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The Idiot

Serial Productions & The New York Times 3 Episodes Apr 16, 2026

The New York Times writer M. Gessen examines their least favorite cousin, Allen, whom they long considered a pompous fool. When Allen is arrested for attempting to hire a hitman to kill his ex-wife, M. struggles to reconcile this shocking act with their perception of him as just an idiot. The podcast explores family, crime, and the limits of understanding.

Episodes

BONUS | M. Gessen on "The Opinions" Apr 16, 2026 00:37:08 On a recent episode of the podcast “The Opinions,” M. Gessen has second thoughts about the future, and Allen’s place in the family. M. talks about their dilemma with their friend Harriet Clark, whose mother, Judy Clark, served 37 years in prison for driving the getaway car in a robbery that led to the deaths of three people. Harriet explains how the adults in her life gave her the opportunity to c

Chapter 5 Mar 26, 2026 00:28:53 Allen will almost certainly be released in a few years. What should M.’s family do with a guy who refuses to own up to his own crime? Can he be re-integrated into the family? Should he be?While M. has grown increasingly compassionate toward Allen, they learn their family has been moving in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, Priscilla has been trying to make a life without Allen. But Allen’s mom ha

Chapter 4 Mar 26, 2026 01:02:44 Allen finally agrees to talk … and talk and talk, for 35 hours of interviews. M. wants to understand Allen on his own terms, to try and figure out how this scion of bohemian intellectuals ended up hiring someone to kill his ex. It’s hard for M. to believe everything Allen says, but over the course of their conversations, M. comes to feel for their cousin. And they think they understand what drove

Chapter 3 Mar 26, 2026 00:50:05 M. attends Allen’s trial in San Francisco. The FBI’s star witness, an agent who went by “David," plays his undercover recordings of Allen. They reveal how Allen’s scheme to deport Priscilla turned into a murder-for-hire plot. Allen is his own star witness, but his attempts to defend himself fall flat in court. M. begins to wonder why they loved seeing Allen humiliated on the stand.To find out

Chapter 2 Mar 26, 2026 00:49:53 M. seeks out Allen’s ex-wife, Priscilla, who tells her side of the story. It begins with a whirlwind romance but quickly turns to chart Allen’s betrayal: taking her son from Russia and stranding Priscilla and her daughter in Moscow. What follows is Priscilla’s two-year odyssey, a journey that includes surviving a brutal attack and shocking arrests in Zimbabwe, only to reach the U.S. and have Allen

Chapter 1 Mar 26, 2026 00:21:43 For decades, M. simply disliked Allen. They saw him as a fool, a pompous “international businessman” who bragged about shady deals and drove fancy cars while living in Eastern Europe and Africa. But one day Allen suddenly shows up at their father’s home in Cape Cod with his mother and 5-year-old son. He says he has separated from his wife, whom he has left behind in Moscow. M. suspects this could

Trailer Mar 17, 2026 00:00:59 The New York Times writer M. Gessen is widely known for their award-winning writing about totalitarianism, terrorism and the erosion of human rights. Now, M. is examining a more personal target: their least favorite cousin, Allen. For decades, they saw Allen as a fool, a pompous ‘international businessman’ who bragged about shady deals. But then Allen is arrested for trying to put a hit out on his

The Idiot

Episodes

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