Liar City

Little Marjoe Gortner was probably the weirdest child prodigy the world has ever known. An ordained minister by the age of 4, his talent for preaching the gospel was remarkbale. This week, we'll talk about what happened when Marjoe grew up, grew a conscience, and decided to blow it all up.  Follow us on Twitter: @LiarCityPodcast 

From the early 70s until the early 80s, there was only one man you thought of when you thought of adult cinema: John Holmes. As the smooth-talking detective Johnny Wadd, he thrilled audiences with semi-competent acting and incredibly competent sex scenes. His story didn't end when the camera shut off -- that's really where it started. It's a story so full of sex, drugs, murder, and lies that it almost seems like a badly written movie.  Follow us on Twitter: @LiarCityPodcast  

This week, we dive deep into the history of computer hacking, taking a closer look at the story of Kevin Mitnick, a.k.a. The Condor, at one time the most wanted cyber-criminal in the world.  Listen to the story of toy whistles, blue boxes, and a scared, overzealous government, struggling to figure out what punishment might fit a new kind of crime. 

The legend of John DeLorean is just that: a legend. His reputation, once impeccable, was destroyed by a well-publicized arrest for cocaine trafficking.  It’s a great story, and a familiar arc: a rich, accomplished man brought down by his own hubris and greed. The fact that it's not remotely true never really seems to come up.  This week, we'll ressurect the legend, and piece together the remarkable story of John DeLorean, and the iconic car that bears his name.     

It's hard to judge Lance Armstrong. While he's certainly a man who defied horrific odds to reach the absolute pinnacle of success, there is now zero doubt that he was also a cheater, a liar, and a bully.  Can we blame him? Should we hold athletes to higher standards than we hold, say, rock stars? Let's talk about it. 

Once the Satanic Panic of the early 1980s really sets in, a group of daycare workers in Manhattan Beach, California, become the most hated people in America. The fact that the allegations were absurd -- secret tunnels, beheadings, toilet bowl passageways -- didn't matter to a world obsessed with protecting its children.     

Which image comes into your mind when you think of Howard Hughes? Famous aviator? American playboy? Batshit crazy person?  All of those things are kind of true. This week's story, however, is about one of the many untrue things surrounding Howard Hughes -- Clifford Irving's "autobiography" of him. 

Before 1972, women weren't even officially allowed to participate in the Boston Marathon, but by 1980, a woman named Rosie Ruiz would become the most famous runner in its history. Sadly, it was for all the wrong reasons.    

If you've ever stayed up so late on Saturday night that it turned into Sunday morning, you may have seen this week's subject at work. Robert Tilton, king of the 'prosperity gospel', was one of the most shameless, shameful preachers to ever work a crowd.  This week, we dive into his inspirations, his history, and what he's up to today. 

While there's no question that Dr. Oz promotes some wacky products on his show, he's certainly not the first person to turn the public's trust into a cash machine.  This week, we'll talk about a literal snake oil salesman -- the shifty-eyed, razzle-dazzle pitchman behind Stanley Clark's Snake Oil Liniment, and Senator Dudley Leblanc -- mastermind of Hadacol, and, of course, the magical Dr. Oz himself. 

 This week, we go back to the 1980's to talk about one of the weirdest and saddest episodes in American history: the satanic panic.     

So, where were you on October 15, 2009? A big chunk of the world spent a lot of that day glued to their television sets. That’s the day that the ‘Balloon Boy’ story took flight. A watershed moment in American journalism for all the wrong reasons, what happens next is what we’re talking about this week.

In this episode, we discuss the origins of Santa Claus -- the cheeriest lie ever told. Don't listen to it with kids in the room (unless you want to break their hearts / turn them into Odin-worshipping Pagans.) 

In this episode, we discuss the origins of (and fallout from) one of the most notorious musical scandals of the 20th century, Milli Vanilli.   

This episode concerns former journalist Stephen Glass and "Hack Heaven", the magazine article that ended his career.  Join us as we discuss the lie, our own lies, and whether or not we should just try to forgive and forget.