Every Crook Needs a Mentor

Elon Musk has spent his career turning improbable ideas into companies that reshape the world. To some, the entrepreneur behind Tesla and SpaceX is an engineering genius whose ambitions have transformed electric cars and space travel. To others, his politics and extraordinary influence raise serious questions about the future he is building. Either way, the world’s first trillionaire is betting Tesla’s future on AI and humanoid robots, and SpaceX’s on life beyond Earth. In this season’s debut episode, Walter asks Musk about DOGE regrets, why he believes robots will solve America’s national debt, and the dark politics that have consumed his own platform, X. Along the way, Musk shares why living in a simulation demands that we all be less boring. A candid conversation about the imagination, drive and contradictions of a man determined to turn his vision into our future. Interview taped August 6, 2026. And be sure to pick up Walter Isaacson’s The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution, wherever fine books are sold. ABOUT THE HOSTWalter Isaacson is the bestselling author of biographies of Elon Musk, Jennifer Doudna, Leonardo da Vinci, Steve Jobs, Benjamin Franklin, and Albert Einstein. He is a professor of history at Tulane University and previously served as CEO of the Aspen Institute, chair and CEO of CNN, and editor of Time. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2023. IN THIS SEASONElon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX, xAI)Peter Thiel (Founders Fund, PayPal, Palantir)Mustafa Suleyman (Microsoft AI, DeepMind)Dario Amodei and Daniela Amodei (Anthropic)and more!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a rumored sighting, the team chases Vassilis deep into a remote mountain range, where everybody is hiding something.      Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Vassilis plans one last score, things start to fall apart. Meanwhile, thanks to a surprising tip, George and Christina come face-to-face with Vassilis’s older brother, Nikos.   Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nobody thought it was possible to escape from Greece’s toughest maximum security prison, until Vassilis did it. With a helicopter.    Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We send Kaleidoscope’s Costas Linos along with investigative journalist Nick Niarchos on an adventure through anarchist enclaves, island retreats, and isolated monasteries to find out why Greece embraces outlaws like Vassilis.   Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vassilis spends his loot seeing the world, until he and Nikos stumble into a new idea: kidnapping.   Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A mysterious manuscript gives us an inside look at Vassilis’s first prison escape, and explains how his moral code took shape.   Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every bank robber has to start somewhere. We track down the man who taught Vassilis the art of crime.   Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Miles and the team learn how Vassilis and his gang pulled off the biggest bank robbery in Greek history without firing a single shot. Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introducing the first season of OUTLAWS: The Good Thief. We’re on the trail of Vassilis Paleokostas, Greece’s most-wanted man—a real-life Robin Hood known for stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Fourteen years ago, after pulling off a string of unbelievable heists, Vassilis disappeared. Where is he now? And why does his legend still have such a hold on people?    Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.