229. Sebastian Rotella | Fentanyl from a Chinese Prison

Fentanyl Pipeline: How a Chinese Prison Helped Fuel a Deadly Drug Crisis in the United States - we discuss this publication in ProPublica and much more in a fascinating discussion with Sebastian Rotella.

Sebastian Rotella is an award-winning foreign correspondent, investigative reporter and novelist. His reporting has taken him across the world to more than 30 countries. Since 2010, he has been a senior reporter at ProPublica covering international security issues such as organized crime and intelligence. His honors include a Peabody award, multiple awards from the Overseas Press Club, Columbia University’s Moors Cabot Prize for coverage of Latin America, and Italy’s Urbino Press Award. He is a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Sebastian is also a critically-acclaimed author of three novels: Rip Crew (2018), named one of Kirkus Review’s best crime novels of the year; The Convert’s Song (2014), an editor’s pick on Amazon; and Triple Crossing, the New York Times Sunday Book Review’s favorite action thriller and debut crime novel of 2011. He is also the  author of Twilight on the Line: Underworlds and Politics at the U.S.-Mexico Border (1998), named a New York Times notable book. He has been an invited speaker at the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the U.S. Army, the NYPD Intelligence Division, and U.S. and foreign embassies, think tanks and universities. His coverage of the U.S. Mexican border inspired two songs on Bruce Springsteen’s album The Ghost of Tom Joad.

Rotella articles of interest:

https://www.propublica.org/article/china-fentanyl-prison-yafeng-illegal-drug-trade

https://www.propublica.org/article/chinese-organized-crime-us-marijuana-market

https://www.propublica.org/article/oklahoma-marijuana-china-diplomat-visits

https://www.propublica.org/article/marijuana-oklahoma-china-immigration-safety-workers

https://www.propublica.org/article/china-cartels-xizhi-li-money-laundering

https://www.propublica.org/article/liu-tao-trump-meeting-china-investigation

https://www.propublica.org/article/how-beijing-chinese-mafia-europe-protect-interests