Introducing Season Seven of Chameleon: The Michigan Plot
6 June 2024 - 3 mins explicitIn the fall of 2020, 14 men were arrested across three states in a series of FBI raids that shocked the nation. The government alleged that these men conspired to kidnap, and possibly even kill, the sitting governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. But is that really what happened?
On season 7 of Chameleon, we’ll explore that notorious plot to kidnap governor Whitmer from its inception by taking listeners on an unprecedented journey inside the investigation. Through hundreds of hours of wire recordings that have never been heard by the public, you’ll ride along in the pocket of an FBI informant posing as a militia member, as he infiltrates an anti-government group that seems dangerous. But ar...
Series Episodes
The Vampire Catfish: A Message Board And The Boy Who Believed
explicitMichael was 16, lonely, and stuck in a small Southern town when he met someone called Dennis on a vampire-themed online message board. What began as a thrilling, romantic connection soon spiraled into something darker. We follow Michael’s journey as he tries to make sense of the many layers of deception two decades later.
40 mins
26 February Finished
Goodfellas: The Country Bar Theme Scheme
explicitWhen an Arizona reporter starts looking into a flurry of closures at country music-themed restaurants, he thinks it’s just another boring business story. But he uncovers a collapsing franchise empire and millions in fraud, all linked to a mysterious character with mob connections living a double life.
33 mins
19 February Finished
Face Plant: The Woman With A Thousand Boyfriends
What's it like to have your image used as the bait in thousands of online romance scams? This is what happened to Janessa Brazil—whose image has been hijacked and used to con hundreds, maybe thousands, of lonely people out of hard-earned cash. This is a story of love, lies, and the faces behind a billion-dollar catfishing industry.
39 mins
12 February Finished
The Velvet Sundown: The band that’s not quite Human, not quite machine.
explicitThey were a hot new band and storming up the charts. But something seemed off about Velvet Sundown. Was this the work of AI? When someone behind the band came out denying it, this looked like mystery solved. But this was only the beginning of an internet hoax with many layers.
39 mins
5 February Finished
Engineering to Deceive: The Talented Coder Who Just Keeps Getting Jobs
When one tech founder tweets a warning about a seemingly prolific engineer named Soham Parekh, it sets off an avalanche. Turns out, Soham has been hired and paid by dozens of start-ups, sometimes working at several at once. He dazzled founders with coding tests, then vanished into a fog of excuses.
28 mins
29 January Finished
Memoir Mystery: The Blockbuster True Story That Maybe Wasn't True At All
When the book The Salt Path was published, readers were moved by the story of a couple who, after losing everything, rebuilt their lives through nothing more than determination, their love for one another, and a very long walk. A decade later, journalist Chloe Hadjimatheou begins to pull at a thread—and what unravels is a much darker and more complicated tale.
43 mins
22 January Finished
