Change Agents with Andy Stumpf

Latest Episodes:

The Violent Mexican Cartels Preying on Elderly Americans with Time Share Scams May 29, 2024

Show notes

Today on Change Agents, Andy Stumpf learns about how the violent Jalisco New Generation Cartel is raking in millions by preying on elderly Americans with elaborate phone scams.

His guest, Steve Fisher, is an investigative reporter based in Mexico City who covers organized crime in Mexico for outlets including the New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post and the LA Times.

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Special Operations Pirate Hunters & Exposing Crime on the High Seas (with Ian Urbina) May 21, 2024

Show notes

Today’s guest is Ian Urbina.

He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist who left The New York Times in 2019 to start The Outlaw Ocean Project. The Project’s mission is to produce ”investigative stories about human rights, environment and labor concerns on the two-thirds of the planet covered by water.”

On today’s show, he and Andy discuss investigating murder on the open ocean, forced labor on fishing vessels, the special operations veterans who now hunt pirates, and more.

You can learn more about his work at https://www.theoutlawocean.com/

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The Dark Side of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg (with whistleblower Frances Haugen) May 15, 2024

Show notes

Today's guest is Facebook whistleblower, Frances Haugen.

Frances Haugen is a specialist in algorithmic product management, having worked on ranking algorithms at Google, Pinterest, Yelp, and Facebook. In 2019, she was recruited to Facebook to be the lead Product Manager on the Civic Misinformation team, which dealt with issues related to democracy and misinformation, and later worked on counter-espionage.

She became alarmed over Facebook’s prioritization of profit over safety and security, and finally blew the whistle by providing the Wall Street Journal with a series of alarming internal documents about the company’s practices. The series of articles that resulted are now known as THE FACEBOOK FILES. She has testified in front of the US Congress, UK and EU Parliaments, the French Senate and National Assembly.

She recounts the story in her book, The Power of One: How I Found the Strength to Tell the Truth and Why I Blew the Whistle on Facebook

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The Asian Meth Super Cartels Operating Out of a Remote Narco-State May 08, 2024

Show notes

Today’s guest is writer and investigative crime journalist, Sean Williams. Sean is the co-host of The Underworld Podcast. On this episode, Sean and Andy discuss the world of Asian meth cartels operating out of Myanmar’s remote Wa State, where an autonomous government and military protect massive super labs. SPONSORS: Change Agents is presented by Montana Knife Company. Use CODE "CHANGEAGENTS10" for 10% off your first order at ⁠https://www.montanaknifecompany.com/⁠ MTNTOUGH Go to ⁠https://mtntough.com⁠ and enter code CHANGE to receive 40% OFF - a savings of about $100 your MTNTOUGH+ annual subscription. Four Branches Bourbon Check out their story at ⁠⁠⁠https://www.fourbranches.com⁠⁠⁠ and pick up a bottle of their fine bourbon today. Use the code “IRONCLAD10” to get 10% off. Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original.

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Exposing the Real Yakuza (with ‘Tokyo Vice’ Author Jake Adelstein) May 01, 2024

Show notes

Jake Adelstein is an investigative journalist and the author of several books about Japanese organized crime including Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan, which is currently being adaptation into a TV series by HBO Max.

His latest book, The Last Yakuza: Life and Death in the Japanese Underworld, is out now. He is a board member for Lighthouse: Center for Human Trafficking Victims and hosts the podcast The Evaporated, about the countless people who vanish in Japan every year.
Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original.

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Snipers, Cyberattacks, and Fire: America’s Power Grid Is in Danger Apr 24, 2024

Show notes

Today’s guest is award-winning journalist Katherine Blunt.

She is a Wall Street Journal reporter and author of California Burning: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric and What it Means for America’s Power Grid, a national bestseller, and winner of the 2022 Golden Poppy award for nonfiction. She was also a part of the reporting team that uncovered how Instagram’s algorithms promoted disturbing underaged content.

On this episode, she and Andy discuss vulnerabilities to America’s grid, the danger these vulnerabilities present, and what can be done to fix them.

Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original.

SPONSORS:

Change Agents is presented by Montana Knife Company. Use CODE "CHANGEAGENTS10" for 10% off your first order at https://www.montanaknifecompany.com/

MTNTOUGH

Go to https://mtntough.com and enter code CHANGE to receive 40% OFF - a savings of about $100 your MTNTOUGH+ annual subscription.

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The Reality of the Mental Health Crisis (with Dr. Paul Conti) Apr 17, 2024

Show notes

Today on Change Agents, Andy talks with renowned psychiatrist, Dr. Paul Conti.

Dr. Conti holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University School of Medicine and is the former chief resident at Harvard Medical School. He is an expert on mental health and understanding the root causes of issues like anxiety and stress, as well as creativity, leadership, and discipline. He is the author of the best-selling book Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic which seeks to understand “How Trauma Works and How We Can Heal It From It”

His unique approach to psychiatry has led him to work as a consult for major corporations and he is known for his frequent media appearances on shows, including a recent 4-part series about mental health with Stanford Neuroscientist, Andrew Huberman.

Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original.

SPONSORS: Change Agents is presented by Montana Knife Company. Use CODE "CHANGEAGENTS10" for 10% off your first order at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.montanaknifecompany.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Four Branches Bourbon Please check their story out at https://www.⁠⁠⁠fourbranches.com⁠⁠⁠ and pick up a bottle of their fine bourbon today. Use the code “IRONCLAD10” to get 10% off. MTNTOUGH Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mtntough.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ and enter code CHANGE to receive 40% OFF - a savings of about $100 your MTNTOUGH+ annual subscription.

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How Gangs, Cartels, and Prison Breaks Spiraled Ecuador into Violence Apr 10, 2024

Show notes

Today on Change Agents, Andy sits down with investigative reporter CD Goette-Luciak to discuss the violent situation in Ecuador.

CD Goette-Luciak is a reporter for the Latin America Advisor, and freelance writer for publications outlets including Vox, The Guardian, The Washington Post, with extensive experience reporting on civil conflict, politics, and corruption from Central America. In 2018, he was even abducted by government forces and expelled from Nicaraguan for his reporting on the administration of Daniel Ortega, who accused CD of working for the CIA.

Recently, he turned his attention to Ecuador, where armed, cartel-affiliated gangs have terrorized the public. In recent weeks, Ecuador has seen a dramatic increase in violence, including the storming of a hospital by 68 gang members and the live broadcast attack on a local TV station by armed men.

Today, we’re talking with CD about what’s going on in the country, who’s behind the violence, and what happens next.

Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original.

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The Truth About DMT and Psychedelics (with Rick Strassman) Apr 03, 2024

Show notes

Today’s guest is one of the world’s pioneering researchers of psychedelic and Dimethyltryptamine, known as DMT. Rick Strassman is the author of several books on the topic including The Psychedelic Handbook and DMT: The Spirit Molecule. He is also a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.

Today on Change Agents, he and Andy talk about the dark side of psychedelics, their promises when it comes to therapeutic treatments, what people should know before experimenting, and more.

SPONSORS:

Change Agents is presented by Montana Knife Company. Use CODE "CHANGEAGENTS10" for 10% off your first order at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.montanaknifecompany.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Four Branches Bourbon

Check out their story at ⁠⁠⁠fourbranches.com⁠⁠⁠ and pick up a bottle of their fine bourbon today. Use the code “IRONCLAD10” to get 10% off.

MTNTOUGH

Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mtntough.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ and enter code CHANGE to receive 40% OFF - a savings of about $100 your MTNTOUGH+ annual subscription.

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Tranq and the New Street Drugs That Have Taken Over Cities Around the Country Mar 27, 2024

Show notes

Today on Change Agents, Andy speaks with former Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Los Angeles Field Division, Bill Bodner.

Bill had a 31-year career in the Drug Enforcement Administration, in which he was responsible for overseeing the daily operations of 14 offices located in Nevada, Hawaii, Guam, Saipan, and the counties which make up the greater Los Angeles area.

Bill discusses the evolution in American street drugs, the forces behind these new drugs, and how deadly substances like Xylazine — known as tranq — infiltrated the modern drug market.

SPONSORS:

Change Agents is presented by Montana Knife Company. Use CODE "CHANGEAGENTS10" for 10% off your first order at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.montanaknifecompany.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Four Branches Bourbon

Please check their story out at ⁠⁠⁠fourbranches.com⁠⁠⁠ and pick up a bottle of their fine bourbon today. Use the code “IRONCLAD10” to get 10% off.

MTNTOUGH

Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mtntough.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ and enter code CHANGE to receive 40% OFF - a savings of about $100 your MTNTOUGH+ annual subscription.

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