Hot Money (Various Seasons)
4.9/5
Critic Rating
In 2020, the Financial Times exposed a €2 billion fraud at Wirecard, a high-flying German fintech. Many thought that was the end of the story. But for reporter Sam Jones, it was just the beginning. This season on Hot Money: Agent of Chaos, Jones investigates Wirecard’s chief operating officer, who vanished just as Wirecard collapsed. And turned out to also be a Russian spy. From an Ibizan sting operation to an attempted takeover of the Austrian intelligence service, his reporting spirals into a world of warlords, espionage, and disinformation. All in an attempt to answer one question: Who is the real Jan...
Critic Reviews
Score: 5
Hannah J Davies • The Guardian • Apr 27, 2025
"(Who Rules Porn?) This pod from the FT and Pushkin is the sort of series that lodges itself deep in your brain after listening. Gladly, Patricia Nilsson and Alex Barker find this out – and much more besides."
Score: 5
Hannah Verdier • The Guardian • Nov 2, 2023
"(Season 2) Hot Money is back and about to get dirtier with a deep dive into cocaine. The starting point is a Dubai wedding where drug barons who service Europe are gathered, and no stone is left unturned in following their trail."
Score: 4.5
Nick Hilton • Nick Hilton Blog • Jul 8, 2022
"...this is a fascinating look at the intersections of economics, finance, sociology and behavioural psychology...It is, I should say, less good than Jon Ronson’s canonical Butterfly Effect podcast that tackles many of the same issues with less of an eye on the money (and also less good than the New York Times’ Rabbit Hole, which, equally, tackled some of the same issues). But it’s still very good."
Score: 5
Lauren Passell • Podcast The Newsletter • Jun 13, 2022
"Hot Money is giving us a rich investigation into the secret history of the adult business and the billionaires and financial institutions who shape it."
