What’s it like to be held by Somali pirates for 977 days? Or to meet your Dad for the first time after he’s been held in a basement in Beirut for nearly 7 years? Are you more likely to be killed as a hostage if you’re American than if you’re French?…

Disinformation is a powerful weapon. It forces your enemy to inflict damage upon themselves based upon lies that you’ve deliberately spread. How did a homeless man’s corpse help win World War II? How does reality television function in Russia, given…

Why did a West African rebel leader send his troops into battle completely naked, protected only by talismans? How did threats of voodoo and invisible zombies stave off a US invasion of Haiti? And why was a journalist nearly killed when local…

How have drugs been used in warfare? Why does the cocaine in London nightclubs pass through a dictatorship in West Africa? Why did British soldiers get high on hallucinogens and try to talk to birds? How does heroin bought in the West create a market…

How do you rig an election—and get away with it? Why did a cult try to poison an entire county to win a local election? And what about using disappearing ink, or threatening arson, or name doubles? This episode shows how the amateurs rig…

Does power corrupt? Absolutely. This is the podcast about the hidden—and often nefarious—forces that shape our world. Election rigging. Smuggling. Narcopolitics. Ransom. Conspiracy Theories. North Korean bank heists. Cults. Drug Lords. Voodoo….