Mariana van Zeller (2025) - Inside the $150 Billion Black Market

This recap episode features a discussion between Joe Rogan and investigative journalist Mariana van Zeller. The conversation covers Van Zeller’s experience reporting on global black and grey markets, particularly through her show, Trafficked, and her new podcast, The Hidden Third, which focuses on the estimated 35% of the global economy consisting of unregulated and illicit activities. Key topics explored include the mechanics of various criminal enterprises, such as drug trafficking and cartel operations (including the presence of the Sinaloa Cartel in the US), counterfeit currency production, and sophisticated scam factories operating out of places like Southeast Asia. Rogan and Van Zeller also discuss broader socio-political issues related to these markets, specifically addressing the opioid and addiction crisis in the US, the failure of rehab facilities, and the contentious, emotionally charged debate surrounding US immigration policies and enforcement.---We all love The Joe Rogan Experience and much prefer the real thing, but sometimes it's not possible to listen to an entire episode or you just want to recap an episode you've previously listened to. The Joe Rogan Recap uses Google's NotebookLM to create a conversational podcast that recaps episodes of JRE into a more manageable listen.On that note, for those that would like it, here's the public access link to the Google Notebook to look at the mind map, timeline and briefing doc - https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/8be93451-343f-4c1e-8a1d-79e49e045912 - Please note, you must have a Google account to access.