Episodes
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Welcome to "The Wolf Den," in this episode we venture into the heart of the American opioid epidemic, exposing the dark underbelly of pharmaceutical sales and the devastating impact it has had on countless lives. In this special feature, we invite you to join us for an exclusive and emotionally charged interview with Alec Burlakoff, a former top executive at Insys Therapeutics.
As we unravel the shocking details, brace yourself for Burlakoff's candid revelations, which lay bare the unethical practices that fueled the crisis. Insys Therapeutics, the Arizona-based manufacturer of the powerful opioid painkiller Subsys, faced bankruptcy after a groundbreaking criminal case brought to light a reckless conspiracy to illegally boost profits from the drug. Burlakoff, along with other executives, faced prison sentences, marking a significant turning point in holding pharmaceutical leaders accountable for their role in the epidemic.
Join us as we delve into Burlakoff's tumultuous journey at Insys Therapeutics. Driven by personal struggles with illness and depression, Burlakoff initially sought to make a positive impact in the pharmaceutical industry. However, he found himself entangled in a ruthless world where success often came at the expense of moral integrity.
In this emotionally charged interview, Burlakoff unveils the aggressive tactics employed to justify the sales of opioids, even amid legal controversies surrounding their marketing. His insider account paints a chilling picture of the unscrupulous practices that permeated the pharmaceutical industry during his tenure at Insys.
Throughout the conversation, Burlakoff doesn't shy away from confronting his own culpability, acknowledging the insidious nature of greed and its impact on ethical decision-making. His raw and heartfelt introspection offers listeners a rare glimpse into the moral dilemmas faced by those within the pharmaceutical world.
"The Wolf Den" doesn't just shed light on the devastation caused by the opioid crisis; it also raises crucial questions about the accountability of pharmaceutical executives and the role of regulatory bodies like the FDA. Burlakoff's emotionally charged testimony serves as a powerful reminder of the urgency for transparency, ethical conduct, and compassionate healthcare practices.
Join us for a riveting exploration of the opioid epidemic and the individuals who played a part in perpetuating it. "The Wolf Den" presents this thought-provoking interview, encouraging us all to confront the harsh realities and seek meaningful solutions to combat the opioid crisis affecting communities nationwide. Get ready for an impactful journey that will leave a lasting impression on your understanding of this critical issue.Show Links Narcotics Anonymous https://www.na.org/
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This week The Pack is joined by a man who needs no introductions to anyone in the world of finance. Barry Jay Minkow, former American businessman, pastor, and 2x convicted felon, is now turned, fraud hunter.
At 16, Minkow founded ZZZZ Best, an immensely successful carpet cleaning and restoration company. However, it was a front to attract investment for a massive mafia-funded Ponzi scheme. ZZZZ Best collapsed in 1987, costing investors and lenders $100 million in one of the largest investment frauds ever perpetrated by a single person and one of the largest accounting frauds in history. It is often used as a case study of accounting fraud.
After being released from jail, Minkow became a pastor and fraud investigator in San Diego and spoke at churches and schools about ethics. This ended in 2011 when he admitted to helping deliberately drive down the stock price of homebuilder Lennar and was ordered back to prison for five years. Three years later, Minkow admitted to defrauding his church and was sentenced to an additional five years in prison. He is subject to restitution requirements totaling $612 million.
With his sidekick from prison, "The Big Homie," Minkow now uses his abilities to expose fraud and launches a new podcast called “Fraud Factor” Sit back and enjoy some tales from a HOF of financial scams and a bad guy turned good.
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This Week The Pack is joined by Winston Sterzel, (on Twitter @serpentza) also known by his YouTube pseudonym SerpentZA. We talk about his time in China, his need to flee, How China has changed, and the chilling effect they have on free speech in the US. Russia, Ukraine, and Vietnam and how China has its hand in global events.
He lived in Shenzhen in the Guangdong province of China for fourteen years. His videos cover a variety of topics relating to life in China from a Westerner perspective. He moved to China to work as an English teacher after first visiting on business in 2005. In 2015, he was one of twelve South Africans in China profiled by China Radio International. He started uploading videos in China in 2007 and became a full-time vlogger in 2016. His videos primarily focus on life in China as viewed from a Western perspective.
Sterzel has also made videos about motorcycle trips through China. With fellow YouTuber Matthew Tye (who goes by Laowhy86) and other friends, he has taken extended journeys and produced documentary series titled Conquering Southern China and Conquering Northern China. He and Tye operate the YouTube channel ADVChina, a motorcycle travel vlog. Sterzel was also co-founder of a small, China-based custom motorcycle business, Churchill Custom Motorcycles, that is no longer in business. In late 2018, he said he desired to create "positive content" about China, but that a negative interaction with the Chinese police spurred him to move out of China.
In 2019, Sterzel moved to Los Angeles because he felt he would lose his life or be incarcerated in China following threats by ultranationalist Internet users, who accused Sterzel's wife of being a spy and a threat to national security. Sit back have a drink and let's talk about China since we can't go there. Links
https://www.youtube.com/c/ADVPodcasts
https://www.youtube.com/@serpentza
https://twitter.com/serpentza
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Sterzel
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This week The Pack is joined by an American business icon. David Sokol, David is the director and chairman of Atlas. David founded three companies in his career to date, taken three companies public, and as Chairman and CEO of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, he sold the company to Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. in 2000. David continued with Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. until he retired in March 2011, when he left in order to manage his family business investments, Teton Capital, LLC, as Chairman and CEO. Teton Capital, LLC is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and is a family-holding company that oversees investments in the banking, manufacturing, consumer products, energy, real estate, and technology businesses. Over Mr. Sokol’s 40-year career, he has chaired five corporate boards and over a dozen charitable or community boards. David Sokol’s business philosophy, based upon vision, strategy, and six operating principles, is described in a book he authored in 2008, Pleased But Not Satisfied. It is a simple business model with a definite focus on developing future leaders.
Links
America in Perspective: 1776 | Episode 1https://www.amazon.com/America-Perspective-Defending-American-Generation/dp/1637588135
https://atlascorporation.com/leadership/
https://www.breitbart.com/podcast/2022/07/17/exclusive-david-sokol-explains-the-forces-behind-woke-capital/
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This week The Pack is joined by friends to remember one of the teams, a remarkable and unique individual, someone who was always behind the scenes helping but a person who will always be at the forefront of our thoughts...
Author, Poet, Artist, Investigator, Marine, and my friend In Matt's words -Ruthless, secretive, and sometimes seedy buy-side analyst, dedicated qualitative/investigative short-seller, and activist-short in small- and mid-cap US-listed sometimes global equity.Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-farrell-74492199/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Charlottesville/comments/yebrdo/rip_matthew_farrell/?utm_source=BD&utm_medium=Search&utm_name=Bing&utm_content=PSR1
https://dailyprogress.com/news/stony-point-slaying-victim-was-author-and-arts-provocateur/article_571176f4-5574-11ed-badd-87dc80cd98cb.html
https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1f6yg8n93jyfh/The-Ruthless-Secretive-and-Sometimes-Seedy-World-of-Hedge-Fund-Private-Investigators
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This week The Pack is joined by Dr. Art Laffer. (on Twitter @LafferCenter) His economic acumen and influence in triggering a worldwide tax-cutting movement in the 1980s earned him the distinction in many publications as “The Father of Supply-Side Economics.” The Laffer Curve is one of the primary theoretical constructs of supply-side economics, illustrating the tradeoff between tax rates and actual tax revenues.
We talk about politics, Taxes - his new book Taxes Have Consequences. Why Michigan sits above Ohio and more. Dr. Laffer tells stories from the past and how it relates to where we are now. Sit back have a drink and call the accountant.
Links
Taxes Have Consequences: An Income Tax History of the United Stateshttps://laffercenter.org/
https://twitter.com/LafferCenter
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This week The Pack is joined by Lars Emmerich (Twitter @Lars_Emmerich), Lars is an American thriller, crime, and mystery author who enjoys reading a good story as much as he does writing it. He was a fighter pilot before going full-time into writing. Then came Crypto, Lars became a miner and investor in some of our favorite non-fiat currencies. Almost like a character from one of his books, there is nothing that this guest can not do well.
We dig into everything from his best-selling books, China & Russia, Crypto, Celebrity Alcohol, Some of the worst pilot "call signs" and why he won't watch Top Gun Maverick. Sit back have a drink and make sure that enemy MIG does not get tone.
Linkshttps://store.ljemmerich.com/
@Lars_Emmerich
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This week the Pack is joined by Attorney Zachary Greenberg, Senior Program Officer, Student Organizations, Campus Rights Advocacy at FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. Their mission is to defend and sustain the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought. The Pack discusses why every college professor believes the exact same thing and why you need to be a liberal to work at any state university in California. Sit back, have a drink, and enter our free speech zone.
LINKS
https://www.thefire.org/
https://twitter.com/TheFIREorg
https://www.youtube.com/thefireorg
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This week the Pack is joined by Nick Reid, a film producer and executive vice president of the Moving Picture Institute a production company and talent incubator that creates high-impact films designed to entertain, inspire, and educate audiences with captivating stories about human freedom. Nick is responsible for fundraising and working on MPI Original productions, and serving as a member of the executive team. His executive producer credits include MISS VIRGINIA, PINBALL: THE MAN WHO SAVED THE GAME, A PIECE OF CAKE (Official Selection Tribeca Film Festival 2020, Nominated for Best Narrative Short), THE PERFECT ONE, and MPI’s forthcoming Original feature documentary PROJECT HOME: 3D PRINTING THE FUTURE. Nick is currently executive producing MPI's forthcoming narrative features FREEDOM HAIR and KEMBA.
Sit back have a drink and put some extra butter on the popcorn.
LINKS
https://www.thempi.org/
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This week the Pack is joined by Retired General Paul Kern, who wisely avoids social media. We discuss Russia's military prowess, vital rare earth minerals and the CCP eyeballing Taiwan.
General Paul Kern graduated from West Point in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He holds master’s degrees in civil and mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2006. He was a National Security Fellow at the J.F. Kennedy School, Harvard University and was a member of the Defense Science Board for 15 years.
General Kern commanded operational units as a platoon leader in the Blackhorse Regiment in Vietnam receiving the Silver Star for valor and three Purple Hearts. He retired after 38 years with the US Army as the Commanding General of the Army Materiel Command. The command of more than 50,000 personnel has worldwide responsibility for supply and maintenance support to the Department of Defense, manages the Army depot system, and conducts research for all the ground and rotary wing equipment. In June 2004, the Secretary of Defense tapped General Kern to lead the military's internal investigation into the abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
He has a unique career which blends technical expertise, combat operations, program management, policy development, and advisor to senior political leaders. He currently serves as a Senior Counselor at The Cohen Group and serves on multiple advisory boards including US Rare Earth LLC, a company focused on developing domestic supplies of strategic materials.
Sit back, have a drink and mine your back yard for lithium.
SHOW LINKS
https://cohengroup.net/who-we-are/team/paul-j-kern
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This week The Pack is joined by SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce (@HesterPeirce on twitter). Commissioner Peirce was appointed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by the President and was sworn in on January 11, 2018.Prior to joining the SEC, Commissioner Peirce conducted research on the regulation of financial markets at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She was a Senior Counsel on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and served as counsel to SEC Commissioner Paul S. Atkins. She also worked as a Staff Attorney in the SEC’s Division of Investment Management. Commissioner Peirce earned her bachelor’s degree in Economics from Case Western Reserve University and her JD from Yale Law School.Commissioner Peirce offers insights into crypto regulation and shares her regulatory philosophy. In addition to discussing SPACS, stablecoin, and the proliferation of passive investing, she answers the age-old question, Who is better Michigan or Ohio State?Sit back have a drink and get ready to invest in the Wolf SPAC.
SHOW LINKSCommissioner Pierce Twitter
https://www.sec.gov/biography/commissioner-hester-m-peirce
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This week the Pack is joined by Dr. Matthew Hamill, a man with 14 letters after his name. We discuss Monkeypox, HIV treatments and other infectious diseases. Dr. Hamill is a UK-trained physician in internal medicine and an expert in sexual health and HIV. He spent 3 years conducting research in Soweto, South Africa.
In addition to his primary affiliation with Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, he is also affiliated with the Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Sit Back have a drink and remember to use protection.
Links
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/profiles/details/matthew-hamill
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This week The Pack is joined by Michael E. O'Hanlon @MichaelEOHanlon, a Sr. fellow at The Brookings Institution and best-selling author, regarding Russian aggression in the Ukraine, China policy and the future of NATO.
The Pack taps into Michael's expertise on Eastern Europe and explores the past, present and future of China's newest vassal state and its Governor, Vladimir Putin. We talk military tactics and the potential for nuclear war. Sit back in your bomb shelter and add iodine to your Bourbon.
Links
https://www.brookings.edu/experts/michael-e-ohanlon/
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This week The Pack is joined by someone who has as much knowledge of China and the CCP as we do. Matthew Tye is known by his millions of loyal Youtube followers as Laowhy86 (@laowhy86 on Twitter).
Laowhy86 lived in China for 10 years. He and his friend SerpentZA were among the first Youtubers in China to gain popular recognition. They started by filming and posting their travels around China, originally to promote their custom motorcycle shop. This led to the creation of two movies they released, “Conquering Northern China” and “Conquering Southern China”
However, as Xi Jing Ping took power, they noticed that China was changing fast, and not at all for the better. Laoway86 and his family were forced to leave, or face off against the CCP.
Laoway86’s work is now banned in China. His films and posts expose the CCP for what it is, leveling tough criticism in exposing China’s ongoing crimes against humanity.
From genocide to state-sponsored human trafficking, we get confirmation of everything we thought was horrible about Xi and the Party.Links
ADV PodcastsLaowhy86 | YouTubeLaowhy86 | TwitterLaowhy86 | InstagramLaowhy86 | FacebookHow Does China’s Social Credit System Work? by Laowhy86 | YouTubeIs China’s Social Credit System Real? I Found Out by Laowhy86 | YouTubeChinese Girl Tries American Chinese Food by Laowhy86 | YouTubeSerpentZA | YouTubeConquering Southern China | IMDbConquering Northern China | IMDbChina Doesn’t Want You to Know About This Place by Laowhy86 | YouTubeUncovering China’s Uyghur Propaganda Campaign by Laowhy86 | YouTubeIs China Rich or Poor? by Laowhy86 | YouTubeBlack Mirror | AmazonThe Real Reason John Cena Apologized For Calling Taiwan a Country | EsquireHow China’s TikTok, Facebook Influencers Push Propaganda | AP NewsChained Woman in China – The True Story by Laowhy86 | YouTubeHow I Escaped from China – The Untold Story by Laowhy86 | YouTubeHow I Got My Family Out of China by Laowhy86 | YouTube -
This week the Pack is joined by Joseph LaVorgna (on Twitter @Lavorgnanomics) who is a Managing Director and Chief Economist for the Americas at Natixis. Joe formerly worked for the White House as a Special Assistant to the President and Chief Economist of the National Economic Council where he was responsible for advising the President and the NEC Director on developments in the financial markets and the broader economy. Joe’s resume also includes time at Deutsche Bank where he was one of the leading economists on Wall Street. Joe also holds a Senior Fellow position at the America First Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C. based think tank. He was ranked as a top economist in the prestigious Institutional Investors’ All-Star Fixed Income Survey for over a decade, so he knows the world of finance inside and out.
Joe gives us insight on topics ranging from stagflation to a pending recession and tackles the important questions like, “Why is my gas so damn expensive and how can we fix it.” We also touch on the Fed and the Treasury and the dangers of their new policies that many consider overreaching and creeping away from its mission statement. Sit back and have a couple of drinks, because even if the news current might not be good, nobody wants to get “Mushed”.
Show Links
Joe LaVorgna
Twitter
National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA)
U.S. Treasury Department Mission Statement
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This week The Pack is joined by cyber supercop Joe Marasco. Joe spent two decades with the FBI where he held several posts focusing on counter-intelligence, cyber-terrorism, human intelligence gathering (HUMINT). This segment is especially relevant now that so much of our lives and prosperity is online, and so many bad actors are out there targeting it.
Joe kept you safe while you looked at memes and slept. He was on the front lines fighting crooks and terrorists of the virtual world, and also often stepped with his blue windbreaker and tactical boots into the real world of those cyber criminals and cyberterrorists, ruining their days and kicking down their doors for your internet safety.
We ask Joe about what feels to him like a war of attrition, and what the public and government can do and is doing. We ask him why we don't hear more about what we are doing to fight back. From warnings about TikTok to drone strikes on cyber-terrorists, Joe lets us know (what he can) about the government's response capabilities.
Joe is currently a critical infrastructure director, responsible for North America and Latin America for software company SAP.
Sit back, have a drink, and enjoy.
Links https://www.cisa.gov/critical-infrastructure-sectorshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-marasco-110ba9174/
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This week The Pack is joined by retired Special Forces (Green Beret) Master Sergeant Scott Neil, the COO of Horse Soldier Bourbon (on Twitter @HorseSoldierUSA). We talk about his military career and his other endeavors up to his co-founding of Horse Soldier Bourbon.
Scott was among the first to deploy after 9/11, and his exploits were featured in the blockbuster Hollywood movie ‘12 Strong’. After retirement, Scott wanted to help veterans and so oversaw and started several organizations dedicated to our Nation’s service members and veterans.
Later, a personal vision-quest took him on a world tour of whiskey distilleries. With some of the members of his former Special Forces A-Team, they decided to found Horse Soldier Bourbon. The process to start their own distillery was almost as difficult for them as when together they overthrew the Taliban from the backs of donkeys.
Sit back, listen and savor your Commander Selection, neat.Links
https://horsesoldierbourbon.com/
https://twitter.com/HorseSoldierUSAhttps://www.facebook.com/horsesoldierbourbon
https://greenberetfoundation.org/
https://www.facebook.com/GreenBeretFoundationhttps://twitter.com/Sept11Memorial
https://www.taskforcedagger.org/
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The I Hung Up On Warren Buffett podcast returns this week to cover a special topic with two special guests, already familiar to some of our regular listeners. Our panel today features Prof. Frank Partnoy and Soren Aandahl. Professor Partnory helps to mold future lawyers at Berkeley Law, while Soren is a reformed lawyer turned activist short. Together with The Pack, we dig into the fun and fraud of the founding first executive at the company formerly known as Theranos.
Elizabeth Holmes was convicted on 4 of 11 the charges leveled at her, perhaps surprising no one other than herself and her newly minted baby-daddy. We ask our two experts where the trial was done right, and where they think there may have been missteps by both prosecution and defense.
Did Elizabeth Holmes convince the jury that she was victimized? Did the prosecution get a real win that will have a lasting impact on corporate law and help deter corporate crime? We also cover the yet pending prosecutions of her peers and discuss how much jail time Elizabeth Holmes and the others will do in stripes at federal tennis camp for former executives.
Sit Back have a drink and see who will win some tacos.Linkshttps://www.blueorcacapital.com/https://www.law.berkeley.edu/our-faculty/faculty-profiles/frank-partnoy/#tab_profile
https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-partnoy-a13525/
Books by Prof PartnoyAmazon
Fiasco: The Inside Story of a Wall Street TraderThe Match King: Ivar Kreuger, the Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street ScandalsWait: The Art and Science of DelayThe Activist ManifestoInfectious Greed: How Deceit and Risk Corrupted the Financial Markets -
This week The Pack is joined by is author Evan Hughes. (@evanhughes on TWITTER) We dig into Evans's latest creation, talk about some really evil people and some people who got screwed the least of which are the people who Insys Therapeutics killed. It's drugs, death, and strippers.
Evan has written for The New York Times Magazine, GQ, New York, The New Republic, Wired, the London Review of Books, and The New York Review of Books. He has also been published in the New York Times Book Review, n+1, Slate, The Awl, and Salon, among other publications. He is the author of Literary Brooklyn, a work of literary biography and urban history..
He is the author of several books, one of his books, turned major motion picture starring Matthew McConaughey, The Trials of White Boy Rick.
And his latest, soon to be released, The Hard Sell.
The Hard Sell. tells the inside story of a band of entrepreneurial upstarts who made millions selling painkillers--until their scheme unraveled, putting them at the center of a landmark criminal trial. I’ve read it, Carl read it and you should read it.
Sit back have a drink and enjoy.
Links
https://www.evanhughes.co/
The Hard Sell
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The week the pack is joined by a broadcast legend....
Jordan Harbinger,(@JordanHarbinger on Twitter) often referred to as “The Larry King of Podcasting,” is a former Wall Street lawyer turned interview talk show host, and a communications and social dynamics expert. A native of Detroit (Royal Oaks), and a University of Michigan graduate with a BA & JD.
Jordan has hosted a Top-10 iTunes podcast for over 12 years. The Jordan Harbinger Show receives over eleven million downloads per month, making it one of the most popular podcasts in the world.
His shows focuses on the skills of some of the most successful and interesting people on earth and shares their strategies, perspectives, and practical insights. He also does a fan-driven “feedback Friday” where he answers listeners' questions/problems.
Jordan Harbinger has always had an affinity for social influence, interpersonal dynamics, and social engineering. In the past, he helped private companies test the security of their communications systems. On one occasion, he even worked with law enforcement agencies before he was even old enough to drive.
Jordan spent several years abroad in Europe and the developing world, including South America, Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. He speaks five languages. He has also worked for various governments and NGOs overseas, traveled through war zones. He has also been kidnapped — not just once, but twice.
He’ll tell you the only reason he’s still alive and kicking is because of his ability to talk his way into (and out of) just about any type of situation.Links
https://www.jordanharbinger.com/
https://www.jordanharbinger.com/dan-david-putting-muscle-on-the-china-hustle/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanharbinger
https://www.facebook.com/thejordanharbingershow
https://www.jordanharbinger.com/courses/
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