Controversial Figures

How did activist atheist and Most Hated Woman in America Madalyn Murray O'Hair and her family end up dismembered, burned, and buried? Find out today on Controversial Figures.

Connect with us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FiguresPodcast

Episode Sources:

• My San Antonio. The True Story Behind the San Antonio Kidnapping and Murder. https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/true-crime-SA-kidnapping-murder-Madalyn-OHair-11017782.php
• Newsweek Madalyn Murray O'Hair Biopic https://www.newsweek.com/madalyn-murray-ohair-most-hated-woman-america-netflix-atheism-biopic-574697
• NYT. Bodies Identified as Those of Missing Athiest and Kin. https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/16/us/bodies-identified-as-those-of-missing-atheist-and-kin.html
• Wikipedia Madalyn Murray O'Hair https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madalyn_Murray_O%27Hair
• Music: The 6 is Silent by Skyjelly

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American business man Lou Pearlman created some of the biggest boy bands in the 1990s, including NSYNC, The Backstreet Boys, O Town, and LFO to name a few. Lou even called himself the 6th Backstreet Boy. These bands were performing to sold out concerts while selling merch and hundreds of millions of albums to screaming fans around the world.

It was estimated that Lou Pearlman's peak net worth was $300 million during the boy band craze era in the 1990s and early 2000s. So how did Lou end up $300 million dollars in debt in 2006 and sentenced to 25 years of prison in 2008? Find out this and lots of other random boy band trivia today on the Controversial Figures Podcast.
Connect with us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FiguresPodcast

Episode Sources:

• ABC News. The Hitman: From Pop to Prison The Hitman: From Pop to Prison l 20/20 l PART 1
• Vanity Fair. Mad About the Boys https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/11/pearlman200711
• Wikipedia Bye Bye Bye https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bye_Bye_Bye
• Wikipedia *NSYNC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSYNC
• Wikipedia Photo Mill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photo_mill
• Wikipedia The Backstreet Boys https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backstreet_Boys
• Wikipedia Lou Pearlman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Pearlman
• Music: The 6 is Silent by Skyjelly

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Belle Gibson was followed and endorsed by holistic medicine practitioners, food as medicine believers, and cancer survivors alike. Belle had created the wildly popular The Whole Pantry blog describing how she had cured herself of multiple cancers.

It was estimated Belle and her company were worth millions. So how did Belle become worth exactly $0 in 2015? And where is Belle today? Find out today on the Controversial Figures Podcast.
Connect with us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FiguresPodcast
Episode Sources:

• Amazon The Whole Pantry Book https://www.amazon.com/The-Whole-Pantry/dp/0718180410
• BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-41423491
  Brisbane Times https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/what-we-haven-t-learned-from-belle-gibson-20200126-p53utm.html
• Donelly, Beau and Nick Toscano, The Woman Who Fooled the World: Belle Gibson's Cancer Con, and the Darkness at the Heart of the Wellness Industry, 2017.
• Health Goop Jade Egg Suit https://www.health.com/condition/sexual-health/jade-egg-goop
• News AU https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/belle-gibson-has-been-adopted-by-ethiopian-community-in-melbourne/news-story/faef622ee9d2b5bee4e4a9518420c315
• The Guardian Articles
  https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jun/20/cancer-con-artist-belle-gibson-cries-while-in-court-over-unpaid-410000-fine
  https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/apr/17/cancer-con-artist-belle-gibson-to-face-court-over-failure-to-pay-410000-penalty
• Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Gibson
• Music: The 6 is Silent by Skyjelly

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By his early 30s, Martin Shkreli had held a variety of impressive roles; he was the co-founder of multiple successful hedge funds, CEO of biotechnology firm Retrophin; and founder and CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals. So, how did young Martin Shkreli, with no formal training in chemistry and a Bachelor's Degree in business administration, become a pharmaceutical CEO and have an estimated worth by Fortune magazine in 2016 of $45 million?

And how did Martin Shkreli only a few years later become a convicted felon worth practically nothing; referred to by the media as "Pharma Bro" and "the most hated man in America"?
And whatever happened to that unreleased Wu Tang Clan Album Martin Shkreli bought for $2 million? Find out today on the Controversial Figures Podcast.

Connect with us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FiguresPodcast
Episode Sources:

• CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/07/retrophin-paid-martin-shkreli-to-settle-all-legal-claims.html
• NetFlix Dirty Money, Drug Short episode
• Vanity Fair https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/12/martin-shkreli-pharmaceuticals-ceo-interview
• Wikipedia
  • Martin Shkreli https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Shkreli
  • Naked Short Sell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_short_selling
  • Once Upon a Time in Shaolin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_Upon_a_Time_in_Shaolin
• Xconomy https://xconomy.com/san-diego/2019/08/22/retrophin-sinks-as-drug-pharma-bro-martin-shkreli-co-invented-fails/
• Music: The 6 is Silent by Skyjelly

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Oscar Pistorius was an inspiration to many. Born without his lower legs, Oscar would later in life become the tenth athlete in history to compete at both the Paralympic Games and Olympic Games in the same year. Oscar was honored in Time Magazine's 100 list of most influential people, appeared on Jay Leno's Tonight Show, and had sponsorship deals worth $2 million. So how would it come to be that only months later, Oscar Pistorius would be on trial for murder, with that trial ultimately going to the Supreme Court? Find out today on the Controversial Figures Podcast.
Connect with us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FiguresPodcast
Episode Sources:

• Amazon Prime Pistorius https://www.amazon.com/Pistorius-Season-1/dp/B07G1Y3R1C
• BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29777703
• Wikipedia Oscar Pistorius https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Pistoriushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Pistorius
• Music: The 6 is Silent by Skyjelly

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