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PRETEND

PRETEND is an investigative true crime podcast about real people who lie for a living — con artists, scammers, and the victims caught in their web. Hosted by journalist Javier Leiva, PRETEND exposes the human psychology behind deception and fraud. Each episode follows a real case of manipulation — from financial scams and Ponzi schemes to digital hoaxes and emotional cons. PRETEND explains how and why deception works without shaming victims, combining ethical journalism with cinematic storytelling. Featured in lists of the best podcasts about con artists and scams, PRETEND investigates crimes of persuasion, trust, and betrayal. New episodes drop regularly with stor...

Introducing Season Seven of Nobody Should Believe Me

64 hours 10 mins; March 30, 2026

I Beg Your Pardon part 3

36 mins; March 24, 2026

I Beg Your Pardon part 2

40 mins; March 17, 2026

I Beg Your Pardon part 1

39 mins; March 10, 2026

Who's Afraid of LaDonna Humphrey Revisited

42 mins; March 03, 2026

Update on “The Hand That Held Me”

48 secs; February 28, 2026

The Pests part 3 & 4 Revisited

81 hours 14 mins; February 24, 2026

The Pests part 1 & 2 Revisited

63 hours 35 mins; February 17, 2026

State of Corruption: The School That Didn't Exist

39 mins; February 10, 2026

Introducing Everything They Missed

34 mins; February 06, 2026

How to Spot a Fake ICE Agent

33 mins; February 03, 2026

Listener Reaction: Didn't See It Coming Part 3

16 mins; January 31, 2026

Didn't See It Coming (Part 3)

43 mins; January 27, 2026

Listener Reaction: Didn't See It Coming part 2

25 mins; January 24, 2026

Didn't See It Coming (Part 2)

33 mins; January 20, 2026

Listener Reaction: Didn't See That Coming Part 1

26 mins; January 17, 2026

Didn't See It Coming (Part 1)

39 mins; January 13, 2026

PRETEND Live AMA

66 hours 9 mins; January 06, 2026

Licensed to Kill Revisited

76 hours 51 mins; December 30, 2025

The Real Life Grinch

37 mins; December 23, 2025

Bonus Episode: Listener Reaction - Matthew Fenner vs. Ted Bell

29 mins; December 20, 2025

The Prophet: Matthew Fenner vs Ted Bell

58 mins; December 17, 2025

Off Script: Pretend, Murder She Told & Sins and Survivors Spill the Tea (BONUS)

36 mins; December 16, 2025

Open Enrollment, Open Season for Scammers

28 mins; December 09, 2025

The Cancer Sympathy Machine part 3

41 mins; December 02, 2025

Listener Reaction: The Cancer Sympathy Machine

20 mins; November 28, 2025

The Cancer Sympathy Machine part 2

30 mins; November 25, 2025

The Cancer Sympathy Machine part 1

37 mins; November 18, 2025

Dakota Spotlight: Meanwhile in Mankato

56 mins; November 17, 2025

From Smallville to NXIVM: The Psychology Behind Allison Mack

43 mins; November 11, 2025

Bonus: The Psychology Behind Parasocial Relationships (Cracks in the Fandom)

28 mins; November 10, 2025

The Hypnotist - Alien Abductions

39 mins; November 01, 2025

The Haunted Tourist

60 hours 29 mins; October 31, 2025

The Real Vampires

43 mins; October 30, 2025

Cracks in the Fandom part 4

56 mins; October 28, 2025

Cracks in the Fandom part 3

44 mins; October 21, 2025

Cracks in the Fandom part 2

41 mins; October 14, 2025

Cracks in the Fandom part 1

39 mins; October 06, 2025

The High School Hoax Update

32 mins; September 30, 2025

The Stalker: Rick Fernandez’s Guilty Plea

12 mins; September 23, 2025

The Monster

43 mins; September 16, 2025

State of Corruption: Ohio part 2

40 mins; September 09, 2025

State of Corruption: Ohio part 1

36 mins; September 02, 2025

The Real Donnie Brasco - FBI Case File Review

71 hours 40 mins; August 28, 2025

Who’s Afraid of LaDonna Humphrey Part 18: The 911 Caller

55 mins; August 19, 2025

Who's Afraid of LaDonna Humphrey part 17

30 mins; August 12, 2025

"Nobody Should Believe Me" — When the Advocate Is the Abuser

52 mins; August 05, 2025

2203: The Playwright part 3

43 mins; July 29, 2025

Listen Now: Business Wars

7 mins; July 22, 2025

The Playwright part 2

39 mins; July 22, 2025

The Playwright part 1

43 mins; July 15, 2025

BONUS: The Digital Trail to Epstein’s Island

13 mins; July 09, 2025

The Pale Faced Lie Revisited

44 mins; July 01, 2025

The Stalker - New Charges part 21

32 mins; June 24, 2025

Listen Now: The Rise & Fall of Diddy: The Federal Trial

10 mins; June 17, 2025

Cocaine Air

48 mins; June 10, 2025

The Internet Saves the Bachelor part 4

39 mins; June 03, 2025

The Internet Saves the Bachelor part 3

36 mins; May 28, 2025

The Internet Saves the Bachelor part 2

40 mins; May 20, 2025

The Internet Saves the Bachelor part 1

32 mins; May 14, 2025

The Man Who Stole 200 Million Identities

28 mins; May 10, 2025

2104: The Digital Pickpocket Revisted

29 mins; May 05, 2025

LaDonna's Easter Egg Hustle

21 mins; April 29, 2025

Faking Insanity

40 mins; April 22, 2025

My Wife, the Ponzi Schemer

35 mins; April 15, 2025

I Married a Narcissist part 3

51 mins; April 08, 2025

I Married a Narcissist part 2 Listener Reactions

15 mins; April 01, 2025

The Sham: I Married a Narcissist

55 mins; March 25, 2025

The Keepsake Scandal

34 mins; March 21, 2025

The Gambler Revisited

41 mins; March 11, 2025

Licensed to Kill part 2

32 mins; March 04, 2025

Licensed to Kill part 1

41 mins; February 25, 2025

Operation Cock Block

49 mins; February 18, 2025

The Telepathy Tapes B-side part 3

37 mins; February 11, 2025

The Telepathy Tapes B-Side part 2

48 mins; February 04, 2025

The Telepathy Tapes B-Side part 1

44 mins; January 28, 2025

Criminal Conduct S5: The Life and Death of Buffalo Jim

31 mins; January 21, 2025

Nobody Should Believe Me: Sophie Saves Zambia

47 mins; January 14, 2025

DNA Deception

37 mins; January 07, 2025

Drone Hysteria

22 mins; December 31, 2024

BONUS: Grapes, Grifts, and Gavel

65 hours 25 mins; December 26, 2024

The Christmas Con Revisited

38 mins; December 24, 2024

BONUS: Affirmative Pretend Bullsh**

66 hours 53 mins; December 23, 2024

Love and Taxes Revisited

38 mins; December 18, 2024

The Maury Povich Olive Lady - Revisited

36 mins; December 11, 2024

The Woman Who Almost Stole Graceland

46 mins; December 03, 2024

BONUS: How to Spot a Con Artist on the First Date and When to Walk Away

50 mins; November 26, 2024

LaDonna's Surrogates part 4

36 mins; November 19, 2024

LaDonna's Surrogates part 3

32 mins; November 12, 2024

LaDonna's Surrogates part 2

31 mins; November 05, 2024

LaDonna's Surrogates part 1

28 mins; October 29, 2024

The White Collar Support Group

58 mins; October 22, 2024

The Naked Surgeon Revisited

53 mins; October 15, 2024

The Greatest Footballer Who Never Played

35 mins; October 08, 2024

The Return of the Stalker

33 mins; October 01, 2024

Who's Afraid of LaDonna Humphrey part 16

53 mins; September 24, 2024

Who's Afraid of LaDonna Humphrey part 15

41 mins; September 17, 2024

Who's Afraid of LaDonna Humphrey part 14

39 mins; September 10, 2024

LADONNA BONUS: A Swing and a Miss

21 mins; September 03, 2024

Who's Afraid of LaDonna Humphrey part 13

35 mins; August 27, 2024

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PRETEND

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