Making a Killing

Making a Killing explores how corruption is reshaping global politics, and fueling some of the most deadly security threats facing the world today - from the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, to terrorist networks, nuclear proliferation, drug trafficking and other organized crime. Making a Killing is a podcast project from the Hudson Institute's Kleptocracy Initiative, hosted by Nate Sibley.

40 | Sanctioning Russia’s War Crimes in Ukraine

Former US Treasury Assistant Secretary and FATF President Marshall Billingslea joins Nate Sibley to discuss the need for American leadership in responding to evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

04-07
30:55

39 | Yuen Yuen Ang on Corruption within China’s "Gilded Age"

How did China sustain meteoric economic growth amid vast corruption? Yuen Yuen Ang joins Nate Sibley to explore what powers China’s crony capitalism, the impact of Xi’s anti-graft campaign, and why it’s time to rethink our approach to measuring corruption.

03-31
36:11

Ep. 38 | Foreign Lobbying Loopholes with Anna Massoglia

Authoritarian regimes spend significant sums trying to influence politics within the US and other democracies. Anna Massoglia of Open Secrets joins host Paul Massaro to discuss closing US lobbying loopholes.

03-10
39:00

Ep. 37 | Russia and Ukraine with Thomas Firestone

What role has corruption played in shaping Russia and Ukraine’s diverging paths in recent decades? Thomas Firestone, a former DOJ lawyer posted in Russia who now works on corruption and national security cases, joins Paul and Nate to discuss.

03-01
25:06

Ep. 36 | Hitting Putin’s Wallets

Casey, Paul and Nate discuss whether targeting Russian oligarchs can help deter Putin’s escalating aggression against Ukraine, and whether it is time for financial warfare to become a NATO operational domain.

02-22
39:40

Ep. 35 | Ed Lucas on Fortifying Britain’s Democracy Against Kleptocracy

Paul Massaro talks to Edward Lucas about the outsized role of Britain in laundering the world’s ill-gotten gains, particularly from China and Russia, and enabling kleptocracy. They discuss what this means for democracy in Britain and globally and how Britain can fight back.

02-03
44:41

Ep. 34 | Deterring Putin with Marshall Billingslea

As the White House warns of an “imminent” attack on Ukraine, former US Treasury Assistant Secretary Marshall Billingslea joins Nate Sibley to explore what options America and its allies still possess to deter Putin from further escalation. They also consider lessons for a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

01-27
28:14

Ep. 33 | Defending Ukraine and Punishing Putin with Peter Rough

Hudson senior fellow Peter Rough joins Paul Massaro and Nate Sibley to discuss US policy options for deterring further Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as the role of strategic corruption in undermining Europe’s response.

01-21
48:53

Ep. 32 | China’s Serial Censorship

Paul Massaro talks to Dr. Andreas Fulda about how the CCP leverages its market to silence academics and other critics. The two discuss the case study of Germany, which has been particularly vulnerable to the CCP’s extraterritorial censorship.

01-06
44:14

Ep. 31 | Putin’s Killer Kleptocracy is on Ukraine's Doorstep

Paul talks to Russian opposition politician and economist Vladimir Milov about Putin’s troop build-up on the border of Ukraine and how that links back to the corruption that underpins the Kremlin system.

12-17
36:00

Special | Ep. 30: A New Era for US Efforts Against Kleptocracy with Josh Rudolph

The new US Strategy on Countering Corruption was released hours before the Summit for Democracy and promises to rewrite the rulebook on global anticorruption efforts. Josh Rudolph of the German Marshall Fund joins Casey, Nate and Paul to discuss what’s in it.

12-07
37:07

Ep. 29: American Kleptocracy with Casey Michel

Casey talks to Nate and Paul about his debut book, which chronicles the rise of US financial secrecy through the colorful stories of two famous kleptocrats—and explains why the US must lead global efforts against transnational corruption. American Kleptocracy is published November 23, 2021 and available to preorder now: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250274526/americankleptocracy

11-18
41:44

Ep. 28: How Corruption Drives Climate Change

Casey, Nate and Paul discuss the kleptocrats at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), the role of bribery in driving environmental abuses, and how green sanctions and law enforcement can punish the worst of the world's polluters.

11-11
39:56

Ep. 27: Real Estate Laundromat

Casey speaks with Lakshmi Kumar, policy director at Global Financial Integrity, about the damaging - and deadly - consequences of money laundering in American real estate.

11-04
30:55

Ep. 26: Rethinking Sanctions

- How U.S. Sanctions Take a Hidden Toll on Russian Oligarchs (Washington Post)- Biden Might Stop a Sanctions Revolution (Foreign Policy)- The Treasury 2021 Sanctions Review (US Treasury Department)

10-28
37:04

Ep. 25: Pandora Papers Fallout

Casey, Nate and Paul discuss the biggest stories emerging from Azerbaijan, Chile, Czech Republic, Pakistan and elsewhere, amid calls for heightened scrutiny of the professional enablers of transnational corruption—including many American lawyers.

10-14
29:56

Ep. 24: Inside the Pandora Papers with Miranda Patrucic

Miranda Patrucic, a senior Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project journalist who worked on the Pandora Papers, explains how she followed the money as part of the biggest journalism investigation in history. Paul Massaro reveals the reaction from the US Congress: an ENABLERs Act to tackle professional facilitators of transnational corruption.

10-07
47:25

Ep. 23: Hunter Biden’s Anonymous Art Problem and China’s Hostage Diplomacy

Casey, Paul and Nate discuss why Hunter Biden’s plan to auction his artwork to anonymous bidders engages serious money laundering risks, what Meng Wanzhou’s release tells us about China’s globalized kleptocracy, and the latest on anti-corruption reforms in Washington, DC.

09-30
38:47

Ep. 22: Kleptocracy With Chinese Characteristics

Matt Schrader and Paul Massaro discuss the nature of corruption in the Chinese Communist Party and how that corruption underpins its rule in the country. They also discuss how the CCP's corrupt practices are exported abroad and how western enablers and enterprise become intertwined with the CCP in way deleterious to democracy.

09-23
45:41

Ep. 21: Germany’s Dirty Money Addiction and Canada’s Real Estate Scandal

Paul, Casey and Nate discuss Germany’s problematic relationship with authoritarian capital, how money laundering gutted Vancouver’s real estate market, US missteps in Afghanistan, and major legislation from the US Congress. Paul & Casey's Foreign Policy piece: https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/09/13/americas-money-lost-the-afghan-war/

09-16
40:47

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