Why Were These Shoes Buried?

The enemy was above. Food and water were scarce. Stepping outside could cost you your life. And yet, Sarajevo kept living.How did a city survive almost four years under siege?

October 19th, 2026. Alberta, Canada.Albertans head to the polls to answer ten questions, including one that could bring the province one step closer to a referendum on separation.Why are some Albertans frustrated with Ottawa?In this episode, we explore the grievances behind Alberta's separatist movement and why separation is far more complicated than a simple yes or no.

How does dirty money move through the financial system without raising alarm?In this episode, we follow a fictional money launderer, Mr. J, and a real case involving ING to uncover how money laundering works and why even sophisticated financial controls can sometimes fail.

It starts with allegations.It leads to power, money, and a web of secrets.The Sarkozy-Qaddafi affair, unpacked.

They were just shoes.Until they weren’t.Somewhere in a forest, buried beneath the ground, they reappeared, decades later.And suddenly, they weren’t objects anymore.

In North Korea, markets were never supposed to exist.And yet, they did.During the famine of the 1990s, as the state failed to provide food, people began trading to survive. What started as a desperate response slowly grew into something much larger, a hidden economy operating in plain sight.At the center of it were women.And in the process, survival came to depend on something the system had never intended.

Decrypted is a storytelling podcast about politics and history.Each episode explores the ideas, decisions, and experiences that shape the world, often focusing on what gets overlooked.From hidden markets in North Korea to pivotal moments like the 1953 Iran crisis, Decrypted traces the stories behind major events, focusing on the people living through them.More stories to come.

August 1953, Tehran.The CIA and MI6 overthrew Iran's Prime Minister Mosaddegh, reshaping the country's political destiny and collective memory.This episode tells the story of a covert operation that changed a country and its people forever.

January 19, 1961. Katanga.The lifeless body of Patrice Lumumba was found near Elisabethville, the capital of Katanga province.In the official death certificate, it was written simply that he died "in the bush."What happened? Why would the democratically elected prime minister of a newly independent country end up dead in the wilderness? What interests did Lumumba's mere existence threaten?

December 28, 2025. Tehran.Domestic unrest is once again shaking Iran. The political climate is tense, and security forces are launching a brutal crackdown.Despite a government-imposed blackout, first-hand accounts continue to emerge, and they are harrowing.What is happening in Iran?