Patrick Radden Keefe On Lies, Conspicuous Wealth & Moral Rot

On with Kara Swisher

New York Magazine

Society & Culture

4.2 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 11 May 2026

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Journalist, author and podcaster Patrick Radden Keefe is renowned for writing stories about crime and corruption that expose deeper societal truths. His latest book, “London Falling,” explores the mysterious circumstances around the death of 19-year-old Zac Brettler. While London police ruled Zac’s death a suicide, his parents soon learn he’d been living a double life as the fake son of a Russian oligarch and gotten entangled in the city’s criminal underworld. Kara and Patrick talk about the book, how London changed after it became a hotspot for foreign money laundering, and how he gains the trust of sources who might not otherwise talk to journalists. They also get updates on some of Patrick’s previous stories and talk about where he draws the line when it comes to using AI in his work. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Andy actually is back in prison now, but he calls me from prison.
0:03.3	I think I'm going to go, he's organizing a reading in the prison library.
0:06.5	I'm going to go and do a book signing in the fall.
0:09.0	Oh, my God.
0:11.0	Oh, you're a lot nicer to them than I am.
0:13.5	It'll be a story to tell.
0:14.4	It's all. Hi, everyone from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
0:29.5	This is on with Kara Swisher, and I'm Kara Swisher.
0:32.7	My guest today is award-winning journalist and author Patrick Radden-Keefe.
0:36.7	He's a staff writer for the New Yorker
0:38.3	and the author of several bestselling books, including Empire of Pain, about the Sackler family
0:43.2	and the opiate crisis and say nothing about the troubles in Northern Ireland. Radin-Keefe's
0:48.9	latest bestseller is London Falling, a mysterious death in a gilded city and a family's search for truth.
0:55.8	In London falling, Patrick investigates the mysterious death of 19-year-old Zach Brettler.
1:01.5	Zach died in 2019 after jumping from a fifth floor balcony of a luxury building in London.
1:07.1	After his death, his parents came to find out that he'd been pretending to be the son of a Russian oligarch
1:12.6	and had gotten mixed up with a cadre of middle-aged wealthy immigrants.
1:17.1	Was his death a suicide or something more sinister?
1:20.7	I want to talk to Patrick, because I always like to talk to Patrick.
1:23.1	He's an amazing reporter.
1:24.8	He's a great storyteller, and he's always got something interesting up his sleeve.
1:28.9	His book, Empire of Pain, was a really important book for me to read, not just because it was about
	...

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