Listener sentiment
PRETEND remains broadly beloved among its core audience, with most recent ratings glowing and listeners repeatedly praising host Javier Leiva's empathetic interviewing, tenacious reporting, and knack for surfacing scams and fraud stories that other outlets ignore. The serialized deep-dives are the show's strongest asset — the LaDonna Humphrey, Stalker, and Abagnale investigations are cited as binge-worthy standouts, and the recent Gypsy Rose Blanchard series (including hours of Leiva's direct interviews and his review of medical records) has both drawn new subscribers and stirred his most vocal fans. Dissent clusters around three recurring themes: a minority of former fans say the show has grown politically slanted or too heavy on ads (particularly politically sensitive advertisers), and a persistent thread questions Leiva's research rigor, citing factual errors, thin sourcing, and mispronounced names. The Gypsy Rose coverage itself has polarized listeners, with some arguing Leiva is too sympathetic toward Blanchard and overlooking contradictory evidence from her prison calls. Even devoted fans flag feed organization — episodes from different seasons scattered across one feed, making bingeing in order harder than it should be.
Apple4.5 · 638
Summary generated Oct 5, 2026
