shows. And we love to include some recommendations too!
Finishing the recommended listening list is not a requirement to attend. Listen to as many or few of the suggested episodes as you would like.
We will have an unstructured, informal discussion of the selections and the month's theme.

This Month's Topic:
Con artists are masters of manipulation, weaving convincing stories to exploit trust and curiosity. They rely less on brute force and more on psychological finesse—using charm, confidence, and deception to disarm their targets. What makes them so fascinating is not just the crimes they commit, but the way they mirror our own desires, fears, and blind spots.

Here's a link to the Spotify playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/53bqq68ViBbMLhX8ZzcxRe?si=7040f2c02660429d
***One of the episodes is not on Spotify, you can listen to it here:
**https://www.npr.org/2021/03/31/983109732/about-your-extended-warranty**

The Playlist - Suggested Episodes:

Female Criminals: “Soho Grifter: Anna Sorokin Pt.1” (May 2021, 38 min)
A con artist storms New York’s social scene in the 2010s, cementing her place in high society as a German heiress worth millions. Anna Delvey masterfully swindled banks, hotels, airlines, even her own friends out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Her past was murky, but her persona was nearly unstoppable…
Female Criminals: “Soho Grifter: Anna Sorokin Pt.2” (June 2021, 37 min)
Anna Delvey wasn’t who she claimed to be. But despite mounting setbacks, she refused to temper her schemes. The fantasy life she built for herself was a house of cards doomed to fall, and her tower was starting to teeter…
Planet Money on NPR: “About Your Extended Warranty” (April 2021, 23 min)
We've all been there. You get a call, one that you are 99.9% sure is a scam, most likely an extended auto warranty offer that promises to cover the costs of car repairs. Then again, this could be important, who knows? So you give this one call a chance.
Hello, this is Planet Money, calling from a vehicle serv—
Fooled again. Calls about auto warranties or similar guarantees are a constant pain for phone users. But what are these warranties? And why are they not only still around, but seemingly bigger than ever? Today on the show, we dive into the history of this industry and these calls. How they started, got big, and why they persist to this day.
FBI Retired Case File Review: “114: James Furry - Church of Love, Romance Scam” (May 2018, 1 hour 5 min)
Retired agent James Furry reviews his Church of Love case. Donald Lowry and Pamela St. Charles were charged with 26 counts of mail fraud for operating the Church of Love, a romance scam perpetrated against 31,000 lonely-heart male victims who were defrauded of $4.5 million in losses discovered during the four-year investigation. Furry is the author of Fidelity, Bravery, & Integrity: My Story: The True Life and Career of an FBI Special Agent, a memoir about his FBI career that includes a chapter on the Church of Love.
Stuff You Should Know: “How Con Artists Work” (May 2011, 38 min)
They say you can't con an honest man, and that's key to thwarting cons; if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Learn how to avoid everything from small-time scams to the Nigerian money transfer in this captivating episode with Chuck and Josh.
Speaking of Psychology: “Poker, con artists and the psychology of risk and deception, with Maria Konnikova, PhD” (Feb 2022, 42 min)
Why do intelligent people give money to self-proclaimed psychics or get sucked into Ponzi schemes? Why are most of us so bad at judging risk? Journalist, psychologist and professional poker player Maria Konnikova, PhD, author of the “The Biggest Bluff” and “The Confidence Game,” talks about why anyone can fall for a con, the psychology of risk, and how her knowledge of psychology did—and didn’t—help her at the poker table.