Story of the Week with Joel Stein

What happens when you pretend you’re a medical miracle? Lots of things, as TV writer Elisabeth Finch found out – including gaining a job writing for Grey’s Anatomy. For a decade, Finch lied about having a rare and deadly form of cancer and fooled everybody in Hollywood. On this week’s episode, we bring on Peter Kiefer, the reporter who broke the story about Finch’s lies, then interviewed her again seven months later to find out why she told them.  You can read the full story here: https://theankler.com/p/the-greys-anatomy-liar-confesses See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suspicious art dealers, fraudulent documents, and huge egos--the only thing worse than the uppity art world is how much it relies on laundered art from other countries. On this week’s episode, we bring on Sam Tabachnik to unpack his sprawling three-part series for The Denver Post all about one duo’s international operation to smuggle and sell South East Asian art. You can read the full story here: https://www.denverpost.com/2022/12/01/colorado-denver-art-museum-stolen-art-cambodia-thailand-emma-bunker/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Robbi Jade Lew broke the world of poker with an incredibly unlikely win against Garrett Adelstein. Her win went viral and the internet exploded with dueling accusations of sexism and cheating. Andrea Chang reported on the scandal for the Los Angeles Times and recounts all the suspicious details. You can read the full story here: https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-12-14/poker-cheating-investigation-ends See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inside the flourishing world of online plant fanclubs lies a deep, dark obsession: people who dedicate their entire lives to caring for Nepenthes, or carnivorous pitcher plants. On this week’s episode, Brian Howey, a former “Nephead” tells us about the carnivorous plant subculture that nearly ate him (and many others) alive. You can read the full story here: https://www.wired.com/story/nightmare-houseplant-obsession-nepenthes/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hawaii’s Kauai island is overrun by half a million feral cats, many of which are infected with toxoplasmosis. These infected cats pose an existential threat to the native habitat, including Kauai’s endangered monk seals. The island's animal-loving community has fallen into chaos; It's zombie-cat people versus everyone else. Paul Kvinta covered the story for Outside Magazine.  You can read the full story here: https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/environment/hawaiis-crazy-war-over-zombie-cats See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Magnus Carlsen, the greatest chess player in the world, accused 19-year-old Hans Niemann of cheating. Why? Because Niemann beat him twice. Carlsen and the chess world can't prove Niemann is cheating, but they're convinced he is. The accusations are tearing apart the chess world and raising questions about maintaining fair play in a high-tech world. David Segal covered the story (and yes, the anal beads theory) for The New York Times. You can read the whole article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/04/business/chess-cheating-scandal-magnus-carlsen-hans-niemann.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the first computer hackers was a woman. She pulled some of the most elaborate computer hacks of the 80's and yet no one knows her name.Host Joel Stein speaks to Claire L. Evans about her article in the Verge, “Searching for Susy Thunder.”You can read the full story here: https://www.theverge.com/c/22889425/susy-thunder-headley-hackers-phone-phreakers-claire-evansSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New York’s curbside Christmas tree business is run by a small group of ruthless, shadowy men. Owen Long, a tree salesman in Brooklyn, takes us into his world and reveals the characters, crimes, and even murders of the New York City “tree men.” You can read the full story here: https://www.curbed.com/article/christmas-tree-trade-secrets-gregs-trees-nyc.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A group of DEA agents from Fresno, California figures out the real name of a Dark Web drug kingpin. But before they can make the arrest, they have to follow him to Thailand and into the on-line world of pick-up artists. Andy Greenberg's sprawling Wired article is so intense it made host Joel Stein want to take drugs.  You can read the whole 6-part series here: https://www.wired.com/story/alphabay-series-part-1-the-shadow/  The Wired series is excerpted from Andy's book which you can find here: https://www.amazon.com/Tracers-Dark-Global-Crime-Cryptocurrency/dp/0385548095/  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Iranian-American scholar Reza Aslan talks about his article for The Atlantic, "How to Avoid the White Savior Industrial Complex," which tells the story of his childhood hero, missionary Howard Baskerville. Reza argues that the world needs more good, white saviors like Baskerville. Joel wants nothing to do with trying to be a good, white anything in today's political climate. Reza tries to convince him anyway. You can read the full story here: https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2022/10/howard-baskerville-persian-constitutional-revolution/671787/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.