PODCAST · history
Assassinations Podcast
by Tantallon Media
Each episode, Assassinations Podcast delves into one of history's most notorious assassinations and explores the mysteries and conspiracies that surround it.
Episodes
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SEASON 10 INTRO: By Blood and Fire: Jacob Israël de Haan
In the latest season of Assassinations Podcast, "By Blood and Fire," the show traces the history of targeted killings from Zionist militant groups in the British Mandate of Palestine—beginning with the 1924 assassination of Jacob Israël de Haan in Jerusalem—to the central role of this deadly…
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Empress Myeongseong
Empress Myeongseong (Queen Min), born Min Ja-yeong in 1851, was the child bride of the young King Gojong of Korea. This was during the Joseon isolationist era, overseen by her father-in-law, the conservative regent Heungseon Daewongun. As foreign powers pressured the "Hermit Kingdom," a 1870s…
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Charlie Kirk
On September 10, 2025, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, appeared to have been fatally shot in the neck during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, allegedly by 22-year-old Tyler James Robinson. The shot, we are told, was fired from a rooftop 142 yards...
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Shireen Abu Akleh
A pioneering Palestinian-American journalist whose reporting for Al Jazeera over 25 years gave global audiences a human perspective on life under Israeli occupation, Shireen Abu Akleh was known as “the voice of Palestine.” On May 11, 2022, while covering an Israeli military raid in Jenin, she was...
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Viktor Yushchenko
In 2004, Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko claimed he was poisoned by pro-Russian rivals, an allegation that drew global attention due to his disfigured face and a diagnosis of dioxin poisoning. The incident fueled the pro-Western “Orange Revolution,” which overturned an initial...
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UPDATE: Jonathan Moyle
Jonathan Moyle, likely an MI6/CIA asset, died suspiciously in Santiago, Chile, in March 1990, after questioning Cardoen Industries’ alleged military helicopter sales to Iraq. His death, ruled a suicide, showed signs of murder. Wensley Clarkson’s book, which we used as a key source for our episode...
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Interview: Tim Norman and Kit Klarenberg: The Sturgess Inquiry and the "novichok" narrative
Independent journalists Kit Klarenberg and Tim Norman have conducted significant investigations into the alleged 2018 assassination attempt on Sergei Skripal, a former Russian intelligence officer turned British spy, and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England. The episode also covers the…
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Jonathan Moyle
Jonathan Moyle, once an RAF pilot and editor of the specialist trade journal Defense Helicopter World, died under suspicious circumstances in Santiago, Chile, in 1990. Was his death linked to his investigation of an arms deal involving Carlos Cardoen and Saddam Hussein's Iraq, focusing on...
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Donald Trump
With the US election upon us, host Niall takes a look at this year’s political drama, including two apparent attempts on the life of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Things often aren’t quite what they seem—especially in the world of high-level politics—and this might be no...
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Antonio Luna
When the United States decided to extend its “manifest destiny” across the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines at the end of the 19th century, Antonio Luna helped to defend his country. His assassination at the hands of his fellow Filipinos dealt a mortal blow to the independence movement. To find…
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John Lennon Part 2
In the conclusion of our look at the assassination of John Lennon, we discover that it is a virtual impossibility that the man who has spent the last 44 years behind bars for the crime, Mark Chapman, could have done it. While Chapman confessed to the crime — and may truly believe he committed...
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John Lennon Part 1
In the first of a two-part look at the murder of John Lennon, we look at the life and work of the former Beatle, and the strange story of the man who was convicted of killing him, Mark Chapman. Host Niall speaks with author David Whelan about his fascinating new book Mind Games: The Assassination...
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Danny Casolaro
A Fairfax, Virginia based computing journalist who had turned his hand to deep-dive investigative journalism, in the early-1990s Casolaro was looking into an alleged theft of cutting-edge software by the US Government, which led him down a rabbit hole of seemingly bizarre conspiracy theories —...
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Alex Odeh
Alexander Odeh was a Palestinian who had moved to the United States in the 1970s. While engaged in political activism in support of Arab people, both in the Middle East and in the USA, he was killed in a bombing attack widely attributed to a Jewish American terrorist cell. The alleged…
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Erik Jan Hanussen
A legend and a mystery in his own lifetime, the decades following his death have only added to the mystique — and confusion — about who Jan Erik Hanussen really was and what his role in the rise of the Nazis might have been. We find out about the various dubious accounts that have shaped public...
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Louis Mountbatten
Blown up while sailing on his fishing boat along the coast of County Sligo in Ireland in 1979, the assassination of Lord Mountbatten resulted in international condemnation of the IRA, which claimed responsibility for the blast. Three other people — two teenaged boys and a woman in her eighties —...
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The Gunpowder Plot
On the 5th of November, 1605, a dastardly plot to assassinate King James and the English parliament was foiled. Many of the conspirators, most famously Guy Fawkes, were captured, tortured, and brutally executed. But might they have been mere pawns in some else’s game, part of a devious design to...
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Nepalese Royal Massacre
Did Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal single-handedly nearly wipe out his dynasty, including his own parents and siblings? Or maybe he was a patsy, a pawn in someone else’s game … someone who stood to benefit most from one of the bloodiest moments in the country’s history. To find out more about the...
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Faisal Al Saud Part 2
One of the most vocal opponents and the State of Israel, Faisal lavished money on Palestinian causes. Following the 1973 Ramadan / Yom Kippur War, the Saudi king instituted an oil embargo against the United States and other countries that backed Israel. Other Muslim oil-producing countries joined...
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Faisal Al Saud Part 1
Long before the House of Saud became synonymous with fabulous wealth flowing from their oil rich kingdom, they were tribal warriors who aspired to unite the Arabian Peninsula — and control the holy cities of Mecca and Medina — under their flag and guided by their obscure interpretation of the...
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Alexander II of Russia
We look at the life and death of another Alexander — this time it’s Tsar Alexander II of Russia. A reformer who granted freedom to some 23 million serfs, he was on the brink of signing into law a program of changes to the Russian system of government that could have set the empire on a democratic...
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Alexander I of Yugoslavia
The slaying of the Yugoslavian king on the streets of Marseille, France, in 1934 sent shockwaves throughout Europe. His assassination by a squad of Croatian and Macedonian nationalist militants was part of an international conspiracy by more powerful forces that sought to reshape the map of…
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Philip II of Macedon
From a narrative historical account of the slaying of the Macedonian king, we move on to look at the fortunes of his son, Alexander the Great. And we ask the question: What might the world look like if Philip had lived? To find out more about the people and music featured in today’s episode…
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Stepan Bandera
Before we start on Season 8 of the show, which will focus on the theme of royal assassinations, we take the opportunity to look at the life and death of the controversial Ukrainian nationalist figure. To find out more about the people and music featured in today’s episode, visit the…
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Interview: Luca Trenta Part 2
Following on from last week’s conversation on the use of assassination by the US during the Cold War, culminating in the “Season of Inquiry” during the Ford administration, historian Luca Trenta discusses the evolving policy on assassination under successive presidents to the present day. Part 2…
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Interview: Luca Trenta Part 1
An academic at the University of Swansea, Dr Trenta discusses his research into America’s use of assassination as a tool of foreign policy during the Cold War and the development of the so-called ban on assassinations, which was instituted through an executive order by President Gerald Ford in...
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Interview: Kit Klarenberg
Kit has extensively looked into the alleged attempted assassination of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in England in 2018. In this interview he shares his thoughts on the case, as well as more recent developments and a potential connection with another other high-profile alleged chemical weapons attack...
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James Le Mesurier
A former British Army officer and private security contractor, Le Mesurier helped to found the Syrian Civil Defense, aka the White Helmets. Embroiled in scandals in the last months of his life, was his death an accident, suicide, or murder? In this episode we talked about an organization called...
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Rafic Hariri
In this mini episode we consider the life and death of the Lebanese leader, whose extensive business interests and political activities made him a friend, confidante, and rival to some of the most powerful - and dangerous - people on earth. To find out more about the people and music featured in...
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Klaus Barbie & Che Guevara
One was a Nazi torturer, protected by the United States. The other was a Marxist guerrilla, hunted by the Bolivian government. Their paths would cross in one of the most infamous episodes of the Cold War. Assassinated, Guevara would become a countercultural icon. Meanwhile Barbie would go on to...
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Alfred Herrhausen
Though authorities blamed an outlawed far-left militant group called the Red Army Faction for the assassination of this prominent West German businessman, there is good reason to think that other forces might have been behind the hit. This episode is brought to you by Omio. Use the link...
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Gerald Bull
Gerald Bull had been developing “super guns” for decades, culminating in his work for the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein. Assassinated in 1990, it is unclear if Bull was killed by the Israelis, the Iranians, some other covert agency … or by the Iraqis themselves. This episode is brought to…
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100th Episode: Wrath of the Assassins
For our 100th episode, we travel back to the thirteenth century to hear a story about the most feared killers of their age: the Order of Assassins, led by the mysterious Old Man of the Mountains. To find out more about the people and music featured in today’s episode, visit the Assassinations...
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100th Episode Trailer
Our 100th episode, which comes out next week, will bring us face to face with the OG assassins of yore. To find out more, visit the Assassinations Podcast website, www.AssassinationsPodcast.com While there, you can check out our Bookstore, where we recommend some great episode-related books and...
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Interview: Sue Woolmans
Host Niall is joined this week by historian Sue Woolmans, the co-author of a book on the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian throne who was killed in Sarajevo in 1914 - the event that sparked the First World War. This episode is brought to you by Brüush. Follow…
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Roberto Calvi Part 3
In the concluding installment of our three-part investigation into the life and death of Roberto Calvi, we consider the forensic evidence from the scene of what at first appeared to be a suicide. Police eventually came to believe that he had been murdered. We go on a hunt for possible motives - a...
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Roberto Calvi Part 2
The financial scandal centered on the dodgy activities of Roberto Calvi brought with it assassination, Mafia threats, and the exposure of corruption at the highest levels in Rome. This is the second installment of a three-part series. This episode is brought to you by Podgo.co To find out more...
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Roberto Calvi Part 1
This is Part 1 of our three-part investigation into the life, time, crimes, and suspicious demise of Roberto Calvi - a man dubbed “God’s banker” because of his association with the Vatican. We begin by imagining (based on first hand accounts) an initiation ceremony that Calvi might have gone...
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Qasem Soleimani
Soleimani was killed in an American drone missile strike at Bagdad International Airport. Many feared that the assassination would incite a major military response from Iran; however, the whole affair appeared to have been quite carefully stage-managed by both sides. This episode is brought to…
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Count Bernadotte
A soldier, a diplomat, the grandson of a king, and a man who helped to save thousands of people from the concentration camps of Nazi Germany, Folke Bernadotte was selected to help resolve the Israeli-Arab conflict in Palestine in 1948. It was a mission that cost him his life. This episode is...
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Mahmoud al-Mabhouh
For decades a leading figure in the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement, al-Mabhouh was remarkably negligent in his security arrangements leading up to his assassination in 2010. An Israeli death squad was sent to Dubai to eliminate him; but they ended up making their own set of…
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William McKinley
We take a lighthearted narrative approach to finding out about the great Pan-American Exposition in New York, before turning to the somber matter of the assassination of President McKinley, who was shot there on September 6th, 1901. This episode is brought to you by Purple Carrot - the…
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Jill Dando Part 3
In the third and concluding installment of this investigation, we consider the case against Barry George, the sole person charged and convicted for the crime - only to be acquitted after six years in prison. Finally, we consider one other highly controversial potential motive for the murder of…
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Jill Dando Part 2
As outlandish as it might seem, British police and the media considered whether Jill Dando might have been murdered on the orders of the Serbian government, possibly in an act of revenge for the NATO bombing of a TV station in Belgrade. We also consider some other more conventional motives in…
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Jill Dando Part 1
The murder of journalist and television personality Jill Dando, slain outside her home in London in April 1999, sparked one of largest manhunts in British history. Many theories were considered as to who was responsible, but the case remains unsolved 20 years later. In the first episode in our...
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Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England had a rollercoaster relationship. Once a trusted ally who was awarded the highest offices of the land and even care of the monarch’s own son, Archbishop Becket became an intractable obstacle to Henry’s ambitions. This lead to one of the most notorious...
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Huey Long
In the corridors of power in Washington, DC and the plantation houses of Louisiana, there were many who sighed with relief when news broke that an assassin’s bullet had put paid to the relentless ambition of Senator Huey Long, a man described by Franklin Delano Roosevelt as one of the most...
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The Legend of Abraham Lincoln's Ghost
In honor of both Halloween and the current US presidential election campaign, we take an offbeat look at one of history’s most notorious assassinations. After leading the Union to victory over the Confederacy, in 1865 President Lincoln was struck down by John Wilkes Booth. Just as “Honest Abe”...
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Season 7 Trailer
The seventh season of Assassinations Podcast will be a “potpourri” of subjects - some cases that host Niall has wanted to cover for a while, as well as cases suggested by listeners. The first episode of the new season, which comes out next week, will be Halloween/US election special on the legend...
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Don Bolles
The closer Don Bolles got to the truth of criminal activities in Arizona, the deeper he entered into a world of danger. On the verge of exposing a massive money laundering operation by the Mafia, with links to the political and business elite of the state, he was seriously wounded in a car…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Each episode, Assassinations Podcast delves into one of history's most notorious assassinations and explores the mysteries and conspiracies that surround it.
HOSTED BY
Tantallon Media
CATEGORIES
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