Deep Cover: The Nameless Man

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Deep Cover is a show about people who lead double lives. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jake Halpern reveals webs of deception and dark underworlds, through interviews with federal agents and convicted criminals. 

Sarah Cavanaugh was many things: A decorated veteran. A Marine who saved her comrades. A young woman fighting cancer. She was stoic, humble, tough. In short: a hero. Sarah was everything people wanted her to be—until she wasn’t. Turns out, no one knew the real Sarah. Not her comrades. Not her wife. No one.  

Lies tend to be fragile, temperamental things. Small ones may flourish, but the big ones die, wilting under their own weight—except in this case. The bigger it grew, the more real it became.

Jake Halpern and acclaimed investigative journalist Jess McHugh unravel an epic six-year deception that upended the lives of countless people.

To this day, much of this story is shrouded in mystery. There was never a trial and most of the people involved, including victims and investigators, have never spoken publicly in any depth.

In the sixth season of Deep Cover: The Truth About Sarah, Jake and Jess interview all of the key sources—including Sarah, herself—to tell this sprawling tale.


 

Season five covers the rise and fall of George Santos, the former Republican Congressman from New York, and the stories—many of which were not true—he told about his life and credentials.

Season four, The Nameless Man, tells the epic tale of two federal agents who investigate a rumor about a murder that supposedly took place 15 years prior. It is also the story of a family searching for answers about why their brother was killed. These two storylines collide in a courtroom in Philadelphia, where murder, memory, and morality go on trial.     

Season three, Never Seen Again, tells the story of two women living on opposite sides of the country, who went missing in the summer of 1999. Seven years later, their stories collided when a small town detective got a tip and became convinced that if he could solve one mystery, he'd solve the other. 

Season two, Mob Land, is about a high-rolling lawyer who joins forces with the feds to try to bring down one of the most powerful criminal syndicates in the country. 

Season one, The Drug Wars, tells the story of an FBI agent who goes undercover with a biker gang, and follows a trail of clues that eventually leads to the US invasion of a foreign country.

Deep Cover drops on Mondays. To hear episodes early and ad-free, subscribe to Pushkin+ in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus.

iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

Recent Episodes
  • Episode 5: The Wife
    Jun 2, 2025 – 40:17
  • Episode 4: The Suspect
    May 26, 2025 – 33:36
  • Episode 3: The Confidante
    May 19, 2025 – 40:43
  • Episode 2: The Poster Child
    May 12, 2025 – 35:44
  • Episode 1: The Warrior
    May 12, 2025 – 40:50
  • Introducing Deep Cover: The Truth About Sarah
    May 5, 2025 – 03:01
  • Episode 4: The Donor
    Aug 28, 2024 – 36:13
  • Episode 3: The Plea
    Aug 21, 2024 – 16:57
  • Episode 2: The Congressman
    Aug 19, 2024 – 37:28
  • Episode 1: The Campaign
    Aug 19, 2024 – 35:22
  • Deep Cover: George Santos
    Aug 15, 2024 – 02:00
  • Unpacking the Verdict
    Jul 29, 2024 – 35:41
  • Behind the Scenes of The Nameless Man
    Jul 1, 2024 – 37:24
  • Episode 6: The Verdict
    May 27, 2024 – 38:58
  • Episode 5: The Trial
    May 20, 2024 – 31:51
  • Episode 4: The Grand Jury
    May 13, 2024 – 32:35
  • Episode 3: The Yearning
    May 6, 2024 – 30:09
  • Episode 2: The Confession
    Apr 29, 2024 – 29:44
  • Episode 1: The Rumor
    Apr 22, 2024 – 39:33
  • The Nameless Man: Deep Cover Season 4
    Apr 10, 2024 – 03:47
  • Camouflage Bias: Part 3
    Feb 12, 2024 – 21:16
  • Camouflage Bias: Part 2
    Feb 12, 2024 – 27:18
  • Camouflage Bias: Part 1
    Feb 12, 2024 – 24:04
  • The Search for Brooke Henson
    Apr 13, 2023 – 33:12
  • Deep Cover Live with Emily Bazelon
    Mar 27, 2023 – 51:45
  • Episode 6: A Shared Name
    Mar 6, 2023 – 40:59
  • Episode 5: The Searchers
    Feb 27, 2023 – 38:17
  • Episode 4: A Very Sophisticated Gal
    Feb 20, 2023 – 28:24
  • Episode 3: The Imposter
    Feb 13, 2023 – 39:12
  • Episode 2: The Star Man
    Feb 6, 2023 – 35:31
  • Episode 1: The Dark Corner
    Jan 30, 2023 – 33:58
  • Never Seen Again: Deep Cover Season 3
    Jan 18, 2023 – 03:03
  • Camouflage Bias: Part 2
    Sep 19, 2022 – 27:18
  • Camouflage Bias: Part 1
    Sep 19, 2022 – 24:04
  • Episode 10: The Witness
    Mar 14, 2022 – 49:25
  • Episode 9: The Vanishing
    Mar 7, 2022 – 38:10
  • Episode 8: The Big Fish
    Feb 28, 2022 – 35:07
  • Episode 7: The Philosopher King ft. Michael Imperioli
    Feb 21, 2022 – 37:34
  • Episode 6: The Breaking Point
    Feb 14, 2022 – 32:06
  • Episode 5: The Babe in the Woods
    Feb 7, 2022 – 29:52
  • Episode 4: The Favorite Son
    Jan 31, 2022 – 38:48
  • Episode 3: The Fix
    Jan 31, 2022 – 45:56
  • Episode 2: The Murder
    Jan 24, 2022 – 46:25
  • Episode 1: The Walk-In
    Jan 24, 2022 – 37:46
  • Deep Cover Season Two Trailer
    Jan 10, 2022 – 03:18
  • The Origin of Ned’s Novel, Plus a Sneak Peek of Deep Cover Season Two
    Dec 23, 2021 – 27:12
  • The Supply Side
    Dec 21, 2020 – 28:04
  • Episode 9: 1989
    Aug 31, 2020 – 43:39
  • Episode 8: The Political Shitstorm
    Aug 24, 2020 – 30:56
  • Episode 7: The Honeymoon is Over
    Aug 17, 2020 – 32:04
Recent Reviews
  • Mike6674
    Uninteresting
    Between the massive amount of ads and a 10 minute intro, you only get maybe 10 minutes of story per episode and the story isn’t even that interesting.
  • Jeminem
    Good Listen
    Good show and keeps my interest well! But does anyone else think that the host sounds like Ryan Reynolds?? Lol
  • csl writes
    The truth about Sarah
    Well structured to keep listeners listening. Really hard to hear Sarah be upset and talk about what she went through during this time, including suicidal ideation, because it’s not clear she’s really taking responsibility for the harm she caused. But her victims are interviewed at length too.
  • Nikky Kelley
    Humm
    How did Sam not know that she never had that scar? If they were intimate and together… She said Sara didn’t want to show her hip as a physical therapist but that makes no sense if they were together… Besides that… The story is interesting but it’s going over the same thing a lot…
  • anna4213
    Fantastic, Should be 5 ⭐️
    I think it’s wrong that ppl can rate a podcast based on ads vs content and affect the rating, skip them. This was top notch, well reported, intriguing, and had a first hand account. A fascinating insight into a fanatical liar.
  • doglover76754
    So glad I found this!
    Excellent podcast. And I don’t do many reviews on the many I listen to!
  • nhgirl724
    Excellent
    Very well done podcast. Well researched and delivered. Highly recommend!
  • EMoss777
    The Truth About Sarah
    I have listened to every season of Deep Cover and this one did not disappoint. Jake is fantastic at storytelling and his co-host this season is excellent. Highly recommend all seasons!
  • krs architect
    Some incredible stories and TRUE
    I enjoy these stories, they are suspenseful and “unbelievable but TRUE. I have liked most all of the stories and series, the one I didn’t. I skipped. I encourage you to check these out and I bet you’ll like them.
  • PJBINKLEY
    Well done
    Riveting and high quality
  • Danielle dee1111
    Season 6
    I haven’t listened to any season but season 6 at this point and I’m hooked. I hope the other seasons are just as enjoyable.
  • TJR-7
    Great Pod
    If you like long form reporting and storytelling this is a great podcast. Well put together. Good pace. The only season I didn’t like as much was season 5
  • Char’s got this
    Sadly interesting
    So many good people in the world willing to help. It’s a shame to see them get burned by this one person. So much to unwind and organize. Good job! Great narrating
  • Hargrove67
    Sarah
    Sarah
  • Shutupaboutthesun!
    Superficial
    No depth to these stories. Insane amount of ads. Unsatisfying.
  • d00dles4science
    Deep Cover!
    Interesting stories especially if you are into psychological stuff and investigative narratives- something beyond your average true crime story. I remember seeing the Esther Reid one on the news! I thought Jake did a great job and enjoyed listening to him outside of Stuff They Don’t Want You To Know! He was perfect for this. Fortunately there is a fast forward button so I am not forced to listen to the ads.
  • bunnyreebs
    Season Six Review
    This story blew me away. Once it was revealed around episode 4 where Sarah worked I actually dropped my mouth open on the train and gasped. Sarah, the liar and scammer is interviewed in the podcast which was interesting because I feel a huge amount of disgust for her. I’m not sure this level of deception is something you come back from on a personal level. What she did to the people in the story is truly shockingly despicable. The hosts letting her speak showed their journalism chops.
  • Longaway
    Drags
    Stories drag. Over reliance on suspense, create empathy and this listener. A little suspense works, too much and the story drags.
  • esj2654
    Nameless victim
    Really excellent investigative journalism. Bravo to the detectives & all of the Philadelphia police for helping to solve this horrible, senseless crime. My heart goes out to Aaron Wood’s family.
  • Nonicknames2
    Ads are insane
    Yet another podcast about a grifter -- think Belle Gibson, Elizabeth Holmes — with a truly indecent amount of ads. Makes it unlistenable.
  • mikewestside
    Fantastic
    Haven't been so interested in a podcast in a long time. Bravo.
  • 00010si
    Be Honest
    You are posing the question “how did this happen” and clearly playing dumb with the answer. It happened because the donor “Kathy” saw a GAY man who she thought could win a blue district and nothing else mattered. He was their u corn and ALL Republicans choose to live in a post-truth world where facts don’t matter. Trump is clearly accepting gifts and stealing money with his scam crypto and Republicans DONT CARE. This is who they are and it will always be.
  • Heesh4
    Ai reviews
    weird..
  • Cousin Isaac
    Best true crime podcast
    I’m only on season 3 but so far this is the best true crime podcast and possibly best podcast I’ve heard. The storytelling and follow up on the wider context is completely engrossing without sensationalizing. 5 stars.
  • Yostbomb
    Too many ads…
    Over 3 minutes of ads before the podcast even begins had me stopping before it even started.
  • EHunt222
    Great Podcast
    I don’t understand why every review on here complains about the ads? SUBSCRIBE OR HIT FAST FORWARD 30 seconds. The amount of time you took to write a negative review about ads is 10-fold what it would have taken you to hit that little fast forward button. I think Sarah’s admission is a continuation of her deception. If everything was rooted in her childhood trauma, and mental health, she wouldn’t have taken MONEY FROM PEOPLE!
  • cherylfoster.uri
    Due Diligence Divulges Deception
    Meticulous investigative reporting pays off in this riveting, psychologically astute Season Six profile of a cunning Stolen Valor criminal. Skilled mastery of case detail is fueled by expertise in the larger context of patterns among those who live fraudulent double lives. The resulting series strips away layer after layer of the insidiously intentional, intertwined lies of fabulist Sarah Cavanaugh, leaving us with the stark dishonor at the heart of her cruel manipulation. Brilliant storytelling, perfectly calibrated to the sonic format here - and cathartic for Veterans who have lived through this or similar stolen valor ruses.
  • Kml646
    Fascinating
    This is a great show on a troubling subject matter. Excellent journalism. I was pleasantly surprised and engrossed.
  • Tdubsters
    Great stuff
    The amount of work that Jake must have put into his research is insane
  • Spring7Boy
    A story about storytellers telling a story
    Meticulous interviews are fashioned to express, understandably of course, much more than the facts— we must hear in a truly heartfelt way how victims feel now, and how they felt then. Surrounding every interview we must also hear how the hosts felt before the interview and how they feel after the interview. The multi-episode narrative suspense— since we know what happened from the beginning— is how the hosts will finally feel about their feelings of applying well-practiced empathy, compassion, and altruism. You hear as much from the perpetrator and victims as you hear from the hosts themselves about their own experience in crafting this detailed show. Their pursuit to understand – – why? Why did she do it? Spoiler alert: at the end they are “baffled”. Like the victims, the hosts now have to live with the facts of what happened regardless of their understanding. Mental health problems are not the fault of the perpetrator, so the highly literate but stealthily smug hosts find themselves struggling with the same cognitive confusion that plagues absolutely everybody in society, who is trying to reconcile good and evil. Sorry, I mean good and bad. How can someone say something but then do something else? Something else that damages and deters the lives of innocent strangers in their sphere. We have the scenario set from the very first episode. All of the victims of this criminal, whether they were intimately, close or duped and dumped, reveal nothing particularly surprising. They emote and of course we feel compassion. What is most frustrating about this work is that it too much serves as an exercise to demonstrate the impressive professional prowess of the hosts that wrote and rode these people’s stories into their own.
  • BT2015
    Absolutely riveting!
    The rich texture of the writing and the amazing storytelling will have listeners spellbound. I could not put the podcast down and finished it within 24 hours of its original release. I think this would make a fascinating movie and I can’t wait to see if that happens! Bravo Jess, Jake and the entire team!
  • LivinInTheSwamp
    A riveting podcast — a remarkable work of art!
    In the conclusion of this tour de force, journalist/producer Jake Halpern notes that ”many of us, myself included, hold on to the perhaps naive hope of pure justice and clean endings, where the good guys win and righteousness prevails.” Yet, it is just such a hope of justice that motivates two investigators, starting with little more than a rumor, to patiently build a case that ends in a murder trial. Journalist/producer Jake Halpern and his brilliant team put us inside the car with the investigators as they approach the rural home of the man they believe is the accomplice to the murder. We are emotionally transported to join the investigators, the accomplice, the victim’s family, and others impacted by the murder. We are along for the ride in the highs and lows of this cold case investigation. I hope that Jake and his team continue their investigations – and give us the privilege of joining them in their remarkable work.
  • shauyanne1994
    Thrilling and Very Well Narrated.
    I loved this. Totally worth it.
  • allie87mallie
    Way too many ads
    Only got 19 minutes into the episode and there were already 3 ad breaks, one of which was almost 2-3 minutes. Unlistenable.
  • Panzollitto
    Underwhelming
    Came for season 4 because NYT best of 2024… BEYOND underwhelming
  • TC main
    Good reporting, unlistenable due to adverts
    Some good reporting but the adverts ruin the whole show and make it totally unlistenable. I would guess over half the episode is adverts. They have tried to deliberately make them blend in too, making them hard to skip. This is a guide for every podcast maker on how NOT to make a podcast. Yes you need to make money but if you make an unlistenable show, no one is there to listen to your adverts . A shame as the journalist knows what they’re doing. Id give 2 stars but it is so deeply hard to enjoy that i will never come back.
  • 2728!:&
    Season 4. Deeply dissapointing
    The number of minutes spent on ads and the sorts of ads are really disorienting. The content on season 4 is reall dissapointing as well. A lot of very slow buildup to a conclusion that amounts to more or less a nothing burger. Can’t believe this was on NYTs best podcasts of 2024.
  • tinternmarissa
    Too many ads
    The ads make this an excruciating listening experience.
  • jilly t
    bizarre ads
    content of the actual show is decent, but the ads are so bizarre, frequent and lengthy that it becomes confusing and not worth the trouble.
  • J.cah
    Earlier seasons are better
    The first few seasons are better than the last few. There are way too many ads, and sometimes the narrative isn’t pushed forward too much. This is especially true in seasons 4 and 5, but the early seasons are great.
  • Postwarrior
    Too slow, too thin
    These episodes have too little content and too much foreshadowing. The episode entitled Grand Jury spent about 20 minutes ruminating over how the testimony and evidence might go over, then just jumps and say they issued an indictment. The rest of the time was ads: pointless, endless, painful and repetitive. If you want to punish those who don’t want to pay for the ad-free version, you are overdoing it.
  • FengLida
    This should have been a movie
    This podcast was at least 50 percent ads and 25 percent, “these questions, after the break” or, “next time…” I listened to the nameless man after seeing it recommended on a list of best podcasts of 2024, but if this is one of the best then we are really in trouble. Similarly to when people complain that a tv series could have been a movie, this would have been a great hour long conversation. Fast forwarding the ads won’t help me, because of all the filler about “the next episode “ etc that is more difficult to skip.
  • Bilas Peles
    Great storytelling destroyed by too many ads
    Deep cover Five star storytelling in between tons of ads. Keep your hands on the fast forward button or all you’ll get is ads. But the storytelling is so very good, it’s almost it. In spite of my ad-phobia, I just had to binge listen to the murder story “Never Seen Again”.
  • MeOLbT
    Too many ads
    More ads than podcast
  • makepatsingmore
    Too many ads
    More ads than content. Sad.
  • Sleepyfel
    Too many ads, too little depth
    I swear this thing is at least half ads. You can barely remember what was happening in the story because of all the ad breaks. The reporting itself does not seem that interesting or groundbreaking either.
  • Cynographer
    Lazy, shallow
    Does not go “deep” in any sense of the term. Omits great scads of widely reported, interesting, contextualizing, and entertainingly salacious background. Unskilled and timid reporting. Loses focus frequently. Much of episode 4 is a recording of the the two principles yakking on the phone with terrible audio quality. Know what has great audio quality? The many, many ads aimed at convincing us that it’s dangerous to leave the house.
  • MegTheHippie
    Boring
    We tried to listen to the 3rd season and felt it didn’t go anywhere. Turned it off because I was falling asleep. No great details or storyline to keep things moving and the audience interested. Maybe try a test audience next time or focus group to see if you grab listeners. Hope you can learn from this. Not being rude, just think it could be told better.
  • renejr525
    so many ads
    i really wanted to listen to this, there was an ad every 3 minutes seemingly. felt like i was only ning to ads.
  • papakila
    Professional malpractice
    This is just flat out crappy journalism. I know more about George Santos than you will learn in this podcast. You probably do too. The producers shamelessly ripped off the actual reporters who dug up all the lies and misdeeds of this man and made it 50% less interesting. There’s nothing here about how the NYT missed the scoop, about Kitara, about the North Shore paper that broke the story BEFORE the election, about elder abuse in Brazil….don’t waste your time. And Malcolm Gladwell better clean house.
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