You Can’t Make This Up

You Can’t Make This Up

The incredible real stories behind the making of the biggest documentary series & films on Netflix. Host Rebecca Lavoie leads in-depth interviews with creators and subjects, exploring how these stories are produced & their impact, while uncovering new information. New episodes every Wednesday.

Episodes

August 27, 2025 34 mins
In the Netflix documentary The Truth About Jussie Smollett? we hear directly from the actor about his claim he was beaten by racists that frigid night on a Chicago sidewalk. We also hear from police, journalists, and the two men who say Smollett paid them to fake the hate crime. The film also explores unexamined evidence which questions whether the assailants were actually the two Black men who took responsibility…or whether they w...
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In the Netflix series Fit for TV: The Reality of The Biggest Loser, former contestants, producers, and stars of the show talk about what went into making the revolutionary weight-loss competition. It reveals the tensions between medical staff and show runners about the lengths players were pushed to. It explores The Biggest Loser’s legacy and the long-term effects on those who played the game. In this episode of You Can't Make Thi...
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Diego Pavia and Paul Finebaum are this week’s Netflix Sports Club guests. Paul Finebaum, the voice of the SEC, drops a bold national championship prediction that might give the Big Tenners pause, and he reveals which SEC quarterback has him starstruck. Vanderbilt quarterback, Diego Pavia, gives a standout performance on and off the field in SEC Football: Any Given Saturday. He relives that improbable ‘Bama victory, including pre-ga...
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Do you like podcasts about crime? Well, the Wednesday Season 2 Official Woecast is here and it’s as twisted, unhinged, and relaxing as any true crime podcast. Hosted by Caitlin Reilly, the Woecast is your backstage pass to Nevermore Academy and beyond, with exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes secrets, and episode-by-episode breakdowns. BE WARNED! This podcast will contain spoilers for Wednesday Season 2, episodes 1-4. In this...
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The Netflix documentary series Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes features newly-released recordings of David Berkowitz talking about his troubled past and why he killed. He admits on tape to fabricating some of the most sensational aspects of his criminal persona to build his legend. But how much of what Berkowitz says is true… and how much of it is him still trying to shape his own narrative? In this episode of Yo...
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July 23, 2025 35 mins
On the second part of our look at the Netflix documentary series Amy Bradley is Missing, we hear from an online sleuth hoping to locate the vanished American. Who are the suspects who could have kidnapped her? Are the sightings of her credible? Do the forensics prove the sex trafficked woman in that photo is Amy? And does the online habits of a user fixated on the investigation website suggest they have an answer to where Amy Bradl...
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July 16, 2025 37 mins
The Netflix documentary series Amy Bradley is Missing explores what really happened to the cruise ship passenger three decades ago. Did she go over the rail into the ocean? Or did someone target her and spirit her away for their own purposes? The series looks at those aboard who could have targeted her, and presents the stories of those who’ve claimed to have encountered a sex trafficked woman they say is her. It seeks to answer th...
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July 2, 2025 35 mins
The Netflix series Trainwreck looks at the scandals, disasters, and plain ol’ screw-ups that captivated the world. This season covers the rise and fall of a fashion empire in The Cult of American Apparel. And it explores the mistakes that led to a fatal concert performance in The Astroworld Tragedy. We hear from experts, journalists, and those who lived through it to explore not only what happened…but why. In this episode of You C...
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June 25, 2025 42 mins
Netflix’s Trainwreck takes viewers inside a series of calamities - some large, some small - and tries to bring reason to chaos. This season covers the scandal surrounding Toronto’s Rob Ford in Mayor of Mayhem, and embarks on the 2013 sewage-filled voyage in Poop Cruise. We hear from the people who lived through each fiasco where anything that could have gone wrong…did. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie...
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The Netflix documentary film Titan: The OceanGate Submersible Disaster explores how the tragedy at sea was the foreseeable result of a driven CEO who for years ignored the warnings his experimental sub was slowly breaking apart. It takes us inside its many failed testings and Rush’s refusal to acknowledge Titan’s engineering defects which led to the death of its passengers - including his own.  In this episode of You Can't Make Th...
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June 11, 2025 34 mins
The Netflix documentary series Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders dives into the mystery behind the deadly 1982 cyanide tainting, one whose effects are seen on thousands of products today. It explores several theories about how and why the capsules were tampered with. And it features an interview with the man authorities say is their main suspect in the poisoning of seven people. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca...
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June 4, 2025 33 mins
UNTOLD: The Fall of Favre looks at Brett Favre’s gridiron glories and the scandals that sullied his reputation. We hear from Jenn Sterger, the sideline reporter who tried to rebuff Favre’s explicit text messages. And we learn more about his involvement in a scheme to defraud the government for millions of dollars. It also asks what it takes to hold someone accountable when they’re a superstar. In this episode of You Can't Make Thi...
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June 2, 2025 38 mins
The Netflix series American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden takes us inside the search for the wanted terrorist. We hear from the analysts who culled through the intelligence, the warriors on the ground, and the leaders who called the shots. It guides us through the near misses of Bin Laden’s capture, right up to the zero dark thirty raid that ended his reign of terror at the point of a rifle.  In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, ...
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May 28, 2025 31 mins
The Netflix documentary film A Deadly American Marriage looks at the killing of Jason Corbett, a case that reverberated on both sides of the Atlantic. Featuring intimate interviews with both Molly & Tom Martens and Jack & Sarah Corbett, the film searches for the truth - not just of what happened, but why. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews Jenny Poppelwell and Jessica Burgess. SPOILER ALERT!...
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In part two of our look at the Netflix documentary series Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story, we’ll talk about the investigation into the couple and the quest to get them to turn on each other and give up their secrets. Plus, for the first time, we’ll hear from the sister of Alison Chambers to talk about who she was and how her loss affected her family.  In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interv...
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The Netflix documentary series Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story looks back on the crime that shook the UK. It follows the couple's decades of deadly cruelty and takes viewers inside the interrogations with newly obtained audio recordings. It also examines the Wests themselves, and questions why they would turn their home into a house of horrors. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews di...
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May 7, 2025 36 mins
The Netflix documentary series Turning Point: The Vietnam War covers how American involvement went from advisory role to full-on combat in Southeast Asia. It dives into the key battles and the many opportunities to withdraw from the fight ignored by leaders. Soldiers, protestors, journalists, and civilians from both the US and Vietnam explain how the war affected their nations and the wounds that linger to this day.   In this epis...
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This week on You Can't Make This Up, we have a special bonus episode featuring the latest episode on our sister podcast, We Have The Receipts. Do you have fond childhood memories of summer camp? For a chance at $250,000, campers must compete in a series of summer camp-themed challenges to prove that they are unbeatable, unhateable, and unbreakable. Host Chris Burns is joined by the multi-talented comedian Dana Moon to recap the fi...
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April 23, 2025 37 mins
The Netflix documentary Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror goes beyond the chaos of that fateful day, spotlighting the community's resilience and the search for answers. It explores the heroic efforts of first responders and ordinary citizens who risked their lives to save others, while also examining the investigation that brought Timothy McVeigh and his accomplices to justice. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host ...
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April 16, 2025 28 mins
We're trying something different this week: a full post-show breakdown of every episode in the latest season of Black Mirror! Ari Romero from "Now on Netflix" is joined by Tudum's Black Mirror expert, Keisha Hatchett, to give you all the nuance, the insider commentary, and the details you might have missed in this incredible new season. Plus commentary from creator & showrunner Charlie Brooker! SPOILER ALERT: We're talking about t...
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