Episodes
It's Day 2 of Holland’s interrogation of Driskill. Over the course of several hours Holland uses a variety of extreme but legal tactics as he chases a confession. He lies to Driskill about the evidence they have against him and feeds the veteran a story to explain how he might have come to murder Bobbie Sue Hill. Holland is relentless and the interrogation stretches on, with no lawyer present. How long can Driskill resist? Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Smoke Screen ad-free...
Published 05/15/23
Chammah investigates the cop at the centre of the story – James Holland is so celebrated as an interrogator that he’s known in the media as ‘the serial killer whisperer.’ He’s a leading member of that legendary and storied police force, the Texas Rangers. Chammah traces Holland’s steps as he starts trying to close a cold case which has gone unsolved for more than a decade: the murder of a woman named Bobbie Sue Hill. The trail is faint but Holland follows it doggedly: a dead-end suspect, a...
Published 05/08/23
Texas Ranger James Holland approaches Air Force veteran Larry Driskill and asks him for help with a murder case. These are the first moments in a psychological battle that will end in Driskill confessing to a brutal killing. All while swearing he doesn’t remember the crime. Incredibly, the whole thing is caught on tape. Through Holland's recordings, journalist Maurice Chammah follows the men into the interrogation room... Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Smoke Screen...
Published 05/01/23
Genesis II has recently gained a significant following in some South American countries, according to local reports. Hundreds of buyers have been lining up outside makeshift MMS distribution centers in poor rural communities as the pace of Covid vaccination falls behind that of major cities. What does the story of MMS tell us about the future of public health in the U.S. and abroad? How we can foster informed, trusted dialogue around science and health globally? A Neon Hum Media,...
Published 03/15/23
From prison in Colombia, to a detention facility in Texas to federal detention in Florida, the Grenons continue to fight for their freedom, and promote their product. Meanwhile, Mark Grenon remains defiant. MMS, he insists, will never stop. A Neon Hum Media, Bloomberg & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...
Published 03/08/23
In the summer of 2020, the government raided Grenon's compound and arrested two of Mark Grenon’s sons. But where in the world were Mark and his other son? This episode traces the Grenons’ moves around the world, and examines both how they rose to international stardom … and how they were ultimately brought down. A Neon Hum Media, Bloomberg & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts...
Published 03/01/23
As MMS continued its rise, so did the Federal Drug Administration’s attention on the so-called cure. But MMS would prove difficult to clamp down on. Between eBay and Amazon, sales of the vials were reaching the millions. In 2019, a special agent with the FDA began buying MMS, gaining information on the church and its founders. But the Genesis II Church would receive a major boost in March 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic rattled the world. Unapproved Covid cures were rampant, leading to...
Published 02/22/23
Self-appointed archbishops Jim Humble and Mark Grenon begin hosting seminars around the world, and charging $450 per person to attend. But it wasn’t just locals expressing interest in the so-called cure: now, national media was catching wind of the group, thrusting the Genesis II Church further into the limelight. A Neon Hum Media, Bloomberg & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts...
Published 02/15/23
What starts for Daniel Smith as an attempt to regain trust in medicine quickly becomes "Project Green Life" – a top distributor of MMS. Then, the feds catch wind of his operation, hoping to take him down. The Grenons use Daniel's prosecution as a rallying cry for the Genesis II church, claiming that their church status is what would insulate them from future attempts by the feds to shut them down. A Neon Hum Media, Bloomberg & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find out more about...
Published 02/08/23
Fiona O'Leary is a fearless firebrand, and mother of four autistic children. She is also an online vigilante who will stop at nothing to take down proponents of MMS. She's part of a loosely affiliated group of keyboard warriors known as "The Bleach Hunters.” Her Nemesis is Kerri Rivera, a former real estate agent who created something called "The Autism Protocols", which promote using MMS as a "cure" for autism. Meanwhile, a tragic death in the South Pacific of someone using MMS alerts the...
Published 02/01/23
Meet Mark Grenon, Jim Humble, and the Genesis II church. Mark Grenon, a missionary in the Dominican Republic, contracts MRSA. He discovers the Miracle Mineral Solution, and claims that it has miraculously cured him of numerous ailments. This takes him to the founder of MMS, Jim Humble, a man who claims to be a billion-year-old god from the Andromeda galaxy, and has treated thousands of people with what he calls "my malaria solution.” Together, they start the Genesis II Church of Health and...
Published 02/01/23
Published 01/18/23
Published 01/16/23
Published 08/15/22
Alex Schuman, host of Puppy Kingpin, spoke to Deborah Howard, the president of CAPS, the Companion Animal Protection Society, and an undercover investigator who goes by the pseudonym Pete Paxton. In this bonus episode, they discuss the patterns they see breeders using to skirt laws, why the USDA falls short, and Deborah and Pete defend their use of undercover videos to expose what's happening on the ground. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Published 08/04/22
Spectacle: True Crime host, Mariah Smith, sits down with Alex Schuman to chat all things about the newest season of Smoke Screen, Puppy Kingpin. She puts host Alex Schuman in the hot seat and they dig into true crime – how we report these stories, why we’re so fascinated with them and what this fascination says about us. Mariah gets juicy behind-the-scenes bits from Alex about reporting Smoke Screen: Fake Priest and Puppy Kingpin. Plus, Mariah tells Alex about the new season of Spectacle,...
Published 07/22/22
Jolyn Noethe faces a class action lawsuit that accuses her of a federal crime and might cost her up to 5 million. The puppy pipeline isn’t going to change overnight, but Alex meets with a breeder who has nothing to hide and hears about a movement among breeders to go above and beyond USDA requirements. A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts. Unlock all episodes of...
Published 07/21/22
The Iowa AG’s lawsuit against Jolyn comes to a conclusion as she faces challenges from multiple sides. Alex looks more closely at the USDA as a growing number of breeders and animal rights activists think a USDA license doesn’t mean much anymore. A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts. Unlock all episodes of Smoke Screen: Puppy Kingpin, ad-free right now by...
Published 07/14/22
Alex heads to Britt, Iowa where Jolyn Noethe grew up and her for-profit enterprise, J.A.K.’s Puppies, is headquartered. He discovers that a family dispute is part of the reason she started her own brokering business. A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts. Unlock all episodes of Smoke Screen: Puppy Kingpin, ad-free right now by subscribing to The Binge - a new...
Published 07/07/22