The Circus Singer

When a Russian-born American citizen named Ilya Beloozerov is gunned down by the FBI in 2024, the authorities refuse to say why they’d killed him. CNN’s Isabelle Chapman embarks on a sprawling investigation that takes her from the Mississippi parking lot where he died to Washington, D.C. to unravel the mystery: Why did Ilya abruptly leave his family and his job and head for the border with laptops and cash? Why is there still no official explanation of his death? And maybe most importantly: Was Ilya a spy? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A prosecutor tells Jacque Hollander that powerful people don’t want James Brown’s death to be investigated. Jacque hears back from the CIA as to whether or not the agency has a file on her, and Thomas Lake examines Brown’s possible affiliation to the CIA. Ghost calls again, demanding Lake stop his reporting. The duffel bag Jacque turned over to the prosecutor disappears, while Jacque continues her search for the truth about the deaths of James Brown and his third wife, Adrienne. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jacque Hollander takes the duffel bag to a prosecutor in Georgia who agrees to look into the circumstances of James Brown’s death. We learn that right before he died, the Godfather of Soul wanted to move to New York City. But one member of Brown’s inner circle doesn't want him to leave South Carolina. Thomas Lake digs deeper into Brown’s closest advisors to find out why, and flies to California to talk with a woman who may know more about Brown’s last moments alive. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jacque Hollander suspects a backup singer for James Brown is involved in his death death. The singer vehemently denies this and says Jacque misunderstood a story she heard. Brown’s lawyer asks Jacque to pick up a duffel bag from a storage unit that contains things from James Brown’s final days. A man named Ghost asks if the duffel bag contains poison used to kill James Brown. Brown’s lawyer initially tells Jacque to throw the bag into a lake before telling her to contact authorities. Jacque makes an appointment to bring the duffel bag to a prosecutor. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The detective investigating Adrienne Brown’s death gets a tip from an informant who says a doctor in California is responsible for Adrienne’s untimely death. Thomas Lake visits this doctor to ask if he killed Adrienne Brown. Meanwhile, one of James Brown’s friends says he has a vial of blood which proves that the Godfather of Soul was murdered. And when Jacque Hollander gets a threatening phone call, she thinks it’s from someone who wants her to keep quiet about James Brown’s death. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices