Dirt

Dirt

Author: WNYC Studios January 8, 2020 Duration: 41:04
In 1996, an 83-year-old Holocaust survivor and refugee to America sat down with an interviewer from the USC Shoah Foundation to recount what she had experienced. “If we’re not going to tell now, in 20 years I don’t know who’s going to be to tell,” Rae Kushner said in her Yiddish-accented English. “And now we have still the strength and we have the power to do this and to warn the rest of the world to be careful who is coming up on top of your government.” Rae’s grandson Jared is now one of the most powerful people in the U.S. government. President Trump’s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, he is an influential voice on some of the nation’s most pressing issues, including immigration across the southern border. And to understand him, you need to understand his family story. This episode is based on reporting from host Andrea Bernstein’s new book “American Oligarchs: the Kushners, the Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power.” Read more about the Kushner family at ProPublica and find an excerpt of Bernstein’s book at The New Yorker.

The presidency of Donald Trump presented an unprecedented puzzle, one where the lines between political power and private enterprise became profoundly blurred. Trump, Inc., from WNYC Studios and ProPublica, is a forensic examination of that puzzle. This podcast moves beyond the daily headlines to investigate the enduring architecture of the Trump business empire during his time in office. Each episode is built on meticulous reporting, asking the straightforward yet complex questions that remained: where were new deals being struck, what foreign partners were involved, and was the promised separation between the Oval Office and the family company actually being maintained? The series doesn't just outline controversies; it follows the money, documents the paper trails, and interviews the people on the ground. You'll hear a detailed account of the mechanisms, the key players, and the potential conflicts of interest that defined an era where governance and brand became intertwined. It's a persistent inquiry into the nature of modern power, accountability, and the very definition of public service. By focusing on the operational realities-the leases, the loans, the licenses-this podcast provides a crucial, lasting record of how business was conducted, offering clarity long after the news cycle has moved on. Tune in for a deep, narrative-driven investigation that connects the dots across global projects and political decisions.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Trump, Inc.
Podcast Episodes
Trump Jr. Invested in a Hydroponic Lettuce Company [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:25
Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, took a stake last year in a startup whose co-chairman is a major Trump campaign fundraiser who has sought financial support from the federal government for his other business…
The Emolument Suit Against Trump That Is Moving Ahead [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:09
There’s lots of talk about congressional investigations of the Trump administration that may be coming. Meanwhile, there is already a push to pull back the veil on the president’s conflicts. And it’s making progress. Thi…
So What Trump Investigations Could Be Coming? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:11
We talk with The New Yorker’s Adam Davidson, The Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold, and McClatchy’s Anita Kumar about the midterms and future investigations by Democrats.
Rudy, Inc. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:49
We spent weeks investigating his work and clients in the former Soviet Union.
Trump and Taxes: The Art of the Dodge [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:13
Donald Trump has multiple different ways of playing the game when it comes to taxes — and he always seems to come out the winner.
Pump and Trump [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:58
Donald Trump claims he only licensed his name for projects developed by others. Our investigation finds his family had deeper involvement and the deals often had misleading practices.
Trump’s Patron-in-Chief: Sheldon Adelson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:56
Late on a Thursday evening in February 2017, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plane landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland for his first visit with President Donald Trump. A few hours earlier, the casino magnat…
The Business of Silence [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:58
Trump has long worked to enforce silence. And he’s been trying to take the practice to the White House.