The Underworld Podcast

Danny is out this week, and Sean is joined by comedian Sami Shah. He came from nowhere to become the murderous king of Melbourne's 'underbelly.' But how did Carl Williams, a "shelf stacker - and not a good one," lead the Australian city's long established Calabrian and Irish mafias into its biggest-ever war? And how did cops, and an informant named 'Lawyer X,' stoke the flames? Sean is joined by writer and comedian Sami Shah to explore the Melbourne Gangland Killings. Patreon.com/TheUnderworldPodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the 1990's, a new group of criminals started making their presence known on the streets of New York City: the Albanian mafia. Soon, they earned a reputation that even scared the Italian mafias that had dominated the city for decades. Muscling in on Gambino and Lucchese rackets, they pulled guns on made men and people began referring to the Rudaj Organization, better known as The Corporation, as the 6th family. This is the story of how Albanian organized crime groups came to New York. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The biggest drug cartel in the world isn't Mexican, or Colombian. It's Asian. Buried deep in the Burmese jungle are networks of cutting edge meth labs, guarded by rebels and run by kingpins so powerful they make El Chapo look like a corner boy. In 2019, Underworld cohost Sean Williams went looking for one of the billion dollar meth labs spending months on the Mekong, in lawless casinos and hunting a drug industry bigger than any other on earth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recent years MS-13 has become one of the most feared street gangs in the world, thanks to face tattoos and machetes. Underworld host and producer Danny Gold first went to El Salvador to report on the gang and their rivals 18th Street in 2015 and has since returned numerous times. In this episode he breaks down the origins of the gang and what it's like to go behind the scenes with them (and 18th street). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In part two of our Yakuza deep dive, we plot their post-war rise from hustlers to corporate raiders - and a smack back down to earth. There are wars, kamikaze assassinations, CIA stings and the growth of the Yamaguchi-gumi, a mob so powerful it has its logo on the door. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is there an organized crime group more iconic than Japan's Yakuza? In part one of two episodes on the group-or web of groups-we plunge into their ancient history, traditions, and how the Second World War made gangs of thieves into multi-billionaire magnates. Oh, and we'll unpack those tattoos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In part 2 of our episode on the Russian Mafia coming to Brooklyn, we are joined by journalist Michael Weiss to continue our story of how mostly Jewish refugees from the former Soviet Union set up shop in Brighton Beach and formed the 'Russian Mafia'. We talk about the war for Brighton Beach between Boris Nayfeld and Monya Elson, the arrival of the infamous and feared vor y zakone (allegedly!) Yaponchik, and how Russian gangsters in Brighton Beach bilk the US government out of billions of dollars through healthcare scams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Russian Mafia has been an object of fascination for decades in America, but it only really emerged in the 1980's after mostly Jewish immigrants were allowed to leave the Soviet Union and settled in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Brighton Beach. And while they may have started off as small-time hoods extorting bakeries and defrauding jewelry stores, in no time they were dropping bodies all over Brooklyn and scamming their way to hundreds of millions of dollars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

They called him "The Merchant of Death" - the world's most dangerous man. But was gun-runner Viktor Bout actually the arms trade's fall guy? From Angola to Zaire and everywhere in between, Bout's black-market weapons have fueled the globe's most grisly gangs and conflicts. But despite Nic Cage's excellent performance in Lord of War, there's far more to the real Viktor Bout than his Hollywood image suggests. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Building off our Nigerian Cults episode: Omoyele Sowore was attacked by the cults as a student leader, saw them morph into political power, and tried to take them down. Now the New Jersey resident - a journalist, activist and 2019 presidential candidate - is under house arrest in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. With gangsters in the government and the rule of law trampled, will Sowore's revolution take hold? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices