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The Outfit

The Outfit

By: Headgum
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Welcome to The Outfit — where each week, a fascinating (and often hilarious) Mafia story reveals something deeper about the way our society works. Hosted by Alana Hope Levinson and Dan O'Sullivan.

From Higher Ground and Headgum

© Higher Ground Social Sciences True Crime World
Episodes
  • World Trade Center: The Towers the Mob Built

    World Trade Center: The Towers the Mob Built
    Sep 11 2025
    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 hr and 5 mins
  • Paul Tatum: The American Cowboy in Russia

    Paul Tatum: The American Cowboy in Russia
    Sep 4 2025

    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.
    Show More Show Less
    57 mins
  • George Remus: The Real Great Gatsby

    George Remus: The Real Great Gatsby
    Aug 28 2025

    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.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 1 min
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