Show Notes
In 1981, REO Speedwagon’s airplane landed outside of Varnamtown, a remote town in North Carolina. The cargo: a massive amount of drugs from Barranquilla, Colombia. The shipment revealed a startling connection between Colombia and Varnamtown, population 300. Did Pablo Escobar really do a deal en masse with the entire town? Kyle MacLachlan and investigative journalist Joshua Davis begin their journey into the swampy backwaters of the coastal South to uncover the truth.
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More from Varnamtown
Deep Cover is a show about people who lead double lives. Season four, The Nameless Man, tells the epic tale of two federal agents who investigate a rumor about a murder that supposedly took place 15 years prior. It is also the story of a family searching for answers about why their brother was killed. These two storylines collide in a courtroom in Philadelphia, where murder, memory, and morality go on trial.
In our final episode, we hear from Mike Easley, the guy who prosecuted the locals in Varnamtown and eventually became governor of North Carolina. In the end, was Varnamtown a major transshipment site for Pablo Escobar’s cocaine? Or was the whole thing a giant ruse that Dale Varnam concocted to entertain his friends and neighbors?
At long last, we venture inside Fort Apache, the town within a town constructed by Dale Varnam. For months, we have heard about Dale’s reputed deal with Pablo Escobar, the deal that transformed Varnamtown. Now we’ll venture inside Dale’s lair in search of the truth. But can he be trusted? And why does everyone have a different perspective on him?
Corey Duber, a cop from Brooklyn, arrives in Varnamtown to take down Dale Varnam’s drug empire. He wins Dale’s trust and suddenly Dale starts naming names…a lot of them.
Mike Grimes expands the REO Speedwagon investigation and discovers layers of corruption all around Varnamtown, from the Sheriff's office to within Roger Morton’s family. We delve into the Shakespearean tragedy of Roger’s relationship with his brother Duane, a local “clam cop.”