How Russian Tricksters Duped the US Fed Chief (feat. Josh Gondelman, Katherine Blanford and Adam Gilbert)

How Russian Tricksters Duped the US Fed Chief (feat. Josh Gondelman, Katherine Blanford and Adam Gilbert)

From Disclosure by Bloomberg

October 28, 2025 · 41 min

About this episode

Investigative reporter Jason Leopold uncovers how Russian pranksters tricked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell into a video call with an impersonator.

One morning in April 2023, investigative reporter Jason Leopold wakes to a wild bit of news. According to a video released by a duo of Russian pranksters, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has been tricked into taking a video call with a Volodymyr Zelenskiy impersonator. How could this happen? Jason files a public records request, and documents from the Fed reveal the backstory ... that unfolds like a movie for your ears. Fed emails read by comedians Josh Gondelman, Katherine Blanford and Adam Gilbert. Musical appearance (in Jason's head) by Fugazi. For access to episodes early and ad-free, subscribe at www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions/podcasts See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Host: Jason Leopold

Guests: Josh Gondelman, Katherine Blanford, Adam Gilbert

Topics covered

  • Russian pranksters
  • Federal Reserve
  • impersonation
  • investigative journalism
  • comedy
  • public records

Keywords

  • Russian pranksters
  • Jerome Powell
  • Volodymyr Zelenskiy
  • public records
  • comedy
  • investigative journalism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Federal Reserve, Fugazi

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