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Inside the Life Inside the Life is produced by The Mob Museum and hosted by former elite undercover agents Giovanni Rocco and Dutch McAlpin. Tune in weekly!

Season 3 premieres Thursday, October 23.

21/12/2025

Co***ne hidden inside encyclopedias: That’s how one small seizure at JFK airport helped unravel a much larger drug-trafficking network.

Bob Palombo spent years dismantling drug operations, piecing together who pulled the strings and extracting crucial information from those who carried out the orders.

In this clip, he recalls his time as a U.S. Customs agent, when two women were caught smuggling co***ne inside “fake encyclopedias.” That single seizure was a loose thread. When investigators pulled it, it led to a bookbinding operation in Colombia that created "fake books" used to smuggle drugs.

Watch the full episode of Inside the Life to hear more from Bob Palombo about his career — from early cases to the eventual capture of Griselda Blanco. Now streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and all major podcast platforms.

19/12/2025

Former DEA agent Bob Palombo joins this week’s episode of Inside the Life to recount the capture of Griselda Blanco.

Once a substitute teacher, Palombo found himself on the front lines of the DEA’s earliest days, helping dismantle a sprawling Colombian co***ne conspiracy. As investigators followed the trail, one name rose above all others: Griselda Blanco.

In this clip, Palombo takes us inside the arrest itself, walking into Blanco’s home to find the feared “Godmother of Co***ne” quietly reading a Bible.

Watch the full episode of Inside the Life to hear Palombo’s incredible story, now streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and all major podcast platforms.

14/12/2025

New York City’s Chinatown hid an underworld known to only a select few.

In this clip, former Ghost Shadows gang member Pete Chin recounts a moment when police were closing in and how he escaped through secret underground catacombs beneath an illegal Chinatown gambling house.

Watch the full episode of Inside the Life to hear Chin’s firsthand account of his time as a leader for the Ghost Shadows gang. Now streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and all major podcast platforms.

08/12/2025

FBI undercover agent Terry Rankhorn once found himself burning with a 103-degree fever while meeting with a dangerous criminal tied to an al-Qaida cell: A man who had fought alongside Osama bin Laden during the Soviet–Afghan War.

In a moment of startling irony, the very target Terry was working to expose showed him compassion, even offering his own bed for Terry to lie down. The encounter underscores a truth at the core of undercover work: The line between danger and humanity is far more complex than it seems.

Watch the full episode of Inside the Life to hear more about Rankhorn’s time undercover inside one of the most dangerous terrorist cells in the world. Now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

05/12/2025

In this week’s episode of Inside the Life, undercover FBI agent Terry Rankhorn joins the show to recall a period in his career when a planned three-day assignment turned into three years living 24/7 undercover inside an al-Qaida cell.

In this clip, Terry describes how his primary target was a highly educated individual who held a doctorate degree and spoke several languages. Terry operated as “the guy who could get you anything,” a role that enabled him to build trust and form relationships with leaders within the terrorist cell.

Watch the full episode of Inside the Life to hear more about Rankhorn’s time undercover inside one of the most dangerous terrorist cells in the world. Now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

30/11/2025

What happens when the cops become the criminals? In this clip, former NYPD officer Michael Dowd reveals a tactic he and his partner often used: racing to crime scenes ahead of others so they could “score” and pocket any cash they found. What may appear to be a small act of opportunism was, in reality, part of a much larger pattern of corruption that ultimately helped fuel major criminal operations within the precinct.

Watch the full episode of Inside the Life to hear more of Dowd’s stories as a corrupt officer from one of New York’s most infamous precincts. Available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

27/11/2025

On this week's episode of Inside the Life, we explore organized crime within law enforcement through the lens of former NYPD officer Michael Dowd. In this clip, Dowd recounts how a dispute over $700 escalated into a violent standoff. After being shorted on a payment for providing protection to a drug dealer, Dowd used his police authority to shut the dealer down, a move that triggered retaliation in the form of a hit ordered on his life. What followed was a tense confrontation during a traffic stop, where Dowd challenged the man who had attempted to have him killed.

This story offers a vivid look at how small acts of corruption can quickly spiral into danger, exposing the destructive cycle of power, greed and criminality even within law enforcement. Watch the full episode of Inside the Life to hear more of Dowd’s stories as a corrupt police officer. Available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

23/11/2025

For years, investigative reporter Jake Adelstein covered the , building relationships with crime bosses and law enforcement alike.

But one explosive story, featured in this clip, made a particular yakuza leader angry: Adelstein's bombshell exposé on how the FBI helped a yakuza crime boss obtain a life-saving liver transplant at UCLA.

Watch the full episode of Inside the Life to hear more of Jake’s stories from Japan’s yakuza underworld. Available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

20/11/2025

For yakuza members, tattoos don't just mark your body. It marks the end of your life as a civilian. In this clip, investigative reporter Jake Adelstein explains the deep connection between tattoos and Yakuza culture, even describing the ink as a form of “corporate branding” for members.

Watch the full episode of Inside the Life to hear more of Jake’s firsthand stories from Japan’s criminal underworld. Available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

19/11/2025

Get ready to enter a world few outsiders ever witness. Investigative journalist Jake Adelstein joins Inside the Life to pull back the curtain on Japan’s criminal underworld and the powerful yakuza syndicates he spent decades reporting on. From becoming the first foreign crime beat reporter at Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper to uncovering a shocking FBI-assisted liver transplant for a yakuza boss, Jake shares the real stories behind the headlines. His reporting was so gripping it inspired HBO’s Tokyo Vice.

Don’t miss the full episode premiering this Thursday, November 20, on Inside the Life.

16/11/2025

"It was 100% we're going to jail for the rest of our lives."

Anthony Arillotta expected to be indicted after running the Genovese crime family's Springfield syndicate, but he soon learned that this next wave of charges would be different. It wasn’t until he was in the midst of the case that he saw the full extent of the evidence against him. Dozens of cooperating witnesses, including several men directly involved in the murder at the center of the investigation, were prepared to testify.

Confronted with extensive testimony and documentation, Arillotta ultimately chose to cooperate with federal investigators.

This week's episode is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts. Subscribe and visit insidethelife.org for more information.

13/11/2025

As the first made man featured on Inside the Life, Anthony Arillotta shares his rise inside the Genovese crime family’s Springfield crew and the ceremony that solidified his place within the organization.

After being summoned to New York by high-ranking members, he went through the process that formally brought him into the family. Following a violent “hit” and his official induction in New York City, he became one of the most powerful bosses operating outside of New York.

This week's episode is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts. Subscribe and visit insidethelife.org for more information.

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