Podcasts by Power Corrupts
Does power corrupt? Absolutely. This is the podcast about the hidden—and often nefarious—forces that shape our world. Election rigging. Smuggling. Narcopolitics. Ransom. Conspiracy Theories. North Korean bank heists. Cults. Drug Lords. Voodoo. Money laundering. Assassinations. Unhinged conspiracy theories. Unbelievable stories. Stitched together with the help of world-leading experts. Created and narrated by Dr. Brian Klaas, a political scientist and columnist for The Washington Post.
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Further podcasts by Brian Klaas
Podcast on the topic Politik
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The Dark Side of AI from 2021-11-23T06:00
Space Wars from 2021-11-16T06:00
Is the next war going to happen in space? What are space weapons like, anyway? And why should we be worried about the space ventures of billionaires? In this episode, we look at the militarizati...
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Corruptible: Audiobook Excerpt from 2021-11-02T05:00
This week's episode is an excerpt from the opening chapter of Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us.
(If you pre-order the book or audiobook, you're...
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Does Power Corrupt? from 2021-11-01T05:00
The title of this podcast is Power Corrupts. But is that true?
In this week's episode, host Brian Klaas has the microphone turned around on himself, as he's interviewed by Emma N...
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War Criminal or Victim? from 2021-10-26T05:00
The International Criminal Court prosecutes perpetrators of horrific crimes. But what if the perpetrator is also a victim?
That's the question we explore this week, with the dist...
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Walk the Plank from 2021-10-19T05:00
How do you capture a pirate after they’ve hijacked a ship? In today’s episode, we look at two ingenious sting operations that managed to lure some pirates across borders to their arrest. And in ...
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The Invisible Hook from 2021-10-12T05:00
Pirates can teach us quite a lot about democracy and economics. What can Blackbeard teach us about signaling theory? Why were pirates racially progressive for their era? And is it possible that ...
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Golden Handcuffs from 2021-10-05T05:00
Can doing the wrong thing ever be the right policy? That’s a question we’ll tackle this week as we look at the possibility of letting some very bad people get away with their crimes…in order to ...
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Hitman for Hire from 2021-09-28T05:00
What if you hacked a hitman-for-hire website and found out the identities of people who were slated to die before the murder? How much does it cost to hire a hitman on the Dark Web? And...
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Do Not Disturb from 2021-09-14T05:00
Is going into exile safe any longer?
A few years ago, a former Rwandan intelligence chief hiding out in exile was found strangled to death in a Johannesburg hotel room. Hanging o...
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Click Here To Kill Everybody from 2021-09-07T05:00
In early 2021, hackers infiltrated the software that controlled the city’s water supply in Oldsmar, Florida. Through dumb luck, they caught the intrusion shortly after the hacker tried to poison...
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The Shell Game from 2021-08-31T05:00
When it comes to understanding the underworld of corruption and criminality, you can’t just look at the rich crooks. You also have to look at the lawyers who help them dot the i’s and cross the ...
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The Billion Dollar Shack from 2021-08-31T05:00
We all know that offshore areas of financial secrecy exist. In this episode, we’re going to take a look at the origin story of one of them. It’s a story that will make you question the caricatur...
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Power Corrupts Season 3: Returning 31st August 2021 from 2021-08-05T13:47:53
They say power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. But when it comes to the underworld of corruption, murder, and greed, from drug cartels to hackers to political psychopaths, what ...
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Biological Weapons from 2020-04-09T05:00
Pandemics are horrifying. But what if one could be unleashed deliberately? How did ancient armies from the Greeks to the Mongol hordes use germ warfare? Why did America conduct tests on...
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Revolutions from 2020-04-02T05:00
When revolutions happen, everything changes. In this episode, we'll look at why one revolution was launched when a rebel leader in southeast Asia started climbing trees; how Teddy Roosevelt's so...
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Catastrophic Miscalculation from 2020-03-19T05:00
Have you ever made a catastrophic mistake? What if your mistakes could cause an empire to fall, a war to start, or thirty million people to starve to death? History and politics are defined by c...
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Corruption in Plain Sight from 2020-03-12T05:00
Corruption is usually hidden. But sometimes, it’s out in the open — either by design, or by incompetence. In this episode, we explore some unexpected hotspots of corruption and kleptocracy. How ...
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The Godfather of Fake News from 2020-03-05T06:00
Christopher Blair has been called the Godfather of Fake News. He's an American troll. And whether you realized it or not, you've probably unknowingly read a fake news article that he's written, ...
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The Unthinkable Olive Branch from 2020-02-27T06:00
How to be a Dictator from 2020-02-20T06:00
Guns for Hire from 2020-02-13T06:00
The Dark Art of Propaganda from 2020-02-06T06:00
Propaganda has been around for thousands of years. But what separates the pros from the amateur propagandists? Why are North Korean radios made without dials? Who is Sister Potato and why is the...
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Power Corrupts Season 2: Coming February 6th 2020 from 2020-01-23T06:00
Come explore the dark side of power as we travel across the globe meeting the often unsavory characters who inhabit the hidden world of mercenaries, propaganda, biological weapons, information w...
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Children of Monsters from 2019-08-22T05:00
To end our first season we look at Nepotism. What’s it like to be the son or daughter of a dictator? Why did one dictator’s son go from a high-flying life playing football in Italy to being shor...
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The Anatomy of Evil from 2019-08-15T05:00
The Greatest Heists You’ve Never Heard Of from 2019-08-08T05:00
When you think of heists, you probably think of masked men, bank robbers, and priceless art. But governments carry out heists, too. In this episode, we explore a billion dollar bank heist carrie...
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From Dictator to Demigod from 2019-08-01T05:00
Why do dictators and despots create outlandish myths about themselves? Why spread lies claiming that you've written 18,000 books or that you personally invented hamburgers? Why waste millions on...
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Letters of Last Resort from 2019-07-25T05:00
Dirty Cash In / Clean Cash Out from 2019-07-11T05:00
You’ve probably heard of money laundering, but how does it actually work? How did billions of dollars of dirty gold from South America become clean cash in Florida and Ohio? How do crooks launde...
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Blood Diamond / Blood Chocolate from 2019-07-04T05:00
Why are countries that are rich in natural resources so often poor and war-torn? You’ve probably heard of blood diamonds, but what about blood vanilla, blood microchips, or blood chocolate? How ...
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An Eye for an Eye? from 2019-06-27T05:00
Nick Yarris spent 22 years on death row. At one point, he even escaped. But then, right before he was slated to be executed, DNA evidence proved he was innocent. Is the death penalty justified? ...
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Witnessing 283 Executions from 2019-06-20T05:00
Assassinations from 2019-06-13T05:00
International Arms Trade from 2019-06-06T05:00
Disinformation and Deep Fakes from 2019-05-16T05:00
Voodoo, Vampires, and General Butt Naked from 2019-05-09T05:00
Narcopolitics from 2019-05-01T20:18:49
How have drugs been used in warfare? Why does the cocaine in London nightclubs pass through a dictatorship in West Africa? Why did British soldiers get high on hallucinogens and try to talk to b...
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Conspiracy Theories from 2019-05-01T20:06:23
How to Rig an Election from 2019-05-01T20:05:24
Introducing Power Corrupts from 2019-03-24T22:46:10
Does power corrupt? Absolutely. This is the podcast about the hidden—and often nefarious—forces that shape our world. Election rigging. Smuggling. Narcopolitics. Ransom. Conspiracy Theories. Nor...
Listen