Under Cover of Knight

A charming young Czech promises staggering returns. An entire country’s oil industry is up for grabs. America’s top investors want in. Sounds too good to be true? Damn right it is. 

This is a story of private jets, $20,000 dinners, and suitcases stuffed with cash. It’s also a tale about the collapse of communism, the free-for-all that followed, and the birth of the oligarchs. And it’s a story of plain-old human greed...of just how far the rich may go to get even richer. Viktor Kožený smooth-talked his super-wealthy Aspen neighbors and a Wall Street titan into investing huge sums of cash to snap up Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil company. Host Joe Nocera and investigative journalist Peter Elkind follow the trail, beginning in the Bahamas, where the charismatic financial genius has been lying low. 

The Pirate of Prague is an Apple Original podcast, produced by Blanchard House. Episodes available now, follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.

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Who was Sue Knight? The team recaps what’s true, what’s not, and what might exist in between, painting a picture of who Sue really was. And almost 30 years after her death, the family she left behind finds new life.

Under Cover of Knight is an Apple Original podcast, produced by Spoke Media and Castleview Productions. Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts.

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Visit https://spokemedia.io/undercoverofknight/ to see more about our show.

More than 25 years of space have left the people who knew Sue filling in the blanks. After coming to grips with the discrepancies between various accounts of her life, the team turns to a cognitive expert to understand how memories are made and altered over time. Then we circle back to the piece that ignited this mystery—the will. We speak to an expert in estate law to get clarity around Sue’s last wishes, and try to understand what she really wanted. 

Under Cover of Knight is an Apple Original podcast, produced by Spoke Media and Castleview Productions. Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts.

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What happened to Sue’s body? Given all the speculation around the body’s treatment and transport, we bring in a medical examiner and toxicologist to walk us through Sue’s autopsy report and compare it with the typical autopsy process for the deceased in Texas.

Under Cover of Knight is an Apple Original podcast, produced by Spoke Media and Castleview Productions. Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts.

apple.co/UnderCover

Visit https://spokemedia.io/undercoverofknight/ to see more about our show

We examine the only tangible evidence of Sue’s life we have — her briefcase. Using her financial records, insurance papers, address books, and personal notes, we track Sue’s movements from Salisbury, England, all the way to Athens, Texas, and paint a more detailed portrait of who she was when she was alive.

Under Cover of Knight is an Apple Original podcast, produced by Spoke Media and Castleview Productions. Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts.

apple.co/UnderCover

Visit https://spokemedia.io/undercoverofknight/ to see more about our show

Even before the phone calls from the CIA and Scotland Yard, theories about Sue had been bubbling up in the minds of those who knew her. Could she have been a member of the IRA? Or an informant for British intelligence? WITSEC? We speak with intelligence experts and try to understand our mystery woman.

Under Cover of Knight is an Apple Original podcast, produced by Spoke Media and Castleview Productions. Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts.

apple.co/UnderCover

Visit https://spokemedia.io/undercoverofknight/ to see more about our show

The family Steve couldn’t find looks for answers. What made Sue leave England? And why did it seem like she was running from something? Meet Sue’s brother and estranged daughter, who have just as many questions as everyone else.

Under Cover of Knight is an Apple Original podcast, produced by Spoke Media and Castleview Productions. Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts.

apple.co/UnderCover

Visit https://spokemedia.io/undercoverofknight/ to see more about our show

Exes reveal a different side of Sue. While they have nothing but fond things to say about her, she still seemed to keep them at arm’s length, particularly when it came to her past. They share the last poem she wrote and whispers of a daughter left in England.

Under Cover of Knight is an Apple Original podcast, produced by Spoke Media and Castleview Productions. Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts.

apple.co/UnderCover

Visit https://spokemedia.io/undercoverofknight/ to see more about our show

Taking in strays, sleeping with a gun, and the real reason for the room of computers. Close friends recount their relationships with Sue, their shock at learning her death was ruled a suicide, and what exactly she was doing with those computers.

Under Cover of Knight is an Apple Original podcast, produced by Spoke Media and Castleview Productions. Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts.

apple.co/UnderCover

Visit https://spokemedia.io/undercoverofknight/ to see more about our show

A mysterious phone call leads Sue’s friend to believe she’s still alive. Weeks after Sue’s death, a phone rings in the middle of the night, and a voice on the other end claims to be Sue. Even now, 25 years later, her former co-worker can’t shake the thought she could still be alive. 

Under Cover of Knight is an Apple Original podcast, produced by Spoke Media and Castleview Productions. Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts.

apple.co/UnderCover

Visit https://spokemedia.io/undercoverofknight/ to see more about our show

After Sue Knight’s death, the executor of her estate tries to make sense of her life and is stopped cold. Welcome to the small town of Athens, Texas, where British expat Sue Knight could simultaneously make a splash and effectively disappear. Meet the Barksdales and hear the mystery that’s haunted them for more than 25 years.

Under Cover of Knight is an Apple Original podcast, produced by Spoke Media and Castleview Productions. Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts.

apple.co/UnderCover

Visit https://spokemedia.io/undercoverofknight/ to see more about our show

In 1996, Sue Knight was found dead in her Athens, TX, home. Her will named a loose acquaintance as the executor of her estate, but after an alleged phone call from the CIA and a dire warning from the local sheriff, the executor stopped asking questions. More than 25 years later, Sue’s memory haunts the town of Athens and the people who knew her. Who was Sue, really? Why did this English expat settle in small-town Texas? And could she still be alive?

Under Cover of Knight is an Apple Original podcast, produced by Spoke Media and Castleview Productions. Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts.

apple.co/UnderCover

Visit https://spokemedia.io/undercoverofknight/ to see more about our show