Shows
Out There1,000 Hours OutdoorsMany of us go outside because the quiet is calming. But what if silence isn't calming for you? What if it’s the opposite? Could you still find a way to love it? In this episode, Florida-based producer Amber Von Schassen explores why silence in the outdoors is so unsettling for her, and shares what happened when she tried to get over her fear by spending 1,000 hours outdoors. --- Links: Support Out There on Patreon Follow Out There on Facebook and Instagram --- Out There is...2024-05-1629 min
Crypto CrooksConsensus 2023 Panel: How to Spot a ScamFeaturing “Crypto Critics’ Corner” hosts Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey, and former Terraform Labs employee Hyungsuk Kang.The past year saw the collapse of a huge variety of frauds, scams, and deeply flawed projects in crypto. Some of the most respected (and consistently correct) scam-spotters in the industry discuss how they identify red flags and dig into the nitty-gritty of uncovering malfeasance. We also meet a special guest – a former employee of one of the most notorious projects to blow up in 2022, who left early because of the bad behavior he saw from the inside. Featuring:Bennett...2023-05-1623 min
Crypto CrooksLunacy Episode 5: Between the Moon and Montenegro – Do Kwon Goes to JailTime moves faster in crypto. So this week we’re back with a bonus episode on all the lunacy that’s gone down since February."Crypto Crooks" is sponsored by Chainalysis.We’d finished writing and recording this show by February 2023. But February and March were busy months for the Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice and the authorities of Montenegro. They’ve all been going after Do Kwon. And they’ve all had some very interesting successes. So, we’re back with a bonus episode. We break down everything tha...2023-04-1828 minCrypto CrooksLunacy Episode 4: Our Twisted HeroIn the season finale, we look at the man behind the curtain – and tease out just how many crimes he committed."Crypto Crooks" is sponsored by Chainalysis.Do Kwon has evaded, deflected and run away. But his empire’s crimes are like a trail of breadcrumbs, always leading back to him. In our season finale, we take stock of Do Kwon’s twisted legacy: the myriad crimes and deceptions he enacted, the system he built to prop them all up and the lies he’s still spouting while running from both nominal responsibility and the la...2023-03-2153 minCrypto CrooksLunacy Episode 3: Legends of the FallThis week we delve into the underlying mechanisms of terraUSD and how they incentivized experienced investors to drive the stablecoin into a death spiral."Crypto Crooks" is sponsored by Chainalysis.Do Kwon wasn’t creating a new grift. His coin was history, repeated. Financial experts foretold the failure of Do Kwon’s empire from the beginning – because they’d seen it all happen before, at the Bank of England no less. In our deep dive into terraUSD, we examine how the death spiral that ate the stablecoin alive was knit into the very fabric of...2023-03-1446 minCrypto CrooksLunacy Episode 2: Confidence GameThis week we delve into terraUSD’s winners, its losers and the rules of the whole twisted game."Crypto Crooks" is sponsored by Chainalysis.TerraUSD and its so-called “ecosystem” were always a game – one only some investors realized they were playing. As we fall deeper into the death spiral, we look at the retail investors who were indisputable victims of Do Kwon’s scheme. Many of them lost life savings and even, ultimately, their lives, in the wave of suicides which followed the depeg. We also look at the more complicated role of financial pr...2023-03-0750 minCrypto CrooksLunacy Episode 1: Death SpiralThis week, we dig into the rise of Do Kwon, the enormous appeal of his almost magical algorithmic stablecoin – and the far less charmed reality underlying his machinations from the very start."Crypto Crooks" is sponsored by Chainalysis.Do Kwon said he could print money out of thin air. Who could resist a sell like that? Welcome back to “Crypto Crooks.” This season, over the course of four episodes plus a bonus fifth on recent developments, we tackle Do Kwon and his so-called algorithmic stablecoin. We’re starting with the seductive appeal of the concep...2023-02-2851 minCrypto CrooksSeason 2: 'Lunacy, the Rise and Fall of Do Kwon' Podcast TrailerWelcome to “Crypto Crooks” Season 2: ”Lunacy: The Rise and Fall of Do Kwon.""Crypto Crooks" is sponsored by Chainalysis.Crypto's biggest names thought Do Kwon and his algorithmic stablecoin would take them to the promised land. But then terraUSD slipped from its dollar peg by just one cent. Everything unraveled. $60 billion, vaporized. Life savings, obliterated. A wave of suicides across the globe. And that was just the beginning.You know the name. You know the memes. But do you know the real story? Welcome to “Crypto Crooks” Season 2: ”Lunacy: The Rise and Fall of Do Kwon”...2023-02-1402 minCrypto CrooksBitConnect Episode 4: Fraud Is a Flat CircleThis week, in the last episode of the season, we look at the methodical, often slow progress of justice, and pull at one final thread: the ominous connections between BitConnect and India’s ruling party, the conservative BJP."Crypto Crooks" is sponsored by Chainalysis.BitConnect’s nefarious tentacles reached across the world. So did the impact of its downfall and the fates of its architects. In our season finale, we take stock of the BitConnect saga, from the legal fallout to the implications for crypto at large. We also take one last glance backwa...2023-01-3127 minCrypto CrooksBitConnect Episode 3: Technically, You Kind of Lost Your MoneyThis week, we meet the online influencers who enticed victims into the BitConnect farce, and the pyramid-scheme model that allowed them to make millions doing it. "Crypto Crooks" is sponsored by Chainalysis.It takes a village to scam the world. Or at least some YouTube channels. In the penultimate episode of “Crypto Crooks: BitConnect,” we talk to Scott Shaffer, who kept close tabs on the BitConnect team both before and after the collapse on his YouTube Channel, “Crypto Jedi.” He watched a series of charismatic, powerful YouTubers invite viewers into their pyramid scheme, getting ric...2023-01-2432 minCrypto CrooksBitConnect Episode 2: Where Is Madeline Bigatton?This week, we explore the intricate interplay of events that led to BitConnect’s dramatic decline, and the case of the missing woman just left of center of the scheme. "Crypto Crooks" is sponsored by Chainalysis.It takes a lot of concurrent factors to topple an empire – even a fraudulent one. As we continue the sordid tale of BitConnect’s rise and demise, we talk to early skeptic @BCCPonzi about the financial, technical and plain common-sense issues that plagued BitConnect’s premise from the beginning. We also delve into what exactly happened to Madeline B...2023-01-1736 minCrypto CrooksBitConnect Episode 1: The Gujarati ConnectionThis week, we dig into the rise of BitConnect, the strange kidnapping case that ultimately helped unravel the scheme and an important Texas Securities Commission cease and desist order."Crypto Crooks" is sponsored by Chainalysis.BitConnect investors were on top of the world. Their investments were going up, up and up. The BitConnect token was making inroads around the world. It was almost too good to be true.Or rather, it was too good to be true.In this first episode of “Crypto Crooks,” we go back to the beginning with Amito...2023-01-1031 min