Mariana Van Zeller: I Infiltrated The People Who Profit From Death

She asked an American organ buyer whether someone had been killed for his pancreas—then he turned the question back on her…

Mariana van Zeller, the Peabody and Emmy-winning investigative journalist behind National Geographic’s Trafficked, joins Andrew Gold on Heretics to discuss organ trafficking, murder for hire and the hidden networks profiting from human suffering.

From an armed hitman in Los Angeles to an American buying a pancreas on the black market, Mariana shares what happened when she confronted the people inside these criminal economies. We discuss whistleblowers killed after exposing corruption, a doctor who said he worked for a cartel, and the questions organ buyers would rather avoid.

The conversation also covers Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew and the treatment of powerful people—as well as a disagreement about human nature: are people born evil, or do systems create monsters?

Mariana then reveals the human trafficking behind “pig butchering” crypto scams, the captives forced to scam strangers, and the celebrity impersonators who manufacture romance for money. What happens when the person trying to steal your savings is also a victim?

Subscribe to Heretics with Andrew Gold for more interviews exploring power, secrecy and human behaviour. Which part of Mariana’s account surprised you most? Tell us in the comments.

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