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2. Eyes Wide Open

Vicky Baker investigates the story of fraudulent medium Lamar Keene, as he as he learns the tricks of the trade and takes his first steps on the crooked road of fraud.

If you wanted to speak with the dead in 1960s America, there was one man who was ready to help. For more than a decade, Lamar Keene was at the top of his game, becoming known as the Prince of Spiritualists. Then, quite suddenly, he turned his back on it all.

But Lamar Keene didn't go quietly. He published a tell-all expose in which he confessed that he was little more than a conman, a psychic fraudster, who manipulated people in their most vulnerable moments. And in doing so, he catalogued the many physical and psychological tricks he used to separate his followers from their money.

It wasn鈥檛 just his own carefully-crafted reputation that Lamar Keene sought to destroy. He wanted to blow the whistle on the whole industry. He claimed that he had been part of a national underground network that included many other psychics, clairvoyants and mediums, who combined forces to fleece the unsuspecting public. He called it the 鈥減sychic mafia,鈥 and said that his confession made him a marked man.

But how much can we trust the revelations of a self-confessed conman? How much of Lamar Keene鈥檚 extraordinary story is really true? And what can it tell us about how our emotions affect belief and our susceptibility to misinformation?

In a series that mixes documentary with drama, Vicky Baker (Fake Heiress) takes a deep dive into Lamar Keene鈥檚 stranger-than-fiction life story.

Episode 2 Cast:

Lamar . . . . . Edward Hogg
Raoul . . . . . Tom Mothersdale
Kate . . . . . Tillie Murray
Mrs Phillips . . . . . Jasmine Hyde
Dorothy . . . . . Lorelei King
Lillian . . . . . Christine Kavanagh

Written and reported by Vicky Baker
Drama written by Nick Perry
Sound design by Peter Ringrose
Produced by Sasha Yevtushenko
A 大象传媒 Audio production for 大象传媒 Radio 4

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44 minutes

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