An Empire Problem: On the Ground in Southern Lebanon (with Courtney Bonneau)

An Empire Problem: On the Ground in Southern Lebanon (with Courtney Bonneau)

What began, officially, as a mission to attack Hezbollah leadership and military strongholds is now indisputably much larger and, by all indications, more imperial. Israel is applying what it terms a “Gaza model” to the region south of Lebanon’s Litani River–meaning the leveling of buildings and destruction of civilian infrastructure. Its finance minister explicitly revealed plans to annex the territory, decreeing that “The Litani must become [Israel’s] new border with the state of Lebanon.” The codename of the operation–Eternal Darkness–does not suggest that this is going to end any time soon. On today’s PREVAIL podcast, Greg Olear speaks with the Middle East-based photojournalist Courtney Bonneau, who has been reporting live from the war zone of southern Lebanon, about the devastation she’s seeing on the ground. Follow Courtney: https://x.com/cbonneauimages [https://x.com/cbonneauimages] https://www.instagram.com/courtneybonneauphotography/ [https://www.instagram.com/courtneybonneauphotography/] Her website: https://courtneybonneau.com/ [https://courtneybonneau.com/] Support her work: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/courtneybonneau [https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/courtneybonneau] Make America Great Gatsby Again! https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e701221776c88f86?ean=9798985931976&next=t [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e701221776c88f86?ean=9798985931976&next=t] Subscribe to The Five 8: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhA [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhA] Check out ROUGH BEAST, Greg’s new book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17 [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17] ROUGH BEAST is now available as an audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T [https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Economy of Secrets (with Brooke Harrington)

Greg Olear speaks with the economic sociology professor Brooke Harrington, author of “Offshore: Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism,” about journalistic omertà, bodily capital, tech-bro self-loathing, Trump's lousy Rodney Dangerfield impression, and how the first rule of Epstein Club is not to talk about Epstein Club. Brooke Harrington is Professor of Economic Sociology at Dartmouth College. Since 2007, she has examined inequality from the top end of the socio-economic spectrum—a research program inaugurated by her training for two years to become a certified offshore wealth manager. Her previous book—Capital without Borders —won the “Outstanding Book” award from the Inequality, Poverty and Mobility section of the American Sociological Association. She advises the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, EU Parliament, and the tax agencies of countries across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. Her latest book, Offshore: Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism, was named a “Best Book” of 2024 by the Financial Times. Follow Brooke: https://bsky.app/profile/ebharrington.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/ebharrington.bsky.social] Visit her website: https://brookeharrington.com/ [https://brookeharrington.com/] Buy the book: https://brookeharrington.com/books/offshore-book/ [https://brookeharrington.com/books/offshore-book/] Please subscribe to PREVAIL on Substack. There’s six full years’ worth of work in the archives on Trump, Russia, Jeffrey Epstein, Leonard Leo, and much more. Every piece at PREVAIL is free to read and always will be. No paywalls, ever. Your generous support keeps it that way. Subscriptions are just $6.99 a month, $65 a year. Visit gregolear.substack.com [http://gregolear.substack.com/] to learn more. Make America Great Gatsby Again! https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e701221776c88f86?ean=9798985931976&next=t [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e701221776c88f86?ean=9798985931976&next=t] Subscribe to The Five 8: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhA [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhA] Check out ROUGH BEAST, Greg’s new book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17 [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17] ROUGH BEAST is now available as an audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T [https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Golden Ticket: The Hidden Life of Roald Dahl

You’re familiar with his books: Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, James & the Giant Peach, The BFG, Matilda. But how much do you know about the author? Greg Olear speaks with Aaron Tracy about his excellent new narrative podcast, The Secret World of Roald Dahl. They explore Dahl’s fascinating life, his impact on children's literature, and the complexities of his character, including his anti-Semitism. The discussion also delves into the evolution of storytelling through podcasts, the crisis of masculinity, and the ongoing debate of separating art from the artist. Aaron Tracy is the founder of Parallax, the award-winning audio company. His debut audio drama, The Coldest Case, a thriller starring Aaron Paul, is the most successful Audible Original of all time. He teaches creative writing at Yale University. The Secret World of Roald Dahl, on iHeart Media, is his first narrative nonfiction podcast. Listen to the podcast: https://www.listentoparallax.com/shows/secretworldofpodcast [https://www.listentoparallax.com/shows/secretworldofpodcast] Subscribe to the PREVAIL newsletter: https://gregolear.substack.com/about [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=t [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e701221776c88f86?ean=9798985931976&next=t] Subscribe to The Five 8: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhA [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhA] Check out ROUGH BEAST, Greg’s new book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17 [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17] ROUGH BEAST is now available as an audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T [https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Ultimate Transgression: Offshores, Kompromat Culture & the Competitive Depravity Olympics (with Brooke Harrington)

Rich people are not like us–they have more money. And mega-rich people? They not only have more money, but they hide it “offshore,” to avoid detection by the tax man, law enforcement, creditors, divorce lawyers, and, sometimes, their fellow citizens whose collective coffers they’ve plundered. In this conversation, Greg Olear speaks with the economic sociology professor Brooke Harrington, author of Offshore: Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism, about the murky world of offshore finance, its implications for global inequality, the challenges of studying the ultra-rich, the culture of competitive depravity among the wealthy, and the dangers of their influence on both democracy and capitalism. They also discuss the looming AI bubble, the true purpose of AI, Jeffrey Epstein, and why studying the humanities is so vital. Brooke Harrington is Professor of Economic Sociology at Dartmouth College. Since 2007, she has examined inequality from the top end of the socio-economic spectrum—a research program inaugurated by her training for two years to become a certified offshore wealth manager. Her previous book—Capital without Borders —won the “Outstanding Book” award from the Inequality, Poverty and Mobility section of the American Sociological Association. She advises the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, EU Parliament, and the tax agencies of countries across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. Her latest book, Offshore: Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism, was named a “Best Book” of 2024 by the Financial Times. Follow Brooke: https://bsky.app/profile/ebharrington.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/ebharrington.bsky.social] Visit her website: https://brookeharrington.com/ [https://brookeharrington.com/] Buy the book: https://brookeharrington.com/books/offshore-book/ [https://brookeharrington.com/books/offshore-book/] Please subscribe to PREVAIL on Substack. There’s six full years’ worth of work in the archives on Trump, Russia, Jeffrey Epstein, Leonard Leo, and much more. Every piece at PREVAIL is free to read and always will be. No paywalls, ever. Your generous support keeps it that way. Subscriptions are just $6.99 a month, $65 a year. Visit gregolear.substack.com to learn more. Make America Great Gatsby Again! https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e701221776c88f86?ean=9798985931976&next=t [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e701221776c88f86?ean=9798985931976&next=t] Subscribe to The Five 8: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhA [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhA] Check out ROUGH BEAST, Greg’s new book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17 [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17] ROUGH BEAST is now available as an audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T [https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The German Spies at Pearl Harbor? Those Were My Grandparents (with Chris­tine Kuehn & Mark Schiponi)

What happens when you discover that the reason your father never speaks about his parents or his childhood growing up in Hawaii is because his mother, father, and older sister were Nazi spies? And not just any Nazi spies–the spies sent by Berlin to help the Japanese surveil Pearl Harbor. Chris­tine Kuehn was living a qui­et sub­ur­ban life when a mys­te­ri­ous let­ter in 1994 pierced that bub­ble, send­ing her on a thir­ty-year quest to dis­cov­er the truth behind a hor­ren­dous fam­i­ly secret kept hid­den for half a cen­tu­ry. The result is the new book, FAMILY OF SPIES. Fol­low­ing a career in jour­nal­ism, pub­lic rela­tions, and non­prof­its, Chris­tine now lives in Mary­land with her hus­band, Mark Schiponi, who helped her research the book for 30 years. In this conversation, Greg Olear talks to the couple about how the book came to be, the long and unusual research process, and the emotional impact of learning the truth. Buy the book: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250344465/familyofspies/ [https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250344465/familyofspies/] Support the podcast: gregolear.substack.com Make America Great Gatsby Again! https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e701221776c88f86?ean=9798985931976&next=t [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e701221776c88f86?ean=9798985931976&next=t] Subscribe to The Five 8: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhA [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhA] Check out ROUGH BEAST, Greg’s new book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17 [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17] ROUGH BEAST is now available as an audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T [https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.