To kick off Season Four of the PREVAIL podcast, Greg Olear welcomes back the investigative journalist Craig Unger, author of “American Kompromat” and “House of Trump, House of Putin,” to talk about the Ukraine invasion, the FBI, Trump’s money laundering, dark money, Roy Cohn, major media failures, MAGA Republicans, and the ghosts of GOP election f*ckery past. Plus: a new superhero emerges.Follow Craig Unger:https://twitter.com/craigungerBuy “American Kompromat:”https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/635379/american-kompromat-by-craig-unger/Subscribe to the PREVAIL newsletter:https://gregolear.substack.com/about Subscribe to The Five 8:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhACheck out ROUGH BEAST, Greg’s new book:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17ROUGH BEAST is now available as an audiobook:https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T Would you like to tell us more about you? http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=short

Greg Olear talks to Pam Murtaugh, the former management consultant in market research, about money, metrics, and technology, and her alarming findings after running small focus groups for decades. Is there a correlation between the rise of income inequality and the rise of obesity in the U.S., which both started in 1980? Has our society outsourced feelings to consumption? Do we even HAVE a society, or is it all just an economy now? Has the left brain engineered a coup? Plus: a Florida ditty and a take on Cole Porter.Follow Pam Murtaugh:https://twitter.com/anncampbell111Subscribe to the PREVAIL newsletter:https://gregolear.substack.com/about Subscribe to The Five 8:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhACheck out ROUGH BEAST, Greg’s new book:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17ROUGH BEAST is now available as an audiobook:https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T Would you like to tell us more about you? http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=short

Author Nina Burleigh and Greg Olear discuss the past and future of the women’s rights movement, the unintended consequences of overturning Roe, the similarities between MAGA men and ISIS men, and suggestions for summer reading. Plus: a new golf center that’s fun for the whole family.Follow Nina Burleigh:https://twitter.com/ninaburleighNina’s new piece:https://www.salon.com/2022/08/02/the-gilead-playbook-right-wing-extremists-are-making-fiction-come-true_partner/Buy Nina’s book:https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/691352/virus-by-nina-burleigh/References:“Town Bloody Hall,” a documentary film about the debate between Norman Mailer and Germaine Greer:https://www.criterion.com/films/30213-town-bloody-hallRed Scare podcast:https://redscarepodcast.com/Carolyn Forché memoir:https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/586566/what-you-have-heard-is-true-by-carolyn-forche/The quote:https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191826719.001.0001/q-oro-ed4-00016553Subscribe to the PREVAIL newsletter:https://gregolear.substack.com/about Subscribe to The Five 8:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhACheck out ROUGH BEAST, Greg’s new book:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17ROUGH BEAST is now available as an audiobook:https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T Would you like to tell us more about you? http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=short

How is New York City faring in the post-pandemic period? Greg Olear talks to his friend Jessica Lappin—president of the Downtown Alliance, former New York City Council member for the 5th District (Midtown Manhattan), and a consummate New Yorker—about the past, present and future of NYC. They discuss the lingering effects of the pandemic and quarantine, the commercial and residential real estate markets, and the challenges the city faces going forward, and she shares her thoughts on Mayor Eric Adams, DA Alvin Bragg, former mayor Bill DeBlasio, and Governor Kathy Hochul. Plus: yesterday.Follow Jessica Lappin:https://twitter.com/JessLappinFollow Downtown Alliance:https://twitter.com/downtownnycDowntown Alliance on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/downtownnyc/Subscribe to the PREVAIL newsletter:https://gregolear.substack.com/about Subscribe to The Five 8:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhACheck out ROUGH BEAST, Greg’s new book:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17ROUGH BEAST is now available as an audiobook:https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T Would you like to tell us more about you? http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=short

Greg Olear talks to the data analyst and disinformation fighter Shireen Mitchell, founder of Digital Sisters/Sistas and Stop Online Violence Against Women, about her background in the tech world, Russian disinformation campaigns that target Black voters, the fascist Supreme Court, and what allies can do to help. Plus: no stairway.Follow Shireen Mitchell:https://twitter.com/digitalsistaSOVAW:https://stoponlinevaw.com/Subscribe to the PREVAIL newsletter:https://gregolear.substack.com/about Subscribe to The Five 8:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhACheck out ROUGH BEAST, Greg’s new book:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17ROUGH BEAST is now available as an audiobook:https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T Would you like to tell us more about you? http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=short

In this special episode, Greg Olear asks his talented friends Alison Weller, Robert Burke Warren, Diana Spechler, and Tom Gualtieri to read four of his narrative pieces on Jeffrey Epstein, Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, and Vladimir Putin.Plus: a better SCOTUS steakhouse.Subscribe to the PREVAIL newsletter:https://gregolear.substack.com/about Subscribe to The Five 8:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhACheck out ROUGH BEAST, Greg’s new book:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17ROUGH BEAST is now available as an audiobook:https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T Would you like to tell us more about you? http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=short

Greg Olear talks to the mental health therapist P. Shavaun Scott, author of “The Minds of Mass Killers: Understanding and Interrupting the Pathway to Violence,” about the scourge of mass shootings, how to identify potential killers before they strike, and what can be done about the problem. Plus: Stephanie St. John’s National Anthem for 2022.Follow Shavaun:https://twitter.com/shavaunscottBuy her book:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09MB86W17/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0The National Anthem:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBeI33dPuIM&feature=emb_imp_woytSubscribe to the PREVAIL newsletter:https://gregolear.substack.com/about Subscribe to The Five 8:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhACheck out ROUGH BEAST, Greg’s new book:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17ROUGH BEAST is now available as an audiobook:https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T Would you like to tell us more about you? http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=short

*This episode was originally uploaded October 2021Craig Unger, the journalist and author of “American Kompromat: How the KGB Cultivated Donald Trump, and Related Tales of Sex, Greed, Power, and Treachery” and “House of Trump, House of Putin,” joins Greg Olear for a wide-ranging discussion on the Vietnam War, Reagan’s October Surprise, the failures of the New York Times, Trump’s cultivation by the KGB, Semion Mogilevich, and Craig’s incredible eighth grade year. Plus: a law firm provides a specific service.Follow Craig on Twitter:https://twitter.com/craigungerBuy Craig’s books:https://www.amazon.com/Craig-Unger/e/B001H6EMQOCraig’s Esquire article:https://classic.esquire.com/article/1991/10/1/october-surprise Subscribe to The Five 8:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhACheck out ROUGH BEAST, Greg’s new book:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17ROUGH BEAST is now available as an audiobook:https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T Would you like to tell us more about you? http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=short

The journalist and writer Zarina Zabrisky calls in from Odesa, Ukraine, to talk to Greg Olear about the situation on the ground in Ukraine, the popularity of President Zelenskyy, the enigma of Macron, the Putin sympathies of the New York Times, the Davos conference, the fallacy of Team Peace, and what the future may hold for Putin and Russia. Plus: “867-5309 (Ginni).”Follow Zarina:https://twitter.com/ZarinaZabriskyByline Times:https://bylinetimes.com/author/zarinazabrisky/Euromaidan Press:https://euromaidanpress.com/author/zarinazabrisky/?__cf_chl_tk=x5ZUhBEF1XUy5diqeVRJ5zIuDqbUXSMgkQeS_BKTb0o-1656004147-0-gaNycGzNCKUSubscribe to the PREVAIL newsletter:https://gregolear.substack.com/aboutHow We Win Midterm Fundswingleft.org/fundraise/howwewin Subscribe to The Five 8:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhACheck out ROUGH BEAST, Greg’s new book:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17ROUGH BEAST is now available as an audiobook:https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T Would you like to tell us more about you? http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=short

The photojournalist Sandi Bachom, who filmed in Washington on January 6, 2021, and also covered previous Proud Boy rallies in November and December 2020, talks to Greg Olear about the J6 hearings and her recollections of what happened at the insurrection. Plus: a new Jersey Patreon page.Follow Sandi Bachom:https://twitter.com/sandibachomSandi’s website:https://sandibachom.com/Watch The Five 8, Fridays at 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhASubscribe to the PREVAIL newsletter:https://gregolear.substack.com/about Subscribe to The Five 8:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhACheck out ROUGH BEAST, Greg’s new book:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17ROUGH BEAST is now available as an audiobook:https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T Would you like to tell us more about you? http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=short