This episode features Oz Dincer and Michael Johnston, who join regular Kickback host Robert Barrington to discuss their new book 'Corruption in America', which explores corruption in various policy areas across all fifty states. 

Dincer O, Johnston M. Corruption in America: A Fifty-Ring Circus. Cambridge University Press; 2025.

134. Oguzhan Dincer & Michael Johnston on Corruption in America

Oligarchy by Patrick Levien KI Projekt
Dive into a powerful anthem that exposes the raw truth of a world ruled by greed and corruption. "Oligarchy" is a bold, unapologetic call to action, blending hard-hitting lyrics with a passionate cry for justice. From the shadows of elite power to the struggles of the oppressed, this song rages against corrupt systems, war profiteers, and media lies. With an electrifying chorus chanting for democracy, it’s a wake-up call for humanity to rise, resist, and reclaim hope.  Will you stand against the oligarchy? Listen now and join the fight for a better future!

Oligarchy - Patrick Levien Projekt

For this episode, regular host Robert Barrington is joined by two anticorruption experts from Australia. Nicole Rose is the Deputy Commissioner at The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), and AJ Brown is a Professor of Public Policy and Law at Griffith University and the Chair of Transparency International’s (TI) Australian chapter. 
Some of the main themes discussed in the episode include: 
-	The extent and nature of corruption in Australia
-	The role of the newly-established NACC in addressing “grey corruption"
-	Effective approaches to anticorruption measures
-	The utility of the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)
-	Uniquely Australian concepts of corruption
-	Top priorities in strengthening the anticorruption system. 

For more on corruption in liberal democracies, check out the previous episode: 134. Oguzhan Dincer & Michael Johnston on Corruption in America. 

Find out more about AJ’s work here: https://experts.griffith.edu.au/18540-a-j-brown
And the NACC here: https://www.nacc.gov.au/

135. Nicole Rose & AJ Brown on Corruption in Australia

This Kickback episode features Mo Ibrahim, who joins Liz David-Barrett to share his transition from entrepreneurship to philanthropy, by establishing the Mo Ibrahim Foundation to promote good governance and leadership in Africa. 
Mo shares the primary mechanisms to achieving the Foundations goals, including the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, and the Africa leadership prize, which aims to highlight positive role models and support them post-office, asserting the importance of African-led initiatives and self-reliance in the face of declining foreign aid and internal conflicts.

Learn more about the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) here: https://mo.ibrahim.foundation/our-research/iiag

136. Mo Ibrahim on Good Governance in Africa

LUKAWI - 323 ( PROD. PHIL BEATS & VGS MIDNIGHT)

Join regular KB host Liz David-Barrett in conversation with Nicola Bonucci, a veteran public international lawyer who has been involved in the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention since its creation. This episode traces the convention's journey from its 1993 origins to current challenges, exploring how peer review mechanisms have transformed international business practices and examining the implications of recent changes in US enforcement policy. Essential listening for anyone interested in international law, corporate compliance, and the ongoing fight against global corruption.

137. Nicola Bonucci on the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention

How do multinational consulting firms enable state capture? In this episode, regular KB host Liz David-Barrett chats with Devi Pillay about her research on the role of McKinsey & Co.'s involvement in the capture of South Africa under President Zuma. Drawing on evidence from the Zondo Commission, Devi describes how consulting firms worked with politically connected local partners to extract billions in fees from state-owned enterprises, while providing misleading advice that facilitated further corruption. Liz and Devi also discuss the vital role of investigative journalists and whistleblowers in exposing these arrangements, the devastating impact on South Africa's infrastructure and economy, and the mixed accountability outcomes for the firms involved.

Find Devi Pillay’s working paper for GI ACE here: https://giace.org/resources/consulting-firms-corruption-and-state-capture/

Find similar themes on South Africa's state capture in episode 129.

This research is part of the Governance & Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence (GI ACE) programme which generates actionable evidence that policymakers, practitioners and advocates can use to design and implement more effective anti-corruption initiatives. This GI ACE project is funded by UK International Development. The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the UK Government’s official policies.

138. Devi Pillay on the role of consulting firms in state capture

Hungary, once seen as a democratic success story is now widely recognized as one of the EU's most corrupt member states. Regular KB host Liz David-Barrett sits down with József Péter Martin and Áron Hajnal to examine how Viktor Orbán built a system of state capture, and why the EU struggled to respond. They discuss their research evaluating the effectiveness of EU conditionality measures, the challenges of tackling corruption when it's built into the regime itself, and what might happen in Hungary's crucial April 2026 elections.

Find Áron and József’s article here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10999922.2025.2554409?scroll=top&needAccess=true#d1e186


139. Áron Hajnal & József Péter Martin on systemic corruption in Hungary

Why do voters sometimes support corrupt politicians? And can putting forward women candidates help parties recover from corruption scandals? In this episode, regular host Liz David-Barrett speaks with Emily Elia about her experimental research on voter behaviour and corruption in Latin American democracies. The conversation delves into the "feminization strategy", examining the level to which deploying women candidates after corruption scandals actually works to restore party credibility. The conversation also explores emerging questions about who becomes an anti-corruption fighter in politics and whether voters can tell genuine reformers from those just paying lip service to clean government.

Read more about Emily's research into gender stereotypes and electoral accountability here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11109-024-09943-9

And on the role of ideological proximity to the opposition in "corruption voting" here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261379422001019?via%3Dihub

140. Emily Elia on gender and electoral accountability in Latin America

ACCOUNTABILITY.exe is a Silk & Circuitry purge-hymn — a confrontation with the systems that poisoned a hometown, failed its people, and tried to bury the truth in paperwork and silence.
This track stands at the edge of the meth pit Greymouth never wanted to look at, forcing the listeners — and the institutions — to face the consequences of their neglect.

This is a war anthem for anyone who grew up in a town abandoned by its own guardians.
For anyone who was lied about, written off, gaslit by authority, or had their trauma turned into a weapon against them.
For anyone who clawed their way out of a system that expected them to die quietly.

Silk & Circuitry refuses to die quietly.

With industrial trap, glitch-cathedral choirs, and the cold precision of a man who keeps receipts, this track is a declaration:

The systems that enabled this will be held to account.
Every shadow that tried to swallow me
is getting dragged into the same pit they made.


ACCOUNTABIILITY.exe

🕸️ Silk & Circuitry 🧠⚡

Welcome to the tangled thread between trauma and transcendence.
This is where music becomes a mirror—reflecting the fractures, the fight, and the fire.
We don’t just make beats. We build bridges. Between pain and purpose.

Here, recovery isn’t a quiet thing.
It’s a war cry wrapped in melody,
a healing ritual whispered through circuitry,
a love letter to those who feel too much in a world that rewards those who feel nothing.

Every track is stitched with intent:
🕯️ To hold space for the broken
⚖️ To call out control masked as care
🧬 To challenge the narcissists who built their webs in our minds
🛠️ And to offer tools—not just songs—for doing what’s right when the cost is everything.

Silk & Circuitry is for the ones who walk away from the web
and grow wings instead.

This is art as resistance.
This is trauma turned frequency.
This is the ghost in your machine, learning how to feel.



Hier findest du Musik von Patrick Levien KI ProjektJesus Christus KI Generation , KI Komplott und Ki Sunclub Mallorca. Dieses Projekt wurde am 9 April 2025 von Uwe Joswig gestartet . 

Here you'll find music by Patrick Levien KI Projekt, Jesus Christus KI Generation, KI Komplott, and Ki Sunclub Mallorca. This project was started on April 9, 2025 by Uwe Joswig.  
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5cvu2aZt4Bf5n8oHr9UnfQ
https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/artist/236ea329HUvgkH7mIID8DT

This podcast series features in-depth interviews with a wide range of corruption experts, on questions such as:
What have we learned from 20+ years of (anti)corruption research? 
Why and how does power corrupt?
Which theories help to make sense of corruption?
What can we do to manage corruption?
How to recovery stolen assets?

New tracks tagged #AntiCorruption