Shaping Opinion

Former Soviet KGB undercover spy Jack Barsky joins Tim to tell his story, and his long journey from Soviet Cold War operative to American citizen. Jack spent ten years in America as an undercover agent for the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. He’s the author of a book called, “Deep Under Cover: My Secret Life & Tangled Allegiances as a KGB Spy in America.” And he’s the subject of the podcast called The Agent.

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To get a full appreciation for the story you’re about to hear, you need to know something about the KGB.

The KGB was the primary intelligence agency for the Soviet Union, from 1954 and through the fall of the USSR in the early 1990s.

But the KGB was more than just a surveillance agency. Those three letters – KGB – struck fear into the hearts of everyday citizens in Russia.  It also obtained a certain reputation in the West that enabled it to create no small amount of unease among Western leaders and nation states.

The KGB was both a spy agency and a secret police force. You didn’t want to get on the wrong side of the KGB.

But as you’ll hear in today’s episode, one of the more mysterious and notorious things about the KGB is you just never knew who worked for the agency and who did not. This created a certain paranoia among Soviet citizens.

Our guest today, Jack Barsky – not his birth name – was born in East Germany. He was recruited by the KGB and spent ten years as a deep undercover agent in the United States.  As KGB operatives went, this was the elite of the elite.

Jack has been the subject of a 60 Minutes feature and numerous other news stories. He’s given testimony and speeches across the country. He’s now the subject of a popular podcast called The Agent. And he’s the author of a book called, “Deep Under Cover: My Secret Life & Tangled Allegiances as a KGB Spy in America.”

Jack’s time as a KGB operative in the U.S. coincided with the U.S.-Soviet tensions of the 1980s and the eventual fall of the Soviet Union.  Those are the global events, but the circumstances of his path were not as well-defined as the history books might infer. His situation was a little more complicated.
Links

Jack Barsky (website)
Jack Barsky (author's website)
Deep Under Cover: My Secret Life & Tangled Allegiances as a KGB Spy in America, by Jack Barsky (Amazon)
The Agent Podcast (Apple Podcasts)

About this Episode’s Guest Jack Barsky
Jack Barsky was recruited by the KGB and spent ten years as an undercover agent in the United States. He severed his relationship with the KGB in 1988 and pursued a corporate career in information technology. He was captured by the FBI in 1997. In 2015, 60 Minutes ran a story on Barsky’s life and undercover work. Today, Barsky is a proud American citizen. He lives in Georgia with his wife, Shawna, and their daughter, Trinity.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Bloomberg BusinessWeek reporter and author Matt Campbell joins Tim to talk about the story behind his new book, “Dead in the Water,” and what that story tells us about some of the darker sides of the international shipping industry. Matt Campbell co-authored the book with Kit Chellel. It’s a true story of hijacking, murder and a global maritime conspiracy.

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Over a three-year period, from 2008 to 2011, roughly 200 vessels were raided and taken by Somali Pirates. Most of this activity happened around the Gulf of Aden on the east coast of Africa, between Somalia, Yemen and Oman.

So, in July of 2011, when news reports came out that another vessel was attacked by pirates in those waters, it wasn’t a surprise.

But as events would unfold, this case was different.

On the evening of July 5th, the Brillante Virtuoso drifted about 10 mils off of Aden. It carried a cargo of fuel oil.

Earlier that day, the ship was to call into part to embark a team of three unarmed security guards to join the vessel through the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

Just before midnight, a small boat approached the Brillante Virtuoso. It contained seven armed and masked men…not three unarmed men.

They did not have a ladder. They did not have a grappling hook or any other way of getting on board the ship.

When they approached, they told the crew of the ship they were “security.”

The master mariner of the ship was not expecting security until the next morning. Still, he gave the order to let them onboard. No one checked their identification, and the master did not.

Once the group boarded the ship, they took the crew captive, most with the exception of the master or the chief engineer. They told the crew to take the ship to Somalia.

The master took the ship for an hour and a half in the wrong direction, and then the main engine stopped.  Reports are that it broke down and would not restart.

That’s when an improvised explosive incendiary device – or IEID – was detonated. The IEID exploded in the ship’s purifier room, and this created an oil fire.

The crew, all except for the chief engineer, abandoned ship. They were picked up by a U.S. warship that was nearby.  The seven armed men left in their small boat, but no one saw them go.

On the morning of July 6th the oil fire had gone out in the purifier room, but later in the day, there was a major engine room oil fire. It subsided. So, that by the afternoon of July 7th, two days after the ordeal started, much of the ship’s key facilities had been destroyed by fire.

At that point, the vessel was towed and its cargo was offloaded. The ship was totaled. But this was just the beginning.

Matt Campbell is a reporter with Bloomberg Businessweek magazine. He’s covered major political and business stories across the Asia-Pacific region. He’s reported from more than 20 countries on subjects that have ranged from crime and terrorism, to public health.

Given that, I had to ask Matt, what made this story different?
Links

Dead in the Water, by Matthew Campbell and Kit Chellel (Amazon)
Matthew Campbell (website)
The Hijacking of the Brillante Virtuoso, Bloomberg (2017)
Inside The Hijacking of the Brillante Virtuoso, Bloomberg (2022)

About this Episode's Guest Matt Campbell
Matthew Campbell is a reporter and editor for Bloomberg Businessweek and the co-author of Dead in the Water: A True Story of Hijacking, Murder, and a Global Maritime Conspiracy. He has reported from more than 20 countries, covering crime, corruption, terrorism, climate change, and technology, among other topics. Matthew’s work has been recognized with some of the highest honors in journalism, including Gerald Loeb, Overseas Press Club, and Society of Publishers in Asia awards for feature reporting. A graduate of Yale and Oxford, he lives in Singapore with his wife and two children.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Nadine Strossen joins Tim to talk about how to fight “hate speech” or harmful speech without censorship. She’s a best-selling author and a Professor of Constitutional Law at New York Law School. She’s also the first woman national President of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).  In this episode, she talks about private company censorship, the challenges, some solutions and all of it as addressed in her book “Hate: Why we should resist it with free speech, not censorship. This episode was first released April 12, 2021.

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Free speech isn’t just an American issue, and it’s not just a First Amendment issue. Though it is important to note that the right of freedom of expression is the cornerstone to the First Amendment for a reason.

The founders believed that certain rights come from God. Even if you don’t believe in God, and that is your right as protected by the First Amendment, the founders would tell you that your rights are natural rights, not man-made rights. They are innate desires and drives for every human being on earth and that it’s not for man to deny them to others.

The right to express yourself without punishment is one of the most important rights they cited. The right to gather in groups peacefully together without penalty. The right to worship your God without coercion or punishment. The right of a free press to report news and information without government control.

History is ripe with examples of cases where these rights were used to spread hateful thoughts and ideas. At the same time, our country’s short history is also full of cases where courts decided that the price for our First Amendment freedoms is tolerance for the spread of ideas that some may see as harmful, hateful or irresponsible.

The principle is this. We must be willing to tolerate speech we don’t like in exchange for the right to deliver speech that others may not like.

In recent years, there has been a movement to try to control, prevent or stop the spread of speech and information some may feel are harmful. Their solution is to stifle the speech, de-platform the messenger. Or even de-platform the platform. Remove any opportunity for others to communicate if that communication does not meet accepted narratives. In other words, censorship.

This has been the focus of Nadine Strossen’s professional life. And with a resume that includes serving as the first woman national President of the ACLU, she has solid credentials on the issue of free speech and the battle against censorship, she has found allies from conservatives to progressives as well, making this an increasingly nonpartisan issue.
Links

Nadine Strossen Bio, New York Law School
Hate: Why we should resist it with free speech, not censorship, by Nadine Strossen (Barnes & Noble)
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, by Soshana Zuboff (Barnes & Noble)
Communications Decency Act of 1996 (in full, including Section 230), Columbia University PDF

About this Episode’s Guest Nadine Strossen
Nadine Strossen has written, taught, and advocated extensively in the areas of constitutional law and civil liberties, including through frequent media interviews. From 1991 to 2008, she served as President of the American Civil Liberties Union, the first woman to head the nation’s largest and oldest civil liberties organization. Professor Strossen is currently a member of the ACLU’s National Advisory Council, as well as the Advisory Boards of Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), Heterodox Academy, and the National Coalition Against Censorship. When she stepped down as ACLU President in 2008, three Supreme Court Justices participated in her farewell and tribute luncheon: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia, and David Souter.

Her 2018 book, HATE: Why We Should Resist It With Free Speech,

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Former FBI Cyber Special Agent Chris Tarbell joins Tim to talk about cyber crime and some of his most groundbreaking cases, including the Silk Road that centered on crypto currency and drug trafficking. And  they talk about the take-down of the “Anonymous” hacktivist collective. Chris’s specialty is cyber investigations. He was the lead investigator on some of the more notorious cyber security crime cases in recent memory.

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Chris Tarbell is a former FBI Special Agent who focuses on cyber crime and cyber investigations. As a case agent with the FBI’s cybercrime squad in New York, he led some of the most groundbreaking cybercrime investigations in the world. These included the arrest and prosecution of “Anonymous” and “LulzSec” leadership. And he was involved in the arrest and prosecution of the founder of the notorious Silk Road underground marketplace. This led to the largest seizure of bitcoins to date.

Chris is a computer forensic examiner. He has engaged in rapid-response investigations all over the world on matters related to terrorism, botnets, and other cybercrimes.

In 2009, Chris joined the FBI’s cybercrime squad as a Special Agent in New York.

He’s now the co-founder of a consulting firm called NAXO. In his new role, he helps businesses, high-profile people and governments respond to a broad range of complex computer and network security threats.

Foreign and domestic law enforcement agencies also call on him to advise on investigative techniques.

As much as I wanted to learn from Chris about his career, the big thing on my mind was how does someone even access the dark web?
Links

NAXO website
Hacker and the Fed Podcast, Apple Podcasts
TorProject.org
The FBI Busted Silk Road but Not the 'Dark Web' Behind It, The Verge
Anonymous Superhacker Turned FBI Informant Named Sabu Remains Defiant Over Snitching, The Guardian

About this Episode’s Guest Chris Tarbell
A former FBI Special Agent, Chris Tarbell specializes in cyber investigations and incident response. As a case agent with the FBI’s preeminent cybercrime squad in New York, he led some of the most groundbreaking cybercrime investigations in the world - including the arrest and prosecutions of Anonymous and LulzSec leadership, and the founder of the notorious Silk Road underground marketplace, the latter of which resulted in the largest seizure of bitcoins to date.

As a computer forensic examiner with the FBI, Chris engaged in rapid-response investigations all over the world on matters related to terrorism, botnets, and other cybercrimes. In 2009, Chris joined the FBI’s renowned cybercrime squad as a Special Agent in the New York field office. He was the lead investigator on several of the Bureau’s most complex and cutting-edge cases, including the takedown of the billion-dollar, cryptocurrency-based drug marketplace “Silk Road” and the arrest of its founder, and the investigation and arrest of the leadership of the Anonymous/LulzSec hacking crews.

Prior to co-founding NAXO, Chris developed and led the Cyber Operations & Incident Response practice for a large consulting firm. He has extensive experience helping businesses, high-profile individuals, and governments respond to a broad range of complex computer and network security threats. He is also regularly called on to advise foreign and domestic law enforcement officers on investigative techniques, and frequently lectures to business and government groups, including EUROPOL, on cyber threats and the means to address them.

Chris holds an MS in Computer Science from James Madison University with a concentration on Information Security. He has been certified by both the FBI and the International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists (IACIS) as a Certified Forensic Computer Examiner (CFCE). He has also been certified by the FBI as a subject-matter expert on cellphones and other...

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Princeton University professor, researcher and author Nic Voge joins Tim to talk about procrastination, and more to the point, why we procrastinate every year just after we come up with those New Year’s resolutions. Nic directs Princeton’s McGraw Center Learning Programs. This includes the undergraduate learning program, and the graduate learning program.

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According to a study last year, the top three New Year’s resolutions for Americans are: exercising more, losing weight, and saving money. That study was conducted by Statista.

Yet by the end of each year, we often find we not only didn’t make the progress we wanted on those resolutions, but for all too many, we never even got started in trying to make that progress. Why is that? That’s where we started in our conversation.

Nic will be launching an on-line course on understanding and overcoming procrastination in Spring of 2023 at Voge Academy which is based upon his popular TEDx Talk. This new, innovative platform will include many more strategies, techniques and tools for preventing procrastination from preventing you from reaching your goals. Sign up now to receive practical advice about how to overcome procrastination, feel more motivated, engage productively and achieve success in the things that matter to you.
Links

Nic Voge at the McGraw Center, center website
Life Beyond Grades, by Martin Covington, Linda von Hoene, Nic Voge (Amazon)
Atomic Habits, by James Clear (Amazon)
Martin Covington, UC Berkley website
TED Talk: Self-worth Theory by Nic Voge

About this Episode’s Guest Nic Voge
At Princeton Univesity, Nic Voge directs the McGraw Center’s Learning Programs, including the Undergraduate Learning Program and the Graduate Learning Program. Adopting a socio-cognitive approach informed by self-worth theory and positive psychology, Nic explores the unique educational expectations of elite research universities and the ways students engage with and meet them. Recognizing the variety and complexity of learning demands students encounter in various disciplines and courses, our programs focus on assisting students as they transition into and through Princeton’ distinctive curriculum. Nic is a founding member of the Princeton Perspective Project, Principedia, and the Academic Resilience Consortium (formerly The Resilience Consortium).

He recently co-authored Life Beyond Grades: Designing College Courses to Promote Intrinsic Motivation (Cambridge University Press).

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

This week is Hanukkah and Christmas. We’re in the peak of the American holiday season, which started at Thanksgiving. So, it is with this in mind that I thought I’d take to the streets of Pittsburgh once again and talk to people about their holiday memories. That’s what this special holiday edition of the Shaping Opinion podcast is about.

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In this episode, we talk about some favorite holiday memories. You’ll hear from seven different people, each with their own holiday memories, and there’s one thing I can tell you, not one of them will talk about a toy they found under that Christmas tree.

Each person has his or her unique and special holiday memories. But as we’ve found in previous episodes like this, you may hear something of your own holidays in the stories our guests tell. In the end, there is a common thread across every story we hear.

To prepare for this episode, I spent the afternoon before Thanksgiving on a bench in the Strip District of Pittsburgh. It was a nice November day in the city. Warm and sunny. People were in a good mood, getting ready for the holiday season once again.

The voices you hear are of Elijah, Sara, Katie, Jeremy, Deborah, Gina, and Heather.
Links

'Twas the Night Before Christmas: The Story and Trivia Behind the Beloved Classic Holiday Tale, Parade
How 25 Christmas Traditions Got Their Start, History.com
10 Must-see Attractions During the Holidays in Pittsburgh, DiscoverTheBurgh.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Writer, editor, producer and actor Jason Liebig joins Tim to talk about the Sears Wishbook. Jason is the creator of a website called WishbookWeb.com, which has archived complete, high-quality scans of Sears Wishbooks and other holiday catalogues going back to 1933. In this episode, we talk about a holiday tradition sure to bring a smile to your face.  This episode was first released on December 10, 2018.

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The very first Sears Wish Book was published in 1933. It featured dolls, a Mickey Mouse Watch, Lionel electric trains, fruitcakes, chocolates and even live, singing canaries. The store catalogue was 87 pages long, and featured 25 pages of toys for kids and 62 pages of gifts for adults.

The Sears Wish Book grew over the decades, so that by 1968, it totaled 605 pages.  And in 1998, it went online with Wishbook.com

This year, Sears will not publish a Wish Book, but that is not stopping many from revisiting their childhoods through a website called WishbookWeb.com. Jason Liebig is the man behind it.
Sears Wish Book History
The first Sears Wish Book came out in 1933. Prior to that, in 1896 the Sears general catalogue included wax candles for Christmas trees. But 1933 was the first year Sears devoted a full catalogue to Christmas.

The term Wish Book was an informal name. The real name was Sears Christmas Book Catalogue.

The company made it a tradition to put colorful, warm Christmas scenes on the cover. The company published the book annually from 1933 until 1993.

The Chicago Tribune once described The Wish Book as, “so central to holiday expectations it read like a catalog of middle-class American Aspiration … To flip through one today is to see what we thought our homes and holidays should look like.”

The Wish Book was delivered early. It would usually appear in mailboxes during the late summer right when the school year started.
Links

WishbookWeb.com
CollectingCandy.com
The Sears Christmas Wishbook, A Holiday Tradition, Sears
Unsung: The Sears Wish Book, a Ghost of Christmas Past, The Chicago Tribune
Sears’ Wish Book Shown Through the Years, Business Insider

About Wishbook Web
WishbookWeb.com first launched in 2006, with the initial scanning project having started a year earlier in 2005. From the outset, the goal of the WishbookWeb project has been to archive, preserve, and share the wonderful holiday gift catalogs of the past – making them freely-available to anyone with a web browser. Inspired by the pioneering work of websites like Plaidstallions and MegoMuseum, who had already been sharing select pages of vintage catalogs online, our goal was to build upon that idea by sharing entire volumes, every section and every page. As you see it now, WishbookWeb represents the product of hundreds of hours of work to create the current archive.
About this Episode’s Guest Jason Liebig
Jason Liebig is a New York City based writer, editor, producer, actor and host. After spending much of his early career in the comic book business, most notably as an editor for Marvel Comics’ X-Men, he has since split his time between developing his own properties while still consulting and working on others.

In addition to his work with WishbookWeb, Jason is one of the country’s premier candy collectors and historians with his discoveries appearing in countless blogs, magazines, newspaper articles, and books. He operates a web site called CollectingCandy.com. Always happy to share his knowledge and unique perspectives on this colorful part of our popular culture, Jason has consulted for The Smithsonian, The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, and New York’s Museum of Food and Drink and more.

His knowledge of vintage brands and packaging (as well as his singular archive of vintage packaging materials) has allowed him to serve as art department consultant on such period television productions as AMC’s Mad Men and...

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

New York Times bestselling author Martin Dugard joins Tim to talk about his newest book called “Taking Berlin: The Bloody Race to Defeat the Third Reich.” It’s the story of the Allies’ campaign across Europe during World War II as seen through the eyes of five key figures. This book is part of the “Taking” trilogy on World War II, and follows Martin’s work with Bill O’Reilly on the popular “Killing” series of books.

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If you listen to our episode #243 from earlier this year, you’ll get the story of D-Day, when the Allies invaded France during World War 2 to take back the European continent from the Nazis.

The D-Day invasion happened on June 5th 1944.

It was the most massive military invasion ever mounted in the history of the world.

This massive operation was called Operation Overlord.  The allied commander was U.S. General Dwight David Eisenhower. Their focus was on landing zones in Normandy.

The Allies had planned to land on those beaches in France and then work their way through Europe to the heart of the Nazi regime, Berlin.

Today, we’re going to focus on that story. The story of how the Allies mounted a campaign to take back those captive nations from Hitler and win the war.

This is the focus of Martin Dugard’s new book called, “Taking Berlin.” It follows his initial book in the series, which was called “Taking Paris.” I asked him how he sees this series unfolding.
Links

Taking Berlin: The Bloody Race to Defeat the Third Reich, by Martin Dugard (Amazon)
Taking Paris: The Epic Battle for the City of Lights, by Martin Dugard (Amazon)
Taking Berlin: Kirkus Reviews
Interview with Martin Dugard on "Taking Berlin," Town Hall
Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara (Amazon)
War As I Knew It, by Gen. George Patton (Amazon)
Putin's 'Barrier Troops' are Straight Out of Stalin's Playbook, London Telegraph

About this Episode’s Guest Martin Dugard
Martin Dugard is the New York Times bestselling author of Taking Berlin, Taking Paris,  Into Africa, The Training Ground, Last Voyage of Columbus, and The Explorers. He is also the coauthor, with political commentator Bill O’Reilly, of Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, Killing Jesus, and Killing Patton. He lives in Southern California with his wife and three sons.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Hallmark artist and creator Tammy Haddix joins Tim to talk about one of America’s more lasting holiday traditions, our holiday ornaments and decorating the Christmas tree. Tammy tells her own story as a member of the Hallmark Keepsake Ornament Studio, as a mother and a wife, and how all of that comes to play when she helps make the holidays that much more special for Americans across the country. This encore episode was originally released November 30, 2020.

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The Christmas tree made its American debut in the 1700s. German mercenary soldiers who were fighting in the Revolutionary War brought the Christmas tradition with them.

But it wasn’t until German and English immigrants came to America in the 1840s and decorated those trees with ornaments that the trees and the ornaments would become hugely popular.

Back in 1973, Hallmark introduced a new line of Christmas ornaments. The line consisted of six glass ball ornaments and 12 yarn figures. These are considered the first in a line the company calls its “Keepsake Ornaments,” combining a touch of Hallmark creativity and polish, with a feel of homemade warmth.

Since that humble start, the Hallmark Keepsake Ornament line has brought more than 9,500 Keepsake Ornaments to America.

The way the company describes it, Hallmark wanted to create ornaments with magical qualities that recalled a nostalgic feel, that celebrated holiday traditions, that recalled Christmas memories.

If you were to visit your nearby Hallmark store, or visit the company’s online site, you’d find a wall packed with a Hallmark Keepsake ornament for nearly every taste or sentiment.

Everything from characters from your favorite movies or sports teams, to your favorite cartoon characters or holiday traditions, all artfully depicted in brilliant detail.

Tammy Haddix has worked in the Keepsake Sculpting Studio since 1996, and has been with Hallmark for 32 years.
Links

Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments, (Official Site)
Hallmark Ornaments by Year, HookedOnHallmark.com
Keepsake Ornament Club, (Official Site)
The Story Behind Those Precious Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments, Southern Living

About this Episode’s Guest Tammy Haddix
Tammy Haddix is a Master Artist and has worked at Hallmark for 32 years, the first eight were spent illustrating everything but cards. Then in 1996 she transferred to the Keepsake Sculpting Studio and began a 24-year sculpting career that she absolutely loves.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Gaming expert Sal Piacente joins Tim to talk about casino cheaters, scammers, and how casinos watch for and catch them. But that’s just the beginning. Sal has some great stories about his career in gaming. He is a consultant and a trainer for casinos and regulators around the world on gaming security.

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There’s a saying in some casinos. The eye in the sky don’t lie.

That’s a reference to the cameras placed throughout the casinos, and the people and systems behind those cameras to catch cheaters and scammers. But it’s much more than cameras. Casinos are some of the most sophisticated organizations that exist to monitor their facilities for anything that could go wrong.

And they need to be. With all of that money changing hands with the roll of the dice or the flip of a card, casinos are very attractive turf for some of the most sophisticated scam artists in the world.

When we talk about casinos, we’re talking about their big moneymaker games. Slot machines. Table games. Blackjack. Poker. Roulette.

Sal Piacente knows a thing or two about casinos.

He’s a native of Brooklyn, New York. He started his casino career as a blackjack dealer in Atlantic City after he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Marines.

Sal worked his way up from dealer, to shift manager, to game protection specialist.  Today, he’s a consultant to casinos on security. And he trains casino staff and students at the University of Nevada on gaming management.

He knows every way cheaters try to cheat casinos. He’s seen it all. So, when we sat down, I had to ask him, “What casino game attracts the most cheaters?”
Links

Sal Piacente (Website)
Woman Scammed Out of 10K During a 3 Card Monte Game at Perimeter Mall, WGCL Atlanta
The Theory of Blackjack: The Compleat Card Counter's Guide to the Casino Game of 21, by Peter Griffin (Amazon)
Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of 21, by Peter Thorp (Amazon)
Big Book of Blackjack, by Arnold Snyder (Amazon)
WizardOfOdds.com
Cashier Allegedly Used Photographic Memory to Steal Credit Card Info, New York Post
The Contestant Who Outsmarted the Price is Right, Esquire

About this Episode’s Guest Sal Piacente
Sal Piacente is a native of Brooklyn, New York, and the ultimate student of the game. Piacente’s interest in con games and scams began on the streets at a young age when his father taught him to protect himself from 3 Card Monte hustlers.

He started his casino career as a blackjack dealer in Atlantic City after an honorable discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps. He then worked his way up from dealer to shift manager to game protection specialist, a position created for him by an international casino corporation.

Sal is also an instructor for the University of Nevada, Reno’s Gaming Management Certification Program.

He has parlayed his experience, skills, passion and knowledge of the various ways to cheat all casino games into a successful consulting business. Over the past 25 years, Sal has trained and/or consulted for dozens of casinos and regulatory bodies on four continents (and counting).

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com