Away Days Podcast: Reporting from the Underbelly

H11, Cool Zone Media & iHeartPodcasts•www.iheart.com

Away Days Podcast is an episodic documentary series focused on unreported stories from the fringes of society. We’re compassionately documenting the underground without watering it down or editorially obscuring it. This is independent journalism with no filter. Real, raw, and ugly. Journalist Jake Hanrahan, the host and creator of Away Days has spent the last 10 years embedded in places he’s not meant to be. With unique access and a straightforward style of on-the-ground reporting, the listener will be taken deep into the places they didn’t know existed.

Watch Away Days documentaries at youtube.com/@awaydaystv

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Episodes

Lil Noisy Loves Civics

Today is the finale of the Away Days podcast. We hear from one of the mountain pass street racers about why he’ll only race a Honda Civic, and talk to the Away Days co-founder about the terror of Kanjo. Watch Away Days documentaries at youtube.com/@awaydaystv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aug 18, 2025•28 min

Racing Down a Secret Mountain

This episode dives into the illicit world of Japanese street racing, following the Across Racing team as they adapt to increased police surveillance by moving their high-speed pursuits from urban Kanjo loops to remote mountain passes. The host speaks with Menma, a rare female racer, and delves into the nuanced police pursuit policies in Japan. The crew also explores the cultural significance of symbols like the Rising Sun flag and meets a legendary OG from Temple Racing before embarking on a thrilling, dangerous, and unforgettable illegal mountain race.

Aug 11, 2025•29 min

Organized Crime on the Hanshin Expressway

We go to meet the head of one of Osaka's best known underground racing crews. What we didn't know, is that he's allegedly involved in a notorious organized crime thing. This makes things tricky, and we see access slip through our fingers... for now. Watch Away Days documentaries at youtube.com/@awaydaystv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aug 04, 2025•28 min

Illegal Racing on Japan’s Kanjo Loop

We travel to Japan to find out how the next generation of illegal street racers are dodging police and keeping their counterculture alive. Watch Away Days documentaries at youtube.com/@awaydaystv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 28, 2025•29 min

To Live and Die in a Rio Gang War

Our final episode of the Favela Government chapter shows first hand the cycle of never-ending-violence in Rio's favelas. People we met are dead, sewers are wide open, and the gang war continues to keep civilians living in fear. Watch Away Days documentaries at youtube.com/@awaydaystv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 14, 2025•31 min

On Patrol With Favela Security

Security in the favelas is impoverish young men with guns, who’re untrained and unscrupulous. We went on patrol with these armed foot-soldiers at the higher, more impoverished levels of the shanty town. There we saw a different side to the favela, one of precarious living and environmental degradation. Watch Away Days documentaries at youtube.com/@awaydaystv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....

Jul 07, 2025•32 min

Luta Livre in the Heart of the Favela

This episode delves into civilian life within a favela controlled by the Red Command gang, highlighting a surprising gang-funded community sports hall. We meet the Luta Livre coach using the gym to help kids avoid gang life, and contrast his perspective with a Red Command sub-boss discussing urban warfare, police corruption, and government abandonment. The episode explores the complex, grey realities of surviving in the favela amidst violence and neglect.

Jun 30, 2025•29 min

Inside Rio’s Gang Controlled Favelas

Red Command is Brazil’s oldest gang. Inside the shanty towns they control, there’s no police, no government, no rule of law. Street justice only. We spent a week with Red Command to see how a gang takes on the role of a government. Welcome to the favelas… Watch Away Days documentaries at youtube.com/@awaydaystv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jun 23, 2025•28 min

All Roads Lead to King of the Streets

After almost two years of working on access and devolving our project on the underground scene of No Rules fighting, an entryway into King of the Streets finally opens up. Watch Away Days documentaries at youtube.com/@awaydaystv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jun 17, 2025•29 min

The Criminal Connection

We travel to a German border town to attend a hidden underground fight club in the heart of the underworld. Biker gangs, drug dealers, and hooligans all brush shoulders to watch the first ever female No Rules fight… Watch Away Days documentaries at youtube.com/@awaydaystv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jun 09, 2025•30 min

No Rules on the Riviera

We travel to the south of France to see if a new clandestine No Rules fight club is the real deal. The underground fighters who’ve supposedly set this one up claim it’s in the most luxurious city in France—Cannes. Either we’ve been trolled or the No Rules scene really is spreading everywhere… Watch Away Days documentaries at youtube.com/@awaydaystv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....

May 26, 2025•28 min

A Cold Day for Violence

Welcome to the world of ‘No Rules’, a new underground fighting subculture where anything goes. Biting, head stamping, eye gouging, hair pulling, elbows, headbutts—it’s all allowed. These fights are fought on concrete, with no gloves, and no rounds. It’s non-stop organized ultraviolence, and we’ve been allowed to see it first hand… Watch Away Days documentaries at youtube.com/@awaydaystv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....

May 19, 2025•27 min

Introducing: Away Days Podcast

Away Days Podcast is an episodic documentary series focused on unreported stories from the fringes of society. Journalist Jake Hanrahan, the host and creator of Away Days, has spent the last 10 years embedded in places he’s not meant to be. With unique access and a straightforward style of on-the-ground reporting, the listener will be taken deep into the places they didn’t know existed. Watch Away Days documentaries at youtube.com/@awaydaystv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....

May 13, 2025•3 min

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