2408: PRETEND Live AMA
PRETEND
01/06/26
•66m
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PRETEND's first live YouTube AMA, co-hosted by Patreon supporter Katie Watson. The conversation covers listener questions about the making of PRETEND, behind-the-scenes stories, and what's coming next.
Highlights include: how Javier knows when a story is worth pursuing (hint: it's like fishing) and his techniques for getting interview subjects to let their guard down. He shares updates on past subjects including LaDonna and Frank Abagnale.
Looking ahead to 2026: Season 25 kicks off next week with psychic stings featuring undercover Patreon supporters. Also coming: State of Corruption (North Carolina), a caught-on-camera confessional, and a Word of Faith Fellowship update—the DA supposed to try the case is now on trial himself.
00:00 Intro
02:53 Katie's Podcast Journey
04:08 The Art of Storytelling
06:09 Balancing Bias in Journalism
07:49 Building Trust with Interviewees
13:33 Balancing Podcasting and Life
14:55 Ponzi Playbook & Criminal Conduct
17:22 Scariest Interview Subjects
20:08 LaDonna Updates
26:15 Red Flags and Trust
27:37 Telepathy Tapes
30:58 The Truth in Storytelling
34:36 Interview Techniques
37:20 Biggest Challenges in Podcasting
39:14 Balancing Truth and Twists
42:37 Family Reactions
44:11 Maintaining Neutrality
45:19 Dream Project: Speed Dial
46:56 What's Coming in 2026
50:06 Proudest Series
58:35 Word of Faith Update
01:03:33 Season 25 Announcement
- Blind Dave (Katie's YouTube show "Only in the UK"): https://youtube.com/@blinddave88
- Decoding the Unknown: https://youtube.com/@decodingtheunknown2373
- The Greatest Hoax on Earth by Alan Logan: https://a.co/d/gIHDef2
ChaptersLinks
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Previous Episode
2407-Licensed to Kill Revisited
December 30, 2025
•76m
A Montana oncologist allegedly treated patients for cancer they never had and made millions doing it. We're re-releasing our two-part investigation into Dr. Thomas Weiner, plus a brand new interview with whistleblower Dr. Randy Sasich on what's happened since. The medical board finally revoked Weiner's license, but criminal charges still loom, a wrongful death lawsuit is underway, and the broken system that enabled this hasn't changed.
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Next Episode
2501: Didn't See It Coming (Part 1)
January 13
•39m
Skeptic Susan Gerbic invited PRETEND inside one of her psychic sting operations. In Part 1 of this three-part series, we go inside "Operation Gobble Gotcha," a Thanksgiving sting targeting celebrity psychic Matt Fraser. Susan and her team of volunteers infiltrate one of Matt's online group readings to observe his techniques in real time. What they witness isn't a connection to the other side. It's a technique called cold reading. And once you see it, you can't unsee it.
BINGE ALL THREE EPISODES:
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/didnt-see-it-2-147839354?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link
PRETEND+ on Apple Podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/pretend/id6443456985
ABOUT SUSAN GERBIC:
Susan Gerbic is a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and founder of Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia, a group that has written over 2,000 Wikipedia articles on science and pseudoscience — viewed more than 200 million times. Her most famous investigation, "Operation Pizza Roll," was featured in The New York Times Magazine and exposed medium Thomas John's hot reading techniques. Susan runs the nonprofit About Time, which funds her ongoing psychic investigations.
LINKS & RESOURCES:
- Susan Gerbic's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PsychicsExplained
- About Time Project: https://www.abouttimeproject.org/
- NYT Magazine feature on Operation Pizza Roll: https://archive.ph/20190226135004/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/26/magazine/psychics-skeptics-facebook.html
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