Truly Unreal

Jen Shah was one of the most popular cast members on "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City." The mother of two had it all: a $50k a month spending habit, her own squad of assistants, and a husband who coached football at the University of Utah. But the entire time she was being filmed for Bravo's signature franchise, she was also running a massive telemarketing operation....that drained the bank...

You probably remember The Wolf of Wall Street, the hit movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by the legendary Martin Scorsese. The script was based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, a real guy who spent 22 months in prison for stealing millions in a penny stock scheme back in the 90s. But this story is not about Jordan Belfort. This story is about the guy who paid for the entire movie (...

In this episode of Truly Unreal, we go back to the future... sort of. After our John Titor episode dropped, we tracked down the real-life internet sleuth who spent over a decade trying to unmask the world's most famous online time traveler. John Houston, known by his username Razimus, ran one of the longest amateur investigations into uncovering the true identity of TimeTraveler_0. He has a su...

What if someone showed up online claiming to be from the year 2036...and actually knew things they shouldn't? In this episode of Truly Unreal, host James Lee Hernandez drops writer and performer Madeline Walter into the story of John Titor, who appeared on a fringe time travel forum in 2000, predicted the end of human civilization, and then disappeared into the ether forever. Through our choos...

Ever wonder where wellness influencers learned to tell you about the "truth" they don't want you to hear? ( they being Big Pharma, the government, the mainstream media....you know the drill) . In this episode of Truly Unreal, host James Lee Hernandez drops writer and performer Mary Sasson into the spectacular, infuriating, and completely true story of Kevin Trudeau, the guy who pione...

At 19, you make your first million. At 20, you’re one of the youngest CEO’s in America.  And soon you’re worth at least 100 million dollars. But you’re not a Hollywood big shot...or a tech genius. You’re that guy from the carpet cleaning commercials. In this episode of Truly Unreal , host James Lee Hernandez drops podcast host Lola Berry into the completely absurd rise of ZZZZ Best, a carpet clean...

It's 1963. You're 23, broke, addicted to painkillers, and your stock trading career just imploded. But then God speaks to you through your car radio and tells you to kidnap someone. So naturally, you pick Frank Sinatra's son ( Frank Sinatra Jr. ), gather a team with zero experience, and head to a Nevada casino to pose as fake delivery guys. What could go wrong? This week, comedian and...

What if you just didn't accept that your dreams were behind you? In this episode of Truly Unreal, host James Lee Hernandez drops comedian Charles Gould into one of the boldest identity scams in sports history. Through a choose-your-own-adventure format, Charles becomes Ron Weaver, a 27-year-old former player working at his parents’ liquor store, who isn’t ready to give up on his shot at the big le...

Thinking about trying to make some extra cash on the side? Well, you might want to be careful who you go into business with. In this episode of Truly Unreal , host James Lee Hernandez⁠ drops actress and comedian ⁠Greta Titelman into one of the most bizarre crime rings in recent memory. The product? Baby formula. The setting? Walmart parking lots. The state? Obviously Florida. Through a choose-your...

If you think you’re claustrophobic… this story will change your definition of fear. In this episode of  Truly Unreal ,  James Lee Hernandez  drops comedian and  Saturday Night Live  writer  Carl Tart  into one of the most infamous kidnapping cases in American history, the story of  Barbara Jane Mackle . Through a choose-your-own-adventure format, Carl is forced to make the same decisions Barbara f...

You think you’d never fall for the scam. You’d never open that door. You’d never make that choice. But when the story is real… things aren’t so simple. From documentary filmmaker ⁠James Lee Hernandez⁠, the creator behind ⁠McMillions⁠, ⁠The Big Conn⁠, and ⁠Scamtown⁠, Truly Unreal is the show where true crime meets choose-your-own-adventure. Each episode drops you inside bizarre real-life crimes, fr...