Show Notes
Go to http://selectquote.com/mariana to save more than 50% on term life insurance.
Kari Ferrell became known as “The Hipster Grifter” after her cons went viral. In this episode of The Hidden Third, Kari joins me to talk about how her scams worked — from bad checks to stealing from friends and lying about being a cancer survivor — and how things escalated after she moved from Salt Lake City to New York City, where she landed a job at VICE.
We dig into what was driving her at the time, how easy it can be to manipulate trust, and what it’s like to become a public villain on the early internet. Kari walks us through the consequences, the fallout, and what accountability and rebuilding look like when your name becomes synonymous with a grift.
Subscribe for more conversations from the underworld.
ABOUT THE HIDDEN THIRD: From Emmy and Peabody Award–winning journalist Mariana van Zeller comes THE HIDDEN THIRD, a weekly dive into the underground markets that quietly power a third of the global economy. Every episode, Mariana sits down with people who know these worlds firsthand - the hustlers, smugglers, scammers, kingpins, and those trying to shut them down. The series reveals how they function, why they endure, and the profound ways they impact us all.
THE HIDDEN THIRD:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoCiI8nJacn8gDiHxr6aQGA
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehiddenthirdpodcast
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hidden-third/id1845989117
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3n1BBoj3BgVuEYaiZ6SotF
MARIANA:
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mariana_vanzeller
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marianavz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from The Hidden Third
Start your free trial of Perplexity Computer today at https://pplx.ai/hiddenthird and experience the next phase of AI. #ad
Get 15% off OneSkin with the code MARIANA at https://www.oneskin.co/MARIANA #oneskinpod
Go to https://meetfabric.com/HIDDENTHIRD and apply today, risk-free
Disclaimer: Marilyn Manson, whose legal name is Brian Warner, has denied Evan Rachel Wood’s allegations. He has previously said that her claims are “horrible distortions of reality” and that his intimate relationships were consensual. In January 2025, Los Angeles County prosecutors announced that no criminal charges would be filed following a four-year investigation, stating that the domestic-violence allegations fell outside the statute of limitations and that they could not prove sexual-assault charges beyond a reasonable doubt. The DA’s office also said it “recognize[s] and applaud[s] the courage and resilience” of the women who came forward, noting that their advocacy helped bring greater awareness to the challenges faced by survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault.
Join The Hidden Third Patreon today: https://patreon.com/TheHiddenThird