Ridiculous Crime

He was not an engineer, nor was he an inventor, instead he was a failed car mechanic. But Jeff Carpoff didn't let that stop him from creating a billion dollar business based on his invention: a portable solar generator. It worked, kinda... and that was all he needed to run his solar-powered con that roped in a really powerful sucker named President Obama. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let's face it, counterfeiting is an art. It takes serious talent and skill. So it should come as no surprise that the best counterfeiter in the land is also a fantastic artist. To say Art Williams, Jr. has lived a surprising and ridiculous life is an understatement. Print yourself a five dollar bill, buy some popcorn, and settle in!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They say it's never good to meet your heroes in real life. It's even worse if you meet your hero in real life and it's not really them. This week, E and Z examine tales of the many folks who want to be the original funkateer, Bootsy Collins. Antics and mayhem ensue. But there is only one true Bootsy!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AC/DC told us it's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll. Sage advice. But that was before the age of AI. Now it's a short way to the top if you want to create hundreds of thousands of fake songs to make millions from streaming services. Mike Smith did just that, courtesy of Artificial Intelligence. Gaming the system like that is all well and good, but can AI create a masterpiece like AC/DC's "Big Balls"? Doubtful. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Train robberies are so 19th century. Air Jordans are so 20th century. Yet, combine them and you get the hottest new crime of the 21st century: train robberies of boxcars of Jordans. Come aboard as E and Z ride the rails of crime.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was a dark fantasyland of excess and glamor. We speak not of your local Applebee's. No, we mean Studio 54, the ne plus ultra of 70s discotheques. It was the place to see and be seen, to do drugs and get glitter in your cracks. To just dance, baby! Until the IRS came calling. And with the evidence the owners left behind, they couldn't blame it on the boogie. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The late '90s were such a different time... kinda. But the last real decade still had plenty of fakers, grifters, and scam artists, all offering up questionable spirituality and easy answers... just like now! Enter Miss Cleo, the legendarily scammy fakin' Jamaican phony phone-based psychic and the face of a highly profitable long con, the Psychic Readers Network. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Southern Gothic thriller for the ages, this is the tale of a Coen Brothers-esque kidnapping gone sideways. A bumbling couple take a magazine subscription heir prisoner to fund the purchase of their dream home, and the whole saga is later chronicled by the inventor of a game in which one hunts humans. Listener Lane Price tipped us off to this epic, delivering a Southern fried wild ride.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1977 was the year punk broke. It was also the Silver Jubilee year, which was a special celebration to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Never one to miss publicity, the princes of punk rock, the Sex Pistols, released their new single, God Save the Queen, and chartered a boat tour just to mock the monarch, which resulted in a police beatdown. It was truly anarchy in the UK.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dive into the wild world of art theft with a thief who adores art so much, he can't resist swiping it! Explore the psychological twists behind his daring heists and the emotional connections that drive him. Enjoy a humorous take on fan obsessions through bizarre celebrity experiences. Hear about chaotic thefts, including a comical bugle heist that ends with hysterical police interactions. It's a mix of crime, absurdity, and the unpredictable nature of love—both for art and family!