Crime Beat Conversations
Transnational organized crime increasingly shapes governance, economics, and security across regions, yet media coverage often remains surface-level or sensationalized. Crime Beat Conversations goes beyond the headlines to examine how criminal networks function, evolve, and impact societies worldwide through short, digestible video podcast episodes. Hosted by Rafaella Lipschitz, the series brings together diverse voices to unpack the systemic factors that enable illicit economies to flourish – from corruption networks and state capture to trafficking routes and criminal governance models. Each episode reveals the broader implications of organized crime on rule of law, political stability, and human security across continents, with many topics explored in greater depth through the Crime-Conflict Nexus portfolio’s long-form analysis. Crime Beat Conversations provides policymakers, researchers, and engaged audiences with accessible and nuanced insights into one of the most pressing security challenges of our time.
Expert Voices
Crime Beat Conversations brings together voices from the New Lines Crime-Conflict Nexus team alongside external experts, journalists, academics, civil society leaders, and policymakers. Episodes feature guests with on-the-ground experience and unique analytical expertise who offer firsthand insights into the criminal networks, illicit economies, and governance challenges shaping their regions.
Topics and Themes
The series covers a wide spectrum of transnational organized crime and its intersection with governance and conflict. Episodes explore drug trafficking networks, corruption and state capture, illicit trade routes, criminal governance models, and the evolving tactics of criminal syndicates across the globe. From captagon production to cartel militarization, Crime Beat Conversations examines how local criminal dynamics connect to broader regional and global security challenges.
