エピソード

  • Willie Bioff: Labor Racketeering in Hollywood's Golden Age
    2025/10/09

    This week on the Outfit, we head to La La Land, hot on the trail of a Chicago Outfit thug with stars in his eyes. Amidst the palm trees and swimming pools, Dan and Alana journey to the dark side of 1940s Hollywood, rife with tyrannical studio heads, corrupted unions, and the stark threat of mob violence. Plus, what happens when Mickey Mouse goes union busting.


    Sources

    The Disney Revolt: The Great Labor War of Animation's Golden Age by Jake S. Friedman

    The Outfit: The Role of Chicago's Underworld in the Shaping of Modern America by Gus Russo

    Shadow of the Racketeer: Scandal in Organized Labor by David Witwer

    The Hollywood Connection : The True Story of Organized Crime in Hollywood by Michael Munn


    Time Magazine, Reader's Digest, Omaha World-Herald, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Chicago Daily News, Los Angeles Times, Kansas City Times, Associated Press, The Birmingham News, Tulsa World, San Francisco Examiner, Chicago Tribune, The Daily Worker, Los Angeles Evening Citizen News, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, U.P., Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Independent, Los Angeles Mirror.

    ---

    The Outfit is a production of Higher Ground and Headgum.

    Hosted by Dan O’Sullivan and Alana Hope Levinson

    Executive Produced by Dan O’Sullivan and Alana Hope Levinson

    Produced by Julia Murray

    Production Assistance by CJ Archerd and Franchesca Diaz

    Sound Design and Engineering by Ryan Kozlowski and Andrew Eapen

    Show theme is Bittersweet Defeat by OTE


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

    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.

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    58 分
  • The Kray Twins: London's Master Blackmailers
    2025/10/02

    This week on The Outfit, a fateful exploration into the UK’s most infamous gangster twins and how the web of blackmail they weaved through the country’s political sphere has shocking resonance to current events. Join Dan and Alana as they delve into a British tale so English it could be parody.


    Sources:

    John Pearson, The Profession of Violence, The Cult of Violence, Notorious

    John Dickson, Murder Without Conviction

    Daniel Smith, The Peer and the Gangster: A Very British Cover-Up


    The Daily Mail, The Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, The Times (London), The Guardian, Daily Express, The Independent, The Observer, The Daily Telegraph, GQ, Politico, BBC, Channel 4.

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    The Outfit is a production of Higher Ground and Headgum.

    Hosted by Dan O’Sullivan and Alana Hope Levinson

    Executive Produced by Dan O’Sullivan and Alana Hope Levinson

    Produced by Julia Murray

    Production Assistance by CJ Archerd and Franchesca Diaz

    Sound Design and Engineering by Ryan Kozlowski and Andrew Eapen

    Managing Producer is Tiffany Hammond

    Show theme is Bittersweet Defeat by OTE


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

    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.

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    1 時間 7 分
  • William Handhardt: The Celebrity Cop
    2025/09/25

    This week, Dan and Alana discuss William Hanhardt, who rose to become chief of Detectives in the Chicago Police Department. Subject of the hit television series, "Crime Story" and technical advisor on Michael Mann's "Thief," Handhardt was a cop's cop gone Hollywood: a no-nonsense tough guy whose squad inspired the cops in crime classic, "Heat." But behind the badge was a far more sobering reality, uncomfortably intertwined with the Outfit.


    Sources:

    Family Secrets: The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob by Jeff Coen

    Mob Cop: My Life of Crime in the Chicago Police Department by Fred Pascente with Sam Reaves

    A Gun in My Gucci: Two Outsiders Take Down the Chicago Mob by E.C. Smith

    Newspapers and magazines including The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Chicago Reader, and The Atlantic.

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    The Outfit is a production of Higher Ground and Headgum.

    Hosted by Dan O’Sullivan and Alana Hope Levinson

    Executive Produced 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


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

    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.

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    59 分
  • The Mafia & Gay Bars: The Raid on Louie's Fun Lounge
    2025/09/18

    This week, what does it mean to make a deal with the devil? Dan and Alana examine Richard Ogilvie and his tumultuous path to governor of Illinois, and whether the moral compromises he made to get there were worth the legacy (or lack of one) he leaves behind. Plus, the shocking history of mafia infiltration of queer nightlife, and how corrupt policing and homophobia continue to resound today.


    Sources:

    Newspapers including The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Chicago Reader, The Windy City Times, Arlington Heights Daily Herald, The Daily Calumet, Columbia Journalism Review, Chicago American, Chicago Daily News.

    PBS SoCal

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    The Outfit is a production of Higher Ground and Headgum.

    Hosted by Dan O’Sullivan and Alana Hope Levinson

    Executive Produced by Dan O’Sullivan and Alana Hope Levinson

    Produced by Julia Murray

    Production Assistance by CJ Archerd and Franchesca Diaz

    Sound Design and Engineering by Ryan Kozlowski and Andrew Eapen

    Managing Producer is Tiffany Hammond

    Show theme is Bittersweet Defeat by OTE


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

    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.

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    56 分
  • World Trade Center: The Towers the Mob Built
    2025/09/11
    On the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Dan and Alana dig into a shockingly under-examined story: how the mafia profited from the World Trade Center. From its inception to collapse in Lower Manhattan, the center’s construction was fraught with incompetence and political corruption.SourcesGrand Illusion: The Untold Story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11 by Wayne Barrett and Dan CollinsThe Unthinkable Happened: The Fall of the World Trade Center Towers by Charlie ThorntonManufacturing Discontent: The Trap of Individualism in Corporate Society by Michael PerelmanNever Enough: Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success by Michael D'AntonioThe Gotti Tapes: The Sensational FBI Tapes That Convicted America's Most Powerful Mobster by Ralph BlumenthalMob Star: The Story of John Gotti by Gene Mustain and Jerry CapeciCrime Scene: World Trade Center by J. R. de SzigethyWorld Trade Center Building Performance Study, FEMA, May 2002World Trade Center Investigation, NISTRecord Briefs, New York State Appellate CourtPrint sources include UPI, CBS News, PBS, Washington Post, The New York Times, the New York Daily News, Newsday, The Village Voice, Spy, New York Magazine, New York Post, The Conversation, The Militant, Wikipedia.---The Outfit is a production of Higher Ground and Headgum.Hosted by Dan O’Sullivan and Alana Hope LevinsonExecutive Produced by Dan O’Sullivan and Alana Hope LevinsonProduced by Julia MurrayProduction Assistance by Franchesca Diaz and CJ ArcherdSound Design and Engineering by Ryan Kozlowski and Andrew EapenManaging Producer is Tiffany HammondShow theme is Bittersweet Defeat by OTELike the show? Rate The Outfit on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leave a review.Follow Headgum on Twitter, Instagram, and Tiktok. Advertise on The Outfit via Gumball.fmSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    1 時間 5 分
  • Paul Tatum: The American Cowboy in Russia
    2025/09/04

    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


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

    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.

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    57 分
  • George Remus: The Real Great Gatsby
    2025/08/28

    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.

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    1 時間 1 分
  • Ken Eto: The Japanese-American Mafiosi
    2025/08/21

    Dan and Alana revisit the story of Ken Eto, nicknamed “Tokyo Joe,” whose experience of racist persecution and American internment camps set him up for a life lived in the margins — and high up inside the Chicago Outfit. That is, before a fabulous FBI agent with a gun in her Gucci derails his underworld climb.


    Sources:

    Read Dan’s *award winning* Chicago Magazine story on Ken Eto here!


    Watch the episode on YouTube here!


    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.

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    1 時間 2 分