Prevail with Greg Olear

When Ron Pollard, an architectural photographer from Colorado, legally acquired a hoard of Russian avant-garde paintings, he couldn’t believe they were real. But they were; all the experts he asked agreed. Anyone connected to the Russian government, however – oligarchs, Russophile dealers, and so on – insisted they were forgeries. Are all of his 160 paintings fakes? Or is he sitting on a collectio...

The pseudonymous PREVAIL contributor Moscow Never Sleeps returns to the podcast. He talks to Greg Olear about Ron DeSantis in 2024, how NFTs are a perfect money laundering vehicle, SBF and the vanishing of all that money, Ginni Thomas, audits, and “The White Lotus.” Plus: Who? Follow Moscow Never Sleeps: https://twitter.com/MOWNeverSleeps Sponsored by BetterHelp. Get 10% off your first month at be...

For 20 years, Debra LaPrevotte worked for the FBI, specializing in international kleptocracy investigations. After retiring from the Bureau, she took a job with The Sentry, the organization funded by George Clooney, where she continues her work investigating kleptocratic crimes, particularly in Africa. She is the co-host and subject of a new podcast, “A Nation for Thieves,” put out by Lion’s Gate....

We’ve all heard stories about the Russian dictator. But who is the real Vladimir Putin? Greg Olear talks to Andrew S. Weiss of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace about what’s happening in Putin’s Russia, what he learned about Putin in his experience with the National Security Council, the State Department, and the Pentagon, and his new non-fiction graphic novel, “Accidental Czar: The L...

How did an eccentric Scottish philosopher become an icon of American free market capitalism? Greg Olear talks to Glory M. Liu of Harvard University about intellectual history, political economy, the relationship between tariffs and U.S. slavery, the Chicago school, and her new book, “Adam Smith’s America.” Plus: a new crypto currency. Follow Glory: https://twitter.com/miss_glory Check out her webs...

S4 E10: CIA Debriefing (with Kristin Wood) What is the CIA, exactly? What is its mission? How is it structured? What’s it REALLY like to work there? Greg Olear talks to Kristin Wood, a former CIA analyst, about the CIA, her experiences briefing Dick Cheney on the morning of 9/11, how the agency changed after the WTC attacks, special saddles and boxes of cash in Tashkent, and the challenges posed b...

After sharing his thoughts about Election Day and Merrick Garland, Greg Olear talks to Vince Scafaria, the CEO of DotAlign and an evangelist for pro-social capitalism, about neoliberal economics, Republican financial myths, Social Security, the future of decentralized internet, surveillance capitalism, Russia, China, goldbugs, and more. Plus: a new low-cost service for political candidates. Follow...

After sharing his thoughts about Liz Truss, King Charles III, and Hugh Grant, Greg Olear talks to Katherine Stewart, author of “The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism,” about the organizational structure of the Christian nationalist movement, why Evangelicals love Trump, Leonard Leo, Ralph Drollinger, Seven Mountains Dominionism, and how to top the fascist takeov...

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/AjaRaden Buy her books: https://www.amazon.com/Aja-Raden/e/B013SJLVJ...

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/HalWeitzman Buy his book: https://press.pr...

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/MelissaJPe...

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.” Pl...

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/noturtlesoup17 Her Substack: https://noturtlesoup17.substack.com/ Her Link...

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 haven...

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. Sub...

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...

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...

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/ninaburleigh Nina’s new piece: https://www.salon.com/2022/08/02/the-gilea...

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 ma...

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/digitalsista SOVAW: ht...

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 Make America Great Gatsby Again! https://bookshop.org/...

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/shavaunscott Buy he...

*This episode was originally uploaded October 2021 Craig 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...

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://twitte...

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/sandibachom Sandi’s website: https://sandibachom.com/ Watch The Five 8...