Episode for October 21, 2026
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I’m the Director of the Combating Kleptocracy Program at the Human Rights Foundation, as well as a writer, analyst, and investigative journalist working on topics ranging from kleptocracy, oligarchy, illicit finance, and dark money to foreign lobbying and foreign interference. I’m also a Senior Non-Resident Fellow with the Center for International Policy, where I focus on many of the same topics.
I’ve written three books on the intersection of international corruption, foreign influence, and democracy in America and abroad, all published by St. Martin’s Press.
The first—AMERICAN KLEPTOCRACY: How the U.S. Created the World’s Greatest Money Laundering Scheme in History, on America’s transformation into the world’s greatest offshore haven—was described as one of the “best books to read to understand financial crime” (The Economist), “masterful” (Financial Times), and “brilliantly clear” (The Atlantic).
My second book—FOREIGN AGENTS: How American Lobbyists and Lawmakers Threaten Democracy Around the World, on the rise and devastating impact of the U.S.’s foreign lobbying industry—received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, and was described by The Economist as “an eye-opening depiction of an industry that has largely defied efforts to keep it in check” as well as one of the “biggest foreign-policy book releases of 2024,” according to Foreign Policy. The journal Democracy described it as an “an eye-popping deep dive into a particularly slimy corner of the D.C. swamp… an investigative accomplishment and a cri de cœur.”
My third book—UNITED STATES OF OLIGARCHY: How America’s Wealthiest Ally with Dictators, Weaken the U.S., and Destroy Democracy—is now out! The book reveals how America’s wealthiest have allied with dictators around the world—and how America’s spiraling wealth inequality has not only decimated American democracy, but become a national security threat in and of itself.
As Foreign Affairs said, “An expert on money laundering, tax evasion, and other financial crimes, Michel offers a blistering account of how a full-blown oligarchy has formed in the United States.” Publishers Weekly gave UNITED STATES OF OLIGARCHY a starred review, saying It is “eye-opening,” and “readers will be outraged by the egregiousness of it all.” The new book is an “excellent current events book for readers seeking to understand the threat [oligarchs] pose to U.S. democracy,” according to Library Journal, and a “damning account of an unaccountable caste,” according to Kirkus.
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