The Outlaw Ocean project began as a New York Times series, but developed into a book as a result of more than three years of investigative reporting.

The new book, “The Outlaw Ocean: Journeys Across the Last Untamed Frontier,” attempts to shed light on the cycles of exploitation and mistreatment that occur on the open seas. Author Ian Urbina says the seas are too vast to police and are filled with traffickers and smugglers, pirates and mercenaries, poachers, shackled slaves, stowaways and more. The exploitation throughout various industries is key to the global economy and global indifference is part of the problem. Could today’s lawlessness be tomorrow’s devastation?
Guest:
Ian Urbina, author of the new book, “The Outlaw Ocean: Journeys Across the Last Untamed Frontier” (Alfred A. Knopf, 2019); investigative reporter who’s written for various publications including the New York Times and The Atlantic; he tweets