Truly Unreal

At 19, you make your first million. At 20, you’re one of the youngest CEO’s in America.  And soon you’re worth at least 100 million dollars.But you’re not a Hollywood big shot...or a tech genius. You’re that guy from the carpet cleaning commercials. In this episode of Truly Unreal, host James Lee Hernandez drops podcast host Lola Berry into the completely absurd rise of ZZZZ Best, a carpet cleaning company that somehow turns into a massive “insurance restoration” empire without actually doing any insurance restoration...or much carpet cleaning, for that matter. Through our choose-your-own-adventure format, Lola steps into the true story of Barry Minkow, a pathological liar with enough charisma to pull the hood over Wall Street, Oprah and even the mob to become the one of the most famous teen entrepreneurs in American history.Truly Unreal: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/trulyunrealshow/James Lee Hernandez: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/iamthejlh/⁠Lola Berry: https://www.instagram.com/yummololaberry/

It's 1963. You're 23, broke, addicted to painkillers, and your stock trading career just imploded. But then God speaks to you through your car radio and tells you to kidnap someone. So naturally, you pick Frank Sinatra's son (Frank Sinatra Jr.), gather a team with zero experience, and head to a Nevada casino to pose as fake delivery guys.What could go wrong? This week, comedian and actress Lauren Holt (SNL, Barbie, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Comeback) steps into the shoes of Barry Keenan, the man behind one of the most bizarre, delusional, and weirdly polite kidnapping plots in American history. Follow us! Truly Unreal: ⁠@trulyunrealshowJames Lee Hernandez: ⁠@iamthejlh/⁠Lauren Holt: ⁠@holtlauren

What if you just didn't accept that your dreams were behind you?In this episode of Truly Unreal, host James Lee Hernandez drops comedian Charles Gould into one of the boldest identity scams in sports history.Through a choose-your-own-adventure format, Charles becomes Ron Weaver, a 27-year-old former player working at his parents’ liquor store, who isn’t ready to give up on his shot at the big leagues. When he discovers a loophole that could get him back on the field, he takes it, and somehow gets away with it… for years.But when a reporter starts asking questions, just days before the biggest game of his life, everything begins to unravel.Follow us!Charles Gould: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/charlesgould1James Lee Hernandez: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/iamthejlh/⁠Truly Unreal: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/trulyunrealshow/

Thinking about trying to make some extra cash on the side? Well, you might want to be careful who you go into business with.In this episode of Truly Unreal, host James Lee Hernandez⁠ drops actress and comedian ⁠Greta Titelman into one of the most bizarre crime rings in recent memory. The product? Baby formula. The setting? Walmart parking lots. The state? Obviously Florida. Through a choose-your-own-adventure format, Greta steps into the role of Alexis, a young mom who thinks she's found an easy, flexible way to make some money at home, until things start to go off the rails. As the story unfolds, we unpack how an everyday gig turned into something much weirder, and how the mastermind behind it finally gets caught.Follow us!Greta Titelman: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/gertiebird/James Lee Hernandez: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/iamthejlh/⁠Truly Unreal: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/trulyunrealshow/

If you think you’re claustrophobic… this story will change your definition of fear.In this episode of Truly Unreal, James Lee Hernandez drops comedian and Saturday Night Live writer Carl Tart into one of the most infamous kidnapping cases in American history, the story of Barbara Jane Mackle.Through a choose-your-own-adventure format, Carl is forced to make the same decisions Barbara faced in real time: Do you open the door? Do you fight back? Do you conserve your air… or panic?As the clock ticks down, we break down the real case, the FBI search, and the shocking survival strategy that kept Barbara alive underground for over three days.Because it’s easy to say what you’d do…until you’re the one buried alive.Follow Us!Carl Tart: https://www.instagram.com/dammitcarl/?hl=enJames Lee Hernandez: https://www.instagram.com/iamthejlh/Truly Unreal: https://www.instagram.com/trulyunrealshow/

You think you’d never fall for the scam.You’d never open that door.You’d never make that choice.But when the story is real… things aren’t so simple.From documentary filmmaker ⁠James Lee Hernandez⁠, the creator behind ⁠McMillions⁠, ⁠The Big Conn⁠, and ⁠Scamtown⁠, Truly Unreal is the show where true crime meets choose-your-own-adventure. Each episode drops you inside bizarre real-life crimes, from trafficking rings to buried-alive kidnappings, and asks the question we all think we know the answer to: What would YOU do, if you were the main character in the story?New episodes every Tuesday.Connect with James Lee Herndandez on Instagram