Curious minds select the most fascinating podcasts from around the world. Discover hand-piqd audio recommendations on your favorite topics.
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Javier is a Berlin-based multimedia journalist. He completed a MA in International Journalism at City, University of London and is focused on humanitarian and conflict issues.
With experience in several countries, he's covered the refugee crisis, Turkey's coup attempt and the Kurdish conflict.
Among others, his work has been published at ABC News, Al Jazeera, Channel NewsAsia, RBB, IRIN News, El Confidencial, Público or Diario ABC.
Corruption. Scandals. The press is full of them. But today's immediacy makes the news flow unstoppable and stories disappear as quickly as they hit the headlines. Swindled, however, wants you to remember.
The podcast, written, produced and voiced by an anonymous host who describes himself as "a concerned citizen", tells famous, high ranking cover-ups and white-collar crimes.
Because – the host claims – "money truly is the root of all evil."
Now in its second season, Swindled has meticulously covered dozens of stories across 25 episodes. You can find anything from notorious impostors and con-men, to defective medical devices and large chemical spills.
Each episode is presented in a restrained style – only archival audio, background music and lots of research. That is a very smart move in order to focus all the attention on the content. However, it makes it difficult for the wider public to tune in. You need to be very much interested in corporate scandals to listen through all of it.
Though looking at how it has become one of the best reviewed podcasts of 2018, this probably was an effective idea.
Swindled doesn't hesitate to give the names of particular people and companies. Among his latest episodes, the host tackles the Fyre Festival and Billy McFarland, whose story of fraud and deception has been made widely known by Netflix.
But the "concerned citizen" also hits at some of the world's most powerful companies, like Nestlé. In 1977, the publication of this report sparked a worldwide boycott against the multinational because of its aggressive marketing of formula milk in developing countries.
Nestlé – as we are reminded in the podcast – seems to not have changed very much since then.
I agree that money creates a lot of problems but go one more step and say trade is the root cause of most problems, because money is just a representation of trade. There´s a project about this idea which is called tromsite.com you can check out many books and videos trade free.