8. Welcome to the Sh*tshow

“Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and his path was bank robbery. Joe was one of California’s most daring bank robbers. He used disguises, body doubles, speeding getaway cars…and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars,  even as the FBI was closing in. Joe was also a soul searcher, driven by a dark rage he set out to understand. To do that, he must understand why trying to murder his father felt so good. Listen to The Burden wherever you get your podcasts. Just search up “The Burden” Season 5: Get the Money and Run immerses you, the listener, into Joe Loya’s world. This podcast is a fast-moving and entertaining listen that keeps you locked in from start to finish. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Into the Madness is a new Audible Original from Trevor Aaronson and Western Sound. On July 4, 2022, a shooter climbed onto a rooftop in Highland Park, Illinois, and opened fire on a Fourth of July parade below, killing seven people and wounding dozens more. Prosecutors charged Robert “Bobby” Crimo III with the mass shooting. But this attack was part of something even more insidious. Bobby had created an elaborate game—complete with cryptic videos, a book of numbers, and an eerie online presence—designed to seed a conspiracy theory about the massacre. Into the Madness is a deep dive into the events leading up to the mass shooting and the story of a woman who became a confidant to Crimo and the final player in his game. Drawing from dozens of interviews and more than 48 hours of recorded calls with Bobby, investigative journalist Trevor Aaronson tells a story that will challenge everything you think you know about mass shootings, conspiracy theories, and the fragile boundary between reality and illusion. The series explores the rise of nihilistic violence, the role of technology in fostering extremism, and America’s collective descent into conspiracy thinking. Into the Madness will leave you questioning where the truth ends—and the madness begins. Into the Madness is an Audible Original, produced by Trevor Aaronson and Western Sound. Search for Into the Madness on the Audible app or go to audible.com/intothemadness. Start listening today when you sign up for a free 30-day trial.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pulse: The Untold Story is a new Audible podcast from Western Sound. The Pulse nightclub attack in 2016 is among the deadliest mass shootings in American history. Forty-nine people lost their lives and another 53 were injured. In the aftermath, the FBI and the media embraced a story — that the attacker was a secretly gay Islamist extremist who targeted the LGBTQ+ community.  But most of what you know about the shooting is wrong. This false narrative has obscured the truth and concealed the FBI’s failures to prevent the attack. Search for Pulse: The Untold Story on the Audible app or go to audible.com/pulsetheuntoldstory. Start listening today when you sign up for a free 30-day trial.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ACLU is suing the FBI. Zebb Hall has a recording to share. And I found Mickey Windecker. Lots more information coming on Trevor's substack: https://trevoraaronson.substack.com/  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flaviu says he tried to be a good American. He wanted to help the United States. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After their arrests, Flaviu, Cristian, and Massimo are extradited to New York. Flaviu soon finds that everyone has an agenda.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The arms deal is taking shape. But Flaviu and Cristian need one more person to bring everything together: a flamboyant Italian politician named Massimo Romagnoli.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flaviu recruits Cristian Vintila, a Romanian government official, to help him facilitate the arms deal for Juan. But Cristian has some concerns.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Juan isn’t who he says is. He’s made millions pretending to be someone he’s not.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flaviu is talking to a wide-bellied Colombian named Juan about a deal to sell weapons to the FARC, a paramilitary group. But the arms deal hits a snag in Italy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.