On Christmas Day, 1941, as bombs tear Hong Kong apart, gunrunner Morris "Two Gun" Cohen — a street hustler from the slums of London turned Canadian frontiersman turned Chinese general — stares down death from a hotel room. From underground boxing rings to arms deals, Cohen fought the Japanese and Soviets, battled communists, warlords and mercenaries, and dra ... Show More
Today
The OG Yakuza Godfather, Kazuo Taoka
Orphaned and kicked out of work, Kazuo Taoka was an unlikely candidate to become one of postwar Japan’s most important characters. But by combining violence with a talent for legitimate business and corruption, the immaculately-suited gangster would lead the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza ... Show More
1h 2m
Jan 27
Italy's Unknown 5th Mafia, The Stidda
In the late 1970s, as Sicily descended into all-out mafia war, the island’s allegiances split between the ruthless Corleonesi clan, led by Toto Riina, and southern gangsters fed up with Riina’s campaign of murder that was spilling innocent lives, and disgusting the Italian public ... Show More
52m 47s
Sep 2024
493. Lee Miller: Exposing the Horrors of World War Two
It’s August 1944: the Liberation of Paris is underway, and France appears to slowly be extricating herself from Nazi control. But, on the French western shores, in Saint-Malo, the deafening sounds of artillery fire continue to punctuate daily life, with the Germans making a last- ... Show More
1h 1m
Jul 2025
Walter Kirn Provides Update on Luigi Mangione Case and the Strange Parallels to Lee Harvey Oswald
Only a great novelist can understand a story as weird as the Luigi Mangione murder case. Walter Kirn on what actually happened. (00:00) Introduction (04:22) The Strange Similarities Between Mangione, Lee Harvey Oswald, the Unabomber, and Charles Manson (10:21) Was Mangione a Pats ... Show More
2h 3m