Rainer Sonntag was just your run-of-the-mill, anti-state East German petty criminal—until a black ops team headed by then-KGB agent Vladimir Putin helped turn him into one of Europe's leading neo-Nazi leaders. When the Berlin Wall fell, Putin fled to Saint Petersburg and Sonntag returned to his hometown of Dresden. There he led a gang of skinhead thugs to sh ... 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
May 2024
The Bear On The Doorstep – Poland, Georgia, and Eastern Europe’s fight against Russian power
What’s it like to live next to the world’s worst neighbour: Vladimir Putin’s Russia? In 2024, pro-democracy Georgians are beaten for resisting their pro-Moscow government from enacting a Putinesque “foreign agents” law. Poland is rearming against the Russian threat, and the Balti ... Show More
39m 27s
Jun 2023
Putin’s chef spoils the broth: mutiny in Russia
<p>Yevgeny Prigozhin, nicknamed “Putin’s chef”, leads the Wagner Group of mercenaries fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. He had lambasted Russia’s military leaders for months, but the mutiny he <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2023/06/24/wagner-rebels-turn-aga ... Show More
27m 14s
Mar 2022
159. Young Putin, the KGB and the Soviet Union
[Episode 1 of 4]
Welcome to our new four part series on the latter years of the Soviet Union, its fall, Putin's early life and his subsequent rise to power.
Today's episode focuses on Brezhnev, Putin's formative years, his early KGB career and Gorbachev's descent into chaos.
W ... Show More
35m 28s
Mar 2022
Fiona Hill on the War Putin Is Really Fighting
<p>Vladimir Putin was looking for a swift invasion that would halt Ukraine’s drift toward the West, reveal NATO’s fractures and weaknesses and solidify Russia as a global power. In response, the West threatened moderate sanctions, but ultimately showed little interest in stepping ... Show More
58m 36s