Jims Welt Podcast

In 2012, Karl Williams took a flight to Dubai to soak up the sun and party with his friends in the legendary club scene. That would be the last time he saw his home for over 1 year. Accused of a crime he didn't commit, Karl was driven out to the dessert by the police, tortured into confessing, and imprisoned in the infamous Port Rashid Detention Center commonly referred to as hell on earth. Karls excellent account of his survival in the one of the roughest prisons in the world, "Killing Time", can be found here. http://amzn.to/1U2fkrH

Paul Le Roux started out as a brilliant computer programmer who developed some of the strongest encryption software ever created. But that life was not good enough for him. In the mid-2000's, Paul began to dabble in criminal activity. Within 10 years, he had single handedly created one of the most ruthless criminal cartels ever. A few years ago, atavist.com's CEO and founder Evan Ratliff began a 2 year quest to find out how this seemingly ordinary guy suddenly became one of the most notorious criminal kingpins in history. His findings were compiled into the 7-part series titled "The Mastermind". https://mastermind.atavist.com

You are being spied on right now. Acccording to Tor Project advocate and computer scientist Moritz Bartl, there is very little you can do about it. Governments and big corporations are aligned in the pursuit of your personal data, and they are winning the battle for online privacy. But there are a few brave people who are fighting back. And one of their weapons is the Tor Anonymity Network. It allows the user to surf, communicate, and just be online anonymously. I talked with Moritz about how the Tor Anonymity Network actually works, and if in fact having no privacy is the new normal.

Investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov and I continue our talk on the attempts by the Russian security services and Vladimir Putin to control the Russian internet. We talk Edward Snowden, western companies complicity, and what the future holds for internet freedoms in Russia.(Photo by Konstantin Zavrazhin)

In 1999, Vladimir Putin made a promise: to leave the internet alone and unregulated. Amazingly, he kept that promise. As a result, the internet in Russia developed into one of its most competitive industries. But in 2012, that promise died. Independent investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov talks about how the Russian security services have brought the internet to its knees, and what the future holds for the freedom of information in modern Russia. (Photo by Konstantin Zavrazhin)

Imagine you were given 1 year to live. What would you do? Well, comedian Quincy Jones has decided to pursue a lasting legacy. When he is not fighting terminal cancer, he is chasing his dream of filming a comedy special. I talked with Quincy about gratitude, cancer, hope, my daughter, and what the word legacy means to him. To find out how you can help Quincy chase his dream, check out his Kickstarter page. http://kck.st/21CbqH7 .

In the late 80's through to the mid-90's, New York City was a different world from the corporate, Disney-fied, version of today. Crime and drugs were rampant. In a pre-9/11 world, the NYPD was just barely keeping the city safe. And that was fine for Michael Alig. The leader of the Club Kids, Michael promoted and threw some of the most legendary parties in New York City history. His success drew attention, fame, notoriety, money and a nasty drug habit. In one fateful night, his downward spiral would hit rock bottom, instantly killing a culture, an era, and a life.

On August 1, 2008, 31 climbers from 8 separate international teams began summiting the second tallest mountain in the world, K2. Of those 31, only 20 would make it back to base camp alive. One of the survivors was legendary mountaineer and polar explorer Cecilie Skog. Unfortunately, one of the fatalities was her husband Rolf. I talked with her about that fateful day, the dangers of climbing K2, being the first women to climb all 7 summits and reaching both the North and South Pole. (Photo credit Facebook)

To many, Satanism is a word that conjures up visions of devil worship and supernatural evil. So why are so many people publicly associating themselves with it nowadays? Is the apocalypse close? Has Lucifer finally hatched his diabolical plan to take over? That would be really cool, but unfortunately no. I talked with The Satanic Temple founder and spokesperson Doug Mesner aka Lucien Greaves in order to gain greater clarity about what modern Satanism truly stands for.

Berlin is a city that must be experienced to be defined. And one of the people defining the Berlin experience every day, is VICE News photojournalist Alexander Coggin. I talked with Alex about his VICE News stories regarding US college debt dodgers, and the refugee crisis. We also discuss the importance of the Fraggles, Donald Trumps popularity, and his husbands generous sperm donation to lesbian friends.

In just 3 years, Rich Franklin went from being a full time teacher, to becoming the best mixed martial artist on the planet. Rich and I candidly discuss how he broke the news to his family that he was quitting his job to pursue his dream of becoming a fighter, we talk about the night he became the UFC Middleweight Champion of the World, PEDs, concussions, how to be an effective loser, and the agony of defeat.

Recent declassified information shows that in 1983, the US and Soviet Union came much closer to nuclear war then anyone had previously known. I talked with the Pulitzer Prize winning author about this, how a lowly Soviet Lt. Colonel saved the world from nuclear annihilation, how a top secret American spy saved the US $2 billion dollars before he was ultimately betrayed, and the Soviet biological weapons program that attempted to make nightmares into reality.

Historian, scholar and former IRA gunman, Anthony McIntyre talks with me about the republican struggle, murder, going to prison for 18 years, becoming a vocal critic of the IRA, and the infamous Belfast Tapes that are now threatening to disrupt the fragile peace in Northern Ireland.

Lance Navarro talks open and honestly about his life as a gay sex worker, how he got into the business, why prostitution should be seen as a job and not a crime, whether he charges more for a big penis, coming out of the closet at 16 in rural Virginia, and more. Join us.

In part 2, the former head of drug operations for Whitey Bulger and the Winter Hill Gang talks about hanging out with Johnny Depp on the set of his film 'Black Mass' , how Whitey stole $250,000 from the Italian mafia, how he lost the love of his life Penelope after being sent away to federal prison, and if it is even possible for a gangster to call in sick to work.

In the 1980's, John 'Red' Shea became the head of drug operations for arguably the most infamous mobster in American history, Whitey Bulger. John talks candidly about his personal relationship with Whitey, his rise to the top of the Irish mob in South Boston, and his 12 years in federal prison.

For this first installment of Jim's Welt, we talk with my friend Simba. I was fortunate enough to meet him down in South Africa while in country helping to launch an uncensored talk radio channel. Together we discuss what it's like for him living with albinism in Africa, attending the same high school in Swaziland that Nelson Mendala's kids attended, witch doctors, the importance of measuring one's penis, and so much more. Join us. (Big thanks to South Africa's Rubber DUC for the music!)