Ruben Castaneda is a born storyteller and he's got an extraordinary story to tell. Ruben was The Washington Post's crime reporter in the early 90s when crack addiction was spreading across America, destroying livelihoods and ravaging communities. But what nobody knew is that at the same time as reporting on the crisis, Ruben was addicted to crack himself. WA ... Show More
Jun 2023
China's Under Martial Law
It’s the penultimate episode, and Billy’s taken us back to China to talk about the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, and the massacre that followed. In classic To this day, discussion of the events are strictly censored in China but in this episode we’ll explore it all. What happen ... Show More
1h 1m
Jan 2021
Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy
In the early 1980s, the crack epidemic tore through America like a tsunami, ravaging all in its wake. And the destructive effects on people's lives, families, and communities are still deeply felt decades later. “Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy” examines the drug’s devast ... Show More
28m 59s
Oct 2019
David Farber, "Crack: Rock Cocaine, Street Capitalism, and the Decade of Greed" (Cambridge UP, 2019)
A shattering account of the crack cocaine years from award-winning American historian David Farber, Crack: Rock Cocaine, Street Capitalism, and the Decade of Greed (Cambridge University Press, 2019) tells the story of the young men who bet their lives on the rewards of selling 'r ... Show More
21m 40s
Mar 2022
PATREON TEASER: A Former Gangster on his Life in Belize City's Crips - and how Cartels are Changing Everything
Here's a little teaser from this week's patreon episode, with Sean on the ground in Belize doing a bigger story and sharing some of his work along the way. To get access to bonus episodes for $5 a month, go to www.patreon.com/theunderworldpodcast "John" grew up on the violent Sou ... Show More
10m 41s
Feb 2022
Scream
In 1990, two college students, who lived together in an apartment, suddenly stopped communicating with their friends and families. After a few days of silence, the police were called to do a welfare check on them. When the police knocked on the girl's door, no one opened it, so t ... Show More
46m 55s