Corruption is usually hidden. But sometimes, it’s out in the open — either by design, or by incompetence. In this episode, we explore some unexpected hotspots of corruption and kleptocracy. How does a fugitive Malaysian playboy who allegedly stole…

Christopher Blair has been called the Godfather of Fake News. He’s an American troll. And whether you realized it or not, you’ve probably unknowingly read a fake news article that he’s written, cooked up on his computer in rural Maine. So we traveled…

When a brutal dictatorship collapses, there’s a big problem: everyone who knows how to run the government is someone who worked for the brutal dictator. It’s a battle of pragmatism vs. justice. Should Nazi civil servants be allowed to keep their jobs?…

If you’re trying to consolidate power as a dictator, what’s the best way to go about it? Is it better to be feared or loved? How do you eliminate your enemies? We’ll speak to Garry Kasparov, former world chess champion who now plots his moves…

Mercenaries are sometimes described as “the world’s second oldest profession.” But how do they operate today? Can mercenary armies topple dictatorships? Why did one mercenary plot get duped by a Congolese con artist who invented a fake rebel group?…

Propaganda has been around for thousands of years. But what separates the pros from the amateur propagandists? Why are North Korean radios made without dials? Who is Sister Potato and why is the Chinese government using her to convince people to eat…

Come explore the dark side of power as we travel across the globe meeting the often unsavory characters who inhabit the hidden world of mercenaries, propaganda, biological weapons, information warfare and trolls, dirty money, psychopaths, corruption,…

To end our first season we look at Nepotism. What’s it like to be the son or daughter of a dictator? Why did one dictator’s son go from a high-flying life playing football in Italy to being shorn like a sheep in the hands of rebels? Why did the…

What makes ordinary people commit extraordinarily violent acts? Is it their brain chemistry? Social pressure? Or a charismatic leader telling them it’s their patriotic duty? In this episode, we explore the morality of a scientist who gave life to…

When you think of heists, you probably think of masked men, bank robbers, and priceless art. But governments carry out heists, too. In this episode, we explore a billion dollar bank heist carried out by North Korean hackers; a heist carried out by a…