After a second 737 MAX 8 crash, Boeing executives and leaders at the Federal Aviation Association are under pressure to explain why the MAX wasn’t grounded sooner. The parents of Samya Stumo and other victims demand answers. Boeing fires CEO Dennis Muilenburg, and agrees to pay a multibillion dollar fine. Then, in January 2024, a door plug pops off the side of a 737 MAX 9 in mid-flight, putting Boeing’s safety failures back in the headlines. Need more American Scandal? With Wondery+, enjoy...
Sep 03, 2024•43 min•Season 54Ep. 4
In 2012, Boeing engineers and test pilots are under pressure to deliver a redesigned 737 quickly, to compete with a similar plane from their rival, Airbus. The 737 MAX has bigger, more fuel efficient engines, but it’s also prone to stalling. A complete redesign is out of the question, so engineers settle on installing a piece of software instead, called MCAS, which can automatically push down the plane’s nose and prevent a stall. But to avoid costly additional training, Boeing opts not to tell p...
Aug 27, 2024•39 min•Season 54Ep. 3
For decades, Boeing had a reputation as one of the most trusted companies in the U.S. But after a merger with plane manufacturer McDonnell Douglas in the 1990s, new leader Harry Stonecipher abandoned Boeing’s engineering-first roots in order to boost its stock price, leaving many longtime employees concerned about the future, and the safety of the company’s planes. Need more American Scandal? With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new seasons first, and listen completely ad-free. St...
Aug 20, 2024•42 min•Season 54Ep. 2
On October 29, 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 crashes just minutes after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 189 people on board. At first, the cause of the crash is a mystery, especially since the plane was a brand new Boeing 737 MAX 8. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg suggests the crash was due to pilot error. But soon, it comes out that a mysterious piece of software called MCAS may be to blame. Need more American Scandal? With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new seasons fir...
Aug 13, 2024•38 min•Season 54Ep. 1
The Teapot Dome scandal was only one instance of corruption during the presidency of Warren G. Harding. Against the backdrop of gangsters and Prohibition, shady dealings permeated the top levels of government – all the way up to the Attorney General of the United States. Nathan Masters, host of the PBS series, Lost LA , couldn’t believe what he found in the archives. Today, Nathan joins Lindsay to talk about his book Crooked: the Roaring ‘20s Tale of a Corrupt Attorney General, A Crusading Senat...
Aug 06, 2024•38 min•Season 53Ep. 5
As Thomas Walsh concludes his investigation in 1924, federal prosecutors take over the case, seeking to bring criminal charges against Albert Fall, Edward Doheny and Harry Sinclar, and invalidate the Teapot Dome oil leases. Over the next six years, a series of lawsuits and indictments force them in and out of court, leaving no one unscathed. Need more American Scandal? With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new seasons first, and listen completely ad-free. Start your free trial in t...
Jul 30, 2024•42 min•Season 53Ep. 4
After months of chasing his tail, Teapot Dome investigator Thomas Walsh finally gets a lead when Denver Post reporter D.F. Stackelbeck reveals evidence that Albert Fall accepted bribes. Fall and his benefactors, Edward Doheny and Harry Sinclair, remain defiant, but their continued attempts to mislead the investigation backfire. Need more American Scandal? With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new seasons first, and listen completely ad-free. Start your free trial in the Wondery App...
Jul 23, 2024•38 min•Season 53Ep. 3
Democratic congressional leaders and independent oil men are furious when they learn that Interior Secretary Albert Fall leased federal oil reserves with no open bidding or public debate.. Montana Senator Thomas Walsh reluctantly agrees to head an investigation, even as Fall brazenly sets out to collect his kickbacks and retire to his ranch in New Mexico. Need more American Scandal? With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new seasons first, and listen completely ad-free. Start your f...
Jul 16, 2024•43 min•Season 53Ep. 2
Warren G. Harding is elected president in 1920, thanks in part to a backroom deal between Republican Party power brokers and influential oil men. To make good on that deal, Harding’s Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall, quietly leases the federally owned Teapot Dome oil field in Wyoming and two others in California to oil magnates Harry Sinclair and Edward Doheny. But to hand out the leases, Fall wants something in return. Need more American Scandal? With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seaso...
Jul 09, 2024•39 min•Season 53Ep. 1
When investigative reporter Charles E. Shepard began covering televangelist Jim Bakker and his ministry, Praise the Lord, he knew it could be the biggest story his paper was following. Throughout the 1980s, he documented Bakker’s extraordinary wealth, financial crimes, and sexual assault of a former PTL secretary named Jessica Hahn. Shepard’s efforts helped win his paper a Pulitzer Prize for meritorious public service. Today, he joins Lindsay to talk about his book, Forgiven: The Rise and Fall o...
Jul 02, 2024•41 min•Season 52Ep. 4
In 1987, the empire that Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker spent their lives building is falling apart. When Jessica Hahn comes forward and alleges Bakker sexually assaulted her, he’s forced to resign as PTL’s leader. Then, Bakker goes through one of the most publicized trials of the decade, exposing his lifestyle and business decisions to the intense scrutiny of evangelical leaders, the press and the federal government. Need more American Scandal? With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new...
Jun 25, 2024•40 min•Season 52Ep. 3
After the FCC concludes its investigation of the Bakkers for misusing donor funds, reporters in Charlotte start to uncover a series of complaints from former PTL staff members. Bakker and his underlings try to silence the whistleblowers, but they become increasingly worried when Charlotte Observer reporter Charles Shepard uncovers a damning allegation against Bakker. Need more American Scandal? With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new seasons first, and listen completely ad-free. ...
Jun 18, 2024•39 min•Season 52Ep. 2
After marrying and dropping out of bible college in the early 1960s, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker launch a traveling evangelical show with puppets, which catches the attention of televangelist Pat Robertson. Robertson offers them their first TV show on his new Christian Broadcasting Network. By the 1970s, the Bakkers strike out on their own, launching their own ministry and television network, Praise the Lord. But as the Bakkers use their followers’ donations to fund their lavish lifestyle, it rais...
Jun 11, 2024•38 min•Season 52Ep. 1
Drawing on more than 100 hours of interviews and boxes of unreleased documents, journalist Keith O’Brien unraveled the mystery behind the Love Canal disaster in his book, Paradise Falls: The True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe . Today, O’Brien takes Lindsay through what he discovered about an unlikely group of women who stood up against injustice to save their families. O’Brien’s reporting reveals new details about the Love Canal site and Hooker Chemical, and explores how the tragedy...
Jun 04, 2024•43 min•Season 51Ep. 5
Protests in the Love Canal neighborhood reach a boiling point in 1980. After a study from the Environmental Protection Agency finds more people have been affected by high levels of chemical exposure, a riot breaks out in front of the Love Canal Homeowners Association. And as Lois Gibbs is forced to choose between standing up for her neighborhood or potentially facing criminal liability, grieving parent Luella Kenny confronts Armand Hammer, the CEO of Hooker Chemical’s parent company. Need ...
May 28, 2024•39 min•Season 51Ep. 4
By 1979, officials in Washington, DC are taking notice of the situation in Love Canal. A young congressman from Tennessee, Al Gore, invites Lois Gibbs to testify at the capitol in support of radical updates to the nation’s laws on chemical waste. But local officials, like recently-appointed state health commissioner David Axelrod, continue to stand in the way. Need more American Scandal? With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new seasons first, and listen completely ad-free. Start y...
May 21, 2024•39 min•Season 51Ep. 3
Despite her initial reluctance, Lois Gibbs starts to find purpose in rallying Love Canal residents in their protests against government inaction. But concerns over who will get evacuated, and who will be forced to stay, threaten to divide residents. Meanwhile, the shocking death of a child in the neighborhood ignites new fears that the chemicals are even more dangerous than previously thought. Need more American Scandal? With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new seasons first, and listen...
May 14, 2024•40 min•Season 51Ep. 2
In the spring of 1978, reporter Mike Brown begins publishing a series of articles in the Niagara Gazette about potentially harmful chemicals leaking into the soil and water in Love Canal, a neighborhood built around what had been a dumping ground for the Hooker Chemical company. The news is a jolt to local residents, like mother Lois Gibbs, who fear for their families’ health. When government officials fail to act, Gibbs helps form a group of unlikely activists set on cleaning up their neighborh...
May 07, 2024•41 min•Season 51Ep. 1
In 1976, at the height of the Cold War, Robert Hanssen joins the FBI to work in their counterintelligence division. Hanssen is valued for his technical skills, and put in charge of databases containing some of the country’s most valuable secrets. But he’s socially awkward, and constantly passed up for promotions and field work, leaving him resentful of his employers. Soon, he decides to turn to another source of income: selling information to his country’s greatest enemy, the Soviet Union. Over ...
Apr 02, 2024•41 min•Season 50Ep. 1
Two decades before he was arrested in 2008 on corruption charges while still serving as Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich got his start in the dog-eat-dog world of Chicago politics under the tutelage of his mentor and father-in-law, Richard Mell. But after winning a seat in the Illinois house, Blagojevich chafes at his nickname, "Representative Son-in-Law." He's determined to prove he's his own man - and he'll stop at nothing as he seeks higher office. Need more American Scandal? With Wondery+,...
Feb 27, 2024•39 min•Season 49Ep. 1
In 2017, seven members of an elite Baltimore police unit called the Gun Trace Task Force were arrested and charged with robbery, extortion, fraud, and selling drugs seized during police operations. While some were quick to dismiss the arrests as a case of a few bad apples, a subsequent investigation revealed a culture of corruption within the Baltimore Police Department that had allowed rogue cops to flourish. Need more American Scandal? With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new seasons ...
Jan 23, 2024•40 min•Season 48Ep. 1
Ted Kaczynski faces a painful rejection in high school. Then he endures an abusive psychology experiment at Harvard. Kaczynski may be an academic prodigy, but he feels lonely and out of place. His solution? He's going to get revenge on modern society. Want to listen to the remaining episodes of The Unabomber? Episodes 2-4 are available exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new seasons first, and listen completely ad-free. Start your free trial in the ...
Dec 26, 2023•40 min•Season 47Ep. 1
The sports world was shocked in 2013 when Aaron Hernandez, star tight end for the New England Patriots, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. But dating back to his days as a heavily recruited college athlete, there had been signs of ominous changes in his behavior: paranoia, failed drug tests, and run-ins with the law. And after Hernandez's death, some wondered if those changes could be attributed to a neurological condition called CTE. Want to listen to the remaining episodes of A...
Nov 21, 2023•40 min•Season 46Ep. 1
American farmers flock to the Southern Plains, lured by the promise of riches. Soon, a strange storm appears on the horizon. Want to listen to the remaining episodes of The Dust Bowl? Episodes 2-4 are available exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new seasons first, and listen completely ad-free. Start your free trial in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or visit wondery.app.link/rUic7i1hMNb now. See Privacy Policy at h...
Oct 24, 2023•36 min•Season 45Ep. 1
In Indiana, a young preacher forms his own church. The goal: to spread a radical political message. Want to listen to the remaining episodes of Jonestown? Episodes 2-6 are available exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new seasons first, and listen completely ad-free. Start your free trial in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or visit wondery.app.link/rUic7i1hMNb now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and ...
Sep 12, 2023•41 min•Season 44Ep. 1
The FBI launches an operation to catch white-collar criminals. To pull off the sting, agents partner with a lifelong conman—who offers an unusual plan. Want to listen to the remaining episodes of Abscam? Episodes 2 and 3 are available exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new seasons first, and listen completely ad-free. Start your free trial in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or visit wondery.app.link/rUic7i1hMNb now. ...
Aug 22, 2023•44 min•Season 43Ep. 1
Spiro Agnew is trapped in a dead-end job. But Agnew has large ambitions, and with the urging of his mentor, the future vice president decides to take a risk. Want to listen to the remaining episodes of Spiro Agnew: Downfall of a Vice President? Episodes 2-5 are available exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new seasons first, and listen completely ad-free. Start your free trial in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or visit wondery.app.li...
Jul 18, 2023•39 min•Season 42Ep. 1
Richard Sackler charts a new course for his family’s company, Purdue Pharma. At the center of the plan: a painkiller that could be the next blockbuster drug. Want to listen to the remaining episodes of Opioids in America? Episodes 2-5 are available exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new seasons first, and listen completely ad-free. Start your free trial in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or visit wondery.app.link/rUic7i1hMNb &n...
Jun 13, 2023•42 min•Season 41Ep. 1
Two Pennsylvania judges hatch a plan. If they pull it off, they'll score nearly a million dollars. Want to listen to the remaining episodes of The "Kids for Cash" Kickback Scheme? Episodes 2-4 are available exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new seasons first, and listen completely ad-free. Start your free trial in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or visit wondery.app.link/rUic7i1hMNb now. See Privacy Policy at https...
May 16, 2023•38 min•Season 40Ep. 1
Protesters descend on Chicago for the Democratic National Convention. Their goal: pressure the Democrats to stop supporting the Vietnam War. But as the activists begin their rally, Chicago police mount an aggressive response. Want to listen to the remaining episodes of The Chicago Seven? Episodes 2-4 are available exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new seasons first, and listen completely ad-free. Start your free trial in the Wondery App, Apple Pod...
Apr 18, 2023•40 min•Season 39Ep. 1
