ENCORE: Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker: The God Fraud | Part 1 | 138
Scamfluencers
Wondery
4.1 • 7K Ratings
🗓️ 30 December 2024
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This month a musical featuring a Scamfluencers alum closed its doors on Broadway. Tammy Faye featured music by Elton John and told the story of a televangelist who stole America’s heart with her humor, earnestness, and impressive eye makeup. You may no longer be able to see the musical, but we’re giving you the next best thing: a return to our own coverage of Tammy Faye and her husband, Jim.
Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker get their start in Christian broadcasting in the early 1960s and quickly become television superstars. As their fame explodes, they build an empire complete with their own network, a theme park, and a super-sized luxury lifestyle for themselves. But when their spending – and their scandals – get out of control, they’ll face their own judgment day.
This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault. If you or someone you know is a survivor looking for resources, call the U.S. National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-H-O-P-E.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, scam influencers listeners. If you're as hooked on these jaw-dropping schemes as we are, |
| 0:04.7 | you'll love Wondry Plus. Think of it as you're all access past the world of scams. |
| 0:09.4 | Add-free episodes, early access, and exclusive deep dives that uncover even more shocking details. |
| 0:15.5 | Don't just listen. Emmerse yourself in the chaos with Wondry Plus. |
| 0:19.5 | Sarah, when you come to visit New York, do you ever go to see any Broadway musicals? |
| 0:24.1 | You know what's crazy? |
| 0:25.4 | I have never gone to see a Broadway musical in all of my visits. |
| 0:29.3 | I feel like no one will take me. |
| 0:31.1 | I'll take you? |
| 0:32.8 | Oh my God, please. |
| 0:33.7 | I want to see cats. |
| 0:34.4 | Well, what if it was a Broadway show about one of our scam influencer alums, specifically |
| 0:39.8 | Tammy Faye Baker, who we covered along with her husband Jim a year ago? |
| 0:44.7 | The musical follows her rise to Christian TV stardom, the scandalous fall when Jim was discovered |
| 0:49.8 | ripping off his congregants, and Tammy's reinvention as AIDS activist and queer icon. |
| 0:55.7 | Oh, and the music is by Elton John. |
| 0:58.5 | Okay, that is absolutely crazy that Elton John did the music for this. I had no idea. |
| 1:03.9 | Well, Sarah, it seems like we've missed our chance to see this one because Tammy Fay closed in December. |
| 1:09.4 | But I'm going to give you the next best thing |
| 1:11.2 | to actually seeing her story live. |
| 1:13.4 | And that's a return to our episode |
| 1:15.6 | on this truly over-the-top televangelist duo. |
... |
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