When American businessman Paul Tatum set up shop in post-Soviet Moscow, he thought he was building the first outpost of what would become a luxury hotel empire, ushering Russia into the "End of History" '90s. Instead, he walked straight into Moscow's underworld. This week, Dan and Alana find out what happens when Americans act ugly abroad, and learn how corruption helped create the Russia of today.

Sources

Stranded in Moscow by Rick Furmanek

Violent Entrepreneurs: The Use of Force in the Making of Russian Capitalism by Vadim Volkov

Mafia Life: Love, Death and Money at the Heart of Organized Crime by Federico Varese

Print sources include The Daily Oklahoman, BBC, The Los Angeles Times, The Moscow Times, OC Weekly, Tulsa World, The Associated Press, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, FORTUNE, and Time Magazine.

The Outfit is a production of Higher Ground and Headgum.

Hosted by Dan O’Sullivan and Alana Hope Levinson

Produced by Julia Murray

Production Assistance by Franchesca Diaz and CJ Archerd

Sound Design and Engineering by Ryan Kozlowski and Andrew Eapen

Managing Producer is Tiffany Hammond

Show theme is Bittersweet Defeat by OTE

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today’s episode of The Outfit, Dan and Alana head to Prohibition-era Cincinnati, where a former lawyer-turned-bootlegger becomes a mark for an ambitious conwoman. Plus, Dan and Alana reminisce on sophomore year English class.

Sources:

King of the Bootleggers: A Biography of George Remus by William A. Cook

The Ghosts of Eden Park: The Bootleg King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz-Age America by Karen Abbott

The Bourbon King: The Life and Crimes of George Remus, Prohibition's Evil Genius by Bob Batchelor

Prohibition by Jeff Hill

The newspaper archives of the Chicago Tribune, The Cincinnati Enquirer, the Chicago Daily News, the Cincinnati Post, the Kentucky Post, the Pittsburgh Press, The Dayton Herald, Detroit Free Press, the New York Daily News, The Cleveland Press, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Like the show? Rate The Outfit on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leave a review.

This is a Headgum podcast. Follow Headgum on Twitter, Instagram, and Tiktok.

Advertise on The Outfit via Gumball.fm

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.