You Can’t Make This Up
Hear 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
April 24, 2024 • 34 mins
It started as a low-tech online message board where people shared funny memes. Then users of 4chan began testing their influence offline, identifying targets for comeuppance and demonstrating against them. But some used the site to organize hacking attacks for social action, which drew the attention of the FBI. Others found an unchecked platform for extremism which eventually led to insurrection.
The Netflix documentary The Antiso...
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April 19, 2024 • 33 mins
BONUS - Enjoy this featured bonus episode from the podcast Creating a Con: The Story of Bitconned
To get an inside look into Ray Trapani, Centra Tech and all the characters in the podcast, check out Bitconned, exclusively on Netflix… available to stream now.
S1: E1 – Breaking Bad
“For as long as I can remember I was always trying to make a couple pennies.” That’s Ray Trapani, one of the co-founders of the crypto-currency comp...
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April 17, 2024 • 31 mins
In 2010, police in a quiet Ontario suburb received a frantic 911 call. A woman said she’d been tied up by intruders who’d just shot her parents. With her mother dead and her father clinging to life, Jennifer Pan gave detectives gripping descriptions of the home invasion. Investigators had no idea why the Pans had been targeted. But a closer look at Jennifer’s life made them rethink what they knew about the case.
The Netflix docume...
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April 10, 2024 • 39 mins
In an effort to reduce problems with discipline and recidivism, the sheriff in Pulaski County, Arkansas rolled out a radical plan for the county jail. Instead of the standard 23-hour lockdown, he’d open the doors in one pod for six weeks and let the detainees run things without the presence of guards. The goal: empower them to become self-sufficient and learn the skills needed to succeed on the outside. But the experiment is not wi...
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April 3, 2024 • 37 mins
From eerie encounters to bizarre disappearances, mysterious hauntings to chilling cold cases - some mysteries are best when left unsolved. But that doesn’t mean the unexplained should go unexamined.
Told by witnesses to the supernatural and the extraterrestrial, the Netflix series Files of the Unexplained explores a mix of perplexing phenomena. The show also features scientists and historians who offer more earthly possibilities ...
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March 27, 2024 • 53 mins
A young woman’s fateful decision in 1960s China reverberates across space and time into the present day. When the laws of nature inexplicably unravel before their eyes, a close-knit group of brilliant scientists join forces with an unorthodox detective to confront the greatest threat in humanity’s history.
In this episode, we turn things over to our friends at “3 Body Podcast,” the official companion podcast to Netflix’s 3 Body Pr...
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March 20, 2024 • 37 mins
In New York City, homicides are investigated by two separate squads: Manhattan North and Manhattan South. From killings deeply personal to seemingly random, these police detectives tackle some of the most difficult and high-profile murders possible. But what did it take to solve the crimes…and what did it do to those who solved them?
In the Netflix docuseries Homicide: New York, legendary executive producer Dick Wolf brings viewer...
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March 13, 2024 • 36 mins
Former allies became foes when the Soviets maintained their grip on post-war Eastern Europe to spread communism. Beyond the clash of ideologies, an arms race had begun between emerging superpowers. For decades Americans stood at hypervigilance, living under the constant threat of a nuclear exchange. When the Soviet Union finally collapsed from within, it looked like the US had won the Cold War. But from its long legacy remain the o...
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March 6, 2024 • 37 mins
Like hundreds before her, Katherine Daniel was sent by her parents to a school for troubled teens. The Academy at Ivy Ridge claimed to use therapy and recreational activities to help its students. Instead, teens suffered mental and physical abuse in a program that operated like a cult. Years later, Katherine and her former classmates rummaged through the files and videotapes left behind in the abandoned school. Their goal was to co...
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February 28, 2024 • 35 mins
Writer Danny Casolaro believed he’d uncovered a secret organization of political leaders and covert operatives pulling the levers of power around the globe. He called it “The Octopus.” In 1991, when Danny’s body was discovered in a hotel bathtub, authorities ruled it a suicide - but his friends and family feared he’d been killed to keep the story quiet.
In American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders, filmmakers reopen Danny’s investi...
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February 21, 2024 • 19 mins
The hit reality series Love Is Blind is back , following a new set of singles from Charlotte, North Carolina — all ready to cut through the static of modern dating and forge authentic relationships, sight unseen. The singles form deep and immediate connections, setting the stage for an unexpected journey full of twists, turns, and shocking revelations that will test each relationship well after the participants leave the pods for t...
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February 14, 2024 • 36 mins
Dave Kroupa thought his relationship with Cari Farver was low-key, but Cari began sending threatening texts and emails. She even targeted Dave’s old girlfriend, Liz Goylar. The stalking persisted for years, and while the trauma drew Dave and Liz closer, authorities could never track down Cari for an arrest. But investigators tracing Cari’s digital footprint uncovered evidence that upended the case.
The Netflix documentary Lover St...
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February 7, 2024 • 37 mins
It was an ambitious attempt to raise money for famine relief in Africa: record a single sung by the biggest names in rock, pop, R&B, and country. But putting the 1985’s “We Are The World” down on tape was easier said than done. The all-star chorus had to balance schedules, fix tech issues, and curb egos to create the legendary record. But their biggest challenge: the clock was ticking and they had only one night to make it happen.
...
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January 31, 2024 • 36 mins
After a year of high stakes racing, it all comes down to the final ten races of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. The sport’s best drivers face elimination as they make their way to the final race and most storied championship in motorsports. But who are these competitors behind the wheel? Are they the same person at home as they are on the track? And do they have the right stuff to take the checkered flag?
NASCAR: Full Speed brings...
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January 24, 2024 • 35 mins
As some of tennis’s legends reach the twilight of their careers, this is the chance for a new generation to finally claim the spotlight. But after years in the shadows of champions like Williams and Djokovic, who has what it takes to step up and become the number one player in the world.
Season two of Netflix’s Break Point gets up close and personal with the players competing across the globe each week. From career-threatening inju...
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January 17, 2024 • 37 mins
When Aaron Quinn reported his girlfriend had been kidnapped in an outrageous home invasion, police suspected he was covering up a crime. Then when Denise Huskins turned up at her parents’ doorstep days later, telling an even more elaborate tale about her abduction, they accused the couple of creating a hoax - one straight out of Hollywood. But miles away a detective investigating an unrelated case discovered a single strand of hair...
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January 10, 2024 • 38 mins
At the height of the Bitcoin boom, Ray Trapani and his friends created a debit card for cryptocurrency. Even though the technology didn’t work and the card was a scam, Centra Tech was making millions of dollars a day. But anyone looking at the operation would discover cut-and-paste business plans, fake executives, and glitchy technology. Bitconned lets Trapani tell his story of fun, fame and fraud as he awaits sentencing for the f...
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January 3, 2024 • 33 mins
A rich Southern family laid low by scandal, fraud...and murder.
In this episode, we are talking about our most popular episode from 2023, the Netflix documentary series Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal. Host Rebecca Lavoie interviews directors Julia Willoughby Nason & Jenner Furst.
SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched Murdaugh Murders yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. (Listener note: This epis...
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December 27, 2023 • 37 mins
They could be cheered by thousands in a stadium or booed by a few dozen ringside. In 2023, Netflix documentaries and series brought us the stories of famous athletes, music superstars, and little-known dreamers - all of them with lives even more rich and complex away from the spotlight.
In this episode, host Rebecca Lavoie features her favorite sports and pop cultures titles from 2023. Films and series include Full Swing, Quarterba...
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December 20, 2023 • 31 mins
From cops to criminals, from victims to suspects, from surgeons to patients, Netflix documentary films and series covered incredible real stories in 2023.
On this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie features her favorite crime and justice titles from 2023. Films and series include American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing, Victim/Suspect, Depp v Heard, and Emergency NYC.
Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.
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