Episodes
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Four indigenous children survived a plane crash in the Colombian Amazon and spent 40 days alone in the jungle. Wilson, the hero dog who found them, is now missing.
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The children’s ages range from 11 months old to 12 years old. After their plane crashed in the Colombian jungle, causing the instant death of the pilot and of another passenger, the siblings tried to save their mother who was still alive. She passed away after four days. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free.1
The eldest child, Lesly, is credited with keeping her siblings alive through her knowledge of the jungle. The children survived for 40 days in the Amazon by eating fruit and using large leaves to protect themselves from the rain. 2
The children were discovered in a forest clearing by rescuers, who were guided to their location by Wilson, a Belgian Shepherd and four-legged hero. The military released drawings made by the children, depicting Wilson in the jungle, highlighting his role in their survival.
After the rescue of the children, the search for Wilson began as he was separated from the kids, had a “weird reaction” when seeing his handler, and then disappeared. There are reports of a drug-fueled search and rescue operation, suggesting that the military and various groups – including the dog handlers - had been using ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic tea, as a ritual to help them locate the children. Wilson, the 6-year-old hero dog, is still missing in the jungle.
1. By Ed Cumming and Mathew Charles, A hero dog, a drug-fuelled hunt, The Telegraph, June 2023. ⇤
2. By John Otis, How Indigenous kids survived 40 days in Colombia's jungle after a plane crash, NPR, June 2023. ⇤
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Mary Bell was only 10 years old when she killed two toddlers in Newcastle, England, in 1968. Her first victim was 4-year-old Martin Brown. Mary and her friend Norma then murdered and mutilated the body and genitalia of 3-year-old Brian Howe.
In this episode we discuss the disturbing story of Mary Flora Bell, who tried to kill several children and eventually succeeded in killing two young boys by strangulation. Her friend Norma bell – no relation, just a name coincidence – helped Mary murder her second victim.12
Mary Bell was sentenced to be imprisoned “at Her Majesty’s pleasure,” a British legal term that denotes an indeterminate sentence. After 12 years, in 1980, she was released on license (probation) and now lioves a quiet, anonymous life with her daughter. 3
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1. Leah Silverman The Chilling Story Of Mary Bell, The 10-Year-Old Murderer Who Strangled Two Boys All That's Intersting, September 2023 ⇤
2. Linda Caroll A Judge Called Mary Bell A Monster When She Was Just 10 Years Old Independent, September 2022 ⇤
3. MICHAEL SEAMARK & PAUL SIMS Child killer Mary Bell becomes a grandmother at 51: But all I have left is grief, says victim's mother Daily Mail, July 2023 ⇤
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Missing episodes?
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A 25 year old Alabama nursing student disappeared after calling 911 and claiming she was stopping to help a toddler in diapers who was walking alone on Interstate 459.
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Carlee Russel returned home two days later and claimed she had been kidnapped and had barely managed to escape. She said the toddler was used as bait. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free.
Carlee described how a man with “orange hair” emerged from the woods and picked her up and forced her into a vehicle. No, it wasn’t Donald Trump. 1
She said the man then put her into the trailer of a tractor and drove her to an unknown location where he forced her to undress and took photos of her. Carlee also mentioned that the man had a female accomplice who fed her cheese crackers. 2
Police soon realized her story didn’t add up. Carlee admitted she faked her own abduction. Her motives are unclear, but we suspect she was “inspired” by the kidnapping social media craze, a new “Satanic Panic” type of phenomenon which has been spreading like wildfire online, especially on Tik Tok. 3
This new trend, started by right-wing evangelicals, aims to terrify women, and convince them they can be abducted at any moment and sex trafficked. The scope is to distract from real social issues like overturning Roe v Wade, the gun violence epidemic, voting rights etc.
Statistically, a woman in the US is more likely to get hit by lightning than get kidnapped and sex trafficked.
1. Ariana Baio & Andrea Blanco Carlee Russell smiles in mug shot as she’s charged with false police report in kidnap hoax Independent, July 2023 ⇤
2. Tiffanie Drayton ‘We will not be dismayed’: What Carlee Russell’s lie means for other missing Black women Daily Dot, July 2023 ⇤
3. UNODC UNODC report on human trafficking exposes modern form of slavery UNODC, February 2009 ⇤
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Armed with a waterproof bible and fish, a young American missionary and beef jerky marketer decided to bring Jesus to the reclusive tribe of North Sentinel Island. His body has never been recovered. But who was behind this kamikaze mission, really?
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North Sentinel Island is a small island around seven kilometers by seven kilometers in size, roughly 23 square miles, located in the Bay of Bengal. It’s a unique place, as it's forbidden to visit. The Indian government made it illegal for anyone to get within three miles of the island and its reclusive inhabitants.If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free.
The Sentinelese are an indigenous tribe of hunter gatherers, living life in a not too dissimilar way to how our ancestors would've lived about 60,000 years ago. 1
The island made headlines in 2018, after John Allen Chau, a 26-year-old American evangelical missionary, blogger and beef jerky marketer set sail to the island in hoping to convert the reclusive tribe and welcome its members to Christianity.
In 2017 he had been accepted to a boot camp run by All Nations, a Kansas City organization that works to see Jesus “worshipped by every tongue, tribe and nation”. All Nations urges Christians to live by a “wartime mentality” and “make strategic decisions in the battle we’re waging against a real enemy”, waging a war against Satan. 2
John Chau was killed by the Sentinelese and his body was never recovered from the island, despite attempts made by authorities.
In the last century, many anthropologists and scientists have tried to make contact with the Sentinelese. This usually never went well; many people were killed by the islanders and many islanders were killed by diseases brought by visitors. The only remotely successful people were Madhumala Chattopadhyay and Triloknath Pandit, two famous Indian anthropologists.
The Sentinelese have no immunity to diseases carried by outsiders, and they learned over time that contact with others brings only death. Understandably, they do not welcome visitors.
1. J Oliver Conroy The life and death of John Chau, the man who tried to convert his killers The Guardian, February 2019 ⇤
2. Leah McDonald Father of American missionary who was killed while trying to convert isolated Indian Ocean tribe blames evangelicals' 'extreme Christianity' for the death of his 'innocent child' Daily Mail, February 2019 ⇤
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What do cute panda bears, US - China relations and Taiwan’s microchip fabs have in common? The race for Artificial Intelligence supremacy. China recalled its furry diplomats a week before the Joe Biden - Xi Jinping APEC summit meeting in San Francisco.
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In this episode we discuss China’s panda diplomacy, and how recalling the pandas is connected to US foreign policy, Taiwan’s microchip fabs and AI supremacy.On Wednesday Nov 8, 2023, the two adult pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, and their 3-year-old cub, Xiao Qi Ji, were guided into metal crates and transported by truck to the airport. They took off in a FedEx Boeing 777 called the Panda Express. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian arrived at the Smithsonian National Zoo in 2000 under a 10-year agreement that has been renewed three times since 2010. Xiao Qi Ji, whose name means “little miracle,” was born in 2020 as a result of artificial insemination – and the little male cub is indeed a miracle, as his mom was considered too old to be able to get the pregnancy to term. Efforts to renew the zoo’s current panda agreement, which ends on Dec. 7, have been unsuccessful. Not only did China refuse to renew the contract, but they’re also taking the pandas back even earlier than previously agreed. 1
The timing of the panda recall is dubious, given that the Biden-Xi bilateral takes place a week later during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which the US is hosting in San Francisco from 11 to 17 November. The encounter on 15 November is their second face-to-face meeting during the Biden presidency. It will be wide-ranging, US officials said, with the Israel-Hamas war, Taiwan, war in Ukraine and election interference to be discussed. 2
China’s posturing in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, the brushes with Philippine ships, and flying its planes dangerously close to American ones - all of this, is pretty much about Taiwan and who will control Taiwan, the world’s largest producer of semiconductors. Chips are what powers AI: 60% of all microchips are produced on the island; 92% of logic semiconductors with components smaller than 10 nanometers, capable of fitting more processing capacity onto a minuscule area while also being faster and more energy-efficient, are made in Taiwan. A single strand of human hair is 90,000 nanometers thick. In 1971, an average transistor was already just 10,000 nanometers thick. Today, the most advanced chips are manufactured at 2 nanometers, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) already working on creating a 1 nanometer chip.
Microchips mean economic power, and more importantly, military power: and military power means geopolitical power. Microchips also mean control of emerging and disruptive technologies, like Artificial Intelligence and synthetic biology. Countries that have the capability to successfully harness AI innovation will be strategically positioned for both improved national security and economic growth.
1. Larissa Gao and Megan Lebowitz With return of three pandas to China, U.S. could soon have none NBC News, November 2023 ⇤
2. PHELIM KINE Biden to press Xi on Iran in APEC meeting next week Politico, November 2023 ⇤
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Nurse Lucy Letby violently attacked and killed 7 newborns and attempted to murder 6 more. She is Britain’s most prolific child serial killer. Why did she do it? Apparently, for “love”.
Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy. Lucy Letby has been found guilty of murdering seven newborn babies and attempting to kill six more at the Countess of Chester hospital in north-west England. Aged 33, the nurse attacked the babies between June 2015 and June 2016 at the neonatal unit where she worked. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free.
In this episode we discuss how the Countess of Chester hospital management dropped the ball and their series of failures and attempts to cover-up the severity of the situation that led to this tragic outcome. 1
During trial, Lucy Letby blamed the neonatal unit doctors for being out to get her - “the Gang of Four” she called them: John Gibbs, Stephen Breaery, Ravi Jayram and another pediatrician. In reality, these doctors were the ones who fought the hospital management in order to get police involved and stop the horrific murders. 2
Nurse Letby injected air into the newborn’s tummies and veins (air embolus), poisoned them with insulin, overfed them milk, even hit them hard causing organ damage and showed metal objects down their throats causing them to bleed uncontrollably and go into cardiac arrest. Some of the babies that survived are left with permanent brain injuries from the lack of oxygen they endured before being resuscitated.
An inquiry is ongoing as to why hospital management were so slow to act, but this is not a public inquiry which obliges witnesses to give statements under oath.
In this episode we also discuss other medical professionals who killed their patients: nurse Beverley Allitt – known as the “angel of death”, doctor Harold Shipman and nurse Charles Cullen. We also look at an egregious case of malpraxis in which an Atlanta, GA doctor named Tracey St Julian decapitated a baby during childbirth.
1. Judith Moritz, Jonathan Coffey & Michael Buchanan Hospital bosses ignored months of doctors' warnings about Lucy Letby BBC, August 2023 ⇤
2. Josh Halliday, Garry Blight, Harry Fischer and Ashley Kirk Timeline of Lucy Letby’s attacks on babies and when alarm was raised The Guardian, August 2023 ⇤
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The Oct 7 Hamas attack on Israel coincided with Putin’s 71st birthday. Russia has been supporting the terrorist group since 2006, with Hamas reportedly laundering illicit funds through a Moscow-based crypto exchange and the Wagner group training Hamas
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In this episode we discuss the Israel – Palestine war, we look at the history of the region and how the Middle East conflict initially started, and we analyze the close diplomatic relations between Russia and Hamas. Moscow’s massive propaganda and foreign influence operation was turned into a pro-Hamas, anti-Western disinformation machine. Even before the war started, Russian media was promoting the idea that U.S. weapons for Ukraine have somehow ended up in the hands of terrorists plotting to strike Israel. 1
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We also discuss the geopolitical implications of the Gaza-Israel war, how it helps Putin and China, how Iran’s support for Hamas might destabilize the region and turn this whole thing into a proxy war between the world’s biggest powers, how the U.S. responded, how the United Nations reacted, the numbers of innocent victims on either side, and most importantly – what we need to retain from all of this: innocents were killed on each side, and Palestinians in Gaza need urgent humanitarian aid, more aid. 2
Hamas are a terrorist organization, but they do not represent the Palestinian people who have a right to exist, be safe and raise their children. Hamas does NOT stand for the Palestinians’ right to self-determination. The international community must do more to protect civilians in Gaza, make sure more humanitarian aid trucks pass through the Rafah crossing, and that Israel’s airstrikes and imminent land invasion will not result in senseless killings of tens of thousands of innocents. 34
Other points of conversation: freeing international and American hostages with the help of allies in the region (Qatar), How Russia, Iran (Hezbollah too) and China stand to win from this conflict, why Mossad and Shin Bet did not see this attack coming, the deadly explosion at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, and how Elon Musk’s X helped amplify disinformation about the war and help the interests of Russia / Iran / Hamas.
Links:
1. Josh Rogin Putin is helping Hamas to hurt the west The Washington Post, October 2023 ⇤
2. BBC Israel Gaza war: History of the conflict explained BBC, October 2023 ⇤
3. Niall McCarthy The Human Cost Of The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Statista, May 2021 ⇤
4. Amnesty International Damning evidence of war crimes as Israeli attacks wipe out entire families in Gaza Amnesty International, October 2023 ⇤
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Gilberto Valle, A New York City police officer, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to kidnap, torture, and eat women. In this dark story, the legal system grappled with the boundaries between fantasy and reality.
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In the "Cannibal Cop" case, Gilberto Valle was accused of using online forums to discuss disturbing cannibalistic ideation with other users: Moody Blues, Christopher Ashe, Michael Van Hise, and Richard Meltz – also a former policeman. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free.
The prosecution argued that Valle's online conversations were not just fantasies but actual plans to commit crimes. However, Valle's defense team claimed that his discussions were merely fantasy role-play, and he had no intention of carrying out any real harm. Ultimately, in 2013, Valle was found guilty of conspiracy charges, but the conviction was overturned on appeal in 2014, with the court ruling that his actions did not constitute a true conspiracy.1
In the United States v. Valle case, the legal system grappled with the boundaries between fantasy and intent to commit a crime. The case raised complex questions regarding online communication, freedom of speech, and the interpretation of criminal conspiracy. While the prosecution argued that Valle's online discussions were evidence of a genuine plan to harm others, the defense asserted that they were simply dark fantasies that should be protected under the First Amendment. The legal proceedings shed light on the challenges of distinguishing between genuine criminal intent and disturbing but ultimately harmless expressions, particularly in the context of online interactions.2
1. James Nye It isn't quite like pork, but very meaty anyway': Cannibal cop's online pal boasts of eating 'a black woman and white child' in vile computer chats Daily Mail, January 2013 ⇤
2. Cathy Free ‘Cannibal Cop’ defendant gets 7 years in prison New York Post, July 2018 ⇤
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Dubifriends, we’ll be back on October 4th with a big surprise! Until then, we’ll be working behind the scenes to bring you even better content. Enjoy the summer and stay dubious!
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy.
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All about the secretive life of Vladimir Putin: his wives, girlfriends, children, and how they fit into his empire. How many children does Putin have, how many times was he married, is he married now? We try to solve the puzzle that is his private life!
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/DUBIOUS today to get 10% off your first month of therapy.
In this episode we put together the puzzle that is Putin’s private life. We discuss his first marriage with Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Ocheretnaya (ex Putina), their honeymoon in Ukraine, the birth of their two daughters that Mariya Vladimirovna Vorontsova and Katerina (or Yekaterina) Tikhonova – Masha and Katya, the divorce of Vladimir Putin and Lyudmila. If you like our content please become a patron, you'll get all of our episodes ad-free. 1
We also look into their post separation relationships: Lyudmila as since remarried a Russian entrepreneur/oligarch 21 years her junior named Artur Ocheretny and Putin has had a series of relationships, the first with Svetlana Krivonogikh, a shareholder in a major Russian bank, who also owns the elite property and a St Petersburg erotic nightspot. They allegedly have a child together, 18 years old Luiza Rozova (Elizaveta Krivonogikh). He then met and allegedly secretly married gymnast Alina Maratovna Kabaeva (also named Kabayeva by some sources). They allegedly have for children together, who are now living in Switzerland with their mother. 2
All of this leads to our next episode about how friends and family of the Putins do not just jet set to ski resorts in the Swiss Alps, but also play crucial roles in overseeing the family wealth which is controlled by the state, and guarded by the FSB.
1. Laurel Wamsley. Putin's Daughters Were Just Sanctioned. Here's What We Know About Them. NPR. April 2022. ⇤
2. Vladimir Putin's 'Girlfriend' Sparks New Pregnancy Rumours. Telegraph. May 2015. ⇤
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The FBI is investigating Inna Yashchyshyn, a woman with 4 passports and suspicious background, who befriended Donald Trump and Lindsey Graham, and mingled with 45’s most inner circle at Mar-a-Lago.
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Inna Yashchyshyn, who presented herself as fake heiress Anna de Rothschild, was born in Ukraine, has American, Canadian, Russian and Ukrainian passports and a Florida driver’s license and the authorities have no idea when she entered the country. If you like our content, please become a patron to get our public episodes ad-free. 1
Obviously, Inna Yashchyshyn is no member of the famous Rothschild banking dynasty but under that assumed persona she managed to infiltrate Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s Florida residence – where top secret HUMINT and SIGNALS intelligence were illegally kept in an unsecured room, with just a lock on the door.
The timing of fake banking dynasty heiress Anna de Rothschild’s presence at Mar-A-Lago, where she played gold with Donald Trump and Lindsey Graham and ingratiated herself into the former’s president inner circle, is suspicious: she first started to go there in May 2021.
According to the New York Times, the CIA sent a top secret cable to chiefs of station – in all countries - warning them that too many agents were dying or were being turned into double agents.. So they should be extremely cautious. The cable said that the CIA knew exactly how many were executed but they have no idea how many were turned. 2
Inna Yashchyshyn is the daughter of an Illinois truck driver, which makes her marriage to her now ex-husband Sergey Golubev even more dubious: he said she married her to get a green card. 3
The FBI is also looking into her charity, United Hearts of Mercy, after the Sûreté du Québec Police Provincielle du Canada have launched investigations into Yashchyshyn’s dealings too, also related to this foundation which claims to help immigrant families. In fact, this was a money laundering scam. Stripe, the money processing app, suspected fraud and halted the funds for the campaign – a campaign which was also supposed to help families devastated by the COVID pandemic.
The United Hearts Charity of which Inna Yashchyshyn was president, was founded together with Valeriy Tarasenko, a Moscow-raised businessman who also has a very unclear background. 4
In this episode we discuss the possibility of Inna Yashchyshyn being a spy, knowing the honey pot strategy is used by foreign intelligence services such as Putin’s SVR and GRU.
1. Michael Sallah, Jonathan Silver, Kevin Hall, and Brian Fitzpatrick. Inventing Anna: The Tale of a Fake Heiress, Mar-a-Lago, and an FBI Investigation. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette. August 2022. ⇤
2. Julian E. Barnes and Adam Goldman. Captured, Killed or Compromised: C.I.A. Admits to Losing Dozens of Informants. New York Times. October 2021. ⇤
3. Harriet Alexander and Nikki Schwab. Ex-husband of Ukrainian fraudster who posed as de Rothschild heiress to infiltrate Mar-a-Lago and meet Trump: Says former wife - who faces FBI probe 'needed a green card'. Daily Mail. August 2022. ⇤
4. Inna Yashchyshyn. United Hearts of Mercy - Facebook Non-Profit Page. Facebook. October 2016. ⇤
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Was Vladimir Putin born in Russia or in Georgia? Who is his biological mother – Vera Putina or Maria Ivanova Putina? Putin’s autobiography says he was born in 1952 in Leningrad. But, there is an alternative, more credible story we tell today.
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The unofficial version of events places Putin’s early years in Metekhi, Georgia and identifies his biological mother as a woman named Vera. In the Kremlin version, Putin’s grandfather, Spiridon Putin, was a personal cook to Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. If you like our content and want to support Dubious, please become a patron to get our episodes ad-free.
Putin's mother was a factory worker and his father was a conscript in the Soviet Navy, serving in the submarine fleet in the early 1930s. Early in World War II, his father served in the destruction battalion of the NKVD – which later became KGB, now FSB. He was severely wounded in 1942. Vladimir Spiridonovich and Maria Ivanovna, his parents, had two more children, two boys but they both died before Putin was born: Albert, born in the 1930s, died in infancy, and Viktor, born in 1940, died of diphtheria and starvation in 1942 during the siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany forces in WW2. In her memoir, Hard Choices, she shares a story Putin told her about this time in his life. This story does not fit the version Putin tells in his official autobiography. The then U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said he too had never heard it before.
Putin also tells another story: one of his great teachers in life was a rat. 1
Putin’s path was influenced by a movie called The Shield and The Sword - a 1968 Soviet spy series. It inspired him to join the KGB. Putin was impressed that “One man's effort could achieve what whole armies could not. One spy could decide the fate of thousands of people.” 2
There is an unofficial version of Putin’s early years: Putin was actually born in Georgia. A woman named Vera who lives in Metheki, near Gori, in Georgia has been saying since 1999 that she is Putin’s birthmother. Putina married a Georgian soldier Giorgi Osepahvili. In December 1960, the ultimatum from her husband, Putina travelled with "Vova" back to Ochyor, in Russia and she left the boy with her parents and returned to Georgia. Vera believes that the Leningrad "parents" referred to in Putin's official biography adopted HER son from his grandparents, so from her parents. The story was corroborated by Shura Gabinashvili, a former Russian teacher at the village school in Metekhi. She says Putin was her student and that she has received death threats about making these claims public. She remembers Putin by the same pet name Vera, his alleged biological mother uses: "Vova." 3
In this episode we also discuss Alexander Litvinenko, polonium 210, the suspicious death of BOTH Putin’s Leningrad parents of cancer, AT THE SAME TIME. We also comment on the very peculiar deaths of Artyom Borovik who died in a plane crash coinciding with the documentary he was making about Vera and Putin's childhood & Italian journalist Antonio Russo who was also interested in Vera’s story before was murdered while investigating Putin’s war crimes in Chechnya.
1. Alex Kliment. Putin, Ukraine, and the Rat Story. Gzero. March 2022. ⇤
2. Damien Sharkov. Straight Outta Leningrad: Putin Says Streetfights Taught Him How to Tackle ISIS. Newsweek. October 2015. ⇤
3. Kate Weinberg. Could This Woman be Vladimir Putin's Real Mother?. Telegraph. December 2008. ⇤
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Trump’s first wife was found at the bottom of the stairs, unconscious and unresponsive in her Manhattan home on July 14, 2022. She was cremated and laid to rest at Donald Trump’s Bedminster Golf Club in a “pauper’s grave”, not far from the 1st hole.
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Mother of Ivanka, Don Jr. and Eric, Ivana Trump was 73 years old. An employee found her and called 911 at 1:40 pm. The autopsy was conducted in less than 24 hours and her death was ruled “an accident”, the official cause of death being “blunt force trauma to her torso”. If you like our content, please become a patron to get our episodes ad-free.
She deserves to be remembered not only as Trump’s first wife. She was a New York socialite, model and author but she was also an athlete who made the Czech skiing Olympics team. Ivana Trump was her own person: a mother, an author, fashion designer and New York socialite.
In the first half we focus on Ivana’s life before she met Donald Trump, as there are some tragic aspects like the death of the man she loved, George Staidl, a playwright and lyricist who died in a car crash, and her fourth husband, Italian actor Rossano Rubicondi who passed away at 49 with melanoma (a type of skin cancer). 1
Ivana Maria Zelnickova was an educated woman with a master’s degree in Physical Education and she was a fighter: she fled from communism in her native country (then Czechoslovakia, part of the USSR) and built a new life for herself, starting off in Canada and then immigrating here, to the United States.
In the second half we discuss the details of her death and the timing. Ivana passed away on July 14. Donald Trump and his three adult children were going be deposed the next day, separately, as part of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation into the Trump Organization. The depositions were postponed.
We also discuss her golf course burial in an austere grave and the attempt by Donal Trump to designate the area as a cemetery to get a tax break. A cemetery in New Jersey avoids property, income, and sales tax, the holy tax trinity. 2, 3
Donald Trump is also selling an “eternal membership” for the Bedminster National Golf Club: people play to play and when they pass, they can be buried close to Ivana if they pay extra. 4
Ivana also loved dogs. Funeral guests and others, in lieu of flowers, were asked to donate to Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Florida and to “help save the lives of dogs that are in desperate need.” The charity was picked by her ex-husband and children, and this seems to be another of Trump’s schemes where the money is not really going where they say it’s going.
Ivana’s own dog, Tiger, is now living with her assistant.
Episode #DubiMeter = 9
1. Kanishka Singh and Daniel Trotta. Ivana Trump, First Wife of Donald Trump Who Helped Build his Empire, Dies at 73. Reuters. July 2022. ⇤
2. Hamish Mitchell Twitter account. Tweet: Pics of Ivana Trump's Grave. Twitter. July 2022. ⇤
3. Edward Helmore. Will Ivana Help Donald Trump with Tax Breaks from Beyond the Grave?. The Guardian. July 2022. ⇤
4. Sinéad Baker and Tom Porter. Trump's PAC Asked Fans to Donate Money While Announcing His Ex-wife Ivana's Death. Business Insider. July 2022. ⇤
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Are zombies real? A Harvard biology PhD named Wade Davis went to Haiti to investigate the stories of voodoo priests turning people into “zombies” with a poison, and it turned out that the poison was tetrodotoxin - and it’s real.
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Voodoo priests in Haiti make a poison concocted of human remains, snakes, frogs, sea worms, and most importantly... the venom of a puffer fish. The puffer fish venom is sort of the inverse of an anesthetic. Instead of dulling the pain, it dulls your ability to react to it. A person poisoned by the zombie powder is aware and conscious, but unable to move. Their metabolic rate slows to a crawl and they show signs of death, such as bluing of the extremities and lack of response to stimulus. And then when they're presumed dead and buried, the voodoo priest digs them up and tells them when they regain their freedom of movement that he has captured their soul, and they must serve him. This is a form of capital punishment in Haiti; a throwback to the colonial days when the only escape from bondage was death. But what if you can't die? What if you are resurrected and put back into bondage? This is the threat of the zombie poison: a fate worse than death, and it happened to the subject of Wade Davis' study. Clairvius Narcisse was pronounced dead and buried after he was poisoned by the zombie powder for the accused crime of stealing property from his brother after his parents died. The voodoo priest who poisoned him dug him up and sent him to work as a slave on a sugar plantation. If you like our content, please become a patron, you'll get all of our episodes ad-free. 1, 2
Not to be outdone, if you want to risk death from the zombie poison you can also get it by eating a puffer fish in Japan. In mild doses you get high and a little tingly, in extreme cases of eating too much puffer fish in Japan you might wind up like the man who was stuck in the morgue for 7 days, with everyone thinking he was dead. He woke up before being disemboweled and embalmed, thankfully... 3
All of this is still with us because of the late, great Wes Craven's movie about Wade Davis's trip to Haiti to study the zombie powder, called The Serpent and the Rainbow, it's one of the better 1980s horror genre films, check it out if you haven't seen it! The film and book also inspired the Godsmack song "Voodoo" over a decade later. 4, 5, 6
1. Gino Del Guerico. The Secrets of Haiti’s Living Dead. Harvard Magazine. October 2017. ⇤
2. Lakshmi Gandhi. Zoinks! Tracing The History Of 'Zombie' From Haiti To The CDC. NPR. December 2013. ⇤
3. Patrick D. Hahn. Dead Man Walking. Biology Online. September 2007. ⇤
4. Wade Davis. The Serpent and the Rainbow. Touchstone Publishers. 1997. ⇤
5. Wes Craven, director. The Serpent and the Rainbow. Universal Pictures. 1988. ⇤
6. Sully Erna, writer. Godsmack - Voodoo. Universal Music. 1999. ⇤
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In 1970, King Charles III warned about the negative effects of plastic on the environment and the dangers of climate change, but was mocked for his views. He built an eco-town and supported “organic” farming long before the word became fashionable.
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The UK has a new monarch: King Charles III’s coronation was watched by millions across the globe. Camilla became Queen Consort and William, the heir to the throne, became Duke of Windsor. Prince George is second in line to the throne. If you like our content, but want to listen to our episodes AD-FREE, please become a patron.
Whether you’re a monarchist or not, you have to admit that Elizabeth Regina II – Lilibet et as Prince Phillip used to call her - was a magnificent monarch and Uk’s longest reigning monarch. 1, 2
When her father George VI died in February 1952, Elizabeth—then 25 years old—became queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (known today as Sri Lanka), as well as Head of the Commonwealth. During her reign, she had 15 Prime Ministers, from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss.
King Charles III has a passion for gardening, plants and green spaces and was way ahead of his time with his care for the environment, a worry he expressed in his 1970 speech in which he warns about plastic, pollution and the dangers of climate change. He also loves sustainable architecture and built an eco-town called Pundbury on the outskirts of Dorchester, in Dorset. He enjoys organic farming and products, which he has been growing since before the word “organic” became fashionable. 3, 4, 5
1. Anneta Konstantindes. American tourists once met the Queen and had no idea who she was — so she played a joke on them. Business Insider India. June 2022. ⇤
2. British Royal Films Youtube channel. Queen Elizabeth cracks a joke!. Youtube. March 2009. ⇤
3. The Royal Family Youtube channel. The Prince of Wales reflects on 50 years since his first speech on the environment. Youtube. February 2020. ⇤
4. Royal Institue of British Architects Facebook page. Next month marks 30 years since Prince Charles’s (in)famous ‘Carbuncle’ speech.... Facebook. April 2014. ⇤
5. A speech by HRH The Prince of Wales at the 150th anniversary of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Royal Gala Evening at Hampton Court Palace. Prince of Wales Official Website. May 1984. ⇤
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Reports say President Biden doesn’t trust some of the Secret Service agents, or their biting incident accounts about his dog Major. A FOIA lawsuit regarding Commander Biden was filed against the DHS by the same GOP group who targeted Champ and Major.
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In this episode we’re going to talk about the new Biden pets, Commander the German Shepherd, Willow the tabby cat and Poppet the unofficial White House rabbit, but also about Major and the late Champ Biden and how they were turned into political weapons and attacked by right wing groups, in court and on live TV. And we have some “barking news”: president Zelensky, Olena Zelenska, and their children have more than just two dogs: they also have a hamster and a cat. If you like our content, please become a patron.
Major Biden is the only pet in history whose less than perfect behavior was considered reason enough to "file a FOIA lawsuit against the United Stated Department of Homeland Security for records of communication between Secret Service officials assigned to the White House regarding the Biden family dogs."
One’s pets and children are/should be off limits in politics, even if the politics of their humans is not your cup of tea. On that note, thanks to President Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush for adopting puppy Freddy Bush from the SPCA of Texas and rescuing kitty Bernadette from the side of the road and giving them a wonderful, spoiled life, along with Bob, the second Bush cat.
We discuss the attack against a 13 year old dog, Champ, by a Newsmax host. Gregg Kelly and two guests presented agreed on live TV that Champ “is dirty, looks rough, disheveled, like a junkyard dog.” This attack was connected to senator Ted Cruz who fled to Cancun during the 2021 Texas freeze, leaving his poodle Snowflake alone in a house with no electricity and no heat. Texas monthly editor Michael Hardy brought this fact to light and the Twitter account The Oval Pawffice spread the Snowflake news. Newsmax attacked this account while lying to their viewers, stating the account belonged to Jen Psaki. Newsmax viewers mass reported the account until the Twitter algorithm banned it. But thanks to the adorable fox red Labrador retriever Gipper, Juris Dog-tor at Clare Locke, a boutique law firm, The Oval Pawffice was reinstated in 24 hours. Gipper wrote an official letter to Twitter’s Legal Counsel making it clear that The Oval Pawffice didn’t break any rules. This letter is a work of art, it’s written in doggo, Gipper signed it with his own paw print. 1, 2
Next: fun stories about FDR’s dog Major, Pete Roosevelt, Barney Bush, Juno and Satan Adams, parrot Poll Jackson, Old Ike the Woodrow Wilson ram and Rebecca Coolidge the racoon. We think wild animals should be protected and they should live in their own habitat. Sanctuaries yes, zoos no. Foreign presidential pets like Nemo Macron and Konni Putin (Konni sadly passed away) are included too. Farts, hair dye and Rudi Giuliani are also a thing in this episode. 3
We conclude by asking everyone to please donate to animal organizations on the ground in Ukraine. They need our help, now more than ever, so please help out if you can. And please ADOPT DON’T SHOP. 4
1. Joe Patrice. Twitter Bans Fan Account For Joe Biden’s Pets… . Above The Law. February 2021. ⇤
2. The Oval Pawffice twitter account. How to Help Pets in Ukraine. Twitter. April 2022. ⇤
3. The Star Youtube account. Macron's Dog Pees in Elysee Meeting. Youtube. October 2017. ⇤
4. Michael Hardy Twitter account. @mkerrhardy. Twitter. 2022 ⇤
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William and Kate, Harry and Meghan, the pageantry, ceremony, the Crown Jewels, and a special chicken recipe: What should we expect from the coronation of King Charles III?
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In 1937, the 11 year old Princess Elizabeth had watched her father, King George VI crowned in the elaborate ceremony and 16 years later on 2 June 1953, her own official coronation was to take place. Now, Prince Charles will become King the moment Her Majesty passes away. And William will be watching his father’s coronation. Prince Charles was the first child to witness his mother's coronation as Sovereign. Princess Anne, his sister, did not attend the ceremony as she was considered too young. He received a special hand-painted children's invitation to his mother's Coronation. 1
The Coronation of King Charles will be scaled down, less expensive and more inclusive than any other previous similar ceremony. 2
Prince Charles and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall are to be crowned side by side, together, and I like that a lot. Camilla will become Queen Consort. The last time the honor was bestowed was in 1937 when the Queen's mother sat alongside King George VI. 3
In this episode we also discuss The Royal Mews – the Gold Coach, the royal cars and the horses - , as well as the Crown Jewels and their significance. The St. Edward's Crown, made in 1661, will be placed on the head of The King during the Coronation service. It weighs 4 pounds and 12 ounces and is made of solid gold and 44 gemstones, including rubies, garnets, sapphires and tourmalines. After the crown, the orb, also made in 1661, is the most important piece of regalia. It is a globe of gold surrounded by a cross girdled by a band of diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphire and pearls with a large amethyst at the summit. The Coronation ring, known as 'The Wedding Ring of England' – because the monarch’s first duty is not family but country – will be placed on The King’s fourth finger of his right hand in accordance with tradition. This ring was made for the Coronation of King William IV in 1831, William himself commissioned the British jeweler Rundell, Bridge & Rundell to create the symbolic sapphire ring with baguette-cut rubies in the form of a cross across the face. The rubies represent the cross of St. George (for England) and the sapphire represents the Scottish flag. 4
When Charles becomes King, he will change the royal insignia, he will put his own stamp on the reign by changing the designs of everything from mail boxes to police uniforms. Instead of the ER II insignia, during Charles’ reign, the Tudor Crown design will be used.
We also debate whether a traditional coronation recipe called Coronation Chicken is exceptional or.. disappointing. The recipe is linked below. 5
1. 50 Facts about The Queen's Coronation. The Royal Household. ⇤
2. Mehera Bonner. This Is What Prince Charles's Coronation Will Be Like (Because Yep, It's Already Planned). Cosmopolitan. June 2022. ⇤
3. Kate Mansey. Charles and Camilla to be Crowned Side by Side: Prince of Wales's Plans for a Scaled Down Coronation Codenamed 'Operation Golden Orb' that will be Shorter and Cheaper are Revealed. The Daily Mail. February 2022. ⇤
4. Queen's Platinum Jubilee Final Day 05/06/22. Youtube. June 2022. ⇤
5. Andrea Soranidis. The Original Coronation Chicken. The Petite Cook. February 2019. ⇤
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Since we covered the SCOTUS, we also looked at the local judiciary around the U.S. Spoiler alert: not good. A judge from Arkansas named Mike Maggio posted himself from the bench to prison by revealing the details of a sealed adoption by Charlize Theron.
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Mike Maggio even took bribes from a nursing home corporation to reduce negligence / wrongful death judgments against the company and pinned all of this stuff on himself by posting about it on a college football forum. Maggio’s flagrant abuse of the law was uncovered by Matt Campbell of Blue Hog Report, a great example of a blog for any would-be local issues journalist. 1
As it turns out, Maggio may be the norm rather than the exception. A study of judge misconduct nationwide found approximately 16-20% of them have had some sort of reprimand, but 90% remained in office after being punished. Of those nefarious judges, 2/3 were punished anonymously so that possible victims of those judges can't even pinpoint their names. 2
Sandra talks about her time volunteering for a Senate campaign for Beto O'Rourke in Texas and we close up by recommending that people pay a little more attention to their local offices and local issues. You can do a lot more with a few friends and neighbors in your hometown than the spectacle of a presidential election can do for you. All of this brought to mind the all-time great political speech from Jesse Jackson during the 1984 campaign. "Rocks, just layin' around..." 3
1. Matt Campbell. Who Have You Wronged, Mr. Maggio? Hog Nation Turns Its Angry Eyes To You. (Woo woo wooooo.). Blue Hog Report. March 2014. ⇤
2. Michael Berens and John Shiffman. Thousands of U.S. Judges Who Broke Laws or Oaths Remained on the Bench. Reuters. June 2020. ⇤
3. Jesse Jackson. Rocks Layin' Around Speech. Youtube. October 2020. ⇤
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Despite claiming he enjoys Walmart parking lots and RV parks, Clarence Thomas is more of a yacht and private jet guy. His lavish life, bankrolled by GOP megadonor Harlan Crow, is far more glamorous than any of us imagined
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In this episode we discuss how Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has accepted tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts since joining the court, including $1,200 worth of tires, valuable historical objects and a $5,000 personal check. 1
He also received batteries and a jacket. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our content ad-free. These are the gifts he reported, but it turns out that Harlan Crow took good care of Clarence Thomas and his wife Ginni Thomas. 2
Justice Thomas lives the life of a movie star or tech bro billionaire, flying on private jets, cruising on million dollar yachts and vacationing in exotic places like the Indonesian islands. Thomas and Crow went together to Bohemian Grove, the rustic Bay Area men-only retreat for the rich and powerful, where rumor has it that captains of industry and powerful politicians roam the grounds naked or in robes, drink profusely and… urinate on trees, all in the spirit of male-bonding. 3, 4
1. Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott and Alex Mierjeski. Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire. Propublica. April 2023. ⇤
2. Richard A. Serrano and David G. Savage. Justice Thomas Reports Wealth of Gifts. Los Angeles Times. December 2004. ⇤
3. Jack Holmes. This Supreme Court Justice Definitely Does NOT Have a Sugar Daddy, They Are Just Friends. Esquire. April 2023. ⇤
4. Michael Cabanatuan. Clarence Thomas and Bohemian Grove: Inside the secretive California retreat making headlines. San Francisco Chronicle. April 2023. ⇤
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A Russian GRU operative posing as a Brazilian student in the U.S. was arrested, after the FBI and the CIA kept tabs on him for years. Moscow retaliated and detained American journalist Evan Gershkovich on trumped-up charges of espionage.
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In this episode we discuss the specifics of Sergey Cherkasov’s arrest: Sergey is a Russian spy, an illegal, arrested by the Danish authorities in Brazil. If you like our content, please become a patron to get all our episodes ad-free.
Cherkasov’s legend – a made-up bio created by the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence service – presented him as Victor Muller Ferreira, a Brazilian student in his late 20s. In reality, Sergey is 33 and a spy. Using fake documents, he managed to obtain a post graduate diploma from John Hopkins University. He then was offered a junior analyst position at the International Criminal Court, the same institution that recently issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine. The CIA and the FBI had been keeping tabs on him for a while, so he was arrested in Brazil in April 2022 and will spend the next 15 years in prison. 1
The Russian spy story broke on March 26 in The Guardian, and just 4 days later, on March 30, 2023, the Wall Street Journal reporter was arrested near Moscow. Not a coincidence, this was probably payback for the public embarrassment the Russian intelligence services are facing after a very sloppy operative they trained was caught. 2
Evan Gershkovich, a thirty-one-year-old reporter for the Wall Street Journal is the son of Soviet-born émigrés who came to the U.S. in the late seventies. He was detained while on a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg, a city 800 miles east of Moscow. The next day, he was brought to Moscow, formally charged with espionage in a closed hearing, and ordered to be held in Lefortovo Prison awaiting trial. Evan Gershkovich is accredited to work as a journalist in Russia by the country’s foreign ministry. 3
1. Greg Miller. He came to D.C. as a Brazilian student. The U.S. says he was a Russian spy.. The Washington Post. March 2023. ⇤
2. Joshua Yaffa. The Unimaginable Horror of a Friend’s Arrest in Moscow. The New Yorker. March 2023. ⇤
3. Daniel Michaels, Vivian Salama, and Jared Malsin. White House Condemns Russia’s Detention of Wall Street Journal Reporter. The Wall Street Journal. March 2023. ⇤
4. Greg Botelho. Dangerous diplomacy: A look at U.S. diplomats killed in the line of duty. CNN. March 2015. ⇤
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