Scam Inc 1: Pigs in a barrel
Economist Podcasts
The Economist
4.3 • 5K Ratings
🗓️ 8 February 2025
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
You wouldn’t fall for a scam—would you?
A small town in Kansas is left reeling after one of its best and brightest gets sucked in.
To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.
If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hi, it's Grace from Working Hard and my podcast is currently sponsored by Premier Inn. Wherever Work takes you in the UK, Premier Inn has you covered with over 800 hotels nationwide. Every room has a super comfy bed and blackout curtains for a great night's sleep, plus handy work spaces if you need to catch up on emails. And in the morning, you can add on an unlimited brecky to fuel your day. What's better than coffee and cuassons for a full day of meetings? So next time |
| 0:20.8 | you're travelling for work, remember, you'll always get better sleep for your money at Premier Inn. |
| 0:24.6 | So what are you waiting for? Book your next work trip now at Premier Inn.com. |
| 0:30.3 | This podcast is sponsored by Tradeu. Here's something of interest, a multi-asset trading platform |
| 0:36.0 | that lets you earn 4.5% on your stock account |
| 0:39.1 | cash balance. It's made possible with today's sponsor, Tradeu, where you can trade with an |
| 0:44.4 | institutional edge. Get access to global markets, institutional grade pricing, and no hidden |
| 0:50.2 | fees. Tradeu, your trade, your move. Explore more at tradu.com. Your capital is at risk, |
| 0:57.7 | interest, subject to minimum balance, terms and conditions apply. |
| 1:04.6 | The Economist. Today on the weekend intelligence, we're bringing you the first half of a new eight-part podcast series, Scam Inc. |
| 1:13.9 | I'm Rosie Bloor, co-host of the Intelligence, and I was completely gripped from the moment my colleague |
| 1:18.9 | Su Lin Wong first told me about this podcast. This is the biggest story you've never heard of. |
| 1:25.9 | Su Lin follows a trail around the world, taking us deep into the heart |
| 1:30.2 | of the ingenious and sophisticated networks working so hard to rip us off. She follows the money, |
| 1:36.5 | even as it appears to scatter like feathers, out of our bank accounts, laundered and back, full |
| 1:42.4 | circle onto the streets of our cities. And most of all, |
| 1:46.5 | she digs into the heart of a new, developing, terrifying trade in human emotions. You can find the |
| 1:55.0 | whole series by searching Scam Inc. wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 2:07.8 | In the summer of 2023, there was a drought in Kansas. |
| 2:11.4 | But Jim Tucker's family had weathered worse. |
| 2:17.1 | Jim's great-grandfather had first settled here as a homesteader, not long before the Dust Bowl era in the 1930s. |
| 2:20.4 | A tall affable man, Jim still farms the family plot today. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Economist, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Economist and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.