Libsyn Directory

Trump Hotel - Baku: Adam Davidson

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We’re reposting our 2017 podcast with Adam Davidson of the New Yorker who joined the podcast to talk about his research into the baffling Trump Hotel deal in Baku. This episode was originally published on 14 June 2017.

"White House Inc.: How Donald Trump Turned the Presidency Into a Business” (Last Time)

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In light of last week’s inauguration, we're revisiting a 2020 podcast episode with Dan Alexander, author and senior editor at Forbes, discussing his book about Trump’s business deals with foreign entities, including one very strange deal with the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar. This episode was originally published on 7 October 2020.

Understanding Trump’s Executive Order on the Civil Service (It’s Much More Serious Than It Sounds)

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This inauguration week, we're revisiting a 2020 podcast on President Trump's assault on the civil service. In this episode, Harvard law professor, Matthew Stephenson, provides some context for understanding Trump's executive order on the civil service and then lists the three primary threats it poses for corruption. A more detailed discussion can be found on his . This episode was originally published on 4 November 2020.

Governance in Space

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Our guest today, Dr. Rebecca Connolly, joins us to discuss her work on the legal governance of outer space relating to militarization, security and commercialization, drawing some interesting parallels to the law of the sea and making it clear that there is still a lot of work to be done.

Navigating the Greenlash: Can boards still lead on climate change?”

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Karina Litvack joins the podcast to share her insights into climate governance based on her extensive board experience in the oil and gas sector and her role as the Founding Chair of the Climate Governance Initiative.

Our Favorite Wine Fraudster

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As is holiday tradition, we're revisiting our podcast with Peter Hellman, who describes Rudy Kurniawan’s audacious scheme to defraud wine collectors in his excellent book, . This episode was originally published on 20 December 2017.

The DOJ’s New Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program

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Patrick Gushue, the Department of Justice’s Acting Director of its Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program, joins the podcast to discuss the program, uptake to date, who is eligible and key considerations as to timing and whistleblower involvement in the misconduct. More information about the pilot program is available at

Profiting From Human Rights Atrocities in Syrian Prisons

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, refugee, public speaker, and project manager with the Syrian Emergency Task Force, shares the wrenching story of his three years as a political prisoner in the worst of Syria’s prisons. He discusses the role that extortion plays there, simultaneously delegitimizing the regime further and propping it up financially. Episode resources: Mentioned at (00:33): Mentioned at (00:45): , 11 March 2020 This episode was originally published on 9 June 2021.

An International ATM Skimming Scheme

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With the holiday travel season approaching, we’re revisiting a podcast episode featuring Paul Radu, the co-founder and co-executive director of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). Paul describes his team’s work in uncovering an international team of cash machine skimmers that ultimately skimmed hundreds of millions of dollars, largely from tourist hot spots. Travelers often don’t realize their accounts are being drained until after they return home. This episode was originally published on 9 June 2020.

Extreme Wealth – Episode 8: Walt Pavlo and the Empty Temptations of Fraud

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Walt Pavlo went to work at MCI at a time when telecoms were hungry for go-getters. It was the early 2000s, and Walt enjoyed the freedom and aggressive nature of a recently deregulated industry. But soon he realized that MCI’s most lucrative customers were also its flakiest, and the pressure was on to manage millions of bad debt that accumulated on the books. In this episode, Walt explains how he concocted a fake-loan scheme that netted him money far beyond his dreams — and yet how hollow it felt, right up until the moment it all came crashing down. Walt Pavlo is a nationally...

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