Episodes

  • When the Government Mapped 20 Journalists: The AP Phone Raid

    When the Government Mapped 20 Journalists: The AP Phone Raid
    Jul 28 2026
    When the Government Mapped 20 Journalists: The AP Phone Raid

    A two‑month log of every incoming and outgoing call from twenty Associated Press journalists sat in government hands without their knowledge - a literal road map of newsgathering that traced sources, bureaus and the House press gallery. How did a leak probe tied to a published CIA story about a disrupted Yemeni plot expand into phone seizures that even the attorney general would later disavow under oath?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from the AP’s decision not to publish immediately, to the DOJ subpoenas to Verizon, to AP CEO Gary Pruitt’s public disclosure, and to the related warrant naming Fox News reporter James Rosen - and ask what the phone records reveal about press freedom and government power.

    Person: Gary Pruitt
    Event: DOJ subpoenas of Verizon phone records covering two months in 2012
    Person: James Rosen
    Person: Stephen Jin‑Woo Kim
    Topic: AP publication of CIA‑Saudi operation disrupting Fahd al‑Quso plot

    - AP held a confirmed scoop for five days at the direct request of CIA officials before publishing.
    - Verizon provided two months of call logs for more than twenty AP journalists and editors without notifying the AP.
    - The seized records included calls tied to the AP’s House of Representatives press gallery.
    - Gary Pruitt went public in May 2013, calling the seizure a “massive and unprecedented intrusion.”
    - The warrant application in a related case named Fox News reporter James Rosen as part of an Espionage Act investigation that led to Stephen Jin‑Woo Kim pleading guilty in 2013.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    23 mins
  • The Telegram They Tore Apart: How the Army Buried the Truth

    The Telegram They Tore Apart: How the Army Buried the Truth
    Jul 27 2026
    The Telegram They Tore Apart: How the Army Buried the Truth

    The army reconstructed a torn pneumatic telegram from more than fifty paper fragments that named Major Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy - not Alfred Dreyfus - a fact the Intelligence Section discovered in spring 1896 and then suppressed. How did a photograph of a telegram recovered from a German diplomat’s trash and a matching handwriting comparison lead to exile for the officer who followed it?

    In this episode, we tell how Lieutenant Colonel Georges Picquart received a photograph of the reassembled petit bleu, compared handwriting and documents, and uncovered evidence that contradicted the army’s conviction - but what happened when he presented the proof?

    Person: Georges Picquart
    Person: Alfred Dreyfus
    Person: Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy
    Date: Spring 1896
    Location: Paris

    - The reconstructed telegram was made from more than fifty torn paper fragments recovered from Colonel Max von Schwartzkoppen’s trash.
    - Georges Picquart took command of the Intelligence Section on July 1, 1895, at age forty-one.
    - The telegram named Major Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy and listed the address 27 Rue de la Bienfaisance, Paris.
    - Captain Lauth photographed the reassembled pneumatic telegram and Picquart locked the photograph in his strong-box.
    - Alfred Dreyfus had been convicted in December 1894 and sent to Devil’s Island at age thirty-five.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    24 mins
  • How Japan's Machines Silenced NATO: The Toshiba-Kongsberg Betrayal

    How Japan's Machines Silenced NATO: The Toshiba-Kongsberg Betrayal
    Jul 26 2026
    How Japan's Machines Silenced NATO: The Toshiba-Kongsberg Betrayal

    The quietest Cold War betrayal began not with a gunshot but with machines that halved the distance at which US sonar could detect Soviet submarines - a 50% cut in detectability, created by nine-axis milling tools and hidden paperwork. How did industrial giants in Japan and Norway bypass CoCom rules and put that silence into Soviet shipyards without anyone noticing for years?

    In this episode, we tell how mainstream companies and routine export paperwork concealed a transfer of precision machine tools and NC devices to the Soviet Union, and we follow the single whistleblower whose testimony exposed the operation - could ordinary commerce really rewrite naval balance silently?

    Person: Hitori Kumagai
    Company: Toshiba Machine Company
    Partner: Wako Trading (Itochu Corporation)
    Country: Norway
    Event: Shipments began December 1982

    - The Pentagon assessed that Soviet submarines’ detectability range was reduced by 50%.
    - Toshiba holding owned 51% of Toshiba Machine Company’s shares.
    - Exports to communist-bloc countries made up less than 20% of Toshiba Machine’s total sales.
    - Eight machine tools and accompanying NC devices were supplied over two years, starting December 1982.
    - Software modifications to the systems were completed by 1984.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 mins
  • The Night the Lorries Vanished: Turkey's Secret Arms Convoy Revealed

    The Night the Lorries Vanished: Turkey's Secret Arms Convoy Revealed
    Jul 25 2026
    The Night the Lorries Vanished: Turkey's Secret Arms Convoy Revealed

    Headlights off, trucks crossed a border with 1,000 mortar shells, 1,000 rifled artillery shells, 50,000 machine‑gun rounds and 30,000 rifle bullets hidden under crates marked as aid - and the soldiers who exposed it were prosecuted while those who sent it were not. What happened that January night that let an armed convoy vanish into Syria and left footage hidden for sixteen months?

    In this episode, we lay out the documented chain of events: the searches, the standoffs, the official explanations, and the prosecutions that followed. Listen to how a prosecutor’s inquiry, a colonel’s refusal, and footage of the cargo became the central evidence in a case that never convicted anyone for moving weapons.

    Person: Aziz Takçı
    Person: Özkan Çokay
    Date: 19 January 2014
    Location: Adana
    Event: Convoy searched and allowed to proceed

    - 1,000 mortar shells were documented inside the cargo holds.
    - 1,000 rifled artillery shells were documented inside the cargo holds.
    - 50,000 machine gun rounds were documented inside the cargo holds.
    - 30,000 rifle bullets were documented inside the cargo holds.
    - Footage of the cargo sat in an evidence file for sixteen months before publication.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 mins
  • Photocopier at Woking: How 780 Ferrari Pages Broke F1's Rules

    Photocopier at Woking: How 780 Ferrari Pages Broke F1's Rules
    Jul 24 2026
    Photocopier at Woking: How 780 Ferrari Pages Broke F1's Rules

    Fear and disbelief: 780 pages of Ferrari technical drawings arrived at a Woking copy shop in spring 2007, and a single phone call to Italy would trigger a record sports fine and wreck two championship campaigns - but did those pages actually change what happened on track? How did documents leave Maranello, who received them in Woking, and what followed?

    In this episode, we tell how confidential Ferrari technical data moved from a Maranello factory to a house in Woking and then to a commercial photocopier, the key people involved, and the sequence of events that led to the largest financial penalty in professional sport. What started as a routine errand became an international scandal - but did it matter in the race results?

    Person: Nigel Stepney
    Person: Mike Coughlan
    Person: Trudy Coughlan
    Date: July 3, 2007
    Event: 780 pages of Ferrari technical drawings discovered in Woking

    - 780 pages of Ferrari's confidential technical documentation were found at Mike Coughlan's house in Woking.
    - The photocopy order at a commercial print shop in spring 2007 triggered Ferrari learning its data had left Maranello.
    - Nigel Stepney had worked at Ferrari for 13 years before being moved to a non-race role in early 2007.
    - Ron Dennis learned of the documents the same way the public did: from Gazzetta dello Sport on July 3, 2007.
    - McLaren publicly stated on July 16, 2007, that only Mike Coughlan was implicated after an internal review.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    23 mins
  • The Informant Who Built an Insurrection: Enrique Tarrio's Secret Role

    The Informant Who Built an Insurrection: Enrique Tarrio's Secret Role
    Jul 23 2026
    The Informant Who Built an Insurrection: Enrique Tarrio's Secret Role

    He watched the Capitol fall on January 6, 2021, from a Baltimore hotel room 40 miles away, messaged an encrypted chat “Make no mistake. We did this,” and had never set foot on the Capitol grounds - yet he later received a 22-year sentence with a terrorism enhancement. How did the man once described in court records as a “prolific” FBI cooperator become the public face of organized insurrection, and what role did his earlier cooperation play in building the networks that stormed the Capitol?

    In this episode, we lay out the timeline and documents that trace Enrique Tarrio’s path from Little Havana to national chairman of the Proud Boys, including court records, trial exhibits, and internal communications, and we ask whether the skills that made him an effective cooperator also made him an effective organizer for violence.

    Person: Henry "Enrique" Tarrio
    Date: January 6, 2021
    Location: Baltimore hotel room (40 miles from the United States Capitol)
    Status: Convicted seditious conspirator; sentenced to 22 years with terrorism enhancement
    Event: Worked as a federal cooperator in cases from 2012-2014, assisting prosecutions of more than 12 individuals

    - Tarrio was banned from Washington by court order but watched the Capitol attack live on January 6, 2021, from 40 miles away.
    - He typed into an encrypted group chat on January 6: "Make no mistake. We did this."
    - Court records describe him as a "prolific" cooperator who assisted in prosecuting more than 12 individuals for crimes including steroid trafficking, illegal gambling, and human smuggling.
    - He was sentenced in 2013 to 30 months for rebranding and reselling stolen diabetic test strips and served 16 months, per court records.
    - He received a 22-year prison sentence for his role in the January 6 events, with a terrorism enhancement applied.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    22 mins
  • He Wore a Wire Into the Room That Wanted Him Dead

    He Wore a Wire Into the Room That Wanted Him Dead
    Jul 22 2026
    He Wore a Wire Into the Room That Wanted Him Dead

    He walked into rooms where men would have killed him on sight - for ten years he wore a wire while rubbing shoulders with Jimmy Hoffa, Meyer Lansky, and members of the Papalia and Commisso families. How did Marvin Elkind survive ordered stand-downs by police handlers and keep living long enough to run a final undercover mission at age seventy-five?

    In this episode, we tell the life story laid out in the files: his childhood in Toronto, the crimes and connections that carried him into the highest circles of North American organized crime, and the strange ending that reframes everything - what did those final assignments reveal about who he had become?

    Person: Marvin Elkind
    Date of death: January 21, 2024
    Age at death: 89
    Final undercover trip: Mexico City, 2009
    Prison sentence: 1 year (arrived December 18, 1969; released April 18, 1970)

    - He entered Bowmanville reform school on May 1945 and stayed five years, receiving approximately 175 floggings.
    - At 18 (circa 1952) he worked as a busboy at the Copacabana and was assigned by Anthony Salerno to drive Jimmy Hoffa for four years.
    - In 1954 in Miami Meyer Lansky paid him to lose a boxing match; Elkind accepted the payment.
    - Atlantic Acceptance Corporation collapsed on June 14, 1965, after defaulting on a $5,000,000 cheque; it was then the largest corporate bankruptcy in Canadian history.
    - In 2009, at age 75, he traveled to Mexico City for a documented undercover operation paid $2,000 and carried no wire.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    25 mins
  • The Man Who Vanished: Sidney Reilly's Final Betrayal Revealed

    The Man Who Vanished: Sidney Reilly's Final Betrayal Revealed
    Jul 21 2026
    The Man Who Vanished: Sidney Reilly's Final Betrayal Revealed

    A man walked into a forest outside Moscow on 5 November 1925 and was shot once in the back, his true name buried for decades beneath fabricated identities and bribery. He sold weapons to both sides of the same war, stole naval defence plans, and bribed a regiment - so who was the man who reinvented himself as Sidney Reilly, and what betrayal finally ended him?

    In this episode, we trace the documented record of the life given in OGPU and British intelligence files, from Odessa origins to London fronts and a marriage that changed everything, asking how a man of multiple names and shifting allegiances operated inside and outside official agencies.

    Person: Zigmund Markovich Rozenblum
    Date: 5 November 1925
    Location: forest outside Moscow
    Event: shot once in the back
    Country: Russia / United Kingdom

    - OGPU file lists birth as 24 March 1874 in Odessa.
    - Arrested in 1892 by the Okhrana as a courier for the Friends of Enlightenment and escaped.
    - In December 1895, linked to a Paris train attack where an Italian anarchist, Constant Della Cassa, later died; Rozenblum was 19 and never charged.
    - By 1896 he lived at Albert Mansions in London and ran the Ozone Preparations Company, recorded as a front.
    - Married Margaret Thomas on 22 August 1898, five months after her husband Hugh Thomas died; Margaret inherited approximately £800,000.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    25 mins