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 it collapsed all hell broke loose. Old-school “thimble kings” battled it out with bodybuilding skinheads, Chechen paramilitaries and the Volgas, partying hotheads who’d become a fearsome mob, for suprem ... Show More
Nov 11
The Tijuana Cartel's Bloody Rise and Fall
When the godfather Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo got busted in '89, he divvied up his empire from a prison cell and handed the coveted Tijuana plaza to the Arellano Felix Brothers, who transformed it into one of the most violent drug organizations in Mexico. At their peak, the brot ... Show More
1h 1m
Feb 2023
Episode 283 - Rasputin: Russia’s Greatest Love Machine
The much-told legend of Rasputin – the giant, wild-eyed, well-hung, wandering Siberian monk who seduced the Tsarina herself – is mostly a bunch of absolute borscht. But the real story is just as wild. <br>
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H&S look at the life of a peasant who infiltrated Russian nobilit ... Show More
1h 14m
Sep 2020
“Merchant of Death” Pt. 1: Viktor Bout
When the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s, there was a surplus of weapons and cargo planes collecting dust. One Russian government worker, Viktor Bout, saw the potential of all that discarded equipment. Within a few short years, Bout became one of the most infamous arms ... Show More
43m 42s