Whale Hunting

Whale Hunting
BRAZEN+

For uninterrupted listening and exclusive extras.

US$5.00/mo or US$35.00/yr after trial

This is WHALE HUNTING, a weekly podcast that pulls back the curtain on the hidden worlds of money and power, hosted by investigative journalists Tom Wright and Bradley Hope. Previously long-time reporters for the Wall Street Journal, Tom and Bradley now run Project Brazen, a journalism studio that’s published stories on everything from US Navy corruption to spycraft in Silicon Valley and embezzlement at the heart of Spain’s royal family.  Now, on the Whale Hunting podcast, you can join them as they share what’s got them talking this week, from the headlines to underworld gossip. Each episode will offer something different, but you can expect obscene tales of corruption, insights on the bizarre habits of billionaires, and conversations with reporters, spies, hostage negotiators, cops, authors, and the occasional criminal. Think of it as dropping in on the watercooler chat at Project Brazen’s office.  So join us. Subscribe to Whale Hunting, and find out how the world really works.  For more, or to sign up to our newsletter, visit whalehunting.projectbrazen.com. Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://brazen.fm/plus/

  1. From A Curious Worldview: How did MBS rise to power?

    18/12/2024 · BONUS

    From A Curious Worldview: How did MBS rise to power?

    Thanks for listening to season three of Whale Hunting. We've heard from the biographer of the world’s most secretive billionaire, the man running a TV network under the Taliban, the undercover agent who exposed the world’s most corrupt bank, and so many more people who have spent months and years revealing hidden worlds of money and power. We’re taking a short break, but we'll be back in 2025 with brand new episodes. In the meantime, we'd like to share an episode of A Curious Worldview from Atlas Geographica, podcast in which host Ryan Faulkner-Hogg brings together “good journalists, good stories, great business and great authors.” In this episode, he interviews Whale Hunting co-host Bradley Hope about Blood and Oil, his book on the meteoric rise of Mohammed bin Salman. A Curious Worldview touches upon many of the same themes as this podcast, and we hope you’ll give it a listen. A Curious Worldview on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/curious-worldview-podcast/id1540424160 A Curious Worldview on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/61wcpA8fkOQCAGrOfHgkig A Curious Worldview on other podcast apps: https://curiousworldview.buzzsprout.com/ You can purchase a copy of Blood and Oil, the book on MBS that Bradley co-wrote, here: https://bookshop.org/a/107584/9780306846632 Support our show by becoming a premium member! Visit https://brazen.fm/plus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://brazen.fm/plus/

    1h 22m
  2. How did federal agents infiltrate the world’s dirtiest bank?

    11/12/2024

    How did federal agents infiltrate the world’s dirtiest bank?

    A rare opportunity arises when global financial institutions implode: a brief window into how the world really works. There’s an opportunity to learn how money is laundered and where it’s coming from, which financial instruments or jurisdictions are being used to aid and abet criminals, and which drug lords or even governments are trying to hide what they’re up to. In 1991, the Pakistani-owned Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) was shuttered by regulators for helping bad actors the world over move criminal cash. A window was opened, and this week on Whale Hunting, Bradley Hope is joined by a man who had a front-row seat: former IRS and DEA undercover agent Robert Mazur, who was the key witness at the trial of numerous BCCI executives who he befriended while posing as a money launderer for Colombia’s Medellin Cartel in the late 1980s. They discuss Robert’s time undercover, how he became a central character in the downfall of BCCI and infiltrated Pablo Escobar’s notorious cartel, and how he came to realise that one of the banks through which Escobar moved his ill-gotten gains, BCCI, was no anomaly: There are scores of international banks with corporate incentives to provide banking services to dictators, money launderers and even terrorists. Mentioned in this week’s episode: Robert Mazur’s books about his time undercover: The Infiltrator and The Betrayal The Infiltrator has since been adapted into a feature film starring Breaking Bad’s Robert Cranston as Robert Mazur. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://brazen.fm/plus/

    40 min
  3. Why does Elon Musk need private spies?

    04/12/2024

    Why does Elon Musk need private spies?

    For the right price, a billionaire can buy almost anything in the private intelligence industry. Investigators will covertly dig through bins, pose as friendly faces to deceptively extract information, and even coordinate offensive hacking attacks to access private data. Although this by no means represents the whole industry, there is nothing off-menu to the world's wealthiest if you know the right people. And Elon Musk — the proprietor of the world’s deepest pockets — apparently uses private spies liberally, often to acquire information relevant to his personal life and reputation. Apparently, he's just desperate to control everything. This week on Whale Hunting, Bradley is joined by fellow aficionado of the private intelligence industry Alexi Mostrous, Investigations Editor at Tortoise Media. They discuss why Elon Musk uses private spies for personal matters, the relationship between journalists and the intelligence industry, and how Bradley once pranked an overly eager investigator to protect his source. Mentioned in this week’s episode: Elon’s Spies, Alexi Mostrous’ latest podcast for Tortoise Walter’s War, a podcast about Oliver Lewis presented by Tortoise’s Basia Cummings Neil Gerrard, a lawyer who represented ENRC and is known for representing wealthy clients in high profile legal spats The controversial Christopher Steele dossier, which was published by BuzzFeed News Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter by Kate Cogan and Ryan Mac Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://brazen.fm/plus/

    40 min
  4. What does Iran achieve by outsourcing assassination attempts in the West?

    27/11/2024

    What does Iran achieve by outsourcing assassination attempts in the West?

    Iran’s war with Israel and the U.S. has been waged through numerous proxies — Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen — but more recently, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, have been “outsourcing” their operations on foreign soil to lesser-known actors. At least 33 attempted hits and abductions have allegedly been orchestrated from Iran since 2020, carried out by individuals with little or no obvious connection to the Islamic Republic. Pakistani citizens have been foiled plotting attacks in Greece, and an Azerbaijani gang was recruited in the U.S. to assassinate an Iranian American journalist. Iran’s tactics are becoming increasingly reckless abroad, stoking fear among its known enemies — whether Israeli citizens or Iranian dissidents living in exile. This week on Whale Hunting, Bradley is joined in the studio by Reuters features editor Cassell Bryan-Low. They discuss Cassell’s investigation into Iran’s use of hitmen on foreign soil, how frequently these operations are thwarted, and what the ultimate objectives of such operations are: revenge, sabotage or something bigger? Mentioned in this week’s episode: “Murder for hire: Inside Iran’s proxy war with Israel in the West” by Renee Maltezou, Cassell Bryan-Low, Yannis Souliotis and Phil Stewart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://brazen.fm/plus/

    25 min

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BRAZEN+

For uninterrupted listening and exclusive extras.

US$5.00/mo or US$35.00/yr after trial

About

This is WHALE HUNTING, a weekly podcast that pulls back the curtain on the hidden worlds of money and power, hosted by investigative journalists Tom Wright and Bradley Hope. Previously long-time reporters for the Wall Street Journal, Tom and Bradley now run Project Brazen, a journalism studio that’s published stories on everything from US Navy corruption to spycraft in Silicon Valley and embezzlement at the heart of Spain’s royal family.  Now, on the Whale Hunting podcast, you can join them as they share what’s got them talking this week, from the headlines to underworld gossip. Each episode will offer something different, but you can expect obscene tales of corruption, insights on the bizarre habits of billionaires, and conversations with reporters, spies, hostage negotiators, cops, authors, and the occasional criminal. Think of it as dropping in on the watercooler chat at Project Brazen’s office.  So join us. Subscribe to Whale Hunting, and find out how the world really works.  For more, or to sign up to our newsletter, visit whalehunting.projectbrazen.com. Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://brazen.fm/plus/

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