McMillions exposed how McDonald’s Monopoly was quietly hijacked, turning “random” winners into a pattern the FBI could not ignore.

It started with a tip that sounded like sour grapes, but then the FBI noticed something odd: all the winners were connected. The lead led to the realisation that the McDonald’s Monopoly game was rigged, and had been for most of its existence. And the man behind it was Uncle Jerry, Jerry Jacobson. What emerged was a secret FBI initiative dubbed Operation Final Answer, and a co-ordinated national sting.

Topics include

• Jerry Jacobson and the inside job at the heart of McDonald’s Monopoly
• How game pieces were stolen, swapped, and funnelled to “winners”
• The St Jude prize story and why it made perfect cover
• Operation Final Answer and the FBI’s plan for simultaneous arrests
• Simon Marketing and the blind spots that let it run for years

Resources and Further Reading

• McMillions (2020) - TV Mini Series
• McDonalds Monopoly Scam - Wikipedia

Host & Show Info

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• Intro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland

Community & Calls to Action

• Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple Podcasts
• Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
• Website: TheCompendiumPodcast.com
• Support us: Sign up to Patreon
• Certified Freaks: Submit your job Descriptions

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The Chowchilla bus kidnapping began like any school run, then veered into a buried alive ordeal no one could have imagined.

One moment a group of kids are arguing about snacks, the next they are being marched off a bus by men who clearly skipped Kidnapping 101. While the town panics, the abductors bungle their own plan and promptly disappear, leaving 27 people trapped underground with no idea what happens next. What unfolds is a mix of fear, grit, and surprisingly resourceful thinking as the captives take matters into their own hands.

Topics include

• Chowchilla
• Michael Marshall
• Ed Ray
• Buried alive schoolchildren
• Largest child kidnapping case in US history

Resources and Further Reading

• 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping - Wikipedia
• Edward Ray - The City Of Chowchilla
• They’ve Taken Our Children, 1993 - by Vern Gillum
• The ballad of the Chowchilla bus kidnapping - Vox
• Chowchilla bus kidnapping - Rare photos CBS

Host & Show Info

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• Intro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland

Community & Calls to Action

• Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple Podcasts
• Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
• Website: TheCompendiumPodcast.com
• Support us: Sign up to Patreon
• Certified Freaks: Submit your job Descriptions

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The Suffolk Strangler turned Ipswich into a locked-door city. Five women vanish from the red light district and the road home becomes a crime scene.
In December 2006, the Ipswich murders unfold at terrifying speed as five women are found dumped on rural roads outside the town. Panic turns the streets silent, while the women at the centre of the story are reduced to headlines instead of humans. Inside Operation Sumac, detectives chase CCTV footage, a Ford Mondeo, DNA evidence and forensic fibres to close in on Steve Wright.

Topics include

• Steve Wright and the Suffolk Strangler timeline
• The Ipswich serial killer panic and the city’s response
• Life and risk inside the Ipswich red light district
• How was Steve Wright caught using CCTV footage and DNA evidence
• What the case reveals about who gets protected in Ipswich

• Ipswich serial murders - Wikipedia
• Wright guilty of Suffolk murders - The Guardian
• Murder in the Red Light - Apple TV

Host & Show Info

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• Intro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland

Community & Calls to Action

• Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple Podcasts
• Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
• Website: TheCompendiumPodcast.com
• Support us: Sign up to Patreon
• Certified Freaks: Submit your job Descriptions

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In June 2002, a Federal Heights neighbourhood wakes to panic as the investigation stalls and fractures. With suspicion falling on handyman Richard Ricci, the Smart family turns to the spotlight and America’s Most Wanted. The search may end, but the legal fight begins, with an insanity defence and Elizabeth forced to reclaim her voice.

Topics include

• Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, and the belief system behind the control
• Salt Lake City, the LDS Church, and the media storm around the case
• America’s Most Wanted, the sketch, and the moment Elizabeth was recognised
• Aftermath, testimony, and survivor advocacy
• Would you like to move on to the next prompt?

Host & Show Info

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• Intro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland

Community & Calls to Action

• Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple Podcasts
• Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
• Website: TheCompendiumPodcast.com
• Support us: Sign up to Patreon
• Certified Freaks: Submit your job Descriptions

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Two men stalk Los Angeles at night, dumping bodies across the hills as police scramble to understand a pattern of terror unfolding in plain sight.

This episode examines the Hillside Stranglers case, following Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono as their murders gripped Los Angeles in the late 1970s. We explore how victims were selected, the pressure mounting on investigators, the bizarre multiple personality defence attempt, and the Veronica Compton plot that nearly derailed justice before the case finally collapsed in on itself.

Topics include

• The Hillside Strangler murders
• Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono
• Victim targeting and dumping sites
• The failed multiple personality defence
• The Veronica Compton copycat plot

• The Hillside Strangler – Wikipedia
• Kenneth Bianchi – Crime & Investigation UK
• Angelo Buono Jr. Biography & Crimes – Murderpedia

Host & Show Info

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• Intro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland

Community & Calls to Action

• Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple Podcasts
• Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
• Website: TheCompendiumPodcast.com
• Support us: Sign up to Patreon
• Certified Freaks: Submit your job Descriptions

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A missing child returns under suspiciously perfect circumstances, sparking a decades-long battle over identity and truth.

This episode traces the disappearance and reappearance of four-year-old Bobby Dunbar, the contradictions that muddied the investigation, and the families pulled into the fallout. Through contested identifications, clashing testimonies, and the revelation of a century-late DNA test, we explore how a single child’s return became one of America’s most enduring mysteries.

Topics include

• The Swayze Lake disappearance
• Conflicting newspaper accounts
• Disputed identifications
• The Anderson and Walters family claims
• The DNA evidence that reshaped the case

Resources and Further Reading

• A Case for Solomon – by Tal McThenia & Margaret Dunbar Cutright
• The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar – This American Life
• The Strange Case of Bobby Dunbar – Country Roads Magazine
• Disappearance of Bobby Dunbar - Wikipedia

Host & Show Info

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• Intro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland

Community & Calls to Action

• Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple Podcasts
• Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
• Website: TheCompendiumPodcast.com
• Support us: Sign up to Patreon
• Certified Freaks: Submit your job Descriptions

Share this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favourite takeaway.

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A neonatal unit descends into crisis as accusations of murder, medical error, and systemic failure collide around nurse Lucy Letby.

This episode examines the events inside the Countess of Chester’s neonatal unit, where unexplained collapses and conflicting evidence fuelled one of the NHS’s most divisive scandals. We explore the debates over air embolisms, ventilator failures, and hospital negligence while asking whether this tragedy points to deliberate harm or a system buckling under pressure.

Topics include

• The Countess of Chester neonatal incidents
• Conflicting medical interpretations
• Air-embolism and ventilator-error debates
• Allegations of hospital negligence
• Questions around possible miscarriage of justice

Resources and Further Reading

• The Nurse Who Hated Babies, 2023 – Channel 4
• Lucy Letby – Wikipedia
• The Thirlwall Inquiry – “The Thirlwall Inquiry
• Lucy Letby International Expert Panel Press Conference - Youtube
• Three bosses at Letby hospital arrested for ‘manslaughter – Press Reader

Host & Show Info

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• Intro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland

Community & Calls to Action

• Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple Podcasts
• Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
• Website: TheCompendiumPodcast.com
• Support us: Sign up to Patreon
• Certified Freaks: Submit your job Descriptions

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A bitter rivalry spirals out of control as two palaeontologists race to outdo each other and rewrite the story of the dinosaurs.

This episode explores the Bone Wars, the feud between Edward Cope and Othniel Marsh that pushed American palaeontology to new heights and embarrassing lows. From sabotage and rivalry to genuine scientific breakthroughs, we trace how their obsession uncovered extraordinary fossils while nearly destroying their reputations.

Topics include

• The Cope and Marsh rivalry
• Sabotage within early palaeontology
• Landmark dinosaur discoveries
• Scientific mistakes and rushed publications
• The long-term impact on dinosaur research

Resources and Further Reading

• The Bone Wars - Wikipedia
• The Bone Wars That Made Dinosaurs So Popular – I Know Dino (Podcast)

Host & Show Info

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• Intro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland

Community & Calls to Action

• Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple Podcasts
• Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
• Website: TheCompendiumPodcast.com
• Support us: Sign up to Patreon
• Certified Freaks: Submit your job Descriptions

Share this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favourite takeaway.

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