December 20, 2021

EP. 117 — The Santa Claus Con w/ Larry Owens

What’s poppin’ con-gregation? This week, we have Larry Owens discussing John Duval Gluck, the conman who popularized writing letters to Santa Claus in the beginning of the 20th century. Plus, investors in an NFT project titled “Evolved Apes”  learn that the world of NFTs isn’t immune to scams. Stay Schemin’!

Research By Kaelyn Brandt 

SOURCES:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3dyem/investors-spent-millions-on-evolved-apes-nfts-then-they-got-scammed

https://nypost.com/2015/09/20/meet-the-con-artist-who-popularized-writing-to-santa-claus/

https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/the-con-man-who-saved-christmas/

https://ny.curbed.com/2015/11/30/9895926/the-strange-story-of-nycs-santa-claus-building-that-never-was

Recent Episodes

See All

December 23, 2024

Scam-ta baby, ‘tis the season for some holiday ho-ho-hoodwinks with Bridger Winegar (I Said No Gifts!) to find out how the organizers of SantaCon, an Italian social media influencer, and the planners of a kids’ winter wonderland experience all ended up on the Scam Goddess naughty list.

December 19, 2024

This week, Jon Gabrus (High and Mighty) joins the CONgregation to discuss Albert Rosenberg, the man who married the heir to the Ovaltine fortune and charmed woman across continents.

December 16, 2024

It’s time to dish the dirt on disgraced NYC Mayor Eric Adams and we couldn’t do it without CONgregation VIPs Sydnee Washington & Marie Faustin (hosts of the new iHeartPodcast “MESS”).