Alle afleveringen
502 afleveringen, van nieuw naar oud
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The King of Counterfeiters: Jeff Turner
25 november 2025 · 1 uur 2 min
If you were in a bad place, hard up financially, looking for work, and some sorta lifeline... how far down your list of options would be the idea: should I start a counterfeiting ring? For Jeff Turner that was his number one idea. And that's how he became the King of Counterfeiters. But it's also how Jeff ended up on this show, so clearly there were some challenges he didn't expect. For example, a duplicitous Cleveland heroin dealer. Lees meer
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There Ain't No Cure for the Varsity Blues: Rick Singer
20 november 2025 · 1 uur 4 min
Applying to college. Oh, what a busy time that is for high school students. There are stressors like posing for a fake rowing photo or making sure your SAT ringer spelled your name right on the Scantron. See, while some teens spend all their time studying and participating in activities to get ahead, others spend their parents' cash to game the system. Gotta put that Full House syndication money to good use! Lees meer
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The Flapper Bandit: Rebecca Bradley Rogers
18 november 2025 · 57 min
The 1920s was an era of radical change in the culture. One of the major indicators was the advent of The Flapper –- young women who rejected the previous generations' notions of femininity and embraced their own ideas of modern womanhood. This of course inspired a nationwide moral panic! Enter the Flapper Bandit –– a young woman who rejected previous notions of legality and embraced her own ideas of how to rob a bank... and in the process became a national news story. Lees meer
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Someday We'll Find It: The Pizza Connection
13 november 2025 · 55 min
What's your favorite pizza topping? Pepperoni? Anchovies? A kilo of heroin? If it's the drugs, the Sicilian mob had a pizza parlor for you! They created networks of drug wholesale hubs in modest pizza joints up and down the East Coast. But the FBI is the one that delivered when it came to justice. Lees meer
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America's First Great Bank Robber: George Leonidas Leslie
11 november 2025 · 59 min
When people speak of the first American bank robber, typically, they think of Jesse James. While he may have been the first world famous bandit and bank robber, he was not the most prolific. That was a man named George Leonidas Leslie, the first truly great American bank robber. He was an underground figure, an outlaw folk hero who made his living robbing the original robber barons. Lees meer
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Welcome to the Dollhouse: Velvalee Dickinson
6 november 2025 · 59 min
In wartime, codes and puzzles become a language of warfare. But if you can make a code, someone can break the code. Enter Velvalee Dickinson. She was a lover of costumed porcelain dolls and Japanese culture, and Velvalee was at the center of a truly bizarre doll-based mystery. During World War II, a team of female codebreakers investigated a series of letters from doll-lovers in the US sent to Argentina. The forged letters discussed prized dolls and their visits to doll hospitals. Turns out, the letters were coded messages from a doll-loving spy network. Lees meer
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Warmest Regards, The Leopard: Betty Grable Extortion Letters
4 november 2025 · 57 min
She was America's Sweetheart, a woman whose gorgeous gams kept the antifascist Allied forces going as they won WWII. With talent, humor, beauty, and wit;, Betty Grable was a star. And with stardom comes creeps. And with creeps often comes crime. But if you come for Ms. Grable, you best not miss. Lees meer
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Lord Buckingham, I Presume: Charles Stopford
30 oktober 2025 · 58 min
Florida man unhappy with life. Florida man move to Europe. Florida man change name. Florida man take phony title. Uh oh, Florida man get in trouble. Lees meer
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Say It Ain't So, Joe: The 1919 Black Sox Scandal
28 oktober 2025 · 59 min
What does it take to fix the World Series? You'll need players willing to tank the most important games of their careers, a powerful criminal element, and a solid plan. Well, two out of three's not bad. In 1919, a crew of gamblers convinced members of the Chicago White Sox to throw the World Series in order to make a big payday. This was appealing, since their salaries were meager and treatment was dismal. But the plan was weak as creek water, and the whole plot went on to nearly destroy baseball itself. Lees meer
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Billy Don't Be a Hero: Fyre Fest
23 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 8 min
A modern flim flam artist, Billy McFarland was known for scheming and coming up with ways to make money and have fun doing it. His magnum opus was the epic Fyre Festival. Intended as a luxurious concert on a tropical island, it fell apart before it even began. But not far enough in advance to avoid disappointing and fleecing ticket holders. But at least Ja Rule was there. Lees meer
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McMillions: When Uncle Jerry Rigged the McDonald's Monopoly Game
21 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 6 min
Imagine you have the power to mint millionaires. But to do it you have to engage in crime. Specifically, you have to rig the McDonald's Monopoly game. Now, would you pick as your partners in this crime a made man from the Colombo Crime family and a former cocaine smuggler? If you said yes, you are Uncle Jerry, who did just that! Lees meer
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Jeffrey Alan Manchester: The Roofman Cometh…AGAIN
18 oktober 2025 · 58 min
In honor of the new Paramount Pictures movie Roofman, we’re re-releasing this episode from May 2024. Paratrooper Jeff Manchester used his skills to burgle Corporate America as The Roofman. First, he'd focused on McDonalds and other fast food. Then, like a criminal butterfly, he morphed into a Toys 'R' Us Man who built a secret apartment in an open store –– it was the ultimate inside job. Lees meer
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The Next Wes Anderson Movie: George Weyerhaeuser
16 oktober 2025 · 53 min
Young George Weyerhaeuser was snatched off the street back when kidnapping the child of a wealthy family seemed to be all the rage. Neither horrific nor violent nor ending in tragedy, this kidnapping is an offbeat adventure with a heartwarming ending. Lees meer
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Stephen Jackley: The Wannabe Robin Hood
14 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 4 min
Lots of idealistic young folks come to believe the world is a rigged game run by immoral fat cats. Many get motivated to change the state of things. Some even fantasize about robbing those same fat cats to get even. Stephen Jackley didn't just fantasize, he acted on it. He became a wannabe Robin Hood, a crimer who wanted to rob from the rich to give to the poor. But then life sorta got in the way. Lees meer
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Less Talk, More Rock: The Krupp Diamond
9 oktober 2025 · 56 min
Elizabeth Taylor looooved diamonds. Some had storied histories going back to royal palaces and forgotten empires. Others came from exotic locales. And then there was the Krupp Diamond. Before Liz donned it on her finger, it belonged to the ex-wife of a Nazi. And that's not the craziest part of this story. Lees meer
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Bring Your Gun to Work Day: The Soboba Casino Heist
7 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 1 min
It was just like Ocean's 11...except instead of a stylish crew of longtime pro criminals, it was a guy with a BB gun and another in a Ford Mustang. And instead of the glitz and glamor of Las Vegas, it was Riverside County, California. And instead of jetting off to Europe to hide, the criminals holed up in a Motel 6. So maybe it wasn't just like Oceans 11 when Rolando Ramos and Eric Aguilera went to work at a casino and robbed their employer. But they felt like it was. And that's ridiculous. Lees meer
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The Crimes They Don't Want You to Know: Kevin Trudeau
2 oktober 2025 · 1 uur
Kevin Trudeau was a born salesman...and an excellent con man. He knew exactly how to rope people in with promises of wealth, health, and all around better lives. But as we all know, if something sounds too good to be true, it is. And it's probably a brainchild of ol' Kev. Lees meer
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Eric Edson: The Burlington Bandit
30 september 2025 · 45 min
Sometimes you really just wanna get away –– this week's crimer, Eric Edson, takes that to outlandish and preposterous levels of commitment. Whether on two wheels or four, by land or by sea, either highspeed or slow-rolling, Edson flat out refuses to be caught. It takes a whole consortium of cops, a veritable multiplicty of law enforcement to bring him to justice. Lees meer
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Know When to Hold 'Em: Canada Bill Jones
25 september 2025 · 54 min
Folks, we got us a card sharp. Canada Bill Jones was a three card monte guy, taking rubes for their cash on trains and riverboats across the heart of America. Oddly principled and unrepentant, ol' Bill is a con artist for the ages. Lees meer
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Ryan Borgwardt: The Wannabe Ghost of Green Lake
23 september 2025 · 57 min
Once upon a time... a married man and father of three went online and there he met a mystery woman from Uzbekistan. The two began an internet friendship that blossomed into an online romance. Within months, he and she decided he should fake his death so he could leave his wife and kids behind in Wisconsin and run away to be with her. Obviously, that didn't go down as planned since he's on this show! Lees meer
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The Salad Oil King of New Jersey: Tino De Angelis
18 september 2025 · 52 min
The salad oil business is slippery stuff. Sometimes you have to grease some palms to get what you want. You have to be slick. And you have to trim the fat to keep your business profitable. Lubricating the cogs of international trade...okay, you get the picture. This guy dealt in oil and got himself into serious trouble. Lees meer
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Keith Richards and John Lennon Take an Acid Road Trip
16 september 2025 · 58 min
LSD didn't used to be a street drug, originally it was considered a wonder drug, part of the post-war belief in "better living through chemistry." That's when Hollywood mega-star Cary Grant was a big advocate for the potential of acid. But that all changed in the '60s. This week, we take a groovy psychedelic trip with Carrie Fisher, Marc Maron, and the Grateful Dead to find out how LSD became illegal. Also John Lennon and Keith Richards enjoy an LSD-fueled magical mystery tour through England on their own acid road trip. Lees meer
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Aldi Money in the World: Theo Albrecht
11 september 2025 · 56 min
Theo and Karl Albrecht build a discount food empire. Aldi is known the world over for "the best quality at the lowest price." Bringing bargains to the people is lucrative business, and the Albrecht brothers built their fortunes to astonishing heights. But with great wealth comes great risk, even if you do your very best to stay under the radar. Lees meer
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Patrick Critton: the Black Panther Turned Skyjacking Schoolteacher
9 september 2025 · 54 min
A one-time revolutionary and member of the Black Panthers was the first person to successfully hijack a plane in Canada. That led to a 30-year life on the lam as an international fugitive from justice. And for reasons that only make sense to him, he decided to return to the U.S. and do so using his real name. He would've gotten away with it all if it weren't for that pesky new invention called the Internet. Lees meer
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Put It on My Tab: Anna Delvey
4 september 2025 · 1 uur 2 min
As Billie Jean King once said, "if you can see it, you can be it." Young Anna Sorokin took this to heart. She saw the fabulously wealthy and became one of them... sort of. She conned the social circles of NY’s super rich. She wined and dined with the best of them. But seeing isn't always being. Especially if your transformation involves audacious criminality. Lees meer
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A Fraudulent Aretha Franklin: How Do You Spell Respect?
2 september 2025 · 1 uur
If a New York City hairdresser who looks a little like James Brown comes up to you and says he can make you a star, don't believe him. But Miss Mary Jane Jones had to learn that lesson the hard way –– by playing Florida nightclubs as she pretended to be the real Aretha Franklin. Naturally, that's no way to earn R.E.S.P.E.C.T. But it will certainly get you attention from the law. Lees meer
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Diamonds Aren't Forever: Henri Lemoine
28 augustus 2025 · 49 min
If you boast that you can make diamonds out of burnt sugar, you better be able to deliver. Especially if you're boasting to a diamond magnate whose industry you could destroy. Proving it may include showing your tush, but that's life in the diamond biz. Lees meer
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Don't Fence Me In: Mark DeFriest
26 augustus 2025 · 1 uur 5 min
How does someone get a life sentence for stealing their own tools? Take one part probate, one part rebellion, multiple parts prison escapes, and one part Florida. What you get is the wild tale of Mark DeFriest, the Prison Houdini. Lees meer
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Curate This: Influencer Crimes
21 augustus 2025 · 1 uur
Looking for some engagement with some crime content from the world of social media influencers? Look no further, Rude Dudes! Become brand embassadors to ridiculousness with tales of sob stories, lies, and financial hijinks! #ad Lees meer
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Someone Could've Died! The Best-Ever College Football Pranks
19 augustus 2025 · 54 min
There's Coach John Heisman, bacon grease, rivals Auburn vs. Georgia Tech and the train that nearly wrecked. There's LSU vs. Tulane and the hijacking of the mascot Mike the Tiger, a real live Bengal. There's also Harvard vs. Yale (vs. MIT) and the surprise exploding football field. And finally, the birth of the Legend of the Stanford Axe with its the horseback and wagon chase through San Francisco that gave us The Big Game. It's a wild look at the absurdities of college football rivalries! Lees meer
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The Wheels on the CAN Bus: Car Hacks
14 augustus 2025 · 52 min
Today's automobiles are brimming with technology. Most of the time, that's pretty cool. But it stops being cool when sneaky hackers breach the systems and have a field day. Those are crimes…ridiculous crimes. Lees meer
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Pray For Them: Buddhists Monks Behaving Badly
12 augustus 2025 · 55 min
Buddhist Monks are supposed to be exemplars of the faith. Yet these days there has been a recent slew of headlines wherein the monks and abbots of temples have been caught in sextortion scandals and have been main players for cartel drug smuggling. What's up with all the meth-addicted monks, vow-violating fathers of love children, and not to mention the widespread corruption and embezzlement? These monks are shaking the faith of their followers and the true believers. Lees meer
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The Original Child Star: Jackie Coogan
7 augustus 2025 · 51 min
In the early days of Hollywood, Jackie Coogan made a splash playing a lovable waif in Charlie Chaplin's silent film, The Kid. His groundbreaking performance made him a ton of money. Or rather, it should have, but his parents had other ideas. His life story is full of twists and turns right out of a classic movie, and his legal battle changed the face of Hollywood forever. Lees meer
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Doing Crime to Prove You're Innocent: the Han Van Meegeren Story
5 augustus 2025 · 53 min
He was trained to be a fine art painter. Early on, he was considered “gifted.” But times change, tastes change, and the art world moves on...Han Van Meegeren wanted his revenge for being left behind. His plan: art forgery of the great masters of the past. But then came World War II, and a huge complication, one that meant he had to do crime to prove his innocence. Lees meer
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Call of the Wild: Plant Crimes
31 juli 2025 · 55 min
We are stardust, we are golden. We are billion-year-old carbon. And we've got to get ourselves back to the garden. Unless, of course, you're there to scam or steal. In that case, stay out of the garden, bro. Lees meer
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Close But No Cigar: The Nearly Perfect Dunbar Heist of 1997
29 juli 2025 · 53 min
It was meticulously planned, it was executed brilliantly, their alibis were unimpeachable, their getaway plan was flawless, and their money laundering scheme a thing of beauty. So then, what went wrong? Why the hell are they on this show? The Dunbar Heist of 1997 is one of those crime tales that will make you say: you have got to be kidding me! Lees meer
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Let Me Drive: Violet Charlesworth
24 juli 2025 · 55 min
When a fancy lady rolled into town, she captivated everyone. An heiress-elect, she was about to come into some serious cash, which was exciting! But then tragedy struck. And then mystery. And then drama. A lot of stuff struck. What happened to Violet Charlesworth? Listen to find out! Lees meer
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The Argentine Heist of the Century
22 juli 2025 · 1 uur 3 min
Sewers, pizza, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles –– this one has everything that's cool, comical and subterranean. It was a brilliant plan. It was executed perfectly. That is, until one fatal flaw brought the whole operation crashing down. Lees meer
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Classic RC: Tonight There's Gonna Be a Jail Break: Two Escaper Boys
17 juli 2025 · 53 min
Jack Shepherd was a petty, pretty thief. He wasn't very good at it, so he got caught a lot. And he escaped a lot. Just like Henry More Smith. He, too, couldn't stop stealing and couldn't stop freeing himself from prison life. These guys prove that you can't keep a good (well, at least non-violent) man down. Lees meer
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Classic RC: Just Like in the Movies: The Story of Rédoine Faïd
15 juli 2025 · 41 min
Prolific French bank robber Redoine Faid repeatedly evaded capture then repeatedly escaped imprisonment, entertaining all who heard of his exploits. His Hollywood-style capers were larger than life, just like his audacious public image. But can the authorities ever truly capture the man who has captured a nation's imagination? Lees meer
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Classic RC: Barb and Star Would Never: Judy Amar
10 juli 2025 · 45 min
A thief breaks into luxury homes in tony Boca del Mar. the cops are flummoxed by this brazen burglar. Even more so when they find out it’s a lady thief! How could the Bandit of Boca del Mar be a woman? That’s unthinkable! Hey, anything is possible in Palm Beach County, baby. Lees meer
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Classic RC: Let's Take to the Sea!
8 juli 2025 · 55 min
Sometimes you just need to get away. For a Chinese dissident that meant making a daring escape on a jet ski. For a former cyclist turned "ocean jogger," it meant building himself a human-powered hamster wheel so he could run across the sea. In both cases, these men's choices were crimes, but their methods were... ridiculous! Lees meer
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They Heard it Through the Grapevine: Brinks Jewelry Heist
3 juli 2025 · 55 min
It was a pretty genius plan. Steal gems from a Brinks truck as it made its way from one jewelry show to another. And the heist crew pulled it off…sort of. Seems practice runs can both improve the actual big theft, but also leave a trail of evidence for the feds. Oh, well. Lees meer
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Feather Huntin': The Great Trans-Saharan Ostrich Heist
1 juli 2025 · 1 uur 1 min
Elizabeth, what's your third-favorite bird? On the heels of that question follows one of the strangest tales we've told. It's a globe-trotting, desert-crossing, ostrich-wrangling, feather-lusting, pith-helmeted, African cowboy adventure... with crime! Just how far will a bunch of profit-minded South Africans go to steal a flock of coveted French colonial ostriches? Lees meer
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Ridiculous Crime takes on The Puzzler: Ridiculous Laws
27 juni 2025 · 19 min
Recently, Zaron Burnett and Elizabeth Dutton joined AJ Jacobs on The Puzzler to test their puzzling skills! Lees meer
Join host A.J. Jacobs and his guests as they puzzle–and laugh–their way through new spins on old favorites, like anagrams and palindromes, as well as quirky originals such as “Ask AI” and audio rebuses.
Subscribe to The Puzzler podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
"The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs" is distributed by iHeartPodcasts and is a co-production with Neuhaus Ideas.
Our executive producers are Neely Lohmann and Adam Neuhaus of Neuhaus Ideas, and Lindsay Hoffman of iHeart Podcasts.
The show is produced by Jody Avirgan and Brittani Brown of Roulette Productions.
Our Chief Puzzle Officer is Greg Pliska. Our associate producer is Andrea Schoenberg.
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Mad or Wise: Emperor Norton I
26 juni 2025 · 56 min
If you are dissatisfied with the state of the world, you have to get out there and make some changes yourself. Joshua Norton, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, tried to do just that. He dubbed himself leader and issued proclamations asserting his vision for a better life. Only in San Francisco, California, could a madman be a wise man and a folk hero for the ages. Lees meer
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The Hilarious Hair-Raisin' Crimes of Professional Wigjackers
24 juni 2025 · 1 uur
For centuries, wigs were the look. And in the era of Marie Antoinette, the bigger the better, and the more fantastical, the more whimsical, even better. Industries were built to attend to the many needs of the big wigs of Europe. And there was another industry born of the decadence and hair-based opulence. Enter the professional wigjacker! (Ridiculous crimes guaranteed.) Lees meer
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Have You Seen My Passport: John Stonehouse
19 juni 2025 · 54 min
An idealistic British MP had it all, until a series of bad decisions nearly destroyed his career. But that didn't stop the bad decisions, it only made them worse. Lees meer
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Where's the Beef...the Celebrity Beef?!
17 juni 2025 · 1 uur
Whether it's Steven Seagal versus his pants, or Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere battling over Princess Di, over Tom Hardy going toe-to-toe with Shia LaBoeuf, or the one celeb brief that led to the greatest pop art of the 21st century, this week, we've got the beef... the celebrity beef you need... for a good laugh! Lees meer
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Doing it for the Deeestrict: George Streeter
12 juni 2025 · 56 min
A true sovereign citizen, George Streeter claimed land as his own. Then he made even more of it. The cops and the courts and the fat cats of Chicago couldn't pry him out. Instead, he provided entertainment, vice, and choice quotes to a fabulous city that knows how to celebrate a character. Lees meer
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