Holly Frey has released the second installment of her deep dive into historical fraudster E. Virgil Neal. Hosting the episode on Stuff You Missed in History Class, Frey warned listeners right away that they need to be caught up to understand the conclusion. "This is an instance where you really do have to listen to the first part before you jump into this one, or it's not gonna make any sense," Frey cautioned.
Alongside co-host Tracy V. Wilson, Frey picked up the narrative "right in the middle of the fraud case against E. Virgil Neal's company, Force of Life." The episode details the legal fallout of the company's "completely bogus treatments that it advertised and sent consumers through the mail."
While the podcast usually balances historical antics with lighthearted banter, the focus here remains strictly on Neal's bizarre transition from mail-order charlatan to a seemingly legitimate businessman. Frey teased that the episode would ultimately "get to the company that finally shifted Neal into a position as a head of a pretty respected" business, tracking a strange arc of reinvention.