Bribe, Swindle or Steal

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Extreme Wealth – Episode 3: Jennifer Risher and the Limits of Sudden Wealth Oct 09, 2024

Show notes

The author and philanthropist Jennifer Risher continues our series on extreme wealth by telling the story of her ear-popping rise from a middle-class Microsoft employee in the early '90s to an unexpected multimillionaire. The stock options she accrued with her husband, David — a fellow Microsoft employee who went on to join Amazon and who is now the CEO of Lyft — gave Jennifer immediate entry to a world of privilege that, as the child of a working-class household, she'd never expected to join. Her experience showed her the peculiar nature of personal wealth: an agent of tremendous power that, she finds, does more to amplify people's character than to alter it.

Jennifer Risher is the author of "We Need to Talk: A Memoir About Wealth," which aims to illuminate discussions of money that are often cloaked in taboo, guilt, and secrecy. She and her husband founded the #HalfMyDAF movement, which seeks to encourage wealthy people to make greater charitable gifts in their lifetimes.

Extreme Wealth – Episode 2: Steve Fishman Inside the Mind of Prisoner Bernie Madoff Oct 02, 2024

Show notes

In this episode — another in our series on extreme wealth — the journalist Steve Fishman discusses his reporting on Bernie Madoff and the collapse of Madoff's $65 billion ponzi scheme. Steve doggedly pursued the story even after the financier was sent to a federal prison in North Carolina. Eventually the two men connected for a series of phone interviews that gave Steve a unique insight into the truths and lies that enabled Madoff to con investors at an industrial scale. Steve explains that greed was but one motivation for Madoff, an apex Manhattan insider who never forgot humiliations he suffered during his youth in Queens.

Steve Fishman is a longtime journalist who lives in Brooklyn. He covered Bernie Madoff first as a staff writer at New York magazine and later as the host and creator of the podcast Ponzi Supernova. His latest podcast series, The Burden, investigates decades of sketchy convictions won by Louis Scarcella, a formerly celebrated NYPD detective.

Extreme Wealth – Episode 1: Clay Cockrell and the Champagne Problems of the 1% Sep 25, 2024

Show notes

This week we debut a special project within Bribe, Swindle or Steal: single-topic episodes that focus on extreme wealth. For years Alexandra Wrage has worked on corporate compliance and anti-corruption efforts, a field that provides a front-row view into human corruptibility. In these episodes, she digs into the practical, philosophical, political, and even spiritual roots of why people risk everything—from scandal to criminal charges—for the allure of money, even when all of their material needs are more than covered. She will explore some surprising challenges of wealth alongside the ways in which greed changes people and extreme wealth changes the rules that we all live by.

Her first guest in this series is Clay Cockrell, a therapist in New York City whose Walk and Talk Therapy practice specializes in treating very wealthy clients. The problems they bring to therapy give him a unique insight into the privileges, the anxieties, and the perils exclusive to the 1%.

The Sentencing of Roger Stone Sep 18, 2024

Show notes

In this episode from 2020, Randall Eliason, law professor and former Assistant U.S. Attorney provides an excellent account of the days leading up to the sentencing of political operative Roger Stone. The Department of Justice's unprecedented interference in--and reversal of--its prosecutorial team's recommendation led to the resignation from the case of all four prosecutors. Over 2000 former DOJ officials called on Attorney General Barr to resign in the wake of his interference in the case.

This episode was originally published on 4 March 2020.

Primer on Money-Laundering Sep 11, 2024

Show notes

A 22-year veteran of Treasury and consultant to the Dept of Justice, John Madinger sheds light on some of the money-laundering schemes he has uncovered and why the Breaking Bad car wash scheme probably wouldn't have worked.

This episode was originally posted: December 27, 2017

How Local News Uncovers Local Fraud Aug 28, 2024

Show notes

David Jackson, a senior reporter with Injustice Watch, discusses his work exposing corruption, which has led to both indictments and legislative reform.

The U.S. College Admissions Scandal: Jonathan Turner Aug 21, 2024

Show notes

Jonathan Turner, former Vice President, Ethics & Compliance, at Smith & Nephew in Memphis, discusses the admissions scandal that has rattled several top-tier U.S. universities and ties some of the lessons learned back to the work of compliance professionals.

This episode was originally published 2 October 2019.

Anand Mangnale on the Risks of Investigative Journalism Aug 14, 2024

Show notes

Anand Mangnale of the OCCRP joins the podcast to describe his investigation into the practices of the vast and powerful Adnani Group in India, the spyware discovered on his phone as soon as the story began to break and the subsequent efforts to silence him, including bizarre charges of financial support of terrorism.

The Corrupt Underbelly of Sport Aug 07, 2024

Show notes

Declan Hill discusses the pervasive and sinister nature of match-fixing and how we can prevent sport from being turned into theater.

This episode was originially posted on 2 August, 2017.

Doping in International Sports Jul 31, 2024

Show notes

Rob Koehler, WADA veteran and current Director General of Global Athlete, joins the podcast to discuss the epidemic of doping in sports, the imbalance of power between athletes and administrators and the IOC's startling decision to allow Russia to compete in the Paris Games in spite of its invasion of Ukraine.

This episode was originally published 15 February 2023.

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