The Lazarus Heist
4.6/5
Critic Rating
Hackers, North Korea and billions of dollars. Lazarus returns – in fact, the criminals never went away. Season 2 begins at an ATM, possibly near you. With Jean Lee and Geoff White. Investigators claim a secretive, elite North Korean hacking ring, nicknamed the Lazarus Group, is responsible for the theft of billions of dollars around the globe. Pyongyang denies having anything to do with cybercrimes, saying the United States is making these allegations to try to tarnish its image. Season 1 told the stories of the Lazarus Group's alleged hacks on Sony Pictures Entertainment and Bangladesh Bank and the WannaCry ransomware attack.
Critic Reviews
Score: 3
James Marriot • The Times UK • Apr 7, 2023
"(Series 2) it’s not always very easy to make a podcast out of. I reached the end of at least one 40-minute episode having completely zoned out — waking up to realise somewhat wearily that I would have to rewind right back to the beginning to understand exactly what was going on with the dark web and the hackers and the tweaking of the lines of code.... journalists Jean Lee and Geoff White, who are authoritative and have a jolly script. Unfortunately, lines of code are lines of code. Not all listeners will manage to pay attention to the explanations of finance, computing and malware. There are some enjoyable twists and details."
Score: 4.8
Fiona Sturges • Financial Times • Apr 2, 2023
"(Series 2) If the storytelling sometimes gets bogged down in detail — I began to zone out during a breakdown of the workings of cash machine software — the series comes with a remarkable cast of characters...This is the kind of story that would make a terrific Hollywood movie, though that would probably be asking for trouble."
Score: 4.8
Zach Johnston • Uproxx • Jun 28, 2021
"...built around North Korea, its secretive regime, and its cyber-attack policy towards the western powers. All that only really scratches the surface of this very active true crime story about cyber thieves attempting to pull off a billion-dollar heist."
Score: 5
George Fenwick • Stuff NZ • May 23, 2021
"This is one of those excellent podcasts that takes a news story you’ve always sort of known about, but never really understood, and turns it into an accessible, in-depth story that’ll have you talking about it like an expert for the next few years."
Score: 5
John Phipps • The Spectator • May 22, 2021
"The Lazarus Heist sets itself more modest parameters for its investigation. It’s a highly entertaining retelling of the diplomatic fallout that ensued when Sony Pictures advertised the release of its US-hegemony-cum-stoner-comedy The Interview...Insane and fascinating."
Score: 4.9
Edward Wickham • Church Times • May 7, 2021
"...there is so much texture in this bizarre tale that the resulting fillet would have been a good deal less appealing...It is fascinating stuff;…"
Score: 4
James Marriot • The Times UK • May 6, 2021
"The Lazarus Heist is positioned at the perfect intersection of threat and silliness. The Lazarus Heist doesn’t think it’s going to change the world, but you’ll have a lot of fun listening to it while you’re on a walk or cooking dinner. Which is exactly what podcasts are for. …"
Score: 4.9
Amy Wilkinson • Vulture • Apr 30, 2021
"Lee and White do a good job explaining the cultural and socioeconomic climate within which they operate."
Score: 4.7
Miranda Sawyer • The Guardian • Apr 24, 2021
"The Lazarus Heist, from the World Service, is an unusual true-crime tale. Only one episode so far, but it’s madly intriguing."
