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The Arts Intel Report

Scamanda

Amanda C. Riley, the subject of the podcast Scamanda.

When Amanda C. Riley learned her life would be cut short by terminal cancer, she was a beautiful, bubbly, and vivacious young woman, the mother of three and a leader in her San Jose church. Her battle—assiduously documented on her blog—was a roller-coaster ride: one minute she was in total remission; the next, she had relapsed and her condition was dire. Luckily, the community rallied behind #TeamAmanda, helping her cover medical expenses to the tune of $100,000 between 2012 and 2019. An inspiring story, except for one small problem: Amanda didn’t have cancer. In the new podcast Scamanda, Charlie Webster tantalizingly retraces Riley’s mind-boggling deception. —Paulina Prosnitz

Photo courtesy of Lionsgate Sound