{"podcast":{"title":"American Thought Leaders","slug":"american-thought-leaders-1056274","podcast_index_feed_id":1056274,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/american-thought-leaders/","website_url":"https://www.theepochtimes.com/podcasts","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/ab93518e-950a-4751-832e-480566fa5ad9/49nazhCbYD-76srv2uuWdJ8Z.jpg","author":"The Epoch Times","episode_count":200,"summary":"At a time when our nation is portrayed as increasingly polarized, media often ignore viewpoints and stories that are worthy of attention. American Thought Leaders, hosted by The Epoch Times Senior Editor Jan Jekielek, features in-depth discussions with some of America’s most influential thought leaders on pertinent issues facing our nation today.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-20T20:18:37.336731+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/american-thought-leaders-1056274"},"episode":{"title":"The Multi-Billion Dollar Industry Using Trafficked Slaves to Scam Americans | Timothy Blackwood","slug":"the-multi-billion-dollar-industry-using-trafficked-slaves-to-scam-americans-timothy-blackwood","published_at":"2026-08-05T01:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/american-thought-leaders-1056274/the-multi-billion-dollar-industry-using-trafficked-slaves-to-scam-americans-timothy-blackwood","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/american-thought-leaders-1056274","url":"https://www.theepochtimes.com/podcasts","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/123d2c40-9b87-48f0-808a-98f20823b32d.mp3","summary":"Americans are ripped off in the billions annually through romance “pig-butchering” scams—the most dominant type. But who’s really behind them? The shocking reality is the vast majority of these scammers are trafficked victims, enslaved across more than 60 countries and forced to scam or face torture. “You’re working 17-hour days. You’re catatonic. You’re not getting sleep. You start to doze. They‘ll electrocute you, and if you refuse to scam, they’ll torture you,” said Timothy Blackwood, an award-winning Canadian-American film director. His film “Scam Slave: From Hell to Home” follows a Ugandan man promised a high-paying job in Thailand, only to be kidnapped by a Myanmar-based crime syndicate. “There’s all different types of scams going on there. There’s villas, there’s strip clubs, there’s clinics to support the staff that are managing and running these compounds,” Blackwood says. These scam centers in Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar generate billions that fund even more advanced operations. “It’s not simply in the horrific statistics of how many billions of dollars are being scammed from Americans annually, but the human cost to people’s lives.” In this episode, I dive into how these operations stay hidden and what can actually be done to stop them. Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.","meta_description":"Americans are ripped off in the billions annually through romance “pig-butchering” scams—the most dominant type. But who’s really behind them? The shockin…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2386,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/american-thought-leaders-1056274/episodes/the-multi-billion-dollar-industry-using-trafficked-slaves-to-scam-americans-timothy-blackwood/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/american-thought-leaders-1056274/the-multi-billion-dollar-industry-using-trafficked-slaves-to-scam-americans-timothy-blackwood.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}