Episode 264 – SCAMPOCALYPSE with Brian Brushwood

October 9, 2025

Episode Summary:

We’ve got a bushel of SWAYSOs first! Chocolate is disappearing, an ongoing “psychic study” tries to recruit Ben, Las Vegas tries to recruit a random ghost hunter, Trump tries to find Amelia Earhart files, and Netflix releases “The Truth about Jussie Smollett?” Then at 43:12, we bring on Brian Brushwood, who Celestia cornered while he was visiting Las Vegas for Scoopfest. We talk about his many shows — Scam School, Scam Nation, World’s Greatest Con, Modern Rogue, Great Night, and NatGeo’s “Hacking the System — as well as his current work in deceptive role play, or “wolf-masking.” Brian talks about anxiety being mankind’s greatest superpower and the terrifying fact that AI makes even small-dollar scam targets worthwhile.

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StS Episode 190: Vile Vans and Sinister Sedans: Vehicular Vernacular in Folklore-E

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AI, Amelia Earhart, anxiety, Brian Brushwood, Chocolate, Cybersecurity, Deception, DefCon, fear, ghost hunter, hackers, Jussie Smollet, Las Vegas, Modern Rogue, psychic study, role play, Scam Nation, Scam School, scams, wolf-masking

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Standard disclaimer: All show transcripts—yes, including this one—was AI-generated and skimmed by at least two busy and fallible humans. They offer an overview of the show but you’ll find occasional typos and glitches and therefore should not be assumed to be accurate or verbatim. Readers who wish to quote anything here for any reason are encouraged to check it against the original audio at the time stamps provided. Thanks.