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Wondery | Pineapple Street Studios
Persona: The French Deception
What does it feel like to pick up the phone and scam someone out of $50 million? This is the story of Gilbert Chikli, one of the greatest con artists of all time. Host and award-winning journalist Evan Ratliff investigates how Chikli duped some of the world’s most powerful people into handing over their fortunes. He explores how Chikli evaded the law for years and became a Robin Hood-like hero. More than just a tale of criminal genius, this is a show about the moment we’re living in right now — the golden age of scammers — and the power of seduction. But what happens when the...
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Ratings & Reviews
4.6 stars from 917 ratings
Fascinating & well done
I heard about this podcast 1-1/2 years ago but just now binged it (January 2024). It kept me hooked to the “twisting end.” I had a hard time following the French names as I don’t know any French, but I did some internet searching to help me better understand the various relationships between...Read full review »
USA Mknitter via Apple Podcasts · United States of America · 01/26/24
Evan
Loved the show and looking to more (I hope) can never imagine what it’s like figuring out your friend is something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than you thought, and you’re just sat there wondering.
cq18 via Apple Podcasts · Denmark · 11/10/23
Hooked
This podcast is well narrated and produced, packed full of information without being dry. Fascinating story and delivered to a high standard. Really well done.
kekkkkkkkkkkkkkly via Apple Podcasts · Australia · 06/21/23
Recent Episodes
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Published 08/06/24
What would happen if you created a digital copy of yourself, powered by AI, and set it loose in the world? Evan Ratliff, longtime tech journalist and the host of Persona: The French Deception, decided to launch an experiment to find out. He combined a clone of his voice, an AI chatbot, and a...
Published 07/16/24
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