Episode 34 - Miss Cleo + Victor Lustig

Unscrupulous

First Bec (they/them) takes us back to the 90's, and the most famous late night tv psychic Miss Cleo. Equipped with Miss Cleo's melodic invitation to "call me now", the Psychic Readers Network convinced thousands of people to reach out for cosmic support, but they weren't exactly crystal clear with how much they were actually charging callers. Some questions seem to remain unanswered though, like how culpable is Miss Cleo herself? And how much does she believe herself to be an authentic soothe sayer?
Next Adam (he/him) introduces us to Victor Lustig, a man so charismatic he tricked someone into thinking they were buying the Eiffel Tower ... twice. A man so comfortable with his con that he took it to the high seas. Travelling all over the world, and despite incredibly identifiable physical features, he was able to embody anyone he needed to, to get what he wanted from people, which was usually just lots and lots of money.
Bec's Sources:

• https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/fashion/mens-style/hotline-psychic-miss-cleo-commercials.html
• https://people.com/tv/miss-cleo-how-a-tv-reporter-uncovered-psychic-scam/
• https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-12-16/call-me-miss-cleo-documentary-takeaways
• https://www.advocate.com/politics/commentary/2006/09/25/miss-cleo-comes-out
• https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-apr-14-mn-37827-story.html

Adam's Sources:

• Smithsonian - The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower. Twice.

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