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Deep Cover

Pushkin Industries

Deep Cover is a show about people who lead double lives. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jake Halpern reveals webs of deception and dark underworlds, through interviews with federal agents and convicted criminals. 

Deep Cover: The Family Man: Elise and Marissa grew up in a seemingly normal house in the suburbs of St. Louis, but it was a house built on secrets. There were things their father never told them—like how he really made his money. One night, the police showed up, raided their house, and seized boxes of evidence. Hours later, the sisters turned on the TV and saw something surreal: their father’s car, in the aftermath of a police chase. The local news identified him as “The Boonie Hat Bandit.” The girls were stunned. They struggled to accept the truth: Dad had been living a double life. How long had he been lying to them? What had he done? And who, exactly, was their father? Deep Cover: The Family Man is a story about the way parents deceive their children and the crimes a desperate father will commit to save his family. It’s also a story about justice—and the question of what punishment these crimes deserve.


Deep Cover Presents: Snowball. A special limited series from the Unravel Podcast team at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Ollie Wards' family lost everything after their brush with a charming Californian con woman. As he embarks on a quest to find out how she did it, why she did it, and where she is now, he opens the door on a mystery that spans decades and across continents.

In the sixth season of Deep Cover: The Truth About Sarah, Jake Halpern and acclaimed investigative journalist Jess McHugh unravel an epic six-year deception that upended lives of countless people. Sarah Cavanaugh was many things: A decorated veteran. A Marine who saved her comrades. A young woman fighting cancer. She was stoic, humble, tough. In short: a hero. Sarah was everything people wanted her to be—until she wasn’t. Turns out, no one knew the real Sarah. Not her comrades. Not her wife. No one. Jake and Jess interview all of the key sources—including Sarah, herself—to tell this sprawling tale.

Season five covers the rise and fall of George Santos, the former Republican Congressman from New York, and the stories—many of which were not true—he told about his life and credentials.

Season four, The Nameless Man, tells the epic tale of two federal agents who investigate a rumor about a murder that supposedly took place 15 years prior. It is also the story of a family searching for answers about why their brother was killed. These two storylines collide in a courtroom in Philadelphia, where murder, memory, and morality go on trial.

Season three, Never Seen Again, tells the story of two women living on opposite sides of the country, who went missing in the summer of 1999. Seven years later, their stories collided when a small town detective got a tip and became convinced that if he could solve one mystery, he’d solve the other.

Season two, Mob Land, is about a high-rolling lawyer who joins forces with the feds to try to bring down one of the most powerful criminal syndicates in the country.

Season one, The Drug Wars, tells the story of an FBI agent who goes undercover with a biker gang, and follows a trail of clues that eventually leads to the US invasion of a foreign country.

Deep Cover drops on Mondays. To hear episodes early and ad-free, subscribe to Pushkin+ in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus.

iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

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  • 26 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 37 min
  • English
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
  • S6 · E14
    Dec 1, 2025 · 45 min

    Snowball - Episode 5: Black Widow

    Ollie and Simon follow the trail of broken dreams and failed restaurants to Paso Robles, California. Ollie discovers his former sister-in-law has manufactured an image of a successful restauranteur in Hawaii, Lake Tahoe and New Zealand. Her exotic CV and exciting stories pull a new family into her web... with disastrous consequences. Finally, they get a tip-off that might lead them directly to Lezlie. Her lies may be about to catch up to her. Listen to Deep Cover Presents: Snowball ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Find Pushkin+ on the Deep Cover show page in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • Transcript
  • S6 · E13
    Nov 24, 2025 · 41 min

    Snowball - Episode 4: Charmed

    Ollie turns to Lezlie's emails for clues of her whereabouts. Here, he uncovers a bizarre story involving a book deal, a ghost writer and a famous actress. Could this web of lies reveal Lezlie's motivations as a scammer? Ollie and Simon then take a flight to California and hit the road. When the trail runs cold, they decide to chase down a lead at Lezlie's first restaurant in the resort town of Lake Tahoe. If you can’t wait to find out what happens, binge episodes of Deep Cover Presents: Snowball early and ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Find Pushkin+ on the Deep Cover show page in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • Transcript
  • S6 · E12
    Nov 17, 2025 · 42 min

    Snowball - Episode 3: The Coconut Wireless

    The stories Lezlie Manukian has told people about her time in Hawaii usually end with murderous local mobsters running her off the island. But this is also coming from the tall tale telling Californian trickster we've heard can even swindle a bank. When Lezlie left New Zealand, never to be seen again, it seemed like the only way for Greg Wards to understand who he really married was to ask the Hawaiian police what really happened. If you can’t wait to find out what happens, binge episodes of Deep Cover Presents: Snowball early and ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Find Pushkin+ on the Deep Cover show page in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • Transcript
  • S6 · E11
    Nov 10, 2025 · 44 min

    Snowball - Episode 2: The Great Houdini

    What looks like a dream marriage for Ollie Wards' brother Greg soon morphs into a nightmare. With the whole family drawn into the mess, his parents go from a comfortable retirement to being homeless and squatting in the basement at his Aunty's house. Even though she was on a tourist visa in New Zealand, Greg's American wife had secured a massive loan from the country's state-owned bank. After she flies off, never to be seen again, a box of documents from the bank transaction surfaces. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • Transcript
  • S6 · E10
    Nov 3, 2025 · 51 min

    Snowball - Episode 1: The Girl With the Dragonfly Tattoo

    Ollie Wards was MC at his brother's wedding. "It was a fun party," he recalls, "kind of rowdy. But inside I had a sense of unease. I couldn't explain it." He ignored the feeling. Greg met his bride while backpacking in London. He was in his twenties and partying hard. But he always had his eye on America. He loved everything to do with the place. So, when he met a dark-haired, older, well-travelled, fast-talking Californian woman named Lezlie Manukian he says he was 'a sitting duck'. If you can’t wait to find out what happens, binge episodes of Deep Cover Presents: Snowball early and ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Find Pushkin+ on the Deep Cover show page in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • Transcript
  • Oct 27, 2025 · 6 min

    Deep Cover Presents: Snowball

    In 2006, Greg Wards was your average Kiwi backpacker on an overseas adventure in the UK, working hard, playing harder — and falling head-over-heels in love. After a whirlwind international romance, Greg married Lezlie Manukian in New Zealand. Their new life started out by setting up a small business north of Auckland. But a snowball had started to roll the day Greg met Lezlie Manukian. It wasn't long before this ball of chaos gathered pace and crushed Greg and his family. Starting November 3, binge episodes of Deep Cover Presents: Snowball early and ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Find Pushkin+ on the Deep Cover show page in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • Transcript
Showing 21–26 of 26 episodes