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PODCAST

The Hidden Third

Mariana van Zeller

From Emmy and Peabody Award–winning journalist Mariana van Zeller comes THE HIDDEN THIRD, a weekly dive into the underground markets that quietly power a third of the global economy. Every episode Mariana sits down with people who know these worlds firsthand - the hustlers, smugglers, scammers, kingpins, and those trying to shut them down. The series reveals how they function, why they endure, and the profound ways they impact us all. New episodes drop every Wednesday wherever you get your

society & culture documentary

All Episodes

51:46

“The Hangover” Producer Who Walked Away From...

The Hidden Third ·

2026/05/13

Join The Hidden Third Patreon today! patreon.com/thehiddenthirdScott Budnick produced some of the biggest films in Hollywood — Old School, The Hangover, War Dogs. Then he visited a juvenile detention center in Los Angeles, and it changed the trajectory of his life. He walked away from Hollywood and started going into juvenile detention centers every week — teaching, listening, showing up for kids the system had written off. That was 22 years ago. He still goes every week. Along the way, he built

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90:48

Meagan Elizabeth: Raised in a Cult Hiding 900 Abusers

The Hidden Third ·

2026/05/06

Join The Hidden Third Patreon today! patreon.com/thehiddenthirdWith a limited-time offer, get Huel today with an exclusive offer of 15% off online with the code MARIANA at https://www.huel.com/mariana. New customers only. Meagan Elizabeth was born into the Two-by-Twos — one of the most secretive cults in the world. No name, no building, no written doctrine. Just families meeting in homes across 30 countries, convinced they were the only people on earth going to heaven. Fourth generation. She

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124:27

Amanda Knox Imprisoned In Italy: The Real Story

The Hidden Third ·

2026/04/29

Join The Hidden Third Patreon today! patreon.com/thehiddenthirdAmanda Knox was 20 years old when she went to Italy for a study abroad year. Weeks later, her roommate Meredith Kercher was murdered — and Amanda became the story. She was wrongfully convicted, sentenced to 26 years, and imprisoned for four years while the global media treated her guilt as a foregone conclusion. After one of the most high-profile exonerations in modern legal history, Amanda Knox is now a New York Times bestselling

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123:44

The American Captive Inside Venezuela's Deadliest Prison

The Hidden Third ·

2026/04/22

Join The Hidden Third Patreon today! patreon.com/thehiddenthirdWatch on Spotify. Spotify subscribers get fewer ads on my video. Get up to $200 off Square hardware when you sign up at http://square.com/go/hiddenthird! #squarepod James Luckey-Lange had one country left to visit in the continental Americas: Venezuela. He'd survived Haiti, Nicaragua, a husky he buried in Patagonia, and the loss of both his parents — including his mother, the late Q Lazzarus, the singer behind "Goodbye Horses"

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128:32

Shaka Senghor: 19 Years for Murder

The Hidden Third ·

2026/04/15

Join The Hidden Third Patreon! https://patreon.com/TheHiddenThirdShaka Senghor went to prison for murder at 19 and spent seven of his 19 years in solitary confinement. But his imprisonment started long before that. Today, Mariana sits down with Shaka and has an intimate conversation about life’s hidden prisons, the moment in solitary confinement that changed his life, and the work he is passionate about now - speaking to young kids who grew up like him. Oprah Winfrey called her conversation with

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128:39

Chosen by Aliens: The Kidnapping of Jan Broberg

The Hidden Third ·

2026/04/08

Jan Broberg was kidnapped at 12 by a family friend who convinced her it was an alien mission. Then kidnapped again at 14. Her story — the basis for Netflix's Abducted in Plain Sight — is one of the most shocking grooming cases ever documented. Today she tells it in her own words, and breaks down the predator tactics that are still happening — from family friends to online platforms like Roblox.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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104:55

NYC Drug Kingpin Turned Weed CEO

The Hidden Third ·

2026/04/01

This week on The Hidden Third, Mariana sits down with Coss Marte — a former drug dealer who, at 17, was running what he claims was New York City's first 24/7 drug delivery business, pulling in over $2 million. A betrayal within his own team brought it all crashing down, and he was suddenly facing up to 25 years in prison. Behind bars, a doctor told him he wouldn't survive to 30. What happened next changed everything. Coss lost 70 pounds, built a workout program with fellow inmates, and wrote the

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85:01

From Prison Cell to Rocket Scientist

The Hidden Third ·

2026/03/25

Marta Barreto survived years of sexual abuse, addiction, exploitation, and prison. She became a mother, got sober, went back to school, and eventually landed her childhood dream — working on rocket propulsion at Virgin Orbit. In this episode, Marta talks about the psychological grip of trauma and exploitation, the barriers that keep so many victims trapped, and what it really takes to rebuild a life from zero. One of the most powerful survival stories we've ever told on The Hidden Third.Head to

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104:16

Undercover Cop

The Hidden Third ·

2026/03/18

Britt Elmore, former undercover narcotics detective, spent years embedded inside the operations most people only see in crime dramas — building cases against dealers, managing informants, and navigating the moral gray zones that define modern drug enforcement. In this episode, he pulls back the curtain on how undercover operations really work: the mechanics of infiltrating criminal networks, the fragile trust between officers and informants, and how drugs move from international suppliers all the

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103:47

Felon at 7, Reborn in Solitary

The Hidden Third ·

2026/03/11

Sonny Von Cleveland survived years of childhood sexual abuse, 18 years in prison, and 19 months in solitary confinement. But it was in that isolation cell where everything changed — through daily conversations with a Muslim mentor in the cell across from his, Sonny found accountability, forgiveness, and a reason to live differently.Today he mentors at-risk youth in juvenile detention centers across Southern California, serves on Riverside County's Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council, advocates

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122:11

Game Warden vs The Cartel

The Hidden Third ·

2026/03/04

Most people think of America's public lands as a place to hike, camp, or escape. John Nores spent decades learning they were also a war zone.As a Game Warden with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Nores co-developed the Marijuana Enforcement Team (MET) and the CDFW's first wilderness special operations sniper unit — an elite force with a mission most Americans have never heard of: hunting Mexican drug cartels growing toxic marijuana deep inside U.S. national forests, state parks, and

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102:18

The Woman Who Took On Amazon | The Hidden Third with...

The Hidden Third ·

2026/02/25

Go to http://factormeals.com/hiddenthird50off and use code hiddenthird50off to get 50% off and free breakfast for a year. What happens when one of the most powerful corporations in the world – Amazon – decides your family is a threat? Amy Nelson, attorney, mother of four, and founder of The Riveter, found out the hard way: frozen bank accounts, FBI raids, federal subpoenas, and the full weight of the Department of Justice deployed against her family without a single charge being filed. In

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88:05

Ex Neo-Nazi | The Hidden Third with Mariana van Zeller

The Hidden Third ·

2026/02/18

Go to http://expressvpn.com/hiddenthird to secure your online data and get up to four extra months.At 14, Christian Picciolini was a lonely kid from an Italian immigrant family in Chicago when he was recruited into the Chicago Area Skinheads — one of America's first neo-Nazi skinhead groups. By 16, he was leading it. He fronted white power punk bands, helped merge his group with the violent Hammerskin Nation, opened a record store selling hate music, and toured Europe playing to thousands. For

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32:16

From The Kink Machine: The Secret Power Behind Porn

The Hidden Third ·

2026/02/13

On The Hidden Third, we explore the underground worlds and shadowy figures that drive much of the global economy—so today I’m excited to share an excerpt from a new audiobook about one of our culture’s most taboo, most-watched, and least-understood industries: porn. It’s the most watched business in the world. And the least understood. Streamed by millions every day, porn is everywhere. It shapes our culture, our relationships, and even technology. Yet, nobody seems to know who really controls the

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129:15

The Hipster Grifter | The Hidden Third with Mariana...

The Hidden Third ·

2026/02/11

Go to http://selectquote.com/mariana to save more than 50% on term life insurance.Kari Ferrell became known as “The Hipster Grifter” after her cons went viral. In this episode of The Hidden Third, Kari joins me to talk about how her scams worked — from bad checks to stealing from friends and lying about being a cancer survivor — and how things escalated after she moved from Salt Lake City to New York City, where she landed a job at VICE. We dig into what was driving her at the time, how easy it

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131:21

Retired ICE Agent | The Hidden Third with Mariana van...

The Hidden Third ·

2026/02/04

Eric Balliet spent 25 years with the Department of Homeland Security - first with the CBP and then with ICE - arresting dozens of human traffickers, smugglers, and child predators. He led the wiretap strategy that resulted in the arrest of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán—not once, but twice—and was named Federal Law Enforcement Association's Agent of the Year.In this episode, we dive deep into: - His time as a border patrol agent - His investigation into violent militia groups operating on the U.S.-

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132:23

Retired ICE Agent | The Hidden Third with Mariana van...

The Hidden Third ·

2026/02/04

Eric Balliet spent 25 years with the Department of Homeland Security - first with the CBP and then with ICE - arresting dozens of human traffickers, smugglers, and child predators. He led the wiretap strategy that resulted in the arrest of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán—not once, but twice—and was named Federal Law Enforcement Association's Agent of the Year. In this episode, he sits down with Mariana to talk about In this episode, we dive deep into: His time as a border patrol agent His

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95:31

Journalist Jacob Soboroff on Family Separation, ICE...

The Hidden Third ·

2026/01/28

Go to http://selectquote.com/mariana to save more than 50% on term life insurance.Go to http://rocketmoney.com/hiddenthird to reach your financial goals faster. In this episode, I sit down with MS NOW correspondent and bestselling author Jacob Soboroff for a candid conversation about what it takes to report on the stories that shape our country, and the personal cost that comes with it. Jacob shares why he became a journalist, the biggest lessons he's learned in the field, the toll his

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106:16

Xbox Underground Hacker | The Hidden Third with...

The Hidden Third ·

2026/01/21

In this episode of The Hidden Third, Mariana sits down with Arman, an underground hacker involved in the infamous Xbox Underground case -- an alleged conspiracy federal investigators said targeted Microsoft and its partners and was valued by the FBI at more than $100 million. Arman says he’s been hacking since he could type. Diagnosed with ADD, he found an early obsession and talent in computer programming, spending months in grade school learning how to break into systems most people didn’t even

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99:10

USC Athlete Turned Cocaine Kingpin | The Hidden Third...

The Hidden Third ·

2026/01/14

This week on The Hidden Third, I sit down with Owen Hanson, known as “O-Dog” — a former USC athlete whose hunger to win at all costs spiraled into a criminal operation spanning sports betting, drug trafficking, and money laundering.Hanson’s story was recently featured in Mark Wahlberg’s docu-series Cocaine Quarterback. But this conversation goes deeper than the headlines. He tells me how it started with his own performance-enhancing drug use — and how, in his early twenties, it escalated into a

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