
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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