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The Hidden Third

The Hidden Third

By: Mariana van Zeller
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 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 podcasts. The Hidden Third is a co-production of Muck Media and The Roost Podcast Network. Social Sciences True Crime
Episodes
  • Journalist Jacob Soboroff on Family Separation, ICE Raids, and the LA Fires | The Hidden Third with Mariana van Zeller

    Journalist Jacob Soboroff on Family Separation, ICE Raids, and the LA Fires | The Hidden Third with Mariana van Zeller
    Jan 28 2026
    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 work has had on his family, and even some secrets he's never divulged publicly. We talk about his groundbreaking reporting on the Trump administration's family separation policy – what he saw firsthand inside migrant child detention facilities and what went into writing his book Separated. Jacob reveals what has stayed with him long after the headlines moved on, and warns that families are being separated at an even bigger scale during the current immigration raids. Then we dive into his latest bestseller Firestorm, his firsthand account of the devastating January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. Jacob reported live as his childhood home in the Pacific Palisades burned to the ground. He describes these fires as "the fire of the future" – not an isolated tragedy but a harbinger of America's new age of disaster driven by climate change, failing infrastructure, and political dysfunction. If you care about journalism, immigration, climate disasters, and the human stories behind the headlines, this conversation goes deep. ABOUT THE HIDDEN THIRD: 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. THE HIDDEN THIRD: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ MARIANA: ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 36 mins
  • Xbox Underground Hacker | The Hidden Third with Mariana van Zeller

    Xbox Underground Hacker | The Hidden Third with Mariana van Zeller
    Jan 21 2026
    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 know existed. What started as a game quickly escalated: by fifth grade, he was hacking into his school’s mainframe, and soon after he claims he’d built a sprawling network of bots, giving him the power to control and monetize massive amounts of computing resources. As a teenager, Arman describes earning tens of thousands of dollars, funding his own operation, and even consulting at 14 or 15 years old. But the underground doesn’t just come with money and status. It comes with consequences. He recounts being swatted three times as a teen by rivals and enemies targeting him, and how the paranoia and cat-and-mouse dynamics of that world can follow you long after the hacks stop. (Yes, he even admits to doing things like cutting a teacher’s internet when he didn’t want to turn in homework.) Arman also tells Mariana about cooperating with the government as an informant, and what it’s like to move from “black hat” life into ethical hacking. This interview is for reporting and education. We do not encourage or provide instructions for hacking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 46 mins
  • USC Athlete Turned Cocaine Kingpin | The Hidden Third with Mariana van Zeller

    USC Athlete Turned Cocaine Kingpin | The Hidden Third with Mariana van Zeller
    Jan 14 2026
    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 high-stakes enterprise with international routes and ties to a major Mexican cartel. For a while, the operation felt untouchable. He lived in luxury, operated at the highest stakes, and wielded real power — until it all came crashing down. I wanted to understand how a decorated student-athlete became a drug kingpin, and what it’s like to rebuild after losing everything. In one of the most intense conversations I’ve had on the show, Hanson opens up about his upbringing, the illegal enterprise he built, his trips into Mexico’s cartel territory, life inside federal prison, and what comes next. About The Hidden Third: 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. THE HIDDEN THIRD: YouTube Instagram Apple Podcasts Spotify MARIANA: TikTok Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 39 mins
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