So you’ve watched The Tinder Swindler and don’t quite know what to do with yourself now? To be honest, us too.

We’ve trawled Twitter for memes, became even more outraged at Simon Leviev’s Instagram brazenness and have even gone back to watch the documentary again, purely just to revel in Ayleen’s epic takedown.

The true crime documentary has become the focal talking point in the last week, mainly because of the lesser-known facts around romantic scamming, love bombing and fraud. It’s a shocking insight into how a master manipulator can deceive many and go undetected for years.

Well if, like us, watching The Tinder Swindler piqued a certain kind of interest that you’re yet to push to the back of your mind, we have some good news.

The Making Of A Swindler is the new companion podcast that we literally didn’t know we needed but are eternally grateful for. 

The special three-part investigative podcast is hosted by the film’s director and producer, Felicity Morris and Bernadette Higgins, and aims to give us an even deeper look into the ludicrous events of the Netflix documentary.

Produced by RAW, the same team that made the film, the episodes are part of Netflix’s popular documentary podcast, You Can’t Make This Up. It “digs deeper into the life and methods of the infamous Tinder Swindler, with each episode exposing more of his lies and the people who actively – or unwittingly – supported him,” according to the synopsis.

“We learn about the mistakes he made, and the lessons he learned, going all the way back to his childhood.”

Having already torn through the first two episodes, we can assure you that this podcast doesn’t just regurgitate what the documentary already did a great job of laying out for us. Oh no. The Making Of A Swindler exposes further lies, cons and people Leviev hurt in the process of his elaborate scams.  

In the first episode, The Theatre Of The Con, we listen as the hosts take a deep-dive into the entourage that surrounds Simon – including the enigmatic Peter, who appears to be Leviev’s bodyguard. We hear directly from Jamal, a former London-based driver of Simon’s who still feels so emotional about his involvement three years later, he actually has to take a break in the podcast.

The second episode, Who Is The Real Simon?, digs into the mind and methods of the swindler. What could motivate him? Who else has he hurt in the process? It’s something that’s unpacked with the help of a forensic psychologist who specialises in con artists, to better understand the psychology behind what is known as “the love con”.

One of the most startling things within the podcast is also just how personal these scams are – something we know from watching The Tinder Swindler but is driven home even more in the podcast. Simon uses love but obviously not just in the romantic sense – perhaps in the way he manipulates his friendships is even more shocking. We hear from another woman who he managed to con and the tale is just another wild addition to the never-ending swindler nightmare. 

We also even get to hear more of those lengthy (and very dark) voicenotes he sent to Ayleen to get a better picture of Leviev’s multiple personalities.

It’s insightful, very easy to listen to and will satiate your need to investigate more about The Tinder Swindler.

Episodes one and two of The Making Of A Swindler are now available to listen to on all podcast streaming platforms, with episode three coming out on 16 February. 

Image: Netflix