Episode 5: Santos Released From Prison

Episode 5: Santos Released From Prison

Author: Pushkin Industries October 24, 2025 Duration: 23:21

Last week, President Trump commuted George Santos’ prison sentence — a decision that’s prompted both surprise and reflection. Producer Amy Gaines McQuade walks Jake Halpern through the news and checks back in with people who knew Santos to hear their reactions.

For more on Mark’s reporting on George Santos, check out his book: The Fabulist - The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing and Very American Legend of George Santos.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


There's a hidden world that exists just beneath the surface of everyday life, and Deep Cover pulls back the curtain. This Pushkin Industries production, rooted in history and true crime, isn't about casual secrets; it's an excavation of the elaborate double lives people construct, often at tremendous cost. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jake Halpern guides you through these labyrinths, weaving together testimonies from the federal agents who pursue these stories and the convicted criminals who lived them. The result is a gripping narrative podcast that feels less like a lecture and more like stepping into a shadowy, parallel reality. One season might plunge you into a sprawling undercover operation, while another focuses on a devastating personal betrayal. For instance, in "Deep Cover Presents: Snowball," a special limited series from the team behind Unravel Podcast at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, host Ollie Wards unpacks how his own family lost everything after encountering a charming con artist from California. Each episode is built on firsthand accounts, revealing the meticulous planning, the psychological toll, and the inevitable moment when a fabricated identity collapses. You'll hear the tension in a voice, the pause before a difficult admission, and the chilling details that only someone who was there can provide. It's a deep, often unsettling look at the lengths people will go to become someone else, and the tangled webs they leave behind for others to unravel.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 75

Deep Cover
Podcast Episodes
The Search for Brooke Henson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:12
In July of 1999, a young woman named Brooke Henson went missing from Travelers Rest, South Carolina. In this follow up episode to Deep Cover: Never Seen Again, Jake Halpern talks to Ben Ford, the chief of police in Trave…
Deep Cover Live with Emily Bazelon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:45
In this special episode of Deep Cover, recorded live at Littlefield in Brooklyn, host Jake Halpern and his friend and fellow journalist Emily Bazelon (of New York Times Magazine and Political Gabfest) talk all things cri…
Episode 6: A Shared Name [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:59
Esther's past catches up with her, as investigators in South Carolina seek answers about what happened to Brooke Henson. In our season finale, we bring you the latest details on the fates of both women. See omnystudio.co…
Episode 5: The Searchers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:17
Esther’s sister has been looking for her for nearly a decade without any luck. A US Marshal is brought in to track Esther down. One of them will eventually find her. Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear all of Deep Cover Season…
Episode 4: A Very Sophisticated Gal [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:24
When Esther flees New York, she inadvertently ignites a media firestorm. Reporters and TV producers rush to tell the story of the Ivy League imposter: the so-called “brazen brunette beauty” and “klepto brainiac.” Unaware…
Episode 3: The Imposter [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:12
A woman named Esther Reed has been living in New York, but attending college under a different identity: Brooke Henson. When the NYPD tries to learn more, she flees. In this episode, Esther starts to tell her side of the…
Episode 2: The Star Man [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:31
Detective Jon Campbell wants more information about the woman – at Columbia University – claiming to be Brooke Henson. He enlists the help of the Secret Service to get his hands on a treasure trove of documents. More lea…
Episode 1: The Dark Corner [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:58
Brooke Henson disappears from her home in Travelers Rest, South Carolina. No one can find her. She’s presumed dead. Then, seven years later, police receive a startling tip. Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear all of Deep Cover…
Never Seen Again: Deep Cover Season 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:03
A small town detective gets a tip that leads him on an epic search. He believes he's uncovered an imposter. A fraud. A highly-trained chameleon. A foreign spy. The federal government gets involved. A nationwide manhunt c…
Camouflage Bias: Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:18
2022. After Ronnie Carrasquillo exhausts his appeals, he faces the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. But it seems each time Ronnie comes up for parole, he can’t escape the notoriety of his past. See omnystudio.com/listener…