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Super Skyscrapers, Lamborghini police cars, streets where it rains 24/7 in the middle of desert\\u2026 Welcome to Dubai, the UAE\\u2019s most populous city and one of the richest and most absurdly ostentatious places in the world. Those stories of diamond encrusted Hummers? They\\u2019re all true. It\\u2019s the epitome of luxury.

And nowhere is this more true than in the city\\u2019s islands. Well, artificial islands to be exact. Dubai\\u2019s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed, loves them, and in the mid 2000s he built his most ambitious to date. We\\u2019ve been around the world on Passport but now we\\u2019ve found the world in one place. \\u2018The World\\u2019 islands, a 300 island archipelago off the city\\u2019s coast.

It\\u2019s one of the most ridiculous pieces of architectural engineering you\\u2019ll ever see, but the story behind them is equally absurd, and incredibly dark. This week we\\u2019re headed to Dubai for a story about obscene luxury and how it all gets paid for. The answer? Corruption. On a big, big scale.

For more, including links to the things we talked about, and the places we visited, plus a full transcript, visit: https://frequencymachine.com/passport

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