Show notes
"Parisian Heist" author Jo Piazza joins Amy to break down the October 2025 Louvre robbery — the suspects, the mysterious "sponsor," and why authorities aren't sure the suspects are telling the truth. Plus: why museum security is so basic, how art gets used to launder money and fund violent crime, the billionaire families who quietly run the art market, and what a $181 million Jackson Pollock says about the state of art and wealth.(00:00) Introduction(02:30) Recap: the Louvre heist, October 19, 2025(04:30) The Isabella Stewart Gardner heist: $500M, still unsolved(07:30) The arrests and the mysterious "sponsor" named Joe(08:30) How basic museum security really is(13:00) What was stolen: the Napoleonic crown jewels(16:30) The Wildensteins & how art launders money(30:00) The $60 billion shadow art market(31:00) Restoring Empress Eugénie's crown & the French jewelry houses(38:30) The $181M Pollock & Jerry Saltz's takedown of the art marketSubscribe to the Back Row newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribeBuy The Parisian Heist: https://amzn.to/4yLV6exFollow Back Row: @backrow · Follow Amy: @instamyodell · Follow Jo: @jopiazzaauthorEdited by Chrissi Harris. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.