197 episodes

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 mafias that affect all our lives, whether we know it or not.

The Underworld Podcast Underworld Subscribers +

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.7 • 633 Ratings

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

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 mafias that affect all our lives, whether we know it or not.

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    Andrew Tate & the Romanian Mob: A Match Made in Criminal Heaven

    Andrew Tate & the Romanian Mob: A Match Made in Criminal Heaven

    With influencer and living meme Andrew Tate about to face trial in Romania, we dive into his connections to a powerful pair of Mafia brothers and their casino empire—and how the Tates pivoted from MMA to a gang that has terrorized the European nation for years.
    We also go deep on the history of Romanian organized crime, from Ponzi schemes to ATM skimming gangs and Europe’s biggest human trafficking syndicate—and show how Romania and the Tates had been on a criminal collision course for decades
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    • 52 min
    BONUS: The Most Corrupt Cop in NYC History with Steve Fishman

    BONUS: The Most Corrupt Cop in NYC History with Steve Fishman

    Steve Fishman joins us to discuss his new podcast The Burden, which tells the story of Louis Scarcella. Scarcella was one of the NYPD's top cops in the crazy violent days of the 1990's, so much so that he appeared on talk shows like Dr. Phil as a master at getting confessions. But his sterling record began to unravel as reporters and a team of jailhouse lawyers started looking closer. Fishman was able to get rare access to Scarcella in the making of the podcast. Listen now:

    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-burden/id1734312219

    The Most Dangerous Russian Mobster America Has Ever Known: Boris Nayfeld

    The Most Dangerous Russian Mobster America Has Ever Known: Boris Nayfeld

    Boris Nayfeld's life is like something out of a movie; orphaned in the former Soviet Union, he served time in a brutal penal colony before establishing himself as a top tier street criminal before escaping for America. No stranger to violence, he got involved in the burgeoning Russian mafia factions rising up in Brooklyn's Brighton Beach during the 1980's.
    But he’s way more than just a two bit gangster. He’s been involved in organized crime from Odessa to Thailand to Antwerp, survived 5 assassination attempts, done prison in the US and the former soviet union, and been involved in diamond heists, heroin trafficking, extortion, shootouts, tangled with Russian Thieves in Law…the guy’s name carries weight. And somehow, through it all, he survived when nearly everyone else he came up with didn't.
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    • 57 min
    BONUS: Stash House Episode 7: LA's Good Heist, Ecuador's Bad Vice President, and an Ugly Bust in Fiji

    BONUS: Stash House Episode 7: LA's Good Heist, Ecuador's Bad Vice President, and an Ugly Bust in Fiji

    Stash House Episode 7: LA's Good Heist, Ecuador's Bad Vice President, and an Ugly Bust in Fiji

    The Rise and Fall of Golden Triangle Dope: From a Jailed Kingpin to a Casino Shootout

    The Rise and Fall of Golden Triangle Dope: From a Jailed Kingpin to a Casino Shootout

    Lo Hsing Han was a Burmese narco so powerful that Richard Nixon called him a Godfather. But the Kokang king tried one too many shady deals, sending the Golden Triangle’s heroin industry on a helter-skelter path toward a bloody, 2023 shootout with Chinese cops—at a lawless casino town on the edge of nowhere.
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    • 43 min
    Skinny Joey Merlino and The Philly Mob Wars:

    Skinny Joey Merlino and The Philly Mob Wars:

    Well, they blew up the Chicken Man in Philly last night. And they blew up his house too. And the racket boys, they really did have a fight...a brutal one that lasted decades and saw Skinny Joey Merlino come out on top. He's not just America's next top crime podcaster and patreon star, he's also the one-time boss of the Philadelphia mafia and (allegedly!) still the don of Philly, if you believe the feds.
    Merlino, though, is no joke. Surviving by the skin of his teeth and dodging multiple assassinations in the 80's and 90's, he went from the son of shunned one-time underboss Chuckie Merlino to the top position when him and his crew of young gunners took on all comers.
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    • 46 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
633 Ratings

633 Ratings

sbdonaldson ,

Quite literally the best podcast

No question, this is my favorite podcast available. The well-researched, well-written deep dives into the inter workings of transnational criminal organizations is informative and entertaining. A great mix of current events and historical subjects from all around the world.

The Underworld Podcast is the only podcast to which I subscribe on Patreon, and I value that subscription more than most video streaming services.

Their work has led me down deep rabbit holes of Danny Gold’s documentary work and Sean Williams’s long form work (the Purple Haze episode and article are both top-tier work).

Fellas, keep up the great work. And also to answer a recent question on the show: more of the current underworld (cartels, triads, narco states, and street gangs) from far-flung lands, and keep the same amount of the old American mafia stories.

Space Trace ,

Great podcast! Highly recommend!

I recently came across this podcast and I’m really enjoying it so far. The episodes’ subject matter is intriguing and they include so many details you probably haven’t heard before, even if you’re familiar with the topics they cover. The research goes deep and the episodes go by quickly, they never drag. I highly recommend listening, especially if you like podcasts about the world’s dark underbelly: crime, drugs, cartels, etc.

Trilolight ,

Great show!

Very well done. Keep up the banter! Plus the cold opens.

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