What do an alleged doomsday kidnapping, a fake crypto fortune, a multimillion-dollar child modeling scheme, and publicly humiliating your kid have in common? Adults making very big decisions with questionable judgment.

In Episode 18 of Certified Bad Example, Jameel Mayers and August Black dig into stories where fear, money, ego, and parenting collide.

First, they unpack the alleged case of a mother who took four children overseas amid beliefs that the end times were approaching, including allegations of passport fraud and international parental kidnapping. That quickly raises a bigger question: if you genuinely believed disaster was coming, what would you actually do?

Then there’s money. A lot of supposedly existing money.

Jameel and August get into the story involving Katie Price and Lee Andrews and claims surrounding a multimillion-dollar crypto fortune that allegedly wasn’t what it appeared to be. From there, they tackle an alleged $4.6 million child modeling scheme involving advance fees, fabricated records, and opportunities that reportedly never materialized.

Finally, the conversation turns to parenting and public humiliation. Does embarrassing a child actually teach accountability—or does it just teach them that their parent is willing to embarrass them?

Along the way, Jameel and August talk consequences, grounding, classroom conflicts, helping kids recognize when they handled something badly, and why your child should always know they can call you when they need help getting home.

Because sometimes the lesson isn’t complicated: check the facts, keep the receipts, and maybe don’t make life-changing decisions while everybody else is asking, “Wait…what?”

What do Batman, James Bond, 35 girlfriends, a fake kidnapping and a severed hand have in common?

Apparently, nobody involved knows how to do anything the easy way.

Episode 17 of Certified Bad Example starts with Jameel Mayers and August Black debating men who live double lives — Christian Bale and Robert Pattinson as Batman, Daniel Craig as James Bond — before accidentally stumbling into an episode almost entirely populated by people taking that concept much, much too far.

First: a Japanese man accused of dating more than 30 women at the same time and allegedly giving them different fake birthdays so he could keep collecting birthday gifts.

Bruce Wayne has Batman. James Bond has 007. This man apparently had an entire birthday cinematic universe.

Jameel and August get into the surprisingly complicated question underneath it: when does lying to someone you’re dating cross from being spectacularly shady into actual fraud?

Then we meet an Arkansas mother accused of staging the kidnapping of her adult daughter to teach her about the dangers of meeting strangers online.

Because apparently “we need to talk about internet safety” wasn’t dramatic enough.

The case turns into a much more serious discussion about disability, vulnerability, online safety, fear-based parenting and whether traumatizing someone can actually teach the lesson you intended.

And finally: Slovenia.

A woman and her boyfriend were convicted in an insurance fraud scheme involving deliberately severing her hand with a circular saw in an attempt to collect insurance money for permanent disability.

We have officially traveled from “fake birthday” to “WHERE IS YOUR HAND?”

Jameel and August discuss the scheme, the prison sentences and the financial question nobody should ever need to ask: exactly how much money would someone have to offer before you’d even consider losing a body part?

The answer is not whatever they were offering.

The episode closes with August’s daughter announcing that she doesn’t want to go to school because it’s “all rhyming,” before Jameel and August talk about yelling, stressful mornings and the responsibility parents have for setting the emotional tone their kids carry into the day.

So what actually connects Episode 17?

Secret identities. Elaborate schemes. Questionable parenting. Terrible risk assessment. And an alarming number of adults who could have saved themselves a lot of trouble by choosing literally the second idea.

Certified Bad Example is hosted by Jameel Mayers and August Black.

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A dad runs onto a youth football field and trips a 9-year-old. A false pregnancy and paternity case spirals into allegations of fabricated evidence. A viral Crumbl video gets employees fired and triggers a state inspection. And somehow, that’s only part of Episode 16.

Jameel Mayers and August Black open with a tribute to Dolly Parton and the legacy she built through generosity, literacy advocacy, and actually putting her values into practice.

Then the bad examples begin.

The hosts break down the viral Crumbl bakery incident that raised some serious food-safety questions, before turning to a Wisconsin father cited after running onto a youth football field and tripping a 9-year-old headed toward the end zone.

Next comes the Laura Owens case involving false pregnancy and paternity claims, fabricated evidence, and the damage an elaborate deception can cause. That leads into a larger conversation about scams, charisma, social media credibility, and why “proof” deserves a second look when money is involved.

Jameel and August also get into the neighbor altercation involving Reacher star Alan Ritchson, debating provocation, self-defense, restraint, and the difference between being peaceful and being harmless.

Then there’s romance and investment fraud involving fake San Francisco 49ers connections—and a reminder that scammers don’t always look like scammers.

Finally, August puts himself on the Certified Bad Example list after losing his temper at a farmer’s market while carrying his child on his shoulders. The story becomes a conversation about anger, apologizing, accountability, and why kids should sometimes see what happens after a parent gets it wrong.

Episode 16 covers:

• The Dolly Parton legacy

• The viral Crumbl bakery incident

• A dad tripping a 9-year-old during youth football

• False pregnancy and paternity fraud

• Alan Ritchson’s neighbor altercation

• Romance and investment scams

• August’s farmer’s market blowup

• Parenting, anger, apologies, and accountability

“You’re not better than me, but we’re not the same.”

“If you’re holding on to anger and someone bumps into you, anger spills out.”

Certified Bad Example is hosted by Jameel Mayers and August Black.

When does setting boundaries for your kid turn into trying to control everybody else?

Jameel Mayers and August Black are back with another round of Certified Bad Examples pulled from the social media zeitgeist.

First up: Oreo Gate. A kindergarten parent reportedly asks other families to stop sending Oreos to school because her daughter isn’t allowed to have them. Is that a reasonable request, or is learning to deal with disappointment part of growing up?

Then things get much more serious. Jameel and August discuss a Baton Rouge mother arrested after allegedly whipping her sons for breaking into someone else’s home, and why punishment and accountability aren’t necessarily the same thing.

They also get into the backlash over a Target Halloween costume criticized for resembling racist blackface and minstrel imagery, including questions about representation, DEI, and how something like this makes it all the way to the shelf.

Finally, they discuss a disturbing case involving a Kentucky mother accused of forcing her 14-year-old daughter to drink alcohol as punishment after catching her drinking.

Through all four stories, one question keeps coming back: are we actually teaching kids how to make better decisions, or are adults sometimes making things worse in the name of parenting?

Plus: kindergarten, doom scrolling, cursive handwriting, raising Black children with an awareness of the world around them, and why every kid needs to know there’s an adult they can call when they screw up.

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Jason Caceres joins Jameel Mayers and August Black for an unfiltered episode of Certified Bad Example that moves from viral relationship chaos to some much bigger questions about judgment, responsibility, power, and consequences.

The conversation starts with the strange world of prison romance and influencer Ash Trevino, who became known online for relationships with incarcerated men. Jameel, August, and Jason debate what drives someone toward relationships where freedom, access, money, and attention are so unevenly distributed.

From there, the conversation turns darker with a viral beach assault, raising questions about bystanders, accountability, and what people are willing to watch, record, or excuse when violence happens in public.

The group also gets into “robbery dating,” relationships where attraction and money become dangerously intertwined, and whether wealth or appearance causes people to ignore warning signs they would normally recognize immediately.

Then the episode moves into parenting, punishment, and boundaries, including the disturbing case of a Kentucky mother accused of forcing her 14-year-old daughter to consume alcohol as punishment after discovering she had been drinking. The story sparks a larger debate about discipline, humiliation, proportional consequences, and the point where trying to “teach a lesson” becomes harmful behavior itself.

Throughout the episode, Jason brings his perspective as an actor and storyteller to a conversation built around one of Certified Bad Example’s favorite questions: when somebody makes a terrible decision, what were they actually trying to accomplish?

Jason Caceres is an actor whose credits span television, film, and theater, including Criminal Minds, Hacks, Insatiable, Pam & Tommy, Kidding, Magic City, American Animal, and Ted Bundy.

In this episode:

• Jason Caceres joins Jameel Mayers and August Black

• The internet fascination with prison romances

• Ash Trevino and relationships with incarcerated men

• Attention, loneliness, money, and power imbalances in relationships

• A disturbing viral beach assault and the role of bystanders

• Why people sometimes record violence instead of intervening

• “Robbery dating” and relationships built around access to wealth

• Whether money and attractiveness cause people to overlook obvious red flags

• Parenting consequences versus punishment

• The Kentucky mother accused of forcing her teenage daughter to drink alcohol

• When teaching a child a lesson crosses a line

• Public humiliation, control, and accountability

• Why intention does not erase consequences

• The bad examples that somehow convince themselves they’re doing the right thing

Certified Bad Example is hosted by Jameel Mayers and August Black, breaking down real stories, questionable decisions, internet chaos, and the people who give the rest of us a perfect example of what not to do.

Subscribe, follow, and join the conversation. New episodes of Certified Bad Example are available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube.

Where does personal freedom end and professional responsibility begin?

In Episode 13 of Certified Bad Example, Jameel Mayers and co-host August Black get into three stories where the answer is anything but simple, from teachers facing consequences for what happens outside the classroom, to a mother leaving her four-year-old home alone overnight, to what can happen when someone decides to intervene in a dangerous situation.

Jameel also talks about balancing his director role in software, family life, and the podcast, plus an unexpected opportunity to write about fatherhood for Rolling Stone.

In this episode:

A Missouri teacher resigns after students and parents discover her OnlyFans account, raising questions about teachers, adult content, privacy, social media, and whether legal off-hours work should affect someone’s career.

A Utah art teacher is fired after distributing postcards featuring classical artwork with nudity. Jameel and August debate the difference between nudity and sexual content, parental expectations, school policies, and whether administrators sometimes punish teachers simply to make controversy disappear.

A Georgia mother is arrested after allegedly leaving her four-year-old child home alone overnight while she went drinking. The conversation turns to child endangerment, parental responsibility, alcohol, emergency preparedness, and why independence for children looks very different depending on age and culture.

August shares the story of stopping to help an injured bicyclist, only to have a bystander falsely accuse him of causing the accident. Jameel explains why being a good Samaritan can carry another layer of risk for a Black man when witnesses, assumptions, and law enforcement enter the situation.

The episode closes with a disturbing Ohio case involving a father who murdered a man after discovering evidence involving the sexual abuse of his 11-year-old daughter, opening a difficult conversation about parental rage, vigilantism, justice, and consequences.

Timestamps

00:00 Back-to-school banter and podcasting setup

02:53 Jameel’s day job and balancing podcasting

04:31 Rolling Stone reaches out about fatherhood writing

05:23 The weird world of OnlyFans

09:08 Missouri teacher resigns after OnlyFans discovery

10:42 Should legal off-hours work cost a teacher their job?

14:14 Teachers, students, privacy, and social media

19:49 Utah art teacher fired over classical nudity

21:21 Nudity versus sex in art and culture

24:38 Why the distinction between nudity and sex matters

27:21 When schools fire employees to quiet controversy

33:02 Georgia mother charged after leaving four-year-old alone overnight

36:53 Why four-year-olds cannot safely handle emergencies alone

39:38 Children, independence, and cultural differences in Japan

42:50 August’s good Samaritan story and a false accusation

Certified Bad Example is hosted by Jameel Mayers with co-host August Black, breaking down parenting, pop culture, public behavior, accountability, and the bad decisions that make the rest of us ask: What were they thinking?

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Every decision has consequences, whether it’s made at home, online, or in the public eye. In this episode of Certified Bad Example, August Black and Jameel Mayers dive into the moments that reveal character, from parenting decisions and child safety to racist online behavior, public accountability, and the difference between genuine remorse and performative apologies.

The conversation explores how trust is built with children, why consistency matters, and what parents can learn from everyday situations that become lifelong lessons. Along the way, they tackle controversial headlines, celebrity culture, and the responsibilities that come with influence.

• Parenting strategies that build independence while maintaining trust
• Why consistency matters more than perfection
• Cruise ship parenting, video monitors, and where parents should draw the line
• The debate over jackets, cold weather, and letting kids learn through experience
• Street safety, strollers, bicycles, and teaching children awareness
• The lasting impact of racist online comments and public behavior
• Free speech versus accountability in today’s world
• Whether public figures should face career consequences for harmful actions
• Louis C.K., comeback culture, and what genuine contrition really looks like
• Why actions speak louder than apology tours
• The importance of consequences in shaping better people, both children and adults

00:00 Screen sharing, camera habits, and season one energy

02:53 Welcome back to Certified Bad Example

03:21 Back-to-school routines and working from home with kids

06:57 Racist online comments and the fallout

08:04 Should public figures lose work over hateful behavior?

09:23 Hiring, social media, and hidden histories

10:44 Should celebrities take public stances?

12:43 Free speech, harm, and personal accountability

15:10 Why consequences matter

16:29 The Man in the High Castle and reflections on race and power

19:12 Louis C.K., accountability, and comeback culture

21:48 What real contrition looks like

25:24 Accountability for abuse and harassment

29:36 Cruise ship parenting and video monitors

32:51 Comparing home monitoring to cruise ship monitoring

36:55 Parenting backlash over jackets and cold weather

40:07 Letting kids learn through experience

43:33 Street safety, strollers, and defensive driving

46:48 Teaching kids to hold hands near traffic

47:23 A father-son bike milestone and the “hey daddy” phase

50:40 Closing thoughts, kids grow up fast

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, like, and share with someone who appreciates honest conversations about parenting, culture, and the real-life consequences that shape families.