American Grift

American Grift•patreon.com

Society & Culture

Your one-stop podcast for all the most outrageous scams, grifts, cons, frauds, chicanery, swindles, and flimflammery.

Last refreshed: August 16th, 2025 at 7:39 AM ⓘ

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Episodes

Episode 12: The Wedding Grift

We are BACK, baby! After a two-year hiatus (sorry about that), Oriana and her rotating cast of cohosts have returned with a new, personal tale to jumpstart the revived American Grift. This installment centers around a wedding gift that led Oriana down a rabbit hole of petty grift and a web of deceit weaved in North Canton, Ohio, of all places. To discuss this story are Oriana's husband Steve Parkhurst (@ssssparkers on Twitter) and friend of the show and financial journalist/content director Isma...

May 25, 2021•1 hr 1 min

Episode 11: Aunt Becky's College Admissions Scam

We're back, baby, with an hour on the college admissions scam dubbed "Operation Varsity Blues" by the FBI. Comedian Gabe Gonzalez and freelance writer Aly Semigran join Oriana to talk about how weird it is that bribes to colleges are legal if they come in the form of a building you buy. Reading: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5766243-College-Admissions-Case-Complaint.html

Apr 28, 2019•1 hr 2 min

Episode 10: Instagram Influencers

We're back from hiatus with a crazy one about how rotten the dark heart of Instagram Influencing is, told through the lens of one particular "Influencer": Caroline Calloway. Pajiba pop culture writer and critic Kayleigh Donaldson joins Oriana to talk about parasocial relationships, ghostwriting, and empty mason jars. (First read Kayleigh's definitive story: http://www.pajiba.com/web_culture/the-case-of-caroline-calloway-and-her-creativity-workshop-tour.php) Photo by Jo Naylor via Flickr Creative...

Jan 31, 2019•55 min

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