Project Brazen

Hello and welcome to the last Weekender of 2024!!! The Brazen Year-ender is a special edition of the newsletter stacked with 12 months’ worth of excellent TV and film, podcasts and long-form journalism. whalehunting.projectbrazen.com/brazen-year-en…

This week on Mystery Ships, we bring you a special report on Russia’s shadow fleet. Nine days before Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a man from Belize established Nord Axis, a new shipping company, in Hong Kong. Coincidental timing? Maybe. whalehunting.projectbrazen.com/mystery-ships-…

Mark Lombardi was on the cusp of international recognition for his vast hand drawn diagrams mapping connections between criminals, politicians, and corrupt institutions. His sudden death leaves his friends and family with troubling questions. Was Mark’s tragic end truly of his own making—or did he uncover something worth silencing? All 6 episodes of The Illuminator are out now! link.chtbl.com/illuminator For ad-free listening, subscribe to Brazen+: brazen.fm/plus

Weekender this week: Syria, Spies and Succession Problems whalehunting.projectbrazen.com/brazen-weekend…

Lawyers for Swizz Beatz, the rapper and DJ best known for being married to Alicia Keys, responded this week to a lawsuit accusing him of receiving over $7 million in funds stolen during the 1MDB saga. Check out our Whale Hunting newsletter for full read: whalehunting.projectbrazen.com/swizz-beatz-la…

A rare opportunity arises when global financial institutions implode: a brief window into how the world really works. This week on Whale Hunting, @bradleyhope is joined by a man who had a front-row seat: former IRS and DEA undercover agent Robert Mazur, who was the key witness at the trial of numerous BCCI executives. Listen here: link.chtbl.com/whalehunting

Mark Lombardi’s friends are worried. His art - vast drawings mapping networks between the world’s most powerful and corrupt - is gaining more recognition. Mark’s paranoia starts to escalate, and those around him are increasingly left to wonder: could Mark’s art be putting him at risk? This is The Illuminator: Art, Conspiracy and Madness. Listen here: link.chtbl.com/illuminator

The Illuminator merch is now available! Check it out at shop.brazen.fm/collections/th… BONUS! Subscribe to our Brazen newsletter for a special discount code: brazen.ghost.io

Artist Mark Lombardi carried business cards promising “death defying acts of art and conspiracy.” It’s a wry joke, a nod to his vast hand-drawn diagrams mapping out global connections between politicians, criminals and powerful financial institutions. But those close to Mark worry his groundbreaking work might be getting close to dangerous truths. Could his life be at risk? Find out in The Illuminator: Art, Conspiracy and Madness: link.chtbl.com/illuminator

Weekender! It's been a wild week and we are sharing some of our favorite global coverage of events, plus we've got a gritty podcast exploring the depths of the internet and a Papal drama on the big screen to share with you. Let's get stuck in! whalehunting.projectbrazen.com/weekender-3/

Jealousy ♥️ towards Fur & Loathing from @BW: bloomberg.com/features/2024-…

Welcome back to Mystery Flights! whalehunting.projectbrazen.com/mystery-flight…

Mark Lombardi is on the brink of his big break. The Whitney Museum is interested in his art, and he’s got a momentous show coming up at MoMa PS1. But the more success he finds, the looser Mark’s grip on the world becomes. When his master work is destroyed in a devastating accident, Mark grows only more distant from his friends, works more intensely, and comes closer to losing everything. The Illuminator: link.chtbl.com/illuminator

For the right price, a billionaire can buy almost anything in the private intelligence industry. This week on Whale Hunting, @bradleyhope is joined by fellow aficionado of the private intelligence industry @AlexiMostrous , Investigations Editor at Tortoise Media. They discuss why a particular billionaire uses private spies for personal matters. link.chtbl.com/whalehunting

Hidden in the ancient Temple of Seti I in Abydos, Egypt, lies a hieroglyph known as the Abydos hieroglyph. At first glance, it seems to depict modern vehicles - helicopters, submarines, even what looks like a flying saucer. But how could Egyptians 3,000 years ago have known about these technologies? Follow us for more true stories that are stranger than fiction.

Mark Lombardi carried business cards promising "death defying acts of art and conspiracy." It’s a wry joke, but in truth, Mark’s loved ones are worried. A conceptual artist, Mark’s work is exposing disturbing connections between the world’s most powerful politicians and financial institutions. So when Mark tells them he’s being surveilled, is it just paranoia? Or could his life really be at risk? This is The Illuminator: Art, Conspiracy and Madness, a new podcast series out now: link.chtbl.com/illuminator

On this edition of the Weekender…we are sharing a movie that's the talk of this year's film festivals, as well as a new investigative podcast and long reads on shipping sabotage and an amateur art sleuth. Let's get into it! whalehunting.projectbrazen.com/weekender-stri…

Mark Lombardi has a secret. He is known to most as a struggling artist, honing his style in a groundbreaking new form: vast diagrams that draw connections between the world’s most powerful and corrupt people. But for a few select clients, he lends his talents to a different end, working as a private investigator. As the line between the two roles blur, Mark feels increasingly paranoid. Could his work be putting his life at risk? Find out… listen to The Illuminator: Art, Conspiracy and Madness at the link below. link.chtbl.com/illuminator

Iran's war with Israel and the U.S. has been waged through numerous proxies - Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen - but more recently, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. This week on Whale Hunting, @bradleyhope is joined in the studio by Reuters features editor @CassellBryanLow. They discuss Cassell's investigation into Iran's use of hitmen on foreign soil, how frequently these operations are thwarted, and what the ultimate objectives of such operations are. link.chtbl.com/whalehunting

Explore Mark Lombardi’s BCCI piece in digital form from the Whitney Museum’s collection. The piece was licensed by Scala and is a courtesy of the Lombardi Family and Pierogi Gallery. brazen.fm/illuminator/bc…