You Can’t Make This Up

It was a first-of-its-kind online dating site, one where the clients were already married and looking to have an affair. While Ashley Madison drew rebuke and ridicule for its product, its business soared, with millions of married people across the globe subscribing to the service. But hackers who infiltrated their system made an ultimatum: shut Ashley Madison down or we’ll release all of your customers’ data. Not only did the fortunes of the company hang in the balance, but so did the relationships of all those unfaithful spouses who thought they were paying for discretion. The Netflix documentary series Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal looks into the rise of the notorious website and the headline-grabbing 2015 data breach. It also tells the stories of those who used the site and faced the public and private consequences of exposure. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews director Toby Paton. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.

New city! New twists! Same game! Catfish, connections, and chaos await new influencers in season six of the Netflix series The Circle. Online players compete with one another - and an AI chatbot in disguise - to strategize, plot, and hashtag their way to the top of the pack to win a cash prize of $100,000. In this episode, “We Have the Receipts” podcast host Chris Burns and guest co-host Chloe Veitch discuss episodes 5 through 12 of The Circle. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched The Circle yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.

They say you should “trust your gut.” The same holds true for your health, as emerging research shows the digestive system plays a larger role in our well being than ever thought before. In addition to helping with digestion and nutrition, scientists are learning that microbiomes in the gut may be connected to illnesses and what we eat may be helpful in fighting these conditions. The Netflix documentary Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut demystifies the role our gut plays in our overall health. The film takes us inside our bodies to show how what goes in - and what comes out - can benefit our physical and emotional fitness. It features researchers and patients at the forefront of a new understanding of medicine and offers practical advice to improve your gut and unlock the rewards. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews director Anjali Nayer. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.

It started as a low-tech online message board where people shared funny memes. Then users of 4chan began testing their influence offline, identifying targets for comeuppance and demonstrating against them. But some used the site to organize hacking attacks for social action, which drew the attention of the FBI. Others found an unchecked platform for extremism which eventually led to insurrection. The Netflix documentary The Antisocial Network: From Memes to Mayhem chronicles the rise of 4chan, from its early days as a snarky imageboard to a home for the hacktivists of Anonymous and conspiracy theorists of QAnon. It not only examines its grip on users stuck in its infinite scroll, but also its real life effects on technology, politics, and society. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews directors Arthur Jones and Giorgio Angelini. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched The Antisocial Network yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.

BONUS - Enjoy this featured bonus episode from the podcast Creating a Con: The Story of Bitconned To get an inside look into Ray Trapani, Centra Tech and all the characters in the podcast, check out Bitconned, exclusively on Netflix… available to stream now. S1: E1 – Breaking Bad “For as long as I can remember I was always trying to make a couple pennies.” That’s Ray Trapani, one of the co-founders of the crypto-currency company, Centra Tech. In the premiere episode of Creating a Con: The Story of Bitconned, we hear the origin story of Ray, the guy who, in his own words said, “I always wanted to be a criminal since I was a kid”. Was it destined in his nature? Or would this prolific con artist be shaped by his environment and the influences on his life from an early age? If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

In 2010, police in a quiet Ontario suburb received a frantic 911 call. A woman said she’d been tied up by intruders who’d just shot her parents. With her mother dead and her father clinging to life, Jennifer Pan gave detectives gripping descriptions of the home invasion. Investigators had no idea why the Pans had been targeted. But a closer look at Jennifer’s life made them rethink what they knew about the case. The Netflix documentary What Jennifer Did looks back at the high-profile crime that shook Canada. The film uses police interrogation footage and testimony from those involved to unravel a web of complexities that no one saw coming. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews director Jenny Popplewell & producer Paul Nguyen. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched What Jennifer Did yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.

In an effort to reduce problems with discipline and recidivism, the sheriff in Pulaski County, Arkansas rolled out a radical plan for the county jail. Instead of the standard 23-hour lockdown, he’d open the doors in one pod for six weeks and let the detainees run things without the presence of guards. The goal: empower them to become self-sufficient and learn the skills needed to succeed on the outside. But the experiment is not without its risks - for both the inmates and the sheriff. The Netflix series Unlocked: A Jail Experiment takes us behind bars and into a make-shift community of O.G. prisoners and a new generation of inmates as they try to navigate their new responsibilities. Can they work together to improve behavior in the unit and preserve their newfound privileges? Or will the old ways of jailhouse culture return and force the sheriff to shut the experiment down? In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews Executive Producer Greg Henry and Pulaski County Sheriff S. Eric Higgins. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched Unlocked: A Jail Experiment yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.

From eerie encounters to bizarre disappearances, mysterious hauntings to chilling cold cases - some mysteries are best when left unsolved. But that doesn’t mean the unexplained should go unexamined. Told by witnesses to the supernatural and the extraterrestrial, the Netflix series Files of the Unexplained explores a mix of perplexing phenomena. The show also features scientists and historians who offer more earthly possibilities for these baffling puzzles. But it’s left to the viewer to decide whether there are objective explanations for these riddles…or whether something else is at play. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews Executive producers Skye Borgman & Avril Z. Speaks. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched Files of the Unexplained yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.

A young woman’s fateful decision in 1960s China reverberates across space and time into the present day. When the laws of nature inexplicably unravel before their eyes, a close-knit group of brilliant scientists join forces with an unorthodox detective to confront the greatest threat in humanity’s history. In this episode, we turn things over to our friends at “3 Body Podcast,” the official companion podcast to Netflix’s 3 Body Problem. Hosts Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock and Jason Concepcion will talk to a range of people involved in the making of the show for unparalleled behind-the-scenes insight and discuss the real-world implications of what unfolds on screen. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched 3 Body Problem yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.

In New York City, homicides are investigated by two separate squads: Manhattan North and Manhattan South. From killings deeply personal to seemingly random, these police detectives tackle some of the most difficult and high-profile murders possible. But what did it take to solve the crimes…and what did it do to those who solved them? In the Netflix docuseries Homicide: New York, legendary executive producer Dick Wolf brings viewers inside some of the real-life cases that shocked and puzzled the city. From the point of view of those who investigated the crimes and prosecuted the offenders, these are the stories of some of Manhattan’s most notorious murders In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews executive producer Adam Kassan. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched Homicide: New York yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.