Lawfare Daily: ‘38 Londres Street,’ Impunity, and Immunity with Philippe Sands

The Lawfare Podcast

The Lawfare Institute

Military, Intelligence, International Law, Constitutional Law, Rule Of Law, Politics, International Relations, News, Government, History, Diplomacy, Terrorism, National Security, Current Events, Law, Foreign Policy

4.7 • 6.2K Ratings

🗓️ 7 October 2025

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On today’s episode, Lawfare Managing Editor Tyler McBrien sits down with Philippe Sands, a professor of law at the University of London and the Samuel Pisar Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School to discuss his new book, “38 Londres Street: On Impunity, Pinochet in England, and a Nazi in Patagonia.”

They discuss the intertwined stories of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and Nazi SS commander Walther Rauff, his uncanny personal connections to those stories, how Pinochet’s arrest and the subsequent legal battle over his extradition changed international criminal law, and how writing the book informed his thinking on the U.S. Supreme Court's immunity ruling in Trump v. United States.

To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	My headache won't go away.
0:02.0	I get blurry vision.
0:04.0	My balance is awful.
0:06.0	I'm exhausted.
0:07.0	We can all get these symptoms from time to time.
0:09.0	But if you are a loved one, notice you're getting a combination of them regularly.
0:13.0	Don't ignore it. They could be signs of a brain tumour.
0:16.0	My headache won't go away.
0:18.0	I get blurry vision.
0:20.0	My balance is awful. I'm exhausted. To learn more about the common science of a brain tumor, visit headsmart.org.org.com. Better safe than tumour. Sanjeeves just received a decent bonus. Nice work, Sanjeeve. He knows he could invest all of the money, but he's seen a new watch he likes. He's not worried. With his HSBC Premier bank account and access to their financial advice service, he can get a personalised plan for the future and know how much you can spend a day. Everything's Premier when your bank account is. Search HSBC Premier. HSBC UK, opening up a world of opportunity. For financial advice, you need minimum £100,000.
0:55.7	Other criteria and fees apply.
0:57.0	Financial and other eligibility criteria apply for HSBC Premier.
1:04.1	What's tantalising is the possibility that there is a straight line that links.
1:16.4	Frank, Revector, Ralph, Pinnichet, and then the proceedings in London that land on my desk.
1:19.9	It was that tantalizing idea that there could be a connection between a case that I did many years ago
1:26.8	and what I'd written about in these three
1:30.6	books. It's the Lawfare podcast. I'm Tyler McBrion, managing editor of Lawfare, with Philippe Sands,
1:38.0	a professor of law at the University of London, and the Samuel Pizarre visiting professor
1:42.3	at Harvard Law School.
1:50.0	What is the right of a country that has never investigated its own crimes?
1:56.0	Two exercise jurisdictions over the crimes perpetrated in another country,
1:57.9	which happens to be its former colony.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Lawfare Institute, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Lawfare Institute and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.