UPDATE: Since we recorded this episode on 03/09, Guo Wengui was arrested in New York City on charges of financial conspiracy.

For years, rapper Pras Michél has allegedly been doing the bidding of wanted Malaysian billionaire, Jho Low. Pras’s baffling, Icarian story involves one of the greatest financial scandals in history, an international hostage negotiation, and the possibility of a decadeslong prison sentence. 

Matthew Campbell co-wrote this story for Business Week. You can read it here: https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2023-us-china-tensions-scandal-fugees-1mdb/  

UPDATE: Since we recorded this episode on 03/09, Guo Wengui was arrested in New York City on charges of financial conspiracy. For years, rapper Pras Michél has allegedly been doing the bidding of wanted Malaysian billionaire, Jho Low. Pras’s baffling, Icarian story involves one of the greatest financial scandals in history, an international hostage negotiation, and the possibility of a decadeslong prison sentence. Matthew Campbell co-wrote this story for Business Week. You can read it here: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2023-us-china-tensions-scandal-fugees-1mdb/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2023-us-china-tensions-scandal-fugees-1mdb/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679016101369000&amp;usg=AOvVaw23qSuiomwK9em0Ig6QBGcU">https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2023-us-china-tensions-scandal-fugees-1mdb/  </a>

On Story of the Week, “journalist” Joel Stein chooses an article that fascinates him, convinces the writer to tell him about it, and then interrupts a good conversation by talking about himself. Sometimes the story will be the one everyone is talking about, like the New Yorker article on smoking hallucinogenic toads. Other times we’ll find a story you might have missed, like the one in the Verge about the rock groupie turned hacker who had huge corporations at her mercy. These are stories you’ll tell your friends about. Stories that stick with you long after you forget whatever headline you just doom-scrolled through.

iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries. 

On Story of the Week, “journalist” Joel Stein chooses an article that fascinates him, convinces the writer to tell him about it, and then interrupts a good conversation by talking about himself. Sometimes the story will be the one everyone is talking about, like the New Yorker article on smoking hallucinogenic toads. Other times we’ll find a story you might have missed, like the one in the Verge about the rock groupie turned hacker who had huge corporations at her mercy. These are stories you’ll tell your friends about. Stories that stick with you long after you forget whatever headline you just doom-scrolled through.
iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

Story of the Week with Joel Stein

Every week host Joel Stein picks a long magazine article that fascinates him – and then actually reads the whole thing, all by himself. Then he calls his fellow, but greatly superior journalist friend who wrote it, and gets them to tell him all about it. He does the work and you get the stories. More accurately, some great journalist does the work and Joel Stein puts his name, Joel Stein, on the podcast. 

Every week host Joel Stein picks a long magazine article that fascinates him – and then actually reads the whole thing, all by himself. Then he calls his fellow, but greatly superior journalist friend who wrote it, and gets them to tell him all about it. He does the work and you get the stories. More accurately, some great journalist does the work and Joel Stein puts his name, Joel Stein, on the podcast.

A ‘90s Rapper & A Wanted Malaysian Billionaire

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/916932fd-abf8-44ef-b192-afc700174ce6/transcript

With the 96th Academy Awards this Sunday, we wanted to revisit this episode from last year. The Oscars seems to be cursed with a series of chaotic live television gaffes. But one moment in Academy Award history takes the cake. In 1974, a scrawny white man named Robert Opel ran across the stage butt naked, right as the Best Picture category was being announced. New Yorker magazine writer and Oscars aficionado Michael Schulman recounts the queer, wonderful, and historic life of the 1974 Oscars streaker. 

You can read the full story here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/02/06/what-became-of-the-oscar-streaker

You can find Michael Schulman’s new book Oscar Wars here.

With the 96th Academy Awards this Sunday, we wanted to revisit this episode from last year. The Oscars seems to be cursed with a series of chaotic live television gaffes. But one moment in Academy Award history takes the cake. In 1974, a scrawny white man named Robert Opel ran across the stage butt naked, right as the Best Picture category was being announced. New Yorker magazine writer and Oscars aficionado Michael Schulman recounts the queer, wonderful, and historic life of the 1974 Oscars streaker. 
You can read the full story here: <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/02/06/what-became-of-the-oscar-streaker">https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/02/06/what-became-of-the-oscar-streaker</a> 
You can find Michael Schulman’s new book Oscar Wars <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oscar-Wars-History-Hollywood-Sweat/dp/0062859013/ref=asc_df_0062859013/?tag=hyprod-20&amp;linkCode=df0&amp;hvadid=598229505507&amp;hvpos=&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=4643117176586524590&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=9030967&amp;hvtargid=pla-1732288545983&amp;psc=1" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amazon.com/Oscar-Wars-History-Hollywood-Sweat/dp/0062859013/ref%3Dasc_df_0062859013/?tag%3Dhyprod-20%26linkCode%3Ddf0%26hvadid%3D598229505507%26hvpos%3D%26hvnetw%3Dg%26hvrand%3D4643117176586524590%26hvpone%3D%26hvptwo%3D%26hvqmt%3D%26hvdev%3Dc%26hvdvcmdl%3D%26hvlocint%3D%26hvlocphy%3D9030967%26hvtargid%3Dpla-1732288545983%26psc%3D1&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1678503486776000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0wzJL1rjg1w4s_C0Lp9kxZ">here.</a>

Revisiting: The Surprising, Queer History of the 1974 Oscars Streaker

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/b8d6d172-9921-47de-94c1-b12d014d4288/transcript

After his cartooning career failed to take off, a German artist named Arno Funke started extorting department stores.  He went by “Dagobert,” the German name for the character of Scrooge McDuck in the cartoon DuckTales. His crime spree lasted for years and made him a folk hero across Germany. Recently, reporter Jeff Maysh got to meet him. 

You can read Jeff Maysh’s New Yorker article “The Strange Story of Dagobert, the ‘DuckTales’ Bandit”  here: https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-strange-story-of-dagobert-the-ducktales-bandit

After his cartooning career failed to take off, a German artist named Arno Funke started extorting department stores.  He went by “Dagobert,” the German name for the character of Scrooge McDuck in the cartoon DuckTales. His crime spree lasted for years and made him a folk hero across Germany. Recently, reporter Jeff Maysh got to meet him. 
You can read Jeff Maysh’s New Yorker article “The Strange Story of Dagobert, the ‘DuckTales’ Bandit”  here: <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-strange-story-of-dagobert-the-ducktales-bandit" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-strange-story-of-dagobert-the-ducktales-bandit&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1695343675635000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0xqzEXfd5zk0kR0U5Tvpvx">https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-strange-story-of-dagobert-the-ducktales-bandit</a>

The Duck Tales Bandit

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/cfe964b2-9e6e-49f0-a8f4-b08400194fd5/transcript

“Bronze Age Pervert” is the moniker of an influential far-right thinker. He has hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter. His book is a top-seller on Amazon, and was reviewed by a former Trump administration official. Journalist Graeme Wood knew him before all that, back when he was just a college student in tevas. 

You can read Graeme Wood’s Atlantic story “How Bronze Age Pervert Charmed the Far Right” here: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/09/bronze-age-pervert-costin-alamariu/674762/

“Bronze Age Pervert” is the moniker of an influential far-right thinker. He has hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter. His book is a top-seller on Amazon, and was reviewed by a former Trump administration official. Journalist Graeme Wood knew him before all that, back when he was just a college student in tevas. 
You can read Graeme Wood’s Atlantic story “How Bronze Age Pervert Charmed the Far Right” here: <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/09/bronze-age-pervert-costin-alamariu/674762/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/09/bronze-age-pervert-costin-alamariu/674762/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1694736379966000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2-SohU7S1W0fXZcp6oD6np">https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/09/bronze-age-pervert-costin-alamariu/674762/</a>

How the Bronze Age Pervert Became a Far Right Icon

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/cdcc8faf-7710-438e-a690-b07d001f18a5/transcript

A ‘90s Rapper & A Wanted Malaysian Billionaire

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