Overview of Chameleon: The Weekly
Chameleon: The Weekly is a new true-crime/Deception podcast from Campside Media and Audiochuck, hosted and co‑created by Josh Dean (The Clearing, Hooked, White Devil). The show focuses on real-world scammers, con artists, imposters and the small, bizarre ways people reinvent themselves to steal, manipulate or survive. Each week delivers a twisty, jaw‑dropping story that blends crime reporting with mystery — often feeling “Almost Famous meets Catch Me If You Can.” Premiere date: November 13; new episodes weekly; available wherever you get podcasts.
Key themes and tone
- Deception as performance: profiles of people who put on a persona and get away with it for a time.
- Crime meets mystery: many episodes involve theft, fraud, impersonation, and unanswered questions (sometimes possible murder).
- Psychological focus: exploration of why con artists succeed and how they manipulate trust.
- Cinematic, narrative-driven storytelling — suspenseful and dramatic.
Notable stories and examples teased
- A thief who stole gems from Harvard to repay Princeton after defrauding them — discovered during an apartment raid.
- Someone who taught himself to fly small airplanes, survived despite crashing five planes.
- An incident that “really burned the city down for a couple of weeks.”
- A 14‑year‑old masquerading successfully as a police officer.
- A host’s reflection that evidence made him suspect a subject “might have murdered someone and hid the body.”
- A personal, gritty moment: an interviewee retrieving a gun from a safe out of fear a “meth head’s going to come and kill me.”
Notable quotes (from the trailer)
- “We are living in a golden age of deception.”
- “Either you get what you want or you get a really good story for the rest of your life.”
- “He’s like a chameleon.”
- “These stories are, for the most part, crimes. But they’re also mysteries.”
Format & release details
- Weekly episodes, each focused on a single story or con.
- Narrative investigative approach with interviews and reporting.
- Produced by Campside Media and Audiochuck; hosted by Josh Dean.
- Premiere: November 13; available on major podcast platforms.
Who should listen
- True‑crime fans who enjoy character-driven stories and psychological insight.
- Listeners drawn to tales of fraud, impersonation, and audacious criminality.
- Fans of narrative journalism and serialized investigative shows.
Main takeaways
- Chameleon promises high‑stakes, cinematic true stories about deception and imposture.
- The series blends crime reporting with mystery and psychological analysis.
- Expect vivid characters, shocking reveals, and ethically ambiguous outcomes.
Available November 13th — subscribe on your preferred podcast platform to catch each weekly episode.