The Compendium: An Assembly of Fascinating Things

McMillions exposed how McDonald’s Monopoly was quietly hijacked, turning “random” winners into a pattern the FBI could not ignore.

It started with a tip that sounded like sour grapes, but then the FBI noticed something odd: all the winners were connected. The lead led to the realisation that the McDonald’s Monopoly game was rigged, and had been for most of its existence. And the man behind it was Uncle Jerry, Jerry Jacobson. What emerged was a secret FBI initiative dubbed Operation Final Answer, and a co-ordinated national sting.

Topics include


Jerry Jacobson and the inside job at the heart of McDonald’s Monopoly


How game pieces were stolen, swapped, and funnelled to “winners”


The St Jude prize story and why it made perfect cover


Operation Final Answer and the FBI’s plan for simultaneous arrests


Simon Marketing and the blind spots that let it run for years

Resources and Further Reading

McMillions (2020) - TV Mini Series

McDonalds Monopoly Scam - Wikipedia

Host & Show Info
Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
Intro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland
Community & Calls to Action
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Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
Website: TheCompendiumPodcast.com
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The Chowchilla bus kidnapping began like any school run, then veered into a buried alive ordeal no one could have imagined.

One moment a group of kids are arguing about snacks, the next they are being marched off a bus by men who clearly skipped Kidnapping 101. While the town panics, the abductors bungle their own plan and promptly disappear, leaving 27 people trapped underground with no idea what happens next. What unfolds is a mix of fear, grit, and surprisingly resourceful thinking as the captives take matters into their own hands.

 

Topics include


Chowchilla


Michael Marshall


Ed Ray


Buried alive schoolchildren


Largest child kidnapping case in US history

Resources and Further Reading

 

1976 Chowchilla kidnapping -  Wikipedia

Edward Ray - The City Of Chowchilla

They’ve Taken Our Children, 1993 - by Vern Gillum

The ballad of the Chowchilla bus kidnapping - Vox

Chowchilla bus kidnapping - Rare photos CBS

Host & Show Info
Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
Intro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland
Community & Calls to Action
Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple Podcasts
Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
Website: TheCompendiumPodcast.com
Support us: Sign up to Patreon
Certified Freaks: Submit your job Descriptions
Share this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favourite takeaway.

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The Suffolk Strangler turned Ipswich into a locked-door city. Five women vanish from the red light district and the road home becomes a crime scene.

In December 2006, the Ipswich murders unfold at terrifying speed as five women are found dumped on rural roads outside the town. Panic turns the streets silent, while the women at the centre of the story are reduced to headlines instead of humans. Inside Operation Sumac, detectives chase CCTV footage, a Ford Mondeo, DNA evidence and forensic fibres to close in on Steve Wright.

Topics include


Steve Wright and the Suffolk Strangler timeline


The Ipswich serial killer panic and the city’s response


Life and risk inside the Ipswich red light district


How was Steve Wright caught using CCTV footage and DNA evidence


What the case reveals about who gets protected in Ipswich

Resources and Further Reading

Ipswich serial murders -  Wikipedia

Wright guilty of Suffolk murders - The Guardian

Murder in the Red Light - Apple TV

Host & Show Info
Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
Intro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland
Community & Calls to Action
Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple Podcasts
Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
Website: TheCompendiumPodcast.com
Support us: Sign up to Patreon
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In June 2002, a Federal Heights neighbourhood wakes to panic as the investigation stalls and fractures. With suspicion falling on handyman Richard Ricci, the Smart family turns to the spotlight and America’s Most Wanted. The search may end, but the legal fight begins, with an insanity defence and Elizabeth forced to reclaim her voice.

Topics include

Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, and the belief system behind the control

Salt Lake City, the LDS Church, and the media storm around the case

America’s Most Wanted, the sketch, and the moment Elizabeth was recognised

Aftermath, testimony, and survivor advocacy

Would you like to move on to the next prompt?

Host & Show Info
Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
Intro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland
Community & Calls to Action
Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple Podcasts
Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
Website: TheCompendiumPodcast.com
Support us: Sign up to Patreon
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Two men stalk Los Angeles at night, dumping bodies across the hills as police scramble to understand a pattern of terror unfolding in plain sight.

This episode examines the Hillside Stranglers case, following Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono as their murders gripped Los Angeles in the late 1970s. We explore how victims were selected, the pressure mounting on investigators, the bizarre multiple personality defence attempt, and the Veronica Compton plot that nearly derailed justice before the case finally collapsed in on itself.

Topics include


The Hillside Strangler murders


Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono


Victim targeting and dumping sites


The failed multiple personality defence


The Veronica Compton copycat plot

Resources and Further Reading

The Hillside Strangler – Wikipedia

Kenneth Bianchi – Crime & Investigation UK

Angelo Buono Jr. Biography & Crimes – Murderpedia

Host & Show Info
Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
Intro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland
Community & Calls to Action
Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple Podcasts
Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
Website: TheCompendiumPodcast.com
Support us: Sign up to Patreon
Certified Freaks: Submit your job Descriptions
Share this episode with a friend! If you enjoyed it, tag us on social media and let us know your favourite takeaway.

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