Probably the best podcast I’ve ever listened to. I learned so much listening to this. Very eye opening. I can’t wait for season two.

Nothing I have heard, quite ties things together like LB does in this (his)story telling masterpiece. The origin stories of the NSA and FBI and the underworld are so full of detail and connection that when the Russian mob arrives and the current players stories are told one cannot see things at all differently. Why are we not seeing the subsequent seasons? I am worried she has been told to stop. By whom?

I wish I had read that this was a one sided, left wing hit piece before I started it.

We all knew Chetolini had mob connections, but Oh My God! LB really ties it together in a deeply interwoven connecting of the dots. You have to pay attention while listening, every little detail is important and comes back around full circle later in the story. Still waiting anxiously for season 2.

It’s just a political hit piece. Could have been a really interesting podcast but missed the mark when she brought the politics into the conversation without any real evidence.

Thank you for connecting the dots, LB. I highly recommend this podcast for those who are open minded and able to take in information. Some people don’t want you to listen to this. I suggest you do.

What happened to journalist integrity? Stop trying to prove your theories & give facts about both sides!

So far, Season One has been fascinating. I was surprised by the close connections among the criminal mobs, spies, and law enforcement. It’s a tangled web. Looking forward to Season Two!

Anybody trying to do the kind of service for the American people should get more than five stars s. There’s just so much here that can help inform a better and more knowledgeable (and less culpable) future.

Started off strong.. lost me at interviews with absolute bias and without the interviewer providing many counterpoints instead of just agreeing with almost everything their interviewer is saying. Too political

I’d give this podcast 4.5 stars if that was an option. I love the stories and how deep LB’s research goes. The counterintuitive real history is a surprise compared to the Mob books and movies we assume are correct. It’s a shame the Trump supporters are so upset by the facts: he is third generation Mob and everyone from NYC knew that for years! His name is all over the wiretaps from Mafia investigations! The reason I can’t give five stars is sometimes LB loses her own plot. It’s a complex story and she doesn’t always return to the main thread from her many tangents. I will definitely listen to future seasons; I just hope she can tighten things up better.

Great storytelling on a fascinating topic. I don’t usually binge podcasts, but I am binging this one.

I love the stories and the storytelling. But the interviews, not so much.

The story of Buggsy Segal meeting Geobbles in Italy was definitely a piece of history I had never heard. Phenomenal story telling She does a fair job at showing how the trump crime family has been laundering enormous amounts of cash, through real estate, for the mob. The Vory v Zakone, not the LCN. Truly fascinating.

Laughable at best, but I guess everybody else was making $ off someone else’s name so what’s one more.

First, I’m a paid subscriber and I enjoy the podcast overall. Such great storytelling in the narrative portions. The interviews are sadly not as well done. But this is a technical flaw: It appears that interviews and the narrative portions just cut off, sometimes in the middle of a sentence, so I can’t tell if I’ve really got the whole thing and I can’t seem to go back. The next episode just starts up. So I’m not sure if it’s my iPhone or if it’s a failure of the production style.

She constantly cackles just like kamala Harris, all the while talking about right wing conspiracies and Qanon folks going down rabbit holes on Twitter while admitting that she did the exact same thing in her obsession with Trump. Now with all that said, I enjoy the stuff about the mob but the Trump stuff is ridiculous

When is this series resuming? The deep dive into the layers of corruption is unmatched.

Ma’am, with all due respect I get that you don’t like trump , but surely through your research you must have came across just a few of the hundreds of things done by or for heavyweight members of the Democratic National Committee. You are an incredible story teller and I will support this podcast in appreciation of such a great piece of art, but my God, what is up with so many highly intelligent people on opposite sides of the political spectrum being completely blinded to the immoral & even illegal activities committed by leading members of both major political parties in the United States. Why must another incredibly talented journalist or story teller be so overwhelmed with animosity for one person they spend months of their life trying to push a blatantly biased narrative. Blast trump with all the facts you can provide evidence for, I think that’s the right thing to do. But you must also dig that deep, looking only for evidence-based facts , in the storied past of the DNC and the lives of it’s leading members. I’m sure you’ll be just as interested in finding the truth down that path, as well. Ehh-hmm.

This has a lot of great info but it’s too dry for me. No fun effects or media clips and frankly it’s like listening to an audio book which isn’t what I’m looking for.

I’m really enjoying this podcast. I pop in my AirPods and get a history lesson while I walk my dogs told in way that I think is anything but boring! I love the way LB connects the past and present with the interviews. It’s important to be reminded of the people who shaped history. LB shares delicious tidbits about these characters that makes it all so much more interesting and personal. Thanks for putting this together. I can’t wait for the next season to drop!

I’m listening to this to fill in some gaps in my knowledge of the subject matter. LB weAves a great tale and obviously understands pacing to keep the listener interested but she’s annoying and extremely self-aggrandizing at times. Cloaking her identity seems a bit much unless she’s working for the Official Hollywood Cultural Normalization and Propaganda Machine/Hayes Code Office as a counterterrorism asset. There’s no wAy to vet her CV. Since she’s a screenwriter with a passion for the intersection of politics/spycraft and organized crime with an historical bent, perhaps she wrote for Boardwalk Empire since at least part of her epic seems ripped from its scenes. The Elizabeth Friedman storyline is absolutely fascinating but also glossed over, suggestive rather than well developed. This criticism could be applied throughout since there are many assertions made that lack some degree of source specificity, for which the subject interview episodes attempt to remedy. If only they had more airtime without the pomposity bleeding through. The background music is down right tawdry at times in its emotional pitch. I’m being lead around just like I’m viewing the latest hoi polloi highbrow best picture drama blockbuster. It gets in the way. LB would make a great audiobook narrator, she is obviously a gifted communicator. Overall very well crafted and produced and a fascinating walk through our how we got to our current chapter of ‘The March of Folly’. My other problem is she keeps referring to things ‘no one knew’—like nazis in Argentina in tge 1930’s-40’s? Memories must be fading and family stories forgotten or inserted into the exhaustive popular history of her subject matter. Alfred Hitchcock directed a film called Notorious in 1946(Claude Raines, ingrid Bergman) that tells one such tale about espionage and German businesses tied to Nazi’s. I had a close relative who was a treasury agent at one time prior to ww2. My father revealed a story from the era leading into Ww2 involving family friends with business ties in S. America that lead to sad ending when they were implicated in Axis supportive enterprises. If you lived in a port city in the states particularly along the Gulf Coast you knew more about these complex commercial/political relationships that included corruption, based on local knowledge.

I love the chapters but the interviews I had to skip.

If there was any doubt that the Orange Vomit is a creature of organized crime, this show dispels it. Listen to learn about the web of intrigue that connects the world beneath and the world above, how Meyer Lansky invented offshore banking. You have to be patient and think. This show is not for simpletons. But it is captivating. And I love LB’s laugh.

I’m so tired of the anti Trump in every aspect of life. If it didn’t matter to the story why mention it? If you want more exposure and a bigger audience do a better podcast. Relying on Trump hate for a bump in ratings puts you on level with the pseudo journalism of CNN.

LB’s being a story teller brings the real-life stories told here come to life in a most memorable and understandable way. Great series. I’ve shared it with friends and family.

Fascinating and informative, but I couldn’t get past the interviewer. Her fan girl laughter during the Andrew McCabe interview was too much to bear.

I want to listen to this; I want to learn. But I keep looking for an easier way to get the information. There are so many names and nicknames, I can’t keep track of everyone. So many places I’m unfamiliar with that are also hard to remember. Wish LB would let her guests answer her questions, but the questions go on for so long that LB ends up answering them herself, practically. Is there a chart available of who’s who and how they relate to each other?

Really love the concept, learned so much about American history. I had to skip most interviews, was just hard to listen, a lot of interruptions , suden laugh by the host at the wrong moments. I am sure with a bit more work and editing this could be fixed easily . Good luck and thank you.

This B#*!h is boring

I’m listening to the first episode and you said “people are getting it.” Well, they’re no! They are about to vote for him again and I’m hearing none of this content on mainstream media. Also they are saying that people will eventually reject Fox News. Not correct! This podcast is all over the place. There are great history lessons with many of personal options inserted and personal family interest that make this podcast inconcise

Stuff I wish I’d read about in history class. Makes me wonder what our current political situation would be had the public at large been aware of these events. Quite an interesting narrative. Can’t wait for season 2!

I think she has a hard on for trump. Talk about beating a dead horse with that topic. The rest of it is not too bad. Could do less talking on the interviews though.

I haven’t done the research. I’m not immersed in the history as LB is. I have no way of knowing if this gorgeously and intricately constructed web is fact or fiction, but I am fascinated by it. She grabbed me with her prose, held me with her charming laugh, and I’ll sit at her feet for every season to hear more. And I gladly open my eyes and mind to the strong possibility that everything underneath, even if it’s not seen, is true.

Boringggg

I want MORE! Fantastic podcast!

Seems to be stopped at episode 13 despite having a subscription. Please fix this or refund my subscription.

Liberal Democrat propaganda don’t waste your time!!

Where are the other seasons 😩😩😩😩

Excellent. Essential information for Americans to understand what our democracy is up against and how enormous a problem it is. Wish she would let her interview subjects talk more.

LOVE the narrative episodes. I wish she would let her guests speak more during the sit down episodes though! She has the opportunity to interview experts and you hardly even hear from them

Well, I was all set to set aside my political opinions and listen because I’m genuinely interested in this topic. I believe politicians can’t get to where they are without a trail of bodies in their wake. I stopped listening when the episode about slavery and how horrible this country is. I’m sick of hearing this from all sides. Unfortunate since the narrator stated in the first episode that she was going to put politics aside and give factual information. Too bad.

LB clearly knows her stuff. She does a great job of slowly piecing together a picture for listeners of the insidious world of crime and the mafia and how they profit off of human misery and suffering as she aptly describes them. Stephanie is a good storyteller and weaves this narrative together beautifully. However, her interviewing skills are TERRIBLE when she has the guests join her. She approaches the interview not with a curious mind so she can ask the subject questions and LEARN, but as an EXPERT. This leads her to interrupt her guests and, even worse, she TALKS AND TALKS AND TALKS. Most interviews, she talks more than they do! I just listened to the one with Andy McCabe, former FBI director and expert on the Russian mafia. He could barely get a word in. Her questions are meandering and take FOREVER for her to articulate. And then when he DID finally start to answer, she would interrupt him and tell him what SHE knew. I wish someone would teach her how to ask questions that elicit answers and then be QUIET and LISTEN.

Came here for facts, just conspiracy theories about Trump.

I loved the interview with Jason forgone or how ever you say his name I’m buying his book because of you so thank you for opening my mind and helping me think outside the box. Also your voice is sexy girl hmmmm lol

OMG this is so good! I love him!

Podcast as stunning storytelling, as auditory treasure, as literature

If you only listen to one podcast….it should be this one. Brilliantly written, narrated and researched. I find myself having to listen to most episodes twice because there are just so many characters and tentacles. My husband and I listen together every week during dinner….he’s currently really mad at me for sneaking an episode without him! Anxiously awaiting Season 2! Bravo LB!

I’m still waiting on the proof

Great, complex podcast. I need a chart to keep the characters organized. The Magas hate it because it ties trump to organized crime. LB deals in facts though, it isn’t political it is reality. just wait to see what is coming! I subscribed to this podcast but for some reason I cannot play three of the episodes!! Nobody to talk to about it…frustrating!