Patrick Radden Keefe on 'London Falling' and the mystery of Zac Brettler

2026-04-13 · 9 min · 9 entities

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→ appeared on NPR's Book of the Day podcast

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Patrick Radden Keefe on 'London Falling' and the mystery of Zac Brettler
→ references London Falling book

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Patrick Radden Keefe on 'London Falling' and the mystery of Zac Brettler In November of 2019, a young man leaped into t
→ discusses Arts concept

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→ hosted by NPR company

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→ discusses Books concept

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Feed category: Books

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mentioned Arts concept

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Feed category: Arts
discusses Arts concept

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discusses Books concept

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Feed category: Books

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mentioned London Falling book

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Patrick Radden Keefe on 'London Falling' and the mystery of Zac Brettler In November of 2019, a young man leaped into t
references London Falling book

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Patrick Radden Keefe on 'London Falling' and the mystery of Zac Brettler In November of 2019, a young man leaped into t

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hosted by NPR company

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Feed author/publisher: NPR

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Patrick Radden Keefe on 'London Falling' and the mystery of Zac Brettler

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appeared on NPR's Book of the Day podcast

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evidence rules-v5
Patrick Radden Keefe on 'London Falling' and the mystery of Zac Brettler

Episode description as stored

In November of 2019, a young man leaped into the Thames River from a London apartment building and died. After 19-year-old Zac Brettler’s death, his parents learned their son had adopted a false identity as the son of a Russian oligarch. The mystery surrounding Brettler’s identity is the subject of Patrick Radden Keefe’s new book London Falling . In today’s episode, the author joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about Brettler’s life in London among a crowd that worshipped wealth, the teen’s talent for accents, voices, and stories, and how Brettler got mixed up in a mutual con with an older businessman named Akbar Shamji. To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy