Dr Ruja Ignatova persuaded millions to join her financial revolution. Then she disappeared. Why? Jamie Bartlett presents a story of greed, deceit and herd madness.
We’re excited to share a taster of Jamie’s new podcast series, Everything Is Fake (And Nobody Cares).
Have you noticed that more and more of the world feels, well, fake? Online there's a daily avalanche of dubious advice and information - about health, money, success, happiness - much of it delivered with total confidence and little regard for evidence. There's the fabricated reviews, inflated metrics and synthetic content. Influencers present themselves as authorities.
Everything is now content. Performed for likes, not tested for truth.
Meanwhile, institutions once trusted to tell us what is true now compete for attention like everyone else - just as new technologies emerge that can generate convincing false information at scale. How did we get here? What can we do about it? And, well, do we really care?
In the new six-part series Jamie sets out to understand how, in so many parts of modern life, fakery is no longer punished - it's rewarded. And if that’s the case, why do we seem so unbothered by it? This taster comes from episode one of the series - if you like what you hear, you can listen to every episode of Everything Is Fake right now on BBC Sounds.
2 Mar 2026TRANSCRIPT
What to listen to next: The Interface
Journalists Thomas Germain, Karen Hao, and Nicky Woolf explore the potential weapon behind Havana Syndrome, a social media trial, and the AI Impact Summit.
22 Jan 2026TRANSCRIPT
16. Off the Record
OneCoin victims’ advocate Jen McAdam has helped convince hundreds of Dr Ruja’s scam victims to join her lawsuit. With Dr Ruja missing - possibly dead - it feels like this compensation lawsuit is their best shot at justice. But things take an unexpected turn.
Featuring footage from: Good Morning Britain/ITV, The Islam brothers, Daniel Leinhardt/Youtube, TikTok/maseratimassage.
Inside a recent episode
Jamie’s New Series: Everything Is Fake
Published 23 Apr 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] Something's off there. Politicians have always lied and businesses have always inflated the numbers. But something has changed over my adult life. A shift in the culture. I believe we may have reached peak bullshit. Bakery today isn't always about lying or making stuff up. It's something more subtle. […]
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