Is It Time to Free the “Merchant of Death”?
Does Russia want Viktor Bout back badly enough to send Brittney Griner home?
Listen & Subscribe
Choose your preferred player:
Apple Podcasts
Get Your Slate Plus Podcast
If you can't access your feeds, please contact customer support.
Listen on your computer:
Apple Podcasts will only work on MacOS operating systems since Catalina. We do not support Android apps on desktop at this time.
Listen on your device:RECOMMENDED
These links will only work if you're on the device you listen to podcasts on. We do not support Stitcher at this time.
Set up manually:
Episode Notes
Known as the “Merchant of Death,” Viktor Bout illegally ferried weapons, diamonds, and even UN peacekeepers around the world. The man who wrote the book on Bout thinks it’s time to send him home, if it can free Brittney Griner.
Guest: Douglas Farah, co-author of Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes and the Man Who Makes War Possible.
If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.
Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Elena Schwartz, Carmel Delshad, and Madeline Ducharme, with help from Anna Rubanova, Anna Phillips, and Jared Downing.
