World's Greatest Con

In 1915, San Diego is on the brink of becoming a major American city, if it doesn’t die of thirst first.

Enter Charles Hatfield. He claims a secret chemical process can summon rain, end the drought, and sustain the city as it prepares to welcome the world for a critical international exhibition.

And he’s right.

It rains.

The problem is, it doesn’t stop.

Floods tear through the region. Dozens are dead. Millions of dollars in damage follow. Entire neighborhoods are washed away.
In the aftermath, everything hinges on one impossible question: did he truly believe he was making the rain or was it all a con?
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Charles Ponzi conducted a financial fraud so audacious he became the biggest brand name in crime. Yet most people don’t know what he actually did and those who do are often hard-pressed to explain why it was special.

So why, more than 100 years later, do we call so many financial scams a Ponzi scheme?

Brian tells the story of a poor boy from Italy whose name is still on the lips of everyone worried they’re about to be made a sucker.

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Eddie has a plan to make millions. It leaves him an international fugitive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A New York City upstart becomes a legend in the city that never sleeps. But his greed leaves him teetering on the edge of fame, wealth and death. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Germans have invented an aquatic killing machine the likes of which the world has never known. If you are one of its victims, how do you trick sure death? By pulling an all-in audacious scheme that only works if you have the element of surprise. How long can the Royal Navy keep the Q Ship con going before time runs out?

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