The Rocket Scientist's Poison Mushroom

Exiled Russian journalist Yevgeny Safranov is extremely stressed out. Inside his Paris apartment he paces up and down, furious that all his devices have been hacked. His phone, his government ID, his social media--everything. By who we don't know, as shortly after Safranov jumped out of his window onto the tarmac below. He died instantly. This is the official story, but there is of course something fishy going on... Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tvSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listeners of Season One will likely remember Lukoil, the Russian energy conglomerate with one foot in the regime and another in international commerce. There are half a dozen mysterious deaths linked to Lukoil, and now, another two... Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tvSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To understand what was truly going on at the heart of the embezzlement ring Igor Kotelnikov was part of, we must understand the conditions of the jail he was held in… Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tvSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Multimillionaire businessman Igor Kotelnikov is used to the high life: fancy cars, big houses, fine dining. He’s lived a life of luxury, which is why it’s hit him so hard to be sent to a pre-trial detention centre in Moscow. These are some of the worst jails in the whole country. Will Kotelnikov survive? What do you think… Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tvSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Russian financier Georgy Chibisov is partying on a yacht on the Moscow River. At some point in the night he steps out for a breather. It’s the last one he’ll ever take. Georgy falls into the water and drowns. But did he really fall, or was he pushed? Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tvSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Municipal lawmaker Vitaly Kapustin is found hanged in a tall tree using a cable attached to his car. The police rule it a suicide, that is until an eyewitness makes a statement saying Kapustin’s hands were tied behind his back… Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tvSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re halfway through season 2, so this episode is an interlude of sorts. As you can probably imagine, the work that goes into this project is massive. We’re fighting an uphill battle against Kremlin state media. FSB interference, and a huge Russian wall of silence. We want to share with you some of the behind the scenes struggles of the Sad Oligarch extended universe... Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tvSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Senior accountant Evgeny Postrigan hangs himself in the garage of his home in the closed city of Zheleznogorsk. This is a place shrouded in secrecy, where weapons grade plutonium and military satellites are produced. On the surface, Postrigan was just depressed. But we dug deeper and discovered a huge web of corruption and state embezzlement... Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tvSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The dead body of Alexey Sinitsyn is laid out under a bridge in Russia’s European exclave, Kaliningrad. It is missing one very vital component—the head. This local CEO has somehow ended up decapitated. A nylon tow rope is laid out near the corpse. The head is further away. When the police arrive, their initial cause of death is “suicide”… How?  Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tvSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Russian rocket scientist Vitaly Melnikov has been picking wild mushrooms his whole life. Somehow though, at 77-years-old, he picks a bad one and eats it up. This kills him. His body shuts down and he's entered the eternal cosmos for real. Coincidentally, this happens just after the extremely important Kremlin Lunar 25 mission he worked on malfunctioned and crashed into the surface of the moon... Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tvSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.