Episode Details

Tuesday, June 9, 2026, Istanbul

Tiny Albania has upended Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s multi-billionaire scheme to use Gulf money to buy an island and an environmentally sensitive stretch of mainland for resort projects. For now it looks like EU-empowered anticorruption prosecutors, emboldened by continued mass protests against the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama, have put the projects on ice.

In today’s podcast, I speak with Albania-based investigative journalist Mitch Prothero, who has been covering the protests and the scandal surrounding the project for The Nation and other publications.

“It’s got a lot to do with just the general lack of trust with the government, corruption, just rampant development all over the country,” said Prothero, who has visited the rugged, heavily mined island where Ivanka and Jared supposedly want to build a luxury retreat for their fellow Epstein class members.

“People, I think, really started to freak out over this specific deal. And then because of its international connotations involving like Trump’s son-in-law, Saudi-backed investment-funds, shell companies that make it nearly impossible to find the investors., there’s been sort of a nexus of interest in the story,” he added. “It’s really allowed it to take off.

“I think the Albanians are pretty shocked to find themselves on CNN, though,” he said. “They didn’t see this one coming. It’s really like an environmental dispute over a wetlands and regulatory permitting.”

Also on today’s podcast, I speak about the aftermath of the weekend round of escalation between Israel and the US on France 24’s flagship show The Debate. You can also watch the whole program.

Finally check out my interview last night with Edgar Mannheimer on the Kalam podcast

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