Episode 5: The Lion

Introducing The Professor: Hunting for the Mafia's Missing Masterpiece

This week on Dynamite Doug we’re sharing the first episode of a new four-part series from Brazen called ‘The Professor’.

William Veres is in trouble. In 2018 he was arrested following the largest ever investigation by the Italian police’s art squad. They accuse him of running a pan-European art-smuggling ring with ties to the Sicilian mafia. He is alleged to have stolen $40 million worth of art and antiquities from Italy. Charged with 14 counts, including money laundering, forgery, wire fraud and conspiracy, he faces a jail term of up to 20 years. But he has a plan to get out of trouble.

In this four-part podcast, host Simon Willis follows him as he puts that plan into action. It’s a story that takes listeners deep into the underworld, and into the dark heart of the most famous criminal organization of them all – Cosa Nostra. It is a story of drug dealers, hitmen, smugglers, spies – even a corrupt prime minister. And in the middle of it all is William Veres’s quest to save himself. How? By solving the coldest cold case in the history of art crime – the theft of Caravaggio’s Nativity.

The Professor is a series for Hidden Worlds, the home of unbelievable true stories and gripping investigations into shadowy places. Subscribe to Hidden Worlds and get brand new series delivered to your favorite podcast app year-round. One podcast, endless stories. For more, visit brazen.fm/hidden-worlds.

Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus to get ad-free listening.

Spy Valley: An Engineer's Nuclear Betrayal

This week on Dynamite Doug, we’re sharing a special preview of Spy Valley: An Engineer's Nuclear Betrayal. This new series uncovers Silicon Valley’s origins as a laboratory for espionage.

At the dawn of the hi-tech age, Moscow’s spies opened up shop in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. In this podcast, you’ll get to know the group of FBI spy hunters who assembled to stop them—and solve the case of a lifetime.

Hosted by national security journalist Zach Dorfman, Spy Valley will walk you through a maze of technology theft, double agents, and unbelievable events that put an American engineer at the center of it all.

There are new episodes of Spy Valley out now. To keep listening, search for Spy Valley: An Engineer's Nuclear Betrayal, wherever you get your podcasts.

To listen ad-free and get early access to new episodes, subscribe to Brazen+ in the Apple Podcasts app, or visit brazen.fm/plus to subscribe on other platforms.

Free Evan Gershkovich: How a US reporter was imprisoned in Putin's Russia

This is a special episode from Project Brazen. How did Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich end up wrongfully imprisoned in Russia, and what happens now?

On March 29, Russian authorities arrested Evan and accused him of spying on Russia on behalf of the US government. Evan was imprisoned in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, where he remains today. In this special podcast episode from Project Brazen, you’ll hear from those close to Evan — his friends, newsroom colleagues, even his former soccer coach — about his shocking arrest, efforts to bring him home, and how he became the journalist he is today.

Evan is the first American reporter to be charged with espionage in Russia since the Cold War. The charge, which The Journal vehemently denies, can carry a sentence of up to 20 years. To support the campaign for Evan’s release or send him a message of support, visit www.freegershkovich.com.

Live Bonus: A Discussion on Cambodia’s Stolen Statues

In this bonus episode, we bring you an expert panel on Cambodian art restitution, live from New York. Back in February, Dynamite Doug marked its launch with a symposium tackling Cambodia’s stolen heritage and the Met’s problem with trafficked art head on. The panel included Sopheap Meas, a Cambodian archaeologist working on the return of art; famed Cambodian dancer Sophiline Cheam Shapiro; American lawyer Brad Gordon, appointed by Cambodia’s culture minister to work on art repatriation; Gary Vikan, former director of the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; and Jason Felch, author of “Chasing Aphrodite, the Hunt for Looted Antiquities at the World’s Richest Museum. The conversation was moderated by Tom Wright, co-founder of Project Brazen, with opening remarks from Ellen Wong, podcast host of Dynamite Doug.

To watch a live stream of the symposium in full, search for ‘Dynamite Doug’ on YouTube.

www.dynamitedoug.com

Introducing Night of Show: Prince's Super Bowl Comeback Shakes the Music Industry

This week on Dynamite Doug, we’re sharing a preview of Night of Show, the latest podcast from Project Brazen. To listen to the rest of this episode, search for Night of Show, wherever you get your podcasts.

In Night of Show, accomplished concert promoter Adam Wilkes joins music industry legends as they share behind-the-scenes stories about the pressures superstar artists faced when staging some of their biggest performances. Most Prince fans forget he was once in the wilderness after his 1980s heyday. He’d walked away from his record contract and had released a slew of albums that didn’t chart. Then, with John and Paul as promoters, he stages a major comeback.

Don’t want to wait for the next episode? You can listen to the full series, ad-free, by subscribing to Project Brazen’s channel on the Apple Podcasts app. Subscribe at: apple.co/night-of-show

nightofshow.com