Story of the Week with Joel Stein
Pushkin Industries
On Story of the Week, “journalist” Joel Stein chooses an article that fascinates him, convinces the writer to tell him about it, and then interrupts a good conversation by talking about himself. Sometimes the story will be the one everyone is talking about, like the New Yorker article on smoking hallucinogenic toads. Other times we’ll find a story you might have missed, like the one in the Verge about the rock groupie turned hacker who had huge corporations at her mercy. These are stories you’ll tell your friends about. Stories that stick with you long after you forget whatever headline you just doom-scrolled through.
iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.
iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Feb 23, 2023 • 25min
The East River Mammoth Tusk Hoax
What happens when extinct animal skeletons meet the “Joe Rogan Experience”? The answer is murky, freezing, and may contain submerged cars. This week, we bring on Michael Wilson from the New York Times, who wrote about how a fossil-excavating reality TV star came on Joe Rogan’s podcast to make a bombshell claim: that there are mammoth tusks at the bottom of the East River. What ensues is a no-holds-barred bone rush. You can read the full story here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/27/nyregion/joe-rogan-mammoth-tusks-east-river.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feb 9, 2023 • 27min
The Grey’s Anatomy Liar
What happens when you pretend you’re a medical miracle? Lots of things, as TV writer Elisabeth Finch found out – including gaining a job writing for Grey’s Anatomy. For a decade, Finch lied about having a rare and deadly form of cancer and fooled everybody in Hollywood. On this week’s episode, we bring on Peter Kiefer, the reporter who broke the story about Finch’s lies, then interviewed her again seven months later to find out why she told them. You can read the full story here: https://theankler.com/p/the-greys-anatomy-liar-confesses See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feb 2, 2023 • 25min
The Bonnie and Clyde of the Art World
Suspicious art dealers, fraudulent documents, and huge egos--the only thing worse than the uppity art world is how much it relies on laundered art from other countries. On this week’s episode, we bring on Sam Tabachnik to unpack his sprawling three-part series for The Denver Post all about one duo’s international operation to smuggle and sell South East Asian art. You can read the full story here: https://www.denverpost.com/2022/12/01/colorado-denver-art-museum-stolen-art-cambodia-thailand-emma-bunker/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 26, 2023 • 28min
The Weirdest Poker Hand of All Time
Robbi Jade Lew broke the world of poker with an incredibly unlikely win against Garrett Adelstein. Her win went viral and the internet exploded with dueling accusations of sexism and cheating. Andrea Chang reported on the scandal for the Los Angeles Times and recounts all the suspicious details. You can read the full story here: https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-12-14/poker-cheating-investigation-ends See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 19, 2023 • 29min
Carnivorous Plants Will Ruin Your Life
Inside the flourishing world of online plant fanclubs lies a deep, dark obsession: people who dedicate their entire lives to caring for Nepenthes, or carnivorous pitcher plants. On this week’s episode, Brian Howey, a former “Nephead” tells us about the carnivorous plant subculture that nearly ate him (and many others) alive. You can read the full story here: https://www.wired.com/story/nightmare-houseplant-obsession-nepenthes/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 12, 2023 • 23min
Hawaii's Zombie Cats
Hawaii’s Kauai island is overrun by half a million feral cats, many of which are infected with toxoplasmosis. These infected cats pose an existential threat to the native habitat, including Kauai’s endangered monk seals. The island's animal-loving community has fallen into chaos; It's zombie-cat people versus everyone else. Paul Kvinta covered the story for Outside Magazine. You can read the full story here: https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/environment/hawaiis-crazy-war-over-zombie-cats See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 5, 2023 • 25min
The Bad Boy of Chess
Magnus Carlsen, the greatest chess player in the world, accused 19-year-old Hans Niemann of cheating. Why? Because Niemann beat him twice. Carlsen and the chess world can't prove Niemann is cheating, but they're convinced he is. The accusations are tearing apart the chess world and raising questions about maintaining fair play in a high-tech world. David Segal covered the story (and yes, the anal beads theory) for The New York Times. You can read the whole article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/04/business/chess-cheating-scandal-magnus-carlsen-hans-niemann.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dec 29, 2022 • 25min
Queen of the Phone Hackers
One of the first computer hackers was a woman. She pulled some of the most elaborate computer hacks of the 80's and yet no one knows her name.Host Joel Stein speaks to Claire L. Evans about her article in the Verge, “Searching for Susy Thunder.”You can read the full story here: https://www.theverge.com/c/22889425/susy-thunder-headley-hackers-phone-phreakers-claire-evansSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dec 22, 2022 • 24min
Christmas Tree Mafia
New York’s curbside Christmas tree business is run by a small group of ruthless, shadowy men. Owen Long, a tree salesman in Brooklyn, takes us into his world and reveals the characters, crimes, and even murders of the New York City “tree men.” You can read the full story here: https://www.curbed.com/article/christmas-tree-trade-secrets-gregs-trees-nyc.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dec 15, 2022 • 29min
Hunting the Crypto Drug Lords
A group of DEA agents from Fresno, California figures out the real name of a Dark Web drug kingpin. But before they can make the arrest, they have to follow him to Thailand and into the on-line world of pick-up artists. Andy Greenberg's sprawling Wired article is so intense it made host Joel Stein want to take drugs. You can read the whole 6-part series here: https://www.wired.com/story/alphabay-series-part-1-the-shadow/ The Wired series is excerpted from Andy's book which you can find here: https://www.amazon.com/Tracers-Dark-Global-Crime-Cryptocurrency/dp/0385548095/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
