Hot Money: The New Narcos

Pushkin Industries & Financial Times

Hot Money is back. In this series, Financial Times reporter Miles Johnson investigates a mysterious murder in a small town that leads to a web of drugs, money laundering and state-sponsored assassinations stretching from Dublin to Dubai. At the centre is a cocaine super cartel that is revolutionising the global drugs market. This eight-part investigative podcast, published twice-weekly, probes the links between criminals and legitimate businesses, and between governments and gangsters.

  • 39 minutes 20 seconds
    Episode 8: Matryoshka

    In our season finale, Sam discovers a different narrative about Marsalek’s life in Russia. And a tip from long ago resurfaces. 

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    29 July 2025, 4:01 am
  • 36 minutes 49 seconds
    Episode 7: From Russia With Love

    A Marsalek-backed ring of operatives goes on trial in the UK for espionage. A treasure trove of text messages reveals their inner workings.

    Get ad-free access to the entire season of Hot Money: Agent of Chaos by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Access ad-free episodes, exclusive binges, full audiobooks, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows with Pushkin+.

    Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin
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    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    22 July 2025, 4:01 am
  • 39 minutes 4 seconds
    Episode 6: Maestro

    Back in Vienna, Sam investigates another Marsalek plot. One that nearly toppled Austria’s intelligence agency.

    Get ad-free access to the entire season of Hot Money: Agent of Chaos by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Access ad-free episodes, exclusive binges, full audiobooks, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows with Pushkin+.

    Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin
    Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    15 July 2025, 4:01 am
  • 37 minutes 19 seconds
    Episode 5: A Different Set of Rules

    How does one become a spy? Sam speaks with a former Russian intelligence officer about how Marsalek might have been recruited. And to what ends.

    Get ad-free access to the entire season of Hot Money: Agent of Chaos by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Access ad-free episodes, exclusive binges, full audiobooks, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows with Pushkin+.

    Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin
    Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1 July 2025, 4:01 am
  • 43 minutes 45 seconds
    Episode 4: Backbearings

    On the ground in Austria and Germany, Sam digs deep into Marsalek’s past. His odd habits. His strange house. The hypnotic effect he had on former colleagues. And how he is remembered by childhood friends.

    CORRECTION: In this episode, we reported Marsalek left home just before taking his final school exams at age 17. We’ve since learned he was 18 when he left home.

    Get ad-free access to the entire season of Hot Money: Agent of Chaos by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Access ad-free episodes, exclusive binges, full audiobooks, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows with Pushkin+.

    Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin
    Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    24 June 2025, 4:01 am
  • 43 minutes 33 seconds
    Episode 3: Thrill Seeking

    Sam tracks down an old contact in Tunisia.  A former UN official living off grid. He reveals how he ended up involved in one of Jan Marsalek’s wildest schemes.

    CORRECTION: In this episode, we reported that Marsalek told Killian Kleinschmidt that he arrived in Syria in a Mig 8. That was an error. Killian only recalls Marsalek saying that he arrived in Syria in a helicopter, not specifically a Mig 8. 

    Get ad-free access to the entire season of Hot Money: Agent of Chaos by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Access ad-free episodes, exclusive binges, full audiobooks, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows with Pushkin+.

    Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin
    Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    17 June 2025, 4:01 am
  • 40 minutes 35 seconds
    Episode 2: The Friendship Society

    As Sam arrives in Vienna, a political bomb explodes. A secretly recorded video exposes ties between the far right and Russia, plunging the Austrian government into crisis and revealing a world where people like Jan Marsalek can thrive.

    Get ad-free access to the entire season of Hot Money: Agent of Chaos by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Access ad-free episodes, exclusive binges, full audiobooks, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows with Pushkin+.

    Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin
    Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    10 June 2025, 4:15 am
  • 37 minutes 52 seconds
    Episode 1: The Bribe

    A series of clandestine lunch meetings leads Sam’s editor to send him off to Vienna, in search of one man.

    Get ad-free access to the entire season of Hot Money: Agent of Chaos by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Access ad-free episodes, exclusive binges, full audiobooks, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows with Pushkin+.

    Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin
    Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    10 June 2025, 4:01 am
  • 3 minutes 46 seconds
    Introducing Hot Money Season 3: Agent of Chaos

    When reporter Sam Jones asks questions about disgraced financial executive Jan Marsalek, he discovers a world of warlords, espionage, and disinformation.

    Coming June 10 from Pushkin Industries and The Financial Times

    Get ad-free access to the entire season of Hot Money: Agent of Chaos by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Access ad-free episodes, exclusive binges, full audiobooks, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows with Pushkin+.

    Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin
    Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    3 June 2025, 1:30 pm
  • 33 minutes 26 seconds
    Episode 8 - The Red Notebook

    Law enforcement cuts off the Kinahan cartel, and a little red notebook in the back of a car might finally reveal who killed the electrician in Almere.

    For more from the FT, sign up for the FT Edit App. To listen to Hot Money ad free, subscribe to Pushkin+.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    26 December 2023, 5:01 am
  • 35 minutes 15 seconds
    Episode 7 - Against the Ropes

    Daniel Kinahan is more influential than ever, but law enforcement may finally be catching up. 

    For more from the FT, sign up for the FT Edit App. To listen to Hot Money ad free, subscribe to Pushkin+.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    21 December 2023, 5:01 am
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