C13Originals Launches “Gangster Capitalism” Podcast Series
From the team behind the #1 podcast “Root of Evil,” the inaugural series from C13Originals takes an unflinching look at white collar corruption
and the dark side of the American dream
Season One of “Gangster Capitalism”— hosted by award-winning documentarian Andrew Jenks—explores the headline-making college admissions scandal
known as “Operation Varsity Blues”
New York, NY (May 14, 2019)—C13Originals, a division of leading premium podcast company Cadence13, today announced the launch of Gangster Capitalism, the inaugural docuseries from Cadence13’s new venture focused on original storytelling and developing a slate of IP through a new premium level in-house production studio.
Gangster Capitalism—from Zak Levitt, the two-time Emmy-award winning EVP, Production, C13Originals and the team behind the critically acclaimed #1 podcast Root of Evil: The True Story of the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia—offers an unflinching look at white collar corruption in America, exposing the ways in which wealthy members of society abuse their power, money and influence in order to get what they want, regardless of what might stand in their way.
Season One of Gangster Capitalism—which explores in-depth the college admissions scandal known as “Operation Varsity Blues” that has exposed everyone from Hollywood celebrities like Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin to Fortune 500 CEOs in an audacious bribery and money laundering scheme—launches May 14, 2019 on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Radio.com and everywhere podcasts are available. Listen to the trailer, episode one and subscribe to the series here: http://bit.ly/gangstercap.
Award-winning documentarian Andrew Jenks, host/writer of the Cadence13 podcast What Really Happened?, will host Gangster Capitalism and co-write the series along with the C13Originals production team. Feeling that the system was “rigged,” Jenks dropped out of NYU after his sophomore year, giving him a singular perspective to report this story from. Throughout the docuseries, Jenks will uncover the origins and inner workings of this unprecedented scam, talking to college admissions experts, attorneys, parents, students who've cheated, the victims and other people involved, exploring the larger debate around higher education, our priorities, and our culture. Jenks will report from key locations including the federal courthouse in Boston, Los Angeles, and from Florida, where he confronted William “Rick” Singer, the con man posing as an admissions counselor at the center of the scandal, who, along with a vast network of co-conspirators, exploited his clients’ entitlement, sense of hubris and obsession with status.
Episode One of Gangster Capitalism, “The Side Door l The College Admissions Scandal,” brings to life just how dirty the operation is through transcriptions of wiretapped conversations between Rick Singer and Felicity Huffman, as well as others; interviews with a student who cheated on his SATs, a psychologist who deals with students and parents trying to game the system to get more time for their children to take the SAT and ACT; and Jenks’ news-making encounter with Singer himself.
“This is a watershed moment in our culture, and Zak Levitt, Andrew Jenks and the C13Originals team will illuminate this history-making scandal and story of white collar corruption and unchecked privilege in real time and from every angle as it continues to unfold,” said Chris Corcoran, Chief Content Officer, Cadence13. “‘Gangster Capitalism’ is the ideal series to launch C13Originals, and will intrigue and fascinate millions of listeners across the country.”
C13Originals is led by Chris Corcoran, Chief Content Officer, Cadence13, with production and storytelling helmed by two-time Emmy award-winning filmmaker, Zak Levitt, Executive Vice President of Production, C13Originals. Levitt recently directed, wrote, and produced Cadence13 and TNT’s critically acclaimed, eight-part documentary podcast series Root of Evil: The True Story of the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia, which has been at the top of the Apple Podcast charts since its launch in February 2019, reaching the #1 overall position.
Levitt is also the writer and director of the award-winning ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Bad Boys about the golden age of the Detroit Pistons. In addition to an Emmy, Bad Boys won a CLIO Sports Award and the NAACP Image Award for Best Documentary. In 2010, Levitt produced Once Brothers, a riveting story of friendship, war, and basketball that was part of ESPN’s Peabody-winning and Emmy-nominated inaugural 30 for 30 set of films. In 2012, Levitt made two of the most talked-about sports films of the year: The Dream Team, which tells the definitive story of the 1992 U.S. Olympic Basketball team; and ESPN Films’ The Announcement, a first-person account of Magic Johnson’s discovery that he was HIV-positive, and his subsequent fight against the virus. Both films were Emmy-nominated for Most Outstanding Documentary that year. In 2013, Levitt’s film, The Doctor, about the life and career of the legendary Julius “Dr. J” Erving, won the Emmy for Most Outstanding Documentary.
In addition to Levitt, the C13Originals production team includes documentary producer and showrunner Lloyd Lochridge, who also worked on the Root of Evil podcast series and was a producer on ESPN’s critically acclaimed docuseries Basketball, A Love Story; Perry Crowell, who joins the team with fifteen years of experience producing and editing content for film, television and digital media; and Terence Malangone, who worked as a producer on Good Morning Football.
Visit www.gangster-capitalism.com for more information and to listen to full episodes, and follow Gangster Capitalism on Instagram @GangsterCapitalism and on Twitter @GangsterCapital.
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About CADENCE13:
Cadence13 is a leading premium podcast company and was named one of Fast Company’s “World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2019.” Our roster of critically-acclaimed shows and personalities reflects the diverse conversations and interests happening in the world, led by a collection of voices that include Sophia Amoruso, Nick Bilton, Rachel Brathen, Kobe Bryant, Emma Chamberlain, Deepak Chopra, Gotham Chopra, Lauren Conrad, Remi Cruz, David Dobrik, Jon Favreau, Malcolm Gladwell, Andrew Jenks, Peter King, Tony Kornheiser, Michael Lewis, Payne Lindsey, Michael Lombardi, Jon Lovett, Alisha Marie, CJ McCollum, James Andrew Miller, Jim Norton, Gwyneth Paltrow, Josh Peck, Zac Stuart-Pontier, Paul Rabil, Rhett and Link, Rick Rubin, Michael Sheehan, Maria Shriver, Marc Smerling, Tommy Vietor, Adnan Virk, Adrian Wojnarowski, iO Tillett Wright and many more. These storytellers represent both established and emerging personalities across sports, business, tech, politics, entertainment and news. Cadence13 is the home of C13Originals and has a broad range of programming partners including Comments by Celebs, Conde Nast, Crooked Media, Entertainment Weekly, Girlboss Media, goop, Granity Studios, Meredith, Mythical Entertainment, Pushkin Industries, Ramble, Seven Bucks Productions, Smosh, Sports Illustrated, Tenderfoot TV, theSkimm, The Try Guys, TNT, UFC, Up and Vanished, UTA, Vanity Fair, Who? Weekly and Yoga Girl, among others. Cadence13 is headquartered in New York, with offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
About ANDREW JENKS
Andrew Jenks is one of the most prolific storytellers of his generation. The New York Times has said, “Jenks takes his camera to places most of us would just as soon forget.” His films and shows have been financed and distributed on networks including HBO, Netflix, ESPN, CNN, MTV, and Discovery. Jenks has worked with brands including Apple, MAC Cosmetics, and AT&T. His non-profit, The All American High School Film Festival, is the largest high school student film festival in the world, giving nearly 2 million dollars in scholarships and prizes. Much of Jenks’ work focuses on humanizing individuals oftentimes overlooked or people who have fallen victim to corrupt institutions. On 6 continents, he has captured young people with cancer, senior citizens, the deaf community, the wrongfully incarcerated, the homeless, and many others. His most recent project, the docu-podcast WHAT REALLY HAPPENED?, produced by Cadence13, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Seven Bucks Productions, reached #1 on the Apple podcast charts.
CONTACT:
Hillary Schupf
VP, Publicity | Cadence13
646.795.5077
hillary@cadence13.com