IIn keeping with this week's cheater theme, “53 Minutes” takes a funny and loving look at perhaps the biggest sports scam in recent memory. In this scam, barely functioning Senegalese footballer Ali Dia managed to persuade Graeme Souness, then Southampton manager, to send him onto the pitch. English Premier League. Dia's 53-minute appearance in 1996 (he came on as a substitute, but was later substituted himself) is passed down as a legend in the soccer world. But how on earth did that happen? Dara O' Brian and Josh Widdicombe do their best to explain the unexplainable.
The Last City is decidedly not light-hearted, transporting us to a dystopian 2072 world. – The climate crisis is spiraling out of control. He has only one habitable city left on Earth. But a dark secret soon threatens the survival of humanity's last stand. Starring Leah Seehorn (Better Call Saul) and Maury Sterling (Homeland).
phil harrison
TV desk, Guardian newspaper
This week's picks
53 minutes
All episodes widely available
Remember when football was less subtle and cash-based? So do Dara O' Brian and Josh Widdicombe, and in their new podcast, Ali Dier, who featured once for Southampton in 1996, tells the story of. Was Dia a hustler or a dreamer? Did he trick his way into a Premier League game? This is the incredible story of a “creepy man” who came out of nowhere and returned to obscurity, told with humor and understanding. Hannah Verdier
educate daisy
Wide range of weekly episodes available
It's Season 2, but can any of Daisy Mae Cooper's guests convince you that the book is worth reading? Greg Davis, Kerry Godliman and Sindhu Vee are candidates to work their magic I am among the people. Would Rylan Clark, also not a big reader, succeed with a book about celebrity gossip and embodiment? HV
Boar's Nest: Sue Brewer and the Birth of Outlaw Country Music
Audible, all episodes now available
Sue Brewer was the mother of Nashville's country music scene in the '60s and '70s, inspiring and encouraging big names like Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson. This podcast tells her story from her perspective. It's a vivid story full of heartbreak, dreams, and arrogance. HV
last city
Wonderly, all episodes now available
This “Kurifai” drama takes place in the year 2072, where there is only one city left on Earth that is free from crime, drought, and floods. But their paradise is on the verge of collapse when the city's publicist discovers a dark secret. Better Call Saul's Rhea Seehorn and Homeland's Maury Sterling star in this slickly written story. HV
how to win
Wide range of weekly episodes available
“Losing begets losing. Winning begets winning.” In that case, who wouldn't want a little coaching on how to win? Craig Robinson, mindset expert and locker room pep king. And John Calipari will tell you that. Tips on how to work when you're not at your best, lessons from basketball, and a chat with Barack Obama are all here. HV
There's a podcast for that
this week, Hannah Verdier choose the five best podcasts about con manfrom a fraudulent art dealer on a par with Warhol to a very malicious doctor.
sweet bobby
Tortoise's Alex Mostrous is a man who knows how to dig deep into a mystery, and his catfishing podcast is a masterclass in storytelling. Bobby, the leader of Catfish, invades Kirat Assi's life, but Kirat Assi realizes that he does not exist. This podcast comes courtesy of Assi, a supposedly handsome cardiologist whose sob stories arrive in Assi's inbox, and he can't help but fall in love with the sob stories. Our results demonstrate how easy it is to fall for scams when they are delivered in a very gradual and professional manner.
con man
Fyre Festival makes no mention of this series of scams spread by social media influencers. A man posing as a Saudi prince, a glamorous sister who calls herself Gossip Girl, and the inevitable Bitcoin scandal. The leering Skaachi Kool and Sarah Hagi hosts ask, “How far will a person go for money, power and fame?” The results are both shocking and hilarious in their brazen success. Looking back nostalgically at the disruption caused by the threat of new football Super League, his 48-hour cash cow is given a new interpretation.
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dirty john
Freelance management of anesthesia. He never gets out of scrubs. And he never seems to keep a pay check. But 'Dirty' John Meehan (above) successfully and truly fooled Debra Newell, who thought she had met the man of her dreams online. This podcast spawned his two seasons of Netflix's con drama and started a new crime genre with Insidious Traces of Clues. Piecing together the red flags may be satisfying for listeners, but for Newell and her adult children, it was an all-too-real warning about when online dating goes awry.
wedding scammer
In this podcast, The Ringer's Justin Sayles goes on a mission to catch a scammer, and the story gets bigger and more twisted over the course of seven episodes. His first encounter with the enigmatic Michael Esposito wasn't at a wedding, but at a job interview where the negotiation was a “major red flag.” Still, Sayles took the job – at a million-dollar launch party where no caterer showed up. As he investigates further, he discovers that he is not alone in trying to track down the man who has taken on various aliases and ruined many weddings. Unbelievable but true.
Chameleon: Gallery of Lies
A Hollywood con artist, a Las Vegas hustler, and two brothers full of mystery in the wilderness. Chameleons have a talent for identifying the most fascinating subjects. Season 4 focuses on German art dealer Helge Achenbach, a con man immersed in the world of superstars such as Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons. Presenter Bijan Stephen has an outrageous path to follow, from wandering the glitzy parties of Manhattan to taking painting classes in prison after failing a multi-million pound scam. His rise and fall is meticulously recorded.
Why not try it…
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One suitor, six suitors, a series of phone dates, with a suitor dropping out after each round. There's a twist at the end of the dating podcast “Hang Up.”
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Is her life really a big, elaborate lie? Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Sarah Ganim and Edward R. Murrow investigate in Believable: the Coco Berthmann Story.
