Misha Glenny: Investigates global crime networks

January 17, 2011 by Gail
Filed under VidStyle

Journalist Misha Glenny spent several years in a courageous investigation of organised crime networks worldwide, which have grown to an estimated 15% of the global economy. From the Russian mafia, to giant drug cartels, his sources include not just intelligence and law enforcement officials but criminal insiders.

ABOUT TED

TED is a small Non Profit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment and Design. They make the best talks and performances from TED and partners available to the world, for free. These videos are released under a Creative Commons license, so they can be freely shared and reposted. Here at PLO.com I repost them for your convenience. All videos found in this section have previously appeared in the Major MindStylers section on the frontpage of my website. Enjoy.

ABOUT Misha Glenny

“In minute detail, Misha Glenny’s 2008 book ‘McMafia’ illuminates the byzantine outlines of global organised crime. Whether it’s pot smugglers in British Columbia, oil/weapons/people traffickers in Eastern Europe, Japanese yakuza or Nigerian scammers, to research this magisterial work Glenny penetrated the convoluted, globalized and franchised modern underworld often at considerable personal risk.

The book that resulted is an exhaustive look at an unseen industry that Glenny believes may account for 15% of the world’s GDP. Legal society ignores this world at its peril, but Glenny suggests that conventional law enforcement might not be able to combat a problem whose roots lie in global instability.

While covering the Central Europe beat for the Guardian and the BBC, Glenny wrote several acclaimed books on the fall of Yugoslavia and the rise of the Balkan nations. He’s currently researching a new book on cybercrime.”

The VIDEO