Shows / The Underworld Podcast
The Underworld Podcast
Underworld exposes the secret world of transnational criminal networks that have flourished since there were banks to bust, drugs to smuggle, and scams to run. Journalists Danny Gold and Sean Williams bring their experience reporting on dangerous people and organizations to take listeners on a global tour of mobsters, warlords and crooks - from Brooklyn to Beijing, from the streets to the boardrooms - and everywhere in between. Underworld is a show about heroes, villains, and the barely visible…
Episodes
- The Underworld Podcast
The Narco-paramilitaries of Northern Ireland
For generations, northern Ireland has been no stranger to armed militant groups willing to dispense violence. But whereas those groups once fought over…
- The Underworld Podcast
Acid, Greasers, Hippies and Violence: The Brotherhood of Eternal Love
With slick hair, a wry smile and a penchant for violence, John Griggs was the picture of a Sixties California greaser. His gang caused chaos across Anaheim…
- The Underworld Podcast
The Jamaican Posses Take Over America: Kings of the Crack Era
The Wall Street of Patrick Bateman was just ramping up, and rap had taken over the Bronx and Brooklyn as Jamaican-American deejays like Kool Herc were…
- The Underworld Podcast
Calabria’s ‘Ndrangheta vs the Good Mothers with Alex Perry
For decades the ‘Ndrangheta rose to become the world’s most powerful organized crime group—and barely anybody knew who they were. Then the deaths and defiance…
- The Underworld Podcast
The Rise of Jamaica's Warring Gangs & Bob Marley's Attempted Assassination
In the 1960's, Jamaica's leading politicians saw an opportunity in the street gangs that were forming up in Kingston's slums. Pretty soon, each gang leader…
- The Underworld Podcast
Australia's Brutal Gang Families Waging War in Sydney
Sydney has long been Australia’s “Sin City”, a pot of gold for crooks with the right connections and friends in the police. But over the past two years an…
- The Underworld Podcast
The International Kingpins: Montreal's Rizzuto Family
International organized crime has rarely seen a figure as powerful and connected as Vito Rizzuto, Montreal's underworld king. When his father Nic left Italy…
- The Underworld Podcast
How FIFA’s Godfather and Brazil’s Biggest Gangster Forged a Deadly Alliance, ft. Conor Powell
Castor de Andrade might just be the most powerful mobster you’ve never heard of. Born into a life of crime in Rio’s suburbs, he graduated from local lotteries…
- The Underworld Podcast
Introducing: The Last Resort
The Last Resort explores big, crazy, dangerous ideas – ideas that no one took seriously, but which may now be our best options. What would actually happen if…
- The Underworld Podcast
Japanese Schoolgirl Gangs and Kamikaze Bikers: How an Assassin’s Sword Kicked off a Criminal CountercultureDraft Episode for Dec 13, 2022
When a fascist killer plunged his sword into Japan’s socialist leader on live TV, few could have predicted its consequences. But gangs of sailor-suited ‘girl…
- The Underworld Podcast
Sex Money Murda, Pistol Pete and the United Blood Nation (and Young Thug!)
This is the story of Pistol Pete, one of the most revered killers to ever walk the streets of New York City, who found infamy after the small click he founded…
- The Underworld Podcast
Scammers, Traffickers and Bribes: The Dirty, Criminal Secrets Plaguing FIFA’s World Cup in Qatar - featuring Philippe AuclairDraft Episode for Nov 29, 2022
As things heat up in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Sean meets soccer journalist Philippe Auclair in a London pub (of course) to talk about the many crimes…
- The Underworld Podcast
The Brazilian Prison Gang Dominating South America: The PCC
In less than 3 decades, a Brazilian gang formed during a prison soccer tournament has become one of, if not the most powerful gang in all of Latin America…
- The Underworld Podcast
BONUS: George Chidi on Atlanta's Rap Murder Spree
Sean met Atlanta crime reporter George Chidi to talk about the city's rap labels and their role in its spiraling gang violence—from Young Thug and Lil Baby to…
- The Underworld Podcast
Update: Sean *Did Not* Get Kidnapped for Unpaid Cricket Bets
We've got new episodes ready to go. We hear you guys. SOON. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- The Underworld Podcast
The Slave Armies Powering a New Kind of Golden Triangle Cybercrime
When the pandemic took punters from Southeast Asia’s most notorious gambling dens, their gangster owners turned to the web, entrapping thousands of unwitting…
- The Underworld Podcast
Felix Mitchell:The Druglord That Took On The Black Panthers, and Oakland's Kingpin Wars
Felix "The Cat" Mitchell was like nothing Oakland had ever seen before. He took over the city's heroin market from, wholesale to retail, driving exotic cars…
- The Underworld Podcast
The Death of "God's Banker", the Vatican, a Pope's Murder, Mafia Plots and a Secret Masonic Coup
When Roberto Calvi's body was found swinging from a London bridge in 1982 it sent shockwaves through the religious, financial and criminal worlds. But who…
- The Underworld Podcast
The Jewish & Redneck Gangsters that Beat the KKK: Charlie Birger w/ Jake Hanrahan
In the era of prohibition, Charlie Birger built a bootlegging and gambling empire in southern Illinois, otherwise known as little Cairo. He charmed women…
- The Underworld Podcast
Vladimir Putin, the KGB and the German Nazi Gangster Who Was a Communist Spy
Rainer Sonntag was just your run-of-the-mill, anti-state East German petty criminal—until a black ops team headed by then-KGB agent Vladimir Putin helped turn…
- The Underworld Podcast
Chechen Mobsters, Bombs, Bumps and Special Ops: The Criminal Tale of Caviar
Caviar has been considered a delicacy since ancient times. But when the Soviet Union collapsed, a black market flourished—and kicked off gang wars along the…
- The Underworld Podcast
The Punjabi Indian Gangster Rapper Killed in a Gang War: Moosewala
Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, better known as Moosewala, was on the cusp of becoming a global superstar. Racking up billions of views on youtube, the Punjabi rapper…
- The Underworld Podcast
The Bank of the Underworld: Kingpins, Arms Traffickers, Pablo Escobar and Saddam Hussein
The Bank of Credit and Commerce International was headed by a messianic, Karachi financier named Agha Hasan Abedi, with deep, deep connections all round the…
- The Underworld Podcast
The Cartel Heroin Queenpin Who Ran Juarez for 50 Years with Benjamin Smith
Before El Mencho or El Chapo, even before Pablo Escobar, there was Ignacia Jasso, otherwise known as “La Nacha.” She was the Queen Pin of Juárez who ran the…
- The Underworld Podcast
Fentanyl's Surge from China To Mexico to St Louis
Over the last three years there's been an explosion of fentanyl on the streets of America and it's led to over 100,000 Americans dying from drug overdoses, the…
- The Underworld Podcast
Who Rules Porn? From Hot Money
We’re shaking things up today and sharing a preview from Hot Money, a new podcast from our friends at Pushkin Industries and the Financial Times. When…
- The Underworld Podcast
Belize's Gangster Politics and Ukraine's Battle for the Donbas
In this episode, Sean gets into the details about his story for Rolling Stone on Jamal "Shyne" Barrow, the rapper turned prime minister favorite in Belize…
- The Underworld Podcast
A Sicilian Rugby Team Fighting the Mafia - And Ukraine Update
Danny's in Ukraine, and Sean's cover story at Sports Illustrated—about a Sicilian rugby team facing down the Mafia—just dropped. So we're combining the two…
- The Underworld Podcast
Daniel Kinahan, Tyson Fury and the Irish Drug Cartel that Built a Boxing Empire - with Nicola Tallant
For years, Dublin-born Daniel Kinahan built on the work of his heroin-lord father Christy, aka the Dapper Don, to become one of the world's biggest cocaine…
- The Underworld Podcast
The Shady World of Cryonics: Missing Heads, Bank Robbers and an Italian Funeral Mogul
We're joined by journalist and writer Peter Ward, whose upcoming book The Price of Immortality: The Race to Live Forever is out this week. Since the times of…
- The Underworld Podcast
Murder Inc: The Jewish & Italian Hit Squad that Terrorized the US
In the 1920's, high level gangsters like Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky had a plan to bring some semblance of order to the underworld. Together with a few…
- The Underworld Podcast
TEASER: From Cautionary Tales: Death on the Floor
Here’s a special preview of the new season of Cautionary Tales from Pushkin Industries. On Cautionary Tales, bestselling author Tim Harford shares stories of…
- The Underworld Podcast
Whitey Bulger, Jai Alai, the Winter Hill Gang, & the Tycoon Murder that Stunned America
*Note: technical difficulties with Sean's microphone this episode, apologies* By the late Seventies Jai Alai, a superfast, racketball-like sport, had become…
- The Underworld Podcast
Lord of the Skies: The Man Who United Mexico's Cartels
We're joined by author Noah Hurowitz to tell the story of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, one of the most powerful narco-traffickers to every live, with an estimated…
- The Underworld Podcast
PATREON TEASER: A Former Gangster on his Life in Belize City's Crips - and how Cartels are Changing Everything
Here's a little teaser from this week's patreon episode, with Sean on the ground in Belize doing a bigger story and sharing some of his work along the way. To…
- The Underworld Podcast
The Brutal Russian Mafia Wars of Tolyatti, Russia's Detroit
In the 1980s, as the Soviet empire crumbled, organized criminals eyed up the sprawling VAZ automobile plant in the city of Tolyatti, “Russia’s Detroit.” When…
- The Underworld Podcast
Carjacking and Fentanyl: Down and Out in Philadelphia & St. Louis
In this episode thrown together because of a last-minute delay, Danny recounts recent reporting trips to Philadelphia and St. Louis. 2021 saw Philadelphia hit…
- The Underworld Podcast
The Wild Cowboys of Washington Heights: NYC's Most Dangerous Crack-era Gang
New York City in the late 1980's and early 1990's was a war zone. The crack era ushered in a record number of murders, topping 2,000 some years, as gangs…
- The Underworld Podcast
Colombia's Narco-Soccer: Pablo Escobar, Los Pepes, and the Murder of The Gentleman
In the early Nineties Colombia had one of the world’s best soccer teams. Some even tipped them for 1994’s World Cup in the USA. But the country’s narco mayhem…
- The Underworld Podcast
Glasgow's Ice Cream Wars: Drugs, Police Framing, and Soft Serve
As badly-planned 1960s projects pushed Glasgow's poorest people to the city's fringes, ice cream vans became a lifeline, delivering food, drink and cigarettes…
- The Underworld Podcast
The Raskol Gangs of Port Moresby: Tribal Wars, Street Battles and Homemade Guns in Papua New Guinea
The ‘raskol’ gangs that terrorize Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea’s chaotic capital city, have their roots in the isolated, rainforest conflicts of dozens of…
- The Underworld Podcast
SPECIAL PROMO: From Deep Cover: Who Was Bob Cooley?
SPECAL PROMO: Deep Cover tells true stories of crime and corruption. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jake Halpern reveals dark underworlds most of us know…
- The Underworld Podcast
The Punjabi Mafia and the Indian-Canadian Celeb Hitman Bindy Johal
In Vancouver and the little known city of Surrey, violent gang wars between rival factions in the Indo-Canadian Sikh community has seen upwards of 200 young…
- The Underworld Podcast
El Mencho and CJNG: Mexico's Most Wanted and Sadistic Narco
He’s a recluse, a cockfighting high-roller, a former cop and a maniac. But will Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, aka El Mencho, do what he’s been threatening for…
- The Underworld Podcast
Born To Kill: The Vietnamese Refugee Gang that Terrorized the US
In the late 1980's, a new gang threw asian immigrant communities across America into chaotic spurts of violence. They were brutal, they were vicious, and they…
- The Underworld Podcast
Sergeant Smack, Frank Lucas, and the Bangkok Heroin Corpse Connection
Leslie "Ike" Atkinson rose from Army sergeant to international casino hustler, to Bangkok bar owner and quarterback of one of the biggest heroin smuggling…
- The Underworld Podcast
50th Episode/holiday Q+A Special!!!
We meant to get this up a few episodes back for the 50th episode special but figured it would work for the holidays. Danny and Sean go through all the…
- The Underworld Podcast
Can a Former Gangster Rapper Stop Belize's Deadly Bloods vs Crips Wars?
In Belize City, rival factions of Bloods and Crips clicks have turned the south side of the city into one of the most violent cities on earth in an endless…
- The Underworld Podcast
How Meth Turned New Zealand's Biker Gang Scene Upside Down: Mongrels, Black Power and Killer Beez
For decades, New Zealand's biker gangs fought each other for turf, cash and kudos. Violence between its two biggest outfits, the Mongrel Mob and Black Power…
- The Underworld Podcast
West Africa's Cocaine Empire: Guinea Bissau's True Narco State Status
Does any country deserve the title of narco-state more than tiny Guinea-Bissau? The West African nation has become the beating heart of the global cocaine…
- The Underworld Podcast
The Gangs Controlling Haiti: A Dead President, Amish Hostages, and a Psycho Named BBQ
A President assassinated. Amish missionaries from Ohio held for million dollar ransoms (per person!). A former cop named Barbecue turned vicious gang leader in…
- The Underworld Podcast
Gangs of England: The Real Peaky Blinders and the Racecourse Wars
On the smog-filled streets of industrial Birmingham, groups of ‘Peaky Blinders’ earned a reputation as Britain’s most feared gang, terrorizing anybody who…
- The Underworld Podcast
The Rise and Recent Capture of Colombia's Most Brutal Narco, Otoniel, w/ Toby Muse
Out there in the jungle, something evil and powerful grows. This is the story of Dairo Antonio Usaga, better known as Otoniel, Colombia’s most wanted drug…
- The Underworld Podcast
The Out of Control Arab Israeli Crime Clans Driving the Murder Rate Sky-High
In the last 5 years, murders in what's known as Israel's Arab sector have increased 50%, setting new records every year as criminal clans and organized crime…
- The Underworld Podcast
The Burmese Heroin Jungle Kingpin & the Transgender Opium Queen
Khun Sa was a mercenary, a rebel, a warlord and a freedom fighting drugmaker who all-but created the modern heroin industry in the wake of the Vietnam War’s…
- The Underworld Podcast
NY’s Chinatown Wars: Ghost Shadows, Hong Kong Triads, Tongs, and the China White Heroin Connection
When Nicky Louie stalked the streets in the 1970's, he was the first gangster to scare Chinatown in decades. At only 22-years-old, he led his gang of…
- The Underworld Podcast
BONUS PATREON EPISODE: Knives, Drugs, and Albanian Takeovers in London with Max Daly
Something a little different this week: No regular episode but we've decided to put the patreon bonus episode up for free. Max Daly, based in London, is the…
- The Underworld Podcast
The Story of Sweden's Gang Crime Chaos: From Yugoslav Kingpins to Bombings, Rifles and Roadblocks
Sweden: ABBA, IKEA, third-wave coffee. A wealthy paradise? For some. For others, the Scandinavian state has become a homicide hotspot, with gun crime and…
- The Underworld Podcast
Taliban Heroin Gang and the Failed War on Afghanistan's Opium
Over the last two decades, the Taliban have moved from simply taxing Afghanistan's opium farmers to controlling every link in the chain of the world's biggest…
- The Underworld Podcast
The Golden Age of Hijacking, Kidnapping and Radical Cold War Terror
Ulrike Meinhof is dead and the remaining founders of the Red Army Faction, aka the Baader Meinhof Gang, are behind bars in Stuttgart. Is this the end for…