Dynamite Doug Project Brazen

How Douglas Latchford, a nobody from colonial India, makes a name for himself dealing in Cambodian art. It’s the 1960s, and no one cares about Westerners stealing ancient statues from poor countries to sell in London and New York. But, as attitudes start to change,  gossip mounts about Douglas.

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When the genocidal Khmer Rouge takes over Cambodia, killing 2 million people, Douglas senses an opportunity. Amid the bloodshed, murderous generals rob the nation blind – hacking statues out of jungle temples – and Douglas is a willing buyer. A senior curator at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and a Denver-based academic are eager participants in Douglas’ schemes.

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As Cambodia opens to the world, the looting enters a new phase as a hoard of Western collectors descend on the nation. Douglas becomes rich, with a chauffeured Rolls Royce in London, and he grows close to the Denver-based academic, Emma Bunker. He’s soon using Emma’s scholarship as cover for his looting. Amid questions from the UN, Douglas starts to return statues to Cambodia, and is awarded a knighthood.

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A British conservator comes across a pair of stone feet in a Cambodian jungle temple. His sleuthing leads him to deduce the feet belong to a statue in a U.S. museum and the trail leads to Douglas, the most serious scrutiny yet. Emma Bunker helps Douglas create fake documents to cover up his looting. But when a Cambodian statue goes on sale in Sotheby’s in New York, Douglas is tied up in a lawsuit and his name splashed in the newspapers for the first time.

Don’t want to wait for the next episode? You can listen to the full series, ad-free, by subscribing to our channel on the Apple Podcasts app. Subscribe at: apple.co/dynamitedoug

A former Khmer Rouge child soldier, Toek Tik, codenamed “The Lion,” helps the Cambodian government identify looted statues. Eventually Sotheby’s agrees to return its piece. Douglas keeps on looting but he’s on the radar of investigators at the Department of Homeland Security. Martin Lerner leaves the Met and becomes a paid consultant for Douglas, helping ease the path to sales. When a New York dealer is arrested, Douglas and Emma are the focus of a criminal investigation.

This is the subscriber edition of Dynamite Doug, available exclusively to Brazen+ subscribers on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for supporting Project Brazen! By subscribing to our channel, you've unlocked early access to Dynamite Doug episodes, as well as extra bonus episodes and ad-free listening across all of our podcast series. Dynamite Doug will be available for free in full from 5 April 2023.

Emma faces up to what she’s done as Douglas is finally brought down, and Cambodia begins the gargantuan task of bringing its art back home. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Museum fights a rearguard action to cling on to its collection…a struggle that’s still raging.

This is the subscriber edition of Dynamite Doug, available exclusively to Brazen+ subscribers on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for supporting Project Brazen! By subscribing to our channel, you've unlocked early access to Dynamite Doug episodes, as well as extra bonus episodes and ad-free listening across all of our podcast series. Dynamite Doug will be available for free in full from 5 April 2023.