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News — Radio Interviews


Below is a collection of recent radio interviews given by the Operations Director of VessEx, Capt. Max Hardberger.

 

Featured Interview — BBC World Service — Outlook


July 1, 2010 — Stealing Ships for a Living Captain Max Hardberger has been called the 'good pirate'. He works in the United States as a maritime repossession specialist, stepping in to help shipowners anywhere in the world to reclaim their vessels when they have been illegally impounded. It is a risky business which often pits Max's cunning against corrupt port officials and people trying to extort money from shipowners. But it is also a thrilling life which Max enjoys. He has been fascinated by adventure stories ever since he was a boy. As a child he made a parachute out of a bedsheet and jumped off the roof of his family home. He went on to have many different exciting jobs - including being a crop-dusting pilot, a private investigator and a stunt man. He has now written a book called Seized which describes some of his adventures at sea. Captain Hardberger came into the Outlook studio and told Matthew Bannister about his many brushes with death, and how he first got into this unusual line of work.

Featured Interview — National Public Radio — The Story with Dick Gordon


September 30, 2008 — Out-Pirating the Pirates (Part I) Pirates are demanding $20 million ransom for a ship they've seized off the coast of Somalia. They say they're prepared to fight to the death. Max Hardberger has direct experience of high seas piracy. His job is to take back ships that have been pirated, many of them worth millions of dollars, and return them to their rightful owners. Max has worked all over the Caribbean and Latin America - sometimes employing voodoo priests to help him, and at other times using blow torches by moonlight to cut anchor chains. As he tells Dick Gordon, Max enjoys out-pirating the pirates - even when it means occasionally stepping over the legal line himself.

Featured Interview — BBC Radio 4 — United Kingdom — Midweek with Libby Purves




June 30, 2010 Max Hardberger's career has taken him in many directions from ship's captain to crop duster, private investigator and stuntman. He now works as a vessel repossession specialist, recovering stolen ships for a living. Dubbed the 'good pirate', desperate owners hire him to steal back ships that have been illegitimately seized. Seized - A Sea Captain's Adventures Battling Pirates & Recovering Ships In The World's Most Troubled Waters is published by Nicholas Brealey.


Featured Interview — Coast to Coast AM with George Noory  


April 10, 2010 — In the first hour of the highest rated late night radio program in the United States, broadcast to 500+ stations in North America, host Ian Punnett interviewed Max about his new book SEIZED and his ship recovery work.

National Public Radio — The Story with Dick Gordon (Part II)


April 6, 2010 — Out-Pirating the Pirates (Part II) Pirates continue to be in the news. On Sunday, pirates seized an oil tanker that was headed to the US. And late last week, a U.S. warship sank a pirate boat and captured five gunmen. Max Hardberger has direct experience of high seas piracy. His job is to take back ships that have been pirated and return them to their rightful owners. As he tells Dick, Max enjoys out-pirating the pirates - even when it means occasionally stepping over the legal line himself.

Newstalk — Ireland — Tom Dunne


June 30, 2010 Newstalk's Tom Dunne interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

Talk Radio Europe — The Mid Morning Show with Maurice Boland


June 30, 2010 Talk Radio Europe's Maurice Boland interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

BBC Radio 2 —  United Kingdom — Steve Wright in the Afternoon


June 30, 2010 BBC Radio 2's Steve Wright interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

BBC Radio Scotland — MacAulay and Co.


June 28, 2010 BBC Radio Scotland's Fred MacAulay interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

WPRO 630 AM — Providence — The Buddy Cianci Show


June 2, 2010 An American Adventurer and Author who worked as a deckhand and mate on an oilfield supply vessel in the Gulf joined Buddy on Wednesday, June 2, 2010 to talk about the BP Oil Spill.

WGSO 990 AM — New Orleans — Ringside Politics


April 14, 2010 Jeff Crouere interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

WCBS 880 AM — New York


April 6, 2010 Pat Farnack interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

KLOS 95.5 FM — Los Angeles — The Mark and Brian Show


April 6, 2010 Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps interview Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

WBIG 1280 AM — Chicago — The Big Wake Up Call with Brian and Jen


April 6, 2010 Brian Felsten interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

KYNO 1300 AM — Fresno — The Alan Autry Show


April 6, 2010 Alan Autry interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

KHAI 950 AM — Sacramento — The Poppoff Show


April 6, 2010 Mary Jane Popp interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

WMJI 105.7 FM — Cleveland — The Lanigan and Malone Show


April 6, 2010 John Lanigan and Jimmy Malone interview Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

WWGR 101.9 FM — Ft. Myers / Naples — The Morning Show with Val and Scott


April 6, 2010 Val and Scott interview Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

WBXE 93.7 FM — Nashville — The Morning Show with Pauly


April 6, 2010 Pauly interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

WLKF 1430 AM — Orlando — Mayhem in the AM


April 6, 2010 Seth Mela interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

WOCM 98.1 FM — Baltimore — The Rude Awakening with Bulldog


April 6, 2010 The Dude and Chuck interview Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

KPNW 1120 AM — Eugene — Wake Up Call


April 6, 2010 Bill Lundun and Rob Holloway interview Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

WBBB 96 FM — Raleigh-Durham — 96Rock Mornings with Salt & Demetri


April 6, 2010 Salt and Demetri interview Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

WGY 810 AM — Albany — The Don Weeks Show


April 6, 2010 Don Weeks interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

WHPT 102.5 FM — Tampa / St. Petersburg — The Cowhead Show


April 6, 2010 Cowhead  interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

CHQR 770 AM — Calgary / Edmonton — Calgary Today with Mike Blanchard


April 6, 2010 Mike Blanchard interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

WOOD 1300 AM — Grand Rapids — Frontlines of Freedom


April 6, 2010 Lt. Col. Denny Gillem interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

KTRS 550 AM — St. Louis — The McGraw Show


April 6, 2010 McGraw Milhaven interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

WTVR 98.1 FM — Richmond — Kat's Cafe


April 6, 2010 Kat Simons interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

WJBC 1230 AM — Central Illinois — The Ron Ross Show


April 6, 2010 Ron Ross interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

KDAZ 730 AM — Albuquerque — Z73 Morning Show


April 6, 2010 Birga Alden interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

WCBQ 1340 AM — Raleigh-Durham — The Dr. Alvin Show


April 6, 2010 Dr. Alvin Jones interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

The Art of the Interview


April 6, 2010 Chris Messina interviews Max Hardberger about his new book SEIZED.

University of Iowa Alumni Magazine

February 2008 — Conversations with Max Hardberger

For a behind-the-scenes peek at Max Hardberger's remarkable life and extraordinary careers, listen in to our telephone interview with "The Good Pirate":

Vessel Extraction & Maritime Law (4:35 minutes) (5,373 KB)
When a lawyer can't recover seized property (ships and planes) for its rightful owners, Hardberger puts on one of his other hats and takes back the property any way he can.

Witch Doctor, Inc. (3 minutes) (3,511 KB)
A local witch doctor facilitated one of Hardberger's vessel extractions in Haiti, where locals have created an industry based on the powers of voodoo.

Risky Behavior (27 seconds) (536 KB)
Hardberger suggests that the riskiest thing he's ever done is something commonly seen in agricultural states such as Iowa.

The Writers' Workshop (1:10 minutes) (1,376 KB)
Our subject recalls his time at the University of Iowa in the early 1970s.

Looking to Teach (1:30 minutes) (1,771 KB)
Thinking back to his time at the university, Hardberger remembers his efforts to become a teacher.

Fact or Fiction? (47 seconds) (913 KB)
Listen to Hardberger's practical reason for identifying his semi-autobiographical book, Freighter Captain, as fiction.

Oh, Captain, My Captain (1:05 minutes) (1,266 KB)
Having taken the role himself, Hardberger has a top man's perspective on what it takes to run a tight ship.

Future Plans (39 seconds) (760 KB)
When many of his peers are thinking of slowing down, what lies ahead for this UI grad?

 

CBC/Radio Canada Freestyle Program


March 6, 2007 — Freighter Repo Man (3: 49 minutes) (part of interview) (3,586 KB)

The Clark Howard Show


March 2, 2007 — Repo Man on the High Seas (6: 34 minutes) (6,150 KB)

 



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