1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:04,760 Speaker 1: From UFOs to psychic powers and government conspiracies. History is 2 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:09,159 Speaker 1: riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now or 3 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:12,200 Speaker 1: learn this stuff they don't want you to know. A 4 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: production of Iheartrading. 5 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:26,560 Speaker 2: Hello, welcome back to the show. My name is Matt, 6 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:27,639 Speaker 2: my name is Nol. 7 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 3: They called me Ben. We're joined as always with our 8 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:36,080 Speaker 3: super producer Paul mission controlled decads. Most importantly, you are you. 9 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 3: You are here, and that makes this the stuff they 10 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 3: don't want you to know. Stay away from windows tonight. 11 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:47,239 Speaker 3: We are returning to a fascinating, troubling phenomenon. Since the 12 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:51,519 Speaker 3: fall of the ussr oligarchs have exerted tremendous influence on 13 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:56,760 Speaker 3: almost every aspect of Russian politics, from industry to state actions. 14 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 3: They run the largest companies. There are new Uni version 15 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 3: of Robert Barons or they were. As we'll see, they 16 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:09,640 Speaker 3: are an increasingly endangered species. The official explanations for these 17 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 3: deaths from the Russian government run the gamut, from suicide 18 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:18,400 Speaker 3: to accidental deaths, to family annihilations to death by toad poison. 19 00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:24,280 Speaker 3: Pretty Much everybody except Russia finds these official explanations don't 20 00:01:24,319 --> 00:01:27,800 Speaker 3: hold up to scrutiny. We're not diving into this one alone. Folks, 21 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:31,399 Speaker 3: we are immensely fortunate to be joined yet again with 22 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 3: returning guest, the author, the filmmaker, the legendary conflict journalist 23 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 3: Jake Hanrahan. Jake, thanks for coming back on the show Man. 24 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:41,480 Speaker 4: Hi mate, Thank you so much for having me. 25 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 2: Oh dude, we're so glad that you're here, Jake. We've 26 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:49,240 Speaker 2: been listening through sat Oligarch and our heads are reeling. 27 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 2: We covered this topic a little while ago in an 28 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:54,559 Speaker 2: episode a while back, and you know, at the time, 29 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 2: I think that was in twenty twenty two, guys like 30 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 2: Red at the tail end when some of this was 31 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 2: was pretty fresh and we just had, you know, some 32 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 2: stuff online to go on, right, like stuff that's being 33 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:12,640 Speaker 2: written in Sky News Australia and other outlets. As we 34 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 2: get into this, I just want to ask, like, what 35 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 2: kind of sources have you been using to delve into 36 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:19,800 Speaker 2: this topic and research it. 37 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:25,240 Speaker 4: Yeah, well that's been why there's so much work is 38 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 4: having to go into this. So I'm working on this 39 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:33,480 Speaker 4: with my colleague and friend, Sergei Slipchenko. He's a Ukrainian 40 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:38,680 Speaker 4: journalist Juell National in Canada as well. He had to 41 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:42,359 Speaker 4: you know, leave Ukraine when the war kicked off. I've 42 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 4: worked with him over there in Ukraine's really really good lad, 43 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 4: very very thorough in what he does. So when I 44 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 4: started looking into this, I realized, like, okay, I don't 45 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 4: speak Russian. There's going to be a level where, you know, 46 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:56,320 Speaker 4: I just can't really get past. And then when you 47 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 4: reach out to people from Russia, they're either very hard 48 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 4: to contact or they're like, look, I'm not going on 49 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:02,560 Speaker 4: the record here. I'm sorry, I'm just no, it's not 50 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:04,639 Speaker 4: worth especially now the war is on. I was like, right, well, 51 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:07,360 Speaker 4: this is going to be impossible. So a sports of surgery, 52 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:11,480 Speaker 4: and he obviously had sources or knew of, you know, 53 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:15,240 Speaker 4: vague people that we can speak to, and he speaks 54 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 4: Russian and he knows how the network's work, and he 55 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:19,760 Speaker 4: knows how the kind of social media, and you know, 56 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:23,360 Speaker 4: there are other ways around it. So yeah, really a 57 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 4: combination of I don't want to get too much into it, 58 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 4: but like kind of obscure Russian language sources which you 59 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 4: then have to like single handedly corroborate every single thing 60 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 4: and kind of work out right, what is from the government, 61 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:40,840 Speaker 4: what is real, what is maybe room you know, what 62 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 4: I mean, And it's been a very very long process, 63 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 4: so it's a real amalgamation of stuff. But there have 64 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:47,600 Speaker 4: also been like a lot of other reporters that have, 65 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 4: you know, like yourselves, dipped into it, looked at it 66 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:51,680 Speaker 4: and been like, oh, there's another one, another one here. 67 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:54,840 Speaker 4: Our job was kind of pulling them all together and 68 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 4: trying to work out what the connections are, and that 69 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 4: has proved very difficult, but it seems to be working. 70 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:02,640 Speaker 4: You know, it's doing well. There's a lot of stuff 71 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 4: we could have put in that we were just like, 72 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 4: it's too we're not sure and we can't back it up, 73 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:11,320 Speaker 4: you know, but it is. It kind of adds to everything, 74 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 4: and it's been a very weird process, as you'll see 75 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 4: as a series goes on. I mean we're already seeing 76 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 4: it now. There's a lot of connections to like oil 77 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:19,159 Speaker 4: and gas. You know. 78 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:21,479 Speaker 5: Yeah, well, Jake, first things first. 79 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:22,839 Speaker 6: I mean I think a lot of people probably have 80 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:25,720 Speaker 6: a general idea of the answer to this, But in 81 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:29,040 Speaker 6: your estimation or you know, what would you describe an 82 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 6: oligarch as and what makes it sort of a uniquely 83 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:33,480 Speaker 6: Russian thing? 84 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 4: That's a good question, and I don't think it is 85 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:40,360 Speaker 4: uniquely Russian, to be honest. I mean we've called it 86 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:42,480 Speaker 4: a sad oligarch. Some of the people on the list 87 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 4: that have died that we're looking too. They might not 88 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 4: be necessarily like start up oligarchs, they might not fit 89 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 4: into that, but it's an easier way for Western audiences 90 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:54,400 Speaker 4: to understand it. And it's a little bit of tongue 91 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:57,320 Speaker 4: in cheek because a lot of the Western sources will 92 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 4: immediately call these people oligarchs, even if they're not really 93 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 4: you know, it's like, oh, Russian holigarch. Those guys are 94 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:04,240 Speaker 4: so bad, and it's like, well, we have a very 95 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 4: similar thing in the West. We just call it lobbying, right, 96 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:09,359 Speaker 4: I don't see any difference, you know. I mean my 97 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:12,880 Speaker 4: country right now, so Richie Schunach, the current Prime minister, 98 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:16,440 Speaker 4: his company firm just did like a billion dollar contract 99 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 4: with an oil company and lo and behold. This week 100 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 4: he's announced you know, new things, new measures that will 101 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:26,480 Speaker 4: help that oil company. Why yeah, And it's like, well, 102 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:29,160 Speaker 4: that's that in itself. I mean, you know, a healthy 103 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:31,200 Speaker 4: country would have more focus on it. But you know, 104 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 4: Britain is what it is, and it's it's one of 105 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:36,880 Speaker 4: these things where I really through this series, we don't 106 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 4: want to do the typical like ha ha, silly Russians, 107 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:41,039 Speaker 4: They're so weird, look at what they do. It's like, no, 108 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 4: every every country does this, and as you see in 109 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:46,200 Speaker 4: the series, a lot of other countries are connected to this, 110 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 4: you know, like Loue Coil for example, of just made 111 00:05:48,839 --> 00:05:51,880 Speaker 4: record profits. Why well, because loads of the oil fields 112 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:54,719 Speaker 4: are running still in Europe with the help of EU 113 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 4: EU countries and they're making record profits when they're apparently 114 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 4: not really meant to because of you know, obviously the 115 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:03,640 Speaker 4: brutal invasion of Ukraine. So it ties everybody in But 116 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:08,359 Speaker 4: sorry to answer your question for us, it's someone that 117 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 4: has had these political influences, but they're a businessmen that 118 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:15,839 Speaker 4: they're kind of meant to be outside of the politics 119 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 4: of it, right. So for example, a lot of these 120 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:22,359 Speaker 4: people they brought up shares in lucrative oil companies that 121 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:26,200 Speaker 4: are now half owned by the government I Gazprom, so 122 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:29,920 Speaker 4: they can then influence politicians through various shares that they 123 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:35,040 Speaker 4: have through business dealings basically politics. To be honest, an 124 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:37,280 Speaker 4: hologarch is like a very specific sample of that. 125 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 3: Yeah, and there's something that really resonates with me listening 126 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:45,800 Speaker 3: through here. You've nailed it already. You've anticipated one of 127 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:50,839 Speaker 3: my questions, Jake. Oligarchs, for anybody listening, are not a 128 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:55,840 Speaker 3: uniquely Russian phenomenon, despite the way the West may report it. 129 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:00,680 Speaker 3: There's an intensely disturbing pattern. You see this in one 130 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:03,880 Speaker 3: of the I believe, the very first episode of Sad Oligarch. 131 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 3: You say, you point out that in the space of 132 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:12,480 Speaker 3: less than a year, in nine months, more than a 133 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:17,640 Speaker 3: dozen of these Russian oligarchs, or let's say people affiliated 134 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 3: with the Russian kleptocracy have died. Yeah, have done. Like 135 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 3: the scientist, right, they have died under mysterious circumstances. We 136 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:33,880 Speaker 3: have to ask, you know, given your deep experiences as 137 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 3: a journalist and as the creative director of Popular Front, 138 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 3: what inspired you to dedicate your time to this. I 139 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 3: mean you're a busy guy, my friend. 140 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:49,920 Speaker 4: Yeah, I am. This projector has really reminded me of that. 141 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:53,360 Speaker 4: You know, I might jump out of a window myself, 142 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:58,480 Speaker 4: but it's been a very hectic one. But it feels 143 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:00,680 Speaker 4: really important, you know. I think it's really interesting, and 144 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:03,920 Speaker 4: I mean the short answer is, when looking through this, 145 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 4: I feel like it really it really, it's it's a 146 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 4: it's a kind of insulent way of showing the way 147 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:13,800 Speaker 4: the real inner workings of Russia works. When you realize 148 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 4: how connected these things are to the government and how 149 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:20,720 Speaker 4: ruthless some of these murders or mysterious deaths are, it 150 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:24,880 Speaker 4: gives you, in my opinion, a much more realistic look 151 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:28,720 Speaker 4: behind the mask, behind the curtain. And again, every country's 152 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:32,160 Speaker 4: h you know, in my opinion, well, factually true, I 153 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:36,720 Speaker 4: think every country is kind of leading government have skeletons 154 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:39,040 Speaker 4: in their closets or doing bad stuff or whatever. But 155 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:43,720 Speaker 4: this is a very unique phenomena where this many people 156 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 4: die with all pretty close affiliations this quickly, and as 157 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:53,560 Speaker 4: we already know, Russia kind of, in one of their words, 158 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:56,320 Speaker 4: like perfected the art of like accidental deaths, which are 159 00:08:56,320 --> 00:08:59,440 Speaker 4: actually assassinations. So I guess that's the short answer. But 160 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:02,080 Speaker 4: I mean it kind of came it's weird way. It 161 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:04,480 Speaker 4: came about. Like I was I was looking at something 162 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:07,840 Speaker 4: on four Chan, like not I wasn't like browsing for chance, 163 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:13,280 Speaker 4: but I was looking for some really rude memes. No, 164 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 4: I'm joking. I was just like I was on there 165 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:18,200 Speaker 4: for like research, and I just happened to come across 166 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:21,040 Speaker 4: this like list that some like four channel had made, 167 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:22,800 Speaker 4: like it was it was about like six or seven 168 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:24,680 Speaker 4: of these. It was like Russian hologarics die. And I 169 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:27,679 Speaker 4: was like, huh, like surely not, you know, like this 170 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:30,600 Speaker 4: is some four chan nonsense. So I looked at it 171 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:32,440 Speaker 4: into it, and I just kind didn't really think about it, 172 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 4: and then it was just on my mind. I was like, 173 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:35,440 Speaker 4: I want to know, like is that actually like is 174 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:38,200 Speaker 4: that four chan nonsense or is that legit? Some of 175 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:40,280 Speaker 4: them it was like, yeah, it was nonsense, but there 176 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:41,839 Speaker 4: was enough of them on the list. As I was 177 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:44,440 Speaker 4: looking into it to be like, hang on, like this 178 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:46,600 Speaker 4: is a bit weird now, and then as I got 179 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:49,600 Speaker 4: into it, I was like, this is this is fascinating. 180 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:52,240 Speaker 4: And my whole career I've wanted to work out how 181 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:55,439 Speaker 4: to do like true crime, but in my style, if 182 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 4: you like the way I kind of do things. I'm 183 00:09:57,120 --> 00:10:00,160 Speaker 4: not really into the kind of, you know, the more 184 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:04,680 Speaker 4: tuitous shock kind of true crime stuff. I really like 185 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:06,640 Speaker 4: the old school kind of true crime. Like I used 186 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:08,040 Speaker 4: to be a big fan of this. I am a 187 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:11,080 Speaker 4: big fan of this book called Midnight in the Garden 188 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:13,840 Speaker 4: of Good and Evil. Yes, yeah, right, great book, and 189 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:16,559 Speaker 4: that was my introduction to true crime years and years ago. 190 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:19,040 Speaker 4: So when I see the new what I consider kind 191 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:21,720 Speaker 4: of new true crime, I'm like, that's not really what 192 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:23,560 Speaker 4: it was meant to be about. It was actually quite 193 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:26,520 Speaker 4: journalistically heavy and you know, had a narrative, sure, but 194 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:29,880 Speaker 4: it was very kind of worthwhile reporting. And it don't 195 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:31,480 Speaker 4: get me wrong, a lot of true crime is still 196 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 4: it's just not the ones I was seeing so often. 197 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:36,440 Speaker 4: So I was like, you know what, let me let 198 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:38,720 Speaker 4: me look into this and maybe this can be my 199 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:41,600 Speaker 4: like true crime project, if you like. And it's very 200 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:44,280 Speaker 4: topical and it exposes a lot within like the Kremlin, 201 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:47,000 Speaker 4: and yeah, it just kind of came together and I 202 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:48,960 Speaker 4: kind of realized, Like early on, I was like, this 203 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:50,839 Speaker 4: is gonna be a big project, but it just felt 204 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:52,920 Speaker 4: like really worth it. Like the more we looked into it, 205 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:56,360 Speaker 4: each case was like are you kidding me? Like, you know, 206 00:10:56,480 --> 00:10:58,800 Speaker 4: in the coincidences get to the point where you're like, 207 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:01,760 Speaker 4: come on, like and when it hit that feeling, I 208 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 4: was like, yeah, this this needs Yeah, let's do this, you. 209 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:06,440 Speaker 2: Know, well, can we can we get into the fact 210 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:10,080 Speaker 2: that several of these people have died not in Russia 211 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:14,800 Speaker 2: or not in an even you know, immediately close country 212 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:19,040 Speaker 2: to Russia. I'm thinking about Mikhail Watform who died in 213 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:23,640 Speaker 2: Surrey or was found dead in England. So like when 214 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:27,840 Speaker 2: we're talking about these guys being investigated in and you know, 215 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:32,839 Speaker 2: Russia taking an action potentially, maybe do we think that 216 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:35,880 Speaker 2: you're operating in England and in Spain. 217 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:40,360 Speaker 4: I I this is the thing. So we say at 218 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:44,320 Speaker 4: the very start of the first episode, this is real life, 219 00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 4: and they aren't. Really We're not the police, you know, 220 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:50,400 Speaker 4: so we can't close any cases. So a lot of 221 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:52,920 Speaker 4: the deaths, you know, you have to say, well, look, 222 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:55,559 Speaker 4: this is weird. Here's what happened, and here's why. It's 223 00:11:55,559 --> 00:11:58,720 Speaker 4: an extreme coincidence. If it is, and here's our theory. 224 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:03,439 Speaker 4: It's either A or B. And I think one theory 225 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:06,160 Speaker 4: could be yeah, probably, and I think that there's a 226 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:08,400 Speaker 4: lot of evidence to suggest that's possible. I mean, it's 227 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 4: already happened. I mean, look at Litvinenko. You know, they 228 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:14,960 Speaker 4: got him in Britain. He was poisoned. If anyone doesn't know, 229 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:18,400 Speaker 4: and they the Salesbury poisoning as well. I mean, you know, 230 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:21,520 Speaker 4: they literally killed the brit by accident in the process 231 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 4: of it. It's just it's really not at all unlikely. 232 00:12:26,679 --> 00:12:30,520 Speaker 4: You know. I think any any government as powerful as Russia, 233 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:34,679 Speaker 4: any country as powerful as that, whether it be the US, Russia, whatever, 234 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:37,360 Speaker 4: they got people all over the place doing all sorts 235 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:39,880 Speaker 4: of stuff that we don't know about. And it doesn't 236 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:42,520 Speaker 4: always necessarily mean it's the government either, you know, like 237 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:45,680 Speaker 4: there's a lot of odd business dealings going on, and 238 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:48,400 Speaker 4: they might say, hey, this guy's got to go, and 239 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:50,079 Speaker 4: we don't like him. I know a guy we got, 240 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:52,959 Speaker 4: you know, and it is how it is, and and oh, 241 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:55,240 Speaker 4: you know, a lot of it is just a lot 242 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:57,640 Speaker 4: of people falling downstairs and out of windows and murdering 243 00:12:57,640 --> 00:12:59,199 Speaker 4: the whole families and it you know, it's just a 244 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:02,319 Speaker 4: very big convincident. But I think that's highly unlikely. And 245 00:13:02,559 --> 00:13:04,560 Speaker 4: I do think probably some of them, there are some 246 00:13:04,679 --> 00:13:08,000 Speaker 4: things within each one where there's like that bit of 247 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:10,880 Speaker 4: it might be a coincidence. And I fully went into 248 00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:12,680 Speaker 4: this me and Sergey said, like, if we think that 249 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:15,560 Speaker 4: this is literally just a coincidence, we are gonna flat 250 00:13:15,559 --> 00:13:17,880 Speaker 4: out say it, and we're still gonna report it, because 251 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:20,960 Speaker 4: you can't only look at the ones that are mysterious 252 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:23,240 Speaker 4: and dodgy, even if you boil it down and it's not. 253 00:13:23,679 --> 00:13:26,000 Speaker 4: But every single one so far, where eight episodes in, 254 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:29,559 Speaker 4: has been extremely strange. You know, this next one that's coming. 255 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:33,080 Speaker 4: Dan Rappaport, he was he actually died in America. He 256 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:37,520 Speaker 4: died in DC flat a window, and you know, we thought, 257 00:13:37,559 --> 00:13:39,240 Speaker 4: I looked at us as like, right, this is gonna 258 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 4: be the one where it's like, yeah, this is just 259 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:44,320 Speaker 4: an accident. And then the more we looked into it, Oh, 260 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:46,600 Speaker 4: he made his money in oil and gas in Russia. 261 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:49,080 Speaker 4: Oh he was anti pootin. Oh he had to flee Russia. 262 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:51,000 Speaker 4: He used to have a nightclub where all the oligarchs 263 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:53,920 Speaker 4: went to. And it's like hmm, I don't know. Oh 264 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:56,160 Speaker 4: and another guy fell out, yeah, a couple of days 265 00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:58,000 Speaker 4: before him. It's yeah, it's strange. 266 00:13:58,480 --> 00:13:59,840 Speaker 3: The Silent Killer when. 267 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:03,000 Speaker 4: Yeah, right, there's even a joke on like, you know, 268 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 4: a surgery was showing me like kind of social Russian sorry, 269 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:09,480 Speaker 4: Russian social media and things like that. There's even a 270 00:14:09,559 --> 00:14:12,040 Speaker 4: running joke of like you know, oh, you might catch 271 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:14,720 Speaker 4: a disease like falling out of a window disease. You know, 272 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,240 Speaker 4: like yeah, be careful. You might fall out of a 273 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:20,000 Speaker 4: window tomorrow, you know. And it's it's become a joke there. 274 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:23,280 Speaker 5: It's the new defenestration, you know, right. 275 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:25,880 Speaker 2: Right, Yah, Yeah, It's just a weird thing to me 276 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:29,360 Speaker 2: because we're you know, we're talking about if if let's 277 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:32,360 Speaker 2: say it was a Russian operation, any you know, one 278 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:37,520 Speaker 2: of these deaths, right, and it happens in Russia. My assumption, 279 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:39,640 Speaker 2: and maybe this is wrong, is that you can control 280 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:42,760 Speaker 2: the narrative a lot more if the investigating body is 281 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:46,440 Speaker 2: more or less under your control. Right, But then if 282 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:49,120 Speaker 2: you're in you know, if you're in England or Britain, 283 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:52,000 Speaker 2: if you're in the US, if you're in Spain, you know, 284 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:54,880 Speaker 2: it does feel like maybe it's a bit harder to 285 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:59,680 Speaker 2: control the way the investigation goes, which I don't know, 286 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:03,320 Speaker 2: just to me presents a problem that and maybe they 287 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:06,840 Speaker 2: don't care. Maybe if it's an actual operation, they don't 288 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:08,680 Speaker 2: care if any links are made. 289 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:13,600 Speaker 3: I mean, polonium is a pretty specific poison, right, you know. Yeah, 290 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:16,560 Speaker 3: there's that and that that that that point brings us 291 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 3: to something else that I really appreciate. The the points 292 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:26,360 Speaker 3: that you and Sergey continually return to, uh, there's objectivity 293 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:31,120 Speaker 3: in this reporting and in these investigations. And even when 294 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:38,440 Speaker 3: we as audience members are thinking, oh, yeah, no, Vladimir 295 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:42,040 Speaker 3: Putin had that guy killed. Uh, you're doing the ethical 296 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:47,800 Speaker 3: thing and saying we have to We can, we can 297 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:51,920 Speaker 3: bring in speculation, we can make connections, but we have 298 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:58,520 Speaker 3: to be absolutely uh, maintaining our integrity when we look 299 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:03,440 Speaker 3: at these competing theories. You have early on an interview 300 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 3: via a Russian translator with with what I think we 301 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:11,400 Speaker 3: could call an actual oligarch who believes he's been targeted 302 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:17,080 Speaker 3: in the past for assassination, and in that interchange you 303 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:21,480 Speaker 3: cite two competing theories about assassinations. Jake, I really liked 304 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:24,360 Speaker 3: that you asked him. One of the big ones you said, 305 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:29,440 Speaker 3: are these the two theories are one. These murders are 306 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:34,960 Speaker 3: standing out because the system the operators are kind of 307 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:39,600 Speaker 3: on a downward spiral. They're getting sloppy, or they're purposely 308 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:43,440 Speaker 3: leaving breadcrumbs to say, hey, you can't prove it, but 309 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:46,280 Speaker 3: everyone knows this was Russia. What do you think about 310 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:46,880 Speaker 3: those theories? 311 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:51,720 Speaker 4: I think I think the latter is in my opinion, 312 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:57,560 Speaker 4: more likely. It's well, well, I think he's a mixer 313 00:16:57,600 --> 00:16:59,520 Speaker 4: of both, to be honest with you. But I remember 314 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:03,520 Speaker 4: years ago I read this great book called Nothing Is 315 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:07,800 Speaker 4: RealD and Everything Is Possible, and it's about this guy. 316 00:17:07,840 --> 00:17:10,800 Speaker 4: He's like a Russian and British, you know, like I 317 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:12,879 Speaker 4: think his mother was Russian or his dad, whatever one was. 318 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:15,080 Speaker 4: The mother or the lad was British and he grew 319 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:17,040 Speaker 4: up in England. He grew up in Russia and he 320 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:22,160 Speaker 4: was It's a really interesting book looking at the reality 321 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:25,080 Speaker 4: TV boom so like Big Brother. Right. So this guy 322 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:27,320 Speaker 4: worked in like the mid two thousands in that in 323 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:30,480 Speaker 4: England and then for whatever reasons, he just wasn't getting 324 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:32,480 Speaker 4: any work. There was some issues whatever, So he said, 325 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:33,720 Speaker 4: you know what, I'm going to go to Russia and 326 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:36,280 Speaker 4: do the same work in the same industry. And through 327 00:17:36,359 --> 00:17:40,159 Speaker 4: that lens he really paints this picture of where the 328 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:43,680 Speaker 4: kind of cultural ideas are out regarding the state and 329 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:46,000 Speaker 4: the projection out to the rest of the world. And 330 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:48,240 Speaker 4: I thought that was very interesting. And to cut a 331 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:50,120 Speaker 4: long story short, the thing I really took from it. 332 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:52,400 Speaker 4: I'm not the smartest guy in the world, so maybe 333 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:54,200 Speaker 4: it wasn't the right thing to take from it. But 334 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:57,200 Speaker 4: the thing I took from it was when the Americans, 335 00:17:57,280 --> 00:17:59,760 Speaker 4: let's say example, right, because like Russian America always more 336 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:02,400 Speaker 4: like me is like the comic book enemy, like beef. Right. 337 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 4: So so if the Americans say like, oh, yeah, like 338 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:09,320 Speaker 4: we had to invade that country to defend America, right, 339 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:12,360 Speaker 4: the people go, yeah, we did. But when Russia say 340 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:14,600 Speaker 4: we had to go and you know, invade that country 341 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:17,880 Speaker 4: to defend Russia, the Russians are like, yeah we did. 342 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:20,240 Speaker 4: You know what I'm saying, Like, it's like the Russian 343 00:18:20,359 --> 00:18:23,960 Speaker 4: The American idea of it is like people starstruck and 344 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:27,119 Speaker 4: really believing the nonsense, whereas the Russian side of it 345 00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:29,960 Speaker 4: is more okay, we not believe it, but we're cynical. 346 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:31,760 Speaker 4: We just got to believe it whatever, you know what 347 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:33,920 Speaker 4: I mean. And I found that really interesting, And my 348 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:36,680 Speaker 4: point being, if you then take that kind of idea 349 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:42,320 Speaker 4: and match it to these assassinations, yeah, they might say, well, yeah, 350 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:43,919 Speaker 4: yeah we did it. Yeah we're letting you know you 351 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:46,200 Speaker 4: did it. What are you gonna do? You know, we'll 352 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:48,159 Speaker 4: just deny it. And everyone goes, yeah, wow, we know. 353 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:51,080 Speaker 4: That's why falling out a window as a joke. Over there, 354 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:53,879 Speaker 4: people aren't going this is crazy. They're like, yeah, of course, 355 00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:56,480 Speaker 4: you know what I'm saying, so and I think that 356 00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:58,920 Speaker 4: really speaks to it a lot. But that said that, 357 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:01,840 Speaker 4: if you look at the your Salesbury poisoning and stuff 358 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:06,919 Speaker 4: like that, there was actually also a huge catastrophe in 359 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:09,560 Speaker 4: regards to how they carried it out. It was clearly 360 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:13,479 Speaker 4: a mess. Now maybe they just don't care that it 361 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:16,120 Speaker 4: was a mess, or maybe it's because everybody is so 362 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:18,719 Speaker 4: kind of terrified of the guy at the top that 363 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:20,919 Speaker 4: the left hand is not shaking the right hand. You 364 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:22,719 Speaker 4: know what I'm saying. I mean, if you look at 365 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:24,960 Speaker 4: I think it's quite clear with the invasion of Ukraine, 366 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:28,520 Speaker 4: clearly nobody wanted to actually tell Poutin like this isn't 367 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:32,560 Speaker 4: gonna work. And now we've got, you know, a award 368 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:35,600 Speaker 4: that's ongoing from all over a year and a half that, 369 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:38,240 Speaker 4: to be honest, okay, it's awful, but it's been also 370 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:41,440 Speaker 4: a disaster for Russia. It's made their military, which was 371 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:44,600 Speaker 4: once considered the second best in the world, look ridiculous, 372 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:48,800 Speaker 4: and I think that that is part of it. I 373 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:51,440 Speaker 4: guess to answer the question, it's an amalgamation of everything, 374 00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:53,919 Speaker 4: But I really think there's there's layers to it, but 375 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:55,760 Speaker 4: I think there's a cultural aspect of it as well. 376 00:19:56,400 --> 00:19:58,800 Speaker 3: We're gonna pause here for word from our sponsors and 377 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:08,160 Speaker 3: will return with j camera head and we're back. 378 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:11,560 Speaker 2: This is slightly unrelated, Jake, but I just want to 379 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:14,399 Speaker 2: get your opinion on it. I guess what happens in 380 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:17,280 Speaker 2: your brain when you read that the United States is 381 00:20:17,359 --> 00:20:19,960 Speaker 2: sending cluster munitions to Ukraine? 382 00:20:21,119 --> 00:20:24,639 Speaker 4: Oh boy? Yeah. Well, one of the first things I 383 00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:27,159 Speaker 4: ever wrote when I was really young, I was like 384 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:29,520 Speaker 4: twenty two to twenty three, I wrote this article for Vice. 385 00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:31,600 Speaker 4: I wasn't there, I couldn't afford to go anywhere, but 386 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:36,800 Speaker 4: I wrote an article about the ongoing disaster that cluster 387 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:41,000 Speaker 4: munitions have had on laut and I believe it was 388 00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:45,360 Speaker 4: the most heavily bombed country on Earth perk right, Yeah, 389 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:48,959 Speaker 4: And there was I was talking with this NGO that 390 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:50,359 Speaker 4: basically demined the area. 391 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:50,680 Speaker 3: It was. 392 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:53,120 Speaker 4: It was really interesting. There were these like female teams 393 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:55,600 Speaker 4: of the miners for whatever reasons, they hadn't been in 394 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:57,399 Speaker 4: work for whatever, and they just happened to be a 395 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:01,119 Speaker 4: really good workforce for it. It wasn't like woke cluster 396 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:03,480 Speaker 4: munition removal or anything, you know. It was like real 397 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:08,520 Speaker 4: legitimate thing, and they were losing hands. Kids were losing 398 00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:10,360 Speaker 4: hands all the time, like you know, and they look 399 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:12,720 Speaker 4: like tennis balls. Basically some of these things that picked 400 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:15,439 Speaker 4: them up boom, hand is gotten. And I was just 401 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:17,719 Speaker 4: thinking about that when I was reading that, and I 402 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:21,320 Speaker 4: what really made me annoyed was that to say, like, hey, 403 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:26,119 Speaker 4: this is actually ridiculous. Put you on like people like 404 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 4: you're pro Russian, Like no, are you crazy? 405 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:29,560 Speaker 5: No, I'm not. 406 00:21:30,119 --> 00:21:32,760 Speaker 4: I just think that's really and wise, you know, And 407 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:36,159 Speaker 4: it really was quite stark to see where things have 408 00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:39,199 Speaker 4: gotten that people were going, it's fine, just give them 409 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:43,320 Speaker 4: cluster munitions, and it's firstly, they're not that effective, and secondly, 410 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 4: no one was asking for them. And thirdly, history tells 411 00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:49,879 Speaker 4: you it has always been a disaster. So it seems 412 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:51,639 Speaker 4: like a bad idea to me, you know what I mean. 413 00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:56,119 Speaker 3: It just sounds good in political theater, right. 414 00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:58,520 Speaker 4: Course we've sent them, like do you know what those do? 415 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:01,560 Speaker 4: And you know, I mean, if anything, it's gonna be 416 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:04,920 Speaker 4: nightmares for the Ukrainians for decades if they start showering 417 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:08,160 Speaker 4: these down, you know what I mean, that's it's like, okay, 418 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:10,400 Speaker 4: it might work in the short term, but then when 419 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:12,080 Speaker 4: the people go back to those areas and all their 420 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:15,159 Speaker 4: kids start losing limbs years after the war, Like, what 421 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:18,119 Speaker 4: is happening in Loud? I mean, it doesn't make any sense. 422 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:19,920 Speaker 4: And some people say, O, why they're going to deploy 423 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:22,760 Speaker 4: them Differently, they're not the same man. Look into cluster munition. 424 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:25,320 Speaker 4: A cluster munition is a cluster munition. You know, it's 425 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:28,120 Speaker 4: once it's there, hidden in the soil or whatever. There 426 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:29,760 Speaker 4: is no strategic deployment. 427 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:33,640 Speaker 2: And just just to I guess say it out loud, 428 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:37,240 Speaker 2: A cluster munition is essentially a bomb or something you 429 00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:40,000 Speaker 2: would launch like a munition and you'd see it explode 430 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:42,320 Speaker 2: if you were watching you know, live leak back in 431 00:22:42,359 --> 00:22:45,680 Speaker 2: the day. But in this case, it it shoots out 432 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:49,760 Speaker 2: a bunch of other explosives that often some of them 433 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:52,640 Speaker 2: explode upon impact. Some of them, like you said, Jake, 434 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:55,359 Speaker 2: just kind of hang out until they get moved. 435 00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:56,200 Speaker 4: Yeah. 436 00:22:56,240 --> 00:23:01,560 Speaker 3: It's like a it's like an incredibly evil version of 437 00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:05,840 Speaker 3: glitter in that once you put it out somewhere, it's everywhere. 438 00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:08,359 Speaker 4: Yes, yeah, yeah yeah. If you clean up, there's some 439 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:09,440 Speaker 4: left behind all the time. 440 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:15,120 Speaker 3: This is something that ties back into into these ideas, right, 441 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:20,560 Speaker 3: these these consequences for things, you know, as as you 442 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:25,840 Speaker 3: said earlier, sad oligarch is odd. Uh, it's ongoing. There's 443 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:29,879 Speaker 3: a mid season break. I believe again. We we just 444 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:34,400 Speaker 3: heard about the depth and difficulty of the investigation process here, 445 00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:37,920 Speaker 3: and I do believe the good things take time, so 446 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:42,280 Speaker 3: this makes absolute sense. We we've we would love to 447 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:45,879 Speaker 3: talk about some specific cases. We were just before we 448 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:51,080 Speaker 3: started recording Jake, we were talking off air about what 449 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:55,119 Speaker 3: I think is one of the weirdest ones. A board 450 00:23:55,160 --> 00:24:00,200 Speaker 3: member of Luke Oil, another energy giant, Alexander Subboltan, who 451 00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 3: was who officially died from a drug induced heart attack 452 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:11,800 Speaker 3: during a psychedelic or shamanic shamanic ritual for everyone listening 453 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:15,480 Speaker 3: played along at home. That's the official explanation of the 454 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:19,959 Speaker 3: Russian government is that this guy went and, did you know, 455 00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:23,760 Speaker 3: a spiritual journey kind of thing and had a heart attack. 456 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:27,960 Speaker 3: The other explanation is that he was purposely killed with 457 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:30,760 Speaker 3: poison from a toad. Can you tell us a little 458 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:31,440 Speaker 3: about that one? 459 00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:35,199 Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, it doesn't even sound real, does it? 460 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:39,320 Speaker 4: When I when I I send that to Sophie Licktum 461 00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:43,159 Speaker 4: and the producer, and she was like, are you like, 462 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:45,960 Speaker 4: are you serious. I was like, listen, just just listen 463 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:47,600 Speaker 4: to it, you know what I mean. I was like, no, 464 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:50,240 Speaker 4: I actually am serious, Like it's it did sound ridiculous, 465 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:52,800 Speaker 4: and to be honest, as wild as it sounds. When 466 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:54,840 Speaker 4: I started out with that one and me and said 467 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:56,760 Speaker 4: you were investigating and talking about it, I thought, this 468 00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:59,720 Speaker 4: is actually the coincidence one. It is wild, but it's 469 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:01,960 Speaker 4: too to be real. And then by the end of it, 470 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:04,760 Speaker 4: I actually really kind of didn't want ay on that. Well, 471 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 4: it's up in the air, but it would have been 472 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:10,119 Speaker 4: a very good moment to get rid of him, you 473 00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:11,560 Speaker 4: know what I mean. And this guy was a very 474 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:14,959 Speaker 4: heavy drinker, clear alcoholic by all accounts. This isn't just 475 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:16,800 Speaker 4: like propaganda like a lot of you know, people close 476 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:19,680 Speaker 4: to him were saying this, and it's almost as if 477 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:21,960 Speaker 4: they were like, ah, I mean, it'd be very easy 478 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:24,000 Speaker 4: if someone just found out, like, hey, that guy there, 479 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:27,960 Speaker 4: he's he's quite easy to get, you know. He was 480 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:30,840 Speaker 4: on the board of Luke Coil when Luke Coile. Sorry 481 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:33,160 Speaker 4: I should mention as well, the reason the Kremlin perhaps 482 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:35,080 Speaker 4: might be mad at Luke Coil is because they're the 483 00:25:35,119 --> 00:25:39,360 Speaker 4: second largest oil company. They're not stay owned, but they 484 00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:43,280 Speaker 4: make billions for the Kremlin in taxes and if you're 485 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:45,280 Speaker 4: making that kind of money, you're that kind of powerful 486 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:47,800 Speaker 4: in Russia. You know, the Kremlin has their hand in 487 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:52,000 Speaker 4: your back pocket. There's not much you can do. And basically, 488 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:54,399 Speaker 4: as soon as the war happened, as soon as Russia 489 00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:58,000 Speaker 4: invaded Ukraine, lukeal kind of put this statement out saying 490 00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:00,679 Speaker 4: we don't agree with this, we want p and it 491 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:04,840 Speaker 4: was yeah, to the West, it might seem vague, but 492 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:07,280 Speaker 4: in Russia at the time, at that moment, less than 493 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:10,040 Speaker 4: a week after the invasion, it was actually like pretty heavy. 494 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:12,959 Speaker 4: It was like them saying, yeah, we're against Putin on this. 495 00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:16,480 Speaker 4: It wasn't that explicit, but very easy to read between 496 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:19,919 Speaker 4: the lines. Now, does Luke Coyle care about Ukraine? Definitely not. 497 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:22,280 Speaker 4: I doubt they care about their bottom line. They care 498 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:24,840 Speaker 4: about money, and Luke Oil has a lot of dealings 499 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:27,000 Speaker 4: with the West. Like I said at the start, lou 500 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:30,960 Speaker 4: Coyle is making huge profits now off the back of 501 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:34,080 Speaker 4: being one of the few oil refineries still able to 502 00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:38,520 Speaker 4: operate Russian oil in Europe. And okay, that makes sense. 503 00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:40,720 Speaker 4: Now they've made record profits, But at the time the 504 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:43,320 Speaker 4: writing was on the wall. Everything's gone to disaster. People 505 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:45,680 Speaker 4: are getting sanctioned. One of the heads of Luke Coil 506 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:47,920 Speaker 4: had to step down because he was getting sanctioned later 507 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:50,840 Speaker 4: on by Britain and various other places. So they probably thought, right, 508 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:52,520 Speaker 4: we're going to lose a ton of money right now. 509 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:54,720 Speaker 4: And these are very rich people with very high overheads 510 00:26:55,119 --> 00:26:57,000 Speaker 4: and a lot of ego. You know, they built this 511 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:01,120 Speaker 4: company up, and you know, it's absolutely gigantic. They account 512 00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:04,600 Speaker 4: for something like more than two percent of all the 513 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:07,120 Speaker 4: world's oil. Now that might not sound like I much, 514 00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:09,960 Speaker 4: but when you realize, like you know, the amount like 515 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,280 Speaker 4: millions of barrels of oil a day in various countries 516 00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:13,640 Speaker 4: going through that's a hell of a lot of oil. 517 00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:16,800 Speaker 4: So they're a huge company. And he was on the 518 00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:20,520 Speaker 4: board and he dies, and then another guy, the president, 519 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:23,560 Speaker 4: he dies falls out of the window at hospital. It 520 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:26,800 Speaker 4: doesn't make sense. It's it's it's just very big coincidences. 521 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:32,080 Speaker 4: Now with so watching I feel like, hmm, maybe someone said, okay, 522 00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:34,040 Speaker 4: well this guy, there's one we can get rid of. 523 00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:35,639 Speaker 4: He was on the board. We don't know the inside 524 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:37,879 Speaker 4: of him for maybe he was instrumental in putting this 525 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:40,840 Speaker 4: statement out. They said, right, he's got to go. All right, well, 526 00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:42,200 Speaker 4: what's he doing? I don't know. Man. He goes to 527 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:44,320 Speaker 4: see shamans, which we explained in the episode is not 528 00:27:44,359 --> 00:27:46,920 Speaker 4: that unusual for the kind of rich and wealthy in Russia, 529 00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:48,960 Speaker 4: so they might I said, all right, well he's going 530 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:50,800 Speaker 4: to a shaman. Yeah, but he's going to like this 531 00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:55,040 Speaker 4: weird western shaman that's like an amalgamation of like other shamanism. 532 00:27:55,480 --> 00:27:58,159 Speaker 4: And they're actually, you know, they're they're already involved with 533 00:27:58,359 --> 00:28:03,040 Speaker 4: various kind of pretty high ranking people in Russia, like 534 00:28:03,119 --> 00:28:05,600 Speaker 4: pop stars and stuff like this. Okay, well we'll just 535 00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:07,359 Speaker 4: switch the poison and we'll just lean on them and 536 00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:10,120 Speaker 4: tell them to give them this. It would be actually 537 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:13,159 Speaker 4: fairly easy now you look at it. Okay, it sounds outrageous, 538 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:16,000 Speaker 4: but actually it will probably be one of the easier 539 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:18,640 Speaker 4: ones to do. Also, the guys alcoholic he went there 540 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:20,560 Speaker 4: to try and get off booze. People aren't going to 541 00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:24,000 Speaker 4: question it that much, you know. And he's taken. He's 542 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:27,159 Speaker 4: taken frog venom. He went for it. He wanted it, 543 00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:28,760 Speaker 4: you know, it wasn't like he was dragged there. He 544 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:31,240 Speaker 4: went for it anyway. And actually, when we looked into 545 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:33,960 Speaker 4: these two so called shamans, they got a lot of weird, 546 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:36,520 Speaker 4: dodgy dealings. Anyway, there was already a woman that launched 547 00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:39,280 Speaker 4: her a kind of investigation or tried to launch an 548 00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:42,200 Speaker 4: investigation into them, because she said that they threatened to 549 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:44,400 Speaker 4: kill her and they attacked her. And in this basement 550 00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:46,440 Speaker 4: there's all this weird stuff that they have, and that 551 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:49,840 Speaker 4: was also corroborated by somebody else, and the police and 552 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:51,960 Speaker 4: Russia just didn't do anything about it. It just kind of 553 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:54,320 Speaker 4: went away. So that in itself is kind of curious. Right. 554 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:55,960 Speaker 4: I don't know if we actually mentioned that, because I 555 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:57,480 Speaker 4: think it was a little bit too tenuous for me 556 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:00,520 Speaker 4: at the time. But yeah, that happened, and yeah, weird, 557 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:02,680 Speaker 4: very weird, you know, a very weird situation. 558 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:06,880 Speaker 2: Well, let's continue talking about motive because I'm really interested 559 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:11,000 Speaker 2: here to figure out, like, it's not about money, right, 560 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:15,440 Speaker 2: because any of these individuals who die, they're going to 561 00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:18,520 Speaker 2: give that money to you know, family members, or it's 562 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:20,480 Speaker 2: going to go down the chain somewhere. 563 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:24,800 Speaker 4: Well, there is some circumstances in Russia which we will 564 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:27,600 Speaker 4: get into, I think later in this series, because things 565 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:29,440 Speaker 4: have changed quite a lot and it's still kind of Murky. 566 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:32,120 Speaker 4: It's a little bit unclear where it's at, but there 567 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:36,920 Speaker 4: is some circumstances in Russia where if your whole family 568 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:42,560 Speaker 4: dies or is killed, your money goes to the state. Yeah, 569 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:44,720 Speaker 4: so bearing in mind that in the last twelve months 570 00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:49,800 Speaker 4: there have been three family annihilations. However, two of them 571 00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:51,840 Speaker 4: there are two remaining kids that just happened not to 572 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:53,920 Speaker 4: be there at the time, so maybe they got the money. 573 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:56,640 Speaker 4: But yeah, it's a weird one. It's something we're looking 574 00:29:56,640 --> 00:29:59,920 Speaker 4: into a little bit further. But it's it's a trick. 575 00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:03,640 Speaker 4: And I don't know I even so. I mean, two billion, like, 576 00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:06,160 Speaker 4: it's not nothing to the to the Kremlin, they don't 577 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:08,200 Speaker 4: need two billion, you know what I mean. So I 578 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:09,800 Speaker 4: looked at that as well, and at the start me 579 00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:12,200 Speaker 4: and Surgery, we're talking about this, and I was like, oh, 580 00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:13,800 Speaker 4: it's that. And then I was like, hang on, the 581 00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:15,640 Speaker 4: Kremlin doesn't need to billion. What do they care about 582 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:17,480 Speaker 4: two billion? You know? Okay, it's a lot of money, 583 00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:19,960 Speaker 4: Sure they would prefer it, but it's I don't think 584 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:22,160 Speaker 4: they were like, yeah, we're so strapped for cash, let's 585 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:24,640 Speaker 4: kill everybody and accumulate the wealth of them. There's other 586 00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:25,960 Speaker 4: ways to do it, I think. 587 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:29,479 Speaker 3: And there's a there's something else here too that I 588 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:32,600 Speaker 3: think the family annihilation parts stood out, and that that 589 00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:37,080 Speaker 3: speaks to the inherent true crime aspect of what you 590 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:41,760 Speaker 3: have to do in the journalism here, because these are crimes, 591 00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:46,120 Speaker 3: even if they are portrayed as accidents. It might surprise 592 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:49,840 Speaker 3: a lot of people to know that the idea of 593 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:55,040 Speaker 3: falling downstairs or windows death from a fall from a 594 00:30:55,080 --> 00:31:00,040 Speaker 3: height is a known, im proven method of assassination in 595 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:06,640 Speaker 3: intelligence circles. With this being a known method of assassination, 596 00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:10,880 Speaker 3: and with you know, intelligence circles being kind of rarefied air, 597 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:17,760 Speaker 3: did you have any conversations with non Russian intelligence or 598 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:20,040 Speaker 3: anything like that to get their take on this? 599 00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:23,320 Speaker 4: Well, the problem with that is I spoke to people 600 00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:25,680 Speaker 4: not like intelligence agencies, but people don't know about that 601 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:28,400 Speaker 4: kind of thing. And I just feel like it's very 602 00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:31,000 Speaker 4: much in their interest to go, yeah, yeah, Russia's killing 603 00:31:31,040 --> 00:31:34,640 Speaker 4: everybody like because that right. And it's someone that works 604 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:37,040 Speaker 4: in an intelligence agency. It doesn't want to give you 605 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:39,280 Speaker 4: a straight answer. They want to influence what you do 606 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:43,240 Speaker 4: my work. I really try to avoid all that kind 607 00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:45,920 Speaker 4: of thing. Even analysts sometimes a lot of analysts are 608 00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:50,440 Speaker 4: in bed with various intelligence agencies, and that's not like 609 00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:55,040 Speaker 4: weird looney Twitter conspiracy. It's very true. A lot of universities, 610 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:58,480 Speaker 4: a lot of think tanks that are independently funded, you'll 611 00:31:58,480 --> 00:32:01,000 Speaker 4: find out, oh, along the pipeline and they're getting money 612 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:02,800 Speaker 4: from the US government or whatever. So to be honest, 613 00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:04,760 Speaker 4: I really wanted to kind of avoid that. I didn't 614 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:06,800 Speaker 4: even like, I kind of didn't want to bring it 615 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:09,160 Speaker 4: in at all because I just feel like it's very 616 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:12,880 Speaker 4: easy for people to see this as my team's the 617 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:15,280 Speaker 4: best and just be like, look what those evil Russians 618 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:18,240 Speaker 4: are doing, you know, like very stereotypical, and I really 619 00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:20,360 Speaker 4: wanted to avoid that side of it because I just 620 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:22,280 Speaker 4: wanted to be like, look, this is happening, this is this. 621 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:24,960 Speaker 4: It doesn't need to be a part of this football 622 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:27,200 Speaker 4: match of supporting this side and that side that is 623 00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:29,440 Speaker 4: so popular on the internet. If I'd have done that, 624 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:31,880 Speaker 4: it'd probably been maybe a little bit more popular because 625 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:34,600 Speaker 4: people love that kind of thing. But luckily it's done 626 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:36,160 Speaker 4: really well anyway. It was like at the top of 627 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:37,960 Speaker 4: the charts like the first two weeks. I was happy 628 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:39,880 Speaker 4: about that, but I didn't want it to yeah. I 629 00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:42,680 Speaker 4: didn't want it to turn into like that kind of thing. 630 00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:45,640 Speaker 4: And any any intelligence people you'll speak to, they have 631 00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:48,560 Speaker 4: a vested interest in doing that, even if they're retired. 632 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:50,680 Speaker 4: You know, once you're in that game, you're never retired. 633 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:52,920 Speaker 4: I don't really think and I just felt like, yeah, 634 00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:55,440 Speaker 4: they're going to say this, that and the other. Oh yeah, 635 00:32:55,560 --> 00:32:58,680 Speaker 4: it's probably Russia doing this. I didn't really feel like 636 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:01,479 Speaker 4: there's anything in there that they could add that we 637 00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:05,200 Speaker 4: weren't getting from our own stuff. And the best way 638 00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:06,640 Speaker 4: I was to look at it historically, you know, like 639 00:33:06,880 --> 00:33:10,640 Speaker 4: on one of the episodes we had scientist Yovanna Matsiz, 640 00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:15,479 Speaker 4: she was saying about how the Soviet Union perfected, They 641 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:17,760 Speaker 4: even gave it like a name, perfected how to kill 642 00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:20,680 Speaker 4: people by accident with poisons and stuff like that. And 643 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:22,479 Speaker 4: I mean that is self speaks a lot louder than 644 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:26,239 Speaker 4: I think an analyst with ties to the kind of 645 00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:29,280 Speaker 4: DC circle job being like, oh, yeah, they're. 646 00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:33,120 Speaker 3: All monsters, you know, right, And then that's that's another 647 00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:36,480 Speaker 3: thing that I do want to shout out. The experts 648 00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:41,080 Speaker 3: that you speak with are are not the raw ra 649 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:46,840 Speaker 3: go my team kind of intelligence hooligans, as it were, Yeah. 650 00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:49,760 Speaker 3: The one thing that stood out to me is when 651 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:54,560 Speaker 3: you and SERGEI are talking about a very specific type 652 00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:59,080 Speaker 3: of knife that is found in a in a murder scene, 653 00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:02,760 Speaker 3: and then I was wondering, in full transparent to I 654 00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:05,680 Speaker 3: was wondering, well, how are they going to go with this? 655 00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:08,320 Speaker 3: Like how much were we going to go with the knife? 656 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:14,479 Speaker 3: And by god, you guys hunted down experts on knife history. Yeah, 657 00:34:15,160 --> 00:34:18,839 Speaker 3: specific these specific blades. Could you tell us a little 658 00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:22,359 Speaker 3: bit about that, because it's that that also is I 659 00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:25,520 Speaker 3: think investigation plus true crime there. 660 00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:28,080 Speaker 4: Yeah, well, for me, believe it or what, that side 661 00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:30,880 Speaker 4: of it has been easy because of popular front So 662 00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:34,760 Speaker 4: my platform we focus on very niche details of modern 663 00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:39,200 Speaker 4: warfare and underreported conflicts, and we're like the anoraks of 664 00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:42,240 Speaker 4: the war reporting, you know, we are Strapline has always 665 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:44,720 Speaker 4: been NOI for it was no leitism, and our idea 666 00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:47,280 Speaker 4: was we wanted to break down all these annoying barriers 667 00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:49,880 Speaker 4: that like journalists who think they're so important like to 668 00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:51,799 Speaker 4: put up around this industry. And we wanted to bring 669 00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:53,520 Speaker 4: in all these nerds and be like, hey, come with us, 670 00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:57,319 Speaker 4: like you know, there's someone for everything. And I was 671 00:34:57,480 --> 00:34:59,719 Speaker 4: asking around, like our network. I mean, the team is 672 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:01,600 Speaker 4: I know, there's like what ten of us, but the 673 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:04,239 Speaker 4: network is like hundreds thousands, you know what I mean. 674 00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:06,719 Speaker 4: So I was asking about like an other kind of networks, 675 00:35:06,719 --> 00:35:10,080 Speaker 4: like is there anyone like you know kind of it's 676 00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:12,400 Speaker 4: a bit weird, but is anyone an expert on knives? 677 00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:16,160 Speaker 4: Like ten? People were like yep, me. So I was like, okay, 678 00:35:16,440 --> 00:35:18,040 Speaker 4: and we had like in the end, it was really 679 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:20,360 Speaker 4: useful because Okay, we spoke to like one guy and 680 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:22,239 Speaker 4: we went with what he had, but we were able 681 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:25,520 Speaker 4: to cross reference it with like three other really really 682 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:30,799 Speaker 4: good kind of experts or knives, and through all three 683 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:33,200 Speaker 4: of them, I was going to put them together. I 684 00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:35,120 Speaker 4: was like, now, let's not talk to each one, let's 685 00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:37,879 Speaker 4: compartmentalize each one and then cross reference it that way 686 00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:40,680 Speaker 4: so they're not influence each other or whatever. And through that, 687 00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:42,560 Speaker 4: I feel like it was like a blind study, I guess, 688 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:44,160 Speaker 4: if you like, like in a very crude way. And 689 00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:46,759 Speaker 4: through that we really narrowed it down. And that's how 690 00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:48,680 Speaker 4: in the end it became obvious like ah, it's this, 691 00:35:48,719 --> 00:35:50,719 Speaker 4: it's this company, is from here, it's from here. And 692 00:35:51,360 --> 00:35:54,040 Speaker 4: I liked, I really I put that all in the 693 00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:56,439 Speaker 4: episode this episode one that because I wanted to show 694 00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:59,719 Speaker 4: the kind of real time workings of it, because that 695 00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:02,000 Speaker 4: is such an interesting part of it, and it really 696 00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:04,480 Speaker 4: I don't want to keep the investigation. I want to 697 00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:05,759 Speaker 4: I want to go, here's how we did it, and 698 00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:07,360 Speaker 4: then anyone else if they want to learn from that 699 00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:10,880 Speaker 4: they can, rather than like, oh, our secret sources. And 700 00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:14,359 Speaker 4: you know, there's obviously people we can't talk about because 701 00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:16,400 Speaker 4: of the town situation in Russia. There's people that we 702 00:36:16,520 --> 00:36:20,040 Speaker 4: you know. I actually spoke to a guy yesterday who 703 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:24,640 Speaker 4: is kind of a Russian career criminal to be honest, 704 00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:27,359 Speaker 4: and he was useful to talk to, and he was like, 705 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:29,319 Speaker 4: I can never go on the record about this, but 706 00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:30,640 Speaker 4: here's what I think about. 707 00:36:30,440 --> 00:36:32,600 Speaker 3: This, like afore like a thief in law. 708 00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:36,400 Speaker 4: Not quite no, no, I know what you mean, but 709 00:36:36,440 --> 00:36:40,000 Speaker 4: not quite a little bit more higher I think. I mean, 710 00:36:40,440 --> 00:36:43,200 Speaker 4: he's a businessman, but you know, he's quite open about 711 00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:47,319 Speaker 4: he's a naughty boy and anyway, Yeah, but that was 712 00:36:47,400 --> 00:36:49,960 Speaker 4: really useful, you know, and I was like, well, how 713 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:52,080 Speaker 4: can we explain that? And some things you can't. You 714 00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:54,160 Speaker 4: can't sure we can say who we spoke to, but 715 00:36:54,200 --> 00:36:57,600 Speaker 4: we can't get him to explain something and I can't 716 00:36:57,680 --> 00:36:59,480 Speaker 4: say it because then it will expose who he is. 717 00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:01,920 Speaker 4: So there's a lot really difficult things. But where we 718 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:03,480 Speaker 4: can we try and say like, hey, this is how 719 00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:04,160 Speaker 4: we worked it out. 720 00:37:04,719 --> 00:37:06,520 Speaker 2: And with that, we're going to take a quick break. 721 00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:08,760 Speaker 2: Here a word from our sponsor, but we'll be right 722 00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:19,000 Speaker 2: back for more sad oligarchy and we've returned. 723 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:22,360 Speaker 6: If I could shift gears slightly to the whole scientific 724 00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:25,840 Speaker 6: community aspect of it, it reminds me of like you know, Chernobyl, 725 00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:28,640 Speaker 6: for example, where there are scientists within the Russian government 726 00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:31,880 Speaker 6: who want to tell people about this you know, nuclear meltdown, 727 00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:34,640 Speaker 6: but the government is basically like, no, this didn't happen, 728 00:37:34,760 --> 00:37:36,680 Speaker 6: and it didn't happen because we say it didn't happen, 729 00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:39,320 Speaker 6: and that is the line that we need everyone to follow, 730 00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:42,120 Speaker 6: and if you don't, then you know, woeful things will 731 00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:43,919 Speaker 6: happen to you. And also, there was a really great 732 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:46,600 Speaker 6: documentary on Vice and I've read about it else where 733 00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:49,400 Speaker 6: about this city in Russia called asbest Or they actually 734 00:37:49,440 --> 00:37:52,719 Speaker 6: mine asbestos and it's you know, people get sick and 735 00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:54,040 Speaker 6: have cancer, but no. 736 00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:56,400 Speaker 5: They don't, that's not true. Don't worry about it. 737 00:37:56,440 --> 00:38:00,319 Speaker 6: Everything's fine, and then the doctor interview scientists who say 738 00:38:00,360 --> 00:38:03,360 Speaker 6: that they're scientists say no, it's fine, it's totally safe. 739 00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:07,759 Speaker 6: Everything's okay, and anyone that says otherwise, you know, obviously 740 00:38:07,800 --> 00:38:10,439 Speaker 6: it would be terrified to speak on the record, would 741 00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:12,040 Speaker 6: be in fear of their life. Can you just speak 742 00:38:12,080 --> 00:38:14,680 Speaker 6: a little bit about that, like kind of tradition of 743 00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:17,719 Speaker 6: information control, and that leads to things like. 744 00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:21,759 Speaker 4: This, Yeah, I mean, it's not Soviet Russia. It's not 745 00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:26,319 Speaker 4: as bad as that. And there are adversarial papers even 746 00:38:26,360 --> 00:38:30,120 Speaker 4: now against poutin that are maybe let's not say they're 747 00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:33,920 Speaker 4: allowed to freely operate, but they do operay, and you know, 748 00:38:34,120 --> 00:38:36,320 Speaker 4: Medusa is an excellent one, although they did get closed 749 00:38:36,320 --> 00:38:38,359 Speaker 4: down in Russia and then now now being accused of 750 00:38:38,360 --> 00:38:40,920 Speaker 4: being like foreign agents or maybe that's a bad example. 751 00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:44,680 Speaker 4: But it's very restrictive. But before the war it was 752 00:38:44,719 --> 00:38:47,680 Speaker 4: a little less so, and now with the Ukraine War 753 00:38:47,719 --> 00:38:49,719 Speaker 4: it's just a different fever. Pitching or you can get 754 00:38:49,719 --> 00:38:51,920 Speaker 4: like fifteen years in prison for just being against the 755 00:38:51,960 --> 00:38:56,600 Speaker 4: war or like organizing a peaceful protest of like two people. 756 00:38:57,200 --> 00:39:00,680 Speaker 4: Ironically enough, Britain actually has a very similar law now 757 00:39:00,719 --> 00:39:05,000 Speaker 4: called the police crime sentencing law, which is crazy and 758 00:39:05,040 --> 00:39:09,000 Speaker 4: it's like akin to like Russian or Turkish style authoritarianism. 759 00:39:09,239 --> 00:39:13,480 Speaker 4: And everybody's like, this is fine, but anyway Western values 760 00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:16,759 Speaker 4: for you. But yeah, so they since the war, it 761 00:39:16,840 --> 00:39:18,960 Speaker 4: got a lot worse. Like any of those weird laws 762 00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:21,360 Speaker 4: that you'd maybe been able to skirt around or as 763 00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:23,680 Speaker 4: long as you don't say that this thing, they'll let 764 00:39:23,719 --> 00:39:27,680 Speaker 4: you go. They're kind of really more hardly, like more 765 00:39:27,719 --> 00:39:29,919 Speaker 4: and more firmly enforced now, if you know what I'm saying. 766 00:39:29,920 --> 00:39:32,800 Speaker 4: They were always there, but the journalists they knew, Okay, 767 00:39:32,880 --> 00:39:34,839 Speaker 4: we can say this, but we'll draw the line here. 768 00:39:34,880 --> 00:39:38,240 Speaker 4: We have to just maybe let's not say he's corrupt. 769 00:39:38,280 --> 00:39:40,640 Speaker 4: Maybe let's say someone close to him was involved in 770 00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:43,680 Speaker 4: the corrupt. You know, there were ways around it, unfortunately 771 00:39:43,719 --> 00:39:47,200 Speaker 4: self censorship, but we have that. That's a part of 772 00:39:47,239 --> 00:39:50,000 Speaker 4: the journalism industry now, especially even in the West. You know, 773 00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:52,879 Speaker 4: like my platform, we have to censor everything we do. Well, 774 00:39:52,920 --> 00:39:54,919 Speaker 4: we don't censer what we do. That's why we're now 775 00:39:54,960 --> 00:39:58,479 Speaker 4: censored by social media companies. So I don't think it's 776 00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:01,480 Speaker 4: like just Russia that has this, but it's Russia that 777 00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:08,200 Speaker 4: it has it. In the most kind of easily understandable form, 778 00:40:08,320 --> 00:40:11,200 Speaker 4: if that makes sense. Where like you said, people literally 779 00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:14,400 Speaker 4: have to lie, bare face, lie on camera depending on 780 00:40:14,440 --> 00:40:16,239 Speaker 4: which role they're in. Now, you everyday man on the 781 00:40:16,239 --> 00:40:20,160 Speaker 4: street can go yeah, yeah, that the scientists are lying. Yeah, 782 00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:22,200 Speaker 4: people are dying. They're probably going to be fine, but 783 00:40:22,239 --> 00:40:24,600 Speaker 4: the scientists involved, can you know what I'm saying. And 784 00:40:24,600 --> 00:40:26,600 Speaker 4: if he well he can, but he might find out 785 00:40:26,640 --> 00:40:29,320 Speaker 4: in six months he's fired or he dies or something. 786 00:40:29,480 --> 00:40:32,759 Speaker 4: So it's a very weird situation right now. And it's 787 00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:35,640 Speaker 4: not just like from the top. There's all different factions 788 00:40:35,680 --> 00:40:40,839 Speaker 4: fighting about stuff. It's not always necessary information. It's not 789 00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:42,680 Speaker 4: just that the info's out there, it's how will that 790 00:40:42,719 --> 00:40:45,680 Speaker 4: affect my bottom line for this company? Oh they've told 791 00:40:45,719 --> 00:40:47,719 Speaker 4: them this, Okay, well then we have to kill him 792 00:40:47,719 --> 00:40:49,320 Speaker 4: because they're not going to get the you know, stuff 793 00:40:49,360 --> 00:40:51,560 Speaker 4: like that, or we have to silence him. So it's 794 00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:53,920 Speaker 4: I think some people see it as this like column 795 00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:56,360 Speaker 4: of evil at the top that stamps down on everyone. 796 00:40:56,360 --> 00:40:59,120 Speaker 4: It's not quite that. It's just okay, don't get me wrong, 797 00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:01,560 Speaker 4: Like you know, censorship is awful anywhere it is. But 798 00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:05,919 Speaker 4: but my point is it's it's endemic in all different parts, 799 00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:08,799 Speaker 4: and it's like, okay, well we need to protect our 800 00:41:08,880 --> 00:41:11,200 Speaker 4: business interests, so we need to stop him saying that. 801 00:41:11,600 --> 00:41:13,840 Speaker 4: Oh well, if he says that he's gonna make this 802 00:41:13,920 --> 00:41:15,520 Speaker 4: guy look bad and and I'm not gonna be able 803 00:41:15,560 --> 00:41:17,360 Speaker 4: to do that deal or you know, and it's it, 804 00:41:17,480 --> 00:41:19,640 Speaker 4: then it's like a domino effect, and it's it's from 805 00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:20,359 Speaker 4: the top, but it's. 806 00:41:20,280 --> 00:41:22,719 Speaker 3: Everywhere different stakeholders, right exactly. 807 00:41:23,520 --> 00:41:25,840 Speaker 4: It's almost worse like that, right, because you don't know 808 00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:28,680 Speaker 4: where it's coming from. Yes, the state has an iron grip, 809 00:41:28,719 --> 00:41:30,360 Speaker 4: but it's a lot of other people, you know. 810 00:41:30,640 --> 00:41:31,880 Speaker 6: To your point about a lot of the stuff not 811 00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:34,520 Speaker 6: being uniquely Russian, I mean, let's not live under any 812 00:41:34,560 --> 00:41:38,799 Speaker 6: illusions that the US government doesn't assassinate inconvenient people. Oh yeah, 813 00:41:39,440 --> 00:41:41,760 Speaker 6: I mean, come on, it's just a little less brazen, 814 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:43,720 Speaker 6: they hired it a little better or whatever. 815 00:41:43,760 --> 00:41:47,759 Speaker 4: But the idea is America doesn't do that anymore. That's 816 00:41:47,760 --> 00:41:51,840 Speaker 4: the idea. It's like in twenty years that were in 817 00:41:51,880 --> 00:41:53,920 Speaker 4: a report coming out like, oh look what they did, 818 00:41:53,960 --> 00:41:55,400 Speaker 4: when when they said they didn't do it anymore? 819 00:41:55,880 --> 00:41:58,839 Speaker 3: What's the right guy? What's the right guy? Has had 820 00:41:58,880 --> 00:42:04,320 Speaker 3: his fancy state funeral. Right, the expos rolls out, There's something, 821 00:42:04,560 --> 00:42:06,920 Speaker 3: there's something else here that I think a lot of 822 00:42:06,960 --> 00:42:11,040 Speaker 3: our listeners are have already connected just from our conversations. 823 00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:14,879 Speaker 3: Let's talk about it a little more directly. So what 824 00:42:14,920 --> 00:42:21,240 Speaker 3: we're seeing is internal chaos. The even you know, post 825 00:42:21,400 --> 00:42:25,319 Speaker 3: USSR collapse, there was a new regime, a new era. 826 00:42:25,520 --> 00:42:28,560 Speaker 3: I did drop the word kleptocracy, which some people might 827 00:42:28,600 --> 00:42:34,480 Speaker 3: object to, but I'm right. The there was a sort 828 00:42:34,520 --> 00:42:40,279 Speaker 3: of unification of things. But this change, there was a 829 00:42:40,280 --> 00:42:45,600 Speaker 3: fever pitch and chaos became widespread domestically. I think this 830 00:42:45,600 --> 00:42:48,520 Speaker 3: this new regime got up ended when the war in 831 00:42:48,719 --> 00:42:53,760 Speaker 3: Ukraine goes hot. We see an uptick in the deaths 832 00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:58,959 Speaker 3: of these oligarchs, these associated people, even you know, uto, 833 00:42:59,120 --> 00:43:03,319 Speaker 3: academic science, et cetera. And we have to ask is 834 00:43:03,360 --> 00:43:06,520 Speaker 3: there a correlation there? Did the uptake like you mentioned 835 00:43:06,600 --> 00:43:12,040 Speaker 3: Luke Oil's statement, right, did the uptake in conflict the 836 00:43:12,080 --> 00:43:16,719 Speaker 3: beginning of the rush of the Ukraine conflict? Did that 837 00:43:17,160 --> 00:43:21,400 Speaker 3: trigger the deaths of these oligarchs or like, how related 838 00:43:21,920 --> 00:43:23,000 Speaker 3: are these deaths. 839 00:43:23,360 --> 00:43:26,200 Speaker 4: That's a great question. I don't really have a clear answer. 840 00:43:26,480 --> 00:43:30,360 Speaker 4: I think it's been used as an opportunity to do 841 00:43:30,440 --> 00:43:33,399 Speaker 4: it if it is done like that. And I think 842 00:43:33,440 --> 00:43:39,080 Speaker 4: also it's brought up some issues that were already there 843 00:43:39,840 --> 00:43:43,080 Speaker 4: that have kind of had the nerves bed out, and 844 00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:45,719 Speaker 4: so people are like, ah, yeah, okay, right, that's we're 845 00:43:45,719 --> 00:43:46,880 Speaker 4: at the point now we have to deal with this 846 00:43:47,040 --> 00:43:49,480 Speaker 4: right now. I think that's happened. And there is some 847 00:43:49,520 --> 00:43:51,200 Speaker 4: people that said, oh, well, why are you doing This 848 00:43:51,239 --> 00:43:53,440 Speaker 4: has been going on for ages. It's just you know, 849 00:43:53,760 --> 00:43:55,960 Speaker 4: it just seems worse now people are looking at Russia 850 00:43:56,000 --> 00:43:58,200 Speaker 4: because of the war. That's not true. There's never been 851 00:43:58,239 --> 00:44:02,520 Speaker 4: a correlation like this. It's that many. No, not like this. 852 00:44:02,640 --> 00:44:04,799 Speaker 4: It's like when people say, oh, well the world has 853 00:44:04,840 --> 00:44:08,160 Speaker 4: been warming up and getting colder ever since time began. Yeah, 854 00:44:08,160 --> 00:44:10,480 Speaker 4: that's true, but then look at how fast that has 855 00:44:10,480 --> 00:44:12,600 Speaker 4: happened in the last ten years. Okay, it's very clear 856 00:44:12,600 --> 00:44:15,239 Speaker 4: there's a difference. So without the context there, it's kind 857 00:44:15,239 --> 00:44:18,160 Speaker 4: of it seems like, oh, this has always been happening, 858 00:44:18,160 --> 00:44:20,280 Speaker 4: but with the context of like, no, not this quickly, 859 00:44:20,400 --> 00:44:23,479 Speaker 4: not this many, not this closely connected in the last 860 00:44:23,560 --> 00:44:26,800 Speaker 4: nine months, in the last year, and so many, three 861 00:44:26,920 --> 00:44:30,920 Speaker 4: family annihilations in the space of nine months, all people connected. 862 00:44:31,160 --> 00:44:33,879 Speaker 4: When I spoke to the expert on family and annihilations, 863 00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:35,279 Speaker 4: I didn't tell her that to the end, and she 864 00:44:35,360 --> 00:44:38,279 Speaker 4: was like what now, She's like, I've never heard of 865 00:44:38,320 --> 00:44:41,960 Speaker 4: that happening, and it's an extremely rare situation. So I 866 00:44:42,040 --> 00:44:43,759 Speaker 4: think I think it's a bit of both. I think 867 00:44:43,800 --> 00:44:45,799 Speaker 4: maybe more attention is on it, maybe the West are 868 00:44:45,800 --> 00:44:47,640 Speaker 4: paying attention a little bit more because of the war. 869 00:44:47,800 --> 00:44:50,799 Speaker 4: But at the same time, there's more happening I think 870 00:44:50,800 --> 00:44:51,439 Speaker 4: because of the war. 871 00:44:52,120 --> 00:44:54,480 Speaker 6: Family annihilation, I mean, that just seems like just the 872 00:44:54,520 --> 00:44:58,439 Speaker 6: most aggressive retribution to make an example out of someone, 873 00:44:58,920 --> 00:45:00,920 Speaker 6: or is there something for there? You said you were 874 00:45:00,960 --> 00:45:03,320 Speaker 6: looking into the idea of the state getting the money, 875 00:45:03,560 --> 00:45:05,080 Speaker 6: but in the examples that you saw there were just 876 00:45:05,080 --> 00:45:08,520 Speaker 6: a couple of kids that survived. What do you think, Like, 877 00:45:08,680 --> 00:45:11,759 Speaker 6: is family annihilation just like this is us really making 878 00:45:11,800 --> 00:45:12,840 Speaker 6: an example out of you? 879 00:45:13,360 --> 00:45:15,279 Speaker 5: Is it about what people in the family know? 880 00:45:15,719 --> 00:45:20,000 Speaker 4: Like, what do you think I think if it's someone 881 00:45:20,080 --> 00:45:23,000 Speaker 4: came in and killed the whole family and then staged 882 00:45:23,040 --> 00:45:26,239 Speaker 4: it to look like murder suicide. If it's that, I 883 00:45:26,320 --> 00:45:30,000 Speaker 4: believe it's like you said the latter, to make an example. 884 00:45:30,239 --> 00:45:32,640 Speaker 4: Look what we'll do to you it's very mafia like, right, 885 00:45:32,719 --> 00:45:35,080 Speaker 4: it's you think about it. Oh, I can't believe that. 886 00:45:35,120 --> 00:45:37,120 Speaker 4: But if you put it into the context of like, well, look, 887 00:45:37,120 --> 00:45:40,440 Speaker 4: this is like a mafia, which is what oligaksa essentially are. 888 00:45:40,640 --> 00:45:42,560 Speaker 4: You know, they were connected to and all of them 889 00:45:42,840 --> 00:45:45,000 Speaker 4: kind of came about through like a very murky world 890 00:45:45,040 --> 00:45:47,960 Speaker 4: weist period within the collapse of the USSR. A lot 891 00:45:48,000 --> 00:45:49,560 Speaker 4: of them were criminals, you know, a lot of them 892 00:45:49,600 --> 00:45:53,840 Speaker 4: got their tokens, got their money through criminality. Yeah, definitely 893 00:45:53,920 --> 00:45:57,160 Speaker 4: like very mafias thing to do, right, kill everybody. Now 894 00:45:57,200 --> 00:45:59,239 Speaker 4: you'll learn, like, you know, like who's going to come 895 00:45:59,280 --> 00:46:01,560 Speaker 4: against this? Okay, some sus I'll kill you, all right, 896 00:46:01,600 --> 00:46:03,239 Speaker 4: well I'll take the risk. Some as that I'll kill 897 00:46:03,280 --> 00:46:05,960 Speaker 4: your family. Yeah, that's the next level, right, Like it's 898 00:46:06,320 --> 00:46:09,480 Speaker 4: it's the most precious thing, and I think that. But 899 00:46:09,560 --> 00:46:11,600 Speaker 4: then the other side of it could be, well, maybe 900 00:46:11,600 --> 00:46:13,640 Speaker 4: this is a coincidence. You know, the kind of people 901 00:46:13,640 --> 00:46:17,680 Speaker 4: that do this stuff are generally very wealthy, power hungry men, 902 00:46:18,400 --> 00:46:21,200 Speaker 4: and maybe it just happened to be the three of them, 903 00:46:21,400 --> 00:46:24,120 Speaker 4: all within the same kind of circuit, happened to do 904 00:46:24,200 --> 00:46:28,600 Speaker 4: this all within the space of nine months and that's right. 905 00:46:28,680 --> 00:46:32,480 Speaker 4: It's possible, but I think it's more likely. Well I 906 00:46:32,480 --> 00:46:33,719 Speaker 4: don't want to say it's more likely, but I think 907 00:46:33,719 --> 00:46:37,880 Speaker 4: it's also possible that it was a sign. And I 908 00:46:37,920 --> 00:46:40,560 Speaker 4: don't necessarily think, yeah, the Russian government went yeah. So 909 00:46:40,719 --> 00:46:43,839 Speaker 4: like it's not like puting sat there stroking a cat, 910 00:46:43,920 --> 00:46:47,880 Speaker 4: going kill the whole family, you know, Like it's not 911 00:46:47,960 --> 00:46:51,600 Speaker 4: like that. It's I think it's just various oligarchy circles. 912 00:46:51,680 --> 00:46:54,960 Speaker 4: Matthiosque groups have said, right, make an example out of 913 00:46:55,000 --> 00:46:55,560 Speaker 4: that guy. 914 00:46:55,640 --> 00:46:57,719 Speaker 6: To be an open secret. Like, it's not like they 915 00:46:57,800 --> 00:47:00,160 Speaker 6: need to leave a calling card. People would just you know, 916 00:47:00,280 --> 00:47:01,000 Speaker 6: if you know, you know. 917 00:47:01,360 --> 00:47:03,399 Speaker 4: And if you talk to like maybe some of these 918 00:47:03,400 --> 00:47:07,719 Speaker 4: people involved in oligarchy circles, they consider it like, oh yeah, 919 00:47:07,840 --> 00:47:10,960 Speaker 4: that that's that's definitely that that's what that was. They're 920 00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:13,560 Speaker 4: letting us know. They're letting him know. Yeah, Okay, you 921 00:47:13,600 --> 00:47:15,560 Speaker 4: can't really take that word as gospel, but that's what 922 00:47:15,600 --> 00:47:16,840 Speaker 4: they see as often. 923 00:47:17,400 --> 00:47:19,600 Speaker 2: All right, Just to stay on organized current for a second, 924 00:47:19,640 --> 00:47:22,560 Speaker 2: And this is a potentially really dumb question, Jake, so 925 00:47:22,680 --> 00:47:25,640 Speaker 2: here it comes. Uh, one of my favorite movies that's 926 00:47:25,640 --> 00:47:27,439 Speaker 2: come out in a couple of years is this bob 927 00:47:27,480 --> 00:47:30,839 Speaker 2: odin Kirk action movie called Nobody and. 928 00:47:30,840 --> 00:47:32,680 Speaker 4: Yeah, the worst film I've seen in a long time. 929 00:47:32,920 --> 00:47:34,080 Speaker 2: Oh, come on, I loved it. 930 00:47:34,080 --> 00:47:34,919 Speaker 5: It was so much fun. 931 00:47:35,080 --> 00:47:39,000 Speaker 4: Zero zero stars. Are you serious staying on his career? 932 00:47:39,040 --> 00:47:41,879 Speaker 4: I believe. Yeah, No, I hate so much. 933 00:47:42,160 --> 00:47:45,399 Speaker 2: Oh no, I loved it. I loved seeing him do that. 934 00:47:45,480 --> 00:47:47,360 Speaker 2: I think that's really where the joy came from. But 935 00:47:47,520 --> 00:47:49,880 Speaker 2: in that movie, one of the major plot points is 936 00:47:49,920 --> 00:47:53,120 Speaker 2: this thing called an ob shack. I don't know how 937 00:47:53,120 --> 00:47:57,000 Speaker 2: to say it correct. No, it's like an ob shock. 938 00:47:58,560 --> 00:48:04,239 Speaker 3: Which is like umbrella organization for moving money in a 939 00:48:04,280 --> 00:48:05,000 Speaker 3: criminal way. 940 00:48:05,280 --> 00:48:07,799 Speaker 2: Well, in that movie, it's weird. It takes it as 941 00:48:07,840 --> 00:48:11,719 Speaker 2: in the actual giant amount of money that is, you know, 942 00:48:11,960 --> 00:48:14,920 Speaker 2: made on in black markets in some way or illegally, 943 00:48:15,000 --> 00:48:18,319 Speaker 2: and it's kept somewhere. Have you seen anything like that 944 00:48:18,600 --> 00:48:22,480 Speaker 2: in your research, like something that exists in the criminal 945 00:48:22,520 --> 00:48:24,280 Speaker 2: underworld of Russia. 946 00:48:24,480 --> 00:48:26,960 Speaker 4: I mean it doesn't not really in that sense, I think. 947 00:48:27,080 --> 00:48:28,960 Speaker 4: I mean, that is a real thing. Yeah, but it's 948 00:48:28,960 --> 00:48:31,560 Speaker 4: not really like that. I mean, it's not that was 949 00:48:31,600 --> 00:48:34,440 Speaker 4: a It's like every Russian in that film is like 950 00:48:34,840 --> 00:48:36,880 Speaker 4: just finishes eating a baby before they speak. You know. 951 00:48:36,880 --> 00:48:39,840 Speaker 4: It's one of those like ridiculous caricatures. It's not like that. 952 00:48:39,920 --> 00:48:42,160 Speaker 4: I mean everyone has these pools of dirty money. He 953 00:48:42,200 --> 00:48:44,520 Speaker 4: hid the money, I mean, Pooting himself is worth like 954 00:48:44,560 --> 00:48:47,560 Speaker 4: one hundred billion or something, how you. 955 00:48:47,520 --> 00:48:50,399 Speaker 7: Know how off the books though, Yeah, exactly off the books, right, 956 00:48:50,440 --> 00:48:53,360 Speaker 7: you know he doesn't make that Yeah, like that's not 957 00:48:53,560 --> 00:48:56,600 Speaker 7: his it's yeah, it's you know, they've all got these 958 00:48:56,680 --> 00:48:59,200 Speaker 7: various schemes, but everyone does. 959 00:48:59,239 --> 00:49:01,800 Speaker 4: I mean everyone. I mean, look at the Panama papers. 960 00:49:02,160 --> 00:49:04,319 Speaker 4: You know that was just Russia by any means. You know, 961 00:49:04,480 --> 00:49:07,680 Speaker 4: if you're a multi multi millionaire involved in these kind 962 00:49:07,719 --> 00:49:10,319 Speaker 4: of businesses, you've got some dirty money somewhere, you're doing 963 00:49:10,320 --> 00:49:13,160 Speaker 4: something illegal. It's how it works, you know, it's it 964 00:49:13,280 --> 00:49:14,719 Speaker 4: just is how it is, and you get away with it, 965 00:49:14,760 --> 00:49:16,600 Speaker 4: you know, you completely get away with there is I 966 00:49:16,680 --> 00:49:19,799 Speaker 4: think one person got prosecuted directly off the back of 967 00:49:19,840 --> 00:49:22,600 Speaker 4: the Panama papers, maybe more than that, but it's compared 968 00:49:22,600 --> 00:49:25,600 Speaker 4: to how many people in their bare face caught red handed. 969 00:49:26,239 --> 00:49:28,200 Speaker 4: Basically nothing happened and they know, of. 970 00:49:28,200 --> 00:49:33,040 Speaker 3: Course, well, consequences are for the peasants, right as right. 971 00:49:33,320 --> 00:49:36,919 Speaker 4: Yeah, And depending on which political side of the room 972 00:49:36,960 --> 00:49:39,279 Speaker 4: you're on, you know, you either get I don't know, 973 00:49:39,840 --> 00:49:42,799 Speaker 4: arrested or you get a podcasts. It's very much who 974 00:49:42,840 --> 00:49:47,000 Speaker 4: you're It's very much who you're kind of like involved 975 00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:49,400 Speaker 4: with in all countries. I'm not talking about anyone specific. 976 00:49:49,960 --> 00:49:52,000 Speaker 4: It's just it's just like anywhere you are. 977 00:49:52,040 --> 00:49:54,240 Speaker 3: You know, you're on fire with the quotables today. 978 00:49:54,320 --> 00:49:56,600 Speaker 4: Man, I'm just saying, you know, depending on where you are, 979 00:49:56,640 --> 00:49:58,520 Speaker 4: depend on who you upset or who you make happy, 980 00:49:58,840 --> 00:50:00,600 Speaker 4: you're going to come out of it well or maybe 981 00:50:00,640 --> 00:50:01,360 Speaker 4: fall out a window. 982 00:50:01,880 --> 00:50:05,959 Speaker 3: That's true. And there's something else that you talk about, uh, 983 00:50:06,360 --> 00:50:10,279 Speaker 3: you and surgery look at something that I think a 984 00:50:10,320 --> 00:50:13,799 Speaker 3: lot of people in the West have forgotten about when 985 00:50:14,080 --> 00:50:18,239 Speaker 3: these deaths occur. One other, one other aspect of this 986 00:50:18,719 --> 00:50:21,719 Speaker 3: that lends credence to the idea that these are not 987 00:50:21,800 --> 00:50:25,400 Speaker 3: a series of ridiculous, you know, Rube Goldberg esque final 988 00:50:25,440 --> 00:50:29,799 Speaker 3: destination accidents, but purposeful homicides. One thing that makes it 989 00:50:29,920 --> 00:50:34,880 Speaker 3: that really lends authority to that is you talk about 990 00:50:34,920 --> 00:50:40,400 Speaker 3: this almost stalinistic tendency of the Russian government to scrub 991 00:50:40,560 --> 00:50:44,239 Speaker 3: these guys from history like to what what what did 992 00:50:44,239 --> 00:50:47,600 Speaker 3: you say, like the record of their roles in places 993 00:50:47,680 --> 00:50:51,160 Speaker 3: or careers are is that really happening and to what extent. 994 00:50:51,160 --> 00:50:53,880 Speaker 4: Yeah, that that is happening. More like we saw so 995 00:50:54,160 --> 00:50:56,120 Speaker 4: one guard that was you know, made a load of 996 00:50:56,160 --> 00:50:59,480 Speaker 4: money for gas problem his whole career. There By the 997 00:50:59,680 --> 00:51:02,720 Speaker 4: like he he died in a suicide, which in itself 998 00:51:02,800 --> 00:51:06,520 Speaker 4: was weird. Guys from Gazprom security turned up in black 999 00:51:06,560 --> 00:51:09,760 Speaker 4: jeeps and literally pushed the police out of the crime scene. 1000 00:51:09,920 --> 00:51:12,680 Speaker 4: So the gaz Prom security somehow had more authority than 1001 00:51:12,680 --> 00:51:16,920 Speaker 4: the cops, and his records were removed like basically like 1002 00:51:16,960 --> 00:51:20,160 Speaker 4: within twenty four hours of him being dead from Gazprom records. 1003 00:51:20,200 --> 00:51:22,680 Speaker 4: And at the time, this was at the start of 1004 00:51:22,760 --> 00:51:24,880 Speaker 4: these kind of killings, and at the time the gaz 1005 00:51:24,880 --> 00:51:26,600 Speaker 4: promb actually gave a statement and I said, oh wow, 1006 00:51:26,640 --> 00:51:29,040 Speaker 4: we thought it might make his family upset. No, I 1007 00:51:29,040 --> 00:51:31,400 Speaker 4: think he would much more likely make the family upset 1008 00:51:31,440 --> 00:51:33,880 Speaker 4: that he was basically wiped from the record of the 1009 00:51:33,880 --> 00:51:36,200 Speaker 4: place he worked out for decades and was very proud 1010 00:51:36,239 --> 00:51:40,840 Speaker 4: to work. And then the scientist that was before he died. Actually, 1011 00:51:40,840 --> 00:51:43,000 Speaker 4: but like a lot of his records started getting removed 1012 00:51:43,040 --> 00:51:45,480 Speaker 4: because he I don't know, he was removed by his 1013 00:51:45,560 --> 00:51:48,560 Speaker 4: post from a guy that really had no place being there. 1014 00:51:48,600 --> 00:51:51,319 Speaker 4: He was not qualified, he cheated on his exams, and 1015 00:51:51,400 --> 00:51:53,400 Speaker 4: for some reason the government put him in charge. And 1016 00:51:53,440 --> 00:51:55,600 Speaker 4: then this other fellow his stuff was removed, and then 1017 00:51:55,719 --> 00:51:57,320 Speaker 4: you know, a year later he falls down the stairs 1018 00:51:57,360 --> 00:52:00,160 Speaker 4: and dies. And then another thing that is making this 1019 00:52:00,239 --> 00:52:05,279 Speaker 4: series hard is we've noticed as these things progress, a 1020 00:52:05,320 --> 00:52:07,560 Speaker 4: lot a lot less is said about it in the 1021 00:52:07,600 --> 00:52:09,920 Speaker 4: media in Russia. At the start, there was actually even 1022 00:52:09,920 --> 00:52:11,440 Speaker 4: the Russian media will be like, oh, this is kind 1023 00:52:11,440 --> 00:52:13,919 Speaker 4: of weird. You know, this is weird. And now it's 1024 00:52:14,000 --> 00:52:15,799 Speaker 4: just like, as it goes on, we have we have 1025 00:52:15,880 --> 00:52:18,200 Speaker 4: like a timeline that we work from. I might release 1026 00:52:18,239 --> 00:52:20,400 Speaker 4: that actually might be useful for other people looking intowists, 1027 00:52:20,440 --> 00:52:23,160 Speaker 4: but we have a lot time. Yeah, and as you see, 1028 00:52:23,280 --> 00:52:25,839 Speaker 4: as it gets on, the more that happened, the less 1029 00:52:25,880 --> 00:52:27,799 Speaker 4: and less and less details go out there, you know. 1030 00:52:27,880 --> 00:52:31,720 Speaker 4: And I think maybe someone has said, hey, yeah, okay, 1031 00:52:31,760 --> 00:52:33,839 Speaker 4: we get it. We're doing this if they're doing it, 1032 00:52:34,080 --> 00:52:37,320 Speaker 4: but you know, we need to not make this so obvious. 1033 00:52:37,360 --> 00:52:40,000 Speaker 4: Perhaps I don't know, or just because of the brain 1034 00:52:40,080 --> 00:52:43,600 Speaker 4: draining from Russia during the war, reporting has got worse. 1035 00:52:43,680 --> 00:52:46,359 Speaker 4: That is also possible, you know, but I don't think 1036 00:52:46,360 --> 00:52:48,719 Speaker 4: that's what it is. I think it's, like I said, 1037 00:52:48,719 --> 00:52:50,480 Speaker 4: the more that happened, the less details seemed to be 1038 00:52:50,520 --> 00:52:50,919 Speaker 4: out there. 1039 00:52:51,280 --> 00:52:53,440 Speaker 2: That was going to be one of my last questions 1040 00:52:53,680 --> 00:52:58,160 Speaker 2: for you, Jake. The Yeah, I think it's Sergei Producena 1041 00:52:58,600 --> 00:53:01,279 Speaker 2: who was in Spain with his family and they all died. 1042 00:53:02,280 --> 00:53:06,560 Speaker 2: Just I haven't seen anything on that since the initial reporting, 1043 00:53:06,680 --> 00:53:09,440 Speaker 2: and I just wonder like if you've got any updates 1044 00:53:09,600 --> 00:53:11,120 Speaker 2: since even making your episode. 1045 00:53:11,680 --> 00:53:13,759 Speaker 4: I mean, the police have just kind of said like, look, 1046 00:53:13,840 --> 00:53:17,840 Speaker 4: we think it was was as it is, and that's it. Really, 1047 00:53:18,200 --> 00:53:20,600 Speaker 4: it's it's very true. I mean, everything's kind of open, 1048 00:53:20,680 --> 00:53:23,440 Speaker 4: like even this new one we're doing Dan Rappaport. The 1049 00:53:23,719 --> 00:53:27,920 Speaker 4: police in Washington, DC closed the case, but even they said, look, 1050 00:53:27,960 --> 00:53:29,920 Speaker 4: if any tips are out there, we're very happy to 1051 00:53:30,000 --> 00:53:32,040 Speaker 4: open it up again. You know, the cause of death 1052 00:53:32,120 --> 00:53:34,880 Speaker 4: was undetermined, so we don't know, you know, but I 1053 00:53:35,080 --> 00:53:38,799 Speaker 4: I don't know it's And people seem to think, well, oh, 1054 00:53:38,840 --> 00:53:40,960 Speaker 4: well that that means then it's it's actually you just 1055 00:53:41,040 --> 00:53:43,239 Speaker 4: jump to conclusions. Well no, if you actually look at 1056 00:53:43,239 --> 00:53:46,640 Speaker 4: how many murders really go unsolved, there's loads, loads in 1057 00:53:47,000 --> 00:53:51,840 Speaker 4: America alone. I think Baltimore's like solving murder rights like 1058 00:53:51,840 --> 00:53:54,440 Speaker 4: thirty percent something crazy like that. So, yeah, it happens 1059 00:53:54,440 --> 00:53:56,440 Speaker 4: all the time. So it's not unusual that the police 1060 00:53:56,520 --> 00:53:57,680 Speaker 4: just go out, we don't know how to close it, 1061 00:53:57,719 --> 00:53:59,799 Speaker 4: and that that's where murders someone. As it looks like 1062 00:53:59,840 --> 00:54:03,040 Speaker 4: a suicide, you're even more likely to just go. You're 1063 00:54:03,040 --> 00:54:06,120 Speaker 4: not gonna go. Yeah, guys, let's get our small squad 1064 00:54:06,120 --> 00:54:10,120 Speaker 4: of offices embroiled in an international plot perhaps, and you know, 1065 00:54:10,440 --> 00:54:13,160 Speaker 4: direct all our resources, not you fill out window, he's dead. 1066 00:54:13,200 --> 00:54:15,560 Speaker 4: Whatever you know, it is how it is. So it's 1067 00:54:15,560 --> 00:54:17,960 Speaker 4: nothing like insidious that, oh they've been told to drop it. No, 1068 00:54:18,040 --> 00:54:18,840 Speaker 4: it's just the way it is. 1069 00:54:19,360 --> 00:54:25,160 Speaker 3: It's closing the books, right, that's resources versus the system. Yeah, 1070 00:54:25,239 --> 00:54:29,840 Speaker 3: there's another related question here too about safety, and it 1071 00:54:29,920 --> 00:54:33,040 Speaker 3: reminds me a bit of some of our earlier conversations 1072 00:54:33,280 --> 00:54:39,200 Speaker 3: when we're talking about QC or QAnon and conflict journalism 1073 00:54:39,560 --> 00:54:42,680 Speaker 3: with you a number of years ago. It's no secret, Jake, 1074 00:54:42,760 --> 00:54:46,120 Speaker 3: that you have been in some pretty hairy situations before 1075 00:54:46,600 --> 00:54:50,360 Speaker 3: you know, and and you are familiar with that that 1076 00:54:50,480 --> 00:54:52,719 Speaker 3: is a world in which you have lived. Have you 1077 00:54:53,080 --> 00:54:57,920 Speaker 3: or any of your team heard from direct representatives of 1078 00:54:58,920 --> 00:55:01,919 Speaker 3: aspects of Russian gu vernance. Have you or your team 1079 00:55:02,040 --> 00:55:06,239 Speaker 3: ever felt that your own personal safety was at risk 1080 00:55:06,320 --> 00:55:08,359 Speaker 3: as a result of these investigations? 1081 00:55:10,120 --> 00:55:14,200 Speaker 4: Not really, I mean people did say to us or 1082 00:55:14,360 --> 00:55:16,520 Speaker 4: you're not worried about this, or you're a madman, like 1083 00:55:16,520 --> 00:55:20,200 Speaker 4: why are you doing it? Like I don't think. Firstly, 1084 00:55:20,239 --> 00:55:25,320 Speaker 4: the Russian government has probably no idea about this podcast series. Secondly, 1085 00:55:25,360 --> 00:55:28,040 Speaker 4: they probably wouldn't. Why would they care, you know, if 1086 00:55:28,120 --> 00:55:30,000 Speaker 4: they if they are doing if they're doing this or 1087 00:55:30,000 --> 00:55:32,680 Speaker 4: whoever is doing it, I've done it so sloppily that 1088 00:55:32,800 --> 00:55:35,400 Speaker 4: someone like me is able to like basically work it 1089 00:55:35,400 --> 00:55:38,759 Speaker 4: out with my friend. Yeah, they're probably not gonna care, 1090 00:55:39,200 --> 00:55:40,960 Speaker 4: you know. If anything, they might be like, oh, I'm 1091 00:55:40,960 --> 00:55:44,680 Speaker 4: glad someone's seen our handiwork, and if it's all a coincidence, 1092 00:55:44,719 --> 00:55:46,960 Speaker 4: they're gonna care even less, they're like, look at this fool, 1093 00:55:47,080 --> 00:55:48,959 Speaker 4: like this is we're not even doing this, and he's 1094 00:55:49,080 --> 00:55:50,879 Speaker 4: you know, put two and two together and got ten. 1095 00:55:51,600 --> 00:55:54,000 Speaker 4: So I don't really think, you know, I think people 1096 00:55:54,120 --> 00:55:58,000 Speaker 4: like me. It's not really it's fine. I mean Litvinenko, Yeah, 1097 00:55:58,080 --> 00:56:01,319 Speaker 4: Livinenko wrote a book called Blowing Up Russia in which 1098 00:56:01,360 --> 00:56:06,320 Speaker 4: he kind of proved that puting pretty much almost directly 1099 00:56:06,360 --> 00:56:09,920 Speaker 4: from the top from his office, were orchestrating the apartment 1100 00:56:09,960 --> 00:56:13,880 Speaker 4: bombings in Russia, which then led to the invasion of 1101 00:56:13,960 --> 00:56:16,560 Speaker 4: Chechnya and all of that stuff and the wars that started. 1102 00:56:17,040 --> 00:56:20,160 Speaker 4: So that obviously is going to be a big deal. 1103 00:56:20,400 --> 00:56:22,920 Speaker 4: You know, that is obviously going to get you poisoned. 1104 00:56:23,400 --> 00:56:26,719 Speaker 4: Me being like, yeah, I think these weird coincidences. We're 1105 00:56:26,719 --> 00:56:29,120 Speaker 4: just putting information together, and you know, we have the 1106 00:56:29,200 --> 00:56:30,879 Speaker 4: various this and that. Yeah, I think I think it's 1107 00:56:30,920 --> 00:56:35,640 Speaker 4: probably fine. I mean, I'm sure that if we managed 1108 00:56:35,680 --> 00:56:39,360 Speaker 4: to get some kind of like I don't know, you know, 1109 00:56:39,440 --> 00:56:44,840 Speaker 4: like on camera of puting, you know, dropping some frog 1110 00:56:44,960 --> 00:56:48,120 Speaker 4: venom in your Matini, like maybe then I'd be in danger. 1111 00:56:48,160 --> 00:56:50,680 Speaker 4: But it's just not how it works. And I do think, 1112 00:56:51,120 --> 00:56:53,399 Speaker 4: you know, people do have a tendency to blow things 1113 00:56:53,400 --> 00:56:56,799 Speaker 4: out of proportion, especially when it's Russia related. If I 1114 00:56:56,840 --> 00:56:58,759 Speaker 4: was Russian, I'd be in a lot more danger, I think, 1115 00:56:58,840 --> 00:57:01,319 Speaker 4: you know, and resurgeries Russian either, And that's why we're 1116 00:57:01,360 --> 00:57:04,040 Speaker 4: not having actually any people in country on the record. 1117 00:57:04,120 --> 00:57:07,279 Speaker 4: Because someone was like criticizing me for that, I was like, yeah, 1118 00:57:07,280 --> 00:57:09,319 Speaker 4: do you know what will happen to them? They're going 1119 00:57:09,400 --> 00:57:11,439 Speaker 4: to be in serious trouble. Not saying they get killed, 1120 00:57:11,440 --> 00:57:13,239 Speaker 4: but they're going to be in trouble. It's not we're 1121 00:57:13,280 --> 00:57:15,239 Speaker 4: not in the process of yeah, well that will make 1122 00:57:15,280 --> 00:57:17,520 Speaker 4: our podcast even better. No, we're not getting people in 1123 00:57:17,560 --> 00:57:20,960 Speaker 4: trouble like that, you know. So we even had someone 1124 00:57:21,040 --> 00:57:26,080 Speaker 4: like we were talking to and in a completely unrelated thing, 1125 00:57:26,120 --> 00:57:28,880 Speaker 4: but she was, well, it's for this series. But she 1126 00:57:28,960 --> 00:57:30,840 Speaker 4: was telling us that her cousin was like, you know, 1127 00:57:30,960 --> 00:57:33,760 Speaker 4: anti anti war, and she was a little bit worried 1128 00:57:33,760 --> 00:57:36,160 Speaker 4: about even give us nim information about some stuff that 1129 00:57:36,240 --> 00:57:40,920 Speaker 4: she knew about. And as we were talking he she 1130 00:57:40,960 --> 00:57:43,240 Speaker 4: found out he'd like been arrested, you know what I mean, 1131 00:57:43,280 --> 00:57:45,040 Speaker 4: nothing to do with us. It was just because he'd 1132 00:57:45,080 --> 00:57:46,680 Speaker 4: been found, you know, they were looking for him. So 1133 00:57:47,200 --> 00:57:50,360 Speaker 4: even being anti war is getting people arrested. It's just 1134 00:57:50,440 --> 00:57:52,600 Speaker 4: not something we're going to do to be like, oh, yeah, 1135 00:57:52,600 --> 00:57:55,600 Speaker 4: for the sake of the podcast, let's put people at risk. 1136 00:57:55,720 --> 00:57:57,400 Speaker 4: But you know, we've had, really we've had some really 1137 00:57:57,440 --> 00:58:00,520 Speaker 4: interesting conversations with people I have, specifically with people in 1138 00:58:00,600 --> 00:58:04,440 Speaker 4: Russia that I don't know. There's a there is a 1139 00:58:04,480 --> 00:58:07,440 Speaker 4: real there's a whole different side to the place. You know, 1140 00:58:07,560 --> 00:58:10,440 Speaker 4: it's not not everybody is even for this war. Not 1141 00:58:10,480 --> 00:58:13,880 Speaker 4: everybody is is just living with it and thinking it's okay. 1142 00:58:13,920 --> 00:58:15,920 Speaker 4: There's a lot of people there that really hate this stuff, 1143 00:58:15,960 --> 00:58:19,080 Speaker 4: you know, and you know they can't just exit. It's 1144 00:58:19,080 --> 00:58:22,760 Speaker 4: not that simple. So yeah, but no, I don't think 1145 00:58:22,800 --> 00:58:24,720 Speaker 4: we're in danger. I mean I say that if you 1146 00:58:24,800 --> 00:58:27,320 Speaker 4: find out like, oh yeah, Jake Canrahan fell out of 1147 00:58:27,320 --> 00:58:31,240 Speaker 4: a window soon. I'm not that clumsy, you know. 1148 00:58:31,320 --> 00:58:32,320 Speaker 3: We got Yeah. 1149 00:58:32,680 --> 00:58:37,160 Speaker 2: We haven't asked you about Wagner, like I can't, Are 1150 00:58:37,240 --> 00:58:41,000 Speaker 2: you serious? Yeah, of course, Fregosian and all that stuff, 1151 00:58:41,040 --> 00:58:42,040 Speaker 2: Like my god, dude. 1152 00:58:42,280 --> 00:58:48,400 Speaker 3: But so we uh, this is where we know that 1153 00:58:48,440 --> 00:58:51,880 Speaker 3: we're onto something as as a group, and we're counting you, 1154 00:58:52,040 --> 00:58:58,960 Speaker 3: fellow conspiracy realist here. Uh the show said, oligarc is ongoing, Jake. Uh, Matt, No, 1155 00:58:59,160 --> 00:59:03,000 Speaker 3: I think we've got to We've gotta pull We've got 1156 00:59:03,000 --> 00:59:05,280 Speaker 3: to pull in Jake to talk about Wagner at some 1157 00:59:05,400 --> 00:59:06,440 Speaker 3: point as well. 1158 00:59:06,680 --> 00:59:10,760 Speaker 5: You know, maybe I could we give a few minutes 1159 00:59:10,800 --> 00:59:11,200 Speaker 5: to it. Now. 1160 00:59:12,880 --> 00:59:15,480 Speaker 6: When that thing was reported, it was just so confusing, 1161 00:59:15,600 --> 00:59:17,480 Speaker 6: Like even when we first were reading about it was. 1162 00:59:17,440 --> 00:59:19,200 Speaker 5: Like what what are they doing? 1163 00:59:19,240 --> 00:59:21,800 Speaker 6: And why is this like a flex like, like what 1164 00:59:22,000 --> 00:59:25,640 Speaker 6: exactly can you describe that situation as you perceived it? 1165 00:59:25,760 --> 00:59:28,200 Speaker 5: Jake and any updates that you think are p pertinent. 1166 00:59:28,760 --> 00:59:30,520 Speaker 5: It's just such a bizarro situation. 1167 00:59:30,560 --> 00:59:37,080 Speaker 4: He that, yeah, yeah, it's really up. Until they actually 1168 00:59:37,120 --> 00:59:40,560 Speaker 4: started shooting, I was like, this is an op Like, 1169 00:59:40,600 --> 00:59:43,400 Speaker 4: this isn't real, This is some kind of nonsense. I 1170 00:59:43,440 --> 00:59:46,360 Speaker 4: still think that to some degree, but I don't know. 1171 00:59:46,480 --> 00:59:49,520 Speaker 4: There's there's people a lot like smarter than me that 1172 00:59:49,640 --> 00:59:52,120 Speaker 4: will will be able to work that out. But I 1173 00:59:52,120 --> 00:59:54,520 Speaker 4: think it's I don't know. They're doing all weird stuff 1174 00:59:54,560 --> 00:59:57,560 Speaker 4: in Belarus right now. They seem to have just been 1175 00:59:57,560 --> 01:00:01,240 Speaker 4: allowed to like continue operating. They're talking about sending more 1176 01:00:01,280 --> 01:00:04,840 Speaker 4: people to Russia to Africa right now. There's a lot 1177 01:00:04,840 --> 01:00:09,240 Speaker 4: of Wagner in Russia, sorry Wagner going from Belarus to 1178 01:00:09,320 --> 01:00:13,680 Speaker 4: Africa that were previously in Russia. So I think it's 1179 01:00:13,880 --> 01:00:15,920 Speaker 4: I think it's I don't know, you're gonna have to 1180 01:00:15,960 --> 01:00:17,280 Speaker 4: I think in the next year a lot more of 1181 01:00:17,320 --> 01:00:19,640 Speaker 4: that will become more apparent, But right now it's I 1182 01:00:19,640 --> 01:00:21,920 Speaker 4: don't even want to really think, like say what I 1183 01:00:21,960 --> 01:00:25,360 Speaker 4: think because it's so confusing. I don't know, you know, 1184 01:00:25,480 --> 01:00:34,200 Speaker 4: but I don't. I definitely don't think it's I personally 1185 01:00:34,200 --> 01:00:38,200 Speaker 4: think this is maybe orchestrated between progosion and putin. Actually, 1186 01:00:38,320 --> 01:00:40,360 Speaker 4: I think there might be a whole play going on. 1187 01:00:40,640 --> 01:00:44,000 Speaker 4: But maybe people are a lot more clued up on 1188 01:00:44,040 --> 01:00:46,160 Speaker 4: it than me, Like, don't be ridiculous, And they're probably. 1189 01:00:45,920 --> 01:00:48,840 Speaker 6: Right, you know, Glad it wasn't just me that thought 1190 01:00:48,840 --> 01:00:51,880 Speaker 6: the whole thing was bizarre world Like, I'm like, what 1191 01:00:52,080 --> 01:00:52,480 Speaker 6: is this? 1192 01:00:52,560 --> 01:00:53,520 Speaker 5: I don't understand. 1193 01:00:53,840 --> 01:00:58,200 Speaker 2: So, speaking off together with your work on Q clearance, 1194 01:00:58,240 --> 01:01:03,760 Speaker 2: are you super stoked about Tuesday, November fifth four? That's 1195 01:01:03,800 --> 01:01:05,720 Speaker 2: the presidential election here in the US. 1196 01:01:07,080 --> 01:01:08,040 Speaker 4: It's the it's the election. 1197 01:01:08,800 --> 01:01:11,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, are you super stoked about the next election 1198 01:01:11,640 --> 01:01:12,200 Speaker 2: in the US? 1199 01:01:12,640 --> 01:01:16,680 Speaker 4: No, I'm not. I don't know. I just I kind 1200 01:01:16,680 --> 01:01:18,360 Speaker 4: of kind of got tired of it. 1201 01:01:19,800 --> 01:01:24,400 Speaker 6: Got it's well, it's making a comeback here, Jacob the 1202 01:01:24,480 --> 01:01:25,160 Speaker 6: rounds again. 1203 01:01:25,360 --> 01:01:26,040 Speaker 4: Yeah, tired. 1204 01:01:26,120 --> 01:01:28,439 Speaker 3: Being tired of the election is a very American thing 1205 01:01:28,480 --> 01:01:28,800 Speaker 3: to say. 1206 01:01:28,920 --> 01:01:29,160 Speaker 4: Ja. 1207 01:01:29,640 --> 01:01:30,040 Speaker 3: I think that. 1208 01:01:31,560 --> 01:01:33,440 Speaker 4: After the too clear It stuff, I just like I 1209 01:01:33,560 --> 01:01:34,480 Speaker 4: just like zoned out. 1210 01:01:35,240 --> 01:01:37,840 Speaker 5: Yeah, it's it's fatigue for sure, But. 1211 01:01:37,720 --> 01:01:39,520 Speaker 6: Then there was such a lull, you know, like it's 1212 01:01:39,520 --> 01:01:42,120 Speaker 6: like Okay, he's everything's gone away, everything's. 1213 01:01:41,840 --> 01:01:43,680 Speaker 5: Normal ish, you know, not normal really. 1214 01:01:43,840 --> 01:01:45,920 Speaker 6: But now it's like he's on TV's, on all these 1215 01:01:45,960 --> 01:01:49,000 Speaker 6: podcasts saying all this crazy, like he's gonna run even 1216 01:01:49,040 --> 01:01:50,280 Speaker 6: if he's in prison, And. 1217 01:01:50,280 --> 01:01:54,360 Speaker 5: Honestly, what would stop him? What would stop from law? 1218 01:01:54,560 --> 01:01:56,439 Speaker 4: As long as he's got jokes, Like. 1219 01:01:57,520 --> 01:01:59,840 Speaker 5: Right, he's got all the jokes. Here's my fix. 1220 01:02:00,120 --> 01:02:02,120 Speaker 3: I know, we got to get out of here. Here's 1221 01:02:02,160 --> 01:02:07,040 Speaker 3: my fix. Yeah, for the US budget, make the trial 1222 01:02:07,080 --> 01:02:08,160 Speaker 3: pay per view, you. 1223 01:02:08,120 --> 01:02:08,560 Speaker 4: Know what I mean? 1224 01:02:09,400 --> 01:02:18,160 Speaker 3: Yea, it is so Jake Hanrahan. The news show ongoing 1225 01:02:18,360 --> 01:02:22,479 Speaker 3: is sad Oligarch. However, this is one, there's only one 1226 01:02:22,680 --> 01:02:25,880 Speaker 3: facet of the many, many projects that are pal Jake 1227 01:02:25,960 --> 01:02:30,080 Speaker 3: does Jake, can you tell folks where to learn more 1228 01:02:30,280 --> 01:02:33,560 Speaker 3: about not just sad Oligarch, but the continuing work of 1229 01:02:33,760 --> 01:02:38,320 Speaker 3: Popular Front and where people can follow and or contact you? 1230 01:02:39,080 --> 01:02:41,080 Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, thanks very much. I mean if they just 1231 01:02:41,080 --> 01:02:44,720 Speaker 4: go to my site, so it's just Jakehanrahan dot com 1232 01:02:45,360 --> 01:02:47,440 Speaker 4: h A N I A h A and they'll just 1233 01:02:47,440 --> 01:02:50,360 Speaker 4: see links to everything there. Same with popular Front. The 1234 01:02:50,360 --> 01:02:52,480 Speaker 4: best way probably for the Popular Front if you go 1235 01:02:52,600 --> 01:02:55,560 Speaker 4: to Popularfront dot cc. It's just like a list of 1236 01:02:55,600 --> 01:02:59,120 Speaker 4: links to everything we do. We make documentaries, we've got podcast, 1237 01:02:59,480 --> 01:03:02,080 Speaker 4: we've got new magazine has just come out now. We're 1238 01:03:02,120 --> 01:03:04,120 Speaker 4: really proud of that. So yeah, we've got everything going on. 1239 01:03:04,160 --> 01:03:09,240 Speaker 4: We're independent media platform focused solely on war and conflict, 1240 01:03:09,240 --> 01:03:11,160 Speaker 4: but we come at things from a little bit more 1241 01:03:11,200 --> 01:03:14,120 Speaker 4: of a different angle. We kind of from the from 1242 01:03:14,120 --> 01:03:16,080 Speaker 4: the point of view with the people, I like to say, 1243 01:03:16,080 --> 01:03:18,760 Speaker 4: as opposed to governments. Put it that way, And we're 1244 01:03:18,760 --> 01:03:22,160 Speaker 4: not like hyper political or anything like people always want 1245 01:03:22,160 --> 01:03:23,959 Speaker 4: to label us as this that. No, we just don't 1246 01:03:24,040 --> 01:03:26,320 Speaker 4: like people's heads being trodden on. And that's it, you know. 1247 01:03:27,040 --> 01:03:29,280 Speaker 2: Nice, Thank you so much, Thanks again for your time. 1248 01:03:29,320 --> 01:03:29,440 Speaker 3: Man. 1249 01:03:29,560 --> 01:03:31,720 Speaker 4: Yeah, thanks, guys, really appreciate it. Sorry, I just got 1250 01:03:31,720 --> 01:03:32,320 Speaker 4: a dash. 1251 01:03:33,080 --> 01:03:36,760 Speaker 3: And that was our pal. That was our pal Jake. 1252 01:03:37,160 --> 01:03:39,280 Speaker 3: Every time, you know, every time we talk with Jake, 1253 01:03:39,560 --> 01:03:43,520 Speaker 3: he's in the middle of something crazy, you know what 1254 01:03:43,560 --> 01:03:43,840 Speaker 3: I mean. 1255 01:03:44,560 --> 01:03:47,000 Speaker 6: Yeah, he always comes to us audio only, probably because 1256 01:03:47,040 --> 01:03:49,840 Speaker 6: he's somewhere that doesn't even have like, you know, the 1257 01:03:49,840 --> 01:03:52,560 Speaker 6: bandwidth the transmit video. You hear your pop pops and 1258 01:03:52,600 --> 01:03:54,880 Speaker 6: crackles here and there. It really does feel like you're 1259 01:03:54,880 --> 01:03:58,000 Speaker 6: talking to somebody who is on the inside, and. 1260 01:03:57,920 --> 01:04:01,800 Speaker 5: He's on the inside, whether physic or just his brain. 1261 01:04:02,240 --> 01:04:05,960 Speaker 6: He's really smart dude, and really thoughtful and always a 1262 01:04:06,000 --> 01:04:06,920 Speaker 6: player spending time on that. 1263 01:04:07,080 --> 01:04:09,200 Speaker 3: I talked to him, what time. I was like, just 1264 01:04:09,280 --> 01:04:11,080 Speaker 3: check it in. We're just trying to like, hey, man, 1265 01:04:11,120 --> 01:04:15,080 Speaker 3: how's it going. He's like, I'm in these French protests. Yeah, 1266 01:04:15,400 --> 01:04:18,480 Speaker 3: I said, oh cool, I fell asleep. Try to put 1267 01:04:18,480 --> 01:04:19,360 Speaker 3: on a pair of pants. 1268 01:04:19,520 --> 01:04:21,880 Speaker 6: Well, I mean, you know, obviously Brexit has made this 1269 01:04:21,920 --> 01:04:24,120 Speaker 6: a little more difficult, but that is one benefit of 1270 01:04:24,400 --> 01:04:28,720 Speaker 6: living in Europe is like you can bounce around between 1271 01:04:28,760 --> 01:04:33,160 Speaker 6: all of these widely politically different places and culturally different places, 1272 01:04:33,200 --> 01:04:34,960 Speaker 6: and you know, be able to just really see this 1273 01:04:35,040 --> 01:04:39,440 Speaker 6: incredible swath of humanity, whereas here by the US. Sure 1274 01:04:39,480 --> 01:04:41,760 Speaker 6: there's changes across the country, but it's a little more 1275 01:04:41,760 --> 01:04:46,520 Speaker 6: homogenous overall. But I'm really amazing that someone with the 1276 01:04:46,560 --> 01:04:48,800 Speaker 6: smarts of Jake is able to do that. 1277 01:04:49,400 --> 01:04:52,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, man, guys, I'm sorry. I'm still reeling from the 1278 01:04:52,640 --> 01:04:57,160 Speaker 2: whole family annihilation aspect of some of this episode and 1279 01:04:57,280 --> 01:05:00,080 Speaker 2: just this topic. It really like put me in a 1280 01:05:00,200 --> 01:05:00,680 Speaker 2: dark space. 1281 01:05:02,240 --> 01:05:04,200 Speaker 5: I'm railing on the way to shut down your favorite 1282 01:05:04,240 --> 01:05:07,720 Speaker 5: movie of the year. I know that. 1283 01:05:08,440 --> 01:05:08,800 Speaker 4: Career. 1284 01:05:11,400 --> 01:05:14,400 Speaker 3: I thought that gave it wasn't high art or anything 1285 01:05:16,880 --> 01:05:19,480 Speaker 3: that gave me a laugh. That's like, that's These are 1286 01:05:19,480 --> 01:05:22,560 Speaker 3: the kind of people that we like to hang out with, folks, 1287 01:05:22,280 --> 01:05:25,560 Speaker 3: the people that are top in their fields. Still, as 1288 01:05:25,560 --> 01:05:28,680 Speaker 3: you can tell, Jake is an incredibly humble dude. Uh. 1289 01:05:28,720 --> 01:05:32,040 Speaker 3: It puts himself in a lot of situations and does 1290 01:05:32,120 --> 01:05:36,720 Speaker 3: this to bring stories that the public ordinarily might not 1291 01:05:36,880 --> 01:05:39,520 Speaker 3: see without being controlled. And if you listen back to 1292 01:05:39,560 --> 01:05:44,080 Speaker 3: this conversation, spoiler, you're gonna hear a lot of a 1293 01:05:44,120 --> 01:05:47,280 Speaker 3: lot of threads that we refer to that Jake referred 1294 01:05:47,320 --> 01:05:51,160 Speaker 3: to that our rabbit holes all their own. So do 1295 01:05:52,200 --> 01:05:57,000 Speaker 3: do feel free to dig in? I I gotta say, 1296 01:05:57,080 --> 01:05:59,120 Speaker 3: there's so many questions we didn't get to. I'm glad 1297 01:05:59,120 --> 01:06:01,040 Speaker 3: we talked a little bit about Wagner, but I really 1298 01:06:01,120 --> 01:06:04,080 Speaker 3: want to hear what he's talking about with Niger, because 1299 01:06:04,080 --> 01:06:08,240 Speaker 3: you guys have you guys have been looking into that right. Oh, 1300 01:06:08,320 --> 01:06:13,880 Speaker 3: France said they're fine to intervene and help help out there. 1301 01:06:13,880 --> 01:06:18,320 Speaker 3: Oh the French can't fight. Oh they're actually really good nasty, 1302 01:06:18,760 --> 01:06:22,840 Speaker 3: but yeah they fight dirty. Well, they're always glad to 1303 01:06:22,880 --> 01:06:28,439 Speaker 3: provide democracy to their biggest source of nuclear material. It's 1304 01:06:28,480 --> 01:06:30,439 Speaker 3: what we get to I don't know. All right, we've 1305 01:06:30,440 --> 01:06:32,800 Speaker 3: got a little long but we hope you enjoyed this 1306 01:06:32,840 --> 01:06:37,040 Speaker 3: with folks. We hope you tune in for future episodes 1307 01:06:37,080 --> 01:06:40,880 Speaker 3: and conversations like these. We're going to be looking at 1308 01:06:40,920 --> 01:06:43,880 Speaker 3: a US naval cover up. We're going to be talking 1309 01:06:43,880 --> 01:06:47,560 Speaker 3: about Aspartame had. We got a lot of stuff going on, 1310 01:06:47,640 --> 01:06:49,840 Speaker 3: and we actually we also recently got a great letter 1311 01:06:49,960 --> 01:06:54,080 Speaker 3: from law enforcement about why celebrities tend to have better 1312 01:06:54,240 --> 01:06:58,320 Speaker 3: investigations into their deaths. Tune in to find all of 1313 01:06:58,360 --> 01:07:00,880 Speaker 3: that more. Help us, you're the most important part of 1314 01:07:00,920 --> 01:07:03,000 Speaker 3: the show. Give us those new leads. Take us to 1315 01:07:03,000 --> 01:07:04,920 Speaker 3: the edge of the rabbit hole. You can find us 1316 01:07:04,920 --> 01:07:07,840 Speaker 3: all sorts of places, probably not in Russia. I don't 1317 01:07:07,840 --> 01:07:10,680 Speaker 3: think we're going to get through customs. But you can 1318 01:07:10,680 --> 01:07:11,600 Speaker 3: find us online. 1319 01:07:12,040 --> 01:07:15,560 Speaker 6: You sure can at the handle Conspiracy Stuff on YouTube 1320 01:07:15,600 --> 01:07:19,560 Speaker 6: and yes that's what's called Twitter conspiracy Stuff. Also Facebook, 1321 01:07:19,600 --> 01:07:22,720 Speaker 6: excuse me, I think Facebook is still Facebook. And also 1322 01:07:22,760 --> 01:07:25,560 Speaker 6: you can find us the Conspiracy Stuff show on Instagram 1323 01:07:25,560 --> 01:07:26,200 Speaker 6: and TikTok. 1324 01:07:26,560 --> 01:07:28,400 Speaker 2: Do you like using your phone to call people and 1325 01:07:28,480 --> 01:07:31,640 Speaker 2: leave voicemails. Well, we've got an opportunity for you. One 1326 01:07:31,800 --> 01:07:37,040 Speaker 2: eight three three stdwytk. You've got three minutes. Say whatever 1327 01:07:37,080 --> 01:07:39,400 Speaker 2: you'd like, give yourself a cool nickname, and let us 1328 01:07:39,400 --> 01:07:41,400 Speaker 2: know if we can use your name and message on 1329 01:07:41,560 --> 01:07:44,600 Speaker 2: the air. If you'd rather send an email, hey, we've 1330 01:07:44,600 --> 01:07:45,280 Speaker 2: got that too. 1331 01:07:45,560 --> 01:08:07,560 Speaker 3: We are conspiracy at iHeartRadio dot com. 1332 01:08:07,760 --> 01:08:09,840 Speaker 2: Stuff they don't want you to know is a production 1333 01:08:09,960 --> 01:08:14,479 Speaker 2: of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 1334 01:08:14,560 --> 01:08:17,600 Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.