logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2024
1h 30m

427: Telegram Founder Arrested in France

Crooked Media
About this episode

Tommy and Ben discuss Telegram founder Pavel Durov’s arrest in France, the debate over free speech, social media, and CEO accountability, as well as why the Russian government finds the app so useful. They also talk about strikes between Hezbollah and Israel and the lonely optimism of the US on a ceasefire deal, a change in US nuclear strategy that refocuses on China, the spread of mpox, protests in India over the rape and murder of a doctor, and some troubling insider knowledge about former Trump officials. Then Tommy speaks to Senator Peter Welch about how Kamala Harris could take a stronger stance on Gaza and what Tim Walz’s gym habits were when they were in Congress together.

 

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Up next
Jan 28
504: Has the World Finally Decided To Stand up to Trump?
Tommy and Ben explain why Trump backed off his threat to take Greenland by force and debate whether European leaders have finally found a playbook for how to push back, the backlash to Trump’s disgraceful denigration of NATO troops and their service in Afghanistan, and Canadian P ... Show More
1h 39m
Jan 21
503: Greenland Prepares for Trump Invasion
Tommy and Ben talk about the growing and very real threat of President Trump attempting to take Greenland by force, the spectrum of reactions from world leaders from feckless NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to scorning French President Emmanuel Macron, and how this would lead t ... Show More
1h 35m
Jan 14
502: Iranian Regime Massacres Protesters, Will Trump Respond?
Tommy and Ben talk about the historic protests in Iran and reports of the regime’s brutal crackdown with potentially tens of thousands dead, President Trump’s threats of military intervention (and why they’re a bad idea), and Iranian exiles vying for power as regime replacements ... Show More
1h 48m
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2024
How Telegram Became the Underworld’s Favorite App
<p>A Times investigation has found that Telegram, one of the world’s biggest messaging apps, with nearly a billion users, is also a giant black market and gathering place for the likes of terrorists and white supremacists.</p><p>Adam Satariano, a technology reporter for The Times ... Show More
25m 45s
Sep 2024
Hezbollah pager explosions, France rape trial and Trump suspect’s disputed Ukraine links
This podcast has been updated to refer to former soldier Evelyn Aschenbrenner by their preferred pronouns. An unprecedented Hezbollah security breach has seen thousands of pagers detonate across Lebanon, killing at least nine people and wounding nearly 3,000 others. In France, a ... Show More
12m 24s
Oct 2025
Republicans Demand Answers Over Alleged FBI Spying Scandal
Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the January 6th Capitol riot allegedly had a focus on the communications of eight Republican senators, including Senator Bill Hagerty, who has revealed how the FBI accessed their private messages. United States Senator Bill Hagerty ... Show More
33m 46s
Sep 2025
The News Roundup For September 19, 2025
In a blow to free speech, TV host Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show was suspended from ABC’s lineup after the comedian made jokes about President Donald Trump’s relationship with the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk.The 22-year-old suspect in Kirk’s killing was charged on Tue ... Show More
1h 19m
Oct 2025
Hamas on ceasefire, Comey “perp walk” and Japan’s likely first female PM
Hamas agrees to key points in Trump’s proposed Gaza peace plan, which includes a ceasefire and prisoner exchange. An FBI agent is relieved of duty after refusing to participate in the "perp walk" of former FBI director James Comey. Sean “Diddy” Combs is sentenced. Sanae Takaichi ... Show More
11m 57s