

Prevail with Greg Olear
Greg Olear
On PREVAIL, a weekly interview podcast, the author and columnist Greg Olear discusses politics, world news, history, national security, foreign affairs, organized crime, dirty money, global corruption, and the fight for democracy with authors, journalists, academics, diplomats, researchers, and other expert guests. Every Friday.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 28, 2022 • 1h 20min
Elon Remix: Diamond Droogs & Human Wallets (with Aja Raden)
Greg Olear talks to his friend Aja Raden, author of STONED and THE TRUTH ABOUT LIES, about the new diamond industry documentary “Nothing Lasts Forever,” the Bitcoin bubble bursting, anti-Semitism as an indicator of Fascism, oligarchs, and the future of Vladimir Putin. Plus: an apocalyptic new film.Follow Aja:https://twitter.com/AjaRadenBuy her books:https://www.amazon.com/Aja-Raden/e/B013SJLVJI/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1The trailer for “Nothing Lasts Forever:”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHIGGdxZe64Subscribe to the PREVAIL newsletter:https://gregolear.substack.com/about
Make America Great Gatsby Again!https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e701221776c88f86?ean=9798985931976&next=tSubscribe 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

Oct 21, 2022 • 1h 15min
Delawareness (with Hal Weitzman)
After sharing his thoughts about Liz Truss, King Charles III, and Hugh Grant, Greg Olear interviews Hal Weitzman, executive director for intellectual capital at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, about his new book, “What’s the Matter With Delaware?” (Short answer: a lot.) Plus: bare-naked ladies and money.Follow Hal:https://twitter.com/HalWeitzmanBuy his book:https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691180007/whats-the-matter-with-delawareWatch his book trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msOdeQX21j4&t=1sSponsored by BetterHelp. Get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/greg
Make America Great Gatsby Again!https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e701221776c88f86?ean=9798985931976&next=tSubscribe 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

Oct 14, 2022 • 1h 31min
MAGA Apostate (with Melissa Jo Peltier)
After sharing his thoughts about Putin’s new atrocities in Ukraine, Kanye West, Roger Waters, Elon Musk, and the poltroonish quitter Ben Sasse, Greg Olear talks to his friend, the documentary filmmaker Melissa Peltier, about her new film, “The Game is Up: Disillusioned Trump Voters Tell Their Stories.” Plus: the clash inside the country’s richest man.Follow Melissa:https://twitter.com/MelissaJPeltierWatch “The Game is Up:”https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0B6SVXWLX/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_rAbout the film:https://thegameisupmovie.com/Subscribe to the PREVAIL newsletter:https://gregolear.substack.com/about
Make America Great Gatsby Again!https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e701221776c88f86?ean=9798985931976&next=tSubscribe 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

Oct 7, 2022 • 1h 9min
How Britain Broke the World…and How Liz Truss Broke Britain (with Arthur Snell)
In her first three weeks as prime minister, Liz Truss presided over the death of both the queen and the economy. What’s going on in Britain? Why is the pound cratering? Is Truss really as inept as she appears? Greg Olear talks to Arthur Snell, the former British diplomat and “Doomsday Watch” podcaster, about the situation in the U.K., as well as Arthur’s new book, “How Britain Broke the World.” Plus: a new slasher film from Netflix.Follow Arthur:https://twitter.com/SnellArthurSubscribe to “Doomsday Watch:”https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/doomsday-watch-with-arthur-snell/id1593634121Buy “How Britain Broke the World:”https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/How-Britain-Broke-the-World/Arthur-Snell/9781912454600Subscribe to the PREVAIL newsletter:https://gregolear.substack.com/about
Make America Great Gatsby Again!https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e701221776c88f86?ean=9798985931976&next=tSubscribe 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

Sep 30, 2022 • 1h 11min
CPACing with the Enemy (with Amanda Moore)
Amanda Moore spent almost a year infiltrating the MAGA movement. Working undercover, she attended numerous events, including the November and December DC rallies and January 6. She was finally caught in September 2021. She tells Greg Olear her remarkable story. Plus: Les Deplorables.Follow Amanda Moore:https://twitter.com/noturtlesoup17Her Substack:https://noturtlesoup17.substack.com/Her Link Tree:https://linktr.ee/noturtlesoup17About her:https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/02/amanda-moore-undercover-maga/Subscribe to the PREVAIL newsletter:https://gregolear.substack.com/about
Make America Great Gatsby Again!https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e701221776c88f86?ean=9798985931976&next=tSubscribe 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

Sep 23, 2022 • 1h 7min
Playing in the Gray (with Kimberly Kay Hoang)
Greg Olear talks to Kimberly Kay Hoang, a professor at the University of Chicago and the author of “Spiderweb Capitalism: How Global Elites Exploit Frontier Markets,” about her field work as an ethnographer, the difference between high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, the similarities between high-net-worth individuals and sex workers, the concept of “playing in the gray,” tax havens offshore and otherwise, the psychology of gambling with enormous stakes, and how Prada makes the best handbags. Plus: a new airline in Florida.Follow Kimberly Kay Hoang:https://twitter.com/kimberlykhoangBuy “Spiderweb Capitalism:”https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691229119/spiderweb-capitalismBuy “Dealing in Desire: Asian Ascendancy, Western Decline, and the Hidden Currencies of Global Sex Work:”https://www.amazon.com/Dealing-Desire-Ascendancy-Western-Currencies/dp/0520275578Her website:https://www.kimberlykayhoang.com/
Make America Great Gatsby Again!https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e701221776c88f86?ean=9798985931976&next=tSubscribe 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

Sep 16, 2022 • 1h 42min
Ukraine vs. the Evil Empire (with Victor Rud)
Greg Olear welcomes back Ukraine expert Victor Rud, chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs for the Ukrainian American Bar Association, to discuss common misconceptions about Ukrainian history, Russia’s long-standing aims in the country, America’s “strategic slide,” Putin’s brazen violation of international order, and how credibility of will establishes deterence. Plus: a new moving company.Subscribe to the PREVAIL newsletter:https://gregolear.substack.com/about
Make America Great Gatsby Again!https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e701221776c88f86?ean=9798985931976&next=tSubscribe 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

Sep 9, 2022 • 1h 17min
Existential Threat to Democracy (with Craig Unger)
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
Make America Great Gatsby Again!https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e701221776c88f86?ean=9798985931976&next=tSubscribe 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

Aug 12, 2022 • 1h 18min
Something Beyond “Liking” (Season Finale, with Pam Murtaugh)
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
Make America Great Gatsby Again!https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e701221776c88f86?ean=9798985931976&next=tSubscribe 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

Aug 5, 2022 • 1h 18min
Hear Me Roar (with Nina Burleigh)
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
Make America Great Gatsby Again!https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e701221776c88f86?ean=9798985931976&next=tSubscribe 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