You Cant Make This Up

Next up on You Can't Make This Up, we are talking about the Netflix documentary series "Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey." From forced underage marriage and pregnancy - to a complete unraveling of the oppressive criminal cult of Fundamentalist Mormons under Warren Jeffs’ rule - the story uncovers extraordinary bravery battling tyrannical control in modern America. In our next episode, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews the director and executive producer of "Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey" Rachel Dretzin. If you haven't watched the series yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before our next episode that releases next week. Stay Tuned!

In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, we are talking about the Netflix documentary series "Meltdown: Three Mile Island" out now on Netflix. Host Rebecca Lavoie interviews director Kief Davidson. In 1979, crews at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania were stunned when a series of malfunctions led to a partial core meltdown. Though plant operators said the situation was under control and no radiation had leaked, government officials questioned their honesty and debated whether a wide scale evacuation was necessary.  Even after the largest nuclear accident on American soil had been contained, undetected dangers to the nation remained. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched "Meltdown: Three Mile Island" yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on.

On this special bonus, we’re going to hear an episode of the podcast "Factually! with Adam Conover" as Adam talks about his new Netflix series, “The G Word.”  Love it or hate it, the government plays a huge role in our lives. Adam explores its triumphs, failures and how we might be able to change it.  In this podcast, The Fifth Risk author Michael Lewis turns the tables on Adam, interviewing him about how made the show.

In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, we are again talking about the Netflix documentary "Our Father" out now on Netflix. Host Rebecca Lavoie interviews director Lucie Jourdan. For decades, Dr. Donald Cline was a respected physician in fertility medicine. With the growing availability of home DNA-testing, many of the adult-children conceived at his clinic began to search for relatives of their sperm donor. It didn’t take too much digging to see many of these children were all the offspring of Dr. Cline himself.  SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched "Our Father" yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. Please note that this episode contains material some listeners may find challenging. Please listen at your own discretion.

In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, we are talking about the Netflix documentary "Our Father" out now on Netflix. Host Rebecca Lavoie interviews documentary subject Jacoba Ballard. Jacoba’s mother became pregnant with the help of an Indiana fertility clinic and donor sperm. When she used a home DNA kit to find possible half-siblings, she found more people than would be conceived by an average donor. Jacoba and the others realized their shared relative was the clinic’s doctor, Donald Cline.   SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched "Our Father" yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. Please note that this episode contains material some listeners may find challenging. Please listen at your own discretion.

In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, we are talking about the Netflix documentary "The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe" out now on Netflix. Host Rebecca Lavoie interviews director Emma Cooper. Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe's tragic death spawned conspiracies and rumors leading all the way to the White House and which Hollywood legends are made of, securing her unique place in history. By piecing together her final weeks, days and hours through previously unheard recordings of those who knew her best, this feature illuminates more of her glamorous, complicated life, and offers a new perspective on that fateful night. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched "The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe" yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on.

Next up on You Can't Make This Up, we are talking about "The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes."  She was Hollywood's biggest star and her 1962 overdose rocked the nation. Hear directly from those who knew her work, her personal life, and secrets about her death. In our next episode, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews the director of "The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe," Emma Cooper. If you haven't watched the film yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before our next episode that releases next week. Stay Tuned!

In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, we are talking about the Netflix documentary "White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch" out now on Netflix. Host Rebecca Lavoie interviews director Alison Klayman. The clothing store Abercrombie & Fitch conquered malls in the late ‘90s with gorgeous models at the door, pulsing dance beats from inside, and a fierce scent all over. It had the aura of a popular nightclub where only the cool kids could get in.  But while the brand was running white hot, its popular “all-American” image began burning out.   SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched "White Hot" yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on.

Next up on You Can't Make This Up, we are talking about "White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch."  All the cool kids were wearing it. This documentary explores A&F’s pop culture reign in the late ’90s and early 2000s and how it thrived on exclusion. In our next episode, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews the director of "White Hot," Alison Klayman. If you haven't watched the film yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before our next episode that releases next week. Stay Tuned!

In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, we are talking about the documentary series "Our Great National Parks" out now on Netflix. Host Rebecca Lavoie interviews  Executive Producer James Honeyborne and Series Producer Sophie Todd. Produced and narrated by former President Barack Obama, "Our Great National Parks" brims with wonder, humor, and optimism as each episode tells the story of a park through the lives of its wildest residents — and explores our changing relationship with wilderness. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched "Our Great National Parks" yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on.

In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, we are talking about the documentary series "Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King" out now on Netflix. Our host Rebecca Lavoie interviews the director of the documentary film, Luke Sewell. Gerald Cotten was the head of Canada's largest bitcoin exchange. While on his honeymoon to India, Gerald become ill and died from complications from Crohn's disease. His sudden death left the exchange in shambles because no one else had the password that controlled hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto-currency. But the circumstances of his death and the loss of their money made investors ask questions, did Gerald fake his demise to either cover substantial losses or to abscond with an untraceable fortune? SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched "Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King" yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on.

On this episode of You Can't Make This Up, we are talking about the documentary series "The Andy Warhol Diaries" out now on Netflix. Our host Rebecca Lavoie interviews the director Andrew Rossi. This breathtakingly expansive, six-part portrait of a legend chronicles the remarkable life of Andy Warhol from the intimate vantage point offered by the artist’s own posthumously published diaries. Though intensely protective of his personal life, beginning in the 70s Warhol dictated his observations to a typist. They capture his thoughts about his secret loves, his personal struggles, and his professional self-image. “The Andy Warhol Diaries” employs cutting-edge AI-technology that recreates Warhol’s own voice to narrate his own words. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched "The Andy Warhol Diaries" yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on.

Today we're talking about "Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives." which is the latest documentary series on Netflix, directed by Chris Smith. Bad Vegan is about a wild four-part documentary series that explores how Sarma Melngailis, the celebrity restaurateur behind the glittering New York hotspot Pure Food and Wine, went from being the queen of vegan cuisine to being known as the “Vegan Fugitive.” Shortly after meeting a man named Shane Fox on Twitter in 2011, Melngailis begins draining her restaurant’s funds and funneling the money to Fox, after he cons her into believing he could make her dreams a reality... but only if she continues to obey his every request without question. Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives. takes viewers on a journey more bizarre than fiction. Today we're turning over this episode to our friends at Swindled, a true-crime podcast about white-collar criminals, con artists, and corporate evil. In this episode, we'll dive even deeper into the story of Sarma Melngailis, Shane Fox, and the scan

Today on You Can't Make This Up, we are talking about the true-crime series, "Worst Roommate Ever" out now on Netflix. Our host Rebecca Lavoie interviews the director and executive producer, Domini Hoffman about the terrifying series.  Every day in newspaper ads and online posts, people reach out to find someone to share a space and the cost of their rental properties with, but who is that stranger you just let into your apartment? In this series, we hear about renters who go beyond leaving towels in the bathroom or getting behind on their utility bills. We learn about a man who developed a fatal attraction to his roommate. A boarding house in which men check in but don't check out. A con-artist who turned to violence to cover up his financial crimes. And a serial squatter who moves in then pays nothing and refuses to leave. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched "Worst Roommate Ever" yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on.

Today on You Can't Make This Up, we are talking about "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy" out now on Netflix. The lives of an emerging superstar and filmmaker intertwine in this intense and intimate three-act documentary following Kanye West's career. The documentary event showcases both his formative days trying to break through and his life today as a global brand and artist. Our host Rebecca Lavoie interviews the directors, producers, and writers of "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy," Chike & Coodie. Listen on to hear what they share about their experience capturing the footage that spans over two decades. Here is your SPOILER ALERT, so if you haven't watched the trilogy yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening.

Next up on You Can't Make This Up, we are talking about "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy" out now on Netflix. The lives of an emerging superstar and filmmaker intertwine in this intense and intimate three-part documentary following Kanye West's career. The documentary event showcases both his formative days trying to break through and his life today as a global brand and artist. In our next episode, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews the directors, producers, and writers of "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy," Chike & Coodie. We can't wait for you to hear what they share about their experience capturing the footage that spans over two decades. If you haven't watched the trilogy yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before our next episode that releases next week. Stay Tuned!

New to this podcast? We tend to talk about some pretty heavy stuff, from stories about true crime, scandals, and swindles... to documentaries ranging from socially conscious to emotionally gripping and suspenseful. BUT TODAY on You Can't Make This Up, we are adding a little bit of spice and Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness! You better believe that on this episode, our host Rebecca Lavoie speaks with the most fabulous guest, Jonathan Van Ness himself! Jonathan Van Ness is known as one of the stars of Netflix's Queer Eye and has been exhibiting his curiosity for years on his podcast Getting Curious. Now, JVN is bringing his own brand to his new unscripted series, Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness, out now on Netflix. In the show, Jonathan goes on location and talks with experts about topics that he wants to know more about (and we mean a wide variety of topics). We learn about all things Hair, Ice skating, Snack Foods, Non-Binary Gender Identity, and more! If you like You Can’t Make This Up, please r

Years before he was pretending to be a millionaire playboy, Simon Leviev was Shimon Hayut, the son of an Orthodox rabbi from a small town near Tel Aviv. In this final episode we take a deep dive into Shimon’s younger years. We’ll hear the true tale of his upbringing, his earliest crimes, and a chilling story that shines a new light on the making of a Swindler. The Making of a Swindler is a companion to the documentary, The Tinder Swindler, now on Netflix.   The Making of A Swindler is a production of RAW and NETFLIX. Presenters: Bernadette Higgins, Felicity MorrisProducers: Bernadette Higgins, Felicity MorrisSeries Producer: Georgina SavageExecutive Producer: Deborah DudgeonResearcher: Lucy BarnesSound Design: Emma BarnabyOriginal Score: Jessica JonesJunior Production Assistants: Rowan Lee-Potter, Shemsije ZeqiriProduction Executive: Nageena AhmedRaw’s Head of Podcasts is Sarah Harris. The Head of US Production is Kate Leonard-Morgan

It’s clear that Simon is a criminal mastermind. But that level of skill requires practice, and a certain amount of pathology. In this episode, Felicity and Bernadette try to understand the mind – and methods – of the Swindler. We hear from an old friend - patient zero if you like - who knew Simon before he was The Prince of Diamonds. The Making of a Swindler is a companion to the documentary, The Tinder Swindler, now on Netflix.   The Making of A Swindler is produced by RAW and NETFLIX. Presenters: Bernadette Higgins, Felicity MorrisProducers: Bernadette Higgins, Felicity MorrisSeries Producer: Georgina SavageExecutive Producer: Deborah DudgeonResearcher: Lucy BarnesSound Design: Emma BarnabyOriginal Score: Jessica JonesJunior Production Assistants: Rowan Lee-Potter, Shemsije ZeqiriProduction Executive: Nageena AhmedRaw’s Head of Podcasts is Sarah Harris, and the Head of US Production is Kate Leonard-Morgan

Wherever he went, Simon Leviev’s entourage would follow. A carefully curated supporting cast – his business partner, his driver, his security guard and more – created an air of glamour and legitimacy. But who were these people? Were they in on the scam? Or were they victims of his lies, as much as the women Simon swindled? In this first special episode, we look into the theater of Simon.  The Making of a Swindler is a companion to the documentary, The Tinder Swindler, now on Netflix.   The Making of A Swindler is produced by RAW and NETFLIX. Presenters: Bernadette Higgins, Felicity MorrisProducers: Bernadette Higgins, Felicity Morris Series Producer: Georgina SavageExecutive Producer: Deborah DudgeonResearcher: Lucy BarnesSound Design: Emma BarnabyOriginal Score: Jessica JonesJunior Production Assistants: Rowan Lee-Potter, Shemsije ZeqiriProduction Executive: Nageena AhmedRaw’s Head of Podcasts is Sarah Harris, and the Head of US Production is Kate Leonard-Morgan