The Underworld Podcast

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Underworld exposes the secret world of transnational criminal networks that have flourished since there were banks to bust, drugs to smuggle, and scams to run. Journalists Danny Gold and Sean Williams bring their experience reporting on dangerous people and organizations to take listeners on a global tour of mobsters, warlords and crooks - from Brooklyn to Beijing, from the streets to the boardrooms - and everywhere in between. Underworld is a show about heroes, villains, and the barely visible mafias that affect all our lives, whether we know it or not.

Recent Episodes
  • The Biggest American Weed Cartel Ever: The Cornbread Mafia
    Dec 17, 2024 – 01:02:26
  • The Human Trafficking Illegal Casino Kingpin Who May Have Been a Chinese Spy
    Dec 10, 2024 – 54:27
  • The Lord High Executioner of Brooklyn: Albert Anastasia
    Dec 3, 2024 – 53:28
  • The Sinaloa Cartel Civil War Raging in Mexico: Los Chapitos vs El Mayo w/Nathan Jones
    Nov 26, 2024 – 01:02:19
  • Peru's Shining Path Narco Terrorists: From Commie Civil War to Cartel Muscle
    Nov 19, 2024 – 57:46
  • The Bloody Turkish Mafia War Raging Across the World
    Nov 12, 2024 – 53:39
  • Europe's Pablo Escobar: The Heroin Emperor Huseyin Baybashin
    Nov 5, 2024 – 01:03:55
  • The Billion Dollar Scam Cult King who tried to Take Over an Island
    Oct 29, 2024 – 57:11
  • North Korea's Meth Trafficking: The Hermit Narco-Kingdom
    Oct 22, 2024 – 58:33
  • Indian Posse: The Native Teen Gang Ruling Canada's Prisons
    Oct 15, 2024 – 01:04:52
  • The Warring Prison Cartels Carving up Ecuador
    Oct 8, 2024 – 01:13:23
  • The Cartel That Went to War w/Pablo Escobar: The Gentlemen of Cali
    Oct 1, 2024 – 01:02:45
  • How Chinese Money Launderers Took Over the Narco Underworld
    Sep 24, 2024 – 51:43
  • The Legend of Bum Farto and the Florida Keys Cocaine
    Sep 17, 2024 – 47:13
  • Colombia's FARC Guerillas: From Revolution to the Golden Age of Cocaine w/Toby Muse
    Sep 10, 2024 – 01:20:13
  • Venezuela’s Cop Killing Street Gang Tren de Aragua Takes America - Or Does It?
    Sep 3, 2024 – 54:30
  • The Westies, Psycho Killers of Hell's Kitchen and the Last of the NYC Irish Mob
    Aug 27, 2024 – 59:30
  • Sammy the Bull, Nazis and Mormon Killers: How the Gilbert Goons Terrorized a Phoenix Suburb
    Aug 20, 2024 – 48:55
  • The 30 Year Old Billionaire Cartel Boss Playing Professional Soccer
    Aug 13, 2024 – 55:51
  • The Rise and Fall of the Dark Web Fentanyl King
    Aug 6, 2024 – 42:46
  • EL MAYO ARRESTED! Was he betrayed by Chapo's son?!?!
    Jul 30, 2024 – 52:35
  • South Africa's Rampaging Murder Rate: Gangs, Corruption and State Capture
    Jul 23, 2024 – 47:18
  • The Fugitive British Gangster Instagramming His Crimes in Africa: Sam Walker
    Jul 16, 2024 – 48:40
  • El Chapo's Sons Built a Fentanyl Empire: Los Chapitos
    Jul 9, 2024 – 53:56
  • The Deadliest Biker War in History: Hells Angels vs Rock Machine
    Jul 2, 2024 – 56:27
  • The Meth SuperCartels Destroying Tropical Paradise
    Jun 25, 2024 – 47:52
  • How the Hells Angels Became Canada's Most Powerful Crime Family
    Jun 18, 2024 – 52:22
  • El Salvador's War on MS-13: Nayib Bukele Goes Hard
    Jun 11, 2024 – 01:02:47
  • India's Gangster Assassins Are Running Wild
    Jun 4, 2024 – 44:30
  • The Most Corrupt NYPD Detective & His Mafia Uncle w/Steve Fishman
    May 28, 2024 – 49:58
  • The Gangster Warlords of Haiti's Collapse with Jason Motlagh
    May 21, 2024 – 48:08
  • El Mayo: The Undisputed King of Mexico & the Betrayal of El Chapo
    May 14, 2024 – 46:46
  • El Chapo's Boss & The Most Powerful Kingpin in Mexico: El Mayo
    May 7, 2024 – 53:16
  • Andrew Tate & the Romanian Mob: A Match Made in Criminal Heaven
    Apr 30, 2024 – 56:07
  • The Most Dangerous Russian Mobster America Has Ever Known: Boris Nayfeld
    Apr 23, 2024 – 01:01:53
  • The Rise and Fall of Golden Triangle Dope: From a Jailed Kingpin to a Casino Shootout
    Apr 16, 2024 – 43:08
  • Skinny Joey Merlino and The Philly Mob Wars:
    Apr 9, 2024 – 46:28
  • The Zombie Drug Robbery Gangs of Medellin Preying on Dating Apps w/ Toby Muse
    Apr 2, 2024 – 58:34
  • Kokang Cowboys: Burma’s Transgender Narco Royalty, a Secret Army, and a “Special Belt”
    Mar 27, 2024 – 43:03
  • Digital Hucksters, Crypto Scams and the Internet’s “Enshittification” with Cory Doctorow
    Mar 19, 2024 – 57:16
  • The Most Successful American Mobster EVER: Tony Accardo
    Mar 12, 2024 – 54:06
  • Listen Now: Varnamtown Episode 1
    Mar 8, 2024 – 04:08
  • The Bamboo Union Triads, Taiwan's White Wolf Godfather, and a Murdered Reporter in SF
    Mar 5, 2024 – 40:04
  • The Yakuza Boss Caught Selling Burmese Nuclear Material to Iranian Generals (Sort Of)
    Feb 27, 2024 – 44:40
  • She Hunted Down the Zetas Cartel Members Who Killed Her Daughter
    Feb 20, 2024 – 45:24
  • From Helicopter Prison Breaks to Missing Millions: The French Bank Robbers Who Became Heroes
    Feb 13, 2024 – 41:41
  • The Headhunting Burmese Tribe Running the World's Biggest Cartel: The Wa w/ Patrick Winn
    Feb 6, 2024 – 01:03:52
  • Behind Ecuador's Gang TV Takeover: Prison Kings, Megabusts and Daytime Executions
    Jan 30, 2024 – 45:31
  • Griselda Blanco and Miami's Drug Wars: Netflix's New Narcos
    Jan 23, 2024 – 48:38
  • A Cop-Cartel Heist and Sky High Homicide Rates: What the Hell is Going on in Tijuana
    Jan 16, 2024 – 51:53
Recent Reviews
  • LoserwithSocks
    Colombia Pronunciation
    I love the topics. I worked this country and AOR many years. You guys have got to pronounce the city names correctly. Please. I’m not giving up on you. Maybe I’m expecting too much. Sorry if I am being rude.
  • bobbymac860
    Musical Genius
    Really just came here to bump the Bum Farto opening track. Been stuck in my head for a while now.
  • Annoyed customer 546
    Best podcast on the criminal underworld.
    It’s the best.
  • Charlotte Burgman
    Addictive storytelling that only gets better with each episode
    Dark yet well-told accounts of humans doing their things … a combination of tales as old as the hills and about how innovators keep ahead of, and outside, the law around the globe.
  • Gatordmd
    Total lies
    Your recent podcast about the Gilbert Goons is full of lies. None of them are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and there was no religious cover up. Get your story straight before spreading vicious rumors…
  • mister B
    sharp show
    well written and presented with some doses of humor to lighten the serious subject matter. It is detailed and well researched without getting overlong or off track. Indulgent banter is kept to a minimum and the hosts are very likable. If you enjoy stories about transnational crime this is a excellent listen.
  • Truthmatters11
    🤦
    If you like left wing talking points you will love this show but if you like the truth then it’s a pass
  • Cherrie Berry
    Love the show
    Good presentation and cadence. Keep up the good work
  • Thorium9000
    Dope
    Great content. Hosts are mid but it’s a good show.
  • 50goingon21
    Unexpectedly addictive
    Love podcasts but I’m quick to be one-and-done if the production quality is weak. This podcast is the exception. Just two dudes who are remarkably diligent and thorough with their research. And they cover the current whenever no one else is keeping quick with what’s current re international crime (e.g., Haiti, Gaza, etc.). They roast each other constantly and are fluent in pop culture which is especially entertaining when two people are at the same time so intelligent and committed to their craft. Their work is dense, so if your level is ~ an unsolved disappearance story from heartland America 15 years ago with sprinkles of background mood music, it might not be for you. But if you’re intellectually curious but also fascinated by gangsters, these dudes will keep you worldly. To my original point, pound for pound it’s the best low-tech podcast this side of the Harvard Business Review’s. These guys are under the radar and almost certainly underpaid. If they had Serial resources they’d be known like Ira Glass and Joe Rogan. I respect that they just get at it and pump out work almost weekly anyway. Worth checking out.
  • LPIV 203
    One of the most well-informed “gangster” podcasts
    These guys are both journalists who actually have real life experience covering their subject matter, and when they don’t they bring on an expert who does. They don’t base their content and sources off of Wikipedia or YouTube, but instead from real research, interviews, and experts.
  • Begown
    5 stars
    These boys have grown on me.
  • sbdonaldson
    Quite literally the best podcast
    No question, this is my favorite podcast available. The well-researched, well-written deep dives into the inter workings of transnational criminal organizations is informative and entertaining. A great mix of current events and historical subjects from all around the world. The Underworld Podcast is the only podcast to which I subscribe on Patreon, and I value that subscription more than most video streaming services. Their work has led me down deep rabbit holes of Danny Gold’s documentary work and Sean Williams’s long form work (the Purple Haze episode and article are both top-tier work). Fellas, keep up the great work. And also to answer a recent question on the show: more of the current underworld (cartels, triads, narco states, and street gangs) from far-flung lands, and keep the same amount of the old American mafia stories.
  • Space Trace
    Great podcast! Highly recommend!
    I recently came across this podcast and I’m really enjoying it so far. The episodes’ subject matter is intriguing and they include so many details you probably haven’t heard before, even if you’re familiar with the topics they cover. The research goes deep and the episodes go by quickly, they never drag. I highly recommend listening, especially if you like podcasts about the world’s dark underbelly: crime, drugs, cartels, etc.
  • Trilolight
    Great show!
    Very well done. Keep up the banter! Plus the cold opens.
  • dke213
    Please check this podcast out!
    Entertainment, laughs and intrigue every time I tune in.
  • ToddJM33
    KeFAUver
    Not Kevouer, Kefauver. He was the Democratic nominee for VP in 1952 and 1956. His commission basically exposed organized crime. Research him…would be a good episode. Other than you butchering his name, amazing Pod.
  • a awsome dunce
    Amazing
    Best podcast ever totally recommended
  • Pleoavcee
    Best worldwide news and True Crime & Sparky fun.
    Keep em coming Love fresh funny sparkles exBrooklyn Berlin bodacious boys delivery of tragic truth triumphantly having happy feelings when each new episode appears ✨✨✨✨✨
  • Whostolemybalogna
    Banter is Best
    If two world-class reporters bringing you some of the best criminal stories of all time every week sounds right for you than look no further! Sean Williams is one of those brave, goes-anywhere, reporters and Danny Gold just oozes classic, old-school Vice. Which he did used to work for. Man what happened to Vice? Anyway, The Underworld Podcast might be one of the best podcasts I’ve ever tried on a whim. Also, incredible intro music! Thank you Danny and Sean for all the incredible work and well thought out stories. You guys rock!
  • Esank1
    Definitely one of my favorite podcasts
    This podcast is awesome. Love the underworld stories you never hear about. All the topics are well researched, the selected stories are incredible and take you for a wild ride, also the banter is getting better! 5/5
  • Mr_Montana
    Great podcast. I need more banter and more names
    When you turn this podcast on, you better buckle up, because it’s two man rockets indulging in a name-dropping banterfest. If you can’t handle it go listen to Keith Olberman. As for me, a lover of the finest wines and luxury clothes, a man who dates only supermodels and drives supercars cars to his private jets, I look forward to this intellectual jamboree of nomenclature and banterific brilliance. If you want your life to be like mine, filled with opulence and culture, drowning in beautiful women, yet full of meaning and devoid of a single boring conversation, you better strap yourself into this rocket-ship masquerading as a podcast and listen to it real good while it launches your brain into the stratosphere. ps: I showed this podcast to my little brother and he’s now my big brother.
  • OfWriteMind
    Great Research but Annoying Banter
    In a nutshell the title sums it up nicely. The podcast has relevant and very interesting topics. The depth of research I very good. The hosts become unbearable to listen to because of childish banter. They come across as immature for what are very serious topics.
  • BKPslope
    Excellent show!
    Really interesting stories told well. Excellent research and journalism and fun to listen to. These guys do a great job. One of few podcasts I really look forward to
  • Thomas Prior
    Love this
    These knuckleheads are great. Proper journalism and very entertaining. The first podcast out of 100 I’ve listened to that I’ve paid for extra content cause they actually do the work
  • YUsucksobad
    Smart, funny, informed, void of pandering.
    Most true crime podcasts about organized crime are basically just poorly-read book reports. Even when you occasionally quote someone else’s thoughts verbatim, you typically make mention of it. You’re both sharp, knowledgeable guys, and you don’t seem to have a proclivity for turning every topic you cover into some non-sequitur political pander party. Well done, gentlemen!
  • yoshi763
    Consistently the best podcast out there
    Always delivering with good humor and gritty history based stories of fascinating under forks and organized crime events, even as a foreign affairs graduate I always learn something new here. Pairs well with a stiff scotch and fat bowl.
  • AverageJewishListener
    Good pod
    Updated review: Content is really engaging. Also, the host interactions have improved since they got under new Managment. Nihilism and catty exchanges has been scaled back. 5/5 for me now. Also, whenever they wonder whether it would be worth it to tell some (often personal) story they reference but don’t get into: THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS YES BOYS
  • xxxethannxxx)69
    Boring
    Boring podcast , misinformation and their voices sound like a monologue 😂
  • cardinalcommando
    Romania/ Favio
    Danny please! I’m glad you let Andrew talk the entire time and sell his podcast/story but I can’t find a block of Swiss with more holes in it. I will not listen to Andrews podcast b/c he simply reaches and assumes. I just listened to an interview with maybes. I hoped it would kind of tighten up but no. P.S. My name is Paulo and I helped the CIA overthrow Chile.
  • AJxDTA
    Have to keep it 100. New episode trash
    It’s got to be either one of you or both of you on it. Couldn’t even get halfway though it. Don’t get too big you fall off.
  • BriShow
    I don’t like “Succession” either, but I do like this podcast.
    “The podcast with more bad actors then “Succession” finale!” Well done!!
  • 27162527
    Typical urbanite nonsense
    Lol they find a way to piss and moan about colonialism or race in EVERY SINGLE EPISODE.
  • Cftab
    Good but…
    Good info about a fascinating topic. Sadly of the ten episodes I have listened to they always have to get into Trump this and Trump that - even when they are talking about Nigerian cult boys. It is infantile and tired. Stick to the story boys. Trump does not need to live rent free in your head.
  • consciousdave
    Holy moly that Nepal episode was awesome!
    With episode titles like the ones they have, how can you not help but subscribe?! Came across this show from a feed swap with history daily and man I loved it. Didn’t know that Nepal had such a long and rich history with the cannabis plant but not surprising either. I’m excited to check out these other episodes but I’m already hooked. They do a good job with interviewing people and finding old sound clips to weave in as well
  • Nora Ann1
    Favorite podcast but wish the guys were a better team
    This is absolutely the best podcast and my favorite. But guys - I love both Danny and Shawn’s styles respectively but wish they’d flow a bit better together. In particular Danny can seem condescending when Shawn makes a joke-he gets silent then says ok then let’s move on bro, whatever, something dismissive. Danny has a more sarcastic/sharp-tongued sense of humor while Shawn is a bit corny and silly. Danny’s comments makes Shawn’s humor fall flat and I find myself with secondary embarrassment, like why are you making your boy look bad? Shawn often stutters a bit after or loses a train of thought. Thing is, Shawn has some seriously wild experiences with intense first-hand accounts to share. And he has done some serious partying himself, immersing himself in lots of scenes. Danny has great stories too but glorifies his time at Vice which comes off as forcing himself to be relevant - the dude doesn’t have to, be real and stop trying so hard, what you have to share is amazing. He should listen to Shawn more, make it more collaborative instead of a low-key competition. The way they are now makes it clear they’ve never met in person and are in separate cities, just coming together for the sake of the podcast, not a connection they’d have for any other reason.
  • pbcphoto
    The best!
    Danny amd Sean take you deep into worldwide crime industries and I cannot get enough. Their stories are fascinating, their delivery is droll and hilarious, and their call backs to join their Patreon is really endearing. The best podcast on the whole podcast market.
  • Brody Jack Freeman
    Updated to 5 star, Ticking noise still annoying
    Bad first impression with a literal audio tick, this is one of the best pods out there. Still, Why on earth would anyone add a ticking sound effect.
  • z3kids
    History from a different perspective
    I love this podcast, from growing up in white suburbia to living in HK, China and Vietnam- my world view has shifted and this podcast helps me to see the underbelly of our world throughout history and current up to date happening now literally in the underworld of today. Thank you, love your energy and the information you bring.
  • podcasty #1
    Great show!
    Interesting content, funny hosts!
  • Ty Ploucha
    Slow down
    I like it but dang slow down. Dude reads his script at 2X speed. American dude is so unlikable and acts like he knows it all. An hour of research online writes these scripts
  • 78_gold_78
    Aussie biker gangs
    Great pod. The industrial drum background is pretty obnoxious and distracting though
  • Mally_Mal_Mal6789
    Amazing show
    So glad I found this show. Keep it up!
  • FSUcriminole
    Yuck
    Woke nerds
  • RunnersDelite212
    Worth a listen
    I knew this podcast was the truth when the host referenced The Warmth of Other Suns - a phenomenal read if you love history. Excellent coverage of stories you would normally only read about in Don Diva or Feds. Co-signed.
  • The bandersnatchers
    Just great.
    Great hosts that give you a world of insight into people and places that I had very little knowledge of beforehand. Highly recommended.
  • joey micks
    heheuenxncudn
    these two are a dumb guys idea of what a smart guy is
  • dirttybut
    Great podcast
    Wonderful information from good people who are very knowledgeable! Definitely worth a listen !
  • Kyle Smith (Charlotte)
    Biased, Unresearched Propaganda
    These episodes sound incredibly interesting until you dig in and realize they’re unfounded propaganda. Don’t waste your time.
  • POPOCO5
    Editing is all over the place
    Can’t even understand the story anymore on the episodes on how the ads cut in and out
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